LIVE from the Edge - Alaska Dawes Glacier B2Bs May 24-June 7

[RK-NC]

6 hours ago, SerraG said:

I think maybe the kitchens are given a lot of latitude with preparation and ingredients

 

I'm thinking maybe someone used Alaskan bear scat as inspiration for this presentation! 🤔

 

[SerraG]

It was yet again a dreary rainy day for our second visit to Ketchikan this cruise.

 

 

We had breakfast in the Retreat Lounge.

 

 

 

 

I was thrilled to have some plain greek yogurt and berries!

 

 

We had an excursion planned for a nature hike through the Tongrass National Forest called the "Magical Old-Growth Creek Trek".  We knew it was probably going to be rainy and cold so we brought / wore a lot of layers.

 

 

There is a fairly steep ramp up from the dock up to the excursion area in Ketchikan, where we waited for a little bit until our guide, Charmaine, arrived.

 

This was a small group tour which had 7 people: Ross and me, a single woman, and a family with 2 small children.  Once we were all assembled, Charmaine led us to her SUV and we drove about 30 minutes to the trailhead. Right before we arrived, Charmaine pulled into a rest stop to allow for a quick bathroom break since there are no restrooms on the trail.

 

We were hiking Lunch Creek Trail.

 

 

 

The trail itself was very well maintained with wooden boardwalks over several locations.  It was however, somewhat challenging with the guide setting a brisk pace so we could cover 3-4 miles in our allotted time.  In addition, there were a few sets of very steep stairs and I was glad for the provided hiking poles!

 

One of the young children with us was clearly out of their element.  The guide mentioned that the tour company is considering adding an age limit to the excursion.  Do not take this excursion if you have mobility issues or are out of shape.

 

 

 

Charmaine was great and stopped a few times along the route to point out specific features and plant life.  

The cedar trees were giant.

 

 

This stinky plant is called skunk cabbage and we kept catching whiffs of the odor, which is  reminiscent of both skunk and another type of plant you may or may not be familiar with.  lol. 

 

 

At the turnaround point, Charmaine pulled out a thermos of hot peppermint tea for us to share which was a welcome break.

 

 

Salmon berry plant:

 

 

Once we were back near the trailhead, we took a detour down a set of steep stairs to view a loud and rushing waterfall.  Salmon swim up the creek to this point, but are unable to get past this waterfall.   We were feeling a little like drowned rats at this point.  lol. 

 

 

Down another set of stairs and we had a very brief stop to view the ocean before climbing back up to finish the trail and drive back to the ship.

 

 

Our shoes were soaked through.  If I had to do it over again, I would have tried to bring waterproof shoes / hiking boots before trekking through a rain forest.  🙂

 

When we returned to our cabin, our butler had set up snacks and chilled our champagne for us.  It was just what we needed after a tiring excursion. 

 

Edited June 6 by SerraG

[OrtonPark]

I must know: Was the movie being acted out E.T.? 

[SerraG]

42 minutes ago, OrtonPark said:

I must know: Was the movie being acted out E.T.? 

 

Yes!  Good guess.  It was definitely one of the most fun trivia events we've ever done.  

[SerraG]

After a rest and getting cleaned up, we headed back to Eden again for some games before dinner.

 

 

Then we actually went downstairs to the Eden restaurant for dinner tonight.

 

 

We did not do the tasting menu this time and instead just wanted to get our favorites from last week.   If you do the tasting menu (without wine), it is an extra $42 per person upcharge on top of the $79 upcharge for the regular menu (which don't forget, is on top of the amount you have paid for your regular meal in your cruise fair).   

 

I had previously read and been told by a fellow passenger that you could order as many items as you wanted from the regular menu,  However, our waiter informed us that the restaurant's new policy was that customers were only allowed one appetizer, one entree and one dessert each, in addition to one extra dish for the table to share.  We actually didn't plan to order more food than that, but the rule and the way the waiter delivered it felt concocted to coerce us into the  $42 upcharge on the tasting menu.

 

The amuse bouche was an orange, goat cheese and beet root concoction which was delicious. 

 

 

 

I ordered the Bizarre Bowl, one of my very favorite items from last week.  It was amazing again.  The naan bread was a little dry.

 

Ross ordered the crab cake, which was just as good as last week.

 

 

And we split the truffle risotto.  Again, delish.

 

 

For my main, I got the Bronzino.  I realized the reason the "skin" is so crispy is because it is actually a fried slice of very thin (smashed?) bread.  We think this is the best prepared entrée on the menu. 

