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

[YVRteacher]

14 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you.  The rum cake martini is on the list for today as it is also the martini drink of the day. I still need to try the Pistachio martini, too. 

The rum cake is really sweet.  Even I can’t drink it!

[bluesea777]

1 minute ago, YVRteacher said:

The rum cake is really sweet.  Even I can’t drink it!

 

 Yes, it is, but it's a good as a dessert if you don't have dessert at dinner. @Seas2mountains perhaps you might want to try Pistachio martini instead.

 

 

[quack2]

On 6/28/2023 at 10:45 AM, Seas2mountains said:

There was someone washing the windows in Spinnaker when we arrived this morning even though it is raining. We have seen the window washers out every day we have been in a port. 

The Kenai Fjords 8 hour tour out of Seward on Wednesday after I disembarked was really nice, even if the skies were grey.  Just a little rain, which was easy to avoid.  The next day I did the Phillips 26 Glacier Cruise in Whittier.  The weather out of Whittier was miserable much of the trip.  Inside windows were constantly fogged over with rain drops on the outside.  It did get better when we got the northern end of College Fjord.  Fought my way to some nice glacier and waterfall photos.  Very little wildlife. 

 

I really didn't like the boat for the 26 Glacier Cruise.  The ratio of passengers to available outside rail space for photos was way too high, IMO.  Nice comfortable boat, but too many passengers to be able to get photos reliably.  And, of course, since everyone has to take a minute or two to compose their perfect selfie, the frustration level gets pretty high with people waiting to get to the rail.

 

If I have to choose between Kenai Fjords tour in Seward or 26 Glacier Cruise in Whittier, I will take Seward every time.  Just my $0.02.

Edited July 1, 2023 by quack2

[quack2]

On 6/29/2023 at 4:08 PM, Seas2mountains said:

As we approached Hubbard Glacier, it started to rain lightly and got foggy. 
 

A few minutes ago at about 2:30pm, the cruise director said the pilot had been on the ship for about an hour. He said the pilot and captain made the decision to turn around due to the fog. 😢  You can see on cruise mapper that Brilliance of the Seas somehow made it in before our ship. 

 

We are going to the spa to nap on the heated lounge chairs. It’s the first NCL spa ever to not have chair hogs so far. 😁

So twice in a row, Norwegian bailed on Hubbard Glacier even though other ships went it?  Sure, maybe the weather changed, but maybe Norwegian is ridiculously risk-averse.  I wonder if the same risk aversion causes Norwegian not to cruise up and down the east side of Vancouver Island.

 

[Seas2mountains]

4 hours ago, quack2 said:

The Kenai Fjords 8 hour tour out of Seward on Wednesday after I disembarked was really nice, even if the skies were grey.  Just a little rain, which was easy to avoid.  The next day I did the Phillips 26 Glacier Cruise in Whittier.  The weather out of Whittier was miserable much of the trip.  Inside windows were constantly fogged over with rain drops on the outside.  It did get better when we got the northern end of College Fjord.  Fought my way to some nice glacier and waterfall photos.  Very little wildlife. 

 

I really didn't like the boat for the 26 Glacier Cruise.  The ratio of passengers to available outside rail space for photos was way too high, IMO.  Nice comfortable boat, but too many passengers to be able to get photos reliably.  And, of course, since everyone has to take a minute or two to compose their perfect selfie, the frustration level gets pretty high with people waiting to get to the rail.

 

If I have to choose between Kenai Fjords tour in Seward or 26 Glacier Cruise in Whittier, I will take Seward every time.  Just my $0.02.

Thank you for sharing your update on your Kenai Fjords tour and Whittier tour. I also love the Seward area but haven’t been to Whittier. I look forward to returning to Seward again and do want to take another boat tour as it is a great area. I hope you have safe travels home. 

[Seas2mountains]

Hello from Windy Skagway. 
 

It’s been overcast all day but the rain has stayed away except for a few light sprinkles. 
 

Our excursion this time was on the NCL Ghosts and Good Time Ladies walking tour.  Both my husband and I enjoyed the tour and do recommend it. We liked learning about the history of Skagway while our tour guide, Madam Trixie Turner, kept us laughing with her comments and  puns. “Trixie” did a wonderful job staying in character and keeping the tour on track. 
 

It’s about 2 hours of standing or walking in Skagway and no sitting except for the few minutes on a shuttle bus into town. The tour includes the second floor of the Red Onion saloon where they have many artifacts from the Gold Rush years when the brothel was open. 
 

With FAS+ and our latitudes discount, this tour cost us $16.15 each.  

Edited July 2, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

On 6/23/2023 at 12:25 PM, bomabound said:

I don't know your taste, but possibly my favourite drink on the cruise was the Wasabi Cocktail at Silk (or Teppanyaki).  It consists of sake, lychee liqueur, lemon juice, orange juice, and grenadine.  Reading this it sounds like it would be sweet but I didn't find it to be. 

 

Edit:  I have this wrong!  There are two special drinks at Silk and the above is one of them.  The OTHER was my favourite. 🙂  It is called Shaku-shaku and it contains sake, drambuie, sambuka, cucumber, lemon juice, and simple syrup.

 

Honestly, they are both good, but the shaku-shaku was delicious.  Hard to drink just one....or two....

We went back to Teppanyaki tonight and I did have the Shaku-shaku for my daily new-to-me drink.  It was really tasty and not too sweet or sour or bitter. I would order it again but also liked the Wasabi cocktail. I would probably order the Shaku-shaku again before the Wasabi one I have ordered a few times. 
 

Thank you for the suggestion! Sorry I forgot to get a photo. 

