Day 15: Home!

No matter how enjoyable the trip, it's always great to get home.

We were lucky today...we were some of the last passengers to leave the ship around 10am, and after claiming our suitcases and officially entering Canada, we took some time to explore Canada Place a bit. Such a beautiful facility, and yet you have to walk though a parking garage to board a cruise ship there! We sat for awhile at the very end of Canada Place, where we had seen the yoga class the day we had sailed, and watched the boat and floatplane traffic.

Eventually, we started walking toward the Canada Line train station to go to the airport. I recommend, upon leaving the ship, that you take an elevator from the parking garage up to G level, at the base of the Pan Pacific Hotel. This saves pushing your luggage up the sidewalk that aligns the ramp down into the parking garage. Once we arrived at the train station (an easy block and a half walk), the elevators made it easy to go to the ticket level and then to the train level. Although we had to load our luggage onto the train, it was level and easy, and $3.75 each and a 30 minute ride delivered us stress-free to the airport. Again, an elevator made our exit from the train station simple, and we were less than a 5-minute walk from the US terminal.

We were a bit surprised that, after we "exited" Canada and cleared security, we went through immigration into the US while still at the Vancouver airport. This saved us having to arrive at the immigration terminal at our home airport. Easy peasy!

We arrived home to record heat, but all was fine and the heat seemed a lot more tolerable after 14 days in Alaska. Just the attitude adjustment we needed after our long, hot summer.

North to Alaska:  this was one fantastic trip!

Photo 1: a Canada line ticket from waterfront to YVR

Photo 2: one step closer to home

Day 14: At Sea

We slept in a bit on our last morning at sea, especially since we had set our clocks ahead one hour last night, to PDT. It was close to 9am before we arrived at the Bordeaux Dining Room for breakfast, and closer to 10am before we left. The day reflected our "last-day-of-a-cruise" doldrums: grey and gloomy with no land in sight...at least in the morning.

We spent some time in the public rooms on Deck 8 which we hadn't really frequented- the library and the Internet cafe- and I checked cruise pricing for our winter cruises on Princess.com...looks like prices have dropped a smidge, and so I'll have to take care of that when we get home.

At 11:30, G went, once again, to the Behind the Scenes tour for the production shows in the Princess Theater. We met up again in the dining room for a quick lunch before I met with Naturalist Jules to talk photo websites and blogging. We managed to pitter away the time until the wine tasting at 3pm, and then spent a very pleasant hour there with a couple from California.

There was just enough time before dinner for some packing (me) and hot tubbing (G), and I was thrilled to see (finally!) land on our starboard side as we passed into Queen Charlotte Sound. Cruising in a balcony cabin is infinitely more exciting when there is something to look at, and underscores my new belief that while a balcony cabin is pretty much a must on an Alaska cruise, it doesn't do much for us in the Caribbean, where there is simply open ocean between islands.

At 5:30pm, naturalist Jules came over the PA system with an announcement that we were entering whale territory and he was on the bridge watching for them. We delayed our dinner plans a bit; we didn't want to miss our final viewing opportunity of the cruise. And we were not disappointed. Not only did the scenery get increasingly more beautiful, we saw a whale both breach and spout, and three dolphins, all from our balcony.

We on the starboard side of the ship have been SO lucky this cruise with animal sightings!!

Finally, we left to go to dinner, and sat next to a couple from Virginia celebrating their 50th anniversary on the cruise. How funny: on the first night of our cruise we sat at the same table served by the same waiter with a different couple celebrating their 50th anniversary. This time we brought along a bottle of champagne we had been gifted by cruise director Rich. We shared it with this couple, and both received an anniversary cake and a serenade by several of the dining room service crew. Fun!

Afterwards we sat through a comedian who shall remain nameless. I found his show almost painful; G gleaned some humor from it. Which just goes to show that, even for a couple who agree on most things, humor is a very personal thing.

We're in our cabin packing. This cruise is nearly over. It seemed so short, which, relatively speaking, it was. But we have more to look forward to this winter. Leaving a ship is infinitely easier when there is another cruise on the horizon.

