We were up around 08:00, got ready and grabbed what we needed for the day. This was our first port day of the cruise. We headed down to the Cafe Promenade. I had brought my Red Velvet cake and had a cup of coffee with this. Graham also had some coffee as well as some fruit and a blueberry muffin.
While we were sitting outside Cafe Promenade, Graham spotted a bear going past. This was a different bear from the one that had been out for photos the previous week. I decided to follow. The bear was heading for the theatre. Initially the crew member sanding outside the door of the theatre did not want to let me in as I had no shore excursion ticket. I explained that I had no shore excursion booked but was trying to get a photo with the bear. In the end he let me in. I got my photo and left. I wondered how this photo would work out as the theatre is quite dark. They ended up adding background to the photo.
I headed back to where Graham was sitting and finished my breakfast. We were just about ready to leave when I spotted a different bear. We quickly got a photo. We were still moving at that point. We decided to head up to the top deck to watch the sail in. There was a photographer there, too. We got some more photos and then continued to watch the sail in. We docked not long afterwards. We waited until we were seeing people coming down the gangway and then we headed downstairs.
Our first port of call on this leg of our back-to-back cruise was Juneau. Juneau is the port we visited most frequently on our Alaska cruises. The only Alaska cruise we had taken that did not stop in Juneau was the northbound cruise the week before. When we first visited Juneau in 2013, we loved this port. It had a very distinct identity with lots of quirky shops. When we came back after the pandemic, it had turned into a vile tourist trap with various international chains preying on cruise tourism and shops selling cheap tat. This does not appeal to us at all. Add to this that the kind people of Juneau do not really want the cruise tourism and the port is just not very appealing. At best, it was fifty-fifty if we would bother to even get off the ship. I had downloaded an app that offers treasure hunts all over the world and we figured if the weather was OK, we could do the one for Juneau. Juneau does however have one redeeming feature, and this is Mendenhall Glacier. We had been there twice before as one stop of a shore excursion, but we both felt that we had unfinished business there. On our first visit to Juneau, they operated shuttles that cost about $20 per person and that ran on a timetable. You could essentially stay as long as you wanted. Sadly, this something else that changed after the pandemic. The prices had gone through the roof, and you only got a limited period of time.
With the weather being absolutely glorious and knowing that this would be our last ever visit to Juneau, we figured that it would be a crying shame not to head to Mendenhall Glacier. After all, any time we got there was better than no time at all. There are always a bunch of kiosks selling tours in the port area. We approached one of them and their price for the trip to Mendenhall was a bit cheaper than what I had found online. They also had a starting time about 45 minutes later. We decided to go for it. We were told where to meet and then we were free to leave. I took some photos of the Seaplex pandas from the dock. I also took some photos of the totem poles at the port. There seemed to a lot more of them than I remembered. Then we headed over to the general vicinity of our meeting spot and sat down.
About 5 minutes before our meeting time, we checked in with one of the representatives from the tour company. Once everybody had checked in, we were taken to our vehicle, which was a trolley. On the way to Mendenhall Glacier, our driver guide pointed out various things. As we got closer to the glacier, he made some suggestions as what we could do with our time. He also mentioned that we may encounter some black bears and gave us some guidance. We did not see any bears, but only a week later there were multiple black bears right by the main path near the visitor centre. After we were given our return time and were reminded where we would get the trolley back, we were released.
There were three things that I wanted to do. We headed towards the first, which was Photo Point. Photo Point is a panoramic overlook that provides great views over the glacier and Nugget Falls. However, on the way we got waylaid by an overlook just above the beach. We enjoyed the view there for a bit before taking the short trail to Photo Point. I took some photos and then we sat down on a stone ledge and enjoyed the view for a while.
Once we had thoroughly absorbed the view, we completed the trail. The second thing on my list was to have a proper look at the visitor centre. Graham decided to sit this out and stayed near the beach. I had a look at all the displays, and I finally got to see Romeo the wolf. Then I enjoyed the panoramic views before getting some magnets for the team leader group and some Glacier Smoothie glacier silt soap for myself. Then I rejoined Graham.