 

 

 

On the advice of our waiter, we ordered the Fresh Snapper with Coconut and Curry, which we had not had before.  It was very good.  The curry sauce was a little spicy.  Excellent flavor.  The thinly sliced bell peppers where crispy and added a perfect textural crunch.

 

 

We split the Filet and Short Rib Beef Wellington. Very good tender fillet, although we were still underwhelmed by the Wellington.  I remembered to take a picture this time!

 

 

 

For desserts, I got the Azteca Chocolate Pie.  I cut it in half so you could see the inside before I took a picture this time.  It's not really a pie, but definitely one of the best chocolate desserts on the ship.

 

 

Ross got the Butterscotch Creme Brulée, which was good, although we both preferred the Azteca Chocolate Pie. 

 

 

And of course, the tower of treats, which...  aren't super appealing after such a large meal.

 

 

The food in Eden is delicious.   Almost everything we had here was more carefully prepared and tasted better than anything at Luminae.  However, it's strange that the tasting menu contains the same exact items as the regular menu and in almost the same portion sizes. Usually tasting menus are their own thing, aren't they?  I feel like the tasting menu's items, pricing and portions need some adjustment. 

 

After dining at Eden, we hung around upstairs  and listened to The Acoustic Experience, which is a real crowd favorite. 

 

Goodnight!

Edited June 6 by SerraG

[Alcairns]

23 hours ago, SerraG said:

This was the worst looking beef tartar I've ever seen.  Why was it gray!?  Did they let it sit out too long?  Ross took only one bite and said it didn't taste bad but was rather mediocre.

The colour was probably because cruise ships lightly cook the steak tartar. Spoils the whole idea in my mind.

[cruisebeachgirl703]

When we returned to our cabin, our butler had set up snacks and chilled our champagne for us.  It was just what we needed after a tiring excursion. 

 

 

Looks good. Was this done on request or without having to ask?

[AstoriaPreppy]

On 5/24/2024 at 12:29 PM, SerraG said:

We were excited to travel out of Kansas City’s brand new airport for the first time!  It feels much more modern than the old one and is full of local restaurants and shops.

 

As a frequent flyer, this makes me so happy to hear! For years MCI was hands down the worst airport in the US, and the new terminal looks 💯

[Scottishclover]

I am getting a real kick out of your detailed food and cocktail  reviews. The chefs onboard must be quaking in their boots😂 Next time I eat in Eden, I’m going to go with your recommendations. I also love the Marrakesh Mule but discovered it all too late on our last cruise.

 

Great reporting and photos on Alaska too. Bringing back great memories for me. We also had a very wet hike in the rain in Ketchikan. Enjoy the rest of your cruise, looking forward to reading more about it.

[Brentm77]

Thanks for the fantastic and detailed report.  We will be on the same cruise in August and this really helped me get excited for it.

 

I also switched my Seattle hotel to the same one after seeing your good review and realizing the Marriott waterfront wasn't near the right pier anyways.

Edited June 7 by Brentm77

[SerraG]

On 6/6/2024 at 5:04 AM, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Looks good. Was this done on request or without having to ask?

Our butler gave us the champagne at the start of the second week of the cruise and told us to let him know when we wanted it chilled with some snacks. The morning of our Ketchikan excursion, I texted him on WhatsApp and said we’d love to have it when we returned that afternoon. So he initially suggested it and then we let him know when to execute. 

[SerraG]

6 hours ago, Brentm77 said:

I also switched my Seattle hotel to the same one after seeing your good review and realizing the Marriott waterfront wasn't near the right pier anyways.

 

I think you will love it!  I had read good things about the Marriott Waterfront on Cruise Critic, but one of our fellow passengers stayed there pre-cruise and said it wasn't up to par. 

[SerraG]

Celebrity Today & Schedule - DAY 4 | Monday, June 3rd, 2024 | Juneau, Alaska

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SerraG]

Dawes Glacier

 

This morning, the naturalist started talking around 6am, telling people in her gentle sing-song voice, “Now is the time to get up!  This is what you came for.  Get up.  Get up. Get up.”

 

And she is correct.  No matter how early, you don’t want to miss your chance to view the glacier!

 

I don’t think I will ever tire of looking at the aquamarine blue water in a glacier lake.  The view from our balcony:

 

 

For round two at the Dawes glacier, we decided not to bundle up and go outside, but instead head up to the Retreat Lounge.  There were not as many people in here as a I expected.

 

 

 

Captain Matt did a full 360 degree turn so people in all locations would be able to view the glacier and we did get a nice look.  I think we were even closer to the glacier this week.

 

 

We had some nice breakfast items in the lounge.

