twangster

Day Six Cruise Compass

During a break in the rain I ventured back to the ship. Today was the cutoff to return the luggage valet form. I'm not using this service but it's worth mentioning it for those with flights that qualify. It's a free service offered by the Port of Seattle. It requires you put out your luggage the last night of the cruise then you don't have to deal with luggage again until you land in your destination city. You have to ask for the form on day two or three so it's easily missed. The TV channel lineup is pretty limited to Alaska. No ESPN Caribbean for example.

I was going to take the Goldbelt Tram but the weather was changing and it started to spit which became on a full drizzle. Clouds were moving in and it felt like it could turn into a full rain so I decided against the tram today. I always make this a game day decision for exactly this reason. In the cruise planner this was $64. You can book it online for $45 or wait in line to pay the same on the spot. With just one other ship in port it would have been a great opportunity to jump on with a short line but I've done it before so $45 wasn't value for me on a cloudy or rainy day. We used the good pier with easy access to town like Ovation. Lots of local options for folks who leave it to the last minute. I headed over to the Hangar Bar near the float plane base where i contributed to the local economy.. Nothing like having the ship in sight at all times. It was a full rain by this point so I'm glad I didn't do the tram. That's how quickly Alaska weather can change.

Back to the suite sun deck for the views. Waterfalls are frequent. Large flock of ducks in the harbor. The Mount Roberts Tramway is now called the Goldbelt Tram. This will mark Quantum's maiden call into Juneau.

We are chasing another HAL ship into Juneau. Great weather today. I think this might be the Taku glacier in the distance. There are five glaciers in this area so if it isn't Taku it's one of the glaciers in this area just outside of Juneau. Looking down Gastineau Channel towards Juneau. Solarium views. Indoor pool area. Outdoor covered pool deck area.

On glacier days they have a shop setup on the pool deck selling Alaska related essentials. Breakfast in Coastal Kitchen with amazing views. The Windjammer also has floor to ceiling glass. Often I see people talking about all the glass on Radiance class yet Quantum class has Radiance class beat for floor to ceiling glass walls like here in the indoor family pool area. All of deck 14 is pretty much lined with glass walls.

Our way back down the arm was as scenic and beautiful as it was coming up. There was a lot of ice on this occasion, more than I've seen on other trips here. I had noted that earlier but was hopeful it wouldn't impact us today. That's the way it goes. When the glacier has been actively calving there is more ice and sometimes that means ships can't go all the way. Waterfalls carrying snow melt down to the arm. As we approached the entrance off the Inside passage a HAL ship was starting her trip into Tracy Arm next door. Once back in the Inside Passage I could see a similar shape sailing away from us. Serenade of the Seas had been in Tracy Arm and was making her way South. At least we'll get to Juneau early and get a few extra hours in port. Along the way the Inside Passage is beautiful. From my balcony:

I like to move around and experience these moments from different areas of the ship like down here on deck 5. Having been here a few times before I know this to be our path forward but... There are several large ice flows in the middle of our path. We hung around for a bit but the ice wasn't moving. With our path blocked by the ice flows this will be as far as we go on this day. After a few turns and hanging around for a bit we began our return down Endicott Arm.

A small boat speeding past that looked miniscule in this environment. A good part of the experience is seeing these stunning mountains around the ship. Waterfalls abound A lot of ice compared to previous visits.

All seem to be working this cruise.

Looking in the direction of Endicott Arm. Hmmm. A lot of ice.

Morning comes early when you've been up late taking photos and drinking wine on your balcony... Day Five - Endicott Arm and Juneau At the mouth of Endicott and Tracy Arm at 5 am. Spectators on hand:

Later that night... I had some visitors drop in to say hi as I was enjoying the Alaskan coast from my balcony. As we sail down the open Pacific Ocean before we re-enter the Inside Passage there is a mountain range that spans the Alaskan coast. I always love sailing down the coast in this area. Time was just after 9:00 pm. I settled in with a bottle of sparkling wine courtesy of the Crown and Anchor Society. Sometime just after 10pm we began to turn inland towards the Alaskan Inside Passage so the sun, having set but still influencing the sky, was still bright in the sky just before 10 pm. Cheers! Where ever you may be, from somewhere in the Pacific Ocean at 10:15 pm Alaska time. As we continued I saw some stars in the sky so I took some sky photos but with the sun still illuminating the sky the stars are not that vibrant. Just after 11 pm: The Inside Passage is coming into sight. Time for bed. Early morning with our scheduled arrival to Endicott Arm at 5 am.

Sitka departure: Beautiful weather leaving Sitka. I think I appreciated this more since the departure on Serenade last week was raining hard so we saw none of this. The town of Sitka in the distance. An Eagle flew directly towards us and overhead. I think it wanted to say goodbye and thanks for visiting. Rarely does the ship sound its whistle or horn Alaska so when the bridge blasted a series of warnings I knew something was up. This small craft was steering right into out path. They just cleared our forward path as they moved from starboard to port and as we sailed past them I saw the small Captain of their vessel give us the paw. Rainbow of sorts in the distance. Great night to ride the North Star.

I haven't see any kids schedules printed out by guest services. I just looked an hour ago. Sorry.

You can walk around town or from the shuttle bus base walk past the marina and follow the shore. In about 15-20 minutes you’ll reach the Nat’l Park. Sidewalk all the way. Stone trails through the forest, not a lot of elevation change. The Park HQ building has some displays inside and a theater.

In addition to what @Oceansaway17 said, just be prepared to be wowed. Great first ship. As soon as you board connect to the ship WiFi and use the app to make iFly and North Star reservations. Reservations go quickly. If eating in the MDR you can order multiple entrées and desserts. It’s an opportunity to try something new and if you don’t like it ask for something else. Go to the show the first night and look for an event called The Two70 Showcase, it’s an overview of everything this high tech venue can do. Don’t try to do everything or you’ll be exhausted. Most of all enjoy your cruise!

After a short wait in the bus line and the 10 minute trip it was back to the ship.

After completing the trail system I headed back to town. It's an easy town to walk around and sitting on the same inlet we sailed into there's lots of fishing boat activity. I saw a head popping up now and then checking out the town. Pretty beautiful day and the contrast of the sky, mountains and city streets made it very scenic. Back to the marina that sits beside the community center where the cruise ship shuttle operates from. Last week it was so overcast you couldn't see any of these mountains so I was really appreciating such a great day.

It's a small peninsula so its hard to get lost. Being Alaska it started raining. In August this river will be full of Salmon spawning. It's a nice trail system that is easy.

Now that my cloud provider is working again, back to Sitka... Borrowing a few pics from last week to show the National Historic Park and entrance to the small trail system here.

Yes. When you connect to the ship wifi you are given a choice and one choice is to use the app for free without the internet. The QR code menus will open the RC app to the menu for that venue. No internet plan required for that.

Looks like my cloud provider where I store my images is having an outage. Next post once they are back online.

Sitka is very walkable and very scenic especially on nice days like this. Last week was overcast you couldn't see any of the mountains. Lots of these signs to help you find your way around. Mount Edgecumbe in the distance.

My goal was to finish the forest hike I started last week. Last week it was raining pretty heavily so the hike was cut short. First I returned to the Bayview Pub for Fish and Chips and a local beer. Last week I had the Beast Burger but wanted to try the Fish & Chips. The Pub is right across the parking lot from where the free cruise shuttle bus drops and picks up. Lunch was great but I was so hungry I just dove in... no pics.