Happy Alaska Day!

Our Alaskan Adventures

Yes, you read that right, today is apparently Alaska Day and the timing is perfect. I’ve been wanting to write about my trip to Alaska- both as a way to remember it in the future and to share how amazing it was and encourage you, if you have any desire, to visit Alaska.

I decided about a year ago that for this birthday, I wanted to treat myself to a good vacation. I’m an avid traveler who was stifled during the COVID situation and has been itching to get back to it. So, I decided that this was the year for Alaska.

I’ve always wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise, but it was one of those trips that was always on the back burner for some reason. So, when I chose to go on a big birthday trip, Alaska seemed perfect. We now have friends who live in Wasilla, AK so we planned to stay with them after our 7-day cruise. 

In these coming paragraphs, I’m going to share our Alaskan Adventures, which will include the specifics on cruise lines, airlines, accommodation information, excursion providers, etc. I am in no way affiliated with any of them or receiving any kind of compensation, I’m just providing my experiences.

We took a total of 15 days to complete our trip and I loved every minute. So, buckle up because this is a long one!

Day One: To Houston

We drop from our home in Corpus Christi, TX to Houston. We stayed at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Houston Downtown. I purposely picked this hotel because it was super close to a park and with 2 little kids, I wanted to be sure we had a place to play the day that we check out and flew from Houston to Canada.

It was pretty perfect. The staff was very friendly and helpful, even going as far as to find me 2% milk for my kids for the bedtime routine. 

The park, Discovery Green, worked out perfectly and even had a splash pad area, which was fantastic to be outside but not too hot. Discovery Green was amazing. Bigger than I thought it would be with plenty to do with kids, dogs, and just in general. If you are ever in Houston with kids, I would definitely recommend it. 

We ate dinner that night at The Grove. It was a little unintentional. By the time we got to Houston, we were all hungry and tired of being in the car, so we wanted something close. The Grove is a bit nicer than I would normally take my very young kids to, but they weren’t busy that night and we sat outside, which was perfect for us. The food was also absolutely delicious.

Day Two: Houston to Vancouver, BC, Canada

We at breakfast at the hotel, mostly because it was easy. I was expecting a standard buffet breakfast, but this was much better. They had omelets to order and french toast to order,  along with a lot of other tasty food items. 

We played our hearts out at Discovery Green in the morning and the Embassy Suites was able to accommodate our late checkout (by 1 hour) request. After that, we headed to the airport. Having never flown out of Houston (only passed through it), we weren’t sure of the parking situation. But, a friend recommended that we park at the Eco Park 2 on Will Clayton. We prebooked our parking there, which was way less than I thought it would be, plus it was covered parking, a lifesaver in the Texas summer heat. We had a fantastic experience with Eco Park 2 and would highly recommend it if you are flying out of Houston.

Our experience at IAH was pretty much as you’d expect. Food options, fairly standard security, etc. The one area I was highly disappointed in was their place to change a baby. Our youngest is still in pull-ups, which sometimes requires a changing table. While they technically had a place you could change your baby in the restrooms, it was way less than ideal. Even with a 2-year-old, I felt uncomfortable changing her from that height and with no protection in case she tried to roll off or stand up. I know, I know, you should always have a hand on your baby, but sometimes that’s a challenge when you’re wrapping up a stinky diaper or keeping an eye on another one, just sayin’. Also, their family restrooms did not have any place to change a baby, nor any place to hang anything up, highly inconvenient. George Bush International Airport gets a thumbs down for being family-friendly.

We flew Air Canada, even though we booked with United. Mostly, that was fine, except that they don’t allow service members to get any free bags, which United does. That was a bummer and not something we had planned for but, it was fine in the end. 

The flight itself was pretty good. They had nice monitors in the back of the headrests with lots of movies, games, and shows. We had some turbulence, but that didn’t bother us. 

We arrived at Vancouver International on time and traversed their customs process fairly easily. It’s just a long walk. Our experience in their airport was status quo. However, our taxi from the airport to our hotel, the Hilton Vancouver Downtown, was not quite as awesome. They have the fares indicated on a map posted on just about every window in the taxi, but our driver didn’t tell us until after we were there that he wanted to be paid in cash, and since we hadn’t exchanged any money from US Dollars and he couldn’t do the exchange himself and provide change, we had to essentially pay him way more than what the fee should have been. At that point, we were all pretty tired from travel and just agreed to give him the fee. 

The staff at the Hilton were courteous and helpful. They brought all of our bags to our room and helped us get everything set up so we could get the kids down as quickly as possible. The room and hotel amenities were excellent. Everything was in great condition and well thought out. 

Day Three: Boarding the Cruise Ship

We had breakfast at the hotel, which was a decent enough continental breakfast then headed to the cruise port. 

