Our Wonderful Whale of a Good Time 9 Night Alaskan Cruise! May 2014 w/pics Completed!
- Thread starter disneyfaninaz
- Start date
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Thanks! Have a great cruise!
Fantastic pictures! Thank you for the great report I can't wait to see more
Thanks!
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
We had lunch at Caribou Crossing.
We each got a sticker to put on as we got off the van. We were directed to where the meals were served. The first thing we did was hit the washrooms. We then headed for lunch. There was absolutely no line, we were immediately handed a plate with a nice big BBQ chicken quarter and half a baked potato. Which was very good, the chicken just fell off the bone.
We then went inside for cole slaw, dinner rolls and homemade donuts. Water was on the table or you could buy sodas.
After lunch DD just wanted to see the puppies so we headed over to the sled dog area. I was warned that mosquitos were considered the Alaskan State Bird, and I could see why here in Caribou Crossing, even if we were actually in Canada. They were everywhere. Of course, the OFF I purchased was sitting in my bag in the stateroom. Fortunately, we were pretty well covered and came out unscathed and unbitten. Just a hint for those going to the Yukon, DON”T FORGET YOUR OFF! Dog Cart rides were available for an additional charge. We opted not to go.
The first things you see are goats and miniature horses that can be petted.
We saw two 20 day old Husky puppies, but they were eating and sleeping so DD couldn’t hold them.
We also saw a 4 month Mastiff puppy. It certainly had big paws to fill. There was also a Golden Retriever roaming around the yard.
The sled dogs were all tied to their houses with their names nailed to the outside. There were some cute names.
When the sled teams were being assembled the dogs would bark and put up a big noise. Once the carts left, the dogs would settle down. They are bred to run and just want to go in the strongest way. It’s almost like they were begging, “Pick me, pick me.”
After seeing the animals and avoiding the mosquitos we went to the gift shop. I picked up a magnet and some postcards. We then waited for Jon so we could continue our tour.
Jade is the Alaskan state stone. It is also available in the Yukon. There was a huge slab of jade outside the gift shop.
These are the facades at Caribou Crossing. The covered wagons are actually covered tables you could eat at.
After we got back on the bus, we headed up towards Emerald Lake. It was breathtaking. The ice had unfrozen a couple of weeks before.
Jon had bought us Maple Cream Cookies at Caribou Crossings and shared them with us as we started back towards Skagway on the Klondike Highway. On the way back we drove through Carcross. We stopped at Bennett Lake. This was the lake that the miners used to get their year supply of goods to Dyea to climb “The Golden Staircase.”
DD wanted to play in the snow, so Jon stopped at a place that we could climb down a ways to some snow. We had to watch our step so we wouldn’t go through the snow to the water below. Jon and DD had fun throwing snowballs at everybody.
We stopped at Fraser again for a potty break. Another train and just pulled in. DH discovered that outside the washrooms, there was a stamp that you could stamp your passports with. I went and got them and stamped them before taking advantage of the facilities.
We passed the American/Canadian border back to the good old USA and got our picture taken at the Welcome to Alaska sign.
We breezed through border patrol and headed back to Skagway.
We got great views of the Saw Tooth Mountain Range.
On the way, Jon stopped at Bridal Veil Falls so we could get a close up look at part of it.
Overall it was an amazing tour and Jon really made it special. At no point did we feel rushed or crowded at any of the overlooks we stopped at and we were definitely not rushed to get back on the van and on our way to make a time restriction. Jon was also a great photographer and got shots of all of us and our families together at the various viewpoints. Way to go Jon!
To be continued.
We each got a sticker to put on as we got off the van. We were directed to where the meals were served. The first thing we did was hit the washrooms. We then headed for lunch. There was absolutely no line, we were immediately handed a plate with a nice big BBQ chicken quarter and half a baked potato. Which was very good, the chicken just fell off the bone.
We then went inside for cole slaw, dinner rolls and homemade donuts. Water was on the table or you could buy sodas.
