Note: Day 3 of the cruise is where the nature scenery begins
Our cruise route was Seattle, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay (cruising), Victoria, BC, and back to Seattle. Entering the stateroom, I felt like I was in for something different. The guy cleaning the exterior was a nice touch, like Norwegian went that extra mile. A bottle of distilled water requested was delivered pronto and an extension power strip appeared before I even asked for it. Attention to their customer’s needs stayed that way the entire trip.We spent time lounging and sleeping on observation deck 15. Chairs, couches, and recliners were comfortable to varying degrees. It was tough, to stay awake 🙂 . In the evenings, a piano player sang movie themes (Against All Odds) to pop tunes (Happy).
Norwegian says the observation deck has a 180-degree view. I say 270. There is more on both sides that I did not get into this video because I chose not to move from my spot. So, to avoid over-exaggeration, I will call it 180, but I know it’s more than that.I went to The Beatles Invasion tribute performance thinking I would listen for a few minutes and leave. The band was good! For the duration of the cruise, I watched them play numerous sets in two venues; the main Encore Theater and The Cavern Club. The sixth night of the cruise was the band’s 100th and final performance. They closed with Hey Jude.
Arriving at Juneau was a beautiful sight from the balcony of our stateroom. McCaulay Salmon Hatchery was our first stop in Juneau. McCaulay raises fish to be released into the wild. The video shows seals “having dinner” (our guide said) with an eagle looking on.Eagles are seen so frequently in Alaska that two of our tour guides referred to them as “pigeons”.Glacier Gardens has a unique plant design. Dead trees are used to provide nutrients for other plant life. Glacier Gardens is a mix of human-inspired and natural growth. It was hard at times to tell where one began and the other ended.This video, taken from Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, shows H2O moving at three different speeds; lake, waterfall, and glacier. When I walked down to the lake for a closer look, I thought, “So this is what God does when you leave Him alone.” I felt like crying.
We crossed many streams along the train ride. The mix of mountains, vegetation, and water was hypnotic at times. I can understand how someone could spend extended periods of time here. I must add to that, our guides had a lot of warnings at every excursion about berries and such that would be within our grasp that we should not touch; poisonous. And, of course, watch out for bears.Some streams passed by so fast you had to stay alert or miss them. In the distance is the U.S. Customs Office, 12 miles from the U.S./Canadian border. Why is it located there? Our guide informed us that someone decided winter weather at the actual border gets too bad to have it any closer. This did nothing to help with my fear of heights, but I wasn’t very concerned. The scenery was too good.
Glacier Bay was a day of cruising where the only earth structure I don’t think I saw was desert. The pictures that follow were all taken from Norwegian Encore July 21, 2022.
Norwegian Encore Teppanyaki Dinner. We had a menu of about eight food items, different mixes of beef, poultry, and seafood. The cook started by cracking the eggs for garlic fried rice. He lost control of an egg that almost hit my wife when it broke.The egg serpent was slain.The odor of the room switched from purely fresh garlic to the additional scents of beef, poultry, and seafood.The most amazing thing was the cook got everyone’s order right. I had the seafood dish; scallops, shrimp, and calamari, or as the cook called them, rubber bands. All very good! We were also fortunate that our cook was the better singer of the two that night.
Our itinerary included The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. The tour vendor canceled. We settled for a bus tour that included a few stops to stretch and take pictures at spots like this one; Oak Bay. Victoria was very impressive visually and had a good social vibe.At 10:00 PM the beauty of Victoria was evident.
