Alaska Cruise, Quantum of the Sea, July 18th-25th, 2022

We are still making up for all the lost travel over the last couple years, and specifically using future cruise credits from a Panama Canal cruise that was canceled in May 2020.  Doug and I decided we would do another Alaska Cruise.  We had gone several years ago with family, but this one would be just us. 

We decided on July, hoping the weather would cooperate.  Last time as a family we had gone in June, and it was beautiful weather the whole time. Surely, July would bring us good weather, right?  More about that later.

 

The plan was to leave on July 18^th out of Seattle on the Quantum of the Seas.  Our stops were Sitka, Skagway, Juneau and Victoria, then returning on July 25^th.

 

Since we were leaving out of Seattle, we made arrangements to park our car at one of the “Cruise and Park” lots near the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91.  Once at the lot they shuttled us to the terminal. It all went very smoothly and within a short amount of time we were through the line and getting on the ship. 

As in my other cruise posts I will tell a little about the ship, and then the excursions.

 

Ship

Quantum of the Seas.  I would consider this a mid-size ship. It had 16 decks.  We were on deck 6 forward, near the elevators.  We had a beautiful balcony room with plenty of room to move around.  It had a small sofa, a king size bed and a desk.  

 

The “promenade” deck was on 4 and included all the shops, Sorento’s (pizza), Café Promenade for coffee and snacks, and la Patisserie for coffee and pastries to purchase.  There was also and English Pub and the Main Dining rooms at the back of the deck and the Royal Theatre at the front of the deck.

 

Deck 5 had several of the guest services, the upper tier of the Royal Theatre, the Schooner Bar and the Bionic Bar, which was an experience of its own.  We were given a tablet to select a drink.  Once we ordered it went into a queue and the one by one the robotic arm selected a glass, moved around to get the “shots” and other ingredients from the bottles suspended from the ceiling, added ice if desired, blended if needed, then poured it into a cup.  When we saw our name on the reader board we approached and pressed a button which then brought the drink forward.  It was fun to watch, and of course the drink that anywhere else on the ship cost $11, was about $16.

 

The pools and Solarium were on deck 14, as well as the Windjammer Marketplace, the restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you didn’t want to eat in the Main Dining room.  Also on 14 was the North Star which was a capsule that elevates up to 300 feet above the ship for 360 degrees views.  I had scheduled to go on it ($20) however, at the time I was to go it was foggy and rainy out with not much visibility.   

 

Spa

Because we had purchased the cruise through Costco, we received 2 spa treatments, $50 in onboard credit and two soda packages.  I used the spa treatments for a 50-minute massage and a 50-minute facial.  Both were wonderful.

 

Entertainment

The welcome aboard show was comic and impressionist Dylan Mandlsohn, who reminded us of Jim Carrey. Later that week we watched ventriloquist Michael Harrison, also very funny, and Elton John tribute by Andy Elton.  The final show was a production show “Sequins and Feathers”. 

 

Ports of Calls and Excursions

Sitka

It was cold (56 degrees) and threatening rain when we pulled into Sitka.  The pier is about a 15-minute shuttle ride from downtown Sitka.  We had an excursion which included the National Historical Park and Cultural Center.  The park has a mile long Totem Trail which had beautiful totem poles, each with their own story to tell.  Our shuttle driver gave us the history of Sitka as we made our way to the park.  After spending time in the park and cultural center she dropped us off near downtown Sitka for some shopping.  Also included was an Indian Dance at the playhouse, but we opted to walk around the town.

 

Skagway

It was rainy and cold in Skagway.  Our original excursion which was sightseeing was canceled so we went on an excursion to a “mushers camp” up in the hills, and a stop at a pioneer cemetery along the way.  At the camp we learned about the Alaskan Huskies that pull the sleds during the annual Iditarod Dog Sled race, and even got to spend a few minutes with some of the puppies, which of course was the highlight of that tour.

 

Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier 

The plan was to sail into Endicott Arm at about 5am and stay until 9:30am.  If able, we were going to see Dawes Glacier.  Apparently, several ships had not been able to see the glacier because of the ice chunks prohibited them from getting far enough up Endicott Arm.  The plan was to be in Juneau about 1pm. 

 

I woke up about 6am and when I looked out the window and I saw that we were in port, which was confusing. Even if we had not been able to get as far up as the glacier, we would not have had time to get to Juneau after entering Endicott Arm.  Well, at about 8am the captain came on and explained that they had an emergency the night before and had to make the difficult decision to head straight to Juneau.  We found out later that a child had jumped down a staircase and shattered his elbow.  So, no glacier this time around.

 

Juneau

Since we were in port earlier than we originally planned we decided to get off the ship a little early and check out a few of the stores before went on our excursion.  It was very rainy and cold.  Our excursion was again about the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, but much more in-depth.  The musher’s camp included 40-50 dog houses, a training track and sleeping tents for the mushers.  We learned a lot about the training of the dogs, preparing them for the race.  We got to spend time with some of the puppies again.  The tour ended with everyone getting the opportunity to ride in a sled that was pulled by 12 huskies.  It was a fun experience that we both agreed we would do again!

 

Victoria

Our last port of call was Victoria.  We didn’t even arrive until about 4pm, and it was beautiful and sunny, about 70 degrees.  We had a 7pm “city tour” which was ok, nothing special.  

 

My least favorite part, the next morning was having to get off the ship so early.  We were back to our car by about 8:30 and home by 9:30 am.  We spent the rest of the day unpacking and resting….. The following day Doug tested positive for Covid.   I had it back in May, so I did not get it again.

