Live from NCL Spirit 06/21/23-07/05/23 - Alaska B2B Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver

[bluesea777]

Sorry @Seas2mountains I cannot resist posting this photo that was taken off the coast of Yemen during our Rome-Dubai Arabian Odyssey cruise on the Spirit in Feb 2020 - before the **** hit the fan. 
 

 

It was in our top 5 NCL cruises, along with our recent B2B Alaskan cruises, also on the Spirit!!

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

Sorry @Seas2mountains I cannot resist posting this photo that was taken off the coast of Yemen during our Rome-Dubai Arabian Odyssey cruise on the Spirit in Feb 2020 - before the **** hit the fan. 
 

 

It was in our top 5 NCL cruises, along with our recent B2B Alaskan cruises, also on the Spirit!!

 

 

Oh. My. Gosh. Yes, freaking please! I might have to look at the Spirit. That is so stunning! Warm and just plain a perfect evening. I'm imagining a nice warm evening too. 

[YVRteacher]

@Canadian123 here you go

[littlelulu01]

15 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Here is the lovely Spice H2O area with cushioned lounge chairs. My husband and I think this is like a Haven area without the expense.  There is a bar here, too. 
 

Proof of the period of time we had beautiful blue skies again for a few hours. 

Agree!  We felt the entire ship felt like being in the Haven.  I’m so bummed that when I finally found a ship that was a perfect fit it’s been removed from the mix for a year. 

[jdc987]

16 hours ago, KDebreuil said:

You mentioned 'no kids' in the Spice H2O area.  Do they seem to strict about the 18+ for that area?  My 17 year old daughter is traveling with us, and due to still recovering from knee surgery can't really run around.  Would she be able to use the hot tubs, and padded loungers in Spice H2O, or are they checking ID or something?

Yes, she will be fine.  No ID checks.

[Tyskie]

@Seas2mountains   Try the bourbon manhattan - had it on the Joy and it was a nice sipping drink.

 

We were on the Spirit before the dry dock/update.  Cute ship, perfect for AK

[Sugar Magnolia]

On 6/23/2023 at 9:19 AM, Seas2mountains said:

Photos of the Great Outdoors seating area overlooking Spice H20 taken on embarkation day. 

 

Thank you for your live review from the Spirit.

 

I sailed on the Spirit in 2018 to the Greek islands and ate breakfast at the Great Outdoors every morning before the temperature reached 120 degrees. I enjoyed sailing on the Spirit then even before the refurbishment; now I need to find an opportunity to sail again before she is on charter. There is much to like about a classy, intimate ship.

 

Enjoy your Alaska journey. I am already missing my B2B on the Jewel from earlier this month so I shall live vicariously through you.

 

[YVRteacher]

5 hours ago, jdc987 said:

Yes, she will be fine.  No ID checks.

Nope. It’s an adults only area. There are family friendly hot tubs elsewhere.

[bluesea777]

23 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Nope. It’s an adults only area. There are family friendly hot tubs elsewhere.

 

Yes, there also are 4 hot tubs around the main pool, and there is a bar there too. On one evening (or lunchtime, I can't remember) they have poolside BBQ.

 

[Seas2mountains]

We were lucky to have a warm sunny day in Sitka. Our fleece jackets stayed in the backpack we brought throughout our Best of Sitka tour. The buses don’t have air conditioning as I’m sure it isn’t needed very often so it did get a little hot and stuffy. The air temperature was 62 degrees F or 17 degree C. 
 

The tour was a good way to hit the highlights of Sitka. The first stop was at Sitka National Historic Park/Totem Park. The bus driver/tour guide dropped us off for an hour for self guided tours in the rain forest and visitor center.  There are totem poles throughout the park and inside the visitor center. Some people were at a display area building a totem pole. 
 

It was such a beautiful day to be outside. Some people walked towards the town with the hour we had to explore and others spent time by the River or creek. There were not any salmon running. 

[Seas2mountains]

I’ll finish posting photos from the Best of Sitka tour a bit later. 
 

We are currently in Juneau where it is about 51 degrees F/10 degrees C and overcast. We have been here before so ours plans are to walk around the city. 
 

We slept really well and had a nice breakfast followed by getting a laundry bag filled and then Tri-bond trivia (we won with 15 correct answer) and general trivia (we lost with 9 correct answers -winner had 12 correct answers).  
 

Here are photos from the sunset last night at 10:30pm. 

[McKJohnOlip55]

12 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

I’ll finish posting photos from the Best of Sitka tour a bit later. 
 

We are currently in Juneau where it is about 51 degrees F/10 degrees C and overcast. We have been here before so ours plans are to walk around the city. 
 

We slept really well and had a nice breakfast followed by getting a laundry bag filled and then Tri-bond trivia (we won with 15 correct answer) and general trivia (we lost with 9 correct answers -winner had 12 correct answers).  
 

Here are photos from the sunset last night at 10:30pm. 

 

[McKJohnOlip55]

12 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

I’ll finish posting photos from the Best of Sitka tour a bit later. 
 

We are currently in Juneau where it is about 51 degrees F/10 degrees C and overcast. We have been here before so ours plans are to walk around the city. 
 

