skittl1321

As we were leaving the glacier, I decided to head to the thermal spa. I had been outside quite a bit, or with my door open at least, and was quite chilly. The spa wasn't very crowded at all, and although there could be views from the loungers, most people on them were either reading or asleep. I spent a bit of time in the pool, then to a stone lounger to read. So I also didn't really take advantage of the views. I had an early dinner booked at Food Republic (I usually like dinner at 5:30ish, so was thrilled to have been able to book that time.) However, after eating such a large lunch I just wasn't hungry at all. I went down at about 5:00 and cancelled my reservation. Hung out again at the mojito bar doing some diamond painting, and then back to my room to do some acrylic painting. Around 8:00, I was feeling a bit hungry, so walked down to Food Republic. I asked if they could seat one, but I would prefer a table to the sushi bar. It was no problem at all to be accomodated. This was the meal I was most looking forward to precruise, and I was not disappointed, but it was also way too much food. I'm also a picky eater (evidence: going through the entire buffet and ending up with no food...) so most of what I wanted to try had shrimp in it. Overall, the meal was TOO shrimp heavy for me, as I only sort of like shrimp... So I would 100% recommend Food Republic, but I would NOT pay out of pocket for it; and I would think it would be way better if you went as a couple and used just one dining credit between two, or as a family and the kids can eat off the plate. I ws disappointed that the Elote Mexicano was not on the menu, as I had seen it in many reviews, and the one in the mexican restaurant was so good, I wanted more. I also really wanted the Burrata, and did not see it on the menu either. My choices: Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These were very good. I enjoyed both the tamarind and peanut sauces. I ate two pieces of the chicken, and then all the various endive, sprouts, carrots. So good. Tiger Roll: Spicy Tuna, Shrimp Tempura, Crab Mix, Avocado. Absolutely delicious. Maybe not the best rice I've had in a roll, but this one was a standout. I think I ate all of it. Rock Shrimp Roll. This was absolutely delicious. But as good as the it was, just way too much shrimp for me. I ate 3 pieces of the shrimp, then ate the roll (avocado, mango, spicy tuna) without it. Funny story- the table next to me was argueing if this dish had shrimp in it, because the menu doesn't list shrimp as one of the ingredients. It is just in its name. Firecracker shrimp. These were good, but I only needed one. I love thair sweet chili sauce, and I have no shame, so I ended up taking the shrimp out of the wrappers and just ate the wrappers with sauce... If the burrata or corn had been on the menu, I think I would have skipped this one, as there is so much other shrimp I had. To wrap up the night I had, you guessed it, some ice cream from the buffet. I am also a huge baked Alaska fan, so when I saw this I wanted to try it. But uh, two things. First it was pretty gross. The mousse was pretty flavorless and the texture really unappealing. And I am pretty sure the name on its card is a slur... (Former generic name for Inuit/other indigenous people of the region Mousse). My understanding is the Inuit people are NOT OK with that name... I was kind of shocked to see it. I don't want to see this called Inuit Mousse either, as I really think it was named in a way to link it to Baked Alaska. I did a google search on the name and couldn't find any other recipes that use that name. It really took me aback to see NCL have a dessert labeled that way. There again wasn't a production show tonight, and I didn't want to fight for a comedy club seat so never checked that out. Just another lazy night of reading and painting. For all the people who say "you don't spend any time in your room", just point them to this review, since apparently I'm so boring I spend all my time there!

For lunch, I headd up to the bufffet. I found some Indian food and some pasta, as well as fresh fruit. You'd be SHOCKED to know I also had some ice cream. The food was all good, but nothing was really a stand out. I brought it back down to my room, where I continued to enjoy the glacier watching, and my painting set up on my small desk area. Today, I was working with acrylic paints. We didn't see any large wildlife in Glacier Bay, but there were a few otters. The guy on the balcony next to me was SO good at spotting them. I just LOVED all the small waterfalls. VID_20231012_104311479.mp4 By this point, the sleeting rain was heavy. It was really beating the people up who were venturing out to the bow. I'm from Iowa, so OK with the cold. But I really want to know where this guy is from. Shorts, tank top. It wasn't more than 35 degrees out, and he was out for at least 5 minutes taking photos. We spent quite a bit of time at the Johns Hopkins glacier, as the ship did a full revolution so you could see it from both sides. Here's a video from my balcony and one from the bow. A balcony is very worth it on glacier bay day. Though, likely due to the weather, the bow wasn't too crowded, as no one stayed around for long, and so it wasn't hard to get to the edge to get a photo. The crew was also serving hot chocolate by the doors. VID_20231012_112225245.mp4 VID_20231012_110259207.mp4 Glaciers make a great background for artwork!

