One of the highlights of any Alaska cruise is when your ship sails as close as it safely can to a glacier.

The glacier viewing is a slow process, in which the ship moves up the waterway leading to the fjord at Tracy Arm.

We got up at 6am and bundled up to enjoy the view. We decided to go up to the pool deck to see the glacier, since our cabin had only a fixed view.  Plus, I knew the photos would look better without a piece of glass in the way.

We slowly meandered towards the glacier, which took about 90 minutes or so. Along the way you pass small icebergs in the water, waterfalls, and once in a while some wildlife.

Unlike the last few days in Alaska, the weather was not perfect. It was overcast, drizzling, and chilly. At one point I got a cup of coffee simply to hold the warm mug.

As we entered the entryway to Swayer Glacier, the Captain came onto the public address system to inform us we would not be able to get any closer and would have to turn back due to ice in the water.

Depending on how many pieces of ice are in the water, it can prevent a ship of our size from getting closer. Disappointing, but as we ran up to the front of the ship to get a glimpse of the glacier, it was evident there was just too much ice in the way.

I'm happy to have at least caught a glimpse of the glacier, but it would have been a very nice way to cap off this sailing. 

We went back to the cabin and rounded up the kids for breakfast. Once again, it was time to hit the Windjammer.

The rest of our day was a typical sea day, and it could not have come with better timing. With so many ports in a row, and the early morning glacier viewing today, I was definitely "burning the candle on both ends" and starting to feel it.

I was able to work in two different naps as a way to catch up on sleep, and we spent our day mostly relaxing in the cabin. 

As I always say, a relaxing sea day makes for a boring live blog, but I needed it!

Tomorrow is a sea day.

Stray Observations

We caught a glimpse of Quantum of the Seas around lunch.

The NBA finals game was being down on the pool deck

Today was a first for me, with two port to visit in a single day.

First up is Skagway, Alaska, and we didn't have firm plans for today's visit. We walked off the ship thinking we could do a combination of a hike and lunch.

Going off of our local's guide to Skagway, we attempted to walk the Dewey trail down to the lake.

Unfortunately, the path was very steep, with lots of rocks. While I think we could have made it, we bailed after about 20 minutes when the terrain got very rocky and steep. 

Back in town, we did a little bit of walking around before deciding to try a less demanding trail.

Located near the airport is Yakutania Point, which requires a short walk and easy terrain.

It essentially run parallel to where the cruise ships dock, but across the river. 

We easily navigated the terrain and ended up with a great view of the ship and the waterways entering Skagway.

By now, we were hungry and needed to sit, so we headed back to town for lunch at Skagway Brewing. They had a nice menu of options and it tasted great after all of our walking.

We then spent the rest of our time in Skagway exploring downtown. 

I also had to stop by the Klondike Doughboy to try one of their fried dough specialties.

Their fried dough is essentially a very flat and round doughnut topped with sugar and cinnamon.

Back on the ship, it was time for a nap to rest up for our next port.

I woke up to clear skies and a beautiful view as we made our way out of Skagway.

Haines is the next city, just a few miles from Skagway. The transit was so short that we ended up docking about an hour early.

Haines is a much smaller port than any of the other places we visited, but it also has a more town feel than the rest.

It's an easy 10 minute walk downtown, where there's shopping and restaurants to enjoy.

Since we were only in Haines for a few hours (4:30 to 9:30) and we are coming back next week, we decided to just enjoy the town and save the tours for next week.

We started off with dinner at the Bamboo Room at Pioneer Bar.

They had a small dinner menu, so we shared the halibut and fried pickles along with a cold beer.

After dinner, we walked to the Haines Brewery, where you can enjoy a variety of brews they have on tap at their distillery.

This was a popular spot, and it was nice to grab a beer and enjoy the drink with a view of the mountains.

The town of Haines was beautiful, and once again our perfect weather really made it a joy to be outdoors.

On the way back to the ship, I spotted a food truck with a woman who was letting everyone know that walked by they not only had fresh fish to enjoy, but all their stuff comes from local fisherman.

I am a sucker for locally sourced food that is fresh, so I stopped by for a bite. They have beer battered halibut fish & chips, sockeye salmon, or coonstripe shrimp.

