Well I would have to say that we had a wonderful trip overall. We would very much like to go back and do some of the things we just didn’t have time to do such as the whale watching tours. I would also like to go in the spring, just for a change.
Cruising was definitely the way to see this region. And being on a Princess Cruise makes you feel like royalty.
Now the big problem … returning to work and dreading the VISA bill’s arrival :-)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Day 8 – Disembarkation Seattle – Seattle to Vancouver to Toronto
Disembarkation went very smoothly. We were a little late leaving the ship, but I did remember to pick up the gift for Dad before we left. Unfortunately they did keep my cruise card, but hopefully we will find Matthew’s so we will have that as a souvenir.
SeaTac was a zoo, and very unorganized. There was also a HUGE group of people traveling to Germany I think, and they were taking forever to process. Thankfully it wasn’t too long before we got our boarding passes (for both legs of the flight) and were off to the gate to wait. They didn’t charge us for the extra bag this time since it was technically a United Airlines check in (for an Air Canada Jazz flight?) and United lets you have 2 bags.
The plane we flew on was the smallest I have been on, so small that they even wanted people to put their carry on in with the checked luggage. I managed to keep ours since we had the laptop and the pharmacy we typically carry. It was a quick 20 minute flight from Seattle to Vancouver and then the fun starts.
My friend Vanessa, who is a flight attendant for Skyservice, suggested we have at least 3 hours for a connection in Vancouver, and now I know why! You walk forever from the plane (ours was disembarked on the tarmac) then are herded like cattle through a HUGE room for customs, then collect your baggage. At this point I started to panic … we couldn’t find one of the bags. Why did we get black luggage again?? Everyone had black luggage. Since we were on a small flight we figured it would be easy. Nope! They put our luggage on a carousel that included several overseas flights. What a mess. Finally found it before I had a full on melt down and proceeded to recheck it. No charge again, I think they just weren’t paying attention frankly!
We asked for the gate number and were directed to a particular one but told to recheck the monitors. Thankfully we did because she had sent us to the wrong gate.
They had changed the aircraft we were to be on from a 767 to an Airbus 320 which changed the seating configuration and now we had a seat in-between us. We were grateful the flight was taking standby people and the seat between us wasn’t sold, so I moved over for a standby passenger to have the aisle, which was fine with me.
We were happy to have the individual entertainment units again on this flight, although it wasn’t the same selection, and had quite a lot less in fact. I watched “What Happens in Vegas” and had to keep from laughing out loud a few times. I wanted to see Indiana Jones or The Happening, but they wouldn’t function.
The trip back was rough, lots of turbulence thanks to the remnants of Ike. We didn’t actually see the ground until the point where we touched down in Toronto. And it was a VERY rough landing.
Since we cleared customs in Vancouver, we only needed to collect our luggage and find Mom and Aunt Deb. This was not a problem. They had arrived at 9pm (we weren’t scheduled to arrive until 11:15 and ended up being late) and were waiting outside baggage claim. When they saw us, they snuck in to help us get the bags.
Dropped Aunt Deb off at her new apartment and headed to mom’s to see our babies. Frankly I think the cats would have been happier to stay there. Little Bits because she hates the car and Tigger because he received so much attention and so many treats all week.
SeaTac was a zoo, and very unorganized. There was also a HUGE group of people traveling to Germany I think, and they were taking forever to process. Thankfully it wasn’t too long before we got our boarding passes (for both legs of the flight) and were off to the gate to wait. They didn’t charge us for the extra bag this time since it was technically a United Airlines check in (for an Air Canada Jazz flight?) and United lets you have 2 bags.
The plane we flew on was the smallest I have been on, so small that they even wanted people to put their carry on in with the checked luggage. I managed to keep ours since we had the laptop and the pharmacy we typically carry. It was a quick 20 minute flight from Seattle to Vancouver and then the fun starts.