 

 

However, sitting inside was a considerably lesser experience than being up on the Retreat sundeck.  One of the reasons we wanted to sit inside was so we could hear the naturalist speak about the glacier since they don’t broadcast her outside, but she did not say very much, only pointing out some harbor seals and talking about the ice a bit.  I would strongly encourage everyone to try to view the glacier from an outside deck, even if it is very cold out there.

 

There is an excursion that takes people on a boat for a much closer view of the glacier and then meets back up in Juneau later in the day.  I took a serious of shots of the boat as it moved away from the Edge to help give some perspective on just how big and far away the glacier is.

 

 

 

 

 

The front face of the glacier is 600  high.  That is taller than Seattle’s Space Needle!

 

 

After we started sailing away from Dawes glacier, ross and I went to Eden to try enjoy the view as we sailed back out of Endicott Arm .  The Eden Cafe was open for breakfast so I took some photos of what they had on offer.

 

 

 

 

 

We had heard that the Bear Claw as amazing so we split one.  The pastry was indeed, very good, but it was filled with a chocolate ganache that we didn’t love.  It's supposed to be almond paste, right?

 

 

 

After that it was definitely time for nap.    All of the cabin doors have nice magnetic signs that you can put on the outside to let your room steward know not to bother you.

 

 

Day 4 (The Dawes Glacier early and then the Port of Juneau late) is an exhausting day following by yet another early port the next morning in Skagway.  Alaska can be more of an adventure than a relaxing vacation, so be prepared.

 

Edited June 8 by SerraG

[peanut head]

Fantastic review--pictures and prose!  I was wondering about your raingear.  Specifically, the pants and jacket--are they a set?  Where did you get them?  Did you feel overheated in them as you hiked?  Do they go over your jeans?

[cruisebeachgirl703]

10 hours ago, SerraG said:

 

I think you will love it!  I had read good things about the Marriott Waterfront on Cruise Critic, but one of our fellow passengers stayed there pre-cruise and said it wasn't up to par. 

Did they provide details about not up to par? Wondering if we need to rebook ours. Thanks

[SerraG]

16 hours ago, peanut head said:

Specifically, the pants and jacket--are they a set?  Where did you get them?  Did you feel overheated in them as you hiked?  Do they go over your jeans?

 

The pant and jackets are not a set.  We got the rain pants at Dick's Sporting Goods for our first trip to Alaska.  If I remember correctly, we went to the store and tried several pairs on to find the ones that fit best.  They go over your jeans / regular pants.  Mine are Columbia and Ross's are Koppen.   Ross's are nice because the pocket has a hole in the bottom so you can access your regular pants pocket underneath them.  I had to slip my hand under the waist band to get to my jeans pocket. 

 

I did not feel overheated.  Maybe legs aren't as sensitive to temperature?  I was able to regulate my temperature by taking off layers on top.   

 

I will add this about my rain jacket.  The first one I bought had velcro fasteners which kept getting caught in my hair.  It was so annoying I had to buy a new one for this trip.  I love my new one which was from LL Bean (Women's H2OFF Rain Jacket).  

 

 

 

[SerraG]

7 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Did they provide details about not up to par? Wondering if we need to rebook ours. Thanks

 

The couple who told us that said they were "hotel snobs" so take that into account.  They didn't feel that the hotel was clean enough and had some trouble getting gluten free food.  They decided to leave the Marriott and go to the Four Seasons for breakfast.  

 

[SerraG]

Lunch at Luminae

 

If I remember correctly, last week after our glacier viewing, we had a big breakfast and then just napped through lunch.  This time we set an alarm and then hurried to Luminae (which inexplicably closed at 1pm instead of its usual 1:30pm this afternoon).

 

We love our assistant waiter Caio, who is from Brazil.  He told us about a very common drink there called a Caipirinha, which contains Cachaça , lime and granulated sugar.   Caio had the bar make a Caipirinha for us to try.

 

 

It had a strong alcohol flavor from the Cachaça , but seemed well balanced.  Very refreshing and fun to get to try it.

 

I had a Bibb Lettuce Salad with Buttermilk Dressing.

 

 

I enjoyed having a green salad even if it was a little boring.

 

Ross ordered Roasted Chicken Consommé

 

 

We really liked this.  It was fairly salty, but the vegetable cubes in it were nice and cooked crisp-tender.

 

I had the Pan-Roasted Halibut with Curried Cauliflower Purée and Eggplant Beignet.

 

 

 

The fish is generally good and this was no exception.   Salty in a good way and the breaded and fried eggplant pieces were cooked well.

 

Ross ordered the Campero de Pollo which turned out to be a sandwich with chicken, ham, cheese and egg. 

