Trip report by a teenager - Part 2 - Cruise

I would like to share with you our July 1008 Alaska trip report that my 14 yr old son put together. I hope that you will enjoy it.

Day 6- Hubbard Glacier

Today was an uneventful sea day which allowed us to sleep in. As expected there was a delicious buffet this morning so we stuffed ourselves at a beautiful table overseeing the ocean (we even saw whales and orcas).

By 2:00 we would reach Hubbard Glacier, a giant glacier that is 122km. Like the other glaciers there were many beautiful calving. Apparently we set off a record that is that we were the closest to the glacier (so interesting, sarcasm). After taking multiple pictures we dried ourselves off from the rain and ate some more at the buffet lunch.

Soon it would be dinner (more food!) so we all gathered in the room to freshen up for the semi-formal dinner. We met our two waiters, Reynaldo from the Philippines and iKetut from Indonesia.

We received a delicious meal and an absolutely delicious desert along with relaxing tea.

We then headed to the theater to catch the show where we would be joining in on a toast to the captain and crew. After the toast the show commenced. Today was a mediocre musical performance that was a little boring.

By the time it was over mom and Dad were tired so they returned to the room while I did some more moonlight strolling to enjoy the delicious sea air. Eventually I returned and easily slept.

Day 7-Juneau

Today we docked in Juneau the capital of Alaska and home of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska who was a candidate for Liberal’s vice-president.

We first ate another hearty buffet meal and then set off towards the town. The town looked historic, with old fashion pavements and aura around.

On our way to the town we bought expensive tickets for a cheap bus tour. The tour was in an old fashion trolley, but the tour itself was much too short, stopping at only one place and we only stayed for about 20 minutes and then stopped at Juneau Museum. The Juneau museum was interesting but not nearly as good as the Anchorage Museum. However there was an interesting collection of artistic photographs that show various creative photos.

Afterwards instead of taking the trolley back we just walked back. Seeing as we were running out of activities we were ready to return, though before we could, we had to check out the gift shop. After another half an hour we finally exited the store and re-entered the ship.

By now it was evening so we prepared for formal night and headed back to the dining hall where once again we had a delicious meal.

Next, was a musical of much different party style music and dancing. I found it mildly entertaining and Dad found it very boring (he slept).

Then Mom and Dad returned to the room while I went for my usual night stroll and Alex went to the teen club. We eventually met back up and slept away.

Day 8- Skagway

This morning we docked in Skagway, a borough with a population of 862. We had one again practically the same “hearty buffet” for breakfast. We then set off for this small city and right away we noticed the typhoon happening outside (very windy).

We first started off by wasting more money taking a bus 1 km to the tiny town.

We planned to rent a car for one day to travel to Yukon on the Yukon Route (a scenic drive) but the rental company told us that we were not allowed to pass the border with the rental car because we were Canadian. We rented the car anyway and drove on the route. We saw the once used White Pass and Yukon Route (an old trading railway between Alaska and Yukon). The drive was also very scenic.

After a long drive we reached the border where we were turned around and re-entered Skagway which let us get a beautiful stamp for our passport.

Once we returned to Skagway we parked and spent time souvenir shopping, AGAIN! We bought t-shirts and jackets and by then Alex and I were bored so we were allowed to walk back to the ship and rest.

By the time Mom and Dad came back it was time for more food! So we got ready for casual night and had another delicious meal. We then went to the show which was a funny and talented ventriloquist. It was an entertaining evening and afterwards we were exhausted so we immediately returned to the room and slept with ease.

Day 9 - Hoonah

Once again we docked, this time for Hoonah another deserted town. What was different this time was that we had to tender to shore in a small boat.

Once we reached land we first saw the biggest attraction, a historic salmon canning factory which showed how they packaged salmon in cans. It was very interesting and gory with fake blood everywhere. But from there, there Hoonah was going downhill.

The town was about 3 kms away so it was a very gruesome walk. Once we got there we noticed that there was nothing to do! We attempted to explore but we were too tired. We got lost a little bit and then headed back for a long walk where Alex and I got really far ahead of Mom and Dad.

We then tendered back to the ship and once again rested and it was time for dinner, AGAIN! However it was still as good as ever and afterwards we ate more sushi.

We followed the same schedule and we all took a well earned sleep.

Day 10- Ketchikan

This morning we ported in Ketchikan, also known as the Salmon Capital of the World. We had a quick breakfast and left early.

