Since the Zaandam was not arriving to the capital of Alaska, Juneau until 1:30pm, this morning was a good time to take care of some business at the front desk. But first, breakfast was in order at 7:30am with great service, hot food, and lots of coffee. Best way to start the day, we say. There were few customers in the Pinnacle Grill, but some began coming in by 8am and later.
We were missing some shipboard credits and also some items that are always gifted for the beginning of each cruise, because we booked each voyage separately. Checking our account on the TV, we noticed that we had been charged twice for the internet package which should have been priced for 77 days. We noticed that what we had seen on the TV yesterday, was different this morning. And our account was not the same when looked up on the Navigator internet site. It took 20 minutes or more to sort these things out with guest relations. Checking with the purser behind the scenes, they promised to straighten out the incorrect postings. One thing we learned was that the "cashable" shipboard credit were no longer given out in cash form. This amount would be credited back to our credit card we had listed on file at the very end of our trip – November 19th. Specifically, this amount was due to refunded port taxes, which we had paid in advance with the prices of the cruises. In the past and as recent as the GWV 2025, we always had access to this amount. No more. One last request was to have the filter changed in the air-conditioning vent in our ceiling. That was done within the hour.
There were many activities to keep the folks busy this morning. Riding the elevator with a nice young lady, we laughed about the numerous choices of things to do, but the lack of time to do everything. One nice touch today was having an Express Lunch in the dining room with fish and chips. Normally on a port day, the dining room is closed for lunch, but not today.
The arrival to Juneau traveling the Gastineau Channel was slow-going. One of us was up very early to watch the pilot boat arrive at 6:45am. There was a possibility of seeing whales, but there were none today. As for the weather, it was cloudy, 52 degrees F, with occasional showers. We did go out on deck six forward to watch the sailing into Juneau. The ship was going so slow it was not as cold as last week. The bow was opened also, but not a whole lot of people came outside.
Scanning the shorelines of both Juneau and neighboring Douglas, several eagles were spotted, most of whom were hiding in the dense forest of trees. We read that their numbers increase with the appearance of the salmon. The fish were obviously in the channel because we saw the fisherman waist-high trying to catch them.
So today there were a total of five ships in town. RCI Quantum, Disney Wonder, Oceana Riviera, Seabourn Quest, and our ship, the Zaandam were all in port today. The Riviera was at anchor, and they were tendering their passengers to shore near the Taku Fish Company. We were left the same spot as last week, which was B Franklin Dock. Much better than tendering for sure.
There were at least 30 excursions sold here today, and fourteen of them went off the ship right after 1:30pm. Clare made the announcement for the tour folks to not block the hallway on deck two or the show lounge…same as last week's announcement. You know how much people like to be first, but they should not be blamed for being on time.
The remainder of the tours would go off a bit later. We waited until closer to 2:30pm before we left. Being that the ship was docked portside, we could watch the buses filling and leaving right from our veranda. We walked to downtown and were surprised to see that nothing was crowded like last week. Funny because there were five ships here today instead four like last week. Even the very popular Tracy's King Crab Shack had no long line of hungry folks anxious to eat the $80 a pound King crab. The brochures do advertise Tracy's as having the "best legs in town". We will never know because crab is not one of our favorite meals.
We window-shopped all the way to the Hangar on the Wharf that boasts having the largest selection of micro-brews in the entire state of Alaska. We did not know that. There was no long wait for a table for two this time. Go figure?? We shared a Jack Daniels burger with steak fries, Alaska Icy Bay IPA draft beers, and one slice of mud pie. Our friendly waitress said they had run out of the mud pie yesterday, and she wasn't sure there was any more for today. Oh no…… She promised to check it out, and when she did, they had it. She surprised us with the biggest slice she could find. That made our day for sure. We seldom eat dessert, but this one pie is special, and well worth it.
On our way back , we stopped at the Alaska Fudge Company to replace the peanut brittle we snacked on all week. This time we purchased two packages – one peanut and one pecan/coconut. This is another treat we only have when we come here.
Then we checked out the Taku Fisheries, where we could watch the workers behind the glass windows. The salmon, halibut, and crab are processed here, as well as being sold in jars, cans, gift boxes, and jerky. A 4-pound box of Golden King Crab Clusters would set you back $342. Sockeye salmon was $13 for 6 oz. and King salmon was $31 a pound. We saw small jars of the five varieties of salmon which were sold separately or in boxes. They started at $19 to $38.50. Smoked salmon is the most sought-after delicacy. A 6-ounce tray was $28 for white King salmon, and sockeye was $70 for 1.5 pounds. You could buy these items and if you spent over $179, the shipping was free to your home anywhere in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
Passing through one last store closest to the ship, we found nothing that we needed. Back on the ship by 5:30pm, we warmed up in our room and worked online and off-line.
The first ships to leave Juneau were the Disney Wonder and the RCI Quantum. That left the Seabourn Quest to leave 3rd, and the Oceana Riviera to leave next. We left by 10pm.
Dinner was different tonight. Last week, we had asked our waiter Regie if either the veal chop or the pork belly entrees were on the menu. They used to turn up on the Club Orange menu which seems to have disappeared. He said he would ask the Matre'd, Hakim, which he did. That followed up with a visit from the head chef, who came to our table and asked if we would like pork belly for tonight's dinner. Of course, we said yes, please, that would be fine. We did miss the turkey dinner, but that will be repeated next week. So all we had to order were appetizers of a crab cake, tomato soup, and salads – one Caesar and one arugula with pumpkin and feta cheese. Our special meal was delivered by one of the assistant head waiters, and we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the pork belly. It was excellent, and we let them know how much we appreciated the gesture. Dessert was sweet watermelon slices, a wise choice since we sort of over-indulged in that area at lunch today.
We watched as the Seabourn ship left the harbor. We did have friends from home sailing on that ship, but none of us knew we would be here on the same day. By the time we arrived, we guessed they would have been on a tour. Guess a cell phone may have helped, but we do not have one. So communicating would not happen today. They have one more week to go, then will fly home and we will see them at the end of November.
The entertainer this evening was a comedian by the name of Steven Scott and comes from Comedy Central and America's Got Talent.
Tomorrow's port will be Skagway once again. We hope the weather has remained pleasant like last week. But that can turn on a dime.
Bill & Mary Ann
