We have made it safely back from Alaska and now we are all exhausted. It was a good trip and luckily the weather was nice for the entire time up there. No need for the rain coats. Here is a brief trip report from our frozen adventure.
Day 1: Our great friend Jeff drove us down to the dock and we ventured with 3 bags and a stroller to the terminal to board our ship. Embarkation was a breeze and we were on the ship within thirty minutes. We found our room pretty easily and then headed up to the deck for some grub. They had burgers and hot dogs available so we sat by the pool and enjoyed some grub. Our ship had water slides so we sat by the pool and watched the kids slide down one after another. The ship was pretty big but it was laid out differently than the previous ship that I had been on which I didn’t quite like. Everything was spread out instead of being in one centralized location so it made going places a little difficult since many required an elevator ride. The elevators seemed to be full quite a bit so it was some long waits.
Day 2: This was our first full day at sea and it was a rough one. Both Jeff and I had a little case of sea sickness so we had to take some medicine. Ethan was fine even though he had a very rough nights sleep due to not liking the crib that much. We used this day to explore the ship and also venture to the casino. I saw some dolphins off of the back of the boat during the day as well. There must of been at least twenty of them in the water. This evening we went to the steak restaurant which was very good. Ethan also was an angel during dinner and we got lots of compliments on how he was such a good boy.
Day 3: We arrived at Ketchikan in the morning and were off the boat exploring the city by 8. We first ventured to Creek Street which used to by the old brothels but have now been converted to shops and restaurants. We also ventured on a walk through the city exploring the Totem museum and the hatchery. This is the only day that we experienced light rain but it was not that cold out so it didn’t really bother us to much.
Day 4: We arrived in Juneau and got off the boat to board a motor coach to go and see the Mendynhal Glacier. It was the perfect day with no rain and patches of sun shining through the clouds. We first stopped at the salmon hatchery which was not to exciting since the salmon were not spawning. After that we ventured to the glacier which was a sight to see. We got a great view from the visitor center which had views of both of the glacier and the waterfall. There was also ice floating in the water around the glacier. This evening our ship ventured towards Tracy Arm and the Sawyer glacier but the ice chunks in the water were too big so we had to go a different route instead. I felt like we were on the Titanic. During dinner they had us at a window seat and all throughout dinner we saw ice chunks floating by and a ton of waterfalls which was so pretty. Possibly the best dinner scenery I have ever seen.
Day 5: We pulled into Skagaway in the morning and while we were walking down the docks away from the ship there were at least four seals in the water. They followed us to the end of the dock so we figured that the tourists must of fed them since they seemed very friendly. Skagaway was a old gold rush town with a lot of character. We walked through town and headed for about a two mile venture to the old gold miner’s graveyard and ventured to Red Falls while there as well. After our long hike we ventured back to town and had some pizza and beer (Alaska Amber) before venturing back to the ship.
Day 6: This morning while at sea when Ethan and I were eating breakfast I saw some whales out the window. Not a bad view for breakfast. We arrived in Prince Rupert around 4 and immediately got of the boat and ventured to town. They had some cute shops and there were a ton of eagles all around. We were only in town for about an hour since we had to be back for dinner and to put Ethan to bed but luckily the town was very small.
Day 7: This was our last day at sea and we spent it relaxing in our room and hanging out on our room balcony watching the waves. The weather was beautiful that day and it was the perfect temperature outside. I was actually able to read a few chapters of my book I brought was well which was so nice.
All in all we had a great trip. It was a little hard traveling with a baby though I must admit since we were a little limited on what we could do but all in all, Ethan was an angel the whole trip. We were able to go eat in the main dining rooms at every dinner without any problems. Ethan behaved the whole time and by the time the cruise was done he had a ton of new girlfriends. The only main pain was the sleeping issue since Ethan had a hard time sleeping during the cruise. He didn’t seem to adjust to the portable crib that well and since we had neighbors on either side of us we spent most of the night trying to get him back to sleep so he wouldn’t cry. Luckily though when we got home he was able to sleep through the night again back in his own crib so Jeff and I are no longer sleep deprived.