After lunch DD just wanted to see the puppies so we headed over to the sled dog area. I was warned that mosquitos were considered the Alaskan State Bird, and I could see why here in Caribou Crossing, even if we were actually in Canada. They were everywhere. Of course, the OFF I purchased was sitting in my bag in the stateroom. Fortunately, we were pretty well covered and came out unscathed and unbitten. Just a hint for those going to the Yukon, DON”T FORGET YOUR OFF! Dog Cart rides were available for an additional charge. We opted not to go.
The first things you see are goats and miniature horses that can be petted.
We saw two 20 day old Husky puppies, but they were eating and sleeping so DD couldn’t hold them.
We also saw a 4 month Mastiff puppy. It certainly had big paws to fill. There was also a Golden Retriever roaming around the yard.
The sled dogs were all tied to their houses with their names nailed to the outside. There were some cute names.
When the sled teams were being assembled the dogs would bark and put up a big noise. Once the carts left, the dogs would settle down. They are bred to run and just want to go in the strongest way. It’s almost like they were begging, “Pick me, pick me.”
After seeing the animals and avoiding the mosquitos we went to the gift shop. I picked up a magnet and some postcards. We then waited for Jon so we could continue our tour.
Jade is the Alaskan state stone. It is also available in the Yukon. There was a huge slab of jade outside the gift shop.
These are the facades at Caribou Crossing. The covered wagons are actually covered tables you could eat at.
After we got back on the bus, we headed up towards Emerald Lake. It was breathtaking. The ice had unfrozen a couple of weeks before.
Jon had bought us Maple Cream Cookies at Caribou Crossings and shared them with us as we started back towards Skagway on the Klondike Highway. On the way back we drove through Carcross. We stopped at Bennett Lake. This was the lake that the miners used to get their year supply of goods to Dyea to climb “The Golden Staircase.”
DD wanted to play in the snow, so Jon stopped at a place that we could climb down a ways to some snow. We had to watch our step so we wouldn’t go through the snow to the water below. Jon and DD had fun throwing snowballs at everybody.
We stopped at Fraser again for a potty break. Another train and just pulled in. DH discovered that outside the washrooms, there was a stamp that you could stamp your passports with. I went and got them and stamped them before taking advantage of the facilities.
We passed the American/Canadian border back to the good old USA and got our picture taken at the Welcome to Alaska sign.
We breezed through border patrol and headed back to Skagway.
We got great views of the Saw Tooth Mountain Range.
On the way, Jon stopped at Bridal Veil Falls so we could get a close up look at part of it.
Overall it was an amazing tour and Jon really made it special. At no point did we feel rushed or crowded at any of the overlooks we stopped at and we were definitely not rushed to get back on the van and on our way to make a time restriction. Jon was also a great photographer and got shots of all of us and our families together at the various viewpoints. Way to go Jon!
To be continued.
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Happy Father's Day!
Thank you! I had heard that sometimes in May, the lake was frozen over or that the clouds or fog would be too thick to see it. We were so blessed with such a beautiful sunny day that none of that became an issue. The colors were just amazing! 
Thank you!
I had heard that sometimes in May, the lake was frozen over or that the clouds or fog would be too thick to see it. We were so blessed with such a beautiful sunny day that none of that became an issue. The colors were just amazing!
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
After our amazingly wonderful trip to the Yukon, we arrived back in Skagway. Jon dropped us off near the train depot.
Here's the famous driftwood house.
Do you remember I mentioned the Klondike National Park Museum earlier? Well, its sister museum is in Skagway. I wanted to go to the National Park Museum and get my book stamped. This museum also held a replica of all the supplies the miners would have to bring with them.
It was amazing, how much these people hauled into the Yukon with them. I think Canada just wanted to discourage the miners from coming, but it didnt seem to work.
After the museum, we took some pictures around town.
This is the engine they use to blow the snow off the track. It was last used a few years ago. Alaska has had some mild winters the last few years.
It was getting to be around 5:00 PM so we headed back towards the ship. It was a very windy walk.
