WVHillbilly

We did the 10-day connoisseur before our cruise, the Grand Princess in June. It was our first time in Alaska, and we had a great time. Who was your tour guide? Ours was Susan Halseth, she was great.

Sorry I don't recall his name.

Final thought on the Grand Princess: I’ve only been cruising since 2018 and have been on seven Royal Caribbean ships from their smallest to biggest, this was my first Princess cruise. I wanted a smaller ship for this itinerary so we could do the inside passage. I also like the older ships as they feel like you’re on a ship and not in a hotel on the water. The Grand is a beautiful and well-maintained ship. The Di Vinci dining room was where we ate for about 5 nights and the food was served hot and I liked nearly everything that we ate. Had breakfast sandwiches several mornings at International Café along with our coffee, it was a great place for breakfast before heading into the ports. The buffet was well organized and easy to get around. The ocean medallion was very convenient to unlock your cabin door when you approached, ordered room service once while in Glacier Bay and it came pretty quick, ordering drinks was a hit or miss thing. Our room attendant was very good, he talked to us on embarkation day and told us he would be doing two services a day and he always greeted us in the hallway. MDR waiter and asst. waiter did an excellent job, although most nights we only had the waiter working our table, I just assumed they were short staffed, but it didn’t affect our dining experience in the least. The bar staff were good although it did take some time to get their attention most evenings. The ship’s internet was sluggish and nonresponsive at times. We didn’t use any of the pools but did use the hot tubs several times, the bubbles didn’t work in the covered Calypso Pool but were working in the outside pool. The hot tubs were hot and soothing both times we used them. Comparing Royal to Princess; one difference was the dress of the MDR waiters, the white coats and evening dress seemed to be a step up. Another difference is all of the Royal ships that I’ve sailed on have crew reminding everyone to wash/sanitize their hands before coming in to eat; I didn’t see a push by the crew to remind people to washy washy. If anyone has any questions I’ll try my best to answer them.

Final thoughts on the Land Tour: I was glad we did the 10-day land tour as we got to see so much of Alaska, I had such a good time I told family and friends that if I were younger, I’d move to Alaska. The only complaint I had was that two days at each lodge was not enough, one day is basically a travel day so you only have one full day at each lodge, several of us would have liked to have an extra day at each lodge. The connoisseur tour includes most meals as well as a dedicated tour director. Our tour director was Susan Halseth, she has been in Alaska for more than two decades. Her love of Alaska shined brightly in every story she told, she also would give us maps of things to do on our lunch breaks in Anchorage and Palmer. Susan made our dinner reservations each night and gave out detailed itineraries for each day. I don’t know if we made out with the included meals, but I enjoyed the benefit of ordering whatever I wanted. I will say that our evening meals cost around $60-$80 a piece easily, we took advantage of ordering meals that were unique to Alaska. The last half of June must have been prime mosquito season, they started the feast as soon as we got off the plane in Fairbanks, so don’t forget the repellant. The temps were in the 50-60s each day, which was cool for that time of year they kept telling us. We only had a few sprinkles for an hour or so. The lodges were very nice, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The lodges at Mt. McKinley, Kenai and Copper River are remote so your only choices for dining are at the lodges. Fairbanks has dining a short walk away at Pikes Landing and of course anywhere in town is accessible by taxi or uber and Denali has several establishments across the road to choose from.

