Seas2mountains

We disembarked this morning at 8:30am and carried all luggage with us as was recommended with the strike but we almost always carry all of our bags off the ship. This process was so easy and we were through Canadian customs in a few minutes and in a cab on the way to the airport. Disembarkation started at 7:30am which was earlier than expected. While we know the train to the airport is easy to take and we have done this on past trips, we wanted to be pampered and not hassle with carrying all bags too far. With the current exchange rate, it really wasn’t too bad for the cost. We kept our flight as scheduled before 1pm and did not change the time as NCL recommended due to possible disembarkation delays due to the strike. It took an hour to check bags, get through Global Entry and US customs. After waiting in the Global Entry line for security, we realized the line and wait was much longer than if we had gone in the regular line. I’ll update on our last day and the Dinner with the Officers on Monday night.

Sunny and warm at sea day warm enough for people to be in the pool and using most lounge chairs + slow Wifi 🐢 + last day + having lots of fun = delayed update until we disembark tomorrow 😎

Yes. On the Spirit now. Here is a photo.

The new-to-me drink for today is an unknown drink called the “‘my name” special made by Kenny at Spice H2O. It had a nice hint of peach to it and wasn’t too sweet. I have no idea what is in it but was assured there was no pineapple involved. I did like it.

The new-to-me drink/shot from yesterday was the Duck Fart in Henry’s pub. The bottom layer is Kahlua, the middle layer is Bailey’s and the top layer is whiskey. It was pretty good.

Sunset photos from last night.

Day 6/13 daily

Day 6/13 daily in PDF NCL Spirit Day 13 (6).pdf

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.

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

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.

Thank you for the explanation! It is appreciated.

Welcome to Juneau from our view on the Spirit! The weather report predicts sunshine in a few hours. I hope you have a wonderful cruise and great weather! If you have tickets for the Tram, they had a sign out this morning to say it might be running at 2pm but we haven’t seen any go up the mountain yet.

The Sun

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

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.

Daily day 5/12

Day 5/12 daily PDF NCL Spirit day 12 (5).pdf

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Day 4/11 daily. The PDF version isn’t downloading.