Quantum of the Seas / September 11 - 18, 2023

[DDaley]

We are heading out on our first Alaskan adventure in less than a week! I booked this cruise last June, two months before getting married/going on our honeymoon to Greece and somehow at the time, all I could think was “we’re going to Alaaaaska!” The days have flown by and suddenly this once-mystical seeming month of September 2023 is upon us and we’re finally going to get to see some majestic Alaskan scenery before all the glaciers melt completely.

I am most excited to sit out on my balcony and see waterfalls streaming down mountains, and check things off my Alaskan wildlife checklist (which includes a bear, eagle, otter and whale)!

Itinerary
This 7-night sailing makes four port stops. We were originally slated to visit Skagway on Day 4 but got it swapped for ISP due to the (un)available dock space in Skagway after a landslide last year. I was so sad since I had White Pass Railroad tickets at an amazing price, I so wanted to ride it after seeing it on an episode of Mighty Trains on Smithsonian channel. Guess it means we’ll just have to make it back to Alaska again in the future! (PS. Where my Mighty Cruise Ships fans at??? Best show on TV)

Day 1 - Monday - Departs Seattle, WA
Day 2 - Tuesday - Cruising
Day 3 - Wednesday - Sitka, AK
Day 4 - Thursday - Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, AK
Day 5 - Friday - Dawes Glacier & Juneau, AK
Day 6 - Saturday - Cruising
Day 7 - Sunday - Victoria, BC
Day 8 - Returns to Seattle

Who’s Going - my husband (Adrian) and I (Daryl)

Cabin
Back slumming it in an Ocean View Balcony on the 12th deck (12254). Alaska is wayyy pricier than the Caribbean so I couldn’t swing a JS this time as it has been consistently priced about $2k more than our balcony. I need that money for lavish excursions!!

Pre-Purchases
As usual, I had to stalk the DBP for awhile before purchasing, we finally got it at $62.99, the lowest price I have seen since the pandemic! I am guessing sales aren’t great on our sailing since others on September dates have reported $68 as the sale price.

We have two specialty dinners booked at Izumi and Wonderland on nights 2 and 4. I am still thinking about adding Jamie’s on night 6... should I give in? It just doesn’t seem worth $49 each. We ate there on Navigator but that was back when it was priced around $32 which seems more reasonable for the fare. I can’t wait to see what Wonderland is all about! I am sure it’s a one-and-done, but figured we have to try it out since it will be the first ship we’ve be on that has it as an option. If all else fails, at least we’ll finally get to taste The World as a consolation prize. 

We have a two-device Voom plan this time, we will see how speeds compare to sailing in the Caribbean. I am going to try my best to keep the live-ness up on this blog!  

Pre-Cruise
We are flying in a day early simply because it’s a Sunday and my husband and I will already have the day off. There were about 5 safe options that could’ve gotten us up the coast from San Diego on the morning of embarkation but since neither of us have been to Seattle, getting to see a new city was a bonus! We used A2S and got the tickets for $120 each on the day booking opened, now my Google flight tracker says the same exact flight costs $838 per person!!

We’re staying at the Holiday Inn Downtown because it’s close to the Space Needle and was one of few hotels available because of 2 large Seattle conferences that start Monday. I booked it last October so I have to assume people trying to find a hotel right now are scrambling. Everything I want to see seems walkable from this location!

While in Seattle we are planning on seeing Pike Place Market, walking the waterfront, riding the Wings Over Washington ride (one of my favorite DCA attractions is Soarin’) and visiting the aquarium. I have Space Needle tickets booked for embarkation morning at 10am, mostly since it should be a lot quieter than the alternative options on Sunday afternoon. This is also nice because I was planning on riding the North Star first thing on boarding to see the city but it’s still broken down and will be until Quantum’s next dry dock. 
 

 

Feel free to ask any Quantum/Alaska itinerary questions. Having sailed only Freedom, Oasis, Navigator and Brilliance we are so excited to try out this new (to us) class of ship! Of course these boards/RCblog have proved valuable in getting me up to speed on Quantum class so I would love to help out future cruisers any way I can. 

Been watching this countdown since it was in the mid-400’s!! Ahhhhh!

 

[SweetPea]

Alaska is in our bucket list once we start flying again so definitely following. 

And, go with your gut ... $49pp is not worth it for Jamie's IMHO.

