Gen Y-er On The Loose: Alaska 2026

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Alaska 2026 - Day 1 & 2

I took an Alaskan cruise in July/August of this year. It was my third trip to Alaska and sixth overall cruise. I chose to travel on Norwegian (NCL) because... well, there were a lot of factors, but the two main ones for me were price and ship size. The Norwegian Jade (a relatively small ship) does northbound and southbound cruises throughout the summer. The cruise I booked was scheduled to embark from Vancouver, BC, stop in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Icy Strait Point -- the latter being the only port I'd never visited -- and end in Whittier, Alaska. From there I'd need to get to Anchorage; then home. I booked the cruise in March, choosing one of the only available inside rooms left in an ideal location -- on deck 4, the lowest deck possible.

On July 26, I flew to Vancouver. I've been there several times and I had hoped to spend some time visiting an attraction I hadn't yet experienced, but it was raining, so I quickly shifted. I ate lunch at the airport, then whiled away some time until I could check into my room at a nearby guest house I'd found on booking.com titled "Modern King Room Private Ensuite Vancouver West" (that's a mouthful). It was $142/night and in a residential neighborhood. The walls were a little thin, and the windows were very heavy, but it was a nice enough place. Plus it was nearby to a few grocery stores and shops.

One of my shoelaces broke at the airport, so I went on a quest to buy new ones. I found some at one of the Vancouver shops, but didn't throw the old ones away. I ended up using them throughout the trip for things like a makeshift lanyard and tying the closet hangers together on the ship so they wouldn't clunk around.

On July 27, I checked out of the room and caught a bus toward the cruise port. I'd been there a few times before (it's where we departed and returned on our 2017 cruise, and where I disembarked in 2019). I knew I could drop of my luggage, so did that, and then -- because my cruise check-in time wasn't until 1:30pm -- I walked around Gastown. I got to see the clock strike noon and emit steam and noise.

I popped into a couple of stores. Then I meandered back to the port.

There was another ship in port that day besides the Norwegian Jade -- it was the Disney Wonder!

Minor envy^

I sailed on the Wonder in 2017. Both ships were boarding that day, so the port was a little busier than I was used to. I got on the ship a little before 2:30. The rooms weren't ready yet, and there were no signs to indicate when they would be. I wandered around the ship, got some lunch at the buffet (which was super crowded, as expected), and then kind of just chilled until an announcement was made that all the rooms were now open.

Once inside my room, I unpacked my backpack (my checked bag would be available later) and explored the layout. It was fairly nice -- USB ports by the bed, a larger-than-typical shower, and a comfy bed. Alas, the closet had butterfly doors (I actually prefer no doors on a ship closet) but it ended up being fine. I later heard from some other passengers that their beds were hard & uncomfortable, so either they have different styles of beds on board, or...?

The ship left port around 4pm; I watched it from deck 7, took photos as it went under the bridge, and went back inside soon after.

A little after 5, I went to one of the main dining rooms. Hardly anyone was there yet, so I was given a small table near a window facing aft; that was cool. Each night there was usually one different vegetarian option, but there was always baked ziti available. That's what I ordered this night. I ate pretty much all the bread the waiter brought by, and I ordered a crème brûlée for dessert.

That evening, I went up on one of the decks, and from the back of the ship saw quite a few whales!

^Tiny Whale Tail

The Disney Wonder was sailing near us for quite a bit of the evening. I thought maybe we'd dock with it at some point during our cruise, but after that night, I never saw it again.