Thank you

Cruise Day 6 was the final sea day of the cruise; the inside passage had some great views, and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I love sea days as they are so relaxing just wandering around the ship and enjoying the ship. After dinner was the production show “Sweet Soul Music”, it was a good show with some great music. Of course, the last day is packing day, trying to allocate the weight between the two suitcases was a pain but after several tries neither of my suitcases were overweight. I got a letter that due to the longshoremen’s strike we would have to carry all our luggage off the ship tomorrow so we could make the excursion that we had planned after disembarkation. Cruise Day 7 and now it was time to get off the ship. We had booked Stanley Park/Capilano Canyon tour with transport to the airport. Due to the start of the longshoreman’s strike we had to drag all our luggage off the ship. The tour had a stop at Stanley Park, tour around Vancouver then a stop at Capilano Canyon for the suspension bridge; the tour was interesting and was a good way to pass the time before our late flight. Checked our luggage in for our flight and went through US Customs, was a bit disappointed that my global entry did not work so we had to stand in line to speak to a Customs and Border Agent. Again, I had booked the flights through Princess EZ Air, we were flying Air Canada Vancouver to Calgary-Calgary to Toronto-Toronto to DC. Our first flight was scheduled to leave at 6:35 pm and we were scheduled to arrive in DC the next morning at 10:01 am. Air Canada doesn’t have the best on time record, every flight had a delay in taking off and we finally arrived in DC and hour late. Thanks for reading this long-winded review, I want to do a wrap up of the land and cruise portion next.

Cruise Day 5 was Juneau and the excursion that I was most excited to do, helicopter ride and dog sledding on the glacier. Arriving at Juneau the skies were very cloudy and I was concerned that the excursion would be cancelled, we checked in on the dock and waited for our transportation to the airport. We were given a short safety briefing, locked our backpacks in the provided storage chest and we were paired up with another couple. Seating assignments on the helicopter were given out and we walked out to the waiting helicopters. The terrain quickly changed to snow covered mountains as we climbed higher and higher clearing the peak by several hundred feet, the views were amazing with snow everywhere. The dog camp came into view as we landed, we got another quick briefing about the dog camp and were assigned a musher to go with. The dog team is about 10-12 dogs, directly behind the dog is a sled that seats 2 and the musher stands behind, another sled with 1 seat is at the end of the team. They have a loop that the dogs run and they stop several times so you can take turns standing on the second sled. It was so much fun standing on the sled and getting the feel of mushing a dog team. I was surprised how warm it was on the glacier, after our ride we had time to visit with the dogs on our team as well as a few that they had in a fenced in pen. The helicopters returned with another group, and we boarded the helicopters for the ride back to the airport as it started to rain/snow. Back at the airport we boarded the shuttle bus back to the port and the rain became steadier. We took the short walk back to town and walked around a bit and went into several of the shops then had lunch at Tracy’s Crab Shack, the king crab was great, picked up a few souvenirs and headed back to the ship. Tonight, was our second formal night, we started getting ready for dinner. The wife comes out of the shower and says she can’t get the shower to turn off, I tried to get it turned off to no avail, so I jumped into the shower. Not being able to turn the shower off I called housekeeping, and an officer came up to try get the shower to turn off, he had to call maintenance and they fixed the shower faucet. After dinner we went to a show featuring vocal instrumentalist Ric Steel, he was very good and has had a long career rubbing shoulders with some of country music’s greats.