When we arrived, we were directed to reboard on Deck 3, port side. Never did that before either. We sanitized our hands and boarded.
Dinner tonight was in Tritons with the Prince and Princess menu. Since this was a 9 night cruise, we would have 2 different menus added. This was the second different menu that we would have this cruise. The first menu was on the first night. We had just enough time to drop our stuff in our stateroom and head to dinner. We didnt even change clothes for dinner. We all wore our jeans. I changed shoes, but that is about as much time and energy I had.
Dinner was good.
DNeighbors went to see Million Dollar Arm in the Walt Disney Theater. Maleficent would be PremEARing at 12:01 AM in the Walt Disney Theater.
DNDDC would be attending with the 18*21 group. The Wonder didnt leave port until around 8:00 PM so after dinner DH and I headed up top to watch us leave port,
Then we went to the Outlook Café for a night cap and some hot chocolate and called it an early night. We had another early excursion tomorrow in Juneau.
Our towel animal tonight was:
Next: A Whale of a Tale
Here's the famous driftwood house.
Do you remember I mentioned the Klondike National Park Museum earlier? Well, its sister museum is in Skagway. I wanted to go to the National Park Museum and get my book stamped. This museum also held a replica of all the supplies the miners would have to bring with them.
It was amazing, how much these people hauled into the Yukon with them. I think Canada just wanted to discourage the miners from coming, but it didnt seem to work.
After the museum, we took some pictures around town.
This is the engine they use to blow the snow off the track. It was last used a few years ago. Alaska has had some mild winters the last few years.
It was getting to be around 5:00 PM so we headed back towards the ship. It was a very windy walk.
When we arrived, we were directed to reboard on Deck 3, port side. Never did that before either. We sanitized our hands and boarded.
Dinner tonight was in Tritons with the Prince and Princess menu. Since this was a 9 night cruise, we would have 2 different menus added. This was the second different menu that we would have this cruise. The first menu was on the first night. We had just enough time to drop our stuff in our stateroom and head to dinner. We didnt even change clothes for dinner. We all wore our jeans. I changed shoes, but that is about as much time and energy I had.
Dinner was good.
DNeighbors went to see Million Dollar Arm in the Walt Disney Theater. Maleficent would be PremEARing at 12:01 AM in the Walt Disney Theater.
DNDDC would be attending with the 18*21 group. The Wonder didnt leave port until around 8:00 PM so after dinner DH and I headed up top to watch us leave port,
Then we went to the Outlook Café for a night cap and some hot chocolate and called it an early night. We had another early excursion tomorrow in Juneau.
Our towel animal tonight was:
Next: A Whale of a Tale
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Day 7: Juneau
Friday, May 30, 2014
Sunrise: 4:04 AM
Sunset: 9:45 PM
Temp: 50s
All Ashore: 6:15 AM
All Aboard: 4:45 PM
Our plan today was to go whale watching. Everybody on the DIS board raves about Harv and Marv’s. However, once again, call us crazy
, our group wanted to do something different. The tour operator would need to be able to take 11 people and accommodate a wheel chair. After doing some research, we found Weather Permitting. They were ranked highly on Trip Advisor and were great to work with organizing our tour. I highly recommend them! 
I got out of bed this morning and went to the verandah; we were already heading in to dock in Juneau. It was a cool and cloudy day. There was one other ship scheduled to be in port today, but we arrived first.
Again, we had an early morning having to meet our tour at 7:50 AM. We ate at Beach Blanket again this morning. Can’t get enough of those sausages and danishes!
After breakfast, we had some time so we walked around Deck 10 and took some pictures. DH and DD even played some ping pong.
After meeting the group at the Aft 7 elevators again, we walked to the forward elevators. We got off 1st deck forward this morning. This is what it looks like as you get off the ship.
Weather Permitting was picking us up at the dock. 2 taxi vans were waiting for us. We were discussing who would ride in which taxi and I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing as I entered one of the taxis. Wouldn’t you know that I hit my head again in almost the same place that I had hit it in Sitka. I think I literally saw stars.
