The Love Boat, Alaskan Cruise
- Spencer
- Apr 26
- 5 min read
We are not "cruise people." The only ones we had been interested in are those European river cruises they always advertise on PBS. However, when a local casino notified us of a "buy one - get one" promotion, we decided to give this a chance. We ended up booking the NCL Encore 7-day Alaska Round-Trip Seattle: Glacier Bay, Skagway & Juneau (spoiler alert: there's always a promotion and the casino's offer did not make much of a difference in pricing).
We had the cruise company include our airfare, and made our way from Phoenix to Seattle the night before departure (pro tip: always arrive at least 1 day prior to departure, to avoid plane delays and missing the cruise altogether). We got in late, stayed at an Aloft by the airport, and took the NCL bus from the airport to the port of departure in the morning.
After going through security and checking in, the crew tries to herd everyone to the buffet until departure, until the rooms are ready. There are plenty of restaurants on board, but unless you are already familiar with the ship (we were not) you will be herded. We are definitely not buffet people either, but it happened to be Easter and there were some fun decorations.
We were glad to finally get to our room with a private balcony. (This option is more expensive but worth it. You get a higher floor, which may help for a smoother ride. We also paid extra for access to premier drinks in the lounges.) We enjoyed some drinks, relaxed and watched the passing coastal Washington scenery.
We also purchased a package ahead of time, including three of the specialty dining restaurants (we paid extra for the others), and for Easter dinner we had reserved Onda by Scarpetta. This was an excellent choice, and one we revisited later in the cruise. The food was delicious, and the ambiance was quiet and romantic.
The next day was at sea. The crew hosts multiple entertainment options, and we joined in for Deal or No Deal. This was fun but busy, since everyone was also on board that day. We won a few credits and moved on. We also attended one of their art auctions and enjoyed the casino, once out in international waters.
We loved random drinks and snacks at Sugarcane Mojito Bar, which we visited several times.
For dinner that evening, we attended our second specialty dining venue - Cagney's Steakhouse. This was uber busy, not romantic, and definitely not as tasty as the prior night.
On day 3, we hit our first destination - Juneau. We disembarked near town, but there were no adequate sidewalks so we took a cab and were dropped off in a central location. At each port, there are guided tours and activities, but here we chose to just explore the town.
We traveled in April, the start of tourist season (due to weather), so stores and restaurants were just opening up (check online to make sure your venue of choice is actually open). We just had a few hours in Juneau - enough to try a bar and restaurant, shop, and then make our way back.
We turned in early that night, preparing for an early disembarkment the next morning.
The ship docked in Skagway the whole day. This time, we had booked the White Scenic Pass Railway. We boarded the train just off the docking area and were off. Unfortunately, this was an expensive letdown. Due to the weather, we were unable to traverse the whole circuit, which meant we had to remain on the train the whole time. The windows kept fogging up and the scenery was good but repetitive.
We took the early train, so we still had several hours to spend in town afterward. We shopped and ate, of course, enjoying the scenic, remote Alaskan town.
We boarded well before departure. That afternoon, we had scheduled a photo shoot, and that evening, we had another specialty dining reservation. The photo studio offers several "free" photograph opportunities (you still have to pay to get the photo), but we booked a professional multi-shoot indoor / outdoor session (expensive but fun and resulting in lasting photo memories). (Pro tip: Photo sessions while at Glacier Bay book up fast, so schedule this early if you really want it.)
We dined at Le Bistro.
We originally had late night reservations, but were able to switch that and get in early, before the prime dinner crowd.
It was nice to be there while still light outside, as we had a wonderful view of shore.
The next day was the big one - Glacier Bay National Park. Another perk of our private balcony level was room service, which we enjoyed every morning, including this one. We enjoyed our breakfast and eagerly looked out, as icebergs and glaciers came into view.
The ship makes it to a central location and spins around multiple times, giving all sides great views. We spent some of that time in the gym, which was the best gym-with-a-view experience ever.
Glacier Bay is national park, so at one point rangers come on board and give a talk. We didn't see them, but there talk was broadcasted on the primary TV channel. The surreal, icy scenery lasted for hours.
As the ship headed out into the open sea that night, we ate at the specialty dining restaurant Food Republic.
The next morning we arrived in Ketchikan. We caught a pretty sunrise, then headed in for ziplining! We were brought into the Tongass National Forest by bus, to the starting point. There are nine different zipline portions in this course. We were intimidated, but the crew made everything safe and easy. The only bummer - we ended up with a random Uncle Frank between us the whole time.
As the trip was winding down, we decided our favorite restaurant should be revisited - Onda.
The final day was mainly at sea, until arriving to Victoria at night. We enjoyed the good weather on deck, had some cocktails and gambled a bit. There were only a few hours in port at Victoria, so we decided to remain on the ship and have one more specialty dining experience. The Mediterranean restaurant Palomar was quiet (with most people off the ship), romantic and delicious. It served as a good cap to the week-long adventure.
It sure was a memorable week at sea. While still not "cruise people," we would try a different itinerary again someday. However, one big takeaway was that by cruising during shoulder season all the on-board amenities were not available (due to weather) so most of the time everyone was inside the ship, making for a crowded experience. But river or barge cruises are up first!
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