What to Pack for a Cruise to Alaska
Having a hard time packing for your Alaskan cruise? We’ve got your back. We took an Alaskan cruise in 2023 and took note of everything we wish we had, and everything we wish we left at home.
Tag: cruise
Day at Sea Blog
We are now on the return trip from Alaska, with our next stop at Victoria, British Columbia. Today is our last day at sea and I am interested to see if the seas are as bad as they were on the way out here.
We didn’t have a reason to get up early, so we simply didn’t. We got up around 10:00 AM, had breakfast and coffee in the room and just existed. Sea sickness started to show itself in the mid-afternoon, and the only place that we could hide from it was either lying down in bed, or in the hot tub. I spent a good portion of the afternoon in the hot tub, and napping.
It’s not the wild type of sea sickness you see in the movies. It’s like gravity is pushing down on your head and shoulders as the ship rocks back and forth. I literally feel heavy. It has affected most of our day, I don’t want to call it a waste of a day but it was. I wonder if we were on a larger ship if we wouldn’t have felt this bad. We didn’t even try to venture out to a sitting spot, we just stayed in the room and only resurfaced for food.
Victoria, British Columbia Blog
The last day of our cruise, and we get to spend the afternoon in Victoria, British Columbia.
Skagway Alaska Blog
Skagway is our fourth port town on our 9 day Southern Alaska cruise. We managed not to waste a minute!
Norwegian Sun Ship Review
We cruised on the newly renovated Norwegian Sun in June of 2023. The renovations were concluded in 2021 and we were able to see all of the updates while they were new and shiny. The ship was built in 2001, making it one of the oldest ships in the fleet, and coincidentally one of the smallest. We are going to break down our review into a few key categories to help give the picture of what cruising on the Norwegian Sun is like. We also have a full ship tour posted on Youtube @Northwoodsthornes.
norwegian sun ship layout
This ship in particular can be difficult to navigate. You will find yourself needing to pass through several areas to get around to your intended destination. For instance, our room was located near the stairwell on deck 8. To get from the pool deck to our room we had to either pass through the Garden Cafe or through the Sports Bar (that was often closed), to get to the stairwell. The only other options left us with going all the way to the front of the ship, down the stairs, and all the way to the back of the ship again. There are small instances like that spread throughout the ship. If you are someone who likes to hop from one activity to the next this ship will keep you on your toes. Bring your walking shoes.
gETTING ON AND OFF THE SHIP
When you board the ship from your port of embarkation, you will most likely board onto deck 6 on the jogging track. On our embarkation day we were funneled through the photo gallery and Windjammer Bar before being set free. On port days you will need to head towards the medical center on deck 4 to tender or to disembark the ship at a pier. It is highly recommended to get in line to get off the ship earlier than you need to. The lines can reach all the way up the stairwell at times.
stateROOMS
Decks 4, 8, 9, and 10 are entirely staterooms. Decks 5, 6, and 7 are a combination of shopping, entertainment, restaurants and staterooms. Deck 11 has some suites but is mostly pool deck, and Deck 12 has no staterooms. You have your typical choices of rooms-inside, balcony, suite, club suite, etc. The rooms themselves have been recently renovated but you will notice they are on the older side. Be sure to bring your outlet converters with you if you want more than one outlet. If you are going on an Alaska cruise having a balcony is is very, very nice. If that is not in your budget there are still plenty of places to hangout on the ship that have window access.
eNTERTAINMENT
The ship’s main entertainment areas are the casino, Stardust lounge, Bliss Ultra lounge, Windjammer bar, library, and game room. The casino is located on deck 7 near the shopping areas. The casino is small compared to the larger mega ships but it was always packed with people when it was open.
The Stardust lounge is the theater room where the main performances are held, and if you cruise Glacier Bay they have the ranger presentations here. They hold Bingo and Deal or No Deal here as well. There are two levels of seating and you can enter from two different decks if you’d like.
The Bliss Ultra lounge is located mid-ship on deck 8. It is a smaller performance area with a small stage, and a full bar off the right side. They hosted trivia here on our cruise, and transformed into more of a club scene at night. The Windjammer Bar is right around the corner from the Bliss Ultra lounge. This bar has a speakeasy/ bourbon bar feel to it.
Continuing down the hall from the Windjammer Bar is the library and game room. They are almost hidden, and you could walk right by them if you get distracted by the photo gallery. The library is small and opens up into the game room. They have a few games you can borrow while the library is open.
