google-maps-discoverbooktravel

Day 4 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Sights of Downtown Juneau

Posted by Unknown at 10:02 PM Saturday, December 22, 2012 Labels: Alaska, Cruise, Juneau, USA 0 comments

Alaska Cruise (Juneau). 2012 . Sep 18

It seems to be a busy port day, for all four docks were full. As with Ketchikan, the Diamond Princess was parked at one of the furthest dock.

It seems that Holland America’s Zaadam has followed us from Ketchikan to Juneau!

Even though we are parked furthest from downtown, at least it means that we get to walk the scenic coastal boardwalk to downtown!

The beautiful Norwegian Jewel parked just next to the heart of the city centre. Lucky you.

Franklin square, crowed on port days. The entryway to Mount Roberts Tramway is just next to Franklin Square.

Tip: Visit the Visitor Centre just next to the entrance of the Mount Roberts Tramway for free city maps.

We found this useful downtown Juneau area map online. (Credits: http://www.traveljuneau.com)

Mount Roberts Tramway

One of the most popular tourist attraction in Juneau downtown, the Mount Roberts Tramway promises to bring you 1800 feet above sea level to the rainforest of Mount Roberts. Enjoy panoramic views of the Mendenhall Valley from this advantage point. Other attractions include wildflowers in season, a visitor centre, and a few nature trails.

For USD$31 per pax for a return tram ticket, the prices are too steep for travellers who are on a tight budget. Alternatively, you can choose to take a hike up Mount Roberts. The trail starts from the northeast end of 6th street. Once you reach the tramway station at the top, you can either pay $5 to take the tram down to Franklin Square, or purchase $5 worth of food or drinks and get the tram ride free.

The various nature trails at the summit.

Juneau City Sights

One of the very first few things we noticed about Juneau (or any other ports of calls) is that there are hardly any traffic lights around! Pedestrians simply cross the road when it is convenient to do so, and for areas with higher traffic, a traffic warden is sometimes deployed to oversee things.

Keep a lookout for this furry friend when you walk by the streets of Juneau. We thought this to be a gigantic plush toy for sale, and imagine our astonishment when he rears his sleepy head to look at us – it’s a huge doggy, very much alive!!

Alaska State Capitol

If you have more time at Juneau, you might want to walk to the corner of East 4th Street and Main Street to visit the Alaska State Capitol. It houses the Alaska Legislature and the offices for the governor of Alaska and lieutenant governor of Alaska.

The administrative building of the University of Alaska and Alaskan Hotel

As with Ketchikan, there are lots of Totem Poles around the city area.

Next up, Shopping and Dining at Downtown Juneau.

Follow @Discoverbooktra
Like us on Facebook!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. To receive notifications on updates, subscribe to our blog via RSS feed and email.

Like us on Facebook @ Discover. Book . Travel and follow us on Twitter @Discoverbooktra!

Do check out our Flickr photos & Youtube videos too!

Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise Day 5 Dinner Menu (Chef's Dinner)

Posted by Unknown at 2:55 PM Wednesday, December 19, 2012 Labels: Alaska, Alaska Cruise Menus, Cruise, Skagway, Travel Resources, USA 0 comments

Alaska Cruise . 2012 . Sep 19

Dinner Menu for Day 5 (Chef's Dinner)

(V) indicates vegetarian dish

Appetizers

Quail and Venison Terrine
gingered red and white onion compote, mesclun salad

Twice Baked Goat's Cheese Souffle (V)
garlic sabayon

Shrimp Cocktail
an American classic with horseradish-spiked cocktail sauce

Soups and Salads

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup (V)
sun-blushed roma tomatoes

Boston Bibb Lettuce (V)
tossed in shallot vinaigrette

Classic Caesar Salad (V)
crisp romaine lettice, caesar dressing, parmesan cheese and herb croutons; anchovies upon request

Signature Pastas

Available as an appetizer or main course and served with freshly grated parmesan cheese

Potato Gnocchi in Provencale Tomato Sauce (V)
served with crisp-fried zucchini

Fettuccine Alfredo in Crisp Parmesan Basket (V)
An All-Time Princess Favorite
rich, comforting and entirely satisfying

