Arrival in the first Alaskan port of call on this cruise aboard Koningsdam wasn’t until one in the afternoon which might have been cause for concern had we not been scheduled to leave until ten in the evening. Plenty of time to explore, and no need to get up stupidly early either so we had a leisurely morning, waking at a very reasonable time, heading to the New York Deli once again, this time for some Eggs Benedict, then enjoying early sunshine and pleasant temperatures as the ship made her way towards Alaska.
We were invited to Paul and Carole‘s suite – yes, suite; they’re big-spenders on occasion – to have a nose at it and admire the views from the large balcony on two sides, and we were offered the chance to stay there for the full sail into port but declined so that we could set up on our own balcony instead.
Two other ships were already docked alongside. One was another in the Holland America Line fleet, Eurodam, and the other was a ship we’d cruised on many years before, Royal Princess. HAL tend to get the best berth spots in Alaska, though, and that was the case here as our ship cruised past the Princess vessel and drew up nearer the city centre.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska, becoming so in 1906, and takes its name from that of a French-Canadian gold prospector. With the terrain around the city being so mountainous, Juneau is effectively an island city in terms of road connections to the surrounding land. What we mostly noticed on our final approach to the dock was the eclectic range of buildings in terms of size and colour, and there was a clear frontier look to most of them reminiscent of movies of westerns genre. We couldn’t really tell if these were authentic, original looks or the sort of thing you’d find in theme park recreations, though. Still, if you’re visiting Alaska then you’re likely there to see what nature has to show rather than what town builders have thrown up.
There was no point rushing to disembark until clearance had been given so we waited until we started to see a steady stream of passengers from our cruise ship heading ashore.
We’d booked an excursion for our day in Juneau – well, we’d booked one for every port on this cruise – but we had time to have a short look around the city before that started. Heading ashore the first thing we did was hunt down where we’d need to meet for our planned trip.
There were a number of places where it was possible to book trips near to where the ships dock but if I were in an advice-giving mood – and I am – then I would strongly consider booking whatever the cruise line offers if there’s a particular type of excursion you’re keen to do. The reason for this isn’t value for money, because let me assure you that these excursions were not cheap through the cruise line (and I don’t know how much of a saving you’d get direct on land), but because they sell out quickly, especially if you’ve got a few cruise ships in at once. And you almost always will do.
We’d pre-booked a trip, and our friends Paul and Carole had done so as well (and an almost identical trip, as it happens), but the other cruise bloggers we’d met on Koningsdam had decided to see what they could get at the port, and were ultimately left disappointed that all the whale-watching options while our ship was in port were sold out.
Things you can expect to see on a cruise to Alaska include fabulous landscapes like that above, and totems like those below carved by the indigenous people, the Tlingit, and there will be more about those totems and the tribes in a later post in this cruise travelogue series when we see more of them close-up on another excursion.
While we’d stopped to take a photo of one of the totems a local man who was sat at a bench nearby called out for my attention, then pointed at the metal bridge structure mounted between the two Holland America cruise ships in port. It was something else that you can likely expect to see in Alaska, but which, being a wild animal, you can’t necessarily guarantee spotting: a bald eagle. A symbol of America, of course, alongside a rapid descent into fascism, and Alaska’s largest bird of prey, and we were incredibly pleased to see one within minutes of being on land.
As it would turn out, by the end of the day we’d see dozens more bald eagles, and over the course of the cruise perhaps over fifty. We still absolutely loved spotting them gliding through the air no matter how many times we caught sight of them.
We had time for a little more wandering past the shops – Do you want something in tanzanite? No? How about some gold? What about gold and tanzanite together? Well, sorry we couldn’t tempt you, but don’t worry if you change your mind because we’re absolutely everywhere in Alaska – and past the famous Red Dog Saloon too. This establishment is the oldest of its kind in Juneau although the building itself was only moved to its present location in the 1980s. We considered visiting even though it looked a little bit of a tourist trap and rammed, but we’d spotted something more to our taste anyway so gave it a miss.
Where we ended up ahead of our excursion, instead, was at the Alaskan Brewing Public House. Anyone who knows us knows that we like craft ales and ciders, and that we always try to seek out locally-brewed drinks when we travel, preferring to experience them than simply the same old stuff you can get anywhere else. We treated ourselves to a pint each, and my wife bought a t-shirt too because that’s something she likes to do at breweries in addition to drinking. We didn’t actually realise until we were back on the ship in the evening that some of the beers were available aboard, but we’d still have visited the brewery’s pub regardless because that’s just something we do.
It was time to head to our meeting point for the excursion now so we made our way there and spotted a couple of pieces of public artwork on the way. Both showed symbolism associated with the Tlingit. The raven and the eagle are the two moeities into one of which indigenous people are born and are expected to marry those from the other.
In the next post in this Alaskan cruise series we’ll head off on the first part of our excursion in Juneau when we hike through the woods to the Mendenhall Glacier.