[Ampurp85]

Oooooooh this will be a nice one. But I would agree that $49+grats for Jamie's is not worth it. 

[jbrinkm]

2 hours ago, DDaley said:

We have two specialty dinners booked at Izumi and Wonderland on nights 2 and 4. I am still thinking about adding Jamie’s on night 6... should I give in? It just doesn’t seem worth $49 each. We ate there on Navigator but that was back when it was priced around $32 which seems more reasonable for the fare. 

If your ship has it as an option, you could consider a boarding day lunch at Jamie's. Half the price and gets you away from the WJ chaos!

[deButler]

@DDaley  Can’t wait to join you on your journey, both figuratively and literally, as we will also be on this same sailing. Like you we booked it last year and with the heat we’ve had here the last 2 months it just couldn’t have gotten here soon enough. Super glad to be heading out in one week. 
 

Hope to get a chance to meet up while onboard. Enjoy the trip!!!

[DDaley]

3 hours ago, SweetPea said:

And, go with your gut ... $49pp is not worth it for Jamie's IMHO.

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

But I would agree that $49+grats for Jamie's is not worth it. 

Thank you for confirming my original thought! If I could just get the 150CP garlic bread in place of the Ultimate Garlic Bread I would give in and pay it. 

1 hour ago, jbrinkm said:

If your ship has it as an option, you could consider a boarding day lunch at Jamie's. Half the price and gets you away from the WJ chaos!

I am now seriously considering this idea! $21 makes it all sound a lottt more worthwhile. And I could try the Truffle Tagliatelle for @asquared17! haha

[DDaley]

42 minutes ago, deButler said:

Can’t wait to join you on your journey, both figuratively and literally, as we will also be on this same sailing. Like you we booked it last year and with the heat we’ve had here the last 2 months it just couldn’t have gotten here soon enough. Super glad to be heading out in one week. 

Please feel free to add any pics or sailing anecdotes as we go! This is the first vacation I have actually started packing a week in advance for, I am usually a day-prior packer but we are sooo ready to go, too. Even excited to see a little rain, anything better than sticky humidity!

[asquared17]

35 minutes ago, DDaley said:

And I could try the Truffle Tagliatelle for @asquared17! haha

IVE BEEN SUMMONED

i actually quite enjoy the option to get lunch aboard but it typically doesn’t work out for us since we are sun seekers and i am loathe to sacrifice the time midday for a specialty meal. 

however alaska is a much different climate and to me this sounds like an excellent idea!!!!

[JVPIII]

10 hours ago, DDaley said:

We have two specialty dinners booked at Izumi and Wonderland on nights 2 and 4. I am still thinking about adding Jamie’s on night 6... should I give in? It just doesn’t seem worth $49 each.

Depending on price another option would be to get the 3 meal specialty dining plan. This may save you on all three meals to make it worth while 

[DDaley]

10 hours ago, JVPIII said:

Depending on price another option would be to get the 3 meal specialty dining plan. This may save you on all three meals to make it worth while 

Thank you! I contemplated this but even if I bought all three as dinners, it saves exactly $6 total so I figure the extra $6 is worth having the dining times I want ahead of boarding. 

16 hours ago, asquared17 said:

i actually quite enjoy the option to get lunch aboard but it typically doesn’t work out for us since we are sun seekers and i am loathe to sacrifice the time midday for a specialty meal. 

haahaha I understand completely! Now I am worried about being so full midday that we won’t make it back out for dinner. Could be a perfect Jamie’s lunch/WJ dinner night combo I think! 

[DDaley]

Excursions

Like a few of you on these blogs, a @twangster Alaska cruise blog is what convinced me to book this one. He always said to have a hefty budget for Alaskan excursions and he was not wrong! (PS. Can we all get together and group-fund his photo server fees to see those beauties again?)

We are spending ~$750 per person on our 4 excursions which is a far cry from $75 pp/per excursion in the Caribbean. I have seen prices rise crazily since I started booking these excursions a year ago. I got the zipline in Victoria for $106 each - currently $194, Kayak in Juneau for $207 each - currently $324. Just wild increases!! 

Sitka
I had planned to head out to The Fortress of the Bear in the morning via public shuttle, but just found out Sunday they’re at visitor capacity limits and will close the venue on days the town passenger count exceeds 5,000… which of course includes our scheduled stop. Hopefully I see some in-the-wild bears to make up for it!