I met Gabe and Tracey, who own "The Frog Lady Fish Company". Gabe is a native Tlingit, and moved his family back here to live. They started this food truck because of his connection with the local fishermen. 

I sampled the salmon and halibut, and they were outstanding. It tasted so good to have fresh fish that was caught just a few days ago.

If you're looking to try them out, they're located right on the main road if you take a right from the cruise ship, near the post office.

We had a full day of fun, and wanted to call it an early night since we had to get up early to get up early tomorrow for the glacier viewing.

Juneau is Alaska's capital, and it's our next stop. We're in Alaska for over 12 hours, providing ample time to see a lot of what it has to offer.

Our ship docked at 7:30am, so the gangway was open well before we were prepared to get off the ship.

After a quick breakfast in the Windjammer, we headed off the ship for our tour. We booked a half day self-guided Jeep rental, where we drive the car along a route and explore at our own pace.

We could have driven anywhere, but the onboard iPad provides a map and narration of the places, animals, and history of Alaska.

The drive is 2 hours in total, but provides 2.5 hours of out of the car exploration.

Our first stop was Mendenhall Glacier park, where we parked the car and walked the Nuggets Falls trail.

We had done this hike last time in Juneau, but it's so rewarding a view that we couldn't pass it up again. It's about a 1.5 mile roundtrip hoke, and we had absolutely stunning weather for the outdoors.

The skies were clear and blue, with the sun shining all morning. It was perfect for being outdoors and enjoying the views.

Along the trail you get to see Nuggets Falls right next to Mendenhall Glacier, although the views of the glacier are better from elsewhere along the trail.

While the kids found the trail a bit too long for their liking, it was very rewarding getting to the falls and enjoying it all.

Back in the car, our next stop was Eagle Beach, which is also one of our top spots in our local's guide to Juneau article. 

Eagle Beach is about a 40 minute drive from the glacier park, and offers a wide open lake front to explore. We had spent a lot of time at Mendenhall, so Eagle Beach was more of a quick walk.

The mountains that surround the beach are beautiful, and I loved sitting on a log and looking around. Awe-inspiring, to say the least.

Eagle Beach also has camp sites, if you happened to bring food.

Next up was a visit to The National Shrine of Saint Thérèse, which not only honors a local saint, but is situated on a beautiful piece of land.

Right outside was our first bear sighting, just along the highway.

He looked to be a younger bear, but he stood by the road just long enough to see him for a few seconds before he went back into the woods.

Our final stop was at a lookout point on North Douglas, which provided another lovely view of the surrounding area.

The natural beauty of Juneau was incredible, and I would have loved to have a few lawn chairs and a lunch to just sit at one of these places for a few hours and enjoy it all.

The Jeep rental idea worked out quite well, and I think the kids really enjoyed having a break in the car to relax between walking. Plus, my oldest daughter really found the narration to be fascinating.

We returned the Jeep at 1pm, and then went in search of lunch. We ran across an outdoor bar that had fire pits, along with a Mexican food truck right next door.

Beer, Mexican food, and fire is the perfect combination!

After lunch, we walked the streets of South Franklin Street and shopped around a bit.

We had hoped to stay in town for dinner as well, but it provided to be difficult to find a sit down restaurant that wasn't just another bar. Ultimately, we decided to head back to the ship to relax and have dinner.

Since we are coming back to Juneau next week, I wasn't too hard pressed to squeeze out every hour we could.  I really loved having so much time in port.

Back on the ship, it was time for dinner in the main dining room and then drinks in the Concierge Lounge.

Stray Observations

The pub opened up last night after the ship received 4 new crew members that transferred from Radiance of the Seas while in Sitka.

I stopped at Guest Relations to ask about how many passengers, and they said there are 2100 guests onboard, which constitutes 95% capacity.

At the Top Tier event on Monday, it was mentioned we had 778 crew members onboard (plus 4?).

Our first port of call on this Alaska cruise brings us to Sitka, which is a port I've never been to before.

We weren't scheduled to dock until 9:30am, so we had a few hours before getting off the ship.

The combination of our clocks going back one hour last night and the excitement of getting off the ship got to me, because I was up by 6am to have a look.

Our ship sailed through the Sitka Sound, giving us our first look at the Alaska scenery.