I was hoping after finally be able to have this make-up cruise (after our Panama Canal cruise was canceled in May 2020), that Doug would decide that he wants to do more cruising.  Although we had a little trouble with the internet, which he needs to have for his business, overall, he did enjoy himself and said he would like to go on another cruise.  We’ll see!

Alaska Cruise, June 2007

In June of 2006 we started planning a family reunion cruise to Alaska. We had heard it was very scenic and beautiful, especially during the summer months. Carol and I went to Parker Cruises in Kirkland and talked with one of the agents about the different choices we had. We decided we would go in June of 2007 on Norwegian Cruise Line, with stops in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. Also, we would have several hours in Glacier Bay area. Once we had our itinerary we sent it to family to see who would be able to come. We were really hoping all of my siblings would be able to make it. In the end Dave wasn’t able, and although Phil and Naomi had planned to come, they were unable to after all. So it became 12 of us, Jon & Joyce and their sons Tim & Julie, and Ben & Jeanine, then Carol & Mike, Ruth & Earl, and Doug & me. We met at the cruise terminal in Seattle on Sunday June 17th. We were able to get on our ship the Norwegian Pearl about 12pm. Jon and Joyce and boys got on, and then decided to go down to the Seattle waterfront for awhile before our final boarding call at 3pm. We decided to explore the ship so we stayed on. Ruth and Earl and Carol and Mike showed up shortly after and got settled too. We had all selected balcony rooms on the 9th floor so we were close by each other. The ship left the Seattle port at 4pm. We didn’t have specific plans together for dinner until Monday night so we all were on our own to explore the ship and go to the shows. The first evening there was a “welcome aboard” show which was entertaining and fun, and gave us a chance to meet some of the crew. We ended up eating dinner with Ruth and Earl. Mike and Carol had reservations at the Steak House. Our cruise was “freestyle” so we didn’t have a specific dinner time. There were several restaurants, including about 4 that had a surcharge and were a little classier than the other choices. After dinner we spent a little time in the casino (which was a bust!) then enjoyed the late evening entertainment at the lounge on the 11th floor. On Monday we were going through the inside passage so it was scenic as we were making our way past Vancouver Island on up to Alaska. We again enjoyed the entertainment on the ship during the day then that evening we all got together and had dinner at the Italian restaurant. The food was good and we enjoyed visiting with each other. On Tuesday we pulled into Juneau about 2pm and were able to be off the ship until 10pm. We stopped at the fishery which had a museum, and then we headed to the town and explored the area. Mike, Earl, Doug and Jon and boys had scheduled a deep sea fishing trip so they went to that, while Joyce and girls wanted to go shopping. Ruth, Carol and I went on a tour which included the city highlights then on to Mendenhall Glacier which included a guided walk and the Visitor Center. It was so interesting to be so close to the glacier. Once we got back to town we met up with Earl, Doug and Mike and spent the afternoon exploring the town. We stopped at the Red Dog Saloon and at some of the shops in town. Later we ate at a little seafood restaurant right on the bay in town. Wednesday we got up early because we were in Skagway and we had scheduled the White Pass railway tour. The boys and wives were on a tour which included lunch so they were in a different rail car, but the rest of us were together. We enjoyed the scenic view of the mountains and were able to get out at the pass which is on the border of Alaska and Canada. After returning and exploring Skagway we headed back to the ship. On Thursday we stayed on the ship and were in Glacier Bay for most of the day. It was so beautiful to see the glaciers and to hear them cresting with the loud roar as they hit the water. There were small icebergs floating by occasionally too, sometimes with birds on them. On Friday we were in Ketchikan. Rather than dock in a port we took tenders to the marina. Doug and I got a late start so when we got off the ship the others had gone to the Lumberjack show which they said was entertaining. We went to the downtown area and explored some of the shops again. Creek Street has a collection of shops, restaurants and galleries in old wooden buildings built on pilings above Ketchikan Creek. After our day in Ketchikan we all got together for dinner that evening. We couldn’t get a table for all 12 of us so we decided to have the girls at one table and the guys at the other. It was fun to eat with Joyce, Jeanine and Julie as well as Ruth and Carol. The girls were having fun and had spent the day shopping. We had a great evening and spent time together afterward in one of the lounges. On Saturday we were mostly at sea, but docked at Victoria that evening. We walked from the cruise terminal up to town and went to the Titanic Exhibition which was at the Royal BC Museum. It was a poignant exhibition with actual artifacts from the ship. We were given a passport with an actual passenger’s name as we entered. At the end of the tour you were able to see if your passenger name was someone who had survived. After we left the museum we had time to go to the Inner Harbor where there is always entertainment. We walked through town awhile and then headed back for our last evening on the ship. There was a barbeque party planned so we headed to the restaurant for dinner. By now I think we all were tired of the ship food. It was OK, however it started to seem the same every night. I’m sure we gained weight though because you could eat all you want, anytime. We spent our last evening visiting and realizing our trip was coming to an end. Jon and Joyce and family were leaving immediately after we docked so this was our last chance to visit. That evening we were to leave our luggage outside our door. In the morning debarkation was somewhat chaotic. Everyone was given color coded cards so we couldn’t leave until our time to leave. We had time to go to breakfast before we left the ship, then it was our turn to leave. We had time for quick goodbyes to Jon and family before we headed home. Although Doug had been concerned about going to Alaska – he thought it would be just too cold, he actually enjoyed it. We had mostly 70 degree weather and a wonderful time with family. Another great vacation came to end!

To see more pictures, click below