Radiance of the Sea Northbound Review

[flatlander321]

My state room did not have either. They had a phone would you do a wake call on. Our stateroom only had two plugs to which becomes tricky when all your devices need to be charged.

 

Wow, you had 2 outlets. I'm jealous :D

 

We were on Carnival Legend 4 weeks ago. There is 1 US-standard outlet in the room. You can also bring a convertor to use the Australian-standard electrical outlet as well. I brought a pair of outlet triplers and a pair of extension cords that had 3 outlets each. I normally filled the 2 extension cords and one of the outlet triplers each night after a busy port day.

[underthemoon53]

I got married on the Carnival Legend, random fact, I know. At least you were smart and brought the extension cords.

[underthemoon53]

Next port was Juneau and it as also the first port we had a planned excursion in. We were to meet the Taku Lodge float plane people at 2:15 at the end of the pier. This excursion was big ticket item but I saw this trip as a once in a life time trip and wanted to go big or go home. On a side note we had really wanted to do stream fishing in Icy Strait but tickets sold out and we were placed on a waiting list, of course no one cancelled. Book it early if you want to do it! We had plenty of time prior to our excursion so we walked around (very hilly city for us Floridians). We visited the governor's house, saw the state building, went to have drinks a Red Dog Saloon, and tried the number 1 combo (which was like $35 and some change) at Tracy's King Crab Shack. Red Dog Saloon opened at 9 while Tracy's King Crab opened at 10:30.

Pulling into port

The governor's house

[underthemoon53]

Skagway for us was our least favorite port partially due to all the cruisers. There were four boats docked including ours.

[flatlander321]

I got married on the Carnival Legend, random fact, I know. At least you were smart and brought the extension cords.

 

Wow, small world. It was an interesting ship for our first cruise, although the decor was ... hmmm ... interesting ... maybe 1980's las vegas in someone's wildest dream??? After thinking about it, I can see why people like the spirit-class design and layout.

 

I brought 5 cameras, a tablet, a kindle, a backup kindle, and a laptop computer on the cruise for 3 people. There was no way one outlet would do without serious outlet expansion help. Anything that looked like a power strip seemed likely to be confiscated even if it did not have a surge suppressor.

 

To bring this tangent discussion back to your review, Hoonah looks like an interesting place to visit. Thanks for posting. I've posted an amateur review of our Legend trip in May, if interested.

Some of the photos came out quite nice.

Edited June 16, 2016 by flatlander321

[ibeplato]

Thank you for posting. We're doing the same trip in August.

[liptastic]

Continue to enjoy your fabulous photos . We are booked for Taku Lodge in August, as you say a treat excusrsion. You have made us look forward even more to our cruise with your great photos. Thanks again, Jean.

[island lady]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

 

Was the bar you went to in Hoonah "The Office Bar"? It was right along

the water as you walked towards town. We had fantastic fresh steamed

Dungenous crabs with a couple of local draft beers. Heavenly! Can't

wait to go again.

 

We also did the Taku Glacier Lodge float plane tour and salmon bake.

With secret ingredient "Bear slobber" ;) Loved it as our all time favorite

excursion and going again in August.

[underthemoon53]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

 

Was the bar you went to in Hoonah "The Office Bar"? It was right along

the water as you walked towards town. We had fantastic fresh steamed

Dungenous crabs with a couple of local draft beers. Heavenly! Can't

wait to go again.

 

We also did the Taku Glacier Lodge float plane tour and salmon bake.

With secret ingredient "Bear slobber" ;) Loved it as our all time favorite

excursion and going again in August.

 

Yup that was the name of it!

