This was our second stop in Juneau. The weather forecast for this day had been abysmal when I had checked it the previous day and it was every bit as bad as the forecast had suggested. I was very glad that we did not have any plans after we gave up on the idea of heading to the Mendenhall Glacier that day. It would have been miserable out there in very dense rain. It was a very busy day in Juneau with five ships in port. This meant that we were docked at the AJ Dock, which is the furthest dock from the downtown area. As the crow flies, this is not actually that far, but you essentially have to walk three sides of a rectangle to get from AJ dock to the downtown area. When we got there, the Seven Seas Explorer was already in port, but we were the second ship in. I was very glad about this. A very dear old friend, Ovation of the Seas, was in port with us that day. The only ship that can compete with Ovation in terms of memories we have made on this ship is the Disney Wonder. Even though I felt if one could have a ship as a spirit animal, Radiance of the Seas probably would be it, Ovation is still my favourite ship. I was thrilled that we would be in port with her twice this cruise. As soon as I woke up, I used one of my free internet days to check where Ovation was. She was still a fair way out. I was quite happy about this as this would mean that she would have to sail right past us.
We figured that we would have enough time for breakfast before she would sail past us. We headed upstairs to the Windjammer. We ended up in the side room again and for the second time, we were treated to some dinner theatre Alaska-style. This time round, it was a bald eagle that provided the entertainment. We got some really close flybys. It was utterly fascinating to watch. We had our usual food of fruit and yoghurt followed by oatmeal for Graham and congee for me.
When we had finished out breakfast, I checked the position for Ovation again. She was getting close. We tried to figure out what the best spot would be to take a decent photo of Ovation as she came past. We figured that the window in the elevator lobby on deck 6 may be a good idea. However, the perspective was not quite right. We headed down to the promenade deck and slightly more forward. Fortunately, there are very strict speed restrictions in the port and Ovation did not move very fast. We had plenty of time to find the perfect spot and in the end, I managed to get a nice photo.
Once this was accomplished, we headed to the Schooner Bar for a whole trivia marathon. First up was morning trivia. This was definitely not one of our best performances. We only got 7 out of 20 and the winning score was 16. This was definitely firmly in crash and burn territory. Straight afterwards was a riddles challenge and we did better with this . We scored 15 out of 21, but that was still not quite enough. The winning score was 16.
After those two events, there was a bit of a gap in trivia. Where we were sitting, we were looking straight at some shipping containers. This under normal circumstances would not have been the most thrilling of views, but a bald eagle decided to perch on top of one of the shipping containers. There was an uncharacteristic amount of action going on. At some stage we noticed that there was a second bald eagle, and I think we got treated to some kind of mating display. It was amazing to be able to watch those beautiful and majestic birds relatively closely.
There was also another napkin folding class going on. There were less takers this time round, which meant that they could make more pieces of napkin origami and also some more complex stuff. I had fun watching this in between observing the antics of the bald eagles. After this, it was city nickname trivia. I think we did really well and got 18 out of 21, but the host never asked for the scores. Still, it was a lot of fun.
After this, we headed up to the Windjammer for some lunch. I indulged in the DIY salad again and Graham had various pizza slices and chips. I figured I wanted more than just salad that day. I had some pork schnitzel, fried potatoes, green beans and a very nice chickpea curry. I also had some soft serve ice cream. Then we headed back to the Schooner bar to watch the bald eagles for a while.
About 30 minutes before the next trivia we were interested in was due to start, we figured we may as well have a change of scenery. We headed over to the Colony Club where the trivia events were taking place that day. Superhero Trivia had just started, which is not our scene. Still, we were happy to watch and the seats in the Colony Club are quite comfortable. The bar was also open, and Graham had a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc over the course of the afternoon and I had a couple of desert pear margaritas. I was very surprised that there were a few questions that I knew the answer to, but most of them were about characters that I had never heard of.
Once superhero trivia was over, it was time for foods around the world trivia and this was much more our thing. We actually ended up with a perfect score of 20 out of 20 and we were the only people who had a perfect score. I was able to pick my prize. I chose a Royal Caribbean medal on a pink ribbon. The final trivia of the day for us was nowhere near as successful. This was Mother’s Day trivia. I should have known where this would go. Back in 2023, we did Valentine’s Day trivia and felt like a fish out of water. This was no better. We scored 8 out 20. However, as the winning score was only 11, we did not feel so had about this.
Once Mother’s Day trivia was finished, we went outside for some fresh air. We took a turn around the promenade deck, and I got some nice photos in the process. Seven Seas Explorer was already leaving, and I took a photo of the ship with some beautiful mountains in the background. On our wanders, we bumped into the staff captain. We talked to him for a while. He was from Croatia and had previously been on Ovation. He had been able to visit the ship earlier that day. He still knows a lot of people on there, but he prefers working on Radiance as this gives him more chance to interact with the passengers. I most certainly get this.
While we were out and about, it brightened up a little. The rain turned into a very light drizzle and the wind had also calmed down. We decided to go up to the helipad. We were rewarded for this. Across from the helipad were some Sitka deer. Graham had his small telescope in his pocket, and we took turns watching them. Unfortunately, they were too far away to get a photo. Still, it was a real treat to see them.
When we started to feel cold, we headed up to the Crown Lounge for a while. There were some snacks out and I indulged in some chocolate covered strawberries. Graham had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and I had a Passion Spritz. I took a few photos, and we just relaxed. Once it started to get busier, we headed back to the cabin to get showered and changed. Once we were ready, we went for dinner.
Dinner that night was A Taste of the USA. Graham had the chilled shrimp cocktail for his starter, and I had one of my perennial favourites, the baked potato soup with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives. For his main course, Graham had the lobster mac and cheese. I decided to be brave. I had the fried chicken feast with roasted sweet potato wedges, buttered corn and ranch dip. I had some awful fried chicken on Ovation in February 2023 and have not touched it on a cruise since then. However, there was really nothing that I fancied that night and actually, it was really nice. For his dessert, Graham had the warm apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream, and I had the Royal Chocolate Cake.
After dinner, Graham took some photos of my outfit and then we headed to the cabin. We got ready for bed. I read a chapter of my book and then I went to sleep as I was going to have an early morning the following day.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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