theliterateleprechaun

1 minute ago, WisCruiser2 said:

In 15 Princess cruises we've NEVER had a towel animal! You lucked out!

I'll keep sharing them! We never had one until last year on this ship. We did Buenos Aires to Vancouver and had a zoo of towel animals. Confession: I look forward to the night's creation on the way back to the cabin from dinner. 

Whittier, Alaska

We were so excited to have a rain-free day in Whittier! Last summer we didn't even get off the ship in this port because of the wind and sideways lashing rain. 

The marine fog was thick, but we knew it would burn off by noon. 

For my NCL followers, I asked about your new pier here and I was told that the port staff had just toured it and that it was beautiful. A few commented that it was further away than they expected and presumed there would be a shuttle for NCL passengers. How exciting for you to visit this port. 

We stretched our legs and walked along the boardwalk to the far end of town. More on that next post. 

*layers needed here! We had to return to the ship to shed jackets and gloves and trade jeans for shorts by afternoon. 

Mom and Steve in front of The Lazy Otter. 

For those of you who read and finish books before arriving in this port - consider bringing it ashore and leaving it in this little free library. There's no bookstore here and the winters are l-o-n-g. I always leave a stack in this LFL between the Lazy Otter Cafe and Whittier Fudge. 

12 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

What a special time with your family! I love the photo of your dad enjoying the beauty of the glacier.

 

For anyone wondering, @theliterateleprechaun and I grew up together. Our parents were friends and her mom took care of me after school.  I think our families have known each other for 49 years. 

...and we're still friends....friends who love to cruise! One day we'll cruise together. Our Juneau and Skagway stops didn't feel the same without you and your dad. 

12 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Have they done Italian night where they cook steaming vats of pasta in the dining room? My hair smelled of garlic and sauce and I have never felt so connected to my Italian heritage!

YES! 😋🥰😋🥰 

The food and service continues to impress. I happened to mention that I missed Indian food and noted that the chef was Indian....10 minutes later, these dishes (off the menu) appeared! 

It was a flavour burst and I really appreciated the treats. 

Still good, but sadly, they've cut back on the garlic. 

This quinoa, pomegranate, feta and squash appetizer was amazing! 

I'd never tried a tuna steak before...so this was the time to try it. I was expecting a fishy dish, but it was delightfully moist and not fishy at all. 

Steak and lobster night is worth getting dressed up for, isn't it?! 

Lobster cake with a soft poached egg! Don't miss this one. 

Tonight we were surprised with tempura prawns! 

Lamb shank - melt in your mouth! 

Halibut

crab cake

Chantilly swan - we always look for this on the dessert menu!

The hazelnut bar is another favorite of ours. 

Representatives from the kitchen still appear nightly to touch base with passengers about taste, presentation, temperature and selection. Nice touch, Princess. 

Last week I was telling you about the wonderful towel art masterpieces our cabin steward made for us. It's been a regular occurrence. 

Today we had a towel folding demonstration in the piazza...and our cabin steward is THE towel folding genius on the ship. 

The following photos are from the demo.

Harvard Glacier, College Fjord

Stunning with the evening light! 

1.5 mi wide, 300 feet thick, and 40 km long! 

It's been fantastic to have the naturalist's commentary as we sail. 

I can't believe how fortunate we've been to have sailed on the only two Sapphire Princess cruises that gave made it into Hubbard Glacier this season. 

I left my DSLR battery charger at home, so all these photos are taken on my cell phone. I can’t believe I forgot to pack it... 

Dinner at Hubbard Glacier. This was a pinch me moment....natural beauty out the window, a great meal, and my loved ones sitting with me enjoying the view. 

2 hours ago, AmyJA said:

Me too!

Great to have you following along. Thanks, Amy. 

20 minutes ago, NancyIL said:

I’ve have enjoyed your posts and love the photos! I’m on the ship now, and hope you enjoy the southbound as much as you enjoyed the northbound! 

You probably saw online that we were the first Sapphire Princess cruise this season to get to Hubbard Glacier! I hope we are just as fortunate today. Have a great cruise. 

The teacher in me wants to make sure you visit deck 7 between Calypso Cove and the Princess Theatre to see the table that the naturalist, Sandra Schempp, has set up for us. When will you ever get another chance to see and feel hair from Alaskan wildlife again? It's a great educational opportunity! 

I didn't know they had black skin! It felt a bit oily. I was able to feel the longer, coarse, thicker fur and was told it was called guard hair and it's hollow. It repels water. Then closer to the skin, I could feel the soft, shorter, dense under fur. I don't plan on ever being close enough to feel a bears fur, so this was a cool experience for me. 

I was shocked at how rough this one felt! I didn't know that the reindeer is the only animal to have its nose completely covered in fur! Did you know they have 1700 hairs in a one square centimeter area? The fur is 3-4 cm thick. 

Sandra is a lecturer with Princess's North To Alaska enrichment program. Don't miss this opportunity. 

11 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Those cocktail party treats look so nice and inviting- the chefs did a great job!

They admitted that it's more work for them doing the cocktail party than the formal lunch they used to prepare. I believe it. They tasted as good as they looked  😋 

5 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

What a lovely Live and gorgeous pics! Thank you for sharing.

 

Teacher @YVRteacher sent me here and I willingly obeyed because I want a gold star from Teacher.

 

Thank you for the support! Great to have you following along. 

2 hours ago, memoak said:

Ronnie is a real favor of ours. I thought he was going to stay off ships and work on his fishing app 

He sure loves his fishing! I'll ask him how it's coming along. 

3 hours ago, Coolmama_1 said:

Was Ronnie on the Crown last year? We had a fantastic wine steward in Vines on the Crown to Hawaii 

Yes! I'm so happy you were sailing with him, too. He's extra special. 

