Live from Holland Oosterdam May 25, Vancouver-Anchorage-Denali 21night Alaska trip

[vbmom87]

We enjoyed the Snow City Cafe for lunch. I hear their breakfasts are good too.

 

The Moose's Tooth was a great choice for local pizza and beer.

 

We were not thrilled with the Glacier Brewhouse, but it gets consistently great reviews. For us the food was mediocre.

Edited June 2, 2014 by vbmom87

[nana51]

If you get any flyers on spa treatment specials, it would be great if you could post them.

 

Thanks for the updates on the fruit choices. Also appreciated seeing the tea options. Do they still have afternoon teas? If so do they offer additional tea options or just the ones you showed?

 

We must have spent a lot of time walking around Ketchikan on our last AK cruise as your pictures bring back wonderful memories.

 

They also have pg tips in little glass canisters by the other teas. Best tea out there.

[folashade]

Snow city was great for breakfast

Glacier brew house was mediocre

Moose tooth was good

Humpys not bad great for drinks

[krazy4kruisin]

Thank you so much for taking the time from your vacation to do this for all of us cruise addicts. This gives us our fix and keeps us hungry for more!

[brazilgirl]

Really enjoying your report!

[Susie51]

Great towel animal pic!

[aerospace]

Ordered Room service, doesn't come for an hour so I call. 14mins later it arrives and again 10mins after that...they sent it twice now, the kitchen crew is drunk? lol

 

TV has 24/7 Deadliest catch, Surviving in AK; that kind of show from discovery.

 

 

^Triple Decker Club, at first glance I wondered why they didn't toast it, it's just really light. Tasty though and served with potato chips 6

 

^Salmon wasn't hot and just ok. Is served with mashed potato and green/yellow squash. Wouldn't get it again and didn't finish it 4.5

 

Spent an hour in the hot tub can't believe my first dip is day 3.

 

Still called Terrance grill not dive in. Did see 3 pics on the wall showing how to make the dive in dogs but no sign where you could order one.

 

Hadn't considered the comedian would be ageist. Impressions of dead people, movie references I've never heard of, only a few universal jokes. Took it in stride and enjoyed it anyway.

 

Drove a taxi when I was younger and I get a call to drive a guy home he's far to drunk to drive. He falls off the stool at the bar, falls on the way to the car, falls over in the backseat, falls in the driveway, and falls on the porch. I knock and his wife answers the door, "mamm I brought home your husband", she says "that's great but where's his wheelchair?" ba-dum-dum!

 

A grandfather is talking to his grandson about the olden days. He says boy when I was young I ran across a bear while fishin in Alaska. He looked at me, then stood up on his hind legs, musta been 10 feet tall, and said RAWRRR!!! I crapped my pants. Boy says that's understandable gramps, woulda happened to anyone facing down a bear. No no he says, just now when I stood up and said RAWRR!!!! lol

 

^Alaska Amber Ale, deep flavor with a light citrus note, long finish 8

 

 

^Alaska Summer Ale, crisp and light, med finish, fruity notes. Last year I went to the Juneau brewery and did the tour with taste test and this was my favorite out of the 10 choices. Tour is $20 for unlimited beer, tour, and transportation from town. 7.5

Edited June 2, 2014 by aerospace

[aerospace]

^Fishermans Platter; very small portion made up with big flavor, smoked salmon, shrimp with lemon, some sort of raw fish dunno with pepper and a tangy mustard sauce. 8

 

^Duck Pate Brioche; served with orange slices and some jam along with a very nice slaw. The pate' had little flavor but was ok. 6.5

 

 

^Potato and Chorizo soup; expecting bold flavors and maybe some spice but found neither. A granular texture was not pleasing, flat flavor, just potato soup from a can. 5

 

 

^Pork loin; served with shredded potato cake-mild flavor and good texture, sweet potato bites and chard. Pork loin was slathered with a sickly sweet sauce, if I was at home I would have spit it out. Scraping it off didn't help, one of few dishes I haven't finished so far. 3 for the sides

