How do you celebrate the milestone birthday of your wife, mother, mother-in-law or grandmother? You go on an Alaska cruise! We’ve cruised as a family of four three other times, but this is the first time with a larger group, and to a location not in the Caribbean. The Ruby Princess is a lovely ship, and aside from very rough waters on our first day at sea, it is smooth sailing.
Whether you’ve cruised before or not, you don’t need to read about the ins and outs of life on the ship. Suffice it to say that there is trivia (we lose), bingo (we lose), games of cards in quiet lounges, and brisk walks around the Promenade deck. The food is fine but not amazing, with the exception of the cafe lattes. Those are amazing.
We arrive in Seattle the night before the cruise, with just enough time for a little walk on the waterfront and to Pike Place Market. The four of us visited Seattle last summer, so we serve as underpaid tour guides.
Once on the ship, we have a terrific view of the distant Seattle skyline from our balcony.
Mount Rainier is clearly visible as we set sail and head north. Last summer, we could not see Mount Rainier from Seattle at all because of the clouds. These clearer skies are indicative of the fabulous weather we will have the entire cruise.
After a relaxing day at sea (for those of use who do not experience seasickness), we arrive at our first port.
Juneau
The views from our balcony as we approach Juneau are pretty incredible.
I booked a combination Mendenhall Glacier/whale watching tour through Juneau Whale Watch, for much less than the price Princess was charging for an excursion booked through the ship. The short bus ride through Juneau is both scenic and educational, and we even glimpse some salmon running in the creeks as we drive by. As we board the boat, we glimpse our first bald eagle on the shoreline.
We see tons of bald eagles; they love to perch on the tops of street lights.
On the boat, Captain Ed and our guide John are cautiously optimistic about seeing whales, and we head out.
There were quite a few other boats on the water, and when a whale is spotted by one boat, the captain radios the other boats and they all take off. That’s how Ed knows there is a solo orca trolling about.
Apparently seeing orcas is a relatively rare occurrence, and they typically travel alone. After this guy swims off, we go in search of humpbacks. We find one.
It’s easy to forget how big they are when you just see the dorsal fin. When you glimpse part of its back and see the water spraying from its spout, you realize how massive that whale is.
He brought friends! I count three spouts…
…and a bunch of backs and a tail. This is a group of seven humpbacks, diving and surfacing together like no one was watching.
Ah, here’s the money shot.
I’m using my zoom, but it’s not a huge zoom. These whales are close.
Look how close that other boat is – the one that looks like it’s about to sink from the weight of all the passengers crowding on the back.
We aren’t quite that close, until the whales dive and resurface within spitting distance.
Don’t they look like a sea monster rising from the depths, or maybe Ursula from The Little Mermaid? Notice the birds – they sit on the water until the whales surface, so as soon as they took flight we all rushed over to that side of the boat to watch.
The whales dive down and resurface every few minutes. While we wait, I say hello to my sister in the front of the boat.
After about two hours on the water, we head back to shore. As we approach, John points out our next destination in the distance – Mendenhall Glacier.
It’s that massive block of ice at the base of the center mountain, between the right and left mountains. Want a closer look?
When you see blue in a glacier, you are seeing ice so dense that there are no air bubbles. There is a more scientific explanation involving wavelengths; you can read up on it here.
We hop on the bus for the brief ride to Mendenhall Glacier, and take our first group photo of the trip.
Most of us set off on the two-mile round trip hike to Nugget Falls. And by hike, I mean a walk on a paved trail.
That glacier we saw at a distance is now up close, but at first it is dwarfed by this incredible waterfall.
Nugget Falls is enormous; it wouldn’t all fit in the photo, but it drops over 350 feet. The tiny people at the bottom provide some scale. And it is LOUD – I can’t hear what anyone says unless they are standing right next to me.
Waterfalls and glaciers – this is Alaska.
Here’s that glacier we saw from the water – it goes on and on for twelve miles, and ends here.
Sometimes pieces break off and float in the lake.
This lake. The glacier is to the right, the waterfall is behind the sandbar.
My mother and brother-in-law do not take the walk to the glacier, opting to stay back at the visitor center and do a shorter walk. They see a bear, but it would not be the last one we see, or even the best one. But that’s for the next post, as twenty-nine photos is plenty for this one. Okay, thirty.
This was Juneau; come back for Alaska Cruise part two (and maybe three?) – Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan. See you then!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed my state. If thou thought the Southeast was beautiful….you should see the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, where I grew up! Google “Sherman City Hall.” That’s my home.