Instead, I found a walking tour map of Sitka, so we will still cruise around and see the totem pole trail, possibly swapping the Raptor Center in place of the bears.

We do have a private marine life tour with Sitka Adventures in the afternoon! I found this tour simply by Googling 'Sitka tours,' knowing I wanted to get on the water in this port. Captain Gary has great reviews, I am hoping he will cruise us by Rockwell Island as I am a sucker for lighthouses.  

Icy Strait Point
I bought all-day gondola tickets to the top of Alice Mountain through the cruise planner + a small boat whale watching excursion through Trip Advisor. I settled for this similar excursion in two ports because I didn’t find much else we wanted to do here (once we got it swapped for Skagway) and I wanted a smaller boat than the tours offered through RC. More chances for me to spot otters and whales and bears, oh my!

Juneau
I have dubbed this day Glacier Day as we’ll be cruising Dawes in the early morning and kayaking on Lake Mendenhall in Juneau in the afternoon. Hopefully we’ll be getting a bit closer to the glacier than we did during this day’s earlier drive-by.

I had originally planned to take the Blue Bus straight to the Mendenhall visitor’s center and hike to Nugget Falls but am so glad I booked this since everyone’s future Blue Bus tickets were recently refunded. They’ve also reached their max tourist limit for this season and guests will have to make their way to Mendenhall on their own.

I thiiiink I might also get Goldbelt Tram tickets for after our excursion, it’s just so hard to say no to a gondola ride and scenic mountain vista!

Victoria
We are getting in to port at 5pm (!) so this will feel a lot like a third sea day. We booked a zip lining excursion through Royal since we have such little time in this port. The venue (AdrenaLINE Zipline Adventure Tours) isn’t even open after 5pm during normal operating hours so we couldn’t have done this one on our own if we tried. The excursion wont get back until 9:30pm so I have a note to try and remember to start packing on the previous night. Boooo.

 

We booked iFly on our first cruising day, and I also snagged The Royal Society of Puzzles on Day 4 at ISP (after all-aboard so I wont feel like I am missing out on precious port time). We love playing video games so an escape-room-ish situation with puzzles sounds amazing.

Entertainment bookings opened at the 6 week mark but the only show available before boarding is Starwater in the 270. We have it scheduled for night 1 since I figure we’ll be at our freshest! Who knows what a day in Alaska takes out of you?

[DDaley]

Packing

I have been watching the weather in Sitka, Hoonah and Juneau for months and that whooole time they haven’t wavered on their predictions that it’s going to rain at least a few hours in each of our Alaskan stops. Because of this I got us each a pair of completely waterproof pants! They make a funny swishing sound when you walk but I will be happy to be dry, especially in Juneau where it predicts rain while we’re kayaking.

We are trying to go with only a carry on suitcase (Away soft-sided) and a personal bag each. As it’s looking right now I think this might mean I have to wear my hiking boots on the plane which will be an amazing look.   Don’t make me check an additional roller bag! I guess since it’s a non-stop it wouldn’t be too awful but I much prefer the single bag and suitcase for ease of getting around once we get there. I am going to try my best to cram it all in.. thinking I definitely should add an additional folded bag for my eventual Alaskan merchandise. 

Has anyone sailed Alaska recently and how did you find the weather? I am bringing sweaters and a rain jacket but should I consider my realll winter coat? I can’t decide! I am definitely bringing beanies, gloves and a scarf but will it be enough? 

[asquared17]

my parents just got back from alaska about three weeks ago. full disclosure they were on a hella bougie cruise that supplied rain jackets for them…. but they spent their time in the two to three ports walking around. self guided tours, if you will. 

they did kind of athleisure wear (lululemon/athleta) with trail sneakers — but doesn’t sound like their adventures were nearly as intensive as yours will be. 

layers were key but it sounded like it was decent weather - 50s and 60s? my mom did say one day was warm enough to lay out on the pool deck and she was delighted. 

On 9/5/2023 at 9:56 AM, DDaley said:

Now I am worried about being so full midday that we won’t make it back out for dinner. Could be a perfect Jamie’s lunch/WJ dinner night

i think this is the way to go!!!

[DDaley]

13 hours ago, asquared17 said:

layers were key but it sounded like it was decent weather - 50s and 60s?

Thank you!! I am tossing in my ski long underwear because then I can layer even more! 