We slept really well and had a nice breakfast followed by getting a laundry bag filled and then Tri-bond trivia (we won with 15 correct answer) and general trivia (we lost with 9 correct answers -winner had 12 correct answers).  
 

Here are photos from the sunset last night at 10:30pm. 

What beautiful photos you have been sharing!  I hope it's as nice next week!!! Thank you!

[Seas2mountains]

Here is more about the Best of Sitka tour:

 

After the park, we loaded the bus to go to the Alaska Raptor Center.  Two other buses of people on tours arrived at the same time. They were able to have all three groups crowd into the flight training area before having us all sit to watch a video followed by a demonstration of an employee with a resident bald eagle from the center. It was pretty interesting. After that, we had time to walk around the property to see eagles that can’t fly in an open area and eagles and other raptors in cages.  There are some walking trails by a creek, too. With it being such a nice day, many people took advantage of the time to walk on the trails and we enjoyed it, too. 
 

 

[Seas2mountains]

We loaded back on the bus to go to the Fortress of the Bear. When we arrived, we were joined by a second bus of people and we all crowded onto a viewing area where they have rescued brown and black bears living. They are not allowed to have these rescued bears released back to their former homes due to Alaska law. 
 

We stayed about 30 minutes before returning to the ship. The driver did offer the option to get off in the downtown area which would require using a free shuttle bus to get back to the ship.  While several people chose this option, we stayed on the bus to return to the ship.  
 

Our bus driver was on a cruise on the Bliss last summer and that is how she became interested in the opportunity to work in Alaska. Her husband still lives at their home in another state with three teenage kids and she said it was his idea for her work in Alaska during the summer. She said she shares a place with several other people including young adults. 
 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

We had a nice dinner at Teppanyaki last night. We keep running into our table mates around the ship today. We enjoyed hearing about their travels and excursions in Sitka. We did not take any photos. 
 

They no longer offer the edamame appetizer which is fine with me. We had the shrimp and chicken menu option which we thought was excellent. We have been avoiding the steak once they changed it from filet mignon to NY strip as it was too tough to eat. The rice was yummy as usual.  
 

After dinner, we enjoyed hearing Lorenzo play guitar (no singing for this set) in Magnums followed by the B12 band with the Sing it if You Know It game in Spinnaker lounge. It was so foggy outside so we kept hearing fog horns from our ship and other ships. Since there was no view to watch which is what we love doing in Alaska, we decided to listen to another group. 
 

Next we listened to a duo we really like called Over the Moon in Henry’s Pub. Many others also like them as it was difficult to find available seats so we waited until some opened up. We really liked hearing them perform, but unfortunately some people okay actually two people didn’t and they were talking so loud that it became so annoying that we left and called it an early night for us. We were really tired anyways.

[Seas2mountains]

I’ll update later on our experience with the Tram and Alaska State Museum in Juneau. 
 

But first, thank you @YVRteacher and @laudergayle! The Matador is amazing!  I’m hooked. You can get it at Henry’s Pub or the Local and both are on deck 7. A kind bar server in Magnum’s hooked me up with one as she traveled down one deck to get it. 

 

[Seas2mountains]

Here are some photos of our dinner tonight at Onda. This is a new-to-us restaurant experience.  We are looking forward to returning as sometimes you need a few visits to find the food selections that match your food preferences. 
 

I ordered the Burrata and my husband got the Beef Carpaccio.  Here are also photos of the bread with olive oil, a tomato spread which was excellent or a cheese and butter spread. 
 

The appetizers contained more food than we expected or could eat. It was really good!  

[Seas2mountains]

Here are the entrees. 
 

Branzino for me with Wilted Spinach as a side. The fish was good and I’m glad the portion size was small as the appetizer was so filling. I would order something different on our next visit. 
 

My husband got the Scialetielli pasta dish with seafood. 
 

Here is the menu, too. 
 

[Seas2mountains]

The desserts were amazing and I would order it again. 
 

I got Butterscotch Bondino and my husband got Tiramisu. 

[Seas2mountains]

I also ordered a new-to-me cocktail at Onda. 
 

It was also really good and not too sweet. It is called a San Remo. I would definitely order it again. 

[Seas2mountains]

Day 4 daily. 

[Seas2mountains]

Day 4 daily PDF version. 

NCL Spirit Day 4.pdf

[YVRteacher]

@Seas2mountains cheers to the Matador! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

 

I showed my dad the photos you posted of the Spirit and it really helped him get a feel for the ship. I’m so grateful to you.

 

Did you feel the raptor centre and the fortress of the bear were overcrowded or was it fine?

[Seas2mountains]

We are sailing away from Juneau ten minutes early just like we left 10 minutes early in Sitka and Vancouver. 
 

We are in Magnum’s listening to Over the Moon. They are fantastic and we are so glad they aren’t in Henry’s Pub like last night. If people are talking, this is such a large venue that we can’t tell as the speakers must be turned up. We have two wonderful bar servers in Magnum’s who know us by name and they return before our drinks are empty. 
 

We have seen Blazing Boots which we thought was fantastic on the Gem so we will not see it again tonight.  Here are some photos of the port in Juneau. We get to return next Sunday. We were one of four ships in port. Usually, I think there are a few more in port for ships that do Saturday-Saturday or Sunday-Sunday sailings.