Review - July 28 Southbound following Authentic Alaska, Cruisetour... and Amtrak home

[fishin' musician]

A couple cropped versions of the previous whale's tail pic.

 

 

 

 

Hey, didn't I see you on Deadliest Catch?

 

 

 

A bunch of dolphins spouting off!

 

 

 

This must be some famous landmark north of Ketchikan.

 

[pathubia]

Oh my goodness, absolutely beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you so much for posting!!

[fishin' musician]

I head back to the room to check in with DW, she is getting ready for our big day in Ketchikan, so I go out on the balcony. A short while later I spotted several orcas/killer whales in the wake. They remain near the surface and are visible for about 20min.

 

We are meeting friends in Ketchikan, and we lucked out because he is a commercial fisherman and we had about a 20% chance of him not being out fishing. Turns out the Alaska Govt. gave the fleet the day off as they planned the next stage of the salmon harvest.

 

Upon getting off the ship we run into Ken of Northern Lights Charters, he was looking for his clients. We booked Ken in 2010 and he showed our family an incredible time (see some great footage in the youtube link in my signature)!

 

Our friends arrive and we go to one of the local restaurants for lunch. We hung around the Fish Creek area for a while and watched seals chasing fish. We then headed for their beautiful water-front home, we dropped off the women and we headed out to Totem Bight State Park. The tourists were gone, so he showed me around, he told me that when he was in high school and this was not yet a state park the lodge was a popular drinking spot. We then continued north until the road ended at Settlers Cove State Park. We went in and I was astounded at the size of the trees and the density of the foliage. This is a rain forest, and this place really shows the results. There is a beautiful waterfall and there were some pink salmon, err… humpies in the river/creek.

 

 

Harbor seal in Fish Creek

 

 

 

Totem poles at Totem Bight State Park

 

 

 

Waterfall and giant cedar tree at Settlers Cove State Park.

 

 

 

 

Back to their house and I take note of the maple tree in his front yard. There is moss growing all over the tree, and then ferns growing out of the moss! The climate here is actually more temperate than ours in the upper Midwest. It seldom gets below freezing and seldom snows. They did, however, get over 160 inches of rain last year, which is about average. There are also very few wells, they have a 3500 gallon cistern in their basement that collects rainwater, which is how almost everyone does it here.

 

 

 

At first glance, I thought this was driftwood decorating our friends' mailbox, but upon closer inspection, it is coral attached to rocks. The big one weighs over 150lbs, they were pulled up in his halibut/black cod lines from depths of over 200ft.

 

 

 

So after a great day with friends, we get back to the ship. We have a reservation at La Cucina and enjoyed the Italian fare along with great views as we made our way south through a very narrow channel.

 

DW decides slumber is in her best interest, I enjoy the balance of the evening on the balcony.

[AryMay]

 

This must be some famous landmark north of Ketchikan.

 

 

Loving your review...thanks so much for taking time to include all of your wonderful photos! Having just finished one of these photo-intensive reviews I KNOW the effort that goes into it!

 

Here is a close-up I took of the same lighthouse near Ketchikan...it must be a hang-out for eagles!

 

[fishin' musician]

Thanks, I wasn't even certain it was a lighthouse.

[fishin' musician]

Aug. 3) – Sea Day, mostly unremarkable ocean scenery so we get packed early. We went to the crew show and met our friends for another losing effort at trivia. Late in the day I see the Disney Wonder, the only other ship in Ketchikan, appear behind us. Late at night it was alongside and apparently beat us to the checkered flag in Vancouver.

 

Best t-shirt! The guy bought it in Hawaii, his second home is an a trailer community on a Midwest lake, he said everyone wants one. ME TOO!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disney Wonder in our wake.

 

 

 

Disney Wonder 7 hours later making its move. (sleeping is overrated).

 

Edited August 25, 2014 by fishin' musician

[fishin' musician]

Aug. 4) – Vancouver – No reason to hurry, we vacate our room by 8:00, and head up for some breakfast. We were joined by some of our “group b” trivia friends. They were taking the train from Vancouver to Toronto. We did this following our 2010 cruise, and we were able to provide some info. Today we were taking the 5:45 train to Seattle.