[underthemoon53]

Red Dog Saloon

Tracy's King Crab Shack

[underthemoon53]

The flight to Taku lodge was about 25 minutes each way and than you had 2 hours at the lodge itself. During the flight you wear headphones which help with the noise and provide narrations for the flight. Heads up there is a sit up front with the pilot so if you want that view try and get on the plane first. Lunch was provided and included fresh salmon cooked over a fire, baked beans, coleslaw, cinnamon apples, sour dough bread, and a herb bread (all of it course home cooked). Dessert was ginger cookies. For drinks you were offered lemonade, tea, and water. The drinks had unusually shaped ice but I won't run the surprise. :] The employees at the lodge live there during the whole season so they bring their fur babies with them, in totally we were told there were 12 dogs and we saw 5-6 of them. After dinner we were offered a guided tour on a path that looped back around to the lodge itself. I had never been on a seaplane before and the ride there made me experience motion sickness but the flight back to port was okay. I took so many photos and they all look amazing because we were just surrounded by beauty.

On the way there.

[island lady]

Another set of beautiful pictures! Thanks again!

 

BTW: I know the "secret ingredient" for that delicious grilled salmon

at Taku. ;) :D

 

Just under two months before we get to go there again. :)

[marne-c]

Another set of beautiful pictures! Thanks again!

BTW: I know the "secret ingredient" for that delicious grilled salmon

at Taku. ;) :D

 

So, the 'secret ingredient' is ... :confused:

 

 

 

--Marne

Edited June 17, 2016 by marne-c

[island lady]

So, the 'secret ingredient' is ... :confused:

 

 

 

--Marne

 

Aww...you are making me give it away!!

 

Are you ready.....it is ......Bear Slobber!! :D

[stephaniekleinn]

We're doing this same trip in a few weeks, as a fellow Floridian I'm wondering how you found the weather?

[island lady]

We're doing this same trip in a few weeks, as a fellow Floridian I'm wondering how you found the weather?

 

The first cruise to Alaska we did was in early June. It was nice, but we liked the

August timing a bit better. Just a little warmer, and the glaciers were calving more.

Plus seemed to see more wildlife.

 

Alaska can be hit or miss on the weather. Our August cruise had perfect weather,

and sunny every day. Even had to break out the shorts in Skagway. But the two

previous cruises had rain every day. The crew was happy to see the sun again on

our cruise. Just have to be prepared for anything, and of course clothing is best

with layering.

 

But all in all....I don't think there is a bad time to go to Alaska. It is always dramatic

and beautiful! :)

Edited June 17, 2016 by island lady

[underthemoon53]

We're doing this same trip in a few weeks, as a fellow Floridian I'm wondering how you found the weather?

 

We loved it! Temperatures ranged from high 40's to the 70's. No humidity and while we were there we had little to no rain. What did save us was our windbreakers/rain jackets we had purchased. My husband got one for like $30 dollars on Amazon, nothing fancy but it did the job.

[underthemoon53]

More of the flight to Taku Lodge

[underthemoon53]

Photos from our time at Taku Lodge

Some of the puppy dogs

The food

[underthemoon53]

More photos from Taku Glacier Lodge, the view while you eat

The hubby and I

One thing I forgot to mention at the lodge there were tons of mosquitos. They have a little bin outside the main cabin with bug spray so make sure you use it before hiking on one of the trails.

[lyndarra]

Did you pre-book the Taku lodge dinner or were you able to book on board?

[underthemoon53]

Did you pre-book the Taku lodge dinner or were you able to book on board?

We pre-booked it which I recommend doing if its something you really want to do. There was an excursion we missed out on doing because slots were filled three months prior to the cruise.

[island lady]

Did that big black bear come in and "clean" the grill after the salmon

bake? (Hense the "secret" ingredient :p).

[underthemoon53]

Did that big black bear come in and "clean" the grill after the salmon

bake? (Hense the "secret" ingredient :p).

No bear sightings for us for the whole trip. A lot of locals told us we came to early in the season to see a lot of animal life.

[island lady]

No bear sightings for us for the whole trip. A lot of locals told us we came to early in the season to see a lot of animal life.

 

Except for the "cleaning crew" at Taku Glacier Lodge, the only other bear

we have seen was one climbing over the fence when our tour guide forgot

his keys to the whale watching boat, bringing us back to his home to find

"Mr. Snoopy" in his yard again. ;)