It is a short drive from where the Norwegian Pearl docks to the gardens. Our guide, Emily, was very gracious and I felt a little sorry for her since she had to deal with one very grumpy individual from another group. I thought Emily was one of the best guides we had on our entire cruise! The fantastic thing about this excursion is that it is limited to 10 people (we only had 5) so you get plenty of hands on time in the glassworks. We met with the very talented Amy who would be our instructor while we made our glass ornaments and paperweights. Amy was always giggling and we couldn't help but have a good time. Everything was ready and waiting for us when we arrived. Amy gathered some molten glass and Peg was soon making an ornament.
You have several options for how you would like your piece to look and you also get to choose your colors. Peg chose to make a teal, orange, and yellow drapery design for her glass ball.
Amy patiently taught everyone how to make their designs. Of course she had to do the more difficult items like making the loop for the ornament.
Everyone had a turn at making something. It was very hands on from heating the pieces in the kiln to blowing the actual piece. I chose to make a green and blue swirl. Since I tend to be a bit flashy I applied some gold leaf as well.
Since we had some time left, Amy and Emily showed us how they make other items. With their fabulous teamwork they soon had made a bowl and a fish. We told Amy what color to make the fish (we chose a Seussian red and blue) and we would later purchase it. All our items would be safely shipped to our home so we didn't have to worry about breakage.
After some great munchies in Poppies Restaurant we were off to explore the show gardens. The gardens were started by Charlotte Jewell in 1996. One of my favorite things about the garden is the G-gauge railroad that runs through part of the gardens.
Of course there are glass creatures scattered about. Look carefully or you might miss them.
They also grow some of the largest veggies I have ever seen. The cabbage and kohlrabi are HUGE!
Escape the crowds and try your hand at a little arts and crafts while on your Alaskan Cruise. The Golden Glassblowing Experience is well worth the money. Check out more of our photos over on our photo site. BG Customs Photography