May 30/Wednesday
Today is our cruise departure day!
Joe & Jim started our departures in our mini-van
at 10:00AM and would need 2 trips to get us all to the pier. Linda, Gary & Harry would arrive via
hotel transfer and meet us at our ship, the Island Princess. The last of our group arrived to the ship
around 100PM and we said a fond farewell to our mini-van and driving in
Vancouver. Joe (and co-pilot Jim) did a
fabulous job maneuvering the narrow streets and traffic during our stay in
Vancouver.
Princess did a great job in getting us on the ship as
quickly as possible (considering there were 2,000 passengers). We quickly located our room, dropped our
bags and went off to tour the ship, find our travel companions and get a bite
to eat.
The Island Princess was to sail at 430PM and we were all up
on deck for our departure.
Unfortunately, we had some travelers that were late arrivals for our
ship and we did not depart until 530PM, so we had to head down to Provence (our
dining room) for dinner. For the first
night, I had the hazelnut crusted salmon (a Princess favorite) and now one of
mine too. There are 11 in our group and
several had the salmon, but others had cod and prime rib. Tonight, we celebrated my birthday (not
saying which one), but Joanne and Joe were generous to provide me with a
birthday crown and book for “life at age xx”. On to the next….. 😊
Tonight, we went to the Princess Theater for their comedy
show (Johnny Loquasto). Jackie &
Jaclyn checked out the Movies Under the Stars (Black Panther). Yes, it is outside, so bundle up and of
course grab one of their blankets!
Alaska tidbit: Alaska
state flower is the Forget-me-not
Steps: 10,400
May 31/Thursday
Our first full day at sea, starting out with breakfast up on
deck 14 in the Horizon Court. The views
are amazing off the front of the ship, but Jim and I both felt it was too warm
and we could feel the ship moving and so we preferred to grab out food and sit
just outside on the pool deck.
The Princess Patter (their daily newsletter) provided with
all the activities of the ship. We all
wandered off in various directions. Well, 3 of us decided to check out the
shopping talk --- well 1 ½ hours later we had learned it all from Christian and
as it happened the guys sat in the back and observed the event as well. They listened well but didn’t offer to
purchase any “jewelry travel memento” as Christian so thoughtfully
suggested. Darn!
We did take in the naturalist presentation on glaciers by
Mark Harris. We all enjoyed his talk and
his tips for decks and locations to view the Alaska shoreline. Mark would be talking to us (via microphone)
just prior to our arrival in each port.
In the afternoon, Jackie and Jaclyn took in the presentation
by Captain Allan Oakley sharing his personal life stories of life as a Bering
Sea Crab Fisherman. They loved his
stories!
Tonight, was our first formal night and we all dressed for
dinner and some of us stopped to get our photo taken as well.
The production show tonight was The Secret Silk with
singing, dancing and live puppetry. It
was a folklore tale about a crane. We
all enjoyed the show!
Alaska tidbit: The official state sport of Alaska is dog
mushing
Steps: 12,600
June 1/Friday
Today we would stop at Icy Strait Point (town of Hoonah)
located on Chichagof Island. The island
is known for its bear population (4 bear to 1 resident). This is also a great stop to see humpback
whales and bald eagles.
For our tour, we chose to do the Bear Search and we took a motor
coach and then walked out to wildlife viewing platforms along the river. We did see a bear as we drove along the road
and we did also see one at the viewing platforms. We were about 2 weeks early for the salmon
run when there would be many more bear to be viewed while feeding on the
plentiful salmon. We were able to see the humpback whales from shore and bald
eagles in the trees near the port.
Once on deck, we headed directly for dining and the evening
favorite was Sea Bass.
The evening entertainer was Tom Franek (2018 Princess Cruise
entertainer of the year) a talented piano player, singer, comedian, dance,
etc. Tom was all over the stage
providing us with entertainment. He could play the piano from any direction (backwards,
upside down, etc.) and his home state was Minnesota.
Alaska tidbit: Alaska
was bought from Russia in 1867
Steps: 17, 600
Our port today is Juneau (accessible only by air or by
water) and was founded as a gold-mining camp in 1880.
For our tour today, we headed out to the Mendenhall Wildlife
Refuge to view the glacier (located 14 miles from the city). On our drive we were able to see 6-8 eagles
just sitting along a river bank. In the
refuge itself a bear was sighted, but we were not fortunate enough to see
that. We hiked along the Nugget Falls
Trail to get closer to the Mendenhall Glacier and the Nugget Falls. We were able to capture great photos along
the way.
