Vancouver to Alaska Cruise on Norweigan Sun Review

I started writing this on the last day of the cruise and now I have been back for months so the post will change from in the cruise to after. In summary it was great and all four of us ranging in ages from 9 to late 40’s we all want to go back. You can read about day 1 of the cruise here Day 1 Vancouver to Alaska on Norwegian Sun I also have a cruise Youtube playlist here Vancouver to Alaska cruise YouTube June 2025 Playlist

This is the last day at sea we will return to Vancouver tomorrow. I bought a 24 hour internet package fot $35 so I can upload all my pictures and hopefully get this post done. I’m currently writing this while getting my hair done at the spa. 

The cruise has been great but very busy. I’m having trouble staying awake. It’s now over a week later and I’m home. I had a plane fiasco where we sat on the runway for a few hours and then returned to the gate. I inevitably got sick after that and still am but I really want to get these Alaska cruise blogs out for you to read. Now it’s weeks later so this will be the final post. 

The cruise and Alaska was fantastic. The consensus of the 4 of of us that travelled together is can we go back now. the cruise was great. I wanted to give you a summary of each day but it’s a few months later now. If you haven’t read my first day post you can read that here Day 1 Vancouver to Alaska

The first full day at Sea had booked a behind the scenes tour. It cost $100 the seas were so rough that day even the staff said it wasn’t normally like that. The tour has so much going in and out through stairs and back doors were was too much. A few people in the group got sick. I was okay I did take medication but I think the bands really worked for me. I didn’t enjoy the tour I felt like we were just rushed to go see random things and with the rough seas felt like a game of survivor. I did enjoy seeing laundry room and the big machines that dry and fold everything. I also enjoyed the beginning part of seeing the kitchens but walking in and out of the different freezers and pantries wasn’t too exciting. I have worked as a cook in restaurants which seems like in a past life now so maybe that’s why. We weren’t allowed to take pictures in many areas but here is an Instagram Reel of the kitchen’s and pantry Instagram Reel behind the scenes tour. I personally wouldn’t book a behind the scenes ship tour again I would watch a YouTube video and explore the free areas of the ship. 

Lessons learned first day onboard. 

Lower your expectations for the first day. A lot of the crew members are also getting on the ship and getting their rooms the same time as you. We booked the latest boarding time as possible due to our schedules but this worked out perfectly there was no waiting in lines and our rooms were ready when we arrived. I thought I would be able to talk to someone about special dining and request things from my room steward. I didn’t meet my room steward until the second day. In the restaurant they said they would send someone over I got a server that didn’t want to deal with me. The dining coordinator came when I was in the bathroom and never came back. We tried the other restaurant the next day and got great service so dined there every day. The evening we explored the ship and made an appointment at the spa for my hair on the last day. There was some draws happening in the store and a few events like that around the ship but time went quickly and it got late pretty fast. I had such good sleep on the ship  I wish we had more rest time but we had a good itinerary for a first cruise. 

Port Days 

As it is a few months later I am just going to give you a quick summary of our port days. It went by really quick and I would happily go on a similar itinerary again as I feel there is a lot we didn’t have time to see. You can see a YouTube playlist of all the videos I took in Alaska here Vancouver to Alaska Cruise Playlist

Day 2:  First Port Day - Wardcove -Ketchikan 

 As much as I tried to a lot of planning for excursions it didn’t work out and we decided not to book too much incase we were sick. This actually worked out well for us because we were tired in the morning and kept pushing back our group leaving time. Our first day was in Ward Cove which required taking a bus to Ketchican. We left around 9 no issues with the shuttle bus into town. I had planned some food places to eat knowing that I might not get the best vegan food on the ship. Ward Cove had a shopping area and we decided it was cheaper there than in town. We looked at the stores and I got a coffee. Then we went to New York Cafe to eat. We waited for a long time and even longer to eat. It was not worth it to me. The reviews were great it was okay. I think I have to realize that other people don’t have the same kind of access to vegan food as me. I got some really good vegan chocolate at the chocolate store the owner even made vegan truffles. All food is posted on my Instagram accounts @vegancanadianfinds and @livingottawalocal. We then felt really rushed to get back to the ship because lunch took so long. We didn't eat in port again aside from quick service places.

Day 2:Icy Straight Point

We each had a $50 excursion credit and the only excursion that was free using the credit was the gondola ride in Icy Straight Point. You can see the YouTube video here. 

