ALASKA Cruise - 16th to 23 June

Saturday 16^th June

Alaska Cruise on the Golden Princess

The Golden Princess weighs 108,865 tons, her length is 950ft and breadth 118.1ft.

Prior to boarding we had to go through the usual security checks, passport control and scanners etc.  We even had our noses checked for any colds or flu.  Luckily we had nice clean nostrils so we were allowed to go onboard and find our cabin.

The Golden Princess has 1060 crew and can take 3100 passengers. 

 
 


Our cabin number was 610 on Emerald Deck.  This was important information but I couldn’t take it in.  As we opened the door of our room we had a window with a view….but it was a view of a lifeboat!

Our cabin is No 610 on the left side (Port)

Nobody talks about the “T” word (Titanic) but as I can’t swim I made sure I was in the front row for the Safety Induction.  Every passenger on Emerald Deck assembled at a  designated area to practice putting on their life jacket.  People were standing shoulder to shoulder and it was hot and stuffy.  As everyone struggled to put on their life jacket they suddenly grew twice their size!  I felt like a suffocating sumo.   

The Piazza

Valerya from The Ukraine

I was amazed at the variety of activities and very professional entertainment that Princess provided at no extra cost.  The Comedian on the first night, Rollin’ Jay Moore, had me crying in the aisle.  
  

Rough passage  (Note The Pool)

Once the ship left the shelter of Vancouver Island we hit a big swell. It was a ‘ROUGH’ night and it was hard to sleep with the bed rocking from side to side.   By mid morning we had found our sea-legs although we did bounce off the wall a couple of times.  

The talented Galley Staff put on a fantastic exhibition of fruit and vegetable carving.  A tricky thing to perform on a swaying ship. 

Sandra from Russia

 
Allen and I were invited to a “British Pub Lunch” by Sandra, one of the staff.   

Note:- I have my Guinness shirt on!

It was a fabulous meal of Steak & Kidney Pie and Bread & Butter Pudding washed down with a Guinness...and of course Beatles music playing in the background.

Formal Night 

We didn’t dress up for the occasion but I was adamant I wanted to be right in the middle of the celebration.  I needed a people-watching fix!  Luckily we managed to get a ring side view and I was able to scrutinise all the dresses, shoes, jewelery etc.  Al kept disappearing  something about a rusty nail(?) but I was in my element.  

                  

After all the photographs were taken, we watched the Champagne Waterfall, followed by the Captain’s speech and Crew’s introduction.  

Monday 18^th - Dock at Juneau

  

Armed escort into Juneau by the Coast Guard

Juneau

We went ashore at 11.00am and boarded a coach to Mendenhall Glacier. 

This Glacier is one of 38 large glaciers that flow from the massive Juneau Icefield.   Gravity pulls the ice downwards and it scours the bedrock on its 13 mile journey to Mendenhall Lake.  

Glacial ice is blue because it absorbs all the colours of the spectrum except blue, which it transmits.  
 

We walked to the viewing platform and got the most magnificent photographs of huge icebergs floating in the lake.  

 

The waterfall was spectacular and you can see how small the people look standing in front of it.  

 

Salmon Bake 

 



Next stop was Lunch to sample a typical Alaskan Salmon Bake.  We arrived at a lush rain forest where lots of picnic tables had been set up for us.  The smoky BBQ smell wafted through the trees.   “Cookie” did a good job with those salmon steaks (when he wasn’t talking on the mobile).  Live entertainment too.  Mozzies were over friendly at the waterfall area but it was a great place.  

 

 

We met two 9 month old Alaskan Malamute Puppy Mill Rescue dogs.  Their names were Skadi and Freya and apparently they are famous in Juneau.  They were with their owner Josh outside the Tramway and he was collecting money to help rescue more puppy mill babes.   

On recommendation we went to the rowdy Red Dog Saloon complete with sawdust on the floor and raunchy barmaids.   























Somebody told me to order a Duck Fart.  I was told by the barman to down it in one shot.  Not a problem.  Delicious.   Next one please! 

 

After a fabulous day ashore we boarded the Golden Princess at 4pm (home sweet home).  No time to rest as we didn’t want to miss the blockbuster show British Invasion.  Totally awesome.

Tuesday 19^th – Dock at Skagway

Beautiful little Skagway, population 968 but what it lacked in people it made up for with atmosphere!

Breakfast was a scream.  We entered the back door of the infamous Red Onion Saloon/Brothel and we were welcomed by the notorious “Madam” who with her wit and innuendos had us in the palm of her hand. 

During the Gold Rush this Saloon was Skagway’s most exclusive Bordello.  The two Ladies of the Night were excellent in their role play (or maybe they weren’t playing) who knows, but they were a ton of fun.  

 

After breakfast we went upstairs to the actual bedrooms, caught sight of the chamber pots and authentic wallpaper still stuck to the wall.  