I remember reading your piece about mosquitos, Deborah – we did run into quite a few in Skagway.Your home is beautiful – I would love to visit more of Alaska! Maybe a land trip to Denali, and another cruise with different ports. I’m definitely coming back!
Looks amazing!
This is definitely on my list! So glad you are posting about it so I can get a taste. Looks amazing so far! So great to spend this time with your family too!
Oh, your family would love it, Leah! It’s great with older kids and even young adults. My kids had their own cabin, so it was a perfect mix of family time and some time apart.
Ooh, that’s a gorgeous view of Mount Rainier! I didn’t see it either when I was in Seattle last year. I’ve had Alaska is spectacular. We thought about going there this summer before I knew I was pregnant. I will have to live variously instead through your posts 😉
Yes, I think an Alaska trip might be quite a ways off for you:)
Thes pictures, Dana! Betweeen you and Kenya Johnson, you’re truly revving up my desire to go to Alaska. Eager to read more of your exploits!
Ha – Kenya and I were chatting in between our cruises. She gave me some great tips!
Thanks Dana for sharing your thoughts and photos of the beginning of your wonderful trip.
I don’t think I need to travel to Alaska now. I feel like I was with all of you!
Thanks, Andi! You should still go though 🙂
So so cool. I’d love to experience this some day – thanks for the plug!
I hope you do get to go one day, Amy!
Awesome! I’m not a huge fan of cruising, but I’ve heard an Alaska cruise is very worth the trip. Your post confirms this. Thanks for all of the great pics and for sharing your experience!
It’s definitely a different kind of cruise, and I loved it. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to convince Matt to go on another though – that first day at sea was really tough for him.
What a magnificent experience all around. Once again I am impressed by your financial savvy, Dana. As with the Lynn Canyon vs Capilano Suspension Bridge options, you managed to nail an adventure at a reasonable price. Isn’t that first whale sighting incredible? On our Alaskan cruise in 2007, we were blessed to see a pair of momma and poppa orcas coaching their littlies on the art of snagging a sea lion. It was astounding (and rather sad) to watch them toss the huge creature about as if it was a beach ball.
Looking forward to Part Two!
Ooh – an orca family, how amazing! We haven’t cruised much, but I’ve learned that a reputable company not connected to the ship is often much more reasonably priced. Working on Part Two now…
I look forward to it!
We didn’t go whale watching but the water where we were was so rocky. Yours looked so smooth. I generally don’t get seasick but there’s always that first time, right? I fear it!
Ahh.. I was there a year ago today. I miss it so much.
I’m sure – I want to go back! The water off of Juneau was really smooth, and really good for whale watching. But the number we saw was unusual!
WOWWWWWWWWWW.
that gigantic tail is Blowing my Mind.
AMAZING.
Have FUN))) Savor. x
I will!
LOVE the whale pictures. I got a money shout but we were on the ship and I zoomed as much as I could and tried to be still but it’s not nearly that close or worth sharing. I stopped taking pictures just to watch so I wouldn’t miss anything because my pictures weren’t going to be great. Great picture of Mount Rainier. I got one from the plane. It was blue skies on the ground that day we sail off but low puffy clouds we blocking it and they day we came back it was cloudy and foggy so you could see in the distance at all. I guess that’s why the space needle was disappointed for us. So was that a real camera or cellphone. If it was a cellphone – wow! But wow either way.
That photo was a real camera – most of them were. But Gwen got some of the best shots of the trip using her iPhone 7.
OMG to my typos. 😂
Love your whale pictures! Sounds like an awesome experience 🙂
It was…wait until you see the sled dogs tomorrow…
I so so so want to go. My bio 1/2 sister lives in Kodiak. I really should visit her, yes? What a fabulous family trip, Dana! You and Kenya are way cooler with your travels this summer than we are!
Yes you should visit her – what are you waiting for? 😉
You really get to see how “Mother Nature” controls it all and she is an amazing architect! Hope you had a great trip.
We did – thank you!
Thanks for sharing. I have a friend who also did an Alaska cruise this summer and she said it was amazing. I think that’s what I’ll have to do (but nervous to get on a ship with B. Will have him tethered to me the whole time. We didn’t do our road trip this summer, which was a massive bummer. Fingers crossed we get to do the PNW next year. Can’t wait for the next update.
I missed your road trip this summer too! We did PNW last year – what a great trip. Let me know if you want to chat about it at all.
Great post, Dana!
Thanks Mom:)
Looked like the perfect way to begin your Alaskan Cruise trip here. Awesome money shot by the way of the whales, as well as the perfect way to celebrate all your special family moments this year, too 🙂
It was an amazing trip!