I had to take a moment before I could climb in and be on our way. Good thing I had Tylenol with me. I was getting quite the knot on top of my head.
The taxis took us to Auke Bay where we waited for Captain Harry.
Captain John met us and took us down to the boat. The girls were more interested in looking at exposed sea stars and other crustaceans as the tide was very low and they were very visible.
To be continued.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Sunrise: 4:04 AM
Sunset: 9:45 PM
Temp: 50s
All Ashore: 6:15 AM
All Aboard: 4:45 PM
Our plan today was to go whale watching. Everybody on the DIS board raves about Harv and Marv’s. However, once again, call us crazy
, our group wanted to do something different. The tour operator would need to be able to take 11 people and accommodate a wheel chair. After doing some research, we found Weather Permitting. They were ranked highly on Trip Advisor and were great to work with organizing our tour. I highly recommend them! I got out of bed this morning and went to the verandah; we were already heading in to dock in Juneau. It was a cool and cloudy day. There was one other ship scheduled to be in port today, but we arrived first.
Again, we had an early morning having to meet our tour at 7:50 AM. We ate at Beach Blanket again this morning. Can’t get enough of those sausages and danishes!
After breakfast, we had some time so we walked around Deck 10 and took some pictures. DH and DD even played some ping pong.
After meeting the group at the Aft 7 elevators again, we walked to the forward elevators. We got off 1st deck forward this morning. This is what it looks like as you get off the ship.
Weather Permitting was picking us up at the dock. 2 taxi vans were waiting for us. We were discussing who would ride in which taxi and I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing as I entered one of the taxis. Wouldn’t you know that I hit my head again in almost the same place that I had hit it in Sitka. I think I literally saw stars.
I had to take a moment before I could climb in and be on our way. Good thing I had Tylenol with me. I was getting quite the knot on top of my head.The taxis took us to Auke Bay where we waited for Captain Harry.
Captain John met us and took us down to the boat. The girls were more interested in looking at exposed sea stars and other crustaceans as the tide was very low and they were very visible.
To be continued.
OttawaMumTo2
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2014
Us too! Do you already belong to the DISgroup or FB group for our cruise?
Ia am getting so excited!
TheChanClan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2014
curious question...when you did the tour into Canada, how was it at the boarder crossing? Did they do a simple passport check or did they scan the passports? thanks in advance...still thoroughly enjoying your report!
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Since it was a tour, I don't know what kind of information Frontier provided to the border patrol. But, all we experienced was a simple passport check on the train. We held our passports open to our picture page and the agents quickly came through the cars. At the border in the van, they pretty much waved us through. However, there was no line at the crossing.
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Once Captain Harry joined us, we attempted to be on our way. Unfortunately, Captain John was having trouble starting one of the engines. Fortunately, after some maneuvering, Capt. Harry was able to get it going and we were on our way. Evidently, whale watching in Juneau is a close community and you could hear chatter on the radio about whale sightings. There's an old line from M*A*S*H, that goes if you see a bunch of flies together, you know their talking about a horse. So, if you a saw large group of boats together in one spot, you knew they're watching whales. 
Today would be no different.
While we were heading out, Capt. Harry gave us our safety information and some very interesting information on the whales we would see. He told us how humpback whales eat; how after they scoop thousands of gallons of water into their mouth, how their mouth actually expands to take in the water, and how they sift it through their baleen, then they turn on their side and swipe the inside of their mouth with the tongue to move the krill down their throat. When they do this, their fin will come out of the water as if waving to you.
The first thing we saw after heading out was a rock full of seals.
We could see Mendenhall Glacier.
We then spotted a humpback whale in the distance and went to watch it. It blew a few times and then went down deep. You can tell when they go down, because they fluke. This is where you get the great tail photos.
We then went in search of another that had been spotted. We found some sea lions.
We were watching for it when word came over the radio that orcas had been spotted. Capt. John immediately headed in that direction. Thar they blow!
