Cathy, my early-bird friend was up and about for a couple of hours before I got up. The ship was headed towards Juneau. We were expected to arrive about 11AM. We had a very long port day too.
Unfortunately, the excursion we had booked and paid for was cancelled. Sigh. Something about our timing and tides. But it ended up being just fine. We booked Mendenhall Glacier and a Whale Watch through the ship.
We began our day in the Crow's Nest once again with Caramel Lattes and then switched to Bloody Marys. Oh my were they tasty. All of the chairs around the perimeter of the Crow's Nest were taken but we found a great table where we could see just fine.
The scenery was getting more beautiful by the day. We were just surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It was amazing.
As we approached Juneau, we saw there were a couple of other ships in port. And the skies were still sunny and it was quite warm outside. We watched as the ship docked in port and then made our way to the gangway to board our excursion.
NOTE: there were plenty of tour operators in port where you could have booked a ton of different excursions. We chose to stay with the ship because they refunded our original money back to our onboard accounts
There were only about 25-26 people on this tour! We drove through Juneau and I saw at least 20 Bald Eagles just hanging out on the light poles. Mind-Blowing.
When we got to Mendenhall Glacier, there was a nice visitor center and trails that ran all over the grounds. We got fantastic photos.
The second part of the excursion took place on a large, 3 story boat. We were told the boat could hold 250 people, but again, there were 26 of us! Private Tour. There was even a small bar and store that sold various kitchy kind of things. They served free coffee and donut holes. Of course, we had to have a shot of Baileys in our coffee!
We headed out into the sea in search of whales. The first thing you look for is the spray of water from the blowhole. Then the whales usually surface. We had many sightings and even managed to capture a whale tail! It was just incredible. The skies remained sunny and there wasn't a lot of chop on the water! The tour was several hours long.
The bus was waiting for us at the dock and took us back to the ship. I believe all aboard wasn't until 10:30. We opted to get back on the ship about 8:30-ish. It was too late to go to the dining room so we feasted in the Buffet instead!
No food porn to share! Sorry!
No luggage for Cathy either. Our "helpful" Customer Service Manager, Michael, stated no one had notified the ship that luggage had been delivered to the small Juneau airport. And he would not Email or contact anyone about it. WTF?
Interesting fact about Juneau. You can only reach the city by boat or airplane. No roads outside the city!
The casino once again called my name! So, off to 3 card poker I went. I did pretty well and managed to get a straight flush and a few other decent payouts. So, this girl went back to the cabin in a very happy frame of mind!
We were honestly on the go from the time we got up until we went to bed. Eating drinking, dancing in BB King's, just overall having the time of our lives!
It was a 'best day ever' kind of day!
jilly
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