I went up to the upper decks to get a better look, and even spotted a whale coming up for air once (although I was too slow to get a photo).

Once the kids got up, we decided to have breakfast at Chops Grille, since it's open to suite guests as an alternative breakfast spot.

The menu is similar to the main dining rom, and offered a relaxed breakfast.

There were five cruise ships in Sitka today, although we were the only ship able to dock. The other ships tendered, including Radiance of the Seas.

The dock is located north of downtown, and is about a 10 minute drive.

We booked a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean for today, "Taste of Sitka". Our tour began at 10:45am, and it consisted of three stops.

Our first stop was at a local restaurant to sample fresh caught wild salmon and Alaska beers.

The chef prepared white Alaska salmon that was delivered earlier that morning to enjoy along with a selection of beers. They said we could choose between two beers, but they were happy to give more if you wanted.

The salmon was incredible, as white salmon is evidently a very rare type of wild salmon.  It was so good that even my oldest daughter, who claimed she hated salmon, tried it and really liked it.

The chef then brought out a salmon to filet it for us, and let us even sample slivers of sashimi-grade fresh salmon we could eat raw on the spot.

The food was better than anything I could have hoped for, and started us off on a great note.

Next up was a visit to the Sitka maritime center, where we learned about salmon life cycles and why and how they operate a salmon hatchery to help provide a sustainable source of the fish.

Afterwards, we were able to touch a variety of local marine life in the touch tanks.

The salmon explanation was much too long in my opinion, but the kids loved the touch tanks.

Afterwards, we took a short drive to a former World War 2 air base for a scenic photo.

At this point, the bus could either drop us off downtown or bring us back to the ship. We opted to stay downtown.

Sitka has a small downtown with lots of shops, restaurants, and bars. 

We stopped in for coffee at a book store, but stayed to get my kids a couple of books. I love finding small, independently operated book stores and support them whenever I can.

Sitka is known for being the former capital of Alaska when it was owned by Russia, and still has a few buildings from that era.

The orthodox church is by far the most prominent piece of this Russian history, but there's other buildings you can explore. We ran across a fort that provided some lovely views.

As we walked around, I saw a sign for the Fresh Fish cart, which is one of the places to see in our local guide to Sitka.

I met the owner, who served up salmon poke bowl that was incredible. There's just nothing like fresh fish, and the snack was just what I needed.

We wandered around Sitka a bit more and then headed back to the ship.

The weather could not have been better, and it was the perfect day for exploring Alaska. If we can have weather like this for the next two weeks, we're in for an amazing time.

The weather was stunning today, and it was so warm (mid-70s) that lots of people were up on the pool deck and in the pool.

Dinner tonight brought us to Izumi.

I love eating at Izumi because sushi always hits the spot without feeling overly stuffed like other foods do. 

While I love sushi, my wife and kids prefer the non-sushi items on the menu, such as the terriyaki or udon options.

We rounded out our evening with songs in the Schooner Bar with the guitarist. Speaking of the guitarist, the bartenders told me that 4 new crew members transferred while we were in Sitka from Radiance of the Seas, so the pub should open tomorrow!

I was ready to call it a night when we noticed an amazing Alaskan sunset happening.

Have I mentioned I love Alaska cruises yet?

Tomorrow we will be in Juneau.

Stray Observations

There's a free shuttle to and from downtown Sitka. The line got pretty long in the morning to get downtown if you didn't have a tour.

They were actively repairing the other docking area at the port that was damaged this season when Radiance of the Seas struck a dolphin mooring.

Technically, today was our inside passage day I discovered, which means the day our ship passed through the inner waters from Vancouver up to Alaska. Basically, it was just a sea day as we made our way up to our first stop.

I was up around 7am to start getting some work done on RoyalCaribbeanBlog. If that seems early, I'm still somewhat adjusting to west coast time, and the fact 7am is 10am on the east coast was really bugging me that I was missing what was happening in the world, so to speak.

The day started out gray, with clouds dominating the sky.

When the rest of the family got up, we headed to the Windjammer for breakfast. One benefit of being a suite is we have a private breakfast place in Chops Grille, but the variety the Windjammer provide won out for at least this morning.