Up next, Glacier Bay! We had fabulous weather thus far (everywhere we went the locals remarked on how gorgeous a day it was and how it had been pouring everyday up until we docked), and our luck ran out. Glacier Bay was super foggy and very drizzly. I had been delaying some of the review thinking I would process the photos I took, but really, they won't be great, because of the weather, and if you want a good photo of glacier bay, someone else has taken one for sure! I started the day in the MDR, and had the avocado and egg wrap again, this time with a fresh fruit plate. Delicious. I was happy that once again I managed to get lots of crispy bacon, and I LOVE the grilled tomato. Tomatoes with breakfast are just the best. I decided to kill a bit of time taking photos around the ship, and turns out, I took one. Aren't these chocolate fountains cool? I headed back to my room to get ready for a day of glacier viewing! I was on deck 8 forward, so my hall had been set up as one-way to head out to the bow. No problem right now, as I was on the port side, so I needed to walk forward, but later when I would go out to the bow and want to come back, I'd have to make the full circle again. (It was fine, just kind of funny.) It also meant our hallway was very very cold all day; again, fine for me, as I actually kept my balcony door open a lot of the day; but my poor room steward looked frozen and only had a light cardigan. He didn't have one of the nice winter jackets the deck attendants got, but had to deal with an open door all day! As soon as the bow was open, I headed up, just to be able to say I had been there. It was very very windy, and drizzly, but I was fine in just my rain jacket. Added the unflattering photo, as I think it really shows off the wind! Video to show how heavy the wind was! (Careful of the sound on this one!) Keep in mind, at this point the ship isn't moving (or barely moving), as we were stopped to look at a glacier. VID_20231012_084354377.mp4 Then I settled into my room and turned the TV on to listen to the park rangers. Really, I expected them to talk more. They only gave some very basic information. Having watched youtube videos about other cruise lines I felt like there was SO much more presented by naturalists, so that was a bit of a bummer, but I snuggled into my bed and did some diamond painting, and took lots of pictures, mostly of the small waterfalls, which I felt were just so gorgeous. I have so many photos like this! I can't imagine the thousands I would take if we had an actual nice day. I was so glad to have a balcony, and especially the cabin location, as I went out to the bow probably 10 times during the day. One more trip to the bow, then it was time for lunch. Outfit change, as it had gotten colder, and was really raining hard, sleeting, painful rain.

Back on the ship, I enjoyed the thermal suite for awhile, hung out at the Mojito bar doing some diamond painting. (Another woman was always there cross stitching; the tables were perfect for crafts, and it wasn't ever that crowded during the day, so it was perfect.) I went to the main dining room for dinner, but nothing on the menu caught my interest, so I had a bruschetta, corn bread, and caesar salad. The salad was fabulous and I loved the brushcetta. The cornbread was a bit dry, so I didnt' finish it all. I was once again sat down next to a bunch of complainers.... There was no big main show on tonight, so I did some more painting (working on a racoon I still haven't finished), did some reading, and just had a wonderful lazy night. Earlier that morning I ran into the side of my balcony door, it was closed a bit more than I thought and I hit it going in, and it hurt so badly. I remembered thinking I was being such a weenie about how bad it hurt. Well, apparently, I hit pretty hard, as I had a dollar sized bruise! It was black by the end of the week!