Intermezzo

Strawberry Sorbet (V)
infused with lemon and wild thyme

Main Courses

To enhance the flavors the chef has paired each dish with the freshest sides

Skillet-Fried Orange Roughy with Tomato & Caper Dressing
on potato, green bean, bermuda onion and black olive hash

Seared Diver Scallops in Three Citrus Nage
freshly squeezed lemon, lime and orange reduced with white wine and bound with butter, warm vegetable julinennes and red bliss potatoes

Cocca Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Natural Jus
eggplant and zucchini ratatouille, truffled mash potatoes

Crispy Southern Skillet Fried Chicken
served with coleslow and french fries

Trilogy of Lamb Chop, Braised Veal Breast and Chicken Kebab

with piquant sauce, garlic sauteed spinach, cherry tomatoes and croquette potatoes

Grilled Salmon with Herb & Lemon Compound Butter
vegetables of the day and parsley potatoes

Pan-Seared Corn-Fed Chicken with Thyme Jus
lightly seasoned boneless breast, vegetables of the day and roast potatoes

Princess Half Pound Sirloin Burger
ground fresh daily, cooked to order, served with gourmet fries and our signature secret sauce

Grilled Spice-Rubbed Tri Tip Roast
marinated choice American beef, slow roasted and grilled, served medium-well wuth chimichurri or BBQ sauce, broiled tomato & zucchini and steak fries

Pacific Moon Dining Room Specialty Dish

Sizzling Shrimp and Scallop Noodles

After Dinner Drinks, Digestifs, Dessert Wine

Coffee

Cafe Latte                 $2.50
Mocha                   $2.50
Cappuccino                 $2.50
Espresso                     $1.70
Double Espresso        $2.50

Dessert Wine

Errazuriz Late Harvest, Sauvignon Blanc by the glass    $3.95
notes of honey and golden raisins add depth and richness to the fruity citric Sauvignon Blanc characters

Port Wine and Sherry

Sandeman's Port (20 years)        $7.25
Harvey's Bristol Cream              $4.95
Tio Pepe                                       $4.95
Dry Sack                                      $4.95

Liqueurs and Cordials

Amaretto di Saronno           $5.75
Drambuie               $5.75
Grand Marnier                  $5.75
Kahlua                   $5.75
Frangelico                  $5.75
Brogan's Irish Cream             $5.75
B&B D.O.M               $5.75
Sambuca               $5.75
Tia Maria               $5.75
Galliano                  $5.75
Southern Comfort              $5.75

Cognac

Courvoisier V.S.O.P                  $7.25
Courvoisier Napoleon               $9.50
Remy Martin V.S.O.P              $7.25
Remy Martin X.O                    $10.75

Desserts

Chocolate Lovers Delight
dark chocolate truffle mousse, tiny gateau opera, velvet chocolate brownie

Sugar Free Coconut Cake
raspberry sauce

Princess Love Boat Dream
rich chocolate mousse on brownie

Traditional New York Cheesecake
macerated strawberries

French Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
with sugar cane crust, lemon madeleines

Ice Cream
chocolate peanut butter, amaretto, raspberry sorbet

Create Your Own Sundae
vanilla or chocolate ice cream, strawberry, chocolate, butterscotch caramel or pineapple toppings, whipped cream

Sweet & Nutritious Fruits
lemon twist, mint leaf

Read these too!

Day 4 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Magnificient Mendahall Glacier

Posted by Unknown at 5:10 PM Friday, December 14, 2012 Labels: Alaska, Cruise, Juneau, USA 0 comments

Alaska Cruise (Juneau) . 2012 . Sep 18

Land Excursion: Whale Watching Cruise and Mendenhall Glacier at Juneau

$179 per pax, JNU630, approximately 5.25 hrs

Our motor coach was waiting by the harbour to bring us to Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watching cruise. By then, it was obvious that the weather for the day will turn out to be gloriously sunny. And not for the first time today, we were told what a lucky group we were to experience such fine weather, for the cruises just the week before met with extremely wet weather which not only dampens the mood, but also their sight-seeing experience

Journey to Mendenhall Glacier

Our tour guide cum driver, a college student from San Diego, tells her tale of how she fell in love with Juneau during one of her vacation breaks and what was to be a one-time trip to Juneau became an annual summer vacation job!

