Today was our day to visit Juneau, the capital of Alaska. The ship wouldn’t reach Juneau until noon, so we had some free time on our hands before we got there. I was up early and headed to the Solarium for some coffee. Everyone else was still in the room and asleep. I grabbed a cup and went to sit by the glass to take in the view. While I was watching, I saw a few pods of whales, including one Orca that decided to jump out of the water and make quite a splash!
Eventually, Nancy texted to let me know that she was awake. She came up to meet me in the Solarium. We grabbed some breakfast at the cafe for the girls and headed back to the room. While everyone was getting ready, I went out on the balcony to look around.
The weather forecast was calling for high winds. The Captain came on at one point to let everyone know it might get a little rough until we made the turn to go into Juneau. The Cruise Director then let everyone know that all boat and aircraft related activities in Juneau would be canceled since the water was so rough. While this didn’t impact our plans, I know there were a number of upset passengers. After all, that’s one of the great things about taking a trip to Alaska.
After everyone had a light breakfast and got ready, we headed to the Seaplex. We wanted to get in line for bumper cars! We lined up early and were ready to go once it opened. We had a great time with bumper cars. You only got about 3 minutes or so of time during the round, but it was still a lot of fun.
After bumper cars, we headed to Sorrento’s to grab some pizza for lunch before we got off the ship. By the time we were done eating, they announced that we could head off the ship.
We exited the ship to an amazing amount of chaos. With all the excursions being canceled, everyone headed off the ship to see what they could book on their own. The private excursion companies were selling various activities right on the dock. We wanted to try to go to the Tongass National Forest to see the Mendenhall Glacier. On our previous trip to Alaska, we saw the glacier from a distance but felt like we missed out on the opportunity to see it up close.
We had originally thought about taking an Uber or a Taxi to the glacier, but decided that a tour company might be easier. With the pier being in such chaos because of the cancelled excursions, it took us about 20 minutes to get to the front of the line. We booked a round trip bus to the Mendenhall Visitor Center with M&M tours. They told us to head over to the parking lot and get on the Blue Bus. The cost was $30 per person.
The bus was basically an old school bus. It was fine for the trip to the park. The driver gave us some basic background information about Juneau, which was nice. They told us where to meet the bus for the return trip (same as the drop off location) and what the schedule was (every 30 minutes).
We were dropped off in the parking lot of the Visitor Center. The bus driver told us that there was a nearby salmon creek we could look at and where the Visitor Center was, along with where to look for the trail map.
There was a portable restroom in the parking lot that we decided to take advantage of before we got going. After we finished, we headed over to the nature trail that sits on top of the salmon creek.
The salmon creek was really popular and the salmon were really easy to see. There were dozens of them in the creek. We stayed there a few minutes before heading farther up the trail.
As soon as we turned the corner, we saw a bear having lunch in the creek. The bear was about 100 feet or so from the trail we were on. The trail is elevated over the creek, so we weren’t in a position to have an encounter with the bear at all.
There were lots of people that headed over to the spot to get their bear pictures. We watched him for a few minutes, and then continued on. Spotting the bear was one of the best parts of our trip, because it was so unexpected.
After we left the nature trail, we headed to the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is elevated so we could get a nice picture of the glacier and Nugget Falls. There were rangers stationed in various locations dispensing advice. They said we could hike down to the falls on a fairly short trail, so off we went.
We went first to the Photo Point Trail to get more pictures and then we would double back and take Nugget Falls Trail to get to the falls.
Almost all of the trails are marked with a sign to indicate the danger of bears. There isn’t a huge danger since the bears don’t really want to deal with people, but there are warnings just in case.
All of the trails are really well marked and are lined with crushed rock. It would be almost impossible to get lost if you are going to Nugget Falls. There are also a ton of other visitors (hundreds were there the same day as us).
The Photo Point trail was great for getting pictures of the glacier. The photo point is elevated so you can see above the trees.
You can capture the glacier and the falls at this spot.
After going to Photo Point, we backed up and went down the Nugget Falls trail. I believe it was about a mile long, but it was really easy. The trail is relatively flat and could be walked by almost anyone.
As you get closer to the falls, you will see a “beach” that was built so you can go all the way down to the base of the falls.
We spent about 20 minutes or so at the base of the falls taking pictures and absorbing the views. After everyone was done, we turned around and walked back to the Visitor Center. After resting for a bit, we headed back to the bus stop and waited for the blue bus to arrive to take us back to Juneau. The bus arrived, as promised, and we got back on board. After a quick trip (complete with an eagle sighting), we arrived back in Juneau.
Once we got off the bus, we decided to get some lunch. The last time we visited Juneau, we ate at the Hangar on the Wharf. We decided to go back there for lunch. The Hangar is a basic seafood type pub, with burgers and other offerings. What we liked the most about it is the view of the cruise ships.
After lunch and a few beers, we decided to walk back towards the cruise ships (and shops). We spent a little bit of time looking in the shops. The girls wanted to get some souvenirs for their friends. Everyone found something they wanted to buy, so it was successful. We decided to head back to the ship before it got too late (although the ship wasn’t leaving until 9 pm).
We re-boarded the ship and went up to the pool deck. I wanted an ice cream cone, but instead ran into a bear mascot. It wasn’t what I was expecting.
After the second bear encounter of the day, I headed back to the room for a nap. The girls went off to explore the ship some more. We eventually got back together around 8:00 pm. Nobody was super hungry, but we decided to go to the dining room just for dessert. We got to the dining room at our assigned dining time of 8:!5 pm. The dining room manager seemed highly confused though. He eventually sat us, but we had a different wait staff. Since we only wanted dessert, we really didn’t care very much.
After we were done eating, I stopped our waiter to ask them what the issue was with dinner. He said that we should have been told the previous night that the dinner plans for the night were altered since they thought most people wouldn’t be getting back on until late (and therefore wouldn’t want dinner). We had dinner the previous evening in Chops, so we never got the message. I think a number of the dining staff had gotten the night off.
After our dessert, we were all exhausted. The walk to the glacier and back really took a toll on us. We decided to get to bed early and went back to the room.
Tomorrow we would be in Skagway, one of our favorite stops in Alaska!
Planning | Travel | Seattle | Boarding | Exploring | Sea | Juneau | Skagway | Glacier | Sea | Victoria | Disembarkation | Travel
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