SHOPPING
Shopping onboard is very limited, but expected per the size of the ship. There are two main hallways with shops, one being the Tradewinds shop and the other being the Shopping Arcade. The Tradewinds shop is your typical souvenir and basic necessity store. They had shirts, sweatshirts, lanyards, etc. and your basics like deodorant and toothbrushes. On the far end of the Tradewinds shop is the duty free shop where you can purchase alcohol and perfume. The shopping arcade consisted of the cruise line’s affiliated jewelry and watches. In this case it was Effy jewelry and watches on the other end. Norwegian listed the portrait studio as shopping online, which it could be if you choose to get your family portraits done. The last spot for shopping is the photo gallery, Park West, that sets up in the main atrium and auctions art. Compared to the larger ships the shopping options are very small, but I would expect this for the smaller ships.
dINING
The Norwegian Sun has 6* dining rooms included in their cruise package that are complementary. The main dining rooms are the Seven Seas and Four Seasons dining rooms. The Seven Seas is in the stern of the ship and the Four Seasons is mid-ship, right next to the customer service desks. These dining rooms serve breakfast and dinner, and have dress codes.
There are “two” buffets onboard, the Garden Cafe and the Great Outdoors. The buffets are located very close together, on the same deck. The Garden Cafe is the main buffet and is completely indoors. You will find the most variety here, and they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Great Outdoors is just that, outdoors. They have much more limited operating hours and a limited menu with more casual foods. Think burgers, hot dogs and simple sandwiches.
The Sports Bar is a good dinner spot that opens in the late evenings. This spot is included in the complimentary cruise fare. They serve your typical sports bar spread of foods, and they are open late for the night owls. Moderno is your other a-typical spot to grab a bite to eat. Normally they are in the “specialty dining” category but they do have a breakfast and lunch setup that are complementary. Not many people find this spot so you may find some peace and quiet here.
Specialty Dining
Norwegian does a good job creating a lot of variety in their specialty dining. There is a specialty restaurant that will fit your taste buds. Los Lobos is a Mexican restaurant, La Cucina is an Italian restaurant, Moderno is a Brazilian steakhouse, Cagney’s is your traditional Steakhouse, Le Bistro is a French Restaurant, Teppanyaki is a Japanese Restaurant and finally there is the Sushi Bar. These are not included in your cruise fare and can add up if you eat here regularly. Norwegian does offer specialty dining packages that you can purchase before the cruise and may save you some money.
fITNESS ROOM AND SPA
The fitness center and spa are both located on the 11th deck, in the front of the ship. The gym is a good size compared to the size of the ship. There are several of each cardio machine, a weightlifting area and a stretching area. There is a separate room for classes that are additional charge. The spa is on the smaller side, there are a few nail and hair stations and a smaller section for spa treatments.
kIDS AREAS
This ship is not exactly kid-friendly. There is one pool, and one very small splash pad-jacuzzi area for kids on the pool deck. The arcade and Splash Academy are the only kid-dedicated areas for entertainment. There were a few kids on our cruise to Alaska but not nearly as many as you would see on a different ship. If you are looking to book a cruise for a young family, or have a lot of younger kids this ship may be boring for them.
pOOL DECK
The pool deck has four jacuzzis and two pools. One pool is adults only and the other is open for all ages. The jacuzzis are just that, jacuzzis, not hot tubs. So be prepared to get cold eventually while using them. There is no age limit enforced on this ship to get into the jacuzzis either, so you will run into sharing the space with kids. The Topsiders bar is right in front of the adults only pool, near the doors to the Garden Cafe.
Overall experience
We had a great time on our cruise to Alaska onboard the Norwegian Sun. We loved our stateroom (we had a balcony room), and the overall experience. There are a few things I wished were better.
Ideally there would be a kid-free jacuzzi. Even if there was just one it would have changed the experience entirely. We had a hard time relaxing when kids were constantly climbing in and out, as well as parents dropping their kids off on the pool deck and disappearing. I found myself hoping when I booked this cruise that there would be less kids because the ship didn’t have many amenities for young families, and that they would choose the Encore over the Sun. This was the case for the most part, but that also meant there were no adults only spaces to hide out in.
The flow of the Garden Cafe was so…wrong. It was always incredibly busy and the lines had no direction. If Norwegian were to do another remodel of this ship I would have suggested that they take out the Great Outdoors and turn it all into one area. Staff should have also been more directing of foot traffic during peak hours in the buffet lines.
Those were my two main complaints that stuck out to me on our cruise. Besides those very minor things, we had a great time on our 9 day cruise. The food, entertainment, and destinations were all fantastic. I would certainly sail onboard the Norwegian Sun again.
Alaska Cruise Travel Day
This travel day started in Boston, and ended in Leavenworth, Washington. All to head back to Seattle to board our cruise the next day.
Cruise Port Guide: Icy Strait Point
A cruise port guide to create your own perfect day at Icy Strait Point, Alaska.
Cruise Port Guide: Ketchikan
Ketchikan is the southernmost Alaskan cruise port and the Salmon capitol of the world. It is a very small town surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. The weather here is best in the summer months, with the normal Alaskan rain and fog still making its appearance. We cruised in June and it was about 60 degrees and overcast, but manageable.