Photo 1: the first sign of land

Photo 2: the scenery improved with each mile

Photo 3: WHALE!!

Photo 4: winding our way between islands

Photo 5: celebration!

Most travelled party

Tonight was the Most Travelled Cocktail party (aka the top 40 party) for this cruise and we were excited to be invited again. The food displays are amazing (especially when you consider that all this food and work is for just 40 passengers).

After a wonderful dinner, the top 40 party and lots of alcoholic beverages, we are skipping the shows tonight in favor of an early evening. It's been a lazy day.

A misty afternoon in Ketchikan

We spent quite a bit of time at the Discovery Center, but by the time we left it had begun to drizzle, and it stayed that way the remainder of the day. We walked around a bit just for exercise, but found ourselves back on the ship for a late lunch and never did leave the ship again the rest of the day.

My favorite Princess menu item (ciappino- seafood stew) was a lunch choice in the buffet, and it was perfect after a chilly morning in port.

Afterwards, we headed back to our cabin for a restful afternoon, trying to stay warm. We were on the water side of the ship today, and so had a view of the float planes constantly taking off and landing and the Sapphire Princess and Norwegian Jewel sailing away.

I could not stand a steady diet of this sort of weather. All the thoughts we'd had last week about perhaps staying a few weeks in Alaska on a land trip quickly faded. I need the sun!

Photos 1 and 2: from the Discovery Center. The petroglyph in photo 2 proves that man inhabited the southeastern Alaska area at least 10,000 years ago.

Photo 3: look how gray the day became! We stayed cozy and dry in our cabin with a front row view to all the cruise ship, fishing boat and floatplane traffic on the water.

Day 13: Ketchikan

We were scheduled for a late arrival into Ketchikan this morning (10am), and when we awoke around 7am the sun was shining brightly, and the land was close in on both sides of the ship, providing lots to look at while we enjoyed breakfast at a windowside table in the Bordeaux Dining Room. However, before we had even arrived in Ketchikan, we could see dark clouds and mist in front of us.

Darn! Our final port day wasn't at all like yesterday in Juneau but was, instead, typical. Southeast. Alaska. Weather.

We gathered our rain jackets (and me my headband and gloves) and left the ship, heading for another visit to the Discovery Center. You may recall that we had to cut our last visit there short, as G had a floatplane trip scheduled. We were happy to see (given the threatening weather) that the Island Princess was docked at Berth 3 this week, instead of Berth 4. However, the prized Berth 1 was occupied by the Norwegian Jewel and Berth 2 by the Holland America Volendam, and two other Princess ships, the Sapphire Princess and the Sea Princess were in Berth 4 and at anchor, respectively.

Five ships in port, and the three Princess ships got the three worst positions. Hmmmmm....

However, we were happy because our improved berth this week put us that much closer to the action in the center of the waterfront. But with FIVE ships in port, this town was packed. It's so sad to see what Ketchikan has allowed to happen to itself. It's basically become the St. Thomas of the north. Jewelry stores are as prevalent as salmon here.

But it does offer numerous excursion opportunities, and its proximity to Misty Fjords National Monument alone makes it a worthwhile cruise stop. And the Tongass National Forest Discovery Center near the cruise ship docks is an excellent educational opportunity for those wanting to do something on their own.

Photos 1 and 2: the morning started out sunny...but that all changed by the time we arrived in Ketchikan.

Photo 3: the Volendam arriving; the Sea Princess at anchor (poor them!)

Photo 4: the Norwegian Jewel (aren't they the ugliest ships?)

Photo 5: 31 more ship days in Ketchikan this season. And then all the summer employees can return home.

Evening after Juneau

We had eaten pizza around 1:30pm, and so at 4:30pm weren't all that interested in dressing formally for dinner. Instead, the gorgeous scenery passing by, and the warm sun in our balcony convinced us to move around our plans for the evening. G headed to the hot tubs on the Lido Deck, but returned after not too long. His reason? The views were better from our cabin. So we soaked up the scenery and sun, dressing for the evening in just enough time to go to the Captains Circle party at 7:15pm. Once again, we had the fourth highest number of Princess days. Always a bridesmaid...