My friend Vanessa, who is a flight attendant for Skyservice, suggested we have at least 3 hours for a connection in Vancouver, and now I know why! You walk forever from the plane (ours was disembarked on the tarmac) then are herded like cattle through a HUGE room for customs, then collect your baggage. At this point I started to panic … we couldn’t find one of the bags. Why did we get black luggage again?? Everyone had black luggage. Since we were on a small flight we figured it would be easy. Nope! They put our luggage on a carousel that included several overseas flights. What a mess. Finally found it before I had a full on melt down and proceeded to recheck it. No charge again, I think they just weren’t paying attention frankly!
We asked for the gate number and were directed to a particular one but told to recheck the monitors. Thankfully we did because she had sent us to the wrong gate.
They had changed the aircraft we were to be on from a 767 to an Airbus 320 which changed the seating configuration and now we had a seat in-between us. We were grateful the flight was taking standby people and the seat between us wasn’t sold, so I moved over for a standby passenger to have the aisle, which was fine with me.
We were happy to have the individual entertainment units again on this flight, although it wasn’t the same selection, and had quite a lot less in fact. I watched “What Happens in Vegas” and had to keep from laughing out loud a few times. I wanted to see Indiana Jones or The Happening, but they wouldn’t function.
The trip back was rough, lots of turbulence thanks to the remnants of Ike. We didn’t actually see the ground until the point where we touched down in Toronto. And it was a VERY rough landing.
Since we cleared customs in Vancouver, we only needed to collect our luggage and find Mom and Aunt Deb. This was not a problem. They had arrived at 9pm (we weren’t scheduled to arrive until 11:15 and ended up being late) and were waiting outside baggage claim. When they saw us, they snuck in to help us get the bags.
Dropped Aunt Deb off at her new apartment and headed to mom’s to see our babies. Frankly I think the cats would have been happier to stay there. Little Bits because she hates the car and Tigger because he received so much attention and so many treats all week.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Day 7 – At Sea / Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Today is our 5th wedding anniversary. Five years ago on our honeymoon we talked about completing an Alaskan cruise and that is the reason we booked the region we did. This has been the greatest way to celebrate 5 wonderful years!
The day started with a Cooking demonstration. Honestly, I have to say that the Head Chef, Executive Chef, and Cruise Director were more comical than the comedians on board. What a hoot they were, and the executive chef was really on a role picking on the cruise director, who took it all very well. Following the demonstration was a tour of the galley. It was really cool to see behind the scenes.
This morning was the final naturalist talk. This time the lecture was about the mysteries of nature. It was quite interesting and provoked some interesting thoughts. I had Matthew grab the book list as there are a few I would be interested in reading.
We spent some time packing. I am pretty sure we are going to be overweight on the trip home, as we have 1 entire suitcase of souvenirs!
We also went up on deck when we arrived in Victoria to await clearance to leave the ship. We happened to look overboard and see some jellyfish that the ship had churned up, they were really neat to watch and were a pink/purple colour.
I made a few phone calls home to touch base with everyone, since this is the first day we could actually use our cell phones.
Disembarked and took the shuttle to downtown Victoria. We went straight to the mall to find an electronics store and Matthew was dying to pick up a game called Spore. Thankfully there was an EB and we arrived right before they closed. We then spent some time looking into the shops, but many had “Canada” souvenirs, and we would have liked some “Victoria” ones, since we can get something that says Canada any day. We settled for a photo book and caught the shuttle back to the ship.
I finished packing and put the bags out, only to realize that Matthew had left his cruise card in the pocket of the pants I had packed … too late, the bags were gone. Thankfully the purser’s desk was able to give him a new card. We had a light supper in the buffet and used most of what internet we had remaining. Then back to the cabin to rest and organize for final disembarkation in Seattle tomorrow.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Day 6 – At Sea
We woke in time to go to the Naturalist talk today about the Tlingit natives. The naturalist is engaged to one of the dancers, and used to be a cruise director. He seems to enjoy the information he talks about, but I am unsure of his exact qualifications, and he doesn’t seem to speak very well, very choppy. But the information was interesting. We also enjoyed an information session given by the Senior Second Officer. We learned all about the ship and what his job entails. He was very entertaining and told many stories that compared his previous job on an ocean barge to his current one. He seems very happy and feels very fortunate to work for Princess.
