- Cruise planning, pre-cruise stay in Anchorage, Grandview Train to Seward, embarkation
- Morning at sea, Hubbard Glacier, La Cucina
- Icy Strait Point, Seven Seas main dining room
- Skagway, Cagney's Steakhouse, Juneau, Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier, Le Bistro
- Ketchikan, day at sea, Moderno Churrascaria
- Norwegian Sun Disembarkation, post-cruise stay in Vancouver
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Day 4 Freestyle Daily and inserts:
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Today, we arrived in Skagway along with other cruise ships such as the Disney Wonder, Holland America Zaandam, and Ruby Princess. It was 80 degrees, warmer than I would have expected on our cruise, especially when it was cold and rainy a few days ago.
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The last time we were in Skagway, we rented a car through Avis and drove out to the Yukon (remember the bears?). This time, we stayed in town and hiked to Upper Reid Falls. I referred to the National Park Service website as well as a printable map here. It wasn't hard to find the trailhead.
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The trail had a moderate incline and was well-maintained. Hardly anyone else was around; a nice escape from the shiploads of passengers in town.
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Once we reached Upper Reid Falls, it turned out that we had seen the lower part of it (Lower Reid Falls) while visiting Gold Rush Cemetery last year. There was no safe way to go down to the cemetery, so we went back the way we came, then stopped in town for an ice cream reward.
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We returned to the ship and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on our balcony.
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| main dining dinner menu tonight |
Tonight's dinner was at the specialty restaurant Cagney's Steakhouse. The decor was different from my experience on Norwegian Pearl as Asian fusion cuisine used to be served in that space. Since we were using the specialty restaurant package, the a-la-carte prices did not apply, though we could only order one main entree. The food was good, but my lobster was a bit overcooked. I'm sure I could have sent it back, but it was bearable.
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The teppanyaki dining room was next door; this specialty dining venue has always been popular, with reservations filling up way in advance of sailing. I've eaten teppanyaki before (ie. Benihana) so I won't consider doing it on Norwegian unless my traveling group wanted to try it together.
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Day 5 Freestyle Daily and inserts:
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Friday morning, we arrived in Juneau, with only half a day to spend in town before heading off to Tracy Arm. Since there was limited time in port, we decided to just visit Tracy's Crab Shack. I had considered taking the Mt. Roberts Tramway up to the top to enjoy the landscape but figured we wouldn't have enough time to do both, and food wins! Besides, we had seen a lot from the air on our glacier helicopter ride last year.
360 spherical picture of the port:
Port of Juneau, Alaska #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
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When we came back aboard, the crew was handing out moistened towels and refreshments for passengers, a nice touch!
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The ship departed for Tracy Arm Fjord. We missed this entirely on our cruise last year since it was scheduled early in the morning and we accidentally slept in, even through all the commentary blaring on the outdoor speakers. We got to see Sawyer Glacier at last!
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It got pretty cold in the fjord. Bits of glacial ice were in the water, some of it scraping the side of the ship as it sailed by...somewhat unnerving! (17 second vid):
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360 spherical picture of Norwegian Sun sailing away from Sawyer Glacier:
Tracy Arm Fjord on Norwegian Sun #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Tonight's dinner was at Le Bistro, the French specialty restaurant. This is still my favorite of all the ones I've tried in my limited experience on Norwegian. The menu has a-la-carte pricing, but you can order whatever you want using the specialty dining package, well worth it! (one main entree limit)
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We will be in Ketchikan tomorrow...stay tuned!