After the excursion, I had just about an hour before my next excursion, the Ghosts and Good Time Gals tour. With the free at sea discount, this came out to only $20, so I figured it would be a good way to spend the afternoon (Skagway was a long day in port, compared to all the other ports which were fairly short, or in the case of Juneau, decently long, but late at night.) I went back to the ship thinking if I was quick I could change and grab something to eat. I did a quick round of the buffet and saw nothing I wanted, so my lunch was just an ice cream cone and a diet coke. NCL's ice cream is great. I love that they have scooped ice cream in a variety of flavors. The tour was very good. I had switched cameras for it, but didn't take any good photos really. Our tour guide was very funny. She did a great job telling stories (and a full hour of s 3 x jokes! I don't know why I didn't expect that...but it caught me off guard at first, and then by the end I was just impressed she was able to fit that many puns into the tour.) The tour told a lot about the history of s 3 x work in Skagway and was done in a way that really showed a lot of respect for the woman who took on this type of work and the disdain they earned from the population for doing it. There was also some history of the gold rush. The "ghosts" part of the tour was just a few stories, and that isn't really my thing. But it was a great walking tour of the town, and thankfully the weather was less drizzly, so just a bit chilly! There were quite a few road crossings, which involved different members of the tour needing to lean over and shake their butt and then shimmy... well, it is a novelty tour. I took this photo because i used to be an avid knitter, and well, Quivit would have been a dream. I was SO impressed by this playground. The kids of skagway have it good! (There was a joke about this is where the swingers hang out...) The tour concluded at the Red Onion Saloon with an included glass of a sparkling wine. I had a sip, since we toasted an event, then passed my drink to someone else who was happier about the free drink than worried about the possible germs (I wasn't sick, as far as I know). The guide encouraged photos, and the red onion saloon allowed credit card tips, which was good, because when I changed purses I forgot cash! On the way back to the ship, I ran into some friends from the Juneau tour, we did a bit of shopping. I got a gorgeous "northern lights topez" (aka- heat treated topaz) earing and necklace set. I really don't wear jewelry, but it was just so pretty. I wore them to a Diwali party and got lots of compliments. Sadly, those were the only Northern Lights we saw. I also helped my friends take lots of photos with the fall colors, as the weather had cleared up slightly. And then, a few shots of the ship.

Now it was time for my first excursion! I had chosen "Rock Climb and Rappel" booked through NCL. I figured that this would be a very controlled experience, telling us exactly what to do, and a bit of a cattle drive, as shore excursions often are; but as a solo and first timer in Alaska, decided to stick with the ship. I could have not been more surprised with how the excursion went. When the tour guides came to pick us up (and yes, they looked very outdoorsy) I found out there were only 10 people on the excursion. We drove a short way to the rock climbing site (same as the zipline/challenge course site), while the guides told us a bit about the area. Then it was time to get helmets on, take a short hike, and then get harnesses and climbing shoes. The climbing site was an approximately 70 foot wall, with about 12 fixed ropes. You could select any route you wanted to try. It was still drizzling, so it was very wet. The guides put us in our harnesses, belayed us, and coached a bit of "try putting your hand to the left", but otherwise, it was 100% your own plan. No preset route, and quite honestly, despite the rocks looking very pocked, no obvious holds! By the end of each climb (I did two), my hands were thoroughly frozen. Only a few of the men made it to the top of the climbs, I got about 40 feet on my first climb and about 60 feet on my second. Because we were on a top rope, falls were not really a problem, as you would fall just a few inches and then hang out until you were ready to catch the wall again. Although on my second climb I had a hard time getting started and fell 3 times in the first foot...so that was fun, but then once I got going it went pretty well. There was a little girl in our group, and she had a rough go on her first climb, only making it a few feet. Most of the adults only did one climb (I think 3 of us did 2.) so she was hesitant to try again. I asked her Dad if I could give her a special rock if she did it, and he said yes, so I told her I had a really pretty rock in her favorite color in my bag (I had all the colors) if she tried. She decided that was worth it, her Dad gave her some great pep talks, and she made it about 15 feet! I later saw her Dad in the thermal spa, and he said that little tumbled rock was the absolute hit of the cruise for the kids, and her siblings were so jealous that in the next port they had to buy tumbled rocks, but none were as good as the one she got. LOL I also learned that I really need spanx if I'm going climbing, and not multiple layers of warm clothes, as harnesses are NOT flattering, LOL. Of course one of the best parts of climbing is when you get to come down! Being lowered is fun, and bouncing/hopping down the rocks makes the climb up worth it. Quick video to show the rock face... Rock Wall.MP4 After everyone had a chance to climb, we then hiked up to the TOP of the wall, and got to rapell down. You'd think this wouldn't be nerve wracking, because we literally just got belayed down from where we climbed to, but the difference is with rappeling, you have to take that first step off the wall! (And you control your own descent speed, though they had us on a back up, so if you were out of control, the guide would do it. For the 8-year old girl in the group, they told her she didn't weigh enough to override the backup, so they would just have to lower her. She was very brave, but in the end decided she didn't want to rappel.) I took another quick selfie as we waited. It was still VERY foggy. Across the way is where the white pass railway travels. The guides were SO good being patient, making you feel safe. Once I got started it was SO fun and it made me wish we could hike up and rapell down again! We hiked back to "helmet land" to return out helmets and they had some granola bars available. After that, we headed back to the vans and back into town. I was greated by crows (ravens? All I know is one is bigger than the other, and if you get real close there are different feathers) making the weirdest noise I've ever heard a bird make. VID_20231011_102247455.mp4

