This hotel is not on the waterfront but does have water views from the higher floors.   The service at this hotel is wonderful from the bellmen, to front desk, concierge, restaurant staff and housekeeping.  Beds we extremely comfortable and Yews their restaurant was innovative and delicious.  Plus the underground mall is attached to the building.  It is also close to Robson St. for more shopping and has LOTS of great restaurants nearby.  I would stay here again in a heartbeat!

I had the great pleasure of taking the Rocky Mountaineer arriving in Vancouver on 8/31.  The transfer we booked through Rocky Mountaineer was waiting at the airport for us and promptly took us the the Vancouver Four Seasons.  Our check in was prompt and the front desk offered us an upgrade which we took.   In the morning Brewster Tours picked us up and took us to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain.  The tour was fantastic even though we had some rain during the tour.  Besides crossing the swaying bridge (not great for those afraid of heights) we saw totem poles and grizzly bears!

Juneau is the capital of Alaska yet it is only accessible by seaplane or boat.  This is why the best way to see Alaska is by cruise ship.  This is probably the biggest port city besides Anchorage, and also offers great whale watching tours and a trip to Mendenhall Glacier is a must (see post on Mendenhall).  It also offers a lot of aventurous activities.  No stop to Juneau would be complete without a stop to Tracy’s Crab Shack.   Crab chowder and rolls to die for and the mini crab cakes were great too (although the sauce was too spicy for me), they dipped great in the chowder.   Friendly people, great seafood, lots to do and great shopping too!

We took and excursion by Jet Dolphin Excursions to watch whales.   We booked this excursion through Shoretrips.com.   Compared to the cruise lines the boat was smaller and held much less people, the windows opened so if it’s a rainy day you can take pictures or videos without getting wet (the cruise lines boat had an outdoor upper level uncovered deck for pictures) and our crew of two were fantastic.  We were served drinks, a half of a bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese (yum) and candy bars for those with a sweet tooth.  We saw lots of whales!!!  We also stopped by a buoy covered with Harbor Seals!  If you want to sea whales do this excursion!   By the way any whale watching excursion in Juneau, will let you see whales,  they know just where they always are!

Skagway Alaska is a smaller port than Juneau or Ketchikan, yet just as impressive!  Snow capped mountains are everywhere.  The people of the town are friendly and warm and there is a lot to do here from just walking the ports to bicycle riding, kayaking, to taking the White Pass train trip following the path to the gold rush, to visiting a Musher’s Dog Camp just to name a few possibilities.   We choose the visit to a dog musher’s camp which included a ride on a wheeled sled pulled by a team of dogs, a presentation on the Ididarod Dog mushing race and maybe the highlight holding husky puppies!!!   This is an awesome excursion for kids of all ages.

Although Mendenhall Glacier is receding it is still a magnificent sight to see.   Whether you take a helicopter tour to land and walk over it or just take a tour of it along with a whale watch excursion it is a not to miss site in Alaska.  We were also able to hike a trail back to the falls.  Make sure you take good walking shoes and do this hike.   It is mostly flat and you won’t want to miss the falls which you can walk right up to.   You can also choose to kayak in the lake around Mendenhall glacier and end up at the beach near the falls.   So although there are a lot of ways to see this 17 and a half mile glacier see it!!!

Arctic Bar, Ketchikan, Alaska

Arctic Bar is the only covered outdoor patio bar in Ketchikan.  It is also on the path to the cruise ship docks which makes it an easy stop for a beverage on the way to the ship.  Staff is down to earth and friendly.  Food orders are called in to the Hamburger Queen restaurant across the street and is delivered right to your table nice and hot!  It features a great selection of Alaskan produced beers plus other popular brews.   The waitress told us not to order the halibut and chips but we did anyway and they were delicious.  Even my nephew whose 11 and hates fish was eating it!!!   Burgers can be ordered too!  If you are lucky a local couple will come in and greet everyone passing by with a positive message.  That’s the Arctic bar!  Stop by and give it a try!

I have eaten twice in the Tuscan Grille both on the Celebrity Summit and the Celebrity Solstice and enjoyed it both times.  I had a filet mignon with a mushroom sauce, pasta bolognese, and this last trip a lobster alfredo both were wonderful.   The Ahi Tuna was also quite good.  This is one of my favorite Celebrity restaurants.

We stayed at the Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino for a night following a cruise.  The hotel is well situated close to bars, shops and restaurants.  The hotel has a great casino and lots of entertainment as well and is really hoping on the weekend.  Pool is nice with a waterslide for the children but could be a bit larger.  There was also a swim up bar. Service in the beach restaurant was quite slow, with plenty of customer complaints, but the food was good once were served.  The beach area was nice but the water seemed very rough so not so good for children.  Great hotel for a pre or post cruise night.

The San Juan Intercontinental is a beautiful hotel in the Isla Verde area of San Juan.   The pool area is very exotic looking with a pool waterfall.  There is a pool bar located between the beach and the pool area.  Security is very good, and if you are waiting for a room make sure you get a key card or security will not let you into the beach.  They also have a nice sized hot tub.  Rooms a very quaint in keeping with the decor of the hotel.  The beds were very comfortable.  Rooms have  small balcony but you can’t really put chairs on it.  They have a variety of restaurants including a Ruth Chris Steakhouse.  We really enjoyed the breakfast buffet where the food was great and you could eat outside and enjoy the gardens.