Alaska Cruise Day 5: Juneau

We arrived in Alaska's capitol city of Juneau on Day 5 of our cruise. Juneau was the only Alaskan port that we decided to "do on our own" as opposed to taking an organized tour. From my pre-cruise research I had determined my three main points of interest in Juneau: the State Capitol Building, the Alaskan Brewing Company Brewery, and Mendenhall Glacier. Unfortunately, our itinerary limited our time in Juneau to only six hours, and since Shaun and I prefer to sight-see at an easy, relaxed pace, I was forced to prioritize. Ten years ago it would have been a much more difficult decision, but now... the 3,000-year-old, 13-mile-long body of ice was the obvious choice. After disembarking the ship, we purchased round-trip shuttle tickets to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and were on our way!

After an interesting and fun few hours walking the trails to the glacier and exploring the visitor center, we returned to the ship for a light lunch and short nap before the second main event of the day... The Chef's Table, a multi-course dinner experience that would go on to become one of the highlights of our entire cruise! Our tour began in the kitchen galley, where we were served champagne and appetizers while treated to a personal tutorial by the Head Pastry Chef of how to make Carnival's famous melting chocolate cake. From there we were led to the ship's nightclub, where a table for 14 had been set up on the dance floor. I was in foodie heaven as the courses began to arrive, each looking more delicious than the last. It was an amazing evening of fantastic food, impeccable service, and many laughs thanks to our delightful table mates (and probably also the wine, which was free-flowing throughout the two hour meal). We returned to our stateroom in a food coma and, in anticipation of our 8am excursion the next morning in Ketchikan, decided to call it a night before the sun even set. It was an absolutely amazing day in Juneau!!

We spotted this critter in a tree along the trail to the glacier. Porcupines aren't what spring to mind when I hear "Alaskan wildlife", but as it turns out, they are one of Alaska's most popular land mammals. This one attracted quite a crowd on the trail!

The short, 2 mile hike/walk on Nugget Falls Trail afforded us this spectacular view of Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Lake, and Nugget Falls

A little closer view of the glacier. The next time we are in Juneau we would love to hike the glacier itself! We just weren't in port long enough to do any further exploration this trip.

Picture time!

Time to bust out the selfie stick!

It wasn't long before a friendly couple saw us fooling with our stick and offered to take our picture. :)

Another day in Alaska, another waterfall. Selfie in front of Nugget Falls.

Filling a bottle with "glacier water" to take home to Avalon (by request). Hey, it WAS once part of the glacier! ;)

After enjoying the mist of the falls, we walked out to another vista point for a few more pics

Taking in the views

A friendly local resident took this pic for us. She said she comes out to the glacier about once a week to take photos for the tourists. (Side note: I'm not sure why the exposure got weird every time we turned the camera on ourselves! Photoshop to the rescue before any of these go on the wall!)

Several hours later, back on board and ready for The Chef's Table!

The first appetizer we were served during the "Reception" portion of Chef's Table (which took place in the kitchen galley). What looked exactly like a raw egg yolk was actually a delicious "Mango Sphere on Rosemary Biscuit"

"Beef Carpaccio on Air Pillow with Chocolate Bacon" - Fancy!

"Salmon Tartar Cornets" - Cheers! These were my fave!

"Double Cooked Lamb"

After the kitchen tour and reception, it was time to head to the nightclub for dinner (and a selfie!)

Every guest received a personalized menu. The chef introduced and explained each course as it was served, but I'm so glad I kept this menu because I never would have remembered what these pics were of without it! Shaun intended to snap a pic of each course, but by the time the main courses rolled around we were so into the meal and the whole experience that we completely forgot to take pics of the Sea Bass and the Wagyu beef!

Beet Blanket with Spiced Grape Tea

Crab Stack

Duck Textures - I LOVED this!

Bisque Our Way

Dessert! A little taste of many things (check the menu)... what a way to end a fantastic meal!

At the end of the meal we were presented with a complimentary photograph to remember the evening. A nice touch, but not necessary, as this was definitely one of the most memorable meals of my life!!!