Cruise Day 2 was a sea day/Hubbard Glacier day, we arrived in Yakutat Bay around 3:00pm it had been cloudy all day. As we entered the bay there were low clouds around the mountains, it was mostly higher clouds once we approached Hubbard Glacier. The views were fantastic we spent most of the afternoon on our balcony taking photos and scanning land with our binoculars. We were on the port side, so we saw the glacier first, once we were as close as they were going to get the ship started a slow turn to the right. There was ample time to watch the glacier no matter which side of the ship you were on. Tonight, was the first formal night, for those concerned about these things I wore a coat and tie, the wife wore dress slacks and a dressy blouse. There was a mixture of everything from a few tuxs, suits, shirt and tie, jeans and a casual shirt for men and dresses, pants and blouses to jeans and casual tops. We had reservations for 6:00 pm and we were sat at a two top, this was also the same table we would be directed to each night we ate in the MDR. All our evening meals in the MDR were served hot and the average dining time was around 90 minutes. Tonight’s show was British Invasion; now I know some heads will explode but I’m not a fan of the Beatles, so I was pleasantly surprised that they played a good variety of British songs. Cruise Day 3 was spent in Glacier Bay. Entering the bay it was very cloudy with low clouds, when the park rangers boarded they told us that the weather would improve the closer we got to the glaciers. Though it remained cloudy the viewing did improve the deeper we got into the bay. We spent all day on our balcony, we had tuned the bridge channel on the TV so we could hear the commentary from the ranger. It was chilling in the bay, we wore our knit caps and coats, and we would take breaks sitting inside, I brought one of the deck chairs into the cabin so we could both sit at the window and watch the scenery. Out on the balcony I heard people shouting bear, I saw something black running along the beach by the time I grabbed the binoculars I couldn’t find it, but then we saw a large brown bear resting on a large boulder. Watched him for quite some time, even managed to get a photo of him looking our way. The glaciers were amazing and massive, as were the many waterfalls we saw, sadly we never saw any calving. Cruise Day 4 was Skagway; we had booked the White Pass and Yukon train excursion for the morning. We docked at the Broadway dock, which is right in town, we could see the Railroad dock that was closed by the rockslide, sheps at that dock were tendering. They had several tenders running back and forth, so it appeared to be a quick trip. Once off the ship we walked to an area where we waited for our excursion, once everyone was present, we walked toward the train depot in town and boarded the train for our excursion. Our excursion turned around at the US/Canadian border we did not need our passports, I spent most of the trip out on the viewing platform taking photos and enjoying the scenery. It was another cloudy day so the views were not as expansive as they could have been, I still saw snow in the mountains, and we even had piles of snow still at the summit. Back in town we walked around visiting several shops, this was where I picked up a couple of Ulu knives, one for me and one for my knife collecting grandson. They were made by a local and they shipped them to my home for me. They arrived a few days after we got back. I knew a few places I didn’t want to miss and one of the places was the Alaskan Fry Bread and get a Klondike Doughboy, the doughboy was tasty and warm, so I paired with a coffee from Glacial Coffeehouse. Had wanted to visit the Red Onion, but the lines were long, so we abandoned that idea and just wandered the town before we decided to head back to the ship.

Most excursions are available around a year out. Keep checking online on the cruise planner. Fairbanks and Denali excursions were included with the connoisseur tour, the float trip in McKinley/Talkeetna was a spur of the moment excursion purchased day of the. I would plan on booking any excursion as early as you can because they may sell out. Denali has a shopping area accross from the lodge that had several vendors selling excursion, McKinley has tour operators in Talkeetna, but Kenai is rather isolated so any excursions bought there are most likely from the lodge it's self.

Day 8 and we are on the move again to our last Princess Lodge at Copper River. First stop on our journey to the Copper River Lodge was Palmer, AK for lunch. Palmer is in the Matanuska Valley and home to the Alaska State Fair. Next stop was the Matanuska Glacier for a photo opportunity and restroom break. Copper River was the first bit of trouble we had, my room key wouldn’t unlock my door, so it was back to reception where a maintenance guy was walking by and he promptly changed the battery in the lock and rekeyed my card. This was going to be the last night we could get together as a group, so our tour director arranged a social hour with drinks and Hors d’oeuvres. The patio has another fantastic view of Alaska. Day 9 we had booked the excursion to the Kennecott Copper Mines, this excursion is 12 ¾ hours long 8 hours of which is spent on the road. The old mine complex has a few old buildings that you can walk around, some of which you can enter. The mine itself was interesting, just not sure I would spend 4+ hours to get there again. On the road we had a cow moose and calf run across the road in front of us, saw a river otter and numerous eagles along a river. For anyone that takes this excursion, the driver leaves you at a pedestrian bridge and gives you two shuttle tickets and tells you to walk across the bridge for the ride up to the mine. The ride up is 5 miles, the driver will tell you what time to meet for the ride back. In hindsight I would have caught the shuttle 4 ½ miles down to McCarthy and explored that little town and walked the rest of the way to the bridge, instead of hanging around at the mine for so long. Day 10/1 is Embarkation Day, but first we board our bus to Valdez. One of the breaks on the way to Valdez was Worthington Glacier, we continued through Thompson Pass which gets around 40’ of snow a year. June 24th and there was still plenty of snow along the road, next stop was a photo opportunity at Bridal Veil Falls. Descending into Valdez the cloudy skies opened, and it started to rain. The buses drove right up to the dock, and we boarded the catamaran to Whittier. The ride across Prince William Sound was smooth, due to the fog, clouds, and rain there wasn’t a lot to see. I had thought we would get our medallions on the catamaran ride but that wasn’t the case. Once we docked in Whittier it was a very short walk to the terminal, there were two lines, those with their medallions and those without. The line moved rather quickly, and we had our medallions and went through security. Once on the ship we went directly to our room to drop our carry-on bags in the room. The MDR had already closed for lunch and the crew was pushing everyone to the buffet, luckily, I knew Alfredo’s was open, so we split a very good pizza. Back to our room and our luggage was in the room, we unpacked and left to explore the ship. I had made 6:00pm dinner reservations for a two top table each night of the cruise in the Di Vinci dining room. The first night we were taken to a shared table and after dinner we caught the show and had a few drinks around the ship.