 

 

This was one of the more difficult items we've ever tried to eat.  It was almost impossible to pick up and did not cut easily.  It was surprisingly delicious though.  The bread was crispy and hot.  The egg was cooked to a nice jammy consistency.  Really tasty.

 

For dessert, I ordered the Coffee Panna Cotta.

 

 

 

The panna cotta was bitter from the espresso, but also had a bit of a “fake” coffee flavor to it sort of like a Worther’s  hard candy.  If you like coffee flavored things, this might be for you.

 

Ross ordered the Red Wine Poached Pear with Cassis Sorbet

 

Unfortunately the pair was under-ripe or this would have been really good.  The ice cream was great, cold and tart-sweet.  The sauce was good and there was a delicious candied orange garnish.

 

After lunch, Ross had some work to do so we headed back to the cabin for a bit.  While, he didn’t love  having to work during the cruise, being able to do so definitely  allows for more vacation days.

 

I filled out the customs for our port day in Victoria.  It is not too tricky, but must be turned in (at the Retreat Lounge for us) the day before arrival in Canada.

 

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

9 minutes ago, SerraG said:

I filled out the customs for our port day in Victoria.  It is not too tricky, but must be turned in (at the Retreat Lounge for us) the day before arrival in Canada.

We never got any instructions on this in terms of where to turn in or when.  I took it with us on our Skagway train tour because I knew we were entering Canada and figured it would be collected at that time..  Nobody ever asked for it so I kept it in my back pack.  A day later I got a bit of a nasty-gram telling me if I didn't turn it in we could be subject to a more invasive customs screening with Canadian customs.  I ended up giving the form to Kevin, our cabin steward but it would have been nice to have a little instruction to go along with the form instead of just a blank form being left on our bed.  This was maybe the only time I really considered heading to GS to lodge a gripe...but alas, I did not...

[Hogladyrider]

17 hours ago, peanut head said:

Fantastic review--pictures and prose!  I was wondering about your raingear.  Specifically, the pants and jacket--are they a set?  Where did you get them?  Did you feel overheated in them as you hiked?  Do they go over your jeans?

While I am not the author here, I am followng this review and will jump in here regarding rain gear.  I highly recommend Frogg Togg's rain gear both tops and pants.  Super rain resistant and not hot at all.  You can wear over your regular clothing.  They were originally developed for those riding motorcycles in Florida and other humid climates and they come in all sizes and colors.  We have seen them in many stores.

[SerraG]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

We never got any instructions on this in terms of where to turn in or when.  I took it with us on our Skagway train tour because I knew we were entering Canada and figured it would be collected at that time..  Nobody ever asked for it so I kept it in my back pack.  A day later I got a bit of a nasty-gram telling me if I didn't turn it in we could be subject to a more invasive customs screening with Canadian customs.  I ended up giving the form to Kevin, our cabin steward but it would have been nice to have a little instruction to go along with the form instead of just a blank form being left on our bed.  This was maybe the only time I really considered heading to GS to lodge a gripe...but alas, I did not...

 

The Sample Customs Form that I shared above, had a backside with instructions explaining that it needed to be returned to the Retreat Lounge before Wednesday at 6pm (something like that).  Our room steward (or maybe butler) left it on our bed with the actual form next to it.  I'm sorry that you didn't get all of the info.  I overheard another couple talking about not knowing what to do with it either, so you weren't the only one!

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

37 minutes ago, SerraG said:

 

The Sample Customs Form that I shared above, had a backside with instructions explaining that it needed to be returned to the Retreat Lounge before Wednesday at 6pm (something like that).  Our room steward (or maybe butler) left it on our bed with the actual form next to it.  I'm sorry that you didn't get all of the info.  I overheard another couple talking about not knowing what to do with it either, so you weren't the only one!

 

Thank you!  I’m glad I didn’t complain 😳 would have been embarrassing to learn the info was on the other side lol. Anyway, it’s good you posted this so others will know!

 

Hope you had smooth travels home. I’m sure you are anxious to see your daughter!

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/31/2024 at 4:31 PM, SerraG said:

 

They are not printed on the Luminae menu, but our waiter recited the list to us on the first night and said they would always be available.  

 They do have a printed Kid's Menu in Luminae if you ask.   Also a Veterinarian Menu.

 

It is available in MDR, Blu and Luminae 

 

Edited June 9 by Jim_Iain

[Loucat]

25 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 They do have a printed Kid's Menu in Luminae if you ask.   Also a Veterinarian Menu.

 

It is available in MDR, Blu and Luminae 

 

They do have a printed Kid's Menu in Luminae if you ask.   Also a Veterinarian Menu.

JIM-By-chance did-you mean vegetarian?