5 hours ago, Coral said:

Enjoying and following along!

Thank you! I appreciate the support. 

Juneau, Alaska

We decided that we needed a good long walk, so we headed to Overstreet Park. It's about a 25 minute walk from the ship. We'd never seen the whale statue before and mom, dad and Auntie Marg were up for the trek. 

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at Devil's Club Brewery. 

What a great recommendation, @YVRteacher. We loved it so much, we can't wait to go again on the return trip.

Steve and I shared two flights and a bowl of the best popcorn...olive oil drizzled topped with nutritional yeast. After such a long walk, we enjoyed relaxing in such a welcome environment with great people and great food. 

I photographed these flowers on my way back to the ship. Juneau is such a bright, vibrant port.

Another rain free day in Alaska! 

1 minute ago, Donwoods123 said:

We were invited to the MTG cocktail party on the Ruby in June on our Alaskan cruise.  It was the first MTG event we have been invited to.  We have just over 200 days so I was surprised to get the invitation.  I was very impressed with the food and the Captain couldn't have neen nicer.  We really enjoyed it.

It's a culinary treat, for sure! Glad you were able to experience it. I believe the cut off was 275 days for this cruise. I had some questions thought out to ask the captain, but I was so nervous, I forgot to ask. 😆 I'm hoping we still get invited next week and that he attends. I'll share my questions and answers here. 

I was so excited to discover that there was an author on board giving lectures. If you get a chance to hear/see Kim Heacox, don't miss it. Anyone remember Nick Jans in Princess's North To Alaska program? Kim is just as fantastic. 

He came to Alaska 43 years ago as a young Park Ranger...and stayed.

His talk The Lure Of Alaska is worthwhile. I was mesmerized. 

Ever since @YVRteacher told me about the honey lavender lattes, I've made it a tradition - 1/2 sweet, 1 shot espresso - and a seat in Princess Theatre where I won't be disturbed Mmmm. 🥰

I followed Kim up to Calypso Cove after his first lecture, bought two of his books, and he kindly signed them for me. I hope to get his remaining 2 books this afternoon. 

It's always a lovely surprise to find the black invitation on our pillow! 

I used to be disappointed when it was changed to a cocktail party instead of a meal, but I've changed my mind. 

It was wonderful that the captain stayed to chat. 

*missed getting a photo of the lamb cops! Scrumptious. 

This photo shows the huge hunks of lobster.

We celebrated my birthday on board...the first time in 30 years to sail at my birthday! 

Our room steward, Richard, continues to impress. He did a fantastic job decorating our room and even gave me a birthday card. 

Every time I walk past one of those interactive boards, a birthday message pops up. I'll post a photo of that later. 

Off to pub lunch.

Thanks for your patience. 

We finally met Sandra Schempp! She's a naturalist on board and I highly recommend her lectures. 

Folks, let me get on my soapbox for 1 minute. If you arrive 25 minutes into a lecture, push past 5 people who have tray tables down with coffees and/or notebooks and who were intently listening and make them stand up, close their tray tables and make way for you, YOU are being disrespectful. YOU are being rude to the lecturer and disrespectful of those around you who made the effort to get there on time. 

I won't talk about the woman with three young children who wriggled (that's politely worded) through the 1.5h lecture or the German couple behind me who translated every sentence to each other LOUDLY. 

Come on, people. 

From a teacher's POV, Sandra's lecture was 5/5. I was inspired and equipped for our time in Alaska. 

If you like quinoa, look for this salad with cranberries and feta. AMAZING. 

If you like mouth puckering lemon meringue, don't miss this in Horizon Court. 

Salmon cake appetizer at dinner was better than any I've had at Crown Grill or Sabatini's. 

Our maitre 'd, Silvio, spoils us each night. Today it was a cheese platter to share. 

We were excited to have a rain-free day in Ketchikan! 

Since we were here at spawning time AND it was a dry day, we opted to do the salmon walk. I highly recommend doing this. Follow the signs once you walk across the bridge by the museum end of Creek Street. The first thing you'll notice is the fishy smell. If you look down at the river bank, you'll see some fish that didn't make it back to spawn. 

Yes, there are stairs. Not too many. 

We arrived at the fish ladder

I stopped, mesmerized by the fish trying to jump upstream...until I got teary. Our lecturer told us on board that of the 5000 eggs one fish lays, only 5 make it back to their birth place to spawn. 

I took photos of the signs to read later. Not included in this post. 

Highly recommended. 

Done! ✔️

There's a great bookstore here called Parnassus Books. This season it's the best stocked ever - lots of selection of both Alaskan setting and Alaskan authors. If this interests you, I've been doing a book review on Instagram (same name) and offer recommendations. 

Sorry. I chose being present for my patents and Steve's auntie over spending time on my phone. I will post some more now. 

We met our waiter in 2011 on the Sapphire during his second contract and have stayed in touch with him. When he discovered we were going to be on the same ship at the same time, he organized our dining and put the 5 of us at a window table in his section in the International Dining Room for 5pm dinner. It will be wonderful to see him each night! We appreciate a fantastic table location. 

I loved the gravlax of wild Alaskan salmon. It was dill cured with asparagus, beet and radish slices.

The Alaska ale braised short ribs were 'to die for' and served with wild mushrooms and an amazing brie polenta. I hope this menu is repeated on our return to Vancouver. 

We thought it was a nice touch for chefs from the kitchen to come to the table to get passenger feedback! Way to go, Princess. 

We were following the Koningsdam and Bowen Island as we ordered dessert. 

I chose the vanilla mascarpone and blueberry cremeau. It was OK, but I don't think I'd order it again simply because I didn't care for the texture. 

5/5 dining experience