Seas2mountains

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.

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.

We have had the same experience with the fisherman’s platter as one of us orders the filet and the other orders the fisherman’s platter and we share both. It’s been good both times we have had it at Cagney’s this cruise. I do have a photo of it in post 221.

@YVRteacher The concierge is Rodney. The person I asked said she didn’t know his last name as everyone just knows him as Rodney. 😀

Tonight we are on cloud 9 watching the beautiful Alaskan scenery as we cruise from Icy Strait Point to Skagway with no fog. We have some occasional rain showers but also some blue sky patches and sunshine. We are in Spinnaker Lounge for B12 and the wonderful scenery.

We had a fabulous and delicious dinner at Taste. We might cancel some specialty dining reservations as the food and variety of menu choices at Taste has been so good and the service has also been excellent. My husband ordered the Bruschetta and Waldorf salad for appetizers while I ordered cheese ravioli and Pear and Gorgonzola salad. Wow! They were all sooooo good!! For entrees, my husband ordered the BBQ Mixed grill with ribs, chicken and a bratwurst. I ordered the trout. Everything was amazing and we were lucky to get a window seat. We were too full to order desserts. Forgot to get a photo of the bruschetta and pretend the ravioli photo shows 3 pierces and not two half pieces. Lol. It was soooo good we will likely cancel one or two specialty dining meals to come back for the menu selection, amazing food and excellent service.

The cost for the unlimited rides on the mountain top gondola in ISP by applying the FAS and FAS+ $50 credits and Latitudes discount was $16.15 each. Hiking boots were helpful as the trails were wet dirt with gravel. We were comfortable in a T-shirt, fleece jacket and light rain jacket.

Thank you to @bluesea777 for the suggestion for the Lavender Patch martini. It is excellent and I like the mint garnish and taste.

Just wanted to stop in to say that I hope you have a wonderful cruise! It looks like you will have beautiful weather. Both of our ships will overlap in Juneau for about an hour on Sunday. We will be sure to wave. Looking forward to reading more of your review when our cruise on the Spirit ends.

Day 3 (10) daily via PDF. NCL Spirit day 10 (3).pdf

Day 3 (10) daily.

Hello from beautiful Icy Strait Point. We had a lazy morning as usual by sleeping in a bit and enjoying a leisurely breakfast at Windows. We did Tri-Bond trivia but only got 13 correct today while the winners got all 20 correct! For general trivia, we got 12 correct and the winners got 14 correct. We were happy as there are two of us and some teams have six people. It rained a little this morning but had stopped when we got off the ship. We love ISP as they have wood burning fire pits to make it smell so good. You can see Eagles nesting in the trees as there is such a contrast between the green of the trees and their white heads. When we first stopped here in 2015, we had to take a bus through Hoonah and along trails to get to the top to do the zip line which they claim is the longest in the world. Now, they have a gondola going to the top so we did that for our excursion. It was scenic and fun to do despite the cloudy weather and occasional fog at the top. It was low cost for us with the $50 off excursions for each of us. Otherwise, it is $50 per person if you buy a ticket when off the ship. We did enjoy the views and scenery while in the gondola. We walked along the ocean and enjoyed seeing some occasional marine mammal in the water or birds or eagles singing and flying. There were some fawns with their Mom by one gondola. After a tasty lunch at Garden Cafe, it was time for the hot tub followed by a quiet and relaxing time in the spa. We are a little behind as we haven’t had a drink yet. We are loving our time on the Spirit!