Today was a real cruise port day in Juneau. All but one of the docks was full and occupied with 3 large cruise ships and a small one, the Safari Explorer. A most unusual name for a ship in Alaska as you relate the word Safari more with African Adventures than with looking at bald eagles in Alaska. But it does make adventure cruises catering for 36 guests in a ship / yacht of 145 feet in length as a Safari qualifies as an adventure I suppose. This little ship was originally constructed as a research vessel and then in 2008 revamped into a luxury explorer. We see quite of few of them pottering around the highways and the bye ways of Alaska. They run totally different programs than we do. So it was not amazing that she left while we had just arrived. The guests on board such a small explorer are less into shopping and more into getting very close to nature. As close as possible and I was not amazed to a whole pile of canoe’s or kayaks carefully stored on her aft deck. Going to places in Alaska were the big boys cannot get to.
There were three big boys in port today: The Celebrity Infinity, The Norwegian Sun and the Zaandam. We were docked at the Alaska Steam dock which is as close as you can get to down town. Behind us at the Cruise Terminal, was the Infinity, not a bad place either and then far away at the A.J Dock was the Norwegian Sun. The Franklin dock, normally occupied by a Princess ship was empty. Through the years a sort of pecking order has established itself, meaning that the most senior cruise company, that is us, gets the best dock as long as the ships are fitting in.
An overview of the Juneau docks. this photo is courtesy of a local Juneau sightseeing company called Harv and Marvs.
Every dock has its advantages and disadvantages. Alaska Steam, named after the Alaska Steam ship company who maintained a passenger service to Alaska until 1964, is the closest to town. The only down part of it is that with the tides the gangway has to be shifted on a regular basis, causing a disruption of about 10 minutes for the guests. The Cruise Terminal has a gangway ramp which goes up and down with tides. Although this is a new ramp, the system is left over from the days that this dock was the ferry dock for the Alaska Ferry System. Long time ago they moved to Auke Bay and then the cruise ships came in. The gangway is always at the right level and there is no delay to the guests. It is only an additional ships length to down town and thus not too bad.
With the expansion of cruise business and the increase of the ships, a new dock was built in line with the Cruise Terminal but further down at the south end of Franklin Street, the road which runs all the way along the water of the harbor. To keep things simple they named this the Franklin Dock. It is the home base for the Princess ships. A very nice dock but it is a long walk into town for most of the guests.
The finally there is the A.J. dock. Advantages it is a partly floating dock so also here the gangways go up and down with the tide. It is located at the edge of the old rock dump, where the gold mine of Juneau dumped all its spoils. It is a long way out and thus a shuttle bus is running for those who cannot make the trek to town by foot. It is the least beloved of all docks by the Captains as you have to dock broadside on the prevailing winds and current. Doable during the nice summer days, very challenging during “off days”. The A.J dock got its name from the mining company. This dock is used for overflow and for the ship companies who are recent arrivals to Alaska such as NCL and Disney.
Then there is the dock near the USCG station and that one used for all the small ships such as the Safari Explorer.
I had a mission today, which failed miserably. The overhead projector in the bo’sun store had given up the ghost and I thought I would just buy a new one. But in Alaska the options are limited and anything not being a run of the mill item has to come in from the lower 48. But Office Max had projectors in store and thus I went to have a look. With the local bus system, which makes a complete loop through the whole of Greater Juneau every hour. For 2 dollars you get a great ride and see Juneau from the side of the locals.
Unfortunately, Office Max was confused about a regular projector and an overhead mounted one, and my journey was for naught. Still I enjoyed the bus ride. Next gamble is Vancouver but that is on a Sunday so maybe not so easy either but we will see.
Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan and we are expecting overcast weather again. And anything is good and great as long as it does not rain, which it does for most of the year.
Leave a Reply