My kids loved the waffle station in the middle of the Windjammer, and my wife admitted those waffles were pretty darn good.

I also spotted the avocado toast station.

We took our food to the outdoor seating formerly known as Rita's Cantina. One of the waiters brought us coffee and our kids hot chocolate.

After breakfast, we headed to the Solarium to enjoy some open air. As noted yesterday, from 8am to 11am, the Solarium is open for kids (excluding the hot tub).

My girls brought their sketch pads to draw, and I decided to get an early start on my Diamond Plus drink vouchers with a bloody mary.

I walked from the Solarium to the pool bar to get a drink. The Solarium Bar wasn't open today (it had been yesterday).

As the morning went on, the temperature warmed up and peaks of sunlight began to break through. I enjoyed spending some time on the pool deck with the fresh air and plenty of chairs to choose from.

My wife had her spa appointment this morning, and later in the morning I took the girls to get their nails done at the spa. With my title of husband and dad of the year simultaneously in tact, I headed to the Safari Club for the Top Tier event.

On the non-short cruises, Royal Caribbean invites guests to attend a get together to welcome Crown and Anchor members who have reached Platinum or above, and recognize those members with the most points or reaching Pinnacle Status.

There are over 700 Crown and Anchor Society members onboard, and the ship's Captain welcomed everyone.

I always make a point of attending the Top Tier events to show I appreciate them putting on these events for us.  The complimentary mimosas and champagne are not a bad excuse to go either.

With everyone finished in the spa and salon, we went down to the main dining room for lunch.

The food was fine, and enjoyed the ease of the being able to sit and enjoy a meal rather than another visit to the buffet.

Chicken sandwich

Mediterranean lamb sandwich

After lunch we headed to the NextCruise office to look into some future cruise options. Looking over new cruise ideas is the closest thing as an adult I have as a thrill to walking around KB Toy stores as a kid.

My kids wanted to go watch Encanto in the ship's cinema, which gave me the perfect excuse for my favorite sea activity: a nap.

Tonight was formal night, and we reserved a table at Giovanni's Table for dinner.

While this may not be the new Giovanni's Italian Kitchen update, we still enjoyed the menu selections, especially the filet mignon option.

The soup of the day special, Minestrone, was really good, and of course the main courses did not disappoint.

Minestrone soup

Tuna Tartare

Spaghetti pasta of the day

Filet

After dinner, it was time for a show.  Tonight, there was a Broadway medley in the theater that highlighted Broadway songs that crossed over to Hollywood films.

There were songs from West Side Story, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors and more.

I hadn't seen this show yet on a Royal Caribbean ship, so it was nice to see something different.

Walking out of the show right around 10pm, I could see there was still daylight out. Getting closer to Alaska!

After the show, we watched karaoke in the Safari Club. My oldest daughter really enjoyed seeing people give it their best.

Tomorrow we will be in Sitka.

Staffing situation on Serenade

Speaking of things that aren't open, it's no secret that Royal Caribbean cruise ships are understaffed currently due to the same staffing struggles all businesses are dealing with.

Read more: The top problems Royal Caribbean is facing as it returns to full capacity

I had read other people's accounts of long waits for drink service, dinners taking longer than usual, and other issues of the sort related to waits. Truly over the first two days, I have not run into anything that made me think twice about my experience.

While I would love to enjoy the pub, the pub singer performs at the Schooner Bar instead. The casino isn't operating the craps table, but I found many open seats for blackjack or roulette instead.

Dinner on the first night in the main dining room took an hour and fifteen minutes, while dinner at Giovanni's was an hour and a half. Those times are well-within the norm for meals I would have had pre-2020.

It's still early in the cruise, but I wanted to share I'm constantly looking to gauge how much the experience has changed between myself and other guests I've been chatting with onboard.

Stray Observations

We got a note in our room that we had reached enough Crown and Anchor Society points for a crystal block.  We have the choice to take it home now, ship it home, or pass on it completely.

Crystal blocks are given to Diamond Plus guests periodically after they accrue enough points. Once you reach 140 points in Crown and Anchor Society, you earn a crystal block from the ship you happen to be on at the time.

You then earn a new block every 70 points you accrue thereafter. 