Icy straight Point. We didn’t find much else to do here a little but of a walk hard to find there was a bus in to town but we didn’t have time to take it. if you need to skip a port this is a good one to skip. I will add that we went in June and had great weather the whole time. There is a nice boardwalk and some shops that were fun to explore while the weather was good. I don’t think it would be as nice in rain. 

Day 3: Juneau

There was always a tourism booth near port. We went and asked where to get a taxi. It was just across the street. A van pulled up a few minutes after we got there we asked how much to take us to the glacier. I have forgotten how much but it was super reasonable for a return trip. Our driver was great he also had his young son in the van but there was still enough room for our group of 4.  The driver told us where to drop ad pick up and what time. Before the cruise I was worried about doing excursions outside of the cruise but everyone in Alaska is professional, this is their livelihood. There is a tourism center at the Mendehall glacier and nugget falls. If you go upstairs you get a great view of the falls. You can easily walk to the water.

There is a trail to get to closer to the falls The hike was too much of a hike for me I got to close to the end and I didn’t have the energy to go down. It wasn’t worth doing the hike to me I had a pretty similar view from other spots. My friend who is much younger than me was a bit ahead of me and my other friend that loves hiking was double the speed. I do walk a lot but I found being forced on the trail to keep moving just wasn’t enjoyable and I had to keep thinking how will I make it back. I definitely recommend going to Mendahall glacier but don’t recommend the hike if you have any mobility issues. On the trail there were people taking pictures of something in the tree. They thought it was a porcupine but others think it was a baby bear we had also seen bear paws in the parking lot. They are in my YouTube video Alaska wildlife YouTube short

Our driver picked us up I had wanted to go for a coffee so he had showed me where a good place to go was. My other friend was starting to get a cold so we decided to get dropped off at the pharmacy farther away from the ship instead. We looked at a couple shops there. 

We walked back to the area of the ship and I had seen some food trucks near by. I went to explore while my friends did their own thing. I found a good vegan burger. I wanted to go for a coffee went in the line but got confused with the time change as time wasn’t correct in the app and rushed back to the ship without getting one. I went to Starbucks on the ship and ran into my friends there. 

Day 4: Last Port Day Sitka

This was the first day on our trip it rained. Sitka gets a lot of rain. I’m from Vancouver so all my clothes are waterproof and I wear Vessi’s. We took a bus into the main area of town the bus driver talked a lot during the ride. I didn’t understand everything he was saying but we did learn about a house to go visit. One friend and her daughter went to do a hike. My other friend and I had intended to find the house but we ended up exploring the cathedral, shops and cafes. I found some vegan food .It was a really nice relaxing day and we found some great souvenirs and gifts in the shops. 

There was also a tourism center here that was nice to explore.  I did see an Eagle and some other wildlife around. We never did an excursion to see wildlife but I feel like I did see enough just being out and we did see whales from the ship but they disappeared fast. I know Sitka isn’t the most popular port but I want to return here the most. I feel there is still a lot we didn’t have time to see. I loved the vibe in Sitka. 

 

Lessons Learned Port Days 

If this is your first cruise don’t plan too much.  Yes it might be good to do an excursion but don’t plan too many. There are lots of things to do outside of excursions. Make sure you also book some time to rest. 

Finding Vegan Food on a Cruiseship 

In the dining room I would order my meals for the next day and they would try to keep me with the same server. I had different servers and some were good some weren’t but I always had the dining coordinator checking on me. Just remember everyone is busy. We had a 9 year old child with us so even if we started eating when the dining room opened at 5 we found we could never make the 7 pm shows. There was nothing on this ship that I wanted to see but sometimes the others would leave and go to the show.

 

 I ordered room service for breakfast every day it was $5 and well worth it. They leave you a card to fill in what you want. There were no vegan items so I wrote what I wanted on the card to test it out and they brought me everything. They would bring non dairy milk in a glass unlabelled I had one day where I’m pretty sure I got skim milk so if you have an allergy make sure they know. I was just making special requests so my bagel would come with butter on the side.if you have an allergy your meals will come from a separate kitchen. I did fill in the paperwork pre cruise for special diet but it didn’t do anything. Norwegian replied that they don’t offer vegan menus but they do have a separate kitchen for allergies. I ate lunch in a small buffet that had noodle soup and pizza. I had some problems getting a no cheese pizza at the beginning the special diets coordinator talked to the cook and I did get one towards the end. I found the dining times were difficult because only one thing would be open at a time. Room service was always available but it was $12 plus port taxes after breakfast. I did get it one time because the only thing open was the outdoor buffet that I didn’t like on the first day.

