I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to walk around town taking pictures. I let Carol sleep in a bit. It was cloudy, but still dry.
My first point of interest was the restaurant I researched for breakfast, the Sandpiper Cafe. On the way, I past a building with a Tlingit crest and two totem poles. I couldn’t help but to take a few shots, as one of my focuses on this trip is to better understand the native culture. I then continued on my way to the Sandpiper Cafe. I found it, attached to a rustic motel-looking building. However, when I looked inside, what I saw was a clean, stylish cafe that was fairly crowded. So this place gets my vote. I hope to return later with Carol.
The continued on my photography walk of downtown Juneau. From the Sandpiper Cafe, the fastest way to get to the governor’s mansion and state capital was to climb a wooden staircase. I made it with a few breather stops. Thankfully, there’s a water fountain near the top.
The Alaska Governor’s Mansion was built in 1936 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Sitting on the hill, it overlooks the city of Juneau and can be seen from most places near the water. On the side of the mansion is a totem pole that was carved by Tlingit Indians as a gift for the Governor in 1940.
Heading downhill a bit is the state capital building of Alaska. The building’s prominent distinction is that it is one of ten capitals that does not have a dome. Originally built in 1931, it became the state capital in 1959, the year Alaska officially became a state. The columns in front are made from Tokeen marble from Prince of Wales Island. A replica of the Liberty Bells stands outside.
My next stop was St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. It was built in 1906. There is a lot of Russian legacy throughout Alaska, and especially in Juneau & Sitka, both major hubs for Russian America in the 1800’s.
I then returned to the main downtown area. The majority of shops were still closed, as it was only 8:00 a.m. The shops typically open once the big ships arrive, around 9-9:30 a.m. After traversing most of the downtown streets, I headed back to the dock area, where I saw the Carnival Spirit approaching. Somehow, I just don’t make the connection between Carnival Cruise Line and Alaska, but then , I digress. After a few more pictures of the Carnival Spirit, Linblad Expeditions Sea Lion and Cruise West’s Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Yorktown, I returned to our hotel room. On the way up, I saw people eating in the hotel restaurant, an Asian themed eatery. I then went to the Cruise West desk and posed the question to the young girl behind the counter, “If you were to have breakfast right now, where would you go, this restaurant or the Sandpiper Cafe?” The girl responded, “Oh, definitely, the Sandpiper Cafe.” That is all I needed to hear.
Carol was ready. I told her about my non-scientific poll, and she said ok. It had just started to rain, a light drizzle. Carol picked up one of the complimentary Cruise West umbrellas in the lobby of the hotel. We walked three blocks down Willoughby St to the restaurant. We waited a few moments until a table was cleared. The menu offered really homey, comfort food for breakfast. Carol selected the French Toast Trio, of cinnamon, stuffed marscapone on sourdough and plain sourdough. Just yummy! I had the smoked salmon omelet, which was very good. I highly recommend the Sandpiper Cafe for any folks who’ve stayed overnight for a cruise.
Since it was raining, I discounted going to the Alaska Brewing Company for a brewery tour and tasting. I was looking forward to it, as I missed going the last time in Alaska when our cruise ship had to skip Juneau due to equipment problems. I feel in love with their Amber Ale during my last trip and have found their beer the best I’ve ever tasted. Carol had ordered two 6 packs from the nearest distributor (in Oregon) for a pretty penny in shipping. However, I would have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this beverage in the days to come.
We visited several shops, looking at countless souvenirs for folks back home. We did manage to take care of them in Juneau so we could put that task aside. Carol found a picture frame that agreed with her. While there were plenty of Tlingit artwork to be found, I was not willing to pay the price requested. I remained frugal throughout the day.
We managed to make it past all the large cruise line jewelery shops without temptation and came upon the Twisted Fish restaurant, where I had planned to have dinner the evening before. Since it was lunchtime, we decided to take a break for a good meal. We had ordered carry-out during our first cruise here back in 2003. We started with the Coconut Salmon Strips, which were accompanied by a side of berry chutney. Carol felt it would have been better with a more traditional sweet & sour sauce. For our entrees, I had the Cedar Plank Salmon, with bourbon-molasses sauce on the side, while Carol ordered the Twisted Pasta Caesar Salad with grilled halibut. Overall, while the restaurant was good, it didn’t live up to the memories we had of years back. However, I would recommend the place for anyone visiting Juneau.
We slowly made our way back towards the hotel, as we were tired and ready to board our ship. We only had a couple hours left to wait when we returned, and the hotel offered some really comfortable sofas in their lobby. A reception rooms was available for Cruise West guests, however, it didn’t match the coziness of the comfy leather sofas.