 

Lionel was our banjo playing, heel kicking, entertainer.  Not sure what happened to his eyes maybe too much moonshine.  

 

Everyone received a red and black garter as a souvenir.  Al hasn’t taken his off.



Yukon BC Canada.

Back on the bus and after a lengthy drive we crossed the border into Canada to arrive at the Yukon Suspension Bridge.   This is a pedestrian suspension bridge 200ft long and sways 57ft above the Tutshi River.  

 

 

Our bus driver took a pic of us to prove to our friends that we actually made it to Alaska and without a coat! 

Back at Skagway Al caught sight of one of the old Steam Locomotives just as it was in the early 1900's complete with revolving Snowplough which throws the snowdrifts 60ft into the air. He was in his element!
 

 

Skagway still looks much the same as it would have done during the Gold Rush.

Wednesday 20^th – Tracy Arm Fjord

Champagne Breakfast!  There’s no better way to view the Glacier than from the exclusive dining room at Donatello’s Restaurant.  Utter decadence.

We walked on deck and experienced the most mind blowing sights of blue icebergs, grizzly bears in the distance, seals, eagles and orca whales.   

 

 
The air is so pure and clear at the Fjord, not many other people have shared it.  

Tracy Arm Glacier

We hit this Iceberg

Then we watched the "Movie Under the Stars"

In the afternoon we watched our very first Art Auction and quite a few paintings went under the hammer.    Found some paintings that we both liked by an artist called Pino.  Most of the art work was being sold at two thirds of the retail price.  Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to buy one and don’t forget we haven’t got any walls to hang it on! 

 
 









    

The International Crew Show was hilarious.

 

 Hundreds of balloons rained down on us before the start of the show.  There were lots of Filipino crew who joined in the fun and as everyone knows they LOVE to sing and dance.  Lots of comedy acts too.

A wonderful day topped off by a lovely evening sitting around the Grand Piano with Pete Thompson.
 

 

Thursday 21^st - Ketchikan

  
The Princess docked at 6am.  We looked from the top deck and could see the wonderful coloured buildings, shops and houses.  Then we realized the dock meets the main High Street.   

Ketchikan gets approximately 13ft of rain a year but today it appeared fairly cloud free. This little port is self described as “Salmon Capital of the World”.

At 9am it was time to watch the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.   This was being held in the old Ketchikan Sprue Mill where lumber was provided for the 1898 Gold Rush.  

 

It was a great show of skill.  The audience was split into two groups and of course you have to cheer, clap, stomp and shout for your team.  

We watched these guys wood chopping, log rolling, buck sawing, axe throwing and then speed climb 500ft up a tree.  YO-HO.  

Our day unfortunately took a nose dive with the next trip.  We should have known better but we booked the Totem Bight State Park. 

  We listened to some legends and cultures of the native Tlingit and Haida tribes.  YO-HO (NOT!!)

 

Every Totem Pole tells a story but our guide wasn’t familiar with any of them. 
(He was from Las Vegas??) Eh!

Our trip back on the coach was another disaster.  Something went wrong with the air-con ( It was the idiot operator/driver/totem pole guide) and we felt like we were in a towering inferno.  Many requests to the driver for cool air fell on deaf ears. 

Never mind the Princess was in sight.  We climbed onboard and sprawled out on a sun lounger and watched the movie Dolphin Tale. Linda even got an Alaskan Suntan!! 

Golden Princess and her Sister Ship Diamond Princess

The evening ended at the Princess Theatre with a performance of “Stardust”.  It was so popular I couldn’t get a seat so I decided to stand for an hour rather than miss it. 

Friday 22 June – Victoria, BC 

Vira from Ukraine

 







 Went to the Horizon Court for breakfast and couldn’t understand why everyone was eating lunch instead of breakfast.........  Why?

Anyway we found a table and started planning all the activities we wanted to see in the morning.   A very kind lady sitting next to us had overheard our conversation and said, “Excuse me dear but do you realise it's 12.30pm”.     WHAT!   The clocks had changed overnight but Alpal had put his watch back instead of forward so we were 2 hours out of wack. 
 

So funny, but we’d missed all the tours and activities that we wanted to go on…not to mention the breakfast that was now history.   

 

The rest of the day was spent watching the Karaoke Final, sampling some more Cocktails and then singing with Pete around the Grand Piano. 

At 7pm we docked at Victoria BC but the weather was atrocious.  We didn’t feel like going ashore in the wind and rain so gave it a miss. 

Time to pack our bags and say goodbye to Alberto.  He was one of our wonderful cabin crew who had serviced our room twice a day and put two chocolates on our pillow every night. Can we take you with us? 

Saturday 23 June

It was an early rise at 6am.  We arrive at Seattle after travelling 3,826 km round trip.  

Breakfast and disembarkation went like clockwork.

We left the Ship with our luggage and wondered how they managed to off-load so many passengers with so much ease.  One word: Efficient.

                         
                                      End of 9th Blog