I brought binoculars, but only used them twice and decided that looking through a telephoto lens was working better for me. I think I might need kids binoculars. No matter how many I try, I can't seem to get ones that I can focus with both eyes, they always just seem too wide set.

Up next, Skagway! This was THE BEST day of the cruise. Truly, truly phenomenal. Sorry this took so long to update- I was waiting to get my Gopro back from my husband so I could grab some POV video of rappelling. But then it turns out me rapelling, while thrilling, actually looks a bit like a snail rapelling, so not really worth seeing... I have some video of other people, but from my view of them, and while I know I 'beat' their time, they actually look fast, so clearly I got the wrong angle! Anyhow, we started the day, as cruisedays do, on the ship. Up first, breakfast. I went to the MDR, wanting to avoid the busy buffet and was treated with DELICIOUS huevos rancheros. I asked for crispy bacon, and the waiter delivered. An EXCELLENT way to start the day. Minus the people sitting next to me who were complaining about EVERYTHING. In Skagway, when you exit the ship, you have to take a shuttle to town (thanks for the correction in Juneau, where it isn't strictly necessary.) There is an accessible shuttle, which picks up right by the ship, possibly just to take you to the other shuttle, or you can walk through a line of shipping containers to get to the shuttle. I got off early, and it was very drizzly, so there was no line at all. My excursion didn't meet for another 2 hours, so I decided to walk into town to see what was around. I was greeted with a highlight of my Alaska trip. A fox! Did I tell you my husband gave me photography lessons before the trip? (You sure can't tell from the whale photos.) WELL...because of the rain, I decided to NOT take the good camera, and only had my phone. So here's a HORRIBLE photo of a fox, and my husband is truly disappointed in me, because, really, when do you see a fox? (We once saw one running on the side of the road in Saskatchewan, but other than that, no fox sightings.) Not only did I get bad photos, I got bad video! I am versatile. VID_20231011_083734204.mp4 The walk into town is very easy. When I got there, I found that almost nothing was open, but I did find one shop selling t-shirts and stuff (no sales like Juneau) and IT had a crank penny machine! So I bought my kids a bag of rocks (you know tumbled, dyed agate and jasper that every tourist attraction in the US has from China? But THESE ONES, they are from Alaska!) I paid in cash and asked for change for the penny machine, she gratefully gave me some, including 10 pennies seperate from my change, and I was able to press pennies for myself and my friend. (The rocks were a MASSIVE hit with my kids.) I took a few photos to use up the time. Really enjoyed walking through the park and seeing the brook Thought these bathrooms were super cool looking, I love the artwork. (They were also very clean inside. Public restrooms are rare.) Saw a piece of a train (and OMG the line to get the railway excursion. WOW, that thing was long. Everyone seemed to have taken the train.) The streets really were deserted. And of course the Red Onion Saloon, which I would visit later. I headed back to the excursion waiting point, glad I had waterproof gear and just hung out and waited for about an hour. I heard someone ask one of the NCL people how we would know which people were for our excursion. They told them "they will look very outdoorsy". They did. They were wearing harnesses, apparently too busy to take them off? Isn't it gorgeous? There was another public restroom here too. Way to go Skagway! (I think this is actually an afternoon picture, as it cleared up near the middle of the day.) About the train- it was overall a drizzly, dreary day. The first railway excursion was said to have half visibility and then the second they were saying it was considered 0 visibility due to the fog. The plan I heard them discussing was they would load everyone onto the railcars, THEN tell them there is no visibility, and if they want to exit they would get a full refund. But not until you've waited in line, taken the time to sit down, and then would have to get up... maybe it's just easier to stay on and hope the weather clears? I didn't see how many people got off, as by then the van for my excursion arrived.