[DDaley]

Update! Went with on-theme, iceberg blue nails. A color I never would’ve picked on my own but it felt right for Alassskaaa! 

Got another email asking me to bid on a RoyalUp this morning, those last minute cancellations must be pouring in! I haven’t bid on anything since the lowest option for a JS was $390 each and I can’t justify another $780 when I have spent so much on add-ons as it is. I think I would’ve been way more likely to bid if I got the double points in C&A, we are 9 points from Emerald so we still won’t make it after this cruise. Perhaps a last-minute 3 night from LA is in order this fall.

Last day of work today and am overtasked by about 8 hours. Gonna be a long day but soooo close to vacation! Relevant meme:

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

16 hours ago, DDaley said:

Has anyone sailed Alaska recently and how did you find the weather?

We have not, but my parents have sailed Alaska many times, May, June, summer, fall, they've sailed it. They usually pack a "thin winter coat" (picture Lulu Down for It All Jacket or some version like this) if they are sailing in May or the fall. In the summer months, they just take a light raincoat. By afternoon, they are usually wearing short sleeves and pants. I have never once seen my parents pack hats, toques, beanies, scarves, or gloves. But if you have space, go for it! lol

[asquared17]

13 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

picture Lulu Down for It All Jacket

the way this reference hit me

i love that jacket! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

the way this reference hit me

i love that jacket! 

I have that jacket (the older version of it) it so many colours lol

[deButler]

Made it to our gate. Next stop 75 degrees. CANNOT wait to get out of this heat. 
 

@DDaley  y’all have a safe trip up. See you onboard hopefully sometime next week. 

[DDaley]

2 hours ago, deButler said:

@DDaley  y’all have a safe trip up. See you onboard hopefully sometime next week. 

Safe trip to you, too!!! That would be awesome! 

[DDaley]

We are on our way! Waiting at the gate and treated to this looovely San Diego sunrise. We’ll be landing in Seattle around 11am and then will Uber to our hotel for bag dropping. 

Almost cruise day!
 

 

[MLH]

We got back August 20th. We had rain a few days and it was overcast. Very foggy and we could not get into one of the glaciers.  But the Hubbard was the clearest it has been all season.  It is hit or miss on the weather as my friend got back right before I left and she was in shorts and sunny the whole time.  

[deButler]

Seattle weather has been amazing. 82 and bright sun all day yesterday. Rainier was on full display. Today and tomorrow seems to be shaping up for similar excellent weather. 60 and 70 degree temps have been SOO relieving. 
 

Safe travels up all !!!  
 

[DDaley]

Made it to Seattle!! Dropped the bags at the hotel and walked down to Pike Place. Too bad we had to wear our jeans (packing troubles) and it’s such a glorious day. 73°F and sunny!

Having some chowder at Lowell’s for lunch. 

[DDaley]

We stopped by the Seattle Aquarium after lunch, and tried out the Wings Over Washington ride at Miners Landing which I found here on the blog! Both were worth the money to me, the aquarium took about 1.5 hours to walk through and had tons of different exhibits and cool technology. They had active tides in several pools so it was cool to see how the fish constantly ride the current in the wild. The Wings Over Washington ride is like Soarin Over Caifornia at Disneyland and features only majestic Washington overhead camera views. 

[DDaley]

Walked through the Olympic Sculpture Park this morning and spied a beauty waiting for us at Pier 91!! 

Now waiting in a loooong 10-10:15am line to go up in the Space Needle! 

[asquared17]

ITS CRUISE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FloatyBoaty]

We had a fantastic week last week and looking forward to another . Our first back-to-back process was very smooth. The Quantum crew, dining, entertainment have all been absolutely wonderful. Have a great cruise!

[DDaley]

The Space Needle was so much more impressive than I was picturing! I basically knew it was a nice view from the top of the tower but I didn’t know how cool the space is. The top level observation deck has angled glass walls looking down at the city with an open air top and the lower level has a rotating base and a glass floor! The view from here was amazing and we spotted Quantum again up at Smith Cove at Pier 91! 

I spy Mt Rainier!

The first of many Christmas ornaments bought in each port! 

From there we walked back to the hotel to grab our bags and check out. The Uber to the pier took about 15 minutes and embarkation was a breeze. 