We were very tired following all of the excitement we have had this week, so we retired to the stateroom for a well deserved nap before our second formal night.
We dressed for dinner early and enjoyed a nice dinner in the Capri dining room. We have learned that the dining room on deck 6 always has a line, and yet the Capri on Deck 5 never does. Interesting, since they serve the same food, and aside from the actual servers (who are all awesome) there is no difference between the 2 dining rooms.
Then we were off to the Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party where we met and spoke to the Captain. He was a very nice man who took the time to talk to each returning passenger personally. Drinks were on him that night, although I was pretty sure I would need a bathroom break if I drank anymore and I knew that once the pantyhose came off, they weren’t going back on so we opted not to have anything … big mistake. We must have been asked 10 times, to the point where we almost asked the people next to us if we could have their empty glass just so we would be left alone. The final time we were asked we were promptly told that the drinks were free, so obviously they thought we weren’t drinking because we were cheap. That will definitely go on the comment card.
We then went to have our pictures taken. The formal pictures from the first night turned out great, and we have spent quite a lot of money on photos, but it’s nice to have some good shots of us.
We went to the second of the comedy acts this evening as well. He was good, not as good as the first guy and actually even did some VERY similar jokes. But he was quite entertaining!
We then went to the final big production number, the first we have seen this trip since we have been so tired in the evening. It was called “Destination Anywhere” and was quite good … they even did the Time Warp! We didn’t stay up for the Champagne waterfall since really it’s the same every time and once you’ve seen it once; you realize it’s not worth pushing your way through the thousands of people just to take a picture. Besides, it will be on the DVD of the trip anyway, we can enjoy it when we get home.
We were very tired following all of the excitement we have had this week, so we retired to the stateroom for a well deserved nap before our second formal night.
We dressed for dinner early and enjoyed a nice dinner in the Capri dining room. We have learned that the dining room on deck 6 always has a line, and yet the Capri on Deck 5 never does. Interesting, since they serve the same food, and aside from the actual servers (who are all awesome) there is no difference between the 2 dining rooms.
Then we were off to the Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party where we met and spoke to the Captain. He was a very nice man who took the time to talk to each returning passenger personally. Drinks were on him that night, although I was pretty sure I would need a bathroom break if I drank anymore and I knew that once the pantyhose came off, they weren’t going back on so we opted not to have anything … big mistake. We must have been asked 10 times, to the point where we almost asked the people next to us if we could have their empty glass just so we would be left alone. The final time we were asked we were promptly told that the drinks were free, so obviously they thought we weren’t drinking because we were cheap. That will definitely go on the comment card.
We then went to have our pictures taken. The formal pictures from the first night turned out great, and we have spent quite a lot of money on photos, but it’s nice to have some good shots of us.
We went to the second of the comedy acts this evening as well. He was good, not as good as the first guy and actually even did some VERY similar jokes. But he was quite entertaining!
We then went to the final big production number, the first we have seen this trip since we have been so tired in the evening. It was called “Destination Anywhere” and was quite good … they even did the Time Warp! We didn’t stay up for the Champagne waterfall since really it’s the same every time and once you’ve seen it once; you realize it’s not worth pushing your way through the thousands of people just to take a picture. Besides, it will be on the DVD of the trip anyway, we can enjoy it when we get home.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Day 5 – Skagway, Alaska
We boarded the White Pass & Yukon Railroad this morning at 7:30 and left shortly after 8am. We were in the last car, #300, which was actually the 14th parlor car on the train. The guide was very good at giving narration and pointing out the important sites along the way. What a ride! It was a slow assent into the mountains winding our way up to nearly 3000 feet above sea level.
It's Hard to imagine the men who wanted to join the gold rush made this same trip by foot in the winter 30 times before being allowed into Canada. They made the trip so many times as the Canadian Government insisted that they have enough supplies to last them 1 year, and they were unable to carry the supplies in one trip obviously. I bet they wished there was a train back then! We were fortunate that we were the first train out, and as such got the opportunity to go on to Fraser, BC to turn the train around. The sun again co-operated and aside from some cloud beginning slightly before the summit, we had a lovely morning for pictures. The scenery was beautiful and the history unreal.
