Southeast Alaska Cruise Destinations

Juneau

You will get a chilly reception at The Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

When you go on a Southeast Alaska cruise, you stop in certain places because that’s how cruises work. These places are called ports of call. One of the most popular ports of call in Alaska is Juneau, which is also the State Capital. In today’s blog, we are going to take an in-depth look at Juneau and all of the many things that make it so… errr…. Alaska-ey? Is that a word?

It’s fun to do things while you’re in port

The reason cruise ships stop in port is so you can see and experience something new and exciting. You could stay on the boat but that would be pretty lame. To get a taste of the local culture you should go on a shore excursion, eat at a local restaurant, go on a hike, see a museum, and do whatever else the locals do. If the locals do really weird stuff, maybe don’t do that unless you’re into it.

Juneau is known for a big glacier

The Mendenhall Glacier is one of Juneau’s most recognizable landmarks. It’s a big glacier that you can visit by driving right up to the Visitor’s Center. The glacier is receding really fast and you won’t be able to see it in 10 years, so you better go see it now. You can take a bus out to the glacier and marvel at how ice can stay frozen even though its 75 degrees outside.

Juneau is also known for whales

Humpback whales like to visit Juneau. They like it so much that you can take a whale watching tour and the company guarantees you will see a whale or they give you your money back. I’m not sure what kind of deal they have with these whales, but they must get a pretty big cut of the profits. Seeing a whale is amazing. You could even see three or four whales, which is three to four times as amazing as seeing one whale.

There are some good hikes in Juneau

Alaska is a hiker’s paradise. There are some amazing hikes in Juneau. I don’t know the names of the trails but I see Facebook posts from my Juneau friends where they are hiking and it looks awesome. If you want to go on a hike in Juneau, just Google it or ask a local where to go.

Juneau has some other shore excursions

There are a lot of shore excursions in Juneau. You can take a helicopter tour or go on a dog sled ride. Mt. Robert’s tramway is very popular. I’ve never been on it but I hear there’s an eagle in a cage at the top of Mt. Roberts. That seems weird. When I was in Juneau, I took a zipline shore excursion. It was fun. It’s not something I would do again, but I was on a cruise so what the heck?

There are some good restaurants in Juneau

You can find good local seafood in Juneau but all of the locals eat at the Russian dumpling place. It’s a late night place where locals go when they’re schnockered and hungry. Otherwise, Russian dumplings are kind of nasty.

We hope you enjoyed this informative blog about Juneau, one of the premier Southeast Alaska ports of call.