Ketchikan Alaska, paradise

We technically had one more port call after this- Victoria, but it didn't count (more on that later) With Ketchikan they saved the best for last. The most disappointing thing about this port is how SHORT the port call is. We needed at least a few more hours. Caveat here, Ketchikan is a special place for me- my son is in the US Coast Guard and is stationed there! 

We arrived to rain, which for Ketchikan is pretty normal. It wasn't hard rain, just that grey chilly drizzly stuff that seems to permeate the Alaskan coast for much of the year. We headed up to the Cape Fox lodge to enjoy a REALLY good breakfast with our son. The views from the Cape Fox are wonderful- you tower above the town and have a clear view of the cruise ship through large glass windows that make up the restaurant. There is an elevator tram down on Creek Street by the way, that goes directly to the lodge for any of you who are on foot. 

Our visit was spent catching up with our son, touring the Coast Guard station, visiting a little beach area, shopping and seal watching on Creek Street, and finishing it off at Fish Pirates with a famed "Bloody Salmon" (a bloody mary with smoked salmon flavored vodka)  The sun did end up coming out and IU was able to grab some great shots of the spectacular scenery. This is really all about the pictures...

The town from the water-

Creek Street

Scenery around the island

Fish Pirates, Bloody Salmon! yumm!

Juneau

Usually when you think of a capital city you think of congestion, traffic, and suits walking around. This is so not true for Alaska's capital, Juneau. It's more like a frontier town than a major city. I have been to Juneau several times before and have explored it a little more in depth- there are some great sights like Mendenhall Glacier which are must sees for first timers, but we kept it really low key. I have a friend who lives in Juneau who stopped down to greet us, it was a great start to the day. We then headed down the street (everything in town is walking distance from the dock)  and enjoyed coffee, shopping, and people gazing. Lunch with Alaskan summer ale, and a hysterically funny character at the Red Dog Saloon finished our day pretty much. The Red Dog is funny by the way, it has a good inch or two of sawdust on the floor!

Every other shop in Juneau is a gold or jewelry shop.

 At the Red Dog Saloon

A tram runs from downtown by the cruise port to the top of a mountain some 2 miles away, a lot of people will ride it up and then hike it back down. We just drank Alaskan Amber and watched. 

Tracy Arm Fjord

Tracey Arm Fjords was a day I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from. I couldn’t understand why it got so much advertising in our cruise brochures. Well now I get it!  The outside temperatures were in the high 50s to low 60s, warm enough to get by with a hoodie or sweater. Chunks of ancient ice broken off of massive glaciers floated by. We spotted humpback whales and sea otters in our group, other groups reported seeing mountain goats on the surrounding cliffs. Something that surprised us was how narrow the channel was and how close were to the actual rock faces. It was amazing to see the waterfalls up close and personal! The Miracle offered a special excursion for people to ride small craft to a point up close and personal to Sawyer Glacier. We opted out (we’re budgeting our money for different expenses) but those who went seemed to have a great time. Otherwise this is a sea day- a sea day filled with amazing views, spectacular food, fun drinks, and plenty of casino bells ringing.

Our day on board was a mixture of busy and relaxing. Sightseeing on the decks took up a chunk but there was plenty of time for on board activities. We spent a few hours in the casino, mostly losing the winnings we’d made the night before- but we set a budget and we always go in expecting to lose it all and anything we make is a bonus. I stick almost exclusively to what I call “Mommy’s video games’ aka the slots. I’ll venture over to roulette a few times during a cruise but it’s few and far between because I like to make my fun money last a long time. My husband enjoys a particular type of black jack Carnival offers called “Fun 21”,  my non-player perspective is it works like traditional black jack but each seat has a special spot for a fun chip, it c an be as low as $1. If you hit blackjack on your initial deal then the house doubles your fun chip. This is on top of your normal bet. Typically my husband does much better at his game than I do at “Mommy’s video games”.

We also took some time out in the evening for some invigorating fun- we put the large, warm, plush bathrobes Carnivals supplies each guest in their stateroom, on over our bathing suits and headed for the adults only serenity deck. The Alaskan air was chilly and the Serenity deck was mostly empty, we hit the hot tub under the shadow of huge, imposing snow capped mountains… it was amazing!!

Late at night we opted to hit the Punchliners Comedy club for the 10:15 rated R show. Its strictly 18 and over, and the comedians at this set are usually pretty raunchy. Last night’s didn’t disappoint- it was belly laughter time!

If you’re wondering what our tween and teen daughters did during this adult time, the younger one was super busy with activities from her Camp Carnival teen Circle C club. They did everything from tween dance time to shipwide scavenger hunt, to smoothie party. My older daughter went to the older teen club for a bit then decided to snuggle down in her cabin with a good book and movie. This is why I like cruises- everyone does what they want! 

T minus 1 day and counting, Travelers Rev Your Suitcases

I'm really excited to share our upcoming Alaskan cruise with you all. I think in recent years, not without some legitimate reason, cruising has earned a bit of a bad name. Cruising Carnival in particular is in some circles considered as brave and dangerous a choice to make as say- taking up sky scraper repelling. This will be my 6th Carnival cruise (I have also cruised NCL and Royal Caribbean, both were enjoyable experiences.) so I have an idea of the ups and downs ahead of us. My hope is to present a really BIG picture of the family cruise, for those who have not previously cruised or perhaps have been shy to try the Carnival brand.

Is a cruise really an "affordable" family vacation? What exactly does your basic fare cover? What out of pocket expenses can you expect? Are there hidden fees?  How big are those cabins really- square footage only gives part of the picture after all! Can you squeeze 4 people in 1 cabin? Will my kids be bored? Will there be a lot of annoying drunk people around? What kind of food can I expect? What can I do on board other than eat and drink? How enjoyable can a port call really be if it's only for 7 hours? What's the REAL "tacky factor" on a budget cruise line?

I'm going to explore all of that and more; I will be inundating you daily with blog posts describing everything from the mundane to the insane-  cruise style. There will also be pictures, lots and lots of pictures! This will be a good time to subscribe to this blog or add it to your blog roller, so you don't miss any of it.