We then headed to the final place that was on my to do list, which was the Steep Creek Trail. Steep Creek Trail is a circular boardwalk trail that is known for its wildlife viewing potential. Black Bears can often be seen there from a safe distance. There were no bears that day, but we saw plenty of birds. Near the entrance of the trail was one of the park rangers. He pointed out a juvenile porcupine to us. This was something really cool to see. Once the porcupine had disappeared into its burrow, we completed the loop. We saw some more birds and some rabbits. Then we headed back to the shuttle stop. Everybody was back in time, and we headed back towards town as soon as our trolley got there. Our driver stopped downtown to let people off who wanted to explore the downtown area, but we stayed on to the final stop. We realised afterwards that the first stop was actually slightly closer to our dock, but there was not much in it. We also were not on any timetable, and this gave me the chance to get some photos of the totem pole with the bald eagle that I really like.
When we were dropped off, we headed back to the ship. We were ready for some lunch. Our plan had been to get some lunch at the pub. They have an a la carte menu of various bar bites. I had wanted to try this for ages, but never quite got around to this. As we had the ultimate dining plan on this cruise, we got a daily allowance for à la carte offerings. Unfortunately, the kitchen was closed for deep cleaning that day. We were assured that everything would be business as usual the following day. Instead, we headed to the Windjammer. Graham had a DIY salad and some bread. I had meatloaf and fries.
After lunch, we headed to the solarium to find a round lounger. One we had a base for the afternoon; I quickly went down to the cabin to drop off the coat and get my iPad. Then I headed back to solarium and spent a lovely afternoon chilling until it was time for afternoon trivia. When it was time to head down, Graham was slightly ahead of me. The ice cream man had no line, and I decided to quickly get a vanilla and chocolate swirl. Graham was more than a little puzzled when I was just behind him at the elevator lobby, but was carrying an ice cream. He suspected magic powers.
For some reason, I do not have the quiz sheet from that day and therefore cannot remember how we did. I know it was not a winning score, but I don’t think it was a disaster either. After the quiz, we had a nap. I had set an alarm as I had places to be. After missing out on the North Star on the first cruise and having my ride cancelled in Whittier to do technical issues, I managed to snag a slot for that evening. The North Star is one of the key features of the Quantum class ships. It consists of an observation capsule attached to a hydraulic arm. I got up at 18:00, got changed and then headed upstairs for my 18:45 time slot. I had wondered how busy it would be as we were still in port, but the slot before the one I had booked, and my slot were both at capacity. I enjoyed the ride and the views were great.
Once I was finished, I went to get Graham, and we headed downstairs to get some photos done before heading to dinner.
Dinner that night was at the Teppanyaki. This was a new addition during the recent dry dock. Before this, an Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant that served experimental and deconstructed food was in this spot. We had eaten at the Teppanyaki a couple of times on Odyssey of the Seas and knew what to expect. We love the food, but are not too keen on the noise, the “show” and the expectation of audience participation. Still, our chef kept it on the slightly more lowkey side of things. Soon after we were seated, our server came round and took our orders for our starters, drinks, desserts and also our chosen protein. Graham had glass of the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, and I gave the She’s A Geisha cocktail another go. This was better than at Izumi, but still not as good as it usually is. Graham had the salad with ginger dressing, and I had the miso soup. Everybody also got some edamame beans. Then the chef came out and cooked the fried rice and grilled vegetables before cooking the proteins. Graham had gone with beef tenderloin and tiger shrimp, and I had beef tenderloin and lobster. For dessert, we both had the assorted mochi ice cream. Graham had strawberry, and mango. I had strawberry, mango, and chocolate. Everything was delicious.
As we were right there, we decided to pay Chad at the Pesky Parrot a visit. Graham had his usual Monkey Business. I had a Rye Runner which consisted of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee rye, agave, lemon, orange & pineapple juices, grenadine, and Angostura bitters. I was not sure about this when I saw this on the menu, but it was actually really nice.
After this, we headed up to the solarium. We had no issue finding a round lounger. All aboard was not until 21:30. In the end, the light started to fade before we had even set sail. We headed down to the cabin and got ready for bed. I read a few pages, but soon we were both asleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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