Each of us was distributed with a wrist tag which acts as the entry ticket to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Centre.

The tranquil scenery of Juneau as seen from the coach.

Mendenhall River, which begins from the Mendenhall Lake located at the base of the Mendenhall Glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier

As our cruise itinerary already includes a day of scenic cruising at Glacier Bay National Park and another day at College Fjord, you may wonder why we bother to spend time at Mendenhall Glacier. For one thing, Mendenhall Glacier is known as the Glacier in town – located just 15 minutes away from downtown Juneau, it is easily accessible by bus. For another thing, although we do get to see lots of calving glaciers on the decks of the Diamond Princess in the days to come, nothing beats taking a hiking trail around the glacier to see a different angle of it. If you have enough time, one of the trails even lead to the ice field and ice caves.

The only drawback of taking a combined whale-watching and Mendenhall Glacier land excursion is that we were given only an hour at the glacier – hardly enough time to do this beautiful piece of wonder any justice.

Tip: For those of you who would only like to visit Mendenhall Glacier, you need not take up any expensive land excursions offered by the cruise line. There are plenty of booths selling shuttle bus tickets that leave from Franklin Square (located just next to the Mount Roberts Tramway Station and next to the docks). A one-way trip cost only $8 and you get to decide how much time you want to spend at the glacier, as long as you get on the return shuttle within the operating hours of the operator.

Drop off point for tour buses with Mendenhall Glacier looming in the background.

If you are planning on taking a walking trail at Mendenhall Glacier, be sure to check up the status update for each of the trail at the bus drop off point. There are a total of 5 walking trails, ranging from a round trip time of 1 hr to 5-6 hrs, and with a variety of difficulty. Some of these trails could be closed on certain days for the safety of visitors.

The majesty of the Mendenhall Glacier set against the tranquil Mendenhall Lake and a few floating ice-bergs in the lake that had broken off from the glacier face. Mendenhall Glacier is a retreating glacier, meaning that it is losing ice from its terminus face fasting than it is gaining ice at its source at the ice field. Just like other glaciers in other parts of the world, the rate of retreat of this glacier has been increasing over the years, partly due to the ill effects of climate change.

Nugget Falls

From Mendenhall Glacier, you can see Nugget Falls on the right hand side of the glacier. It is accessible through a walking trail that takes 45 minutes for a round trip. Imagine our rush when we only had one hour at the glacier!! It was a real test of our fitness when we tried to brisk walk to Nugget Falls, but we do get to burn some of those calories that we accumulated after days of heavy meals on the Diamond Princess.

Tip: With some brisk walking, we managed to get to Nugget Falls and back in 35 minutes!

Viewing points along the Nugget Falls Trail...good for photoshoots and a short rest from all the walking...

The beautiful Nugget Falls beside the Mendenhall Glacier makes for a good photo spot.

Stand at the base of the falls and touch the ice-cool water!

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Centre

The surroundings of the Mendenhall Glacier is free for public access, but an entrance fee of $3 is required for entry into the Visitor Centre. If you have enough time to spare, the small sum of $3 is well worth the money.

Astonishing views of Mendenhall Glacier and Mendenhall Lake from the higher grounds of the Visitor's Centre.

Tip: This area is still available for public access without a ticket to the Visitor Centre.

The Visitor Centre at Mendenhall Glacier serves as an educational centre, with exhibits and audio-visual devices explaining the formation of the glacier, its surroundings, and the wildlife that forms the ecology of the glacier. You'll get a chance to touch a 200-year old piece of ice, and the fur coats of animals such as bears and mountain goats from carcasses of dead animals that were recovered.

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Centre also boosts of some high powered binoculars that allows you to see the blueish tinge of the glacier ice clearly even from that great distance.

While we had a mighty good time at Nugget Falls, we wish that we had enough time to cover the other trails at Mendenhall Glacier. In particular, the Moraine Ecology trail and the Sheep Creek trail offers views of salmons in the creek during the summer months and black bears are known to make an appearance to feed on the salmons.

After a short return trip on the coach, its back to our home away from home, the beautiful Diamond Princess.. :)

Coming up next: Juneau Downtown