You can tell the orcas because of how the tall black dorsal fin sticks out of the water as they swim. Did you know that orcas aren’t really whales at all, but dolphins? It is believed that they got their name “killer whale’ because natives had seen them kill other whales, thus becoming “killer of whales,” and the name stuck. Did you also know that orcas have been known to attack great white sharks and if an orca is in the vicinity, the great whites will swim away?
We followed a big male orca for a while and then spotted a mama and her calf. It was a little annoying how some of the smaller boats jockeying for position would block our view. But, eventually the orcas would move back into view.
2 big fellas.
Eventually the orcas joined another pod and we caught 6 or 7 of them together.
We must have counted at least 8 other boats following the orcas, including a big Allen Marine boat. At one point a boat cut across our bow causing quite a wake that knocked some our group over just barely missing falling over the rail. Not good! I think the boat was reported by another who was there and saw it happen.
Orcas seemed to be all over the place. My DH, who wasn’t intent on getting photographs and was looking behind us, actually saw a big male breach and a baby jump out of the water. These sea mammals were magnificent.
Unfortunately, our time was up and we had to head back to town. What an amazing thing to see these animals in their natural habitat!
One the way into the pier, we spotted the number 1 eagle,. because he roosted on the Number 1 buoy.
Tide changes in Alaska 4 times a day and can change as much as 20 feet. The tide was definitely higher when we came back to dock. The dock, of course, rises and fall with the tide. Here is where a guy about 6 feet tall reached up and nailed a pair of gloves to one of the pylons. You can see how high the tide can get.
To be continued.
Today would be no different.While we were heading out, Capt. Harry gave us our safety information and some very interesting information on the whales we would see. He told us how humpback whales eat; how after they scoop thousands of gallons of water into their mouth, how their mouth actually expands to take in the water, and how they sift it through their baleen, then they turn on their side and swipe the inside of their mouth with the tongue to move the krill down their throat. When they do this, their fin will come out of the water as if waving to you.
The first thing we saw after heading out was a rock full of seals.
We could see Mendenhall Glacier.
We then spotted a humpback whale in the distance and went to watch it. It blew a few times and then went down deep. You can tell when they go down, because they fluke. This is where you get the great tail photos.
We then went in search of another that had been spotted. We found some sea lions.
We were watching for it when word came over the radio that orcas had been spotted. Capt. John immediately headed in that direction. Thar they blow!
You can tell the orcas because of how the tall black dorsal fin sticks out of the water as they swim. Did you know that orcas aren’t really whales at all, but dolphins? It is believed that they got their name “killer whale’ because natives had seen them kill other whales, thus becoming “killer of whales,” and the name stuck. Did you also know that orcas have been known to attack great white sharks and if an orca is in the vicinity, the great whites will swim away?
We followed a big male orca for a while and then spotted a mama and her calf. It was a little annoying how some of the smaller boats jockeying for position would block our view. But, eventually the orcas would move back into view.
2 big fellas.
Eventually the orcas joined another pod and we caught 6 or 7 of them together.
We must have counted at least 8 other boats following the orcas, including a big Allen Marine boat. At one point a boat cut across our bow causing quite a wake that knocked some our group over just barely missing falling over the rail. Not good! I think the boat was reported by another who was there and saw it happen.
Orcas seemed to be all over the place. My DH, who wasn’t intent on getting photographs and was looking behind us, actually saw a big male breach and a baby jump out of the water. These sea mammals were magnificent.
Unfortunately, our time was up and we had to head back to town. What an amazing thing to see these animals in their natural habitat!
One the way into the pier, we spotted the number 1 eagle,. because he roosted on the Number 1 buoy.
Tide changes in Alaska 4 times a day and can change as much as 20 feet. The tide was definitely higher when we came back to dock. The dock, of course, rises and fall with the tide. Here is where a guy about 6 feet tall reached up and nailed a pair of gloves to one of the pylons. You can see how high the tide can get.
To be continued.
pascalstongue
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2012
Love that you got to see whales and Orca's. Such an amazing experience.
TheChanClan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2014
The Orca pictures are great!!!
