LIVE from Fairbanks to Vancouver cruisetour 9/6/09

[Colo Cruiser]

Hope you have a wiggle free night.

[coo359a2]

Sounds like ya'll need a little catnap after your long day. The port cams sure didn't make Skagway look to inviting. Was the weather better by time ya'll got up to Emerald Lake. Ya'll have two more busy port days to go so be sure to get some rest. Is everyone over their sniffles?

[California Native]

I'm happy to hear you are feeling better!

As always, your "live from" is always the best!

[Pia1913]

I see Donna didn't check in yet and it's almost time for bed. So to answer a few questions:

 

Mary: Yes, we will meet you on the 9/24 leg and yes, we will also be on the 4/19 Ruby TA. As for mattresses, Donna just requested a new one since hers seems to have a definite dent.

 

Tina: It cleared up at Emerald, but on the way back down more rain and dense fog.

 

Karen: Thank you.

 

Keith: no wiggles

 

BTW, our CD Billy had a family emergency and flew out of here today. He will not be back for the remainder of this cruise. I do hope whatever it is turns out well.

 

Until tomorrow.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

 

BTW, won the morning show trivia question 2 days in a row. Got something I really needed; a passport wallet. ;)

 

Whoo hoo, that's about time ;) I was starting to get worried LOL:D

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Pia-You left us hanging about Dyea Dave in Skagway. We took a private tour in Skagway, and the guide had nothing good to say about Dave, so I'm really curious how he was. We saw three bears right by the road (alive, not skinned:eek:).

 

We are leaving tomorrow for a week in Boston and then on the Jewel of the Seas for a Canada/NE cruise. I'll catch up with you when we get home!:)

[shellbeachjim]

Did I mention how the ship wiggled all last night and rocked all this morning? If not, you didn't miss a thing because now it's smooth as glass.

It's probably the same storm which we hit on the Pacific Princess going from Juneau to Victoria - heavy rain, high seas, spray over the top decks and 50 mph winds. The pitching on the ship was pretty severe and the last formal night was "interesting". The captain had to reduce the speed down to 4 knots and we ended up arriving in Victoria around 1am instead of 6pm, so the ship only made a service call.

[Pia1913]

Hello from wet Juneau. Temps are a bit warmer, it’s calm, but a light to heavy drizzle which is enough to go through you, We had nothing special planned; just meandered from store to store to store. I don’t think we missed even one. My cell phone finally works so it was nice to hear a voice from home live, instead of through email.

Donna and Dennis were going to find the brewery tour; we passed. If they found it, I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it later today.

At 2:00 PM there will be a talk by Libby Riddles, the first woman champion to win the Iditarod in 1985. Should be interesting. She was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

On another note, tonight is the Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party and we are fortunate to have placed 2nd as the most travelled passengers. Good way to have champagne for dinner; on the house. :D

Sorry to keep you hanging about Dyea Dave. That's Donna's job.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

 

Now been joined by HAL, Volendam

[California Native]

Hi Pia and Donna...

just thought I would give you a forecast for the coast of California as you sail down next week.

Between Northern California to south of Monterey We are scheduled to be having a heatwave approaching or exceeding 100 degrees for the majority of the week beginning this Sunday.

Hopefully, this will give you a couple WARM and wonderful sea days...

K

[Pia1913]

Hi Pia and Donna...

 

just thought I would give you a forecast for the coast of California as you sail down next week.

 

Between Northern California to south of Monterey We are scheduled to be having a heatwave approaching or exceeding 100 degrees for the majority of the week beginning this Sunday.

 

Hopefully, this will give you a couple WARM and wonderful sea days...

 

K

 

But we will be going directly from Vancouver to San Pedro. So, can you order some nice weather for us in that area? ;)

[Jimbo]

Sorry to keep you hanging about Dyea Dave. That's Donna's job.

 

 

Sounds like it didn't go well, should be interesting.

 

Jimbo:)

[DonahCBrown]

Running short on minutes, but here you go:

 

Skagway was rainy, and, for the warm weather folks, on the cold side. The pick up area is pretty confusing, and individual providers like Dyea Dave are not allowed into the area closest to the ship, which makes it harder to pick the right place to look. Dave was there pretty close to the 7:30AM pick up time, and our group was ready to go as soon as we all found each other and Dave, but we delayed until 8:00 to make sure no stragglers were coming for either van load that was booked with Dave that day.

 

Conditions early on were pretty bad – heavy rain, some fog, and the interior windows also fogged up, and it was hard to follow Dave’s narrative from the back of the van as the microphone works best when held and it was more important to have Dave’s hands on the wheel for the twisty roads making our way up to the Yukon.

 

We finally got some sunshine when we crossed over the pass and got well into Canada. It was fun to go to the little post office in Carcross and buy a pretty stamp and get our passports stamped and chat with the post office ladies and their rescued husky Bingo, who poses for pictures. Emerald Lake was gorgeous, many pictures were taken, and overall, the scenery was lovely – no appreciable wildlife sightings, however. We were able to see the train from time to time and Dave pulled over at a spot where it was particularly easy to see the train making its way up the mountainside for the photo stop.

