KaydenDeen

Thanks, @twangster! 
Your Alaskan holiday is exactly what I had pictured for us. Im not concerned about the ship activities- I just want to see Alaska in all it’s glory. I’ve never heard anybody say anything negative about their experiences there. I’m headed there with high expectations and I have a good feeling that this is going to be a trip of a lifetime. 
 
Thanks again for all your help and inspiration. 

I've cruised Alaska a few times now. 
For years I always thought "bikinis look better than parkas" so I kept putting off an Alaskan cruise.  Then I finally did one.  Wow!  I was hooked.  
Every visit is different.  Every cruise has been great.  
I cruise differently when going to Alaska.  The ship activities and entertainment become secondary, I'm there for Alaska and I soak up every minute outside watching it all whenever possible.   I've even skipped all shows, 70's parties and such just so I soak in as much scenery as I can. I don't buy the drink package so I am sharp, up early to catch the sunrise then up late to watch the sunset in the inside passage.
If you are going to Dawes glacier move around the ship.  Go down to a lower deck and watch ice flows passing by then try the helipad then try a higher deck then lunch outdoors at the aft of the Windjammer to watch it all sail by.  So beautiful and seeing the ship in close proximity to the high mountain walls is magical.
Enjoy your cruise!

I’m hoping that my odds of winning a bid will go up on my Alaska cruise if the passenger count remains low.  I placed a bid for the first time and bid low. Either way, I’m going on an Alaskan cruise! There are no losers in the game I’m playing. 

Thank you!!
You guys are going right after us.
We go 08/27-09/03, this is our first time in Alaska too.
I'm so excited too!!

@MicDay I’m glad you’re here! The more information I have on Alaska the better! It just makes me MORE excited for this trip

The whale-watching tour that we did in Juneau was very good.  We saw a lot of whales.  One, "Sasha", even breached directly (about 75 feet) behind our boat (about 5 of us saw it, everyone else was looking at another whale in another direction).  Even in Juneau, where there are more boats, the captains still share information for locations of the whales.   I'd do it again in a heartbeat (from either port of call).

@SpeedNoodles what company did you use in Juneau if you don't mind sharing.
 
@KaydenDeensorry I keep highjacking your thread!

We booked it through Royal, but it was operated by Allen Marine Tours.  The boats were good sized, but not as large as the one in the photo that Twangster posted above.  The employees were fantastic (but I'd imagine you'll find that with the majority of tour operators up there).
 

@AshleyDillothank you but I just reread what you and KaydenDeen are talking about my cruise does not go to ICP but Juneau.  But I will keep this in mind when we go back ?
Thank you!

Just so everyone knows, the captains of these excursions boats all know each other, it's a small community even if the company they work for are competitors.  Most will get on the radio and exchange sighting locations.  On the smaller boats you may be able to hear the radio chatter and see this in action yourself. 

@twangster@AshleyDillo
Such great advice. I am going to take your suggestion and will take a private excursion on a smaller boat in ICP. Found a small company with a smaller boat for a reasonable price and great reviews. #excited

Day 7 - Juneau - continued
After the glacier flight it was such a nice day I wanted to go up the Mt. Roberts Tramway to catch the view.  Lines were short and I knew they would get longer later so up I went.  A ticket on the spot was $35.


Stunning views.



Celebrity Millennium


There are a series of trails, some short, some long.  

The short trail has some wood carvings on display, some in the form of mini totem poles.



You can walk up the trail from town but it's not for the weak knee'd.

inside the restaurant and shop area they have a bear on display.

Wood carvers using only hand tools can be observed.

Lady Baltimore is a rescue Bald Eagle that is unreleasable back into the wild.  She spends her summers in residence near the top of the tramway but unfortunately hadn't arrived yet for this season.
Time to head back down.


A video from inside a tram as we went up.
Back on the ship I saw the North Star in operation.  However it was performing maintenance runs only and not accepting guests when I was there.

In better light compared to our early morning arrival here is Juneau "downtown".


As I walked the upper deck I noticed a strange mist hanging in the trees.  It's pollen being released by the trees.

It was kind of cool.  Suddenly one tree would let loose it's pollen as if someone flipped a pollen switch on.


A look over at the Millennium looking quite nice with her recent refresh.

After dinner I went back up top side for a sunset.

Returning to my cabin I discovered a crystal block gift from the Crown and Anchor Society for crossing a threshold on this sailing.  The first block is awarded at 140 points and then every 70 points thereafter.

 

Ok, this is like “Where’s Waldo?”  We dropped in on the Cruise Critic meet and greet, since my wife was following this cruise on there.  One of the attendees took the mic asked if @twangster was in the room.  Only response was - the sound of crickets.  He made a few quite complementary remarks about your photos that you have shared and remarked he is looking to run into you.  
Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.
 
 

I kept putting off an Alaskan cruising for years, then I did one.  Then I did four more.  Alaska is beautiful.  You won't regret it.
PS - I have two more Alaska cruises booked and will go again in 2023 once they release that season.  Every visit to Alaska is different.  
Here is another thread on Ovation:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12630-ovation-goes-north-way-north-to-alaska-11-nights-may-13-2019/
Maybe some of those port stops overlap with your cruise for more ideas.

Dinner for Night 1:

Ocean View Stateroom

I think I mentioned that ISP is located in a prime whale watching area which means our sail away could yield some whale sightings.  Time for the helipad.  
The view from my office:



Notice the glacier in the distance?  More on that later.




Many Alaska communities are landlocked - no roads in or out.  Alaska boasts the "Maritime Highway".  A number of car/passenger ferries that have scheduled service between communities so you can drive along the Maritime Highway.  Here is one of them in the distance.  