When cruising to Ketchikan, there are two places your ship could be docking. You will either be docking right in Ketchikan, or at Ward Cove. The Ketchikan cruise port is convenient to town with all of the shops close by. If you dock in Ward Cove you will need to transfer via bus into town. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but you’ll be adding time to your day and possibly need to take that into account when booking excursions. Also you should note that there is nothing to do in Ward Cove. You’ll need to go into town to do any sightseeing or activities.
Things to do in ketchikan
There are a lot of different activities to choose from in Ketchikan. In order to narrow your choices down you should first decide what type of activities interest you and what your budget is. Helicopter rides, scenic planes, and glacier hikes sound absolutely fantastic, but when you’re booking excursions for every port day of your cruise they add up. If you don’t like hiking in your day to day life you probably won’t love it on vacation either. That being said, you won’t have any issues finding something you want to do here.
My Personal Advice: Pick one excursion, and walk around downtown before or after your excursion. We were able to get off the ship early during our day in Ketchikan and we were able to see all of downtown while the crowds were low.
Downtown
Creek Street
This is one of the most famous photo spots in Ketchikan. It is a short walk from Downtown and just across a foot bridge. The buildings on Creek Street are built over Ketchikan Creek and are all connected by a boardwalk. There are niche shops, restaurants and experiences on Creek Street. You can tour Dolly’s House Museum, a remnant of the old days on Creek Street. Between 1903 and 1954 Creek Street was known as Ketchikan’s red light district.
Totem Viewing
Just downtown alone there are about a dozen Totem poles to see. It is an easy, walkable route to see them all. If you want to further your Totem pole adventure check out the Totem Heritage Center, also a short walk from downtown. The Southeast Alaska Discovery center is another place to learn the history of the area.
The Rock
The Rock is a bronze sculpture located downtown, directly in front of the famous Ketchikan sign. The sculpture has seven people, of which one of them was a real person. A tlingit Chief, Chief Johson, representing the people that first called the area home. The others are a native drummer, frontierswoman, bush pilot, logger, miner and a fisherman. This is a famous photo spot and can get busy in the mid day.
Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show
The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is located downtown, just steps away from the main cruise dock. The show portrays the logging history of Southeast Alaska and lasts about an hour. Some say the show is a little scripted, but it is a fun family stop. Beware that the show is mostly outside. The seating area is partially covered for shade but if it rains you’re in the elements.
Best ketchikan excursions
We booked all of our Alaska cruise excursions through Alaska Shore Excursions, and I highly recommend using them if you’re looking to book outside of your cruise line’s offered excursions. Here are a few of the top excursions offered in Ketchikan:
Sea Kayaking
This is the excursion that we chose and it was more than worth it. We took a half day sea kayaking excursion where we were picked up in Ward Cove and transported to Clover Pass Resort. There we kayaked for about 3 hours (I would say 2 of those hours were coasting) before being transferred back to Ward Cove. Our guide was amazing, she was constantly giving us little facts and wildlife lessons.
Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour
If you love watching Deadliest Catch, this tour is for you. You get to board a fishing vessel and observe fishing techniques and wildlife encounters on a 3 hour excursion. It’s a great introduction into the commercial fishing world.
Bear Encounters
Neet’s Bay observatory and Traitor’s Cove are popular spots for observing bears. Traitor’s Cove tours require a 70-ish minute boat ride to the observation platform. Neet’s Bay tours require a 30 minute bus ride to Clover Pass Resort, followed by an hour boat ride to Neet’s Bay. These locations are natural viewing spots so there is no guarantee that you will see bears, but the odds are decent.
Zodiac Tour
Zodiacs are rigid, inflatable boats that are small and make for perfect touring boats. Most of the Zodiac tours offered are wildlife viewing or general cruising. Either would be a great way to spend the day. The advantage to taking a Zodiac wildlife tour over another tour on a bigger boat is that you are able to move around more freely, and into more difficult spots where you might see more wildlife.
General planning
There are plenty of things to do other than a pre-planned excursion, but you should take into account how long your port day is. If you have 8-10 hours in port it would be worthwhile to book an excursion unless you want to enjoy extra time on the ship. If you have 6 hours or less, doing a self guided tour of downtown would be fine.
Ketchikan is a great port to visit on your Alaskan cruise. My general recommendation for this port is to do one excursion, and explore the town on foot before or after the excursion if you can. There is a local bus service if you want to move around more freely. It really is a small town, so if you choose not to do an excursion here it will be a laid back day. There are shops, restaurants and museums in town to visit but be prepared that it is touristy for the most part. This leans into my recommendation to do an excursion and explore. Every group is different though and that may be your perfect day, so remember to do what you want in the end!
Cruising to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine is an exceptional spot to add to your cruise itinerary. The port drop off location is directly in Portland, within a short walking distance of the beautiful downtown shops and restaurants.