We spent some time in town after the train ride. We finished most of our souvenir shopping. Downtown Skagway is quite original in the fact that the main shopping district has been restored to look like as old west town.
We headed back to the ship to enjoy some pizza and check out our pictures. We had a rest before heading out for dinner.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Day 4 – Tracy Arm Fjord and Juneau, Alaska
We woke early to be on deck for the sailing through the Tracy Arm Fjord as the crew on the Aleutian Ballad recommended being out at 5:30 to see a pod of whales just at the entrance. It was cold and rainy, but I did manage to spot something in the realm of a whale jump, although it was quite far away. I don't have a picture to prove it, so I guess it didn’t happen.
The Fjord was beautiful and the captain was able to get us closer to the glacier than they had been all season. Got lots of great pictures and really enjoyed the beauty of the location.
We enjoyed another nature lecture, this one about the wildlife that was in Alaska. Was amazed that the naturalist even knew the words to Baby Beluga and made note of the fact that is a Canadian classic.
The ship docked in Juneau about 2pm and we headed out into the rain to catch the bus for the tour to the Gold Rush Dog Sled camp. It was an interesting ride up the mountain, very reminisent of the trip up the mountains in Jamaica. The road was only 1 lane, very steep, and very bumpy. At the site we were greeted by more than 100 dogs, many sitting on their dog houses. After a quick introduction to the history we were matched with a musher, a young guy from Ohio, Matt, who has been at the training camp for 2 years. He gave a little more information about the Iditarod races in Alaska and the history behind them. Matthew was able to relive a little of his experience of his Algonquin dog sledding expedition by demonstrating the wardrobe and sled stance for the other members of our group.
Next we met the team of 10 dogs that would take us on our ride. They were very anxious to get going and the ride was on. Had a few problems at the start and we had to stop to change one of the lead dogs so they wouldn’t be running off course all the time. Enjoyed the ride, a couple turns were a little scary and due to the rain there were a couple places on the trail that were flooded.
We got to spend some time with the puppies when we returned to the camp and have our picture taken with them. The one we had liked to chew or lick anything in sight. Tigger will not be impressed with the dog cologne on my coat when I get home. They were so cute I could have brought one home, unfortunately they grow up.
We headed back to town to do some more shopping. Many stores have sales on due to the fact that it is the end of the season here. The jewelry stores are very aggressive to make a sale. The Alaskan Shirt Store had pretty much everything on 50% off, so we found quite a few things to bring home. Found the Red Dog Saloon, which we took a few pictures of since we have a Red Dog bar at home. According to the shop keeper, there is also a Red Dog (not the same as Juneau or Peterborough) in Minnesota.
The Fjord was beautiful and the captain was able to get us closer to the glacier than they had been all season. Got lots of great pictures and really enjoyed the beauty of the location.
We enjoyed another nature lecture, this one about the wildlife that was in Alaska. Was amazed that the naturalist even knew the words to Baby Beluga and made note of the fact that is a Canadian classic.
The ship docked in Juneau about 2pm and we headed out into the rain to catch the bus for the tour to the Gold Rush Dog Sled camp. It was an interesting ride up the mountain, very reminisent of the trip up the mountains in Jamaica. The road was only 1 lane, very steep, and very bumpy. At the site we were greeted by more than 100 dogs, many sitting on their dog houses. After a quick introduction to the history we were matched with a musher, a young guy from Ohio, Matt, who has been at the training camp for 2 years. He gave a little more information about the Iditarod races in Alaska and the history behind them. Matthew was able to relive a little of his experience of his Algonquin dog sledding expedition by demonstrating the wardrobe and sled stance for the other members of our group.
Next we met the team of 10 dogs that would take us on our ride. They were very anxious to get going and the ride was on. Had a few problems at the start and we had to stop to change one of the lead dogs so they wouldn’t be running off course all the time. Enjoyed the ride, a couple turns were a little scary and due to the rain there were a couple places on the trail that were flooded.
