Sunday, August 25, 2024

We had to be out of our cabin by 8:00 AM so the crew could turn it over for the next sailing, but we didn’t have to be off of the ship until 9:30 AM. So we brought our bags with us to one of the main dining rooms for a leisurely breakfast. Gotta maximize all of those included meals!

We disembarked easily carrying our own things because we don’t need 2 suitcases each for a 7-day vacation (seriously people, you don’t need all that shit). I wasn’t up for walking back home and Scott knew to not even ask, bless him. We just walked a hilly couple of blocks to catch a local bus home and walked in our front door about 10AM to be greeted by my favorite-est puppy in the whole wide world.

Since not a lot went on this day, I’ll just do my trip post-mortem here…

Overall and predominantly this trip was a huge WIN!!! The high points:

*Alaska is GORGEOUS. Obviously. I think having an itinerary that included Glacier NP and our luck with the weather took this over the top. Upgrading to the balcony cabin was worth the extra money for this route, no question.

*The NCL Encore was a great ship! The size of the boat felt sufficient for the number of passengers on board. I was always able to find a less crowded space when my introversion needed it, and never experienced sustained crowding. And I really loved the spaces with large windows and natural light (e.g., the Observation Lounge, some of the specialty restaurants, the District Brewhouse).

*Treating ourselves to the Thermal Suite was also definitely worth the extra money. For the most part (see below) it was a lovely quiet space to escape the crowds, and I enjoyed the large whirlpool. I found time to use it almost every day, and evenings near closing time were the best.

Not my YouTube Video, but it gives a good tour and idea of what we got for our money. Booking the week-long pass ahead was a good plan too to not risk it filling up.

*My rewards tier level is growing, but Scott having Platinum level for this trip was great for the extra specialty dinner credits. Between those credits and the ones included in our (Not) Free At Sea fare, we had specialty dinners on four of the seven nights of the cruise. The other benefits of Platinum weren’t too impactful for this trip – boarding at the port was so efficient for everyone that I think our “priority” line maybe only saved us 5 minutes, and for this short trip we didn’t use the free laundry bag.

*The port towns were really lovely. We decided on this trip to not book any port excursions since we know we will go back to these places again in the future. For this trip we would just wander off the ship and explore what was within the towns themselves. Each town – Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan – was so different from each other, but equally engaging. I’m thankful that the locals we encountered were so welcoming, the food/drinks were all so tasty, and they all had gorgeous public art.

The low point… the only low point:

*Honestly there was only one. I had been on three megaship cruises before this one, all of which were international destinations (mainland Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Iceland/Greenland). I know that the typical Americans that get on big cruise lines for these destinations are Republicans, however they were somewhat subtle and diluted a bit with the international clientele. But this time… ugh. The smell of MAGAts was strong and they brought paraphernalia with them. And one got lost in the Thermal Suite one day, yelling across it like it was a hillbilly pool club. I don’t know if this is the typical clientele for an Alaska cruise, but I will be sharing my experience with any friends considering taking one about our ship’s MAGAt infestation so they can consider their own comfort and safety before booking. I know that we will take more Alaska cruises in the future, so hopefully I discover this was just bad luck. But, per usual, I run skeptical.

So… thanks for the memories, NCL & Alaska! We’ll be seeing you again.

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Technically today was considered a port day so that NCL can make it’s legally-required stop in Victoria, BC, Canada. But that stop is from 8PM-11PM, and since we’ve both been many times before and can go whenever we want to we skipped it and considered this a sea day.

We just spent today soaking up the last vacay vibes. Slow meals, time on our balcony, time in the thermal suite.

Our last dinner was enjoyed in the included Manhattan Room and it was very tasty. Scott treated himself to some lobster.

Stick2One gave us our last live music in the quiet Observation Lounge.

Easy, slow, uneventful day. Perfect. Back home tomorrow…

Friday, August 23, 2024

NCL only allotted a half-day in Ketchikan for today’s port stop, 7AM-1:15PM. And it’s made even shorter by the fact that they dock quite a ways out of town requiring a (complimentary) old yellow school bus shuttle service. You can pay for an excursion that includes transportation, or hire a taxi for a chunk of money. I have vague memories of a $50 one-way price gouge on those taxis but who can blame a town for cashing in on dumb tourists especially when their tourist season is so short.

The great thing about the shuttles is that they are driven by locals who gave us commentary in both directions. On the way in our driver gave us general info about the town, and on the way back to the ship a different driver educated us about local tribe culture based on his own lived experience.

The town was quite a bit bigger than I had imagined, since so much tourist info on YouTube is focused on Creek Street.

We didn’t eat breakfast on the ship, so our natural first stop very near to the shuttle drop-off was Jellyfish Donuts. Perfect solution.

We then headed directly to Creek Street with its historic buildings and gift shops. I knew a creek ran through it (DUH) but was not prepared for the front row seats at the Olympics event of salmon running going on here. Those fish are badass.

We used our remaining time to wander and browse on our path back to the shuttle pick up area.

We stopped into a local book store so I could buy a sticker (always stickers) and Scott had this fortuitous find of his new favorite book:

I did that thing again where I walk into a local yarn shop “just to browse”. Yeah, you know where this is headed. Fabulous Fiber Arts was just too good, and I grabbed two more goodies from Raven Frog Fibers.

You can tell this was too short of a day because the only brewery experience was Scott ducking into Bawden Street Brewing for the fastest pint ever while I was yarn shopping. We definitely need to go back to Ketchikan with a longer port day scheduled or ideally another transportation method.

Back onboard we had our last specialty dinner meal at Q Texas Smokehouse with some live music. We enjoyed the food but again, way too much was served and I ended up feeling bad about the waste. Next time I’ll know to not order every course included in the price.

We finished up our evening with our reserved 10 PM showing of Choir of Man which was really well done!

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Scott let me pick the specific itinerary for this cruise, and I always knew I wanted a route that would include Glacier Bay National Park. I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. Scott had treated us to a balcony cabin and thermal suite passes in part so we could maximize our peaceful views of this unique place.

Official Park Rangers were onboard all day providing commentary as we cruised the bay. They set up in the observation lounge to answer questions, and also brought along with them educational displays, the stamp for my NP Passport, and some souvenir offerings such as the postcard and sticker (always stickers) I’ve saved in my journal.

We took in the views from various points on the ship – the balcony and thermal suite of course, but also outdoor decks and the observation lounge. Scott claims that some small brown dots in the water were otters. I definitely saw whales today (as on other days), and of course… the glaciers.

OK, so here’s a photo dump of a fraction of what was taken. It may look like I added a gray filter to some of these, but I did not. Gray is my favorite color and I couldn’t have been happier that this was nature’s color scheme and mood for today. Magnificent.

In the evening we enjoyed live music from Stick2One in the Cavern Club for several sets. I may have demonstrated my exceptional dancing skills on a couple of different dance floors this night. You’re welcome, fellow cruisers.