 

^Braised beef short ribs; cooked to falling off the bone and then another hour. Served over mashed potato with broccoli, carrot, and potato pieces. Sauce was a bit mild needed reducing but still good. 7

 

^Sourdough bread pudding with raisins, a vanilla sauce and cherry drops. The top half is a bit crisp and has good texture while the bottom half is mushy and over saturated. can't say I'm a huge fan of bread pudding with this is better than ok thought I wouldn't pay for it on land. 6.5

[aerospace]

^Chocolate Avalanche; macerated strawberry, blackberry and blueberry sauce. Presentation A; I'd like to call it a cake with a fudge layer but it's closer to a brownie in density, texture and flavor. Uber rich this will end your chocolate craving and will be a must have for any chocolate fan. Skip a course if you need to leave room for this baby. I'm to full to fully appreciate it but it's gooood. On second thought I'm taking the plate and putting it in my room for later :D

 

Changed to a new table as no one showed up 2 nights in a row.

 

All the live music is good; Larry the piano man, Adagio the violin/piano combo, the Halcats, even the guitar guy.

 

Hal Nightlife: 10:37pm in Northern lights, the club. One lady 65ish dancing, one table of 4 people, one lady in a booth sleeping lol.

 

FitBit Activity for today: 12miles, 27 flights of stairs, no final tally. It records but you need to be online to get it.

 

Cold weather tip: Stand on deck 10 aft, there are exhausts that blow warm air and let you take photos off the ship without being cold. Also if deck 10 is 30miles an hour wind, deck 3 will be 15miles an hour and has lots of corners to block wind.

 

Juneau day be up 6-7am for deck viewing, very scenic. Snow covered mountains on top and green fields just below. Lots of small houses on stilts. Arrival in Juneau was an hour early. Tony says "Grreeeaaaaattttt!

[aerospace]

 

 

 

 

 

 

^Mohito awesome 8

 

^Lemon drop Yummy 7.5

[aerospace]

^Happy hour all day everyday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aerospace]

 

 

^Mmmm Bacon

 

 

More tomorrow morning. Nighto!

[KroozFoolz]

Great pictures!

We will be looking for that Chocolate Avalanche! :D

[Nettle]

We are commencing same trip on 1 July so will be interested in your experience

[Susie51]

Thank you for continuing to post great pics. You're making me hungry.

[aerospace]

Day 4 Juneau:

 

I apologize in advance the following post is full of crap. :eek:

 

^Bear scat I'm guessing since this trail is where I ran across the bear mom. Way to much volume for any dog.

 

 

^Tram up Mount Roberts. You can also walk up if you're feeling adventurous. The trail to Mt. Roberts summit is only 3 miles from the tram drop off but ask first if it's open. Last year I went and the snow hadn't melted enough for the trail to be passable.

 

^waiting on the shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier. It goes every half hour and costs $10 each way. Take note which bus you get on there are several companies doing the same trip. If you get on a blue bus then you come back on a blue bus etc.

^Float planes are the way to get around as you can't drive or even train into Juneau. It's ship or plane only.

[aerospace]

^another great weather day

 

^Even with gloves on my hands were cold. The glacier works like an old fashioned air conditioner, basically air blows over it and comes out super cold.

 

^my guess is beaver he was quite far away hard to tell.

 

^pieces of glacier floating in the water. I read something like 90% of an iceberg is under the water so even if it looks small it's probably not.

 

 

^Trail was medium difficult but not much to see. The lookout point is in the same spot as when the trail was made but the glacier has since receded so you won't see much. Bear spotting on it though is common as they live nearby.

 

^and here is baby. The photo is ok but check out the video if you haven't yet.