Several whales were spotted in the distance but too far away to get a decent photo, that is until this one popped up just off the helipad port side, about 30 yards out.


It was a little stingy with it's fluke, not giving us a nice full view but some whales roll that way.

In the distance we could see several water spouts.  A sizable pod was swimming a mile or so away.  There must have been eight or more taking turns spraying water into the air.

If you are going to whale watch on the sail away from ISP you might want gloves and a hat.  With a slight wind it was a little chilly.
Since I had Voom I looked at a map and sure enough Juneau was straight ahead on the other side of Admiralty Island that sat between us.  As suspected that is Mendenhall Glacier in the distance.  

Here is the special drink display they had set up at the Sky Bar. 
Baileys and Hot Chocolate was pretty darn good.

 

Day 3 - Juneau
We had a noon arrival scheduled so we spent the morning sailing up the channel towards Juneau enjoying rain wrapped mountains on both sides of the ship.  The temperature in the mid-50s wasn't too bad but the light rain made it feel colder than it was.

We joined a number of ships already in port including Radiance of the Seas and a Silverseas ship (Silver Spirit) at the main pier with a Seabourne ship at anchor (tendering).  A Princess ship was in port.

Our excursion would depart shortly after the ship's arrival in Juneau so we visited the Windjammer when they opened at 11am then got ready to depart as soon as we were given the all clear.  
Today we would be doing a two part excursion.  The first part was whale watching by boat followed by a short hike in the rainforest to Mendenhall Glacier.  We boarded a bus for a 20 minute ride to Auke Bay. 
Here we boarded the Navigator!  No, not the Navigator of the Seas, but a small whale watching boat named Navigator.

Before leaving the marina area we were treated to dozens or Bald Eagles sitting, flying, fishing and just hanging out all around us.


Our guide tells us a lot of people get this next bird confused with something else but it is still a Bald Eagle, just a juvenile bird who will get it's white head after a few seasons.

Captain Jen and our guide Jamie took us out away from land where we saw more Eagles.


It didn't take long before Captain Jen spotted the first whale.



This is apparently Sasha.  Each whale has distinctive markings on their fluke and the boat carries a book with pictures of each fluke they use to identify them.

Both our guide and Captain spend the winters in Hawaii and summer in Alaska following the whales.  They breed and reproduce near Hawaii then migrate to Alaska each summer to feed.

We zoomed off on a 20 minute boat ride to another area, listening to radio chatter from various other whale watching boats.  In this next area the water is hundreds of feet deep and whales swim right next to the shore where it isn't shallow.  The mountains rise hundreds of feet above us so you can imagine the steep, shear cliff walls plunging down underwater into the depths.

There was a group of several whales swimming with each other, various spouts of water every time they came up for air.    There must have been six or seven in close proximity.  Possibly some juvenile whales and their family on their first trip to Alaska.

There are many types of whale watching boats.  This next one was similar to the size of boat I took last year. 

I spotted several Royal Caribbean jackets from the logo shop on board Explorer on this particular boat.  It was likely another RC excursion.  

With only a dozen on our small boat it made for better viewing oportinities and being smaller and more agile Captain Jen was able to quickly maneuver us for the best photo angles.

We did it in Icy Straight.  There was much less to do there when we visited than Juneau so we made that our whale day.  We went on a small, private excursion with just five on the boat and the captain.  We got to zip to all the spots before the bigger tour boats made it.  We even saw whales right off the dock when we were there when we got off the tender.   They built a real dock now, so I don't know if the whales come that close anymore, but it was amazing.

Icy Strait Point is known for marine wildlife.   However I've also gone whale watching in Juneau on a different trip.
Both are acceptable but I'd give ISP a nod for better chances.  Some of their tours even guarantee seeing marine wildlife. 
Where ever you do it I'd advise seeking a smaller boat if you want to get closer to the action and have better views.  On the larger excursion boats when someone yells whale 150 people run to that side of the boat.   

Day 6 - Ketchikan 
This port is NOT on the Alaska Group Cruise
Ketchikan would be our last Alaskan port on this cruise.  

It’s a pretty port with good shopping.  Close to the ships are the same sort of shops found in Juneau but walking past the port area there are some local native art shops and the Creek Street shopping district.



My excursion at this port was a boat ride into Misty Fiords National Park. 

We saw lots of eagles along the way.


There is a volcanic ‘plug’ on the way.

Float planes are also used to visit the area and we saw many of them along the way.














 
Misty Fiords National Park is beautiful and we had great weather.  The water is incredibly deep, over 800 feet in places in close proximity to the shore.




The ride back was cool but refreshing sitting outside.  There is indoor seating but it was so nice in the sun many folks stayed outside despite the cold breeze coming off the water.

On the way back the Captain took us past some islands with seals sunning themselves.


And of course more eagles.

Back in Ketchikan I wandered around and did some shopping.







It was too early in the season to see the Salmon run but Ketchikan is known for it.

Ketchikan is home to a totem pole park.  While I didn’t make it there on this trip, there are many totem poles around the town.

Hey everybody! Last December I went on an 11-day cruise with Royal Caribbean on 'Serenade Of The Seas'. It was so life-changing and inspiring that I decided to start a travel blog. I'm now writing about every port we stopped and the overall ship life. If you want to know about the juicy details of cruising go check it out and follow! www.incrediblewanderwoman.com 
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Just make it a sea day.  Not a big deal at all.

I’m hoping that my odds of winning a bid will go up on my Alaska cruise if the passenger count remains low.  I placed a bid for the first time and bid low. Either way, I’m going on an Alaskan cruise! There are no losers in the game I’m playing.