We called an Uber this time! Our driver was great. There were lines at the port, which is to be expected on a cruise day, but it wasn’t terrible. There were lots of signs pointing us in the right direction and everything went very smoothly throughout the whole check-in process with Royal Caribbean. 

We boarded the boat, The Radiance of the Seas, and didn’t feel overwhelmed by crowds at any point. Our stateroom was ready a little early and all went pretty smoothly. 

Because I was celebrating my birthday, I insisted on a balcony suite and also preordered the chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne, which were there and waiting when we got to our room. My husband forgot that I had done that and had also pre-ordered the birthday surprise, which comes with a chocolate cake and chocolate-covered strawberries, as well as some decorations. It was all delicious but needless to say, we were eating chocolate for days!

Embarrassing picture of me eating my weight in chocolate cake!

By cruise ship standards, I felt that our room was a good size, as was the bathroom. Our closet was a walk-in, which was so helpful when it came to finding a place to put all of our luggage and car seats. The balcony was great, with a table, 2 chairs, and a lounge chair. The only thing I wish they had thought to do would be to provide extra blankets given that we were traveling to Alaska and would want to be out on the balcony in the cold. 

That day, we ate lunch/dinner at the Windjammer Cafe. It was busy, but the food was fine. I’ll leave it at that because there were a lot of options and some were good and some were lackluster. 

Overall, the ship was comfortable. I’m used to doing Caribbean cruises on much larger ships than the ones that travel to Alaska, so that took a little getting used to, but it was a nice ship with good amenities and a great staff.

Over our 7 days aboard the ship, we came to know some of the staff very well. But all were so kind and helpful. 

Day Four: A Day at Sea

During this day, we traversed the ocean from Canada, most of the way to our first port. We spent the day exploring the ship, resting from our travels, and getting some R&R. We went to the arcade with my son because he loves arcade games and we don’t go to them very often, checked out the shops onboard and the library, and while my kids napped, I got a facial and a massage (Happy Birthday to me!). I find spas on cruise ships to be perplexing. They don’t exude that usual serenity that other spas do, perhaps because it’s on a ship. This one was the same, but while I was waiting for my treatment to start, I had to share the lounge area with the cruise director who was filming something to be put on the ship’s tv station the following day. It wasn’t overly relaxing trying to stay off-camera.

My spa experience, other than that was good. My provider was knowledgeable and provided great treatments. She did try to sell me things at the end, which they always do and that part is a bit annoying. Also, I’m probably a bit spoiled, but I’m used to a bed warmer, there wasn’t one, so I did spend much of the treatment time feeling very cold. 

That night, we dined in the main dining room, Cascades. We elected to have a dining time, which meant that we had a standing reservation each night with the same waitstaff at the same table. We weren’t sure if this would work out well with our kids, but in the end, it was fantastic. Everything we ate there was delicious and the staff were amazing. They got to know us and our kids and went out of their way to make us comfortable. 

Day Five: Juneau, Alaska

We arrived in Juneau around 1 pm, which is right in the middle of nap time. We departed the boat a little after 2:30, but the crowds had thinned out by then so it was easy to get off very quickly. 

Daddy and daughter at Totem Pole in Juneau, AK.

We had pre-booked Blue Bus Tickets through their website, it was a little cheaper than the cruise prices, if I recall correctly. The Blue Bus takes you from the cruise port directly to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center. When you purchase your bus ticket, it includes your entry fee. The Blue Bus was perfect for us because we could go to the Glacier when we were ready and return when we were ready. It took about 20 minutes to get out there and my husband and I took the kids on the 2-mile round trip walk to the waterfall that is located near the glacier. My mom stayed at the visitor’s center as she wasn’t up for the walk, but she had great views of the glacier from several different spots and even got some better pictures than we did. 

After a fun bus ride back and little more sightseeing in Juneau, we got back to the ship and had our dinner, which was again, fantastic!

Day Six: Icy Strait Point/Hoonah, Alaska

This day was by far the chilliest day we had. It was overcast and windy, very windy. 

We booked a tour through the cruise that included a ride up to the top of the mountain on the Gondola to the top of the mountain and then a trolley tour around the top to see various lookouts and viewing spots. The tour, once we got started, was great. We didn’t realize that there are a few different piers where the ships can dock and that the one we were at required us to take another tram to get to the sky tram we needed to take to the top of the mountain. Ultimately, this made us about 5 minutes late for the tour so we needed to wait for the next one to start.

The sky tram to the top was a literally breathtaking experience. It was nearly vertical during much of it, with sheer cliff faces behind us and just open nothingness in front. It was stunning to take that ride and be at the top looking out. 