Guests for both the Spirit of Yorktown (our ship) and the Spirit of Discovery were waiting at the hotel. The white board next to the Cruise West desk listed departure times for the included Douglas Island tour, followed by embarkation. Guests for the Spirit of Yorktown were due to board the bus at 4:00 p.m., and the Spirit of Discovery at 5:15 p.m. At minutes before 4:00 p.m., a bus driver walked into the lobby and called for guests of the Spirit of Discovery to board the bus. Puzzled, many of the Spirit of Yorktown guests started questioning who was to board the bus. After several moments of confusion, and the wrong people boarding the bus, the bus driver corrected the error and called for Spirit of Yorktown guests to board the bus. What irked me was that the land crew manning the Cruise West desk did nothing to resolve the confusion. I overheard one of them telling one passenger “we don’t usually have two ships in port at the same time.”
The tour is meant to take passengers on a quick tour of Douglas Island, providing a nice view of downtown Juneau and all the cruise ships. For Cruise West, it is meant as a way to ensure that all passengers for a given ship are accounted for and ready to board when the ship is ready. As the rain was coming down harder and the clouds had engulfed the area, we could barely see Juneau from across the channel. So both buses carrying passengers of the Spirit of Yorktown return to the dock and passengers began the boarding process.
When we stepped foot aboard the ship, a crew member was there waiting to escort us to our cabin. He was the hotel manager, and asked us where we were from. When we told him we were from the Chicago area, he proudly stated that he too was a mid-westerner, from Kentucky. He took us to our cabin, where our luggage waited for us. He explained that there would be a mandatory orientation meeting in the lounge once everyone was on board. Within 10 minutes later, an announcement came over the address system notifying all passengers to make their way to the lounge for the mandatory meeting. Both the hotel manager and the captain made several announcements, such as the mandatory emergency drill and what to expect when flushing toilets on board ship (only toilet paper folks, or else). We were also told that our departure would be delayed until 7:00 p.m. due to a couple of guests being delayed on a shore excursion. We then proceeded back to our cabin to wait for the emergency drill. Within 5 minutes, the announcements was made. We donned our life jackets and proceeded to the dinning room, located on the same deck as our cabin. Once the drill was over, we returned to our cabin and placed the life jackets in the storage cabinet for them. Within another 5-10 minutes, the announcement that dinner was being served came over the address system. We were becoming a bit overwhelmed by the back-to-back events we had to attend. All we wanted to do is relax for a moment in our cabin. We went down the hall for dinner.
As much as I wanted to capture when was offered each night for dinner, it just became difficult. I do remember that each night, entress featuring fish/seafood, a red meat, a pasta dish, and a vegetarian dish were offered. There was also the alternative sirloin steak, chicken, or hamburger. Each dinner was accompanied with a soup of the day and salad choice. All the soups were very good and and breads were different each day. During dinner, an announcement was made that there would be a meeting in the lounge with an overview of the next days activities. It was now 9:00 p.m.. We were exhausted, but managed our way up to the lounge were the timings for the shore excursions were discussed. As we opted not to take any optional shore excusions, just the included excursion, we would be leaving the ship last when we arrived in Skagway the next morning at 7:30 a.m.
I was interested in shooting pictures of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse, located in the Lynn Canal, approaching Skagway. I asked the exploration leader, Jeff Pietka, if he could tell me when we would be passing the lighthouse. On follow-up, he told me that it would likely be too early, around 3:30 a.m., and that it might be better to shoot when we were leaving Haines in the evening. I was slightly disappointed that I would not have two opportunities to get the shot, but digressed, understanding that Jeff & crew had traveled this area many times and knew better than I did.
We finally retired around 10:00 p.m., after finally placing our clothes from out luggage into our closets.
A little bit on our cabin
The comfort of the cabin was an initial concern going into this cruise. The cabins on the big ships were okay, but not any place to enjoy for long periods of time. With a smaller ship, would the cabin be less comfortable?
I’m happy to report that we absolutely loved our cabin. We had cabin 22, a category AAA cabin. It had two twin beds, which were very comfortable to both myself & Carol. The beds were arranged in an “L” shape, with a small corner table at the union. This was handy, as one of the few outlets was located just above this table, useful for recharging the many cameras, video cameras, cell, phones, etc. There was also a desk and a chair, with a mirror hanging in front. There was plenty of closet and storage space. Luggage could be placed under each bed, as there was plenty of space. There was three closets, each with hangers, and three drawers to place clothing in each closet. The bathroom was small, but no smaller than on bigger ships like the Coral or Diamond Princess. Yes, sitting on the toilet took a little getting used to, but I managed. Also, showers had to be thought out, as I tend to like lateral room. All in all, I had no problem with the bathroom. We were asked to conserve water whenever possible, even though they take on water in ports and can make water from sea water. Lastly, a nice, big picture window was available to watch the scenery when not in public areas.
Each night, I thoroughly enjoyed returning to our cabin and getting underneath the covers. Simply comfy. One guest we spoke to did not like the beds. However, I believe this may have been the exception, not the norm.