 

Also if you are enjoying the review check out my blog with it's many money saving tips. Have you ever gone or considered cruising solo? It's a great place for solo travelers to share deals and avoid the dreaded solo supplement. /shameless plug

[aerospace]

^look in the trees not on the path, listen for rustling

 

^massive waterfall photo, doesn't do it justice.

 

^Mendenhall Glacier; has receded so much they are planning on moving the visitors center closer. Trek to the face is 3/4 of a mile now.

 

 

^me again, currently single lol

 

 

 

[aerospace]

Star Princess has to tender wonder if that's why it was only $302/wk.

 

^Taco bar open til 3 today even though scheduled to close at 2pm. Finally got to try it. Lots of hiking means I need protein, ship is so close I reboard to have lunch. Taco bar has tomato salsa, mango salsa, pineapple salsa, red onions, etc. Michael like...especially the shredded beef 7. Sushi was blah 2.5

 

^Went back for seconds on the nachos, sausage has a bit of spice 6.5

 

^After going back to port to use wifi at the library I went to the Klondike Goldrish dinner in lido. Gold Digger Chili has good mouth feel but to watery 7. Pork ribs cooked but not fall off the bone, in fact they were quite hard, sauce neither sweet savory or spicy 4. Salmon ok 6.5

 

They say nessesity is the mother of invention; I prebought a bottle of tequila and rather do shots I order 6 glasses juice from room service and kept them in the fridge. One glass juice, double shot, some ice in a highball worked great. Grapefruit and tequila 8, Cranberry and tequila 7, Apple and tequila 6.5

Edited June 2, 2014 by aerospace

[aerospace]

Dinner Time!

No I'm not spending 7 days eating but it makes for good photos. You can only take so many snow covered mountain shots....

 

^King crab; served cold with cocktail sauce and lemon wedge, it's better warm with butter 7

 

^Smoked Salmon with apple slaw and rye bread. This one looks meh but delivered on flavor. 7.5

 

 

^Veil; mashed potato mixed with grits, nice flavor/texture combo, veil is lightly breaded and crispy topped with a bit of cheese. All the table agreed it's delish 8.5

 

 

^Rhubarb crumble; same recipe different fruit served at pretty much every meal. The mild flavor of the Rhubarb doesn't come through the thick crumble 6.5

 

^Brownie; like a hundred other brownies I've had, nothing special but still good 7

 

Creativity of entertainment staff is a zero; using the same questions from Men vs women game as in majority rules; is the cruise director senile too?

 

If you are going on a trail in Juneau or just to Mendenhall take bug spray the mosquitos are out and hungry.

 

*end Juneau day*

Edited June 2, 2014 by aerospace

[KroozFoolz]

Thanks again for taking the time to share all this with us. I should be packing but I keep checking for more great pictures! Thanks for the heads up on the mosquitos. Love the bear video!

[BarbinMich]

Michael, I'm enjoying your photos so much! We were there about 2 weeks before you, on the Star (special thanks for photos of it at Ketchikan as I didn't take any). We got to dock at Juneau--Star is on 11-night run so it doesn't match up with any of the other ships. The rhododendrons were just starting to bloom in Ketchikan on May 15 and snow cover on Deer mountain much deeper. Salmon hadn't started to arrive yet :mad:. BUT no mosquitos either :p.

 

My great aunt was in Juneau in the early 1920s (steamer "cruise" from Seattle) and as far as I can figure, Mendenhall was about where the VC is today, if not further.

Edited June 3, 2014 by BarbinMich

[Susie51]

The you for sharing the video of the bear.

[aerospace]

Glad everyone is enjoying it. Today I am going to the Alaska Museum, Alaska Heritage Center, and renting a bike for the day :)

 

I will post Juneau from the cruise when I get back tonight.

Then tomorrow the art tour... :cool:

[aerospace]

Not sure what I was thinking I already posted Juneau. Guess I was still half asleep.

 

Up next is Skagway:

 

 

 

^required Skagway pic

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2014 by aerospace