Live Ovation of the Seas Alaska May 17-24, 2024 with Kmom

[dmet0225]

10 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

I have mentioned earlier that I have no cruises booked after Alaska. I’m not planning any at the moment, don’t have a destination or a ship in mind that is screaming at me, no sense of something important left undone.
 

My life is changing, and with a few key exceptions I have never really been a repeater. I always understood there would be more opportunities than I was going to be able to fit into a single lifetime, so I have tried to sample a lot of the best places and travel methods. 
 

It’s a huge testament to the cruise industry that I am on my 15th ship. I have sailed Carnival 6 times since 2017 and now Royal Caribbean three. Both are really excellent at what they do. 
 

Sometimes people say they’ve “had enough of that” about something and they mean, they’re sick of it, annoyed by it, fed up. 
 

It’s possible also to say it and mean, this is a successfully completed mission. One that’s been nearly perfectly executed and greatly enjoyed. If this is my last (not ready to say that with certainty), then I am satisfied to leave it right there.

 

You have quite the way with words.  Deep, contemplative, reflective thoughts put to "paper."  

[Cherful59]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

Mendenhall Glacier and salmon hatchery tour coming up after lunch. I’m now on LTE as we approach Juneau. Warmer and sunnier today. One of the kids wants crab legs so I will be authorizing exactly one pound, probably at Tracy’s, after the tour.

Keep an eye on the salmon ladder.  There was a seal that jumped up the ladder and then back down again when I went.

 

The crab legs were crazy expensive last year.

 

[KmomChicago]

40 minutes ago, dmet0225 said:

You have quite the way with words.  Deep, contemplative, reflective thoughts put to "paper."  

Thank you for your kind words. My brain is a tough place to live in sometimes. 😂
 

 

13 minutes ago, Cherful59 said:

Keep an eye on the salmon ladder.  There was a seal that jumped up the ladder and then back down again when I went.

 

The crab legs were crazy expensive last year.

 

I will keep an eye out! 
 

Today at Tracy’s:

 

59 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Haha, me tooooo!!! I recently booked a Mexican Riviera sailing on Princess next year, so I'll finally get to see MAZATLAN! (dramatic TV voiceover).

Yes!! I don’t think they go to Ah-cah-pool-koh anymore, unfortunately. Too close to the cartels or something. 😢

[djyellowsub]

You have convinced me to do the White Pass Railroad.  I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money, but it seems worth it now from your description!

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, djyellowsub said:

You have convinced me to do the White Pass Railroad.  I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money, but it seems worth it now from your description!

I am a thrifty one and I am happy I spent it. Def watch for a discount promotion before your voyage. We saved about $80 pp. 

[KmomChicago]

Edited May 22 by KmomChicago

[KmomChicago]

Waiting at Tracy’s. With four or maybe 5 large ships (Norwegian Encore is here now, not sure whether Bliss left) in port, it seems we weren’t the only ones with this idea. Glad it’s a nice sunny warmish day in Juneau.

[KmomChicago]

Teen#2 wanted 2 pounds of snow crab with their budget rather than one of Alaskan king.

[KmomChicago]

This is the most effort I ever see this kid put into anything.

 

The cost was $79 and change total. Not bad really. It’s a lot of crab. And we are in Alaska.

[KmomChicago]

Solarium Bistro dinner apps.

[KmomChicago]

Solarium Bistro desserts. That’s all, didn’t get an entree as I ended up with a bit of teen #2’s crab. 2 pounds is a lotta crab.

[KmomChicago]

47 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Solarium Bistro desserts. That’s all, didn’t get an entree as I ended up with a bit of teen #2’s crab. 2 pounds is a lotta crab.

Whoops forgot pic. Baklava and strawberry panna cotta.

[KmomChicago]

Due to my interview I barely slept last night. Very long day. Watching Spectra’s Cabaret in Two70 then directly to slumber. 

[Badatz2]

5 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

I am a thrifty one and I am happy I spent it. Def watch for a discount promotion before your voyage. We saved about $80 pp. 

You can also book directly with various local suppliers who also pick you up at the port.

It seems that the rail cars were pre assigned to the various operators and ours only 3 people for that time slot so we got a rail car for ourselves.

They also offer a , Bus up/Rail down trip which allows you to see 2 different routes and views 

I don't remember the exact price but it was under a hundred dollars about 10 years ago.  It a fantastic trip.

[Mommapadraig]

Could you post a lot today? I’m stuck in a chair because my cat caught a mouse §¥<]\!? And dropped it…it’s somewhere in this house….carry on. Loving your review. The crab looks wonderful.I also like your beer with the desserts. That’s a cruise combo.

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, Mommapadraig said:

Could you post a lot today? I’m stuck in a chair because my cat caught a mouse §¥<]\!? And dropped it…it’s somewhere in this house….carry on. Loving your review. The crab looks wonderful.I also like your beer with the desserts. That’s a cruise combo.

Ha! Well it’s a sea day en route to Victoria BC late tomorrow so should be lots of fun activities. I’ll have to see if there’s some more music trivia but I’m not sure what to do with all these incredible keychains. 
 