I get hot at night and often sleep with a fan and no covers so I know how miserable it can be when it's hot at night. There was only one night that I was a little warm at night and I just opened the window, I remember a fan in at least one closet. So I'm sure you could ask for one if you needed it, the Kenai Lodge had a ceiling fan in the bedroom.

Day 6, we were on the move again, this time we are back on a bus to the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. The long bus rides are broken up enough to allow you to use the restroom and stretch your legs every couple of hours, the first stop today was at the Iditarod Headquarters which had restrooms, displays about the history of the Iditarod and of course a gift shop. There was also a man offering rides on a carriage pulled by sled dogs for $10. Next stop was Anchorage for lunch on our own, our tour director gave us maps and places of interest, places to eat, etc. We went to Glacier Brewhouse for lunch, I tried one of their beer flights with my lunch both the beer and food were very good. Next was a walk over to a store called Oomingmak, they sell items made from musk ox wool which is incredibly soft. The wife is a crocheter, so she purchased a skein of musk ox wool. The Kenai Lodge is isolated from any town, the main lodge building has the Rafters Lounge and the Rod and Reel Restaurant, the rooms are scattered around the property defined by the lower level and upper level. Most of our party was in the upper-level rooms, we stayed in what is called the lower level. Let me tell you this is by far the best accommodation we had, our room was a quad cabin, we had a living room with a wood stove, bedroom with an outside deck and a large bathroom. We both said we could spend an entire week in just this lodge. Day 7 the lodge sets high above the Kenai River, after breakfast we took the trail down to the river. The beginning trail is a steep road down to the river and subsequently a steep climb back up at the end of the trail, if you can’t or don’t want to make the climb there is a phone at the bottom so you can call the lodge for a ride. The trail at the bottom is a gravel path that will take you to several viewing decks of the river; however, I saw a worn dirt path that I took toward the river, and it took us to the same viewing decks. Parts of the path have large rocks and roots to walk over, wasn’t bad, it’s just that those of us of a certain age need to walk carefully to keep your footing. Back at the lodge we ran into our tour director who invited us on a walk to an old cemetery after lunch. There were 3 couples that went with her to the old cemetery, the walk was downhill along the roadway. The cemetery itself is on a hillside, many of the grave markers tell something of the person’s life or personality, some of which are quite humorous. Just down the hill from the lodge is an RV Park that has a typical campground store.