After the Captains Circle party, we stepped outside the Universe Lounge to see the best sunset of the cruise unfolding just outside the windows. And, the best part was that it was warm enough for us to step out on the Promenade Deck to take a few photos. Wow, we've enjoyed great weather.

We then went to the Princess Theater to see comedian Carlos Oscar. Now, Carlos had beaten our beloved Beatle Maniacs to win Princess Entertainer of the Year (I'm still dumbfounded at that fact). He was funny...but as a comedian, he does a show we'll see once. Beatle Maniacs we enjoy cruise after cruise after cruise. And that's important to us, as we stay on a ship for cruise after cruise after cruise.

:-)

Finally, after 9pm we finally arrived in the dining room for formal night dinner. Only the draw of lobster and beef Wellington had us eating dinner that late. We made it through dinner, and then were in bed 20 minutes later. It had been a full day!

Tomorrow: our final port of call, Ketchikan

Photo 1: late afternoon on our balcony cruising Stevens Passage

Photos 2 and 3: Captains Circle party in the Universe Lounge; Cruise Director Rich Joseph (Photo 2), Captain Binetti (Photo 3)

Photo 4: check out this sunset!

Photo 5: Carlos Oscar performs in the Princess Theater

Sailaway from Juneau

Whales! We spotted whales again, along our starboard side. No photos, sadly...we would have had to have cameras in hand to catch them, and since they were a surprise, and not exactly where they "should" have been, we were unprepared.

Photo 1: the weather today was perfect!

Photo 2: at low tide, a Juneau "beach"

Photo 3: the view toward downtown Juneau

Photo 4: Douglas Island marina along the Gastineau Channel

Day 12: Juneau

Summer came to Juneau today, and how nice for the locals that it happened on a Sunday.

The foggy, wet weather of the past three days has been forgotten, and today was the prettiest single day of our cruise to date. While our day in Juneau on this southbound route was somewhat limited (we sailed at 4pm), we made the most of it by leaving the ship mid-morning and taking a leisurely walk along the Juneau waterfront into downtown.

We were once again particularly intrigued by the number of floatplanes taking off and landing amongst the cruise ships and fishing boats. In a bit of nostalgia, our very first cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas was in Juneau today, exactly 15 years to the week after we sailed on her to Alaska on our first cruise. Another past ship, Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas was also in Juneau. We cruised on that ship for 23 nights through the Panama Canal and out to Hawaii in April 2002, and it remains one of our favorite ships. It is certainly the most beautiful cruise ship we've ever been on, and although we'd heard that the Island Princess was just as pretty...well, sorry, but the Radiance still holds that honor in our minds.

We finished up our gift buying in one of the gift shops along the waterfront. In fact, I had just said to G, "We're still looking for something for Xxxxx", when we both spotted the most perfect item imaginable. Love it when that happens!

We were determined today to get back to the ship in time to hear Libby Riddles talk at 1:45pm, since we had missed her presentation on the last cruise, and we did get back just in time to grab a piece of pizza and then head to the Universe Lounge. Her hour-long presentation was very interesting and fun, but, honestly, to hear about her Iditarod "all-nighter" at 60 below zero just about numbed my brain. We were out in 9 below two winters ago and it was too cold to fasten my seatbelt. 60 below...no thanks, and her fame is well deserved.

Afterwards, we returned to our cabin and there we stayed, enjoying our sunny (warm!) balcony on the scenic side of the ship and watching the boat and floatplane traffic.

The fish BBQ that had been served on the open Lido Deck upon our early departure from Ketchikan last cruise was served today after our early departure from Juneau, but we skipped it this week. Our chocolate covered strawberries were delivered just in time for sailaway (tonight is a formal night), and we stayed on our the balcony while the ship sailed down the Gastineau Channel and turned south at Stevens Passage en route to Ketchikan.