I also got a letter in the room to inform us as a Diamond Plus guest we would not be able to use the concierge lounge because there were too many Diamond Plus and Pinnacle guests onboard. Not a problem since I'm staying in a suite.

One nice change you'll find on an Alaska cruise versus a Caribbean cruise are the enrichment events, where speakers provide a lecture on a given topic. Today, there was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that spoke about the work he does in Canada's national police force.

A cruise delayed is not a cruise denied.

We were supposed to sail on Serenade of the Seas last week, but my kids caught the flu from school, so we had to push our plans back a week. We cancelled the first sailing (which we got a 100% future cruise credit because we booked under Royal Caribbean's flexible cancellation policy known as Cruise with Confidence) and then booked a new sailing for the following week so we can still do a back-to-back cruise.

Our cruise sails from Vancouver, so we flew from Orlando to Seattle and then rented a car to drive from Seattle to Vancouver.  After spending two nights in Vancouver to explore, it's time to cruise!

We stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel, which is attached to cruise port at Canada Place.  The hotel's cruise package allows for bell services to take your baggage down to the ship and you can then take the elevator downstairs and board the ship. Perfect for our family!

For check-in, we took the elevator downstairs and walked through the convention center to find the check-in area. There were three ships in port today, each with a line for them.

I had 11am check-in window, but the suite concierge emailed us before the cruise to say we had the option of coming in up to an hour early, so we arrived at 10am.

Once the line opened, check-in was easy and we breezed through check-in, security, and customs. Interestingly we went through U.S. Customs even though we were in Canada because I assume to save us the trouble when we get to Alaska later.

It took a while for the ship to be cleared and for boarding to begin. I think boarding didn't begin until around 11:30am.

Once we got onboard, our first stop was the Windjammer for lunch. 

Our next stop was the Vitality Spa to book my wife a massage. In a moment of fatherly weakness, I agreed to let my girls get their nails done in the spa.

We then walked around the ship to check out the various spaces, such as the cinema, fitness center, Schooner Bar and more.

We waited for our room to open on the pool deck. The morning rain had subsided, so it was nice to be outdoors with the breeze.

The cabins were ready at 2pm. For this cruise, we are booked in the two bedroom panoramic oceanview suite. 

There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a giant window in the living room. I'm hoping this will be perfect for glacier viewing.

We then headed down to the Schooner Bar to complete our muster drill.

We scoped out the main dining room table assignment. We are in the first seating, and got a table right by the window just for our family.

Adventure Ocean opened up for registration at 2pm, where we signed them up in case they end up going.

Our last stop on the list was the Suite Lounge to meet the suite concierge. 

By now the kids wanted to get back to the cabin to relax, so headed back to the room.

We had early dinner for this cruise (5:15pm), so we just enjoyed time in the room while we waited for our luggage to be delivered.

Dinner was right before sailaway, so we placed our order and then ran up to the helipad to enjoy sailaway out of Vancouver. 

Almost immediately, the ship passes under a bridge, and while windy and a little chilly, it was a great way to start the cruise.

I thought dinner went well for the first day, with the entire meal complete in just about an hour and fifteen minutes. Our waiters kept things moving and I enjoyed my Indian curry.

After dinner we walked through the Centrum shops. They had a lot of Alaska souvenirs. In fact, it seemed most of the store was exclusively Alaska gifts, with a few generic Royal Caribbean souvenirs in the back.

The kids quickly got bored of hanging with us, so they went back to the cabin to play on their devices.  My wife and I took the opportunity to grab a couple of cocktails in the Suite Lounge.

Tomorrow is a sea day.

Stray Observations

Here's the price of the Royal Caribbean drink package (alcohol) if you bought it onboard.

Every Radiance Class ship has a piece of "art" at the top of the Centrum elevator bank. On Serenade, it's a pair of cows.

There are set times where kids can use the pool in the Solarium on this cruise because of the cold weather.

Not only is my next live blog ready to go live, but I'll be headed to Alaska for the first time since 2018.

After taking my first Alaska cruise in 2018, I instantly knew I wanted to return.  We had plans to do so in 2020 and 2021, but Covid and family obligations cancelled those.  Nonetheless, this is the year we're headed back!

This is an opportunity to not only cruise to Alaska, but hopefully visit all the major ports in Alaska over the course of two weeks.