Day 4 was a travel day to Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge. Breakfast was on our own at River Run Espresso in the lobby of the lodge, they have a large cinnamon roll that came highly recommended. We had an early departure with a short bus ride to the railway station near the entrance to Denali NP. The train ride to Talkeetna was beautiful, we got our first but brief glimpse of Denali. The train cars are double decker, with a glass domed roof in the seating area that offered great views, the lower level had an outdoor viewing platform, restrooms, and dining area. In Talkeetna you board a bus for about an hour ride to the lodge, several stayed in Talkeetna for excursions or to explore the town. Upon arriving at the lodge, we were given our room keys and meal vouchers, the bus dropped us off at our building. As at all the other lodges there is a shuttle that runs between the buildings. Dinner tonight was in the North Fork Restaurant, the restaurant has floor to ceiling windows that look out at the mountain range that includes Denali. Denali came out from the clouds and the entire restaurant was giddy with excitement. Day 5 and Denali spent the day playing peek a boo with the clouds, we decided to check if there was an excursion we could get on. After purchasing a river raft excursion, we went early to explore Talkeetna. Talkeetna is a small quaint town with small shops, bars, small restaurants and food trucks. We had a chance to meet the mayor of Talkeetna, a Siamese cat named Denali. He was disinterested in glad handing with the tourists, so after a photo we moved along. The raft trip was a slow float down the Susitna and Talkeetna Rivers, our river guide entertained us with tales of his life in Alaska. After we finished the raft trip we had to beat feet back to the shuttle station to catch one of the last buses back to the lodge. Tonight, was a late dinner in the 20320 Alaskan Grill followed by a walk around the lodge property. Tomorrow is the bus ride to Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge.

I did not go, but my understanding is that the food is served family style, I was told there was ample amounts of food given to each table and they enjoyed the food. The show is put on by the waiters and waitresses, telling a story thru song and dance. What little I have seen on YouTube, the show is a bit corny. A few of the couples that I spoke to about it enjoyed it.

I wanted to add a few more observations regarding the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Because of the landside at Pretty Rocks (mile marker 43) the tour is shortened, and you turn around at about mile marker 41/42. The bus is basically a school bus, the bus driver instructs everyone to shout out when they spot wildlife, and he will stop. They have a camera that can zoom in on the wildlife and displays on monitors in the bus. The weather that day was cloudy with an occasional drizzle, please dress for weather that is slightly cooler than what you have at the lodge. The top part of the bus windows comes down so you can get photos that are not looking thru the less than spotless window glass, we had to keep the windows closed because after our first stop someone behind told the bus driver they were cold. Everyone's tolerance to cold weather is different, know how you tolerate weather and dress appropriately, this is where dressing in layers comes into play.

Yes our tour director made dinner reservations for the first night at King Salmon, but she told us that if we wanted to make reservations for the music dinner theater that we should do it once we arrived otherwise we could make reservations for King Salmon that evening. And it was included as pone of our dinner meal vouchers. I know several of our group did the dinner theater and enjoyed it; buffets and family style meals are not something I enjoy.

Day 2 began with a buffet breakfast in the Edgewater Dining Room before boarding the bus to Denali Wilderness Lodge. We made one stop for a bathroom break at a wayside campground. There was a little souvenir store there and we had time to walk around to stretch our legs before boarding the bus again. When we arrived at the Denali Wilderness Lodge, we received a packet containing our room keys, meal vouchers, luggage tags for the next lodge and information about tomorrow’s Tundra Wilderness Tour. Our tour guide had made dining reservations for us that night at King Salmon Restaurant, we were responsible for making our own reservations for either King Salmon, Fannie Q’s Saloon, or the Music of Denali Dinner Theatre for the next night. Checking into our room we found our luggage was already in the room, lunch was on our own, so we grabbed a sandwich to split at Grizzly Burger. After lunch we grabbed the free shuttle to Denali National Park and saw a moose at the entrance to the park. Walked around the park headquarters looking at the exhibits then we took a short walk on one of the trails before catching the shuttle back to the lodge. Dinner tonight was in King Salmon Restaurant, we were paired up with another couple from our tour group. The benefit behind the connoisseur tour is you can order anything on the menu regardless of the cost, dinner was delicious, and the conversation was enjoyable. The lodge is set high above the Nenana River with views of the snow-covered mountains in Denali National Park, with the long days it was so easy to spend time after dinner walking the lodge property and enjoying the views. Day 3 we had breakfast included at either the buffet at Fannie Q’s or King Salmon, but due to the early Tundra Wilderness Tour we only had time for the breakfast buffet at Fannie Q’s. Due to the landslide at Pretty Rocks, the Tundra Wilderness Tour only went to mile marker 42; today was cloudy so Denali stayed hidden in the clouds. The five hour round trip tour into Denali NP included a box snack lunch, we were able to see several herds of caribou and Dall sheep along the way. Across from the lodge is a few stores selling souvenirs, ice cream and food so we walked over there after our tour got back. After another great dinner at King Salmon, we spent the evening walking around the lodge property enjoying the views.