We got to spend some time with the puppies when we returned to the camp and have our picture taken with them. The one we had liked to chew or lick anything in sight. Tigger will not be impressed with the dog cologne on my coat when I get home. They were so cute I could have brought one home, unfortunately they grow up.
We headed back to town to do some more shopping. Many stores have sales on due to the fact that it is the end of the season here. The jewelry stores are very aggressive to make a sale. The Alaskan Shirt Store had pretty much everything on 50% off, so we found quite a few things to bring home. Found the Red Dog Saloon, which we took a few pictures of since we have a Red Dog bar at home. According to the shop keeper, there is also a Red Dog (not the same as Juneau or Peterborough) in Minnesota.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Day 3 – Ketchikan, Alaska
We disembarked early (7:30) to catch the Bering Sea Crab Fishing Tour on the Aleutian Ballad. We had great seats up on the upper deck next to a nice older couple from Oregon. He had spent quite a lot of time in Alaska and it was her first trip. His son is running his business; in fact it was their company that built the new pier we were docked at.
The tour was amazing and we had the greatest weather. The sun was out and bright, apparently they have rain 70% of the time and the rest is overcast, in fact they say that they don’t tan, they rust in this part of the state.
We got to see how they long-line fish as well as king crab, opillio crab fish and they even pulled up a huge octopus for us to see. I was thrilled to be able to hold the crabs. Matt on the other hand wasn’t so interesting. The crew (Terry, Kiwi, and Chief) were awesome and spent lots of time telling stories and giving great commentary. We were a little disappointed to only see a couple eagles, but apparently the salmon are running right now, so the eagles aren’t as hungry for the bait the ship throws to draw them in for photos.
We went shopping in town afterwards. Got a few things, and ran into some trouble in one local shop.
Headed back to the ship for departure and made sure to be on deck, as the crew of the Alutien Ballad said that the Cornelia Marie was in port for some repairs and we were determined to see and photograph that! We were in luck and just after we sailed past the airport we were able to spot the Cornelia Marie … very cool for us fans of the Deadliest Catch!
Enjoyed the Comedian tonight, wish we had seen him the first night for the welcome aboard. We have found this time, much like the last time, that you need to be in the theatre at least 45 minutes before the start of a show to get a good seat as the theatre fills very quickly.
The tour was amazing and we had the greatest weather. The sun was out and bright, apparently they have rain 70% of the time and the rest is overcast, in fact they say that they don’t tan, they rust in this part of the state.
We got to see how they long-line fish as well as king crab, opillio crab fish and they even pulled up a huge octopus for us to see. I was thrilled to be able to hold the crabs. Matt on the other hand wasn’t so interesting. The crew (Terry, Kiwi, and Chief) were awesome and spent lots of time telling stories and giving great commentary. We were a little disappointed to only see a couple eagles, but apparently the salmon are running right now, so the eagles aren’t as hungry for the bait the ship throws to draw them in for photos.
We went shopping in town afterwards. Got a few things, and ran into some trouble in one local shop.
Headed back to the ship for departure and made sure to be on deck, as the crew of the Alutien Ballad said that the Cornelia Marie was in port for some repairs and we were determined to see and photograph that! We were in luck and just after we sailed past the airport we were able to spot the Cornelia Marie … very cool for us fans of the Deadliest Catch!
Enjoyed the Comedian tonight, wish we had seen him the first night for the welcome aboard. We have found this time, much like the last time, that you need to be in the theatre at least 45 minutes before the start of a show to get a good seat as the theatre fills very quickly.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Day 2 – At Sea
A day at sea is meant to be relaxing … I suppose it was, although we did spent the majority of the day in the Princess theatre for port, shopping, nature and gem lectures which were interesting.
Matt was excited that he finally got the Princess pizza he has been waiting 5 years for.
Tonight was the first formal night. We had dinner with a nice middle aged couple from Georgia, Paul & Tyla, who were on their honeymoon. She works in IT for the military and has identical triplet sons; he is a retired police officer.
Had some formal pictures taken, they seem to do many more poses this time, so we are hoping we get some good shots.
My fav shot of Matthew
Matt was excited that he finally got the Princess pizza he has been waiting 5 years for.
