Alaska September 24th to October 6th, 2021 Celebrity Millennium

[cruise kitty]

Hi all, realized I should report back as to what I experienced...  long story short, we had such a great week, we stayed on for the next cruise which put us into October (we were the last Celebrity cruise in Alaska of the season).   Week one:  70+ knot winds & storms..  so bad that Canada gave us permission to enter... suddenly our very odd Alaska U.S. waters only turned into an Inside Passage cruise...  there was some fog/rain/wind, but it was magical!  

 

Every bit of every day was gorgeous, gorgeous scenic cruising...  in the ports we would get off & go hiking...  some I did on my own, while DH went fishing...    

 

By day 4, we knew we were going to stay on for the next week.

 

Week 2:   Sunshine, sunshine, & more sunshine....  Inside passage again!   same cruise, but somehow completely different...  More hiking, but without being rained on...   Whales, so many whales

 

went along with DH on a private fishing charter with another couple in Skagway, beautiful scenery, & I caught fish! 

 

Spotted Eagles hunting, nesting, soaring, bears foraging, salmon streaming upriver... experienced ports with only the few hundred people that were on our ship that should hold thousands...

 

My glass of wine was always full...  two of the best weeks I have ever spent on a cruise, & an Alaska experience that can never be duplicated.  

 

Any questions, please ask away 🙂

[Pluto_fan]

Thanks for sharing!  So glad you had such a magical trip!  😊

[Ferry_Watcher]

That last cruise of the season Oct 1- Oct 8th was wonderful.  So grateful that we were given permission to go thru the Inside Passage due to stormy weather (unlike the larger Ovation OTS which had to 'tough it out' in the open seas).  I loved the dusting of snow we saw in Ketchikan, and the spectacular weather in Icy Strait Pointe (an equally amazing whale watching).  It was such a great cruise.

 

Sorry our paths didn't cross.  We will be back in Alaska in May 2023 - maybe we will see you then! 

[Ashland]

We will be cruising Alaska on RCI Serenade Sept 18, 2022. Actually the latest timing we've ever done due to a heavily booked year of cruising (making up for all the ones we've missed in 2020 & 2021).

 

Thanks for sharing your weather experience. Our fingers are crossed we have some good port days.

[cruise kitty]

A little more detailed info into what we did in each port:

 

Ketchikan week 1:   DH went on a Celebrity cruises fishing trip,  it was badly managed, he got to fish for 10 minutes.  Another man on the trip didn't get to fish at all.  On the other hand, he saw whales breaching & eagles

 

While DH did his morning fishing, I walked off the ship & made my way through town & into the hills for the  Rainbird Hiking Trail...  it was raining a bit, but it eventually cleared & the views were spectacular. 

 

Made my way back to the ship to drop off some layers, grab some coffee (with bailey's, Yum!). then back out & headed to Ketchikan's historic center...  did a little shopping, walked on the little trails there, watched the salmon, the seals chasing the salmon, very beautiful, had the little town almost to myself due to rain.  DH met up with me, told his tale of woe from the Celebrity excursion, & we headed to the Alaska Fish house...  great fish & chips & local beers.   They had a sign advertising private fishing trips & DH took down the number.

 

Juneau week 1:   took the blue bus to Mendenhall park $45 USD each...  well worth it in my opinion, narrated guide there & back, very interesting.  Walked around the park for a few hours, intermittent rain,  fog,  some snow higher up....waked up to waterfalls, encountered a bear (shockingly scary to come across an animal that could eat you if it wished, but it had zero interest in us)

 

Bus back to town...  met up with some lovely people for drinks...  after, it was dark & cold so we haded back to ship for a wonderful dinner.

 

Icy Strait Point:   just walked around...  our hours here were cut very short, maybe had 2 or 3 hours here?  We were trying to keep ahead of the giant storm that had been dogging us.   DH had a call he had to take for work, so I headed for a little walk through the woods...  saw an eagles nest on the way...  several eagles were sitting on the unused dock near where they are building up some new attractions.    We had a few drinks/snacks at the restaurant overlooking the bay & spotted whales in the harbor, lovely!

 

Week 2:

Ketchikan:   did a private fishing excursion with Baronof...  wonderful, wonderful day!   Highly recommend! We had all four seasons that day, warm sunny, windy rain, snow...   tons of wildlife viewing, amazing fishing... learned so much about Alaska !

 

https://exclusivealaska.com/fishing-excursions

 

Juneau:  glorious sunshine & a beautiful sail in... so many whales!   Walked off ship early morning, headed through town to the Mount Roberts Trail,  amazing little hike through the woods, some incredible views... hiked to top of tramway... had a few beers at top,  then took tramway down..  returned to ship & headed to indoor jacuzzis, wonderful day!

 

Icy Strait Point, week 2:  repeat of week one, but gorgeous weather...  took DH along for the little hike to the new construction area...  saw the Eagle returning to his/her nest... really amazing.   headed back to the little town, did some souvenir shopping, another beer at the little restaurant.. & now storm clouds were gathering...  the captain had said we would again be avoiding a storm.   

 

Anyhow, that's what we did...  any questions, please ask away 🙂

[Dancing Shoes]

Do they heat the pool?  Going in August.