Day 1 of our land tour started with a welcome breakfast in the Edgewater Dining Room where we met our tour director for the first time. Breakfast was buffet style with drinks served by the waitress. After breakfast we boarded a bus for our excursions for the day. First stop was a section of the Alyeska Oil Pipeline where we learned about the construction of the pipeline; we then boarded a train that took us to Gold Dredge #8 that included a presentation about the gold dredge operations; we received a bag of “pay dirt” to try our hand at gold panning. We panned 18 dollar’s worth of gold between us, the largest pay out in our group was 30 something dollars. We had time in the gift shop before boarding the train back to the bus for the ride to the Riverboat Discovery Cruise. Prior to boarding the sternwheeler down the Chena and Tanana rivers we had an included lunch of salad, beef stew and dessert all served family style. The sternwheeler is a narrated tour down the Chena and Tanana rivers that included a demonstration at Susan Butchers dog kennels by her husband Dave Monson and then a visit to an Athabascan Indian Village. In the village we were divided into three groups where we explored the village learning about Athabascan life before and after white settlers arrived in Alaska. Back to the sternwheeler we headed back up the river to end our excursion. Both excursions were really very good. Back at the lodge we went to a private dinner for our tour group served in a conference room in the lodge. Dinner was served buffet style that included snow crab and prime rib; after dinner was time for another walk around the lodge property. Tomorrow, we board a bus to Denali Wilderness Lodge. The connoisseur tour not only includes most of our meals, but we also have a tour guide that keeps us on schedule, informed and entertained, our bus driver will stay with us also throughout the tour.

Finally getting around to providing a review of our Alaska 10-day Connoisseur Land Tour and 7-day Southbound cruise aboard the Grand Princess. A little background we are a 68 and 71-year-old couple and this was our first cruise with Princess and first time in Alaska, although we have cruised previously 7 times with Royal Caribbean. This cruise had been rescheduled four times due to COVID. We chose Princess because of their land hotels, cruise that went to Glacier Bay and the years they have been in Alaska. Because this was most likely a once in a lifetime adventure to Alaska, we chose a 10-day Connoisseur Land Tour we hit all five of their wilderness lodges with most meals included; the Grand Princess was chosen because of it’s smaller size as well as the times in port. Princess E-Z Air was used to book our flights between Washington DC to Fairbanks and Vancouver to Washington DC. As this trip had been scheduled and cancelled, scheduled and cancelled, etc., etc. I didn’t realize that I hadn’t booked any flights until January of this year. Princess E-Z Air was chosen; I picked the cheapest flights that worked for me. We were also coming in a day early to explore Fairbanks before the start of our Land Tour. The original flight was Delta Airlines IAD to SEA and SEA to FAI; Delta changed my flights that left earlier and now my flights were IAD to DTW, DTW to SEA, and SEA to FAI. I had a two-hour layover in Detroit and a three hour layover in Seattle. While the layovers seemed like a long time it wasn’t that bad, because we had three hours in Seattle, we decided to have supper there at the PF Chang in the airport terminal. The food was fine but the wait to get our food was so long we had to rush through dinner to get to the gate for boarding. All of our Delta flights were on time and went off without a hitch. I wasn’t able to book an extra night with Princess, since we arrived at 12:45 am I knew we weren’t staying but for a few hours I once again went with the cheapest option. I booked one night with the Golden North Inn in Fairbanks; while in Seattle I called the hotel to confirm that I was coming in but would not be arriving until 12:45am. I was informed that that wasn’t a problem and to call for a ride once I had my luggage as the hotel was only five minutes away. We were 1 of 3 groups that arrived on that flight and after a short wait the hotel shuttle picked us up. The Golden North Inn is an older two story motel-like lodging, the room was small but clean and the bed was very comfortable. I slept about 3-4 hours and went to the lobby to have them call me a cab back to the airport to pick up my rental car for the day. To my surprise the hotel actually paid for the cab to take me back to the airport. Budget upgraded me from a Ford Fusion to a Toyota Highlander, so with keys in my hand it was back to the hotel to load the luggage and wife to start our adventure in Alaska. We had breakfast at “The Crepery”, the Alaska Crepe with reindeer sausage is highly recommended. After a quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few forgotten items we were off to the Chena Hot Springs Resort. A soak in the natural hot springs was just what the Dr. ordered, not only was it relaxing and soothing for our tired muscles after a long travel day it was very refreshing. Next stop was North Pole Alaska as they say been there done that. It’s basically a Christmas decoration store, Santa was there, reindeer in a corral. Once back in Fairbanks we headed to Pioneer Park. Besides being a public park, they have a collection of old buildings from Fairbanks past. The buildings ranged from log cabins to wooden framed houses, a church, commercial buildings and an old stern wheeler. All the buildings had been restored and most were occupied with crafter stores. Since it was now after 4 pm we headed to the Princess Riverside Lodge to check in. Upon arriving at the Princess Riverside Lodge we went to the reception desk to check-in, I was sent to the Tour Desk to see if they had my tour package. My tour package was at the airport so they had to call to have it sent back to the hotel, the tour desk walked me back to reception to have them get me a couple room keys so we could check in. After unloading our luggage and a brief rest, I headed back to the airport to turn the rental car back in and grabbed a cab to go back to the lodge. Once back at the lodge I picked up our Tour Package. The package included a brief questionnaire that included our preference for a dining time; a letter from Susan our tour director regarding a welcome breakfast the following morning, excursion info, and a private dinner that evening, meal vouchers, luggage tags for luggage going to the ship and those that were following us to the next lodge. Dropped off the completed questionnaire at the tour desk and treated ourselves to a few adult beverages and a meal at Trackers Bar and Grill in the lodge. Since it never gets dark at this time a year, we went for a short walk along the Chena river and strolled around the hotel before retiring for the night. To be continued:

Thanks everyone for the info. When I initially booked my flights I had a single stop in Seattle, but Delta changed those so now I have two stops (3 flights). My return flight was always two stops on Air Canada. I got an excellent price so I took what was the cheapest flights; however had I known AC charges for seat assignments I might have chosen different flights. Doesn't seem like there are a lot of seats available so I went ahead and reserved my seats. Couldn't chance waiting til 24hrs before to get a seat selection for free. I'm retired so I'm not on a time schedule to get back; don't know AC / Canada's reimbursement for bumping people off of flights.

My flights getting to Alaska are on Delta and I have seat assignments on those flights, but my AC flights didn't have seat assignments. I downloaded their app and tried selecting seat, it's taking me 3 flights to get back and the cost was$25-$50-$25 X 2 passengers. I did just shoot my TA an email; otherwise if I have to pay to preselect the seats so that we have seats assigned and together thats what I'll do. Never flew Air Canada before and maybe the last time. Thanks for the help.

It is taking me three flights to get home one flight was $25-$50-$25 X 2 passengers. Don't like to be at their mercy as we want seats together. SO I may have to pay to preselect my seats. Thanks for the info.

I have a question for those that have used EZAir for flights on Air Canada. I'm booked on my return flights next month after my Alaska cruise, at the present time I do not have seat assignments. I downloaded the Air Canada app and logged in and began selecting my seats and it wanted be to pay like $200 for the selected seats. If you used EZAir how do you get your seat assignments?

I've only flew once into the USA (from Bahamas) in the four years I've had it; the rest of the flights have been in the USA. I purchased it for the purpose of not having to take my shoes and belt off when going thru TSA and it has worked for all but once. I like it for the somewhat hassle free experience you get in the airports.

In Boston we took an Uber from the port to the Bunker Hill Monument and walked the Freedom Trail in reverse. It was a really nice day. In Halifax you can walk to the Citadel, see the Titanic Musuem and if you have time the Titanic Cemetary.