Tonight was the first formal night. We had dinner with a nice middle aged couple from Georgia, Paul & Tyla, who were on their honeymoon. She works in IT for the military and has identical triplet sons; he is a retired police officer.
Had some formal pictures taken, they seem to do many more poses this time, so we are hoping we get some good shots.
My fav shot of Matthew
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Day 1 – Toronto to Seattle
I spent the night before the trip packing with Mom and Aunt Deb. Matt set up Aunt Deb’s new laptop so she would be ready for her new internet service. Hard to believe she has her own computer, a new 40” high def TV and will have digital cable and internet before we return home from Alaska. She’s really moving up from the 13” TV with bunny ears!
We managed to get a few hours sleep before heading to the airport. My right leg was bothering me, to the point where I am wondering if it is a blood clot. I picked up some aspirin on the way to the airport, although the naproxen seems to work better. Will have to keep and eye on it.
We were at the airport shortly after 6:30am; the web check-in was done yesterday, so we only needed to drop off the luggage and clear security and customs. We were through the checkpoints and grabbed some breakfast and were at the gate by 7:20! I was amazed at how well the web check in improved the trip, but since this is not an option on the return trip, we could be in for some waiting.
Internet for some reason had sounded as though it was free, and of course I should have known this to be too good to be true, there was a fee, and since we were both tired and had not been away from the net for long, opted not to use it.
The plane was boarded and on the runway on time at 10am. This plane was amazing! The seats were comfortable, and when I say comfortable I am not lying by any stretch. After a 5 hour flight, my ass was still awake. My leg on the other hand was still bothering me. After a quick taxi (20 min) to the pier we were met with the most common thing you will do on the cruise … hurry up and wait, or … you will be herded like cattle, get in line and move 1 foot occasionally.
Fortunately, the Seattle terminal seems better organized than Fort Lauderdale and we were through the screening process and on the ship quite quickly. What surprised me the most was that we actually had our luggage almost immediately, which I can't ever remember happening before. Any other time I have cruised, you were lucky to have the luggage before supper. I was unpacked and ready for holidays by 2pm.
The weather was beautiful and we set sail at 4pm as scheduled. We were up on deck at the time and saw some sort of a sea lion splashing about. The cool thing with Princess now is that they actually do a DVD of your trip and we noticed after watching the footage filmed today that we made the final cut … what a souvenir that will be!
We managed to get a few hours sleep before heading to the airport. My right leg was bothering me, to the point where I am wondering if it is a blood clot. I picked up some aspirin on the way to the airport, although the naproxen seems to work better. Will have to keep and eye on it.
We were at the airport shortly after 6:30am; the web check-in was done yesterday, so we only needed to drop off the luggage and clear security and customs. We were through the checkpoints and grabbed some breakfast and were at the gate by 7:20! I was amazed at how well the web check in improved the trip, but since this is not an option on the return trip, we could be in for some waiting.
Internet for some reason had sounded as though it was free, and of course I should have known this to be too good to be true, there was a fee, and since we were both tired and had not been away from the net for long, opted not to use it.
The plane was boarded and on the runway on time at 10am. This plane was amazing! The seats were comfortable, and when I say comfortable I am not lying by any stretch. After a 5 hour flight, my ass was still awake. My leg on the other hand was still bothering me. After a quick taxi (20 min) to the pier we were met with the most common thing you will do on the cruise … hurry up and wait, or … you will be herded like cattle, get in line and move 1 foot occasionally.
Fortunately, the Seattle terminal seems better organized than Fort Lauderdale and we were through the screening process and on the ship quite quickly. What surprised me the most was that we actually had our luggage almost immediately, which I can't ever remember happening before. Any other time I have cruised, you were lucky to have the luggage before supper. I was unpacked and ready for holidays by 2pm.
The weather was beautiful and we set sail at 4pm as scheduled. We were up on deck at the time and saw some sort of a sea lion splashing about. The cool thing with Princess now is that they actually do a DVD of your trip and we noticed after watching the footage filmed today that we made the final cut … what a souvenir that will be!
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