Currently writing to you from my THIRD wait in the Guest Services line today; first because we only had one card on the door on arrival, second because then my husband’s new card didn't actually charge anything, back again because now our TWO cards don’t work and we were charged our most recent drinks despite having two drink packages! Please hope this is our last venture here! SHIP is BEAAAUTIFUL otherwise! 

Found a mini duck!!!!

 

[asquared17]

that mini duck is so cute i am crying

also…. three trips to GS on day one… let’s hope you’re getting all the nonsense out NOW!! the rest of the trip will be smooth sailing

[deButler]

Love the Seattle pics!! We’ve enjoyed our 2 days there as well.
 

Our Embarkation was so smooth. Our first visit to a Quantum class ship has not disappointed. Dinner in the MDR was MUCH BETTER than our 2 TAs earlier this year. Looking forward to our sailing and visiting the Alaskan ports. Have a great trip!!

[DDaley]

7 hours ago, deButler said:

Dinner in the MDR was MUCH BETTER than our 2 TAs earlier this year. 

Completely agreed!! We went to the Silk side of MDR last night and I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor and quality! We had to skip out on dessert to get to Starwater in the 270 so I will see how those compare.

[DDaley]

We loved Starwater! Not sure if there was supposed to be a plot but the special effects, good songs and interesting choreography were enough for us! 

The six moving screens and the background projections were so cool. I loved watching the performers disappear through the floor. They cut the lift out of the ceiling though, too bad. Kept watching for the lines to drop and they never did!

Heading to breakfast now, looks like a gloomy day.

[FireFishII]

A gloomy day at sea is better than a sunny day on land.  Thanks for blogging. 

[MLH]

You had a great day in Seattle with weather!  Hopefully it will improve for you.

[DDaley]

It turned into a partly cloudy day a little later, not too bad at all! We were able to get in some time in the Solarium this afternoon and the pool was even bearable. 

We went to the Top Tier event this morning, it was especially cool because it was in the 270 and they showed us an awesome robot tv screen demo at the end that really showcases their spinning and fluid motion.

After that we headed to our 11:30am iFly reservation. It was so much fun! It was a lot more effort than I assumed but such an exhilarating feeling! We liked our teacher Harry a lot. We ended up buying a 3 pack of images for $49.99 which we can pick up tomorrow. It took till my second try to focus and think oh so thiiis is the feeling of free fall.. there is so much going on with the instructor signaling you and also trying to remember to hold your body a certain way.

We hit up bingo this afternoon. One woman won games 1 and 3! 

We were greeted by our first towel friend after the single morning cleaning. Our attendant Sandi is so friendly and has brought us ice consistently! 

Izumi tonight and then the Sequins and Feathers production show. 

Getting cold out here! Snagged this extra blanket from a cabinet above the bed. 

[DDaley]

Went to Izumi last night and finally had enough sushi to satisfy me! Best roll, imho, is the Tuna Tataki which I never would’ve ordered on my own but a waiter back on Navigator brought it with the rolls I did order and it’s definitely their freshest tasting. They only let you order one small sake at a time with the DBP so we learned you both have to order one at the same time if you want more than 2.5 shots to split hahah

After dinner we were randomly in Schooner Bar for their movie song trivia and it was wildly hard! They play the first 2-3 bars of the songs and certainly never hit any choruses. Someone in there got all 16 right!  

We also saw the production show Sequins and Feathers.. not as amazing as Starwater but was fairly entertaining. 

Position report this morning on our way into Sitka! We went back an hour last night so it’s only 6:45am. Docking at 9, prepping for afternoon rain. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 minutes ago, DDaley said:

Someone in there got all 16 right!  

Not trying to disparage anyone, but I would be willing to bet that the ones that got all of the answers correct had played that same game before.  Trivia players are notorious cheaters !  (JK).  I've seen it too many times....the same players playing the same game on consecutive cruises.  Of course they won !  

[deButler]

I agree with trivia thoughts. Same questions do tend to repeat. We hit the 80s Trivia in Two70 and 2 groups got ALL 19 artist & titles. The band that played  after was great early on for the RocknRoll session but their sound during the 80s Dance Party wasn't nearly as good. 

[SweetPea]

OMG, how did i miss cruise day?! Looks like you are having an amazing time and got to see all you wanted in Seattle beforehand. 

Glad you are enjoying the ship. Hope the weather cooperates! Now excuse me while i go look up the Tuna Tataki!