 

The other days I ate off the ship for lunch. I ate at the main buffet a couple of times but it was too crowded and hard to determine if the items were vegan so it was one of last choices. They did have a couple of labelled vegan items on the cold section but not on hot. This was on an older ship but I know the new NCL ship has a fully plant based restaurant in the food court so I will have to try that in the future. I forgot to mention that at dinner I was able to get vegan sorbet everyday and occasionally they would have vegan cake. You can see everything I ate in an Instagram Reel here Vegan Food I ate on an Alaska Cruise

I didnt need all the things I packed. I never used the fan or any of my containers. Room service was all I needed and sometimes I would take my food with me. I did wish I brought more clothes I did laundry and still ran out of clothes. If you want wifi there is a good deal around day 3. The 150 minutes included was good enough for me but without wifi it was harder communicating with others in the group. We were able to meet up on the ship or call rooms. 

The water package was worth it. I did have to call guest services and ask why it wasn’t in my room on the first day. I asked a steward in the hallway and she told me I could drink the water in the fridge and replace it. The only water station I saw was the buffet area which was narrow and crowded. I liked having water in my room. 

I knew I wanted fresh air in my room so I paid for a balcony when booking it was expensive but worth it to me. I didn’t like sitting on the balcony during the evening because my neighbors were coughing or possibly smoking out there. I loved waking up and being out in the morning the air was so fresh. My other friend did a bid upgrade and won it so she paid about 50% of what I paid for a balcony. My other friend had an inside room they didn’t mind their room but it was on the casino floor so they always had to pass the casino smoke..They had more of a party vibe on their floor. If you don’t have a preference then a bid upgrade can save a lot of money. 

I was on this ship because I had a casino offer and only paid for the balcony upgrade. I met someone at the dinner where I obtained the tickets that advised she did not go in the casino on the ship. She would play at the land casino to get the offers. I had free drinks in the casino I don’t drink alcohol but I really liked the virgin mojitos. I really enjoyed the casino the staff all knew me and it was a comforting place. It wasn’t terrible for winnings either and yes overall I lost but that was because I was enjoying being there not because the casino was tight like I was expecting. My friend that doesn’t really gamble also enjoyed playing some of the fun type games but those were definitely not money makers. The 9 year old also enjoyed the arcade and I enjoyed finding that there was games were you were guaranteed to win a

Hair Salon and Spa

I  had not found a hairdresser I really liked in Ottawa at the time of the cruise. It is hard to get appointments  and my hair type is wavy it isn’t the majority demographic here. I like to get my hair done when I’m on vacation. I used to go to Vegas a lot and the spa in the hotel I stay at is one of my favorite places to get my hair done but since I’m not going to Vegas as much anymore decided to try on the ship. I had a consultation on the first day but a lot of the colours they didn’t have my hair is naturally a light black and I did have a mix of brown and red in my hair mixed with the natural colour. Nothing wild but during the consultation there was a lot of we don’t have that colour. We did agree to just do a black. The person doing my hair was so arrogant he did mix up the colour before he did it. He never cut my hair but the boat was rocky and I didn’t trust him so I didn’t say anything. He did upsell me on products which I was okay with because I really don’t know how to figure out which products to get. I am still using the products. The issue I have is he apparently did treatments gave me a discount okay fine those weren’t that expensive. The biggest issue I had was $80 USD to blow dry my hair but he barely dried it. I have since found a hairdresser I like in Ottawa and even she asked me who put this kind of colour in my hair. I don’t recommend getting your hair coloured on a cruise ship or at least watch the vibe when you have the consultation. 

Last Day on the ship

There were a lot of activities like price is tight (typo but accurate), bingo, draws etc. The prizes weren’t really worth the prices but was kind of fun to do for the experience. The night of before they gave you a time to put your luggage out so your room steward can take it. Room service was still available for breakfast the next day I think a limited buffet was open early. My one friend and her daughter disembarked early with no issues. My other friend and I stayed on the ship until the latest time I took my room service breakfast with me and was glad I did because the buffet was closed, We were able to sit in the buffet area while we waited our turn to get off. The only issue we had was some of the bathrooms were out of service by this time and there was a wait for bathrooms.

The END.  

There is so much more that I could tell you about the cruise but it’s been six months so it’s time to end. Feel free to reach out at the contact info below if you have any questions. I do hope that I will be able to go on another cruise in the future and I think I would do a: slightly longer cruise to have more downtime. 

Thank you for reading I am grateful for those of you that read my posts. For more vegan food follow me on Instagram @LivingOttawaLocal and @VeganCanadianfinds

For scenery videos follow me on YouTube @livingottawalocal