We sailed out of Seattle last Saturday and stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria. And in the middle of the Alaskan stops, we were able to see some icebergs and a 500 year old glacier. In port, we typically wandered around a bit and did souvenir shopping, and in Juneau, we did a gold mine shore excursion at the AJ Mine with my dad.
Overall, the weather in Alaska was gray and on the cool side (60s) but we did get a bit of sun in Ketchikan, and luckily no rain. The cool weather didn't stop us from enjoying a few hot tub outings on the ship, or the boys from enjoying the water slide (and since you had to be 42" to ride it, my dad and I got to enjoy a few freezing cold slide rides with Cole - ha!)
The boys seemed to enjoy cruising, with highlights being running in the wind on the upper decks, the arcade, activities at Splash Academy (NCL's kids club), evening shows, whale (tail & spouting) spotting, and mining for gold in Juneau. Corey and I were able to enjoy drinks alone several evenings, and some adult only dinners with my family.
The room was pretty small but the boys slept well. Keeping them quiet and from jumping around was tough at times during the day, but we did our best. Cole napped like a champ, cuddling with us (something we never get to enjoy during naps at home anymore!) and falling asleep almost instantly.
The restaurants on board were really good, but with such a big party, various schedules at play, and kids in tow, it meant more meals at the buffet than we all probably preferred. But convenience and large selection often won out and we ended up there for several breakfasts and most lunches. We did all enjoy a few nice meals together at the steakhouse and Benihana-like restaurant on board.
While we liked the posts in Alaska, our favorite was Victoria and we hope to return for a long weekend sometime.
Here are some photos from our week at sea!
Seattle & Around the Ship
The boys LOVED the Benihana-style dinner we all went to.
Tablet time before bed...
Sunset somewhere between Ketchikan and Juneau
They both loved virgin strawberry daiquiris
The boys thoroughly enjoyed the evening entertainment - especially the dancers and singers.
Ketchikan
Souvenir (aka "pretty rock") shopping
Juneau
Jackson got to be the mine tour guide's "boss" and loved every minute of it (it being shining a flashlight where the guide needed him to)
Ice, Ice Baby
Skagway
Victoria
Shoulder rides and songs sung by this boy made for fun walks back to the ship
Passed a park on our walk, so we HAD to stop!
Had fun playing around with the 'pano' setting on my phone
As much as I normally do not appreciate gray skies, I could not get enough of these - they were amazing; truly looked like a painting in person.
