Alaska - 2023
I got to cross a bucket list item this last month. I went on an Alaskan Cruise. This trip came a few years earlier than I thought it would but I’m happy I got to experience with a lot of my favorite people.
Back in February I got a call from Jennie. She said that my parents were thinking of going on a cruise. This is a big deal. I won’t get into the nitty gritty on why but the gist is my dad has some inner ear issues so he has always sworn off cruises. Jennie said that she was going to go with them and so was Joe and Keshia. I brushed it off saying they would have fun but we’ll have to sit this one out but Jared said “Right on. We’ll be there.” The peer pressure to join the trip snowballed when all my siblings said they were going. We couldn’t be the two people who didn’t go, right?
So the planning commenced. I started making a spreadsheet breaking down costs, cruise lines, ports, and even the weather for the two potential months we were looking at. We finally settled on an itinerary, cruise line, and date. The next step was to book the trip.
Months later and we finally, finally, were on our trip. We flew out to Seattle the night before because anxiety is a thing and I didn’t want a flight delay to ruin/stress out my vacation. The morning before we headed to the port, we walked over to the Space Needle and rode those electric scooters you see on the sidewalks. No one warned us how small the Space Needle was. Anti-Climatic is how I would describe it. But the scooters were a lot of fun! Jared and I even ended up riding the scooters down the port because the uber wouldn’t fit all of us plus our luggage.
Once on board, we did what everyone else did and head to the buffet. That is where we met up with everyone else. After lunch we explored the ship and found some couches on deck 8. We hung out there until our rooms were ready. After we departed from Seattle all the festivities began.
Sunday was our sea day and it was pretty rough. Throughout the day we were experiencing swells up to 34 feet. We tried to distract ourselves with trivia, bingo, comedy, and fresh air. As the day ticked on, more people were taken down with sea sickness. The ones who faired the best were the in-laws, Jennie, and myself. We can all thank Dramamine and ginger pills for their help.
Once we pulled into Sitka on Monday, we were all excited to see land. We arrived later than planned due to the storm we traveled through. This pushed our excursion plans just a bit. Once we bussed into town, we did a little roaming and then headed to our tour. We did the Sitka Scenic Tour which took us to Silver Bay, Fortress of the Bear, the Raptor Center, and Sitka National Historic Park. It was a great way to see all that Sitka has to offer. Joe, Keshia, and kids were on a similar but different tour but we rain into them at all the sites. It was so fun sharing those moments with the kiddos. At Fortress of the Bear my camera decided to malfunction so I couldn’t use it the rest of the trip. I am so sad I wasn’t able to use my camera but I’m glad our phones were still able to document the trip.
Tuesday was our Juneau Stop. Jared and I did a Segway Tour with a small walk through the Tongass National Forest. I am always torn when planning trips because you can do the “tourist trap” activities or try something different but miss out on the “one” thing that a place is known for. For example, we saw the Mendenhall Glacier from afar but didn’t go and see it with all the other tourists. I’m glad we did the Segway Tour because we got to walk the Tongass and learn so much. After our tour we met up with the group and did some shopping. Jared and I decided to head back to the ship because we were hungry and didn’t want to deal with the influx of people that all the cruise ships brought in. Our boat was on the farthest dock so we either had to take a shuttle or walk the 30 minutes back to the boat. We decided to brave the walk. My feet were aching and lucky Jared got to hear all my complaints. Once back on ship we decided to do some hot tubbing to help relax. For dinner we had reservations at the steak house. It was fancy and quite delicious. To end the night Jared and I spent time on our balcony looking at the stars and the lights of the houses as we passed by. This is probably one of my favorite memories because I felt so at peace. It had been a while since I had that feeling.
Wednesday was Hoonah and boy did we love Hoonah. We did Whale Watching and it was perfect. This was the one excursion we did as an entire family. We were aboard a boat named the Tail Chaser. Our Caption was fun and had an iPad to show us pictures of all the fish he has caught and bears he has seen. It was a fun way to learn more about Hoonah. The waters were calm, and the whales were hungry. We estimated that we saw 30+ whales. They were spouting everywhere. We didn’t see any large breaches, but we learned that whales won’t breach when they are feeding as it scares away the fish. There was one point where a few whales popped up about 6 feet away from our boat. They knew we were there, so they were making noises to warn us not to move. The entire experience was surreal. After whale watching we ate at a local restaurant. We felt like Hoonah had given us to much, so we wanted to return the favor. Everyone got salmon tacos except us non-fish lovers. We got tacos and fries. The fries were honestly the best fries, and I’ve had a lot of fries. Jared said the burger was in his top three favorite burgers. So, if you are ever in Hoonah, I recommend the Fisherman’s Daughter. Took the rest of the afternoon pretty slow then visited the kids before bed. They wanted some visitors, and we were their neighbors, so it was an easy choice.
Next stop was Ketchikan. Our wettest stop. It was raining when we pulled in. Our excursion wasn’t until 10:00 and our ship would leave shortly after. That meant if we wanted to see any of the town we would have to go before and then back to the ship for our excursion. Jared humored me and went to town with me. I wanted to see what else the town had to offer. The answer is, not much. We couldn’t have stayed on the ship and been just fine but I wouldn’t have known that if we didn’t try. We ducked into a ship to find shelter, walked down the road a little and then headed right back. For our excursion, we did the Lumberjack Show. This was super fun and we did all the hooting and hollering to cheer on the jacks. We watched them chop wood, use chain saws, climb poles, and naturally log rolling/splashing. Back on the ship Grayson had found a pole he could climb just like the lumberjacks. He quickly became a little star as people noticed him. That night I saw The Jersey Boys with Joe and Keshia. Jared was generous and stayed back to watch the kids.
Friday was basically another sea day. Thankfully we were on the inside passage this time, so the water was smooth and glassy. We watched fruit carving, played mini golf, ping pong, and card games. The afternoon was spent packing up our staterooms and watching out the balcony for potential whale sightings. We were supposed to port at British Columbia at 8:00. Jared and I had decided long ago that we wouldn’t get off the boat in Canda because it was a short stop and later at night. I made him promise me we would do a trip back so that we could enjoy BC in the sunlight. Everyone else had plans to get off so as they were prepping for getting off the ship, Jared and I went to see the performance of Six: The Musical. We had dinner reservations at a BBQ restaurant afterwards. The Canada port ended up getting cancelled because the computer system was down. This means no way of tracking who got off the ship. Everyone else was bummed their Escape Room or Carriage Ride was cancelled. It was definitely a bummer end for them.
What I have learned from this trip is I love Alaska, but I couldn’t live there for the sole reason of I don’t like seafood (cost of living is a short second). I definitely want to go back and see more of the beautiful place.
I loved having my family on this trip. We will be talking about this trip for years to come. No doubt about it.
