24 Hours in Juneau: First Stop on Our Alaska Cruise 🐋 

From a lifelong Juneauite - I'm glad you enjoyed Juneau. A few reality checks are in order. Sadly, our air quality in the summer nothing to enjoy breathing because of the air pollution from the cruise ships. There is shore power available for just one ship, and we can have up to six in port at a time. The volumes of toxic black soot and PM2.5, SO2, and NOx are staggering for a city that starts with a baseline of very clean air. Prevailing winds blow that pollution right into the neighborhoods you walked through. Residents even 1/2 mile beyond where you walked to the trailhead experience dark sooty residue on their homes/windows, yard furnishing. You were fortunate in terms of whale watching to have just a few boats around. The Juneau whale watching fleet is 62 vessels, the largest in the world, by far, concentrating activity around relatively few humpback whales. A tragedy of the commons, as most skippers are seeking to do the best they can, but there are just too many. This year even the whale watch company owners acknowledged that and are talking some form of limited entry. The root of the problem is that the cruise industry is overwhelming communities that are profitable for them. Finally, I got a chuckle when you said how lucky you were because seeing whales isn't guaranteed, and then you added you know that because if you don't see whales you get your money back. That is a guarantee of seeing whales! It is also something that those in whale conservation would like to see end because it puts a lot of pressure on captains to get you to whales and that puts more pressure on whales. Whale strikes are most likely to happen when boats are traveling fast, as could be when rushing to find whales during a tight timeline.

@@karlahart_AK Wow, these are all very valid points that have never been brought to our attention. Thank you for taking the time to write out and explain the downsides to the Alaskan cruise and whale watching industry. I can certainly imagine the insane crowds and pressure that the workers of the tourism industry face, especially in the peak of summer when ports are completely lined with a multitude of cruise ships and visitors. We will keep all these points top of mind, if we happen to plan any future trips to Alaska.

We really appreciate this!!! 🥰 Thank you so much- especially for the kind words about our music choice haha. It's an absolute pleasure for us to create these videos for you to enjoy! 💛

How cool! I didn't know they offered whale watching tours up there- we'll have to experience one the next time we're in the Cape Cod area! 😁 And, my goodness, they certainly don't disappoint with the food hahaha. Those chefs are truly some of the best of the best!!! 🤣

Thank you so much- I'm so happy you enjoyed the way I structured the story!!! 💓😁

Amazing recommendation for fellow travelers going to Juneau! (And us, if we get the chance to go back haha!) 😁 That sounds absolutely insane!!! After our helicopter ride in Anchorage, we've been looking all around for other fly-over experiences, because it offered such a fascinating perspective on all the natural surroundings. 🤩

Thank you so much for watching!!! 💗 Knowing that dozens of humpback whales were swimming underneath us, was simply just mind-blowing hahaha. It was definitely the closest encounters we've ever gotten to humpback whales! 🐋 We feel so lucky!!!

Wow, thank you for such a kind comment!!! 🥰 This really made our day! 💗 We appreciate your support towards what we do, and we look forward to sharing more and more of it all with the both of you! 😁

@@ChadandClaire 🩷❤️

No way!!! I'm editing the video for Skagway and Icy Strait Point/Hoonah now, and I'm so excited for you to see it! It's going to be a fun one, for sure! 😁

Hahaha YES!!! Let us get the most *bang* out of our *buck* 😂 The four of us would all be eating as if we were filming an epic food tour every single day hahaha. 😮‍💨

Oh, very cool! I've heard some really great reviews on the Norwegian cruise line. Because we went at the end of the season, we didn't get to see what the ship looked like out on the waters, but I certainly hope to sail with them someday! 😁 Thank you so much for watching!!! 🥰

Thank you so much for watching! 💖 We feel extremely fortunate to have been able to experience Juneau and all of Alaska's astounding beauty! 😍

Everywhere we looked was simply just gorgeous! Alaska and its natural beauty exceeded far beyond all of our expectations. 🤍 Whenever we make our trip up to Wisconsin, we'll have to add the Ice Age Trail to the list. I just looked it up on Google, and it looks spectacular!!! 😍

Thank you so much for watching!!! 💞 Can't wait for you to see next week's video! I'm editing it now, and it's going to be a good one!!! 😁

Thank YOU for watching and for joining us virtually on our whale watching experience haha. 💓 It's an absolute joy for us to take you along! Wishing you a wonderful week!!! 😁

Hahaha duty calls!!! 😂 We're excited for you to see it- hope you enjoy the video! 😁

@@ChadandClaire You guys definitely didn’t disappoint! Loved it!! Alaska is looking pretty magical ❤️

Oh my gosh, I just Googled "Kermode bears," and they look so interesting!!! 😂 I didn't even know they existed! By looks, they're like the golden retrievers of bears hahahaha. Now, we'll be on the search for these special bears whenever we're in that area. 🤯Thanks for sharing- I'll be thinking about these bears all night haha!

Thank you for watching! 🥰 We went with Celebrity, which was chosen out by my sister! She had done lots of research on all the different cruise lines offering a route along the coast of Southeast Alaska, and she said Celebrity offered the best value overall. We really don't have any complaints from the entire experience, and we would certainly sail with them again! The ship we had was the Celebrity Millennium, which was newly renovated in 2019! 😁

We did take a little peak inside Red Dog Saloon- such an interesting spot! All the old time saloons along the Southeast Alaska coast were fascinating to see! Made us feel like we were transported back to the Wild West hahaha. Wow, 10 pounds is WILD!!! 😂 The food must have been some of the most delectable things in the world hahaha. 😁 We must've passed you along the Inside Passage (if you were also on a cruise), because we were in Juneau just earlier that week, on September 10! 😲

@ChadandClaire I had to do the duck fart shot😋. I don't drink that much, but when in Juneau do what they do. We went out of Seattle 10 to 17th. Princes cruise.

We went with Celebrity, which was chosen out by my sister! She had done lots of research on all the different cruise lines offering a route along the coast of Southeast Alaska, and she said Celebrity offered the best value overall. We really don't have any complaints from the entire experience, and we would certainly sail with them again! The ship we had was the Celebrity Millennium, which was newly renovated in 2019! 😁