 

All of us found Dave’s narrative a little hard to follow and somewhat disjointed, and his humor runs to puns which didn’t go over all that well with his audience – maybe we hadn’t had enough coffee – plus it was hard to hear well enough to follow some of what he had to say.

 

That said, the scenery was spectacular, Dave was very good at getting our photographers to spots to get good shots, was willing to stop anywhere anyone wanted to, including the grocery store on the way back, he steered us away from the tourist traps, and was very reasonably priced. We had a good lunch stop at a small roadside diner with good soups and baked goods (and good coffee). It was a worthwhile trip although I could have wished for a better sound system and better weather.

[stary]

But we will be going directly from Vancouver to San Pedro. So, can you order some nice weather for us in that area? ;)

 

 

no worries Pia...there will be plenty of warm/hot weather waiting for you when you arrive in San Pedro :p

[California Native]

Pia...

I just checked the extended forecast for down south.

SoCal will be experiencing much of the same weather as we will throughout the entire week.

I'm sure you know the Pacific Ocean down until you reach somewhere between San Diego to Cabo can be a little rough so the warm temperatures will be offset by the cool breezes

Wish you could just "pop into" SFO for lunch with us!

Buon Viaggio

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks for the report Donna and Pia. Hope your weather clears up a bit and the rest of the cruise offers less rain and smooth sailing.

 

I was very disappointed that you didn't even get to see that squirrel that has been following you from port to port. ;)

 

Hope you have a great Captain's Circle Party and congrats Pia for coming in second! ;)

[Pia1913]

We are just arriving into Ketchikan at approx. 9:15. It's cold and crisp. No rain.

I have some interesting internet news. When we first embarked I asked the manager whether our unused minutes could be carried over into the next cruise. He said yes. This morning I went to verify this and rules have changed. If you bought a package, then yes, the minutes carry over. If you are Platinum or Elite and received the package as a perk, then no, minutes are not carried over. OTOH, it seems that we will get 150 minutes/PP for the 3 day coastal and another 250 minute/PPs for the 15 day Panama Canal. Hope so, because this now becomes a much better deal. Will advise

CC party last night very nice, though canapes (which I never eat anyway) looked skimpy. We had late dinner and just went to see the Marriage Game and Princess Pop Star. Pop Star has six contestants and not one is any good. I know there is talent out there but they evidentally choose not to participate.

We're going out now to meander about and we do have an excursion booked for 1:00 PM - the Bering Sea Fisherman's Aleutian Ballad.

Talk again later.

[paul929207]

On the Tahitian, last month, we could not carry over minutes from the first cruise. The manager said if you bought the package or if Elite/Platinum if you bought an upgraded package, then you could carry it over.

[Colo Cruiser]

We are just arriving into Ketchikan at approx. 9:15. It's cold and crisp. No rain.

 

I have some interesting internet news. When we first embarked I asked the manager whether our unused minutes could be carried over into the next cruise. He said yes. This morning I went to verify this and rules have changed. If you bought a package, then yes, the minutes carry over. If you are Platinum or Elite and received the package as a perk, then no, minutes are not carried over. OTOH, it seems that we will get 150 minutes/PP for the 3 day coastal and another 250 minute/PPs for the 15 day Panama Canal. Hope so, because this now becomes a much better deal. Will advise

 

CC party last night very nice, though canapes (which I never eat anyway) looked skimpy. We had late dinner and just went to see the Marriage Game and Princess Pop Star. Pop Star has six contestants and not one is any good. I know there is talent out there but they evidentally choose not to participate.

 

We're going out now to meander about and we do have an excursion booked for 1:00 PM - the Bering Sea Fisherman's Aleutian Ballad.

 

Talk again later.

 

 

Wish I were there!! Have fun enroute to LA.

[ellbon]

the last time I was on princess-08-they did not give us a party. we made our own and had 50 people on a bar.. nothing like taking over a bar.:D it was fun and right befroe we sailed.

Edited September 19, 2009 by ellbon

[Pia1913]

the last time I was on princess-08-they did not give us a party. we made our own and had 50 people on a bar.. nothing like taking over a bar.:D it was fun and right befroe we sailed.

 

What do you mean they didn't give you a party? They always have a captain's circle party. Always.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

[LARGIN]

Pia. Congrats on coming in 2nd. How many days did the first place cruizers have?

[FritzG]

What do you mean they didn't give you a party? They always have a captain's circle party. Always.

 

I think the OP thought CC stood for Cruise Critic, not Captain's Circle.

[rdsqrl]

What do you mean they didn't give you a party? They always have a captain's circle party. Always.

Maybe the parties are only for people who know where the shift key is . . . ? Joking aside (as if), I think she meant a Cruise Critic (as opposed to Captain's Circle) party.

Pia, really enjoying your posts! My next cruise is almost surely going to be on the Coral so can I ask you a quick question re the fitness center -- elliptical machines? How many? Crowded? (Okay, that's three quick questions.)