Ahh, no owl sitings in Alaska. That would have been icing on a really incredible cake.

I used to love doing trip reports pre kids, but man they are harder to get in now!!

It wouldn't surprise me if they are the same ones. Eagles use their nests for life, and mate for life. If you've got a lot of easy food coming to you, why leave?! Thanks for reading! Hoping to get the next day up soon if the kiddos leave me alone.

I have found less access to snack foods on cruise- it is not easy to walk to my pantry and just get candies, chips, cookies. Some cruises you have to go out of your way to find cookies, and I've rarely seen chips to just grab. I have to go sit down for a meal, or make my way through a crowded buffet. Yes, there is food available all the time, but I have to go out of my way to go eat it. I don't just sit in the buffet all day, and with it on the top floors it is usually at least 5-8 flights of stairs to get to it. I mean, I eat a lot of ice cream on a cruise, but 5+ flights of stairs keeps me from getting it more than once or twice a day. There is no stash of food in my cabin at all times. At home and at work, junk food is right next to me all too often. And it is easier to eat fruit on a cruise because all the fresh fruit is cut and prepared, where at home, if I want a lovely fruit salad, I have a lot of work to do.

Every cruiseline is not for everyone. Maybe after enjoying RCCL for so long, but no longer wanting most of their features, it is time to move up to Celebrity? Why give up RCI entirely when you have such a high status? RCCL is clearly aiming for young adults and families, and has been for a long time with the climbing walls, flowriders, and other "attractions" (so maybe a better choice for your if you ever went on a multi-generational cruise?) Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I've lost weight on every cruise I've gone on, and also not intentionally, but because, unlike home, snacks are not available. I just don't eat outside of meal time, and I walk a lot because, as you said, it just takes a long time to get from one place to the next.

As far as any of the articles say, there is no Cambridge study, that's the most common way it's passed around. Did you read the example given? "Soaesn of mtiss and mloelw ftisnflurues, Csloe boosm-feinrd of the mrtuniag sun; Cnponsiirg wtih him how to laod and besls Wtih friut the viens taht runod the tahtch-eevs run" It isn't about preserving the first and last letter that lets people do this. It's about predictable text and being able to decipher simple typos that preserve overall sound.

I'd just have laid down and said "I'll move when they get back". We all know they aren't coming back anytime soon. I actually did this once on the Carnival pool deck, when a person was saving a group of like 8 loungers during a very crowded deck party and I was visibly pregnant (1 day short of being denied boarding, so like 23 1/2 weeks?). She glared at me, but thankfully 2015 Carnival passengers were not at the "fist fight with a pregnant woman" level yet. (They might be now...man things have gotten insane on cruises.) No one came in the 30 minutes I sat there.

This has been debunked. https://www.sciencealert.com/word-jumble-meme-first-last-letters-cambridge-typoglycaemia https://www.dictionary.com/e/typoglycemia/ It works for short words, but otherwise, only certain typos allow it to be easy. Looking forward to more tiny writing from the original poster!

If the only goal of the cruise is to drink yourself silly, it seems to make sense to me. Who knows why the poster has decided this should be a factor, but since the price varies, it seems like it you are an overplanner who wants all the information, this is a good piece to gather. Would they even tell you if they called? It's dynamic pricing, so they would probably just say it varies by sailing.

You know, I called (and sat on hold for a full hour) to prepay my gratuities, but this is really the answer. If you want to pay the old rate, or really ANY rate, just go adjust them.

Can you get a passport? This doesn't seem to be royal's problem; as they are offering plenty of cruises that they are letting you rebook to, you are the one limiting it. What about requesting a guest change and substituting someone out in the place of the new Mom? Otherwise, it sounds like the deposit is lost. That was the condition of the cruise. Possibly check with your trip insurance if this is covered under their conditions.