[Seas2mountains]

After the tour, we had a yummy lunch at the Local followed by a much needed long afternoon nap. We decided it was too cold and windy for the hot tub so we went to the spa for time on the heated lounge chairs. If you stay too long, your butt will get to feel hot. I don’t remember other spa heated chairs feeling this hot. 
 

We had a nice dinner at Teppanyaki and usually go there one time per cruise. Once they changed the steak from a filet to a NY strip which was not very good, we order the chicken with shrimp. 
 

We are now back in Spinnaker to watch sail away.  This is the latest we have ever left a port in this cruise as we are usually leaving at the all aboard time or a few minutes after. This is the first port we are leaving late. B12 band is playing three sets including Bandeoke. 
 

Here is our current view at 8pm Alaska time.  We are in port with Carnival Miracle and Holland America Volendam. 
 

Red wine is Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon for me and white wine is Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio for my husband. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

When we left Vancouver, I remember seeing at least one tug boat. Tonight when leaving Skagway, a tug boat pulled when leaving the dock and then pushed when turning. We didn’t see any tugs helping Carnival Miracle do back out of port. 
 

Maybe due to the wind or others reasons? 

[KDebreuil]

14 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

When we left Vancouver, I remember seeing at least one tug boat. Tonight when leaving Skagway, a tug boat pulled when leaving the dock and then pushed when turning. We didn’t see any tugs helping Carnival Miracle do back out of port. 
 

Maybe due to the wind or others reasons? 

Many newer ships use azipods for their propulsion.  They are pods with the propeller mounted to them that can rotate 360 degrees allowing the ship to directly the thrust any direction.   The front can be moved sideways by using thrusters that are mounted sideways in the hull.

 

The Spirit does not have azipods, it has traditional propeller and rudder arrangement, so if they need to move the back of the ship sideways, they need the help of tugboats.

[Seas2mountains]

We may be delayed disembarking on Wednesday due to a strike in Vancouver. 

[Seas2mountains]

Day 5/12 daily PDF 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NCL Spirit day 12 (5).pdf

Edited July 2, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Daily day 5/12

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, KDebreuil said:

Many newer ships use azipods for their propulsion.  They are pods with the propeller mounted to them that can rotate 360 degrees allowing the ship to directly the thrust any direction.   The front can be moved sideways by using thrusters that are mounted sideways in the hull.

 

The Spirit does not have azipods, it has traditional propeller and rudder arrangement, so if they need to move the back of the ship sideways, they need the help of tugboats.

Thanks for the info.  I had thought that the only NCL ship that had straight line propeller shafts and a rudder was the Epic.

[Seas2mountains]

When we looked at the daily for today and read the announcement about tender operations, we were initially disappointed as we really liked how close we were docked last Saturday.  After taking the tender today, we can report that it was really easy as it is a short tender on calm seas. We did not have to wait in any lines coming or going and enjoyed conversations with other passengers.  This was actually much better than docking at the location that is a 1/2 mile walk to downtown. 
 

We walked around downtown and then walked up the hill to attend a church service with many other cruise passengers which was really nice. When they asked visitors to raise their hands, more than half the people raised their hands. We also did this last Sunday in Skagway and really enjoyed it as both churches were so welcoming of visitors. 
 

This week, we also had tickets for the Tram as it is at no cost to us with FAS+ but when we went to use it, we saw the sign that said it might open at 2pm. It’s now after 2pm and we don’t see it running at all. 
 

After a tasty lunch at Garden Cafe, we have been enjoying time in the hot tub at Spice H2O  while we watch the Radiance of the Seas and the Sun sail into port. 
 

One of the photos is of a lawn in Juneau we passed with lots of flowers. 
 

I’ll add another photo of the Sun as it comes into port. 

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Here comes the Sun! The NCL version and hopefully the one to bring blue skies, too. 

[Seas2mountains]

The Sun 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

3 hours ago, KDebreuil said:

Many newer ships use azipods for their propulsion.  They are pods with the propeller mounted to them that can rotate 360 degrees allowing the ship to directly the thrust any direction.   The front can be moved sideways by using thrusters that are mounted sideways in the hull.

 

The Spirit does not have azipods, it has traditional propeller and rudder arrangement, so if they need to move the back of the ship sideways, they need the help of tugboats.

Thank you for the explanation! It is appreciated. 

[Seas2mountains]

We had dinner at Onda tonight and ordered appetizers, entrees and desserts we ordered on our last visit. It was wonderful again.  
 

We are enjoying being in Spinnaker with no rain and almost no clouds.

 

It has been great to watch whales and marine mammals from Spinnaker. 

[singleflyer]

8 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

We may be delayed disembarking on Wednesday due to a strike in Vancouver. 

 

Thanks for posting this.  I am going to be embarking that day on the Spirit so I'm guessing we will be delayed getting on the ship if you all are delayed getting off.  

[singleflyer]

I'm reading that the port union strike specifically excludes any impact to cruises.  Maybe NCL is just being overly cautious with their warning...

[Seas2mountains]

15 hours ago, singleflyer said:

I'm reading that the port union strike specifically excludes any impact to cruises.  Maybe NCL is just being overly cautious with their warning...

Yes, I think they are just being cautious about potential delays. 

[Seas2mountains]

Hello from a sunny and warm Ketchikan! 
 

It’s a gorgeous day here with blue skies and is in the upper 60’s. 
 

We had a nice walk around Ketchikan today and have been here on past cruises. 
 

There weren’t many salmon running in the creek but we did see a few and it was entertaining to see a seal swim behind them. 
 

It’s a bonus to get time at the hot tub and by the pool on such a great weather day as the Spirit H2O area is definitely a nice place to hang out when the weather is perfect like today. We are enjoying seeing some eagles fly around. 

[Seas2mountains]

Day 6/13 daily in PDF 

NCL Spirit Day 13 (6).pdf

[Seas2mountains]

Day 6/13 daily