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Thanks! The entire trip was indeed a blast and exceeded all of our expectations. Seeing the orcas was totally wicked!
Thanks! I think it ranks right up there with "once in a lifetime" because I'm not sure we'll get an experience like that again anytime soon.
Thanks!
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Well, now that we’ve see the seals and whales portion of our day, now we’re on to the glacier portion.
While waiting for our taxi, I spotted this heron intent on getting something to eat.
Capt. Harry gave us the option of being dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier, so we took him up on it. I guess Capt. Harry uses this particular taxi service regularly as the driver seemed to know him pretty well. She was telling us a very sad story about Romeo, the friendly black wolf who had lost his pregnant mate and hung around the glacier and befriended Harry and his dog. Harry even got him to fetch and eat dog biscuits. Anyway, to make a long story short, this wolf was eventually “accidently” killed by poachers. It was a very sad story.
After we arrived at the glacier, we asked the driver to pick us up in about 2 hours.
After stopping by the restrooms, we headed towards the Nugget Falls Trail.
While I was waiting for DH, we ran into MoonDaughter 23 and Mojo. DD joined them as they walked down the Nugget Falls Trail.
It was a very easy 20 minute walk down to the falls area and beach, with a beautiful view of the falls and glacier. We found DD and Mojo happily running around an almost empty beach posing for pictures. This was a lovely place to get good pictures of the glacier and ice. It had also started to sprinkle a bit at this time.
Don't you just love the blue of this ice?
On the way, we noticed this plaque in memory of Romeo, placed there by Capt. Harry. It was a nice tribute.
We made it to Nugget Falls.
Looking back towards the visitor center.
While at the beach, DD spotted that somebody had written “Alaska 2014” in the sand.
We started heading back towards the top.
We took tons of photos and then headed back towards the visitor center. We paid our $3 admission fee and got wrist bands. I also got my park passport book stamped, as Mendenhall is operated by the National Forest Service. If you have an annual National Park Pass, you can use that here as well.
They had a hunk of 200 year old glacial ice to touch. By the way, glacial ice actually takes a long time to melt because it is so dense. It is made of 90% water and 10% oxygen.
The time at the glacier went very quickly and before we knew it, our taxi arrived to take us back to the ship. After we got picked up, we asked the driver to drop us downtown so we could do some shopping. DParents and DCousinC asked to be dropped back at the ship.
To be continued.
While waiting for our taxi, I spotted this heron intent on getting something to eat.
Capt. Harry gave us the option of being dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier, so we took him up on it. I guess Capt. Harry uses this particular taxi service regularly as the driver seemed to know him pretty well. She was telling us a very sad story about Romeo, the friendly black wolf who had lost his pregnant mate and hung around the glacier and befriended Harry and his dog. Harry even got him to fetch and eat dog biscuits. Anyway, to make a long story short, this wolf was eventually “accidently” killed by poachers. It was a very sad story.
After we arrived at the glacier, we asked the driver to pick us up in about 2 hours.
After stopping by the restrooms, we headed towards the Nugget Falls Trail.
While I was waiting for DH, we ran into MoonDaughter 23 and Mojo. DD joined them as they walked down the Nugget Falls Trail.
It was a very easy 20 minute walk down to the falls area and beach, with a beautiful view of the falls and glacier. We found DD and Mojo happily running around an almost empty beach posing for pictures. This was a lovely place to get good pictures of the glacier and ice. It had also started to sprinkle a bit at this time.
Don't you just love the blue of this ice?
On the way, we noticed this plaque in memory of Romeo, placed there by Capt. Harry. It was a nice tribute.
We made it to Nugget Falls.
Looking back towards the visitor center.
While at the beach, DD spotted that somebody had written “Alaska 2014” in the sand.
We started heading back towards the top.
We took tons of photos and then headed back towards the visitor center. We paid our $3 admission fee and got wrist bands. I also got my park passport book stamped, as Mendenhall is operated by the National Forest Service. If you have an annual National Park Pass, you can use that here as well.
