Anyone have Alaska on their bucket list? I certainly did and after going there I can definitely say I NEED to go back! WOW, the amount of speechless moments and postcard views is unmeasurable.

After lots of back and forth, we opted for a cruise in order to see as many of the coastal cities as possible. We also decided on a one way cruise to maximize our time instead of a roundtrip where you really only get to see maybe 3 places. The cruise was a 7 night/8 day cruise with Celebrity and below is our itinerary of stops as well as recommended excursions and places to explore in the different towns.

Day 1 - We flew into Anchorage but didn’t get in until almost midnight and went straight to the hotel since we had a very early morning. We stayed at Anchorage Grand Hotel because it is conveniently located right next to the train station.

Day 2 - Time to head to Seward to board the ship. The train is mainly people getting on the cruise which is nice because the train operates on the cruise timelines. This made for a very very early morning with the train departing at 6:45 and they ask you to check in an hour ahead of time. This is exactly why we stayed at the hotel next to the station so we could just roll out of bed and walk down the side-walk to the train. We opted for the 4 hour train ride, which I definitely recommend, because you get incredible views in areas where there are no roads. We purchased the tickets through Alaska Tour & Travel and decided to chose the upgraded DOME seats. These were in the premium double decker car where the dome ceiling is a giant window! With this ticket, you also get breakfast and 2 drinks included (yes, alcohol counts for the 2 drinks) - mimosas while riding through the mountains seeing goats, eagles, and moose was definitely a great start to my day! The tour operators were so informative and the head conductor even stopped the train for us to see a moose climbing out of a marsh. Fun fact we learned - Mr. Seward purchased Alaska from Russia for $0.02/acre

Day 3 - Hubbard Glacier - Today is the day I finally get to see a glacier in real life! But first, coffee and breakfast! Because today was essentially a day at sea, we had some time to kill before the ship arrived at the glacier. We were able to sit in the theater and listen to a discussion on the different excursion options at each port which was really helpful. There are tons to choose from and it can definitely feel overwhelming. Around noon, we headed to get lunch and grabbed the last open table on the rear outside patio which was covered from the rain. It was very foggy but eventually we were able to see the massive cliffside and soon enough chunks of ice floating in the water. As the boat approached the glacier, the ice chunks became more and more abundant. We arrived at Hubbard Glacier after sailing for about 2 hours through the cove. The captain was able to turn the boat back and forth creating ripples in the water causing pieces of the glacier to break off and crash into the water. The power from the falling ice and the waves it caused was amazing!

Day 4 - Juneau - Before we left for our trip, I did a bunch of research on what excursions to do where, specifically dog sledding. I read that you should book dog sledding at the first stop where it is offered so that in case it gets cancelled you have a chance to book it at a stop later into the trip (FYI - Alaska weather is unpredictable and this actually happened to us). It was sunny when we got off the ship but as the time approached when we were supposed to meet our guide for the dog sledding excursion, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain. Our guide pulled up and let us know that due to the fog, they had to cancel the trip. We immediately called the location in Skagway to be rebooked and luckily they had 2 openings. Phew! This was the 1 thing I wanted to do out of the whole trip so I am very glad we lucked out.

Now that we had the rest of the day open, we had to come up with with a new plan and decided to ride the Mount Roberts Tramway to the top of the mountain. There we had the chance to meet a rescued bald eagle that had been shot in the left eye and shoulder and could no longer fly. Because of this they had to keep her protected and had a wonderful team looking after her. After a quick drink at the top, we made our way back down and headed to Tracy’s King Crab Shack for lunch. Crab bisque, crab cakes, garlic rolls, & ice cold Alaskan beers just what we needed. Since we still had a lot of time left before the ship left we we are able to go drop-off our heavy layers in our room and head back out to adventure bit more. We just decided to walk through the town and through the neighborhoods and just get lost until we needed to find our way back . We saw the Governor’s Mansion and then a local told us about the Perseverance Trail so we started out on our ”little “ adventure. Well, 13 miles later, I can tell you we saw some amazing views and burned a few calories along the way. A quick stop at the fudge shop to refuel and back to the boat. Right before we were going to board the boat we saw a really cool taco food truck called Deck Hand Dave’s that we just had to try. We weren’t even hungry at the time but it was so worth it. We got the Halibut taco and Panko Crusted Salmon taco that were both so yummy!!