Photo 1: our first cruise ship, the Rhapsody of the Seas, in Juneau today, exactly 15 years after we first sailed on her. 1997 was her inaugural year.

Photo 2: Wings Aviation, the source of most of the floatplane traffic

Photo 3: National Geographic's Seabird ship started an Inside Passage cruise from Juneau today. 62 passengers are paying around $1000 per person per night for that cruise!

Photo 4: cleaning fish along the waterfront

Photo 5:  Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod dogsled race

Video:  Floatplane takeoff in Juneau

Skagway evening and sailaway

As it turned out, we did, in fact, leave the ship once again to walk some more around Skagway. By mid-afternoon, the rain had stopped and the skies lightened, if only slightly. We returned to the Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park headquarters to catch the first five minutes of the 30-minute movie shown there throughout the day (we had missed the beginning of the movie twice during our visit last week). While we were there we saw Anya again, the park ranger who had conducted our walking tour last week, and she asked us about our visits since then to Glacier Bay National Park. We got on the subject about the Volendam's rescue last Sunday, and it turned out that another ranger standing there, Gina, had been on the capsized boat in an unofficial capacity. Small world! She said that their tour boat had wrecked about 11am, and the Volendam had sent a tender to offload most of the passengers. Once on board the Volendam, they continued on to the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. It was only on the Volendam's exit from the park about 6pm that the rescued passengers were offloaded onto a Coast Guard boat and returned to the park office at Bartlett Cove.

Apparently, there were some kayakers on the tour boat using it as transportation to a launch point deeper in the park. When the boat wrecked on the rocks, they simply launched their kayaks from that point and carried on per their plan.

Such excitement!

While we were in Skagway, it seemed nearly every cruise ship passenger returned to the ships carrying a red bag from the Alaska T-shirt Company, a store right across from the Klondike Goldrush Park office. It became a running joke with us, but on our return to town we decided we needed to see what the attraction was. Well, it turned out to be a superstore in Skagway, carrying a bit of everything souvenir-y. G decided that the seven Alaska caps he had at home plus the one he'd already bought this trip on the Klondike Express glacier tour in Whittier were simply not enough. He picked up another Alaska cap at the Alaska T-shirt Company store and then another one at a second store. We finally had the ubiquitous red bag (and an almost-as-ubiquitous yellow one).

We raced back to the ship because we had a busy evening planned. Dinner was at 5:30pm in the Bordeaux dining room, still wearing our walking clothes and jackets and carrying shopping bags. We went right from it to the 7pm performance of On the Bayou (couldn't miss that!), and then finally returned to our cabin in time to watch the Sea Princess sail away at 8pm, accompanied by an enthusiastic horn blowing exchange between the Sea Princess and Island Princess. We sailed shortly afterwards (calling for coffee and cognac on the balcony) and fell into bed not too much later.

It had been a busy, chilly, wet day in Skagway. Tomorrow's weather in Juneau looks much more promising.

Photo 1: Alaska car ferry sails into Skagway

Photos 2-3: On the Bayou in the Universe Lounge

Photo 4: the Sea Princess reverses into Skagway harbor prior to sailing into the Lynn Canal

The Skagway Inn Bed and Breakfast

While on our walk, we were drawn into courtyard of the Skagway Inn, a bed and breakfast located in an old brothel by the gorgeous flowers outside. We had stayed at a similar place years ago in Silverton, Colorado and so were intrigued enough to step inside, and were invited to have a look around the rooms upstairs. They are all named (instead of numbered) after some of the "ladies" who frequented them over 100 years ago. Very clever!

The decor of the lobby and the guest rooms was very true to the Klondike Gold Rush period of the late 1890s, and the B&B is a popular launching point for those hiking the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail that begins just outside of Skagway.