I had a beer at Tracy’s on shore while teen worked through the heap o’ 🦀. I liked the way it went down so I ordered one in the Bistro while I was on my hummus and baba ganoush.  Since we didn’t order entrees, we were already on baklava when it arrived!!   As you can see it’s unopened so it’s actually in my little cooler-not-a-fridge (it says that) in my room. 

 

[KmomChicago]

My little in-room coffee shop.

[KmomChicago]

[crzndeb]

57 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Since we didn’t order entrees, we were already on baklava when it arrived!!

I have also been know to only get a full dinner of appetizers in Solarium Bistro. I like those more than the entrees.

[KmomChicago]

Thoughts on our Juneau shore excursion which was salmon hatchery and Mendenhall. I realize there are extreme views on matters of ecology and I want to say I am mostly a MODERATE. Remember when there were a lot of moderate viewpoints around and extremism - in either direction - was way out on the fringe? 
 

Back then, most everyone mostly ignored extremists - on both sides. Because they were dismissed as being out of touch with reality. Crazy or stupid.  
 

You may not agree with my moderate thoughts on these topics, but I can assure you I am neither crazy nor stupid and I have had to debate these topics with extremists on both sides. There’s no easy or perfect solutions to these issues so don’t try to dumb-splain to me why your extreme view is the “correct” one. It isn’t. Neither is my moderate one. We’re past that point. 
 

I am not always a huge fan of certain types of livestock farming methods but, given the harsh conditions of survival in nature, and the way salmon naturally complete their life cycle out there shortly after spawning, I think I feel pretty much okay with what I learned at the hatchery. I want to research it more but I think the human intervention makes sense. I feel better about harvesting adult salmon near the end of their natural lifespan than some other animals.

 

Mostly what I enjoyed about the hatchery is that it interests me. It sparked a desire to learn more about something that feels important and significant to me personally. I think they call that inspiration. I am inspired to learn more about salmon farming.

 

As for Mendenhall I would recommend going early if you can. Lots of buses. You only need a few minutes there to snap photos unless you enjoy just basking in the view, but doing so with a thousand of your closest friends may not make it a real meditative sort of experience.

 

There’s the obligatory visitor center with a 15 minute video and displays about how the glacier is melting/receding. It’s fine but nothing you can’t learn elsewhere and have probably already heard 50 times before. 
 

Pretty likely most of us already know it’s receding and that’s why we came to see it now. I was kind of wondering what will happen to this US Forest Service site once the glacier is gone.

 

I assume the site will remain as it’s still an interesting and pretty section of the Tongass National Forest. People will view the snowless valley across the lake and then be shown a video of the time lapse retreat and finally disappearance of the ice. Nature will endure and replace one phenomenon with another as primary producers convert minerals from the bare rock and summers’s abundant sunshine into the foundation of new soil, and in 50-100 years it will be hard to imagine anything other than evergreen forest ever occupied the space. 
 

 

[ninjacat123]

52 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Is the plugged in hot water carafe something you order or is this in every room?  And is this only for Alaska RC cruises or do they have them in the Caribbean? Thx!

[Glide_Path]

11 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Solarium Bistro desserts. That’s all, didn’t get an entree as I ended up with a bit of teen #2’s crab. 2 pounds is a lotta crab.

Was the dinner venue a full buffet, or a hybrid where you have to order the entrees from the servers? 

Aside from Sitka, looks like you've had great weather so far!

[KmomChicago]

4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Is the plugged in hot water carafe something you order or is this in every room?  And is this only for Alaska RC cruises or do they have them in the Caribbean? Thx!

I didn’t order any such thing and I was pleasantly, surprisingly delighted to discover it. Since I am tearing through the packets, my room attendant who I met first day and have never seen again, is replacing them daily without my asking. 
 

They can tell a lot about a person by emptying the trash!!

 

I have not sailed RCI to the Caribbean since 2018 so someone else needs to answer that about other sailings. We didn’t have this on Oasis back then.

Edited May 22 by KmomChicago

[BecciBoo]

On 5/21/2024 at 5:21 AM, KmomChicago said:

Fantastic, sublime, transcendent, glorious.

Quite the difference in seasons to our September cruise....but still spectacular 

[KmomChicago]

12 minutes ago, Glide_Path said:

Was the dinner venue a full buffet, or a hybrid where you have to order the entrees from the servers? 

Aside from Sitka, looks like you've had great weather so far!

Yes Solarium Bistro at night is a hybrid. Most of the entrees are complimentary but there are also some up charge options. Appetizers and desserts you grab yourself and actually it looked like some of the included entrees were sitting there in tapas sized portions as well, but I didn’t want to be rude and they said they bring the entrees. 🤷‍♀️ 
 

The servers want to help as they are obviously bored out of their minds. Solarium is very poorly attended at night but well staffed. Most tables are empty. 
 

Skagway was very cold as well. I forgot to grab our hats and gloves and our ears were about icicles just walking back from the train (which is right there in port) to the ship.

Edited May 22 by KmomChicago