Juneau is the capital of Alaska but only has a formal population of 32,255 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in Alaska. In reality, Juneau has a daily influx of 21,000 or more additional people from visiting cruise ships between May and September, making it a bustling place.

Due to the rugged terrain, there are no connecting roads to the rest of the state or the contiguous United States. Therefore, all goods and access are by plane or boat.

Downtown Juneau is sandwiched between water on one side with tides averaging 16 ft (5 m) and steep mountains on the other side up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level. On top of these mountains sits the Juneau Icefield from which about 30 glaciers descend.

While waiting for our ship’s departure, we had a pleasant morning exploring the waterfront and did some shopping downtown, finishing off with a nice lunch. Afterwards, we headed to the UnCruise offices to check in. After a time, we were escorted to our cabins on our ship, the Wilderness Explorer. My friends had a nice cabin on an upper deck which had a door to an outdoor walkway. Myself, I went for an indoor cabin which turned out to be on a lower deck and just before the crew cabins.

The ship was built in 1976 and at the time of our cruise, at least my lower deck cabin had much of the ship’s original flavor. The bed was basically built along a wall with a window just above it. The room was toned with lots of darker wood. To be honest, my being tall made the room feel a bit tiny and cramped. In retrospect, it was actually more cozy than cramped. I appreciated the space, however, as it felt very real for an ocean-going vessel versus a more modern cruise ship cabin. Each cabin had a pair of binoculars, a small shower/bathroom, a small TV to keep us updated (no satellite TV in those days), and reasonable storage space.

The rest of our ship felt more modern. The lounge was very comfortable and warm (not to mention it had a very nice bar) with a hot tub on the deck just in front of it. The dining area was roomy, and the upper deck even had a small workout area. The upper deck was also used as a staging area for our expeditions to the shore or out onto the water. If you check out the link on this page for the ship, you will see that all the cabins have been refurbished with a lighter, more modern feel. While the ship keeps the same comfortable dining and lounge areas that I remember.

We ate our first meal on board that evening, after which we enjoyed our first lecture of the trip as we headed south along the channel.