The tram ride was a little lackluster for me personally. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junky so I wanted something a little more fast-paced, but it was perfect for my mom and young kids. 

When we finished our tour, we ate lunch at Duck Point Smokehouse, which was really delicious as well. I had the salmon pizza and it was tasty! They keep the doors open there and that made it a bit chilly inside, especially on such a cold day, but it was a fun part of our experience. 

After that, my husband took the kids back to nap and my mom and I went shopping in the shops at Icy Point. These shops were adorable! Some had the same or similar wares as each other, but each featured some unique items as well. I somehow managed to find myself sipping sour apple brandy with one of the shop owners, which is a great memory and definitely helped keep me warm on the walk back over to the ship. 

We stopped for a few pictures in front of the Orca Dream Sculpture and actually saw some Orcas in the water while we were there. It was peaceful and quiet and just what I was looking for!

Day Seven: Sitka, Alaska

We had a full day in Sitka, Alaska. We booked a trip to the Fortress of the Bear through the cruise line that started in the morning. We had a great driver take us over on a bus, yes like a school bus bus, which made my kids incredibly happy. At the Fortress of the Bear, we got to see the bears pretty up close while remaining safe. There were also a number of adult and juvenile bald eagles hanging around the reserve. We got great pictures and videos and loved seeing these bold and beautiful animals up close.

After we were done at Fortress of the Bear, we were dropped off in downtown Sitka. We found a spot for lunch, Mean Queen. The views from this second-story restaurant were amazing. We were lucky enough to get to sit by the windows and got to enjoy the surrounding beauty while we waited for our food. We enjoyed the Queen’s Court and the Fortress of the Pig pizzas while there, though to tell you the truth, pretty much everything looked delicious!

We explored Sitka for a while, including several churches. My mom, a former organist trained at Princeton, even got to play the oldest organ on the West Coast at Sitka Luthern Church. We got some beautiful pictures in front of St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

Day Eight: Skagway, Alaska

This was the only day that we didn’t have planned out. We figured that we might want some unstructured time by that point in the cruise. With 2 little kids and the great expanse that is the Alaskan wilderness, I regretted that choice almost immediately. 

There were things to do in Skagway, just not a ton to keep littles entertained. We had lunch at one of the few places that didn’t have a long line. It wasn’t fancy, in fact, it was pretty much plain sandwiches, but it was also a little off the beaten path so felt more like an authentic Alaskan experience. We also visited the Skagway Museum, which was cute and did hold our kid’s attention for a little bit. It is in a beautiful building, built in 1899, and has a retired train that sits just off to the side that our kids loved exploring. After that, we found the adorable Mollie Walsh Park. We spent the rest of the time enjoying the scenery and playing at the park.

After returning to the ship for nap time, my mom watched the kids while my husband and I went out and did a short hike to Smuggler’s Cove.  As far as hikes go, this one was pretty easy, but we were rewarded with great mountain and water views. It was about 3.5 miles round trip and a great way to get some time to ourselves. It was also relatively safe as there were a number of other hikers there, mostly local.

Day Nine: Hubbard Glacier

We had opted not to take the kids on the only tour of the Hubbard Glacier, fearing they’d be far too cold and get too bored, so we spent the entire time enjoying the view from our balcony. The ship’s captain was great, he kept spinning the ship in circles so everyone could enjoy the views, no matter what side you were on. We got to watch the glacier calving, see some sea lions sunbathing on the rocks, and view the glacier. We spent the rest of the day enjoying all of the views of snow-capped mountains from our balcony. I took a ton of pictures, but none of them really do it justice, so I’ll leave you with just 2.

On our way to dinner that evening, we overheard someone say that they had had enough of the cold and seeing snow on mountains, but not us! 

Days Ten+: Train Ride to Anchorage then to Wasilla

We had to get up very early to catch the train from Seward, AK to Anchorage, AK, but it was well worth it. This was definitely a hidden gem in our Alaskan adventure as this train ride was not well advertised by the railroad or the cruise line. Our car was only about ⅓ of the way full and we could see so much with the windows that covered nearly the entire top of the train car. The views of mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, and villages were stunning. They served food and beverages on the train, for purchase.

We arrived at the airport in Anchorage around 11:30 am and easily collected our baggage and met our friends. Then we drove the 45 minutes from the airport to their home in Wasilla, AK.

From their house, we enjoyed breathtaking views of the mountains, including the Twin Peaks, which were gorgeously snow-covered. 

We spent the next 4.5 days with our friends, enjoying hiking, waterfalls, mountain views, Alaksan experiences, bonfires, and wildlife. It was an amazing trip, a trip of a lifetime for me in terms of how much fun it was.

I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with me!