Day 5 - Skagway - This turned out to be our absolute favorite place we went to in Alaska. Such a cute little town with some awesome little places. We wandered around and stopped at Skagway Brewing Company for an early drink to start the day. On our way to the heli-pad we passed another small brewery called Klondike Brewing Co. so we popped in to check it out. They only had 3 beers currently on tap so we decided to try them all and the coconut one was definitely my favorite. After finishing our beers we headed over to TEMSCO for our incredible bucket list excursion. Once we got to the helicopter office we were weighed and outfitted with glacier boots and emergency life vest pouches (not sure if that was comforting but hey better be safe than sorry). After a short video we headed outside to wait for our ride to arrive. We were quickly whisked out to the chopper and strapped in and off we went. We flew through the valley and over the beautiful mountains, passing rivers and glaciers and then we came up to Denver Glacier. As soon as we got out of the helicopter all the dogs started barking and howling. We were matched with our guide and introduced to the dogs that would be working that day. Our sled dogs were mostly named after Harry Potter characters however the lead dog was named Chase. Everything was going as planned until the group of dogs pulling us got into a huge dog fight all because of one culprit….Scott. He was the trouble maker dog. Scott was quickly demoted from his position and after a quick rearrangement we were back on track. Once our ride was over and we were back at the camp we FINALLY got to see ……..the puppies. We were handed 2 puppies that were 4 weeks old and WOW they were so adorable. The little snuggles and puppy noises are the BEST! Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and we had to give the puppies back to board our heli back to town. Once back at town we just had to check out the Red Onion, since we had heard so much about it. This used to be a brothel back in the gold mining days and they put on a really cool tour where you can see all the original rooms and some artifacts from back at that time. You even get your own garder to wear! This tour is actually hilarious because the guides stay in character and have funny adult jokes, so I highly recommend if you like cheesy adult humor.

Day 6 - Hoonah - Icy Straight Point - We signed up for a zip-line/whale watching excursion and were told to meet in the lobby at 6:30am. We assumed the whale watching part of the excursion was first but little did we know that as soon as we got off the boat we would be loaded up into buses to head up the mountain to zip. On the way we saw a momma bear and 2 cubs right along the side of the road. We had the best bus driver who was part of a local tribe and had so many jokes we were laughing almost the entire drive. He had so many jokes along the drive that the hour it took to get up the mountain felt like 10 minutes. Once at the top they started strapping us into the harnesses. They had 6 zip lines so of course it was a race (LOL). This massive zip rider is the largest in the world measuring in at 5,330 feet long and dropping 1,330 feet with speeds exceeding 60mph. It was INSANE!! And AMAZING!! Once we finished the zip, we boarded our excursion boat to head out and find some whales. We were able to spot a group of whales along the coast that we followed for about 30 minutes and then on our way back to port we had some orca’s join us and swim along side our boat. Of course the excursion wouldn’t be complete without seeing the seals. They were all trying to get on this bouy and kept climbing on each other to try and stay on. So cute to watch them all communicate with one another.

Now that our excursions were over, it was time for the famous crab leg bloody mary. Basically the best bloody mary I have ever had with a full crab leg and claw sticking out of the glass. EPIC!!

Day 7 - Ketchikan - Alaska’s 1st city and the Salmon capital the world! We hadn’t heard a ton about Ketchikan before our visit but we were excited to explore anyway. We signed up for the Deadliest Catch crab boat excursion and we were so excited after watching the show for so long. The boat was from the show and was one that had been hit by a rogue wave and ended up being decommissioned. They were able to completely restore the boat and adjust the layout to add row seating for visitors during these trips. It was an absolutely beautiful blue sky/sunny day so we got really lucky. The guys working on the boat were so friendly and welcoming. They had all been in this industry for years so they had a lot of experience and stories to share. One more unforgettable experience was when hundreds of bald eagles came flying around our boat, some even dipping down into the water for fish. It was as if they were putting on a show for us. I never thought I would get so close to a bald eagle before, let alone hundred. It was such a stunning thing to see and we would do this excursion over and over again. Worth it!