Shore excursion report from 9/17-9/24 on NCL Spirit

[Armchairtravelwoman]

THE EXCURSIONS

 

In Ketchikan we took the Duck Tour which was fairly amusing and gave us a good overview of the town. Then the Duck bus dunked into the water and headed out to a little island where there were two bald eagles in a tree. That was the extent of the bald eagle viewing for the trip. You can’t really take any pictures from the Duck bus because the Plexiglas windows are all scratched up and there’s only a tiny “porthole” to open for a better shot. Then we took a Southeast Aviation 6-seater floatplane to the Misty Fjords. This was not our best excursion as it was a pretty bumpy ride. DH learned he shouldn’t have had kippers for breakfast.

 

In Juneau we’d made reservations through NCL for the Mendenhall Glacier and Gardens tour. Though we got confirmation online that apparently didn’t mean anything since once we got on the ship they said it was sold out. So we went on our other excursion, this time a 10-seat floatplane over the glaciers. That was lots better than the smaller plane in Ketchikan and we had a smooth flight with gorgeous views, not to mention the pilot flying the plane was a dead ringer for McGyver which inspired confidence in us. After the flight, with extra time on our hands we stopped at one of the excursion booths near the tram ride and signed up for a jet boat tour (Dolphin) to see the whales. This time our captain was a George Clooney look-a-like who zipped that jet boat all around the bay. We saw about 10 whales and one of them breeched right out of the water which was a great sight, and unusual too at that time of year, according to “George”. I snapped away with my digital and ended up with a dozen shots of choppy water. I guess a digital is not the best camera to take whale watching! I bought a postcard instead. This was the rainiest day we had, it rained all day and we were out in it most of the time. I came down with a cold that night which turned into bronchitis. Not to worry, I’m on an inhaler for the next 28 days.

 

 

Skagway was next and the very best excursion of all was the helicopter flight to the glacier where we landed and got out and walked around in our glacier boots. We peered down some crevasses and heard the water roaring underneath them and it was truly an awe-inspiring experience! We’d never been in a helicopter before and swooping so close to those imposing granite cliffs on our way to and from the glacier was thrilling and an adventure we’ll never forget. A bit more forgettable was the train ride up to White Pass. It wasn’t bad, and it was interesting to see the trail the ‘49ers took to the gold fields of the Yukon, but I think the hype about it led us to be a bit disappointed. I rationalized later that it’s because we’re used to the majestic scenery of Colorado and we should have taken that into account before booking. I’d recommend it to any flatlander!