They had a hunk of 200 year old glacial ice to touch. By the way, glacial ice actually takes a long time to melt because it is so dense. It is made of 90% water and 10% oxygen.
The time at the glacier went very quickly and before we knew it, our taxi arrived to take us back to the ship. After we got picked up, we asked the driver to drop us downtown so we could do some shopping. DParents and DCousinC asked to be dropped back at the ship.
To be continued.
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Since we only had some very light snacks on the boat and no lunch, we were hungry. Once we were dropped off we headed straight to Tracy’s Crab Shack. It came highly recommended by Shane (our server) and I had read good things about it online. It wasn’t nearly the dive that had been described to us. There were permanent structures and a nice covered seating area with picnic benches to eat at. This came in handy as it was now raining.
But, most importantly, the food was just as good if not better than described. We ordered an order each of beer battered shrimp and crab cakes.
DNeighbors ordered The Crab Shack Combo which included (1) King Crab leg, (4) crab cakes and an 8 oz. cup of Bisque all for $32.95. The crab legs were humongous and served with melted butter. All the food was served with garlic rolls and cole slaw. We had the beer battered shrimp and crab cakes, which were both out of this world. So much so that DH went back and ordered seconds.
I went to take some pictures of the Wonder from the dock.
After the delicious snack, my goal was to find a mailbox so I could mail some postcards back home.
We walked down the main street and did some shopping and found the mailbox. Did I mention that it was raining now? On the way back towards the ship, DD went to the Del Sol store. Seems kind of oxymoronic in Alaska, right?
Anyway, they actually had a store in each port, kind of like Diamonds International. Anyway, DD found a really cute Disney Alaskan shirt with Mickey and Minnie and the Auriol Borealis on it that changes colors in the sunlight. It is really cool!
The shuttles were lining up across the parking lot from the Del Sol store. The last shuttle to the ship was at 4:00 so we went to stand in line and made it back to the ship before the 4:45 all aboard. We watched the ship leave port from our verandah before going to dinner.
While getting dressed, we checked the channel with all of the current weather info, route info, etc. This is what we saw. This showed the route we had taken so far to get to Juneau.
Tonight we would be heading back down Stephen’s Passage to Frederick Sound, then to Chatham Strait down to Clarence Strait, into Ketchikan.
It was semi-formal night and dinner was Triton’s with the Toy Story menu, complete with 3D glasses, which actually only makes the picture on the front of the menu 3D. We saw several people dressed as their favorite Pixar character. The table next to us dressed like the chefs from Ratatouille. Another family was dressed as Woody, Jessie and Ham. While I hadn’t ordered many drinks on this cruise, I did order the Deputy Mai Tai tonight, which was very good. I think it threw Steve for a loop as he assumed I didn’t drink. Everybody had a wonderful time on our excursion and was reliving seeing the orcas so close.
I took some pictures of DD at the Ariel statue. The girls went to see Maleficent in the Buena Vista Theater at 8:15 PM. While it was my original intention to join them, my head still hurt from hitting it in the taxi so I opted to join the rest of the adults in the calm and quiet of the Outlook Café. We were pretty much the only ones there. While we were sitting, talking and enjoying our various drinks, Jerome (the whale whisperer) spotted a whale off the starboard side. Soon after, the Asst. Cruise Director made an announcement that whales were on both sides of the ship. It had stopped raining, but it is still very wet on deck and very cold. DNC and I went out to the railing and watched several humpback whales. One was the nearest I’d seen yet to the ship yet (no photo cropping). (Thanks DNC for the photos!)
We watched them until they had gone under and were too far away to see. Once we returned inside where it was warm, it started raining again.
The Pixar Party was scheduled again for 10:15 PM in the lobby atrium. The plan was to meet DD in the stateroom and then head down to the party. When she arrived, she had changed her mind. After 2 early morning excursions and 2 full days in port, we were exhausted, so we called it a night and went to bed.
Our towel animal tonight was:
Next: You can fly!