The town was a bit crowded but still fun. We chose not to go to the touristy Lumber Jack show which was clearly a tourist trap.

Instead we walked to a park that contains many different unique culture exhibits. We bought a park pass that allowed us to gain access to all exhibits.

We first visited the totem museum that was rather bland but taught Mom and me some symbols on totem poles.

Next was the bald eagle shelter which was home to two beautiful American bald eagles that looked as if they can gouge eyes. Then we went to the salmon hatchery which was a place that raised salmon in a unique way (the salmon are released where they would naturally return to the hatchery).

Afterwards we were roaming the streets and decided to head to a Native Cultural Center and finally returned to the ship to relax until dinner.

Once we were ready we went up and enjoyed another fabulous meal and more sushi. We skipped the show because we were exhausted and easily had a good sleep, ready to sleep in on tomorrow’s sea day!

Day 11- Inside Passage

Today was our last day on the cruise and a sea day. We finally got to sleep in as long as we wanted and when we finally got up it was almost noon.

Instead of the usual breakfast buffet we had brunch in the dining hall. It was very good with food varying from normal breakfast food to delicious smoked salmon.

Today, we just relaxed and enjoyed cruising along the spectacular scenery of the Inside Passage. It was impossible for me to describe the majestic beauty of Alaska and the Inside Passage to Vancouver.

Soon it was time again for dinner. Since it was our last day, Mom thanked all our services such as Elton, iKutut, Reynaldo, etc. with the obligatory tipping envelopes.

We enjoyed another delicious meal and during the meal we were lucky to be able to see the Inside Passage (body of water that goes through the side of Alaska and British Columbia) throughout the whole meal. For dessert there was a good surprise of a Baked Alaska (ice cream cake) show.

Once we all returned from the farewell show it was late so we slept our last time on this boat for our final destination Vancouver.

Day 12 - Vancouver

Today was our last day on our wonderful cruise ship. We docked in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We left our luggage for pick up and then left to get ready to go on land. Instead we had to wait for a while to have our number called.

Once we managed to get on land, we grabbed our luggage and took a taxi into the wonderful city of Vancouver.

We stopped at a plaza to get our rental car for the day. We drove around downtown Vancouver and headed to a crowded popular dim sum in Richmond. Though the food was good but could never match up to Toronto’s dim sum.

Unfortunately I broke my glasses by sitting on them before we got in.

Since we had another 5 hours to burn until our flight, we went to the largest Buddha temple in Canada that we already visited before. It was peaceful as always with many impressive statues of various gods and Buddha.

Once we were bored we went to another memorable sight, the Steveston docks! We walked around a bit until we found one of the best fish n’ chips in the world. Too bad we were too full, so instead we decided to go to the airport!

We checked in for our long awaited flight home. At the Toronto airport, we grabbed our luggage and took a taxi home! I was so happy to see all our old stuff (my bed, the TV, the computer, the toilet…) and so good to be home.

Conclusion

Our trip to Alaska was one of the most memorable trips my family has been on. We were treated with non stop amazing scenery: glaciers, mountains, rivers, etc. And we also got to experience the unique culture of the Inuit. We also got the chance to relax on the sea on the amazing Celebrity Millennium. This is probably one of my favorite trips and when I’m older I would definitely return here in a heartbeat.

Trip report by a teenager - Part 2 - Cruise

Link to part 1 of trip report, in case you are interested.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28923-i349-k25869…

Trip report by a teenager - Part 2 - Cruise

Thank you for your trip report. We will be doing your cruise in reverse on the same ship with our 14 year old daughter this June.

What was your or your sister%26#39;s experiance with the teen club, and how many teens were on board? Any advise for a 14 yo on the same trip? Thanks.

Hi Monkeyinthemiddle

There were not many teens on this ship. Only about 25-30 teens joined the teen club. Alex really enjoyed the activities and made a couple of good friends to hang out with during the sea days.

The teen club room looked quite nice and equipped with pingpong table, dancing area.

Have a good trip.

Never heard a walk described as ';gruesome'; before :)

Thanks for sharing as I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the experience and your son%26#39;s perspective.

I must admit, the more I hear the play by play of the Alaskan cruises, the more I think I%26#39;ll keep to my own self-guided land vacations in Alaska. Although . . . there is a lot about the inside passage towns that are of interest to me too . . . so who knows.

Hi there - thank you for that wonderful account of your trip. My husband and I are booked on a cruise Northbound to Alaska in July/August and reading this makes me soooo excited!!