Thanks so much! But, very delayed review! I think next time I will bring a laptop with me and do a live review, as I used to keep notes (before there was much internet on the ship), and didn't this time, and look how long it has taken for me to get anything up!

I think that poster was trying to reference the McDonald's coffee lawsuit as a whiny complaint and frivolous lawsuit, rather than corporate gross negligence; and somehow connect that to people complaining about minor things inconviences.

The NCL app has a different listing. It says "bar juices". I am trying to find if I have a screenshot, as I noticed this pre-cruise and had to ask for clarification. I don't have a cruise booked right now, so I can't go and take a screenshot. My understanding is juices from the bar are NOT included in the cruise fare. Only juices from the buffet.

So, it what must be the most delayed entry to a review ever, I'm back! Up next, Juneau! Part of the reason for the delay is I underexposed most of my whale watching photos and I was hoping my husband would help me fix them. He deemed them "not good enough to bother", which is probably true... He also just got back from a scuba trip to Cozumel, so had stuff to catch up with. He didn't take any photos on that trip (he is an avid photographer, but doesn't dive with a DSLR) so he shared a still from one of his videos with me. Cozumel is one of our favorite cruiseports, but just for the chance to be underwater. He travels there multiple times a year for actual trips too. That's actually what got me this cruise- his many trips to Cozumel and one to Utila for diving. Anyhow, waking up to a gorgeous day on the Encore, I decided to go to the buffet rather than the restaurant. I was THRILLED to see that there was no line at all for the omelet station, as on some cruises the wait can be FOREVER. This was a reoccuring theme for the cruise- if there was a wait, it was one or two people. There were multiple omelet stations, so the buffet was so well set up for it. The omelet was excellent. I also grabbed some breakfast potatoes (a bit cold, but well cooked), some bacon (I had to dig a bit to find crispy pieces, but was happy, and no bacon police like on Carnival, so you can have more than 2 pieces. I did see a few people take more than 20 though!!! But it was quickly replenished.) I got two croissants that were not very good, and yes, a giant scoop of whipped cream with nothing to put it on. I just really like whipped cream. (Also saw a kid take an entire plateful, though, in fairness, I believe he DID have a pancake under that pile of whipped cream.) I grabbed a diet coke, and returned to my balcony to eat. It was chilly and drizzly, but I was just thrilled to be in Alaska. After breakfast, I took a shower, and as I was getting dressed, I hear the people next cabin over on their balcony screaming. I ran out in a sports bra and pajama pants, as this was too important to risk missing. I was rewarded, as there was not only a whale out there, but a whale BREECHING. He did it mulitple times, really putting on a show. I later learned on our whale watching trip that this is a rare behavior in Alaska, as the whales tend to conserve their energy and just eat. They do this in Hawaii when they are showing off for potential mates. (If I had known this before the whale watching trip, I might have made a different excursion choice, as I really really wanted to see more of this.) I took tons and tons of pictures of the same dreary landscape, but will not post them, because in retrospect, it was really only gorgeous ther. Not so pretty on camera. I also took photos of every boat I saw. Because that's a thing I do. Here's one of them. The whole trip I was obsessed with all the gorgeous waterfalls. I just could not get over the fact that I was really, really in Alaska! I still wasn't that hungry, so skipped lunch. Getting off the ship, I tried to take a nice photo of her, but it was tough with the angles. NCl docks outside of the city, so you had to take a bus in. There was no wait for the bus when I got off, so there was no problem at all. Then we were dropped off in Juneau, right by the tram up Mount Roberts. So, in Juneau I had planned to go up the tram to take some photos, then just do some shopping. My first plan was to go to the Mendenhall Glaciers, but the Mendenhall Glaciers and Garden excursion I booked got changed before the cruise so that it would no longer go to the Glacier, but give us a tram ticket instead. Half of it was refunded due to the change. Well, didn't want to do that, so I cancelled and got a refund. Then on the ship I booked the Glacier canoe trip, but it got cancelled about 4-hours after I booked it. So, I had my tram ticket, and that was the plan. Originally I was not going to go whale watching, as it was late in the season and most of the whales had begun their migration. But seeing the whale breeching, and knowing they were active, well, I decided to buy a whale watching excursion from a kiosk. My credit card shows $177.45. I would have sworn it was $145... hmm...oops. That is kind of expensive... Anyhow, with the excursion credit you get for free-at-sea, and just being one person, I would have spent less booking with the ship. Oh well, it's only money I guess. It was about 90 minutes before the trip left, so I weighed whether I could make it up the tram and then back down, there wasn't much of a line, but decided against it and went through town a bit and looked at what was for sale. I should haved done more shopping in Juneau. EVERYTHING was on sale. Whereas future ports didn't really have great sales. I bought two t-shirts for my kiddos ($15.99 for two shirts!), then was super bummed I forgot to bring pennies as a friend of mine and I have been collecting them since we were 6! I sent her a photo of the penny machine instead and a text message apology. Then I walked to Alaska Fudge company and bought three bricks of fudge ($35.70). I LOVE fudge, especially vanilla fudge which can be hard to find. The vanilla was fabulous, and of course, that was the smallest brick they gave me. I also got a divinity and a rocky road. Both were very good, but next time, I'm going all vanilla 🙂 Then I went back to the meeting point near the tram (holy moly the line!) and waited a bit. The tour had a short drive to the dock, and then we boarded the boat. It was about 25 people, and the cabin of the boat was enclosed, so it wasn't too cold in there. The tour guides were funny and told tons of jokes. Whale watching did not disappoint at all. Despite there being no breeching whales, we saw probably 5 whales total, in three different spots, one of which was a Mom and baby together. We only saw a couple of flukes, as apparently they only show them when diving deep. They were staying pretty shallow, which did mean we didn't wait too long between dives for them to resurface. The photos just don't do justice to how close they were and how exciting it was to see such amazing animals. Still...if I had known how subtle it would have been, I may not have spent that much money. But I nearly cried I was so happy to actually see a humpback in the wild, so money well spent I think. I also felt the boats were never chasing them, they turned the motors off as we sat with them, and after 30 minutes with any particular whale (Mom and baby), they moved on, as regulations require. That made me happy, as sometimes it seems like whale watching tours are actually whale harrasing tours. We also saw a buoy filled with sea lions! On the ride back, despite it being freezing now, I decided to stay out on the bow, with another couple and just enjoy the amazing Alaska air. We were treated to an amazing sunset, so looking out at one side of the boat had the sunsetting, and the other the gorgeous blue of twilight. But it was SO COLD, but man, you just feel alive. And all that effort I went to trying to see the Mendenhall Glacier? Well, we got a GORGEOUS view of it as the clouds and fog had lifted! When we got back to the marina I saw one of the only three bald eagles I saw the entire trip. (Thankfully, I see bald eagles almost every day at home, so it wasn't a big one for me...) When we got back to the city, the bus offered to drop us off in the main area of town so we could shop, or right where the shuttle buses pick up. It was already dark, so I decided to just go back to the shuttle bus. I had hoped to sneak the tram in, but, obviously the last one had already run and it was shut down. (No problem- the ticket was $49.99, for free with the FAS promo, so I just didn't use my ticket, and no money spent.) I didn't really have any more shopping to do, I thought (mistake! I saw nice fleece jackets for under $20, I should have gone back for one.) Getting back onto the ship was quick. From there I went to the MDR for dinner. Somehow I have no photos at all of it. I don't really remember anything about dinner, I know I skipped dessert again. Then headed to the thermal spa for awhile again. There was no production show tonight, I think possibly a magician, so I decided to grab a soda and do another painting. This was the thing that was just so different about a solo cruise. I really did nothing on the daily schedule. People say they don't spend much time in their cabin. I sure do!!

No, if you decline the drink package you only do not pay the tips for it. You do this when you book the cruise, by unselecting the drink package. It takes the bottom line down quite a bit ($22 a day per person, IIRC). I don't drink alcohol, so I declined it. You cannot change it out for a soda package or a non-alcoholic package, if you want that, you just have to pay for it. (In theory, you could get the included package and just not order alcohol, there are plenty of other drinks it covers! It just wasn't worth $22/day for me. But a few mocktails daily and you'd meet that no problem.) The drink package is "officially" a freebie (despite everyone knowing it is just packaged into the cruise price), so no discount is given for not taking it.