Being on a 14 day Alaskan Cruise allows Tracy Arm Fjord and Juneau to occur on separate days. That means no waking up early and getting out on deck by 6am for the fjord. Yay! We entered the fjord at 9am on July 5th. Tracy Arm is gorgeous with the tall rock faces, waterfalls, ice, glacier, and wildlife in the area. We saw seals and all sorts of birds.
There was too much ice for the Zaandam to get to North Sawyer Glacier, so we went to the smaller and less active South Sawyer Glacier. Not a big deal since we will be going to Hubbard Glacier later in the cruise. I feel like Tracy Arm Fjord is more for the dramatic landscape and less for the glacier. Maybe I would think differently if we had been able to see North Sawyer.
The floating ice was interested since it was a sunny day and it just sparkled. Also, the ice is where the seals were hanging out. Nice.
The next day we docked in Juneau. Like Ketchikan, we had been to Juneau before (did Harv & Marv’s whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier in 2013). This go around we had good weather, so took the tram to the top of Mt Roberts. We bought our tickets the night before on the ship (check the weather before booking) and walked right up and onto a tram at 8:30am. We were one of the first visitors up there, so it was very quiet. There is a ½ mile walking trail with viewing platforms and it’s a relatively easy walk. I recommend going counter clockwise if you only want to do the viewing platforms.
Up on Mt Roberts there are two gift shops, a restaurant, a theater, refreshment area, and restrooms. It is full service up there. I definitely recommend bringing bug spray. Those suckers were biting, so fortunately I had mine with me. After an hour or so we headed back down on the tram. You can hike up to Mt Roberts, but it will take 2.5 hours roughly. The tram has great views, so we went with the more expensive and less strenuous option.
Back down at sea level, we wandered to the visitor center, found the Patsy Ann statue, and chatted with fellow cruisers. Since it was close to lunch time, we went to Tracy’s King Crab Shack for king crab! OMG, it was delicious! King Crab is expensive, but just consider it as an excursion and your mind will be at ease. We also had some local craft beers. At Tracy’s you order at the counter, pick up your beer at another counter and find a seat. Before we knew it they were yelling “Lisa from Tennessee!” I waived down the server and dove into the delectable king crab. Oh, and it is cooked over fire and served with melted butter and a super soft dinner roll.
Our next stop was the Alaskan Brewing Company depot store downtown. We love beer, and I am into microbrews and craft beers thanks to the men on my rowing team. We did a little souvenir shopping and paid for the tasting tour at the brewery. It was $25 per person and we ended up going with John and Ken from our cruise critic roll call. For $25 you get round trip transportation (it’s a 10 minute drive from the store), 3 ample tastings in the tasting room where the presentation is done, and then 4 more tastings of your choice in the bar area. The tasting room has windows so you can see into the brewery, but you can’t go into the brewery. Our host did a fantastic job explaining the history and their sustainability efforts that have saved the company a ton of money.
So on to the beers. I have always enjoyed Alaskan Amber. It was their first beer and still 32 years later their top seller. Their Baltic Porter was also outstanding. Probably one of the best porters I have ever had. Hopothermia is a double IPA and quite nice. It was not as hoppy as I was expecting, which was a pleasant surprise. The Ginger Shandy was interesting to try, but I did not finish it since it wasn’t to my particular liking. So, after 7 ample tastings and more Alaskan Brewing gear, we headed back to the ship. After all the beer, but I felt a need for a swim in the outdoor pool and have another beer. Maybe that is why I was in bed and fast asleep by 8:30pm.