Day 11: Skagway

Did I dream up those beautiful sunrises and sunsets of last cruise or did they really happen?  It's another cold (low 50s), gray day today, not a bit like our last visit where we broke a sweat climbing up to Lower Dewey Lake. Although the Island Princess arrived at 7am, we had no schedule today and so enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. Afterwards, we enjoyed having free 3G Internet again (while we had had cell phone service in Whittier, we have not had free Internet access since last Sunday). G paid bills and I made some headway on my email inbox. Finally, around 10am, we bundled up and walked off the ship. We're in port today with the Sea Princess (which has the good dock near the ferry terminal) and the Volendam (which has the berth we had last cruise. We are docked even further from town today). Interesting bit of news about the Volendam: just last Sunday it rescued 70 people from a boat touring Glacier Bay.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/08/holland-america-alaska-rescue-cruise-/827678/1

So, back to today...I have to give us credit for how we packed. While I began to doubt my wisdom last cruise when shorts would have been more comfortable, this cruise I've worn everything I brought in some combination. Today my Goretex jacket with hood, fleece vest, scarf, headband and gloves as well as my waterproof hiking boots were perfect. Despite the rain, I stayed cozy and dry the entire time we walked around Skagway. Eventually we paid $5 each for unlimited SMART shuttle rides, and took the bus to Gold Rush Cemetery and the end of the line before doing a combination walk-ride back to the ship.

After a late lunch in the buffet we returned to our cabin, trying to summon the energy to head back out on another walk. But the ship is warm and cozy, and the forecast for tomorrow in Juneau is much warmer and sunnier. Maybe we should just relax in preparation for an active day tomorrow....

Photo 1: a gray day in Skagway

Photo 2: the Sea Princess at the dock near the ferry terminal

Photos 3-6: our walk around town

Evening after Glacier Bay

I finally warmed up last evening after a long, hot shower, and we dressed for an early dinner in the dining room. We were thrilled to see another familiar face from our winter in the Emerald Princess, waiter Natasha who provided us some of the best, most friendly service we've enjoyed all cruise. Seated next to another couple at a table for two, we chatted all through dinner (it's funny how we all want a table for two but converse during the entire meal) and had a most enjoyable time.

Around 6pm we saw the pilot boat come up to the side of the ship to disembark the rangers, and we officially left Glacier Bay National Park. I do hope we'll return again some day.

The entertainment tonight features repeats of last night's shows: Do You Wanna Dance in the Princess Theater and Lorenzo Clark, a comedy magician in the Universe Lounge. We chose to see the production show one more time, and sat with most traveled passengers (with almost 1000 days on Princess) Tom and Jean. Afterwards, we collectively rued the fact that Princess is cutting their entertainment to 30 minute shows across the fleet. I guess someone is happy about this...we just haven't met them yet.

I had taken a few minutes this morning to write brief thank you notes to all those officers, etc. who came to our Cruise Critic get together yesterday and have already received thank you's for my thank you's. Now, do I send a thank you for the thank you to my thank you? What IS the etiquette?

;-)

We have a family of five staying in the two cabins next to us this cruise. Not wanting to point fingers, I'll speak in code here...they are from "Namitoba, Nacada" and have three young kids, two of whom are called "Barry" and "Fitchell". How do I know these facts? Because yesterday while enjoying the peace and beauty of Glacier Bay National Park we were treated to "Fitchell's" non-stop lecture on whales (he must have just been educated in the on board Kids Club) and "Barry's" incessant singing at the top of his lungs, accompanied by Mommy and Daddy's also incessant but ineffective pleas for "Fitchell" and "Barry" to be quiet. Finally, the parents rounded up the kids for a trip to the pool just before we arrived at the Margerie Glacier. Thank you!

However, about 10pm all three kids must have been high on sugar, as we heard (and felt) them bouncing off the walls and once again singing at the top of their lungs.

Entertaining family.

:-(

Foggy glaciers- freezing temps

Photo 1: Lamplugh Glacier. That's not dirt- it's lateral and medial moraine!

Photo 2: the Grand Pacific Glacier is up there somewhere

Photo 3: to give you some idea of the scope of the scenery in Glacier Bay, that black dot on this iceberg is a Stellar sea lion weighing 2000 pounds and measuring 10 feet long!

Photo 4: fog or not, the Margerie Glacier with its 250 foot high face never fails to impress

Photo 5: it even looks cold, doesn't it?