But, most importantly, the food was just as good if not better than described. We ordered an order each of beer battered shrimp and crab cakes.
DNeighbors ordered The Crab Shack Combo which included (1) King Crab leg, (4) crab cakes and an 8 oz. cup of Bisque all for $32.95. The crab legs were humongous and served with melted butter. All the food was served with garlic rolls and cole slaw. We had the beer battered shrimp and crab cakes, which were both out of this world. So much so that DH went back and ordered seconds.
I went to take some pictures of the Wonder from the dock.
After the delicious snack, my goal was to find a mailbox so I could mail some postcards back home.
We walked down the main street and did some shopping and found the mailbox. Did I mention that it was raining now? On the way back towards the ship, DD went to the Del Sol store. Seems kind of oxymoronic in Alaska, right?
Anyway, they actually had a store in each port, kind of like Diamonds International. Anyway, DD found a really cute Disney Alaskan shirt with Mickey and Minnie and the Auriol Borealis on it that changes colors in the sunlight. It is really cool!The shuttles were lining up across the parking lot from the Del Sol store. The last shuttle to the ship was at 4:00 so we went to stand in line and made it back to the ship before the 4:45 all aboard. We watched the ship leave port from our verandah before going to dinner.
While getting dressed, we checked the channel with all of the current weather info, route info, etc. This is what we saw. This showed the route we had taken so far to get to Juneau.
Tonight we would be heading back down Stephen’s Passage to Frederick Sound, then to Chatham Strait down to Clarence Strait, into Ketchikan.
It was semi-formal night and dinner was Triton’s with the Toy Story menu, complete with 3D glasses, which actually only makes the picture on the front of the menu 3D. We saw several people dressed as their favorite Pixar character. The table next to us dressed like the chefs from Ratatouille. Another family was dressed as Woody, Jessie and Ham. While I hadn’t ordered many drinks on this cruise, I did order the Deputy Mai Tai tonight, which was very good. I think it threw Steve for a loop as he assumed I didn’t drink. Everybody had a wonderful time on our excursion and was reliving seeing the orcas so close.
I took some pictures of DD at the Ariel statue. The girls went to see Maleficent
in the Buena Vista Theater at 8:15 PM. While it was my original intention to join them, my head still hurt from hitting it in the taxi so I opted to join the rest of the adults in the calm and quiet of the Outlook Café. We were pretty much the only ones there. While we were sitting, talking and enjoying our various drinks, Jerome (the whale whisperer) spotted a whale off the starboard side. Soon after, the Asst. Cruise Director made an announcement that whales were on both sides of the ship. It had stopped raining, but it is still very wet on deck and very cold. DNC and I went out to the railing and watched several humpback whales. One was the nearest I’d seen yet to the ship yet (no photo cropping). (Thanks DNC for the photos!)
We watched them until they had gone under and were too far away to see. Once we returned inside where it was warm, it started raining again.
The Pixar Party was scheduled again for 10:15 PM in the lobby atrium. The plan was to meet DD in the stateroom and then head down to the party. When she arrived, she had changed her mind. After 2 early morning excursions and 2 full days in port, we were exhausted, so we called it a night and went to bed.
Our towel animal tonight was:
Next: You can fly!
ibouncetoo
<font color=009999>I get excited by the little thi
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2003
Wendy, loving your trip report and photos! It is bringing back a lot of memories of the first Alaska in 2011. I'm jealous of your longer cruise!
I had heard that Tracy's moved to a new location (or was about to) and your pictures do look different from the ones my cruise mates took (I wasn't there).
Can't wait for the rest of your report!
Jackie
.
I had heard that Tracy's moved to a new location (or was about to) and your pictures do look different from the ones my cruise mates took (I wasn't there).
Can't wait for the rest of your report!
Jackie
.
disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Hi Neighbor!
Thanks! I wish I were back in Alaska! It was so much cooler than it is here! 
That would make sense about Tracy's. It looked more like a permanent structure that had a souvenir store in the building that fronted the main street. It was also in front of Dock 3, I believe.
Stay tuned!
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