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Juneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL Constellation
  • AICW Great Loop Segment
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  • AICW Great Loop Segment

Juneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL Constellation

We liked the Inside Passage of both Alaska and British Columbia so much that we decided to cruise it again on a different small ship, the American Cruise Lines Constellation. Read more
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    🇺🇸 Anchorage, United States
    AICW Great Loop SegmentJuneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL ConstellationTraveler
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    Glacier Bay to Haines, AK

    September 18 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Back at the ranger station in Bartlett Bay in Glacier Bay we took a 90 min ranger led walk into the temperate rain forest that covers 350 miles in the area. There are many remnants' of the glaciers progress, like kettle pots where icebergs melted and remnant boulders. This area is well worth exploring, although we are reluctant to trailer this far at this point (should have done it 20 years ago). There is NO condensation anywhere in the boat, we stay warm and dry and had Dungeness crab omelets for breakfast and Dungeness Crab Cakes for dinner with much better wine than we would ever buy for ourselves, so it's all good.

    Haines has a small port for only small cruise ships and 27 foot vertical tides in a small village with the basics. It has a road as an alternative to the State Ferry system. Our excursion was a tamden (very stable) kayak adventure along Lake Chillicothe. We were lucky to watch a grizzly bear foraging along the shore ignore 14 humans in 7 kayaks for about 30 minutes of picture taking. Also saw salmon, a bald eagle, a pair of blue herons, magpies etc. in a spectacular setting among five waterfalls spilling from snowpacks. Our guides said this is the last venture for the season.    Read more

  • AICW Great Loop SegmentJuneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL ConstellationTraveler

    Glacier Bay, Day 2

    September 16 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

    After anchoring off another tidewater glacier for the night, we headed back to Bartlett Bay ranger HQ for a ranger led walk in the temperate rain forest. Each year, over 700,000 cruise ship passengers enter Glacier Bay, but under 5% actually are able to get off the boat and walk the trails. It was more absolutely spectacular beauty.Read more

  • AICW Great Loop SegmentJuneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL ConstellationTraveler

    Juneau to Glacier Bay, Alaska

    September 15 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    It was an interesting voyage to Bartlett Bay in Glacier Bay National Park. Only a few cruise ships, tour boats and private boats get permits to come in daily. The ranger center is here and the ship docked to pick up a ranger who then accompanied us while giving commentary up to the confluence of several glaciers, passing a lot of ‘growlers’ (mini icebergs) along the way with lots of wildlife. Dozens of groups of river otters would languidly float on their backs with slow foot strokes a few dozen feet from the ship (which was running under 8 MPH in those areas). Just beyond that confluence, a landslide in 1958 at the glacier generated the largest tsunami in recorded history, at 1,700 feet high in the fjord (the Empire State Building is 1,450 feet high if you include the antenna).

    Constellation then turned a bit south into another arm with another glacier face for the night. Incredible, spectacular pristine scenery all along. We are so glad to see it again.    Read more

  • AICW Great Loop SegmentJuneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL ConstellationTraveler

    Juneau, Day 2

    September 14 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Juneau, Alaska Day 2

    So glad we arranged the extra day to explore this area! We walked the cruise docks, where all the shops are having sales because this week marks the end of the cruising season and the start of cold and snow. Oddly, a major king crab processing plant is wedged in among the ships loading tractor trailer trucks with frozen crab legs destined for your local Costco. However, there are no roads into or out of Juneau, which is surrounded by saltwater and ice fields. They are driven onto barges for the three day trip to Seattle; flying is the only other way out.

    We took a trolley tour to the 370 ft Nugget Falls outflow by Mendenhall Glacier which has been shrinking for over 100 years. The generous two hours there allowed us to hike all three trails and the visitor center. Every few blocks you see a Bald Eagle sitting atop a street lamp.

    We had a great dinner at the Harbor Docks, which was and is the float plane dock. Alaska Airlines was founded by local float plane bush pilots. Juneau is the location of one of the extremely few documented instances of an aircraft fishstrike, which occurred on March 31 when a bald eagle carrying a salmon in its claws was shocked into dropping it while gaining altitude. The pilots were surprised, but carried on. The incident made national news on April Fools Day.

    The downtown Red Dog Saloon dates back to goldrush days, where marshals collected guns before one could dine. Wyatt Earp was miffed, especially because when he finished drinking around sunrise (a man after my own heart) the marshalls were off duty and he had to abandon his gun, which is still on display above the bar.

    The Alaska State Museum was very interesting, with a fascinating emphasis on the ethnic first peoples lives. A coach took us and our pre-loaded luggage to the ship for lunch and the initial briefings. We had the least luggage of the 90 cabins (hey, there's free laundry machines and pods on board).    Read more

  • AICW Great Loop SegmentJuneau, Alaska to Seattle on ACL ConstellationTraveler

    Pensacola to Juneau, Alaska

    September 13 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    15 flying hours and five time zones with delays and transfers made for a 20 hour day. Fortunately, wine stores in Juneau are open late. We knew to come in a day early or we d be too exhausted to enjoy the day. Despite 42 degrees, our sixth floor room at the Baronoff hotel was hot even with the window full open. We will have a full day tomorrow to explore, since we've never been here before. The population is 30,000 which doubles when the max six cruise ships come in tomorrow. The landscapes from the jet from British Columbia to Juneau were awesome.Read more

    Trip start
    September 13, 2026