The alarm rang at 3:00 a.m. this morning. Of course, with all the excitement, our internal alarm clocks got us up earlier. Having gotten to bed around 10:00 p.m. the evening before, that meant as usual, we were not well rested.
The taxi cab arrived on schedule at 4:15 a.m. to take us to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time and checked our baggage. Going through security, I dropped my DSLR. Luckily, Carol managed to stick her foot out to soften the blow. No damage to the camera, we continued on.
Getting to an airport before food services begin is a drag. We waited a half hour before the food court opened. We downed our McDonald’s breakfast meals and continued to the gate.
Right on time (or on time for O’Hare), we took off. The flight to Seattle seemed to, pardon the pun, fly by. I had brought some disposable reading material that I went through in about an hour, then supplemented it with the airline magazine. Soon, we were over the Rocky Mountains and with a window seat, I enjoyed the view. Carol during most of this time, napped.
When we arrived at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport, we had just over an hour before our next flight. We headed straight to Ivar’s, a favorite discovered a few years ago during a trip to Seattle. We both ordered the clam chowder and the salmon & chips. Not sure if things had changed but the quality wasn’t as we remembered it. We’re hoping it was due to the airport location.
The second leg of our travels took us from Seattle to Juneau aboard Alaska Airlines. For some reason, I looked forward to this, thinking it was going to be different than the regular airlines like United, American, etc. Well, it was in one noticeable way; I required an extension for my seat belt. How humiliating. I guess most Alaskans are slimmer and trimmer. This time, I didn’t have a window seat, however, I could tell as we landed that the sun was peaking out through the clouds. Checking on the weather just before we left, it was supposed to be a constant rain all week. So the bit of sunshine was good news.
We landed, exited the plane and met our Cruise West representative just past the secure area. After a few minutes, we were directed to a bus shuttle which would taken us to our hotel. We asked about our luggage, and were told that it would be picked up and placed in our hotel room for us. We were impressed, and skeptical that everything would run smoothly.
On the way from the airport, the bus driver explained a little bit about the area, information about the wildlife they commonly see in Juneau, and on the Gastineau Channel, which was to our right. After a brief tour around town, we arrived at the Goldbelt Hotel, which was located directly across from the cruise pier. The Goldbelt is owned and operated by a corporation managed by members of the native Tlingit and Haida people of Alaska. The name comes from the area, known from the gold rush days, as the “Juneau Gold Belt.” The one night hotel stay is included as part of the cruise, allowing cruise passengers to rest up and get acclimated, while allowing Cruise West to gather everyone together for more efficient embarkation the next day.
Cruise West has a information desk in the lobby of the hotel. When we asked about checking in, we were told check in would not be until 3:00 p.m. As it was only 1:45 p.m., we asked what we could do, we were encouraged to walk around town and its shops. This response irked me, as we had just traveled for the past 12 hours and were extremely tired. However, we just swallowed it, and headed into town. We killed time by visiting several shops and noticing several ships were in town.
We wanted to have dinner before retiring to the hotel (at 2:30 p.m., remember, our personal clocks are still on Central Time). I had researched and planned to have dinner at the Twisted Fish, where we had eaten once before during another cruise to Alaska. However, on the flight from Seattle, Carol sat next to a person who identified themselves as a former Cruise West employee and suggested The Hangar for dinner. Thinking we had the inside track, we proceeded to The Hangar, which was located next to the cruise ship dock and across the street from the hotel. The view, overlooking the harbor, was nice and so was our waitress. Carol ordered the Halibut Fish & Chips, while I had the Fish Taco. I should have been tipped off by the fact they said taco (singular). What I received appeared to me more of a burrito. The “taco” was ok, but disappointing. Carol’s fish & chips were good. I’d say the place is good if the view or the beers are a priority.
As it was now 3:30 p.m., we returned to the Goldbelt and the Cruise West desk. We were handed our keys, room 208, facing the port.
Now, we had been alerted by our travel agent that the Goldbelt is merely a place to lay your head and rest before the cruise. And she was right. The rooms were utilitarian at best. Carol cringed (she’s a Four Season kinda gal). However, as we were so tired, all we wanted to do is sleep. One problem: it was about 82 degrees in the room, and the sunshine streaming in. We checked the thermostat and was then reminded that the Goldbelt does not offer air conditioning (remember, it’s Alaska). They did offer one of those box fans, which we opted not to use. We opened the window to get any cooler fresh air we could. I took a shower to at least feel cooler. We then watched television (they offered almost every known cable channel) until we dosed off around 6 p.m. PT.
