NCL Star Alaska Cruise - Juneau & Skagway

GetAway Travel Service

Our Travels

Juneau, Alaska
Juneau is the capital of Alaska. Only about a mile long and half as wide the central area of Juneau is an easy walk. There are no roads going to Juneau - the only way to get here is by ship or by plane! Here is a view of the dock ramp in downtown Juneau being pushed out to meet the Star. The building with the sloped roof to the right of the dock is the Mt Roberts Tram. The world famous Red Dog Saloon is just a short walk to the left. One of Juneau's major attactions is the Mendenhall Glacier about 13 miles north of town. The glacier flows at a rate of 72 yards per year. The ice starts in the Juneau icefield and takes about 250 years to get to the ocean.
Here's the view of our ship from the Mt. Roberts Tramway. The visitor area is about 1800 ft above the city and gives great views of Juneau and the surrounding mountains.
Our self portrait from atop Mt. Roberts.
For our excursion for the day we selected whale watching! We took a short bus trip from down town Juneau to the best humback whale watching boat ever. This boat was designed from scratch to maximize the whale watching experience and minimize the impact on the whales. The railed in area on top of the boat is where we went once the boat stopped in order to have the best view of the whales.
Here is our captain and first mate! The interior was extremely roomy and comfortable. The crew was very knowledgable and answered any questions.
Thar she blows! We were looking for humpback whales and the way to spot them is to look for the spout off in the distance and head over to the spot.
The humback whales measure from 40-50 feet in length. They are easy to recognize by their huge mottled tails with enormous flukes that grow as long as 14 feet. They display amazing grace and beauty in the water - amazing for the fact they typically weigh between 25 and 35 tons!
Here is a mom (on the left) and baby humpback. Humpbacks feed in Alaskan waters from June - September and then head south to winter near Hawaii and Mexico, where they won't eat again until they return!
On the way back from whale watching we passed this group of Stellar Sea Lions.
No visit to Juneau is complete without stopping at the world famous Red Dog Saloon. How did we know they are famous? They told us so!
He'll greet you when you come in, he'll tell you to get lost on your way out and definitely provide unique entertainment during your entire stay.
Skagway, Alaska
At port in Skagway provides just a picture perfect postcard view. In 1896 gold was discovered in the Klondike and Skagway become a frontier boom town being the entrance to the Chilkoot trail that would take the prospectors through the mountain passes into the Yukon territory.
One of the first things you'll see from the ship docks is the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad. We did not take the train ride during this trip and hope to next time we go. It is very popular with antique engines and cars, high trestles and stunning views (when it's not foggy!).
For our day, we opted for the Chilkoot Trail hike and float combo! While this did not appear (even to us) to be one of the most exciting and fulfilling excursions on our cruise - we were in for a few surprises. Our guide is in the sun glasses and hiking sandals - ready to go.
We were wonderfully blessed with a sunny day in Skagway - the views from the trail went on forever and we were were able to see glaciers many miles away.
Expecting just a leisurely hike in the woods and then presented with vistas as gorgeous as this made for an outstanding day. Our guide explained many of the plants and geologic areas we walked through and made our walk a great time.
Here is our raft ride. The glacier water flows back to the ocean and the main job of the guide is to keep us out of downed trees and branches. We saw many eagles along this route, most of them juveniles, but a few adults and some nests as well.
This young fellow is between his brown feathered coat and his final adult feathers. His head is still quite brown and will eventually be white. He was sitting amongst these downed trees and seemed to be waiting for the bears to finish their lunch so he could check for left over salmon. Bears!
Our raft passed within about 20 yards of this young brown bear and his brother. They were having their lunch when we provided a moments diversion for them. Thank goodness we looked too big to eat. Brown bears are not as agressive as black bears, so we were probably never in any real danger...but it was exhilarating none the less. The bear encounter saying goes like this..."If you see a brown, lay down. If you see a black fight back". We didn't get a chance to test it out.
Here's his brother. 350 lb twins! Bears - we saw bears in the wild, in Alaska! What an awesome day we will never forget.
It's the end of our hike and float. Here we have a view so beatiful and expansive that it could just swallow you whole.
We're getting ready to leave Skagway and so to will our neighbor in port - the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas.
Go to Page 3 : Glacier Bay & Ketchikan