Why we chose this cruise

If you've never been to Alaska, you've probably heard others tell you how amazing and beautiful it is. And they're absolutely right.

I wasn't prepared for the splendor of Alaska my first time, so this time I'm even more excited to return and focus more on what Alaska has to offer.

Royal Caribbean has four ships sailing to Alaska in 2022, so I picked Serenade because I wanted to be able to get to more ports than Ovation or Quantum of the Seas could offer. Plus, Serenade's prices were great and I like some of the upgrades Serenade received that Radiance did not (even though they are the same class of ship).

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I think what sealed the deal for choosing Serenade is we were able to snag a rather special suite category, the 2 bedroom Panoramic oceanview suite. 

Read more: What are the different types of cabins on a cruise ship?

After a recent Serenade of the Seas drydock, the Concierge Lounge was moved to a higher deck and they converted this large space into a Family Oceanview Stateroom.

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There is only one of these suites on this ship and unlike similar suites on other classes of ships, this one is midship, facing the port side instead at the front of the ship. 

Since there's no balcony, but it has large panoramic windows, you can enjoy the Alaska scenery without dealing with the cold weather from the comfort of our bed.

My plans on shore

Our cruise is all about doing as much as we can in Alaska while in port.

There are two x-factors when it comes to seeing as much as possible in Alaska: the weather and my children.

My kids are old enough now to be able to handle a reasonably adventurous day, where we do a fair amount of walking. I'm not talking about strenuous hikes or going for miles, but I think they can handle more walking than when they would need to be carried at a younger age. Plus, they seem to enjoy walking trails based on other recent trips we took.

Of course, the weather can be so hit or miss in Alaska. I'm hoping the rain will be at a minimum so we can enjoy lots of outdoor time. June is one of the driest months in Alaska, so I'm hoping for the best while also packing lots of waterproof layering. 

Over the course of the two sailings, we are scheduled to visit Ketchikan, Juneau (x2), Sitka (x2), Haines, & Skagway. We've only been to Skagway and Juneau.

I've booked a few tours through Royal Caribbean, but some of our recent articles about what locals recommend doing in Alaska opened my eyes to how much you can do on your own without a cruise tour. 

Read more: Local’s guide of what to do in Juneau, Alaska

Plus, I greatly prefer not doing group tours.

Plus, we sail out of Vancouver and that means my first time exploring Vancouver since I was a kid. We're spending an extra day in Vancouver before the cruise, so we'll check out some of the major landmarks the day before the sailing.

My plans onboard

Believe it or not, my kids have never been on a Radiance Class ship, so this will be an introduction for them into small ship cruising.

While they've been on Majesty and Rhapsody of the Seas many years ago, I think it's been quite a while since they've sailed on something smaller than Voyager Class.

In terms of dining, we did not buy a dining package.  Since we are Diamond Plus, we get a BOGO deal with our benefits.  I think with the busy port schedule, we may end up just doing Windjammer a lot for dinner.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't talk about the elevated cases of Covid onboard, based on various readers sharing their observations recently. I'd be lying if I said I'm more concerned about catching Covid this time around than on previous sailings.

I think we're going to plan to wear our masks while indoors, even though they are not required. It's not ideal, but since we're traveling so far to see Alaska, I think taking extra precautions is prudent.

Nothing is risk free, and I'm not letting Covid stop my plans anymore.  But taking extra precautions is also not a bad idea. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

What's next

On Friday, May 27th, we fly to Seattle from our home in Orlando. It's a morning flight, so we should be on the west coast by lunch time.  The plan is to then rent a car and drive to Vancouver, which is roughly 143 miles on very scenic highways.

Once we arrive in Vancouver, we'll be staying at the Pan Pacific Vancouver hotel because it was so highly recommended by others that have cruised out of Vancouver.

We board Serenade of the Seas on May 29th, and I will be sharing the details on the blog, as well as across my social media channels.  Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for live updates throughout the day.

I invite you to share in this experience with me, by posting in the comments for any blog post questions and comments you may have.  I try to make these live blogs as interactive as I can, so I want everyone to feel welcome to share their thoughts.

Thanks for reading all of this and welcome aboard our next fun live blog experience!