We took the Mt. Roberts Tramway up 1,800 feet to overlook
the city and a great view of the magnificent scenery.
We stopped for lunch at the famous Red Dog Saloon. Above the bar, you will see Wyatt Earp’s gun
on display. Time for a little shopping and then back to the ship!
The dinner favorite tonight was Halibut.
In the evening, Libby Riddles (first female Iditarod
champion) shared her life story and her amazing tale of her 1,100-mile Iditarod
sled dog race to victory.
Tonight, we listened to 50’s and 60’s music as we viewed the
coastline.
Alaska tidbit: The
state capital of Alaska is Juneau (1959)
Steps: 15, 300
June 3/Sunday
Today we docked in Skagway (population 800) but can go up to
22,000 with cruise ships in port.
Skagway is the furthest spot north you can drive to from the lower 48
states (located on the Klondike Highway) in southeast Alaska.
We had signed up to take the tour with the White Pass Scenic
Railway (67.5 miles from Skagway to Carcross); unfortunately, a massive boulder
fell down onto the railway and closed the tracks. We scrambled and signed up for the bus tour
of the Suspension bridge and the Yukon.
The next morning, we headed off of our ship to take our all-day
tour to the Yukon. We had a feisty,
no-nonsense driver in Dina for the day.
Our tour had us stop at the Suspension Bridge that was
located in British Columbia over the Tutshi River.
The swaying walkway is 65 feet above the rapids below. The tour took us through White Pass with the highest
elevation being at 3,392 feet.
We passed through Torment Valley and saw Bove Island
(located on the Windy Arm), as well as Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake is one of the most beautiful
lakes I have ever seen and it is privately owned (just my luck). We viewed the Sawtooth Mountains amidst the
Coastal Mountains.
We stopped along the Skagway River at a viewing sight. At this point of interest, we saw 7 glaciers that feed into the Skagway River. Alongside the road we saw a black bear munching on dandelions.
A stop for lunch at Caribou Crossing with a barbecue chicken
dinner sitting in a covered wagon.
Caribou Crossing had a petting zoo, museum, gift shop and an opportunity
to be pulled by sled dogs.
Our final stop was at Carcross.
Dina (our driver) dropped us in town for a little shopping
and a stop for a drink at the Red Onion Saloon.
We headed back to the ship and time to get ready for dinner
and show.
The dinner favorite tonight was crab legs! In the Princess Theater, we enjoyed a 2nd
performance by Tom Franek. A fantastic
entertainer and piano player!
Alaska tidbit: Skagway
is known as the “sunshine” capital of southeast Alaska. They receive only 27 inches of moisture a
year.
Steps: 14,450
June 4/Monday
Glacier Bay put on a show for us today. In particular, the Margerie Glacier is a
spectacular sight to see. It is 1 mile
wide, 40 stories high and Island Princess must maintain a ½ mile distance. As we viewed and snapped pictures we were
able to see the glacier calving (breaking off) both large and small
pieces. When the glacier would break off
and fall into the water you would hear a thunderous crack.
Glacier Bay is also home to humpback whales, sea otters and
harbor seals.
The Glacier Bay Park Rangers came on-board to tell us about
the park and provide information about Glacier Bay.
Dinner tonight was Beef Wellington and our evening show was
Encore (too much opera singing for the guys), but beautifully done. The dresses were absolutely beautiful!
Alaska tidbit: Gustavus is located 48 air miles from Juneau
and is surrounded on 3 sides by Glacier Bay National Park.
Steps: 12,500
June 5/Tuesday
Today we viewed the College Fjord that is located in the
northern sector of Prince William Sound. The fjord contains five tidewater
glaciers (glaciers that terminate in water), five large valley glaciers, and
dozens of smaller glaciers, most named after renowned East Coast colleges
(women's colleges for the NW side, and men's colleges for the SE side)
There were many small fishing boats in the bay that looked
like they were manned by 1 or 2 fishermen.
The fishermen gill-netted the salmon and once they made their catch,
there were boats with lights and these boats came around collected the fish and
got it to market.
We listened to a talk by Mark (the naturalist) on the
College Fjord and took pictures and viewed the glaciers throughout the
afternoon.
For dinner, many chose the Hazelnut-crusted salmon (one last
night) and of course, Baked Alaska for dessert.
The entertainment at
the Princess Theater tonight was – On The Bayou. We all decided this was probably our favorite
show of the trip.
Tonight, we say good-bye to Harry, Myrna and Gary &
Linda. A wonderful cruise with fabulous
friends and family.
Alaska tidbit: The state of Alaska is 1/5th the
size of the lower 48.
Steps: 11,000
