Ahoy the shore from Alaska (4th in a series)

sea pics:
http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=118258#/album.php?aid=118258&id=526885372

Day 3

We were excited to reach our first “day” in port— although technically we didn’t arrive until 2:00 in the afternoon—in Juneau, Alaska. We awoke in time to make the breakfast seating in the Summer Palace and received another excellent (window side) table assignment. Service was again exemplary. Following breakfast, we returned to the spa to find it much busier than on the prior day. Thereafter, our lunch was enjoyed back in the Summer Palace (another window-side seat assignment) as we pulled into port, relieving the Norwegian Star in her berth. The Diamond Princess, RCL Splendour of the Seas and the Celebrity Infinity were also in port that day.

We had booked an NCL shore excursion entitled “Sky to Sea”-- a 9.5 mile cycling tour. We were the first of our excursion group to meet our guide Nancy at the pier. Nancy, a retired person, was not a native Alaskan (born in the lower 48) but had spent the better part of her last 20 years in the State, originally in Anchorage and more recently in Juneau. There were six other people in our bike excursion—a retired couple and a group of four (quite eccentric and overdressed) USC students from Los Angeles. We took a mini-bus--- driven by a grumpy retired mechanic—up the hill to the Eaglecrest ski chalet that served as base camp We were assigned helmets and 21 speed bikes to start the 5.2 bike downward leg of our trek back down to the sea. Nancy told us that she rarely exceeded 20 mph and that 80% of the ride would be downhill. She definitely exceeded 20 mph and the inclines (while infrequent) were rough climbs for riders who don’t bike regularly, even after gearing down.

Our first stop along the route was at a bog to view the local flora. The fireweed grows every where and had already started to turn to seed. Nancy explained that the local people say that when the firewood turns, it is time to stop fishing and start hunting. Our next stop was at a mountain stream. We made our final downhill stop at a hanging glacier she called the Thomas. We turned left at the bottom of the hill and began 4.3 mile flat section of our ride along the coast. Sometime between this point and our next stop one member of our group (who shall remain nameless, but does not have the last name McGuinness) decided to wimp out and ride in the trailing van. She was e eirof thwaiting for us at the next stop which was at Fritz Cove overlooking the Mendenhall Glacier and Juneau airport (the city is only accessible by air and water--- there are no arterial roads in!)

From Fritz Cove forward, Nancy provided no further narration. Our driver was waiting for us at the end of the route with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and trail mix/energy bars. From there we reboarded the van for the ride back to town. Overall the excursion was a good workout and offered pleasant enough scenery for the price. We got off the minibus in town (our ship was moored about 1 mile away, while the Celebrity and Princess ships were closer) to spend some more time before our 9:30 sailaway. In town, we checked out the Red Dog Saloon—with its sawdust floors, did some shopping (picking up two reversible hooded fleece lined jackets (which unzip into vests) in a season end sale and visited the Juneau library to take advantage of their free internet connections.

Thereafter, around 6:30 we rode up the Mt. Roberts tramway (adult fare $27.00) to reach the lookouts that offer a spectacular sky high view of the city and the port before the sun set. The tramway and the shops / eateries and nature centres at the top are operated by native Americans. We began our descent just as the ships lights began switching on. By this time the RCL had already departed and the Celebrity ship was departing. The Diamond Princess sailed away just after us.

We were too late reboarding the ship to make the show song and dance revue performance in the Stardust theatre so proceeded almost directly to Indigo-- the casual dining room-- for dinner and were informed that there would be a half hour wait for a table of 4. We were given a flashing/vibrating handheld signaling device to carry with us to summon us back when the table freed up. We were just settling in at the martini bar in a nearby lounge, when a mere minutes later the device started to flash and vibrate. Returning to the podium, we were seated by the hostess about 5 minutes later in an annex to the main the hall around the corner. In contrast to the Summer Palace, the décor in Indigo is dark (the room is windowless) and garish. There are illuminated abstract Andy Warhol-esque art pieces on the wall depicting famous American landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Capitol building, White House, St Louis Arch) and currency.

The service in Indigo was unfriendly and indifferent. Our table was set without salt and paper shakers. The food was also not of high quality. Several of my table-mates selected a steak (with frites) from the everyday menu that were thin, dried out and tasteless—a pale imitation of the meats we enjoyed at Cagneys one night earlier. The desserts were also uninspired. Knowing we had an early excursion the following morning in Skagway, we headed almost immediately to bed following dinner

Still to come…. Skagway