 

 

Welcome to Vancouver.

 

 

A seagull joins us for breakfast on the back of the ship.

 

 

 

We take a cab to the Via Rail Pacific Station, check our bags and then run into our “group b” Atlanta friends. We thought we’d seen the last of them! They are taking a bus to Seattle and spending another few weeks wandering around the northwest.

 

We decide to head to Granville Market where we meet up with some our “group A” friends for lunch. It was about a mile and a half walk along False Creek, a very scenic waterfront sort of boardwalk.

 

 

 

 

 

[fishin' musician]

 

 

 

 

We eventually make it back to the station, and board the train for the scenic ride south.

 

 

 

 

Mount Baker came into view just after crossing the US border.

 

 

 

 

Once in Seattle we gathered our bags and transferred to the Roosevelt Hotel for a fast sleep.

[fishin' musician]

Aug. 5) - DW flys home and I board Amtrak’s Coast Starlight for Sacramento.

I enjoyed beautiful scenery along Puget Sound. Mount Hood came into view early in the afternoon. By evening we were in the Cascade Mountains.

 

 

Pacific Parlor Car - dining, viewing and lounging upstairs, movies downstairs

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of Puget Sound pics

 

 

 

 

Mt. Hood

 

[fishin' musician]

Aug. 6) – Arrive Sacramento – I walked down to Old Sacramento and enjoy the old timey atmosphere. Around 11am I boarded the California Zephyr and begin the ascent into the Sierra Nevadas and eventually cross Donner Pass.

 

 

Old Sacramento

 

 

 

 

 

Aboard the California Zephyr, climbing the Sierra Nevadas

 

 

 

[biojeep]

Fishin'

 

Were you satified with the NCL portion of the tour? If you had to do it over again would you still choose NCL or would you do a DIY land portion. I a considering the Authentic Alaska tour for next June & have found very few reviews of the NCL land portion fo the cruise tour. Do they provide you enough free time at each land site to do activities on your own? Is most of your time spent on the bus or train traveling from place to place. Any additional specifics you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for a great review & great photos.

[fishin' musician]

There is not a lot of free time, but this tour is filled with quality experiences. We had free evenings in Denali, Anchorage and Homer and a free morning in Denali. NCL's ground operations are handled by Alaskans, not by imported kids on summer break. One advantage we had not considered was having a core group of friends to pal around with once we boarded the ship. I've done my own thing in Alaska, and while certainly fine, it did not provide the depth and scope of this experience.

[mya603]

My first trip to Alaska in May 2015. Thank you for the photos and review. I love being able to see where I'm going and what I'm going to see! Glad you had a terrific time.

[fishin' musician]

Aug. 7) – I awake to the beautiful, sculpted scenery of eastern Utah. The backdrop gets increasingly dramatic as we get closer to the Colorado Rockies. By the time we arrive in Glenwood Springs, the peaks on either side of the train are stretching thousands of feet over us. The panorama continues throughout the day. We reach Denver by nightfall. I get off the train and snap some pics of the snazzy new station with a very retro, sort of metro / deco vibe.

 

 

Eastern Utah; kind of weird, but I was reminded of ancient temples in Greece and Turkey (sorry for the glare, shooting through polarized glass windows on a bright day is at least challenging).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fishin' musician]

Glenwood Canyon (east of Glenwood Springs), had I not been in Sightseer Lounge Car with glass above, I would never have seen the tops of these peaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fishin' musician]

Coming in to Denver.

 

 

 

 

 

Denver Union Station

 

 

 

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your report, glad you had a good time. Love your photo's, thanks for posting them.:)

[fishin' musician]

Aug. 8) – According to my GPS, I am somewhere in the middle of a cornfield in eastern Nebraska when I awaken. The rolling hills turn into flatlands shortly after we cross the Mississippi River between Iowa and Illinois. The corn and soybean fields stretch as far as you can see! Eventually the Zephyr rolls into Chicago’s Union Station and my epic journey draws to a close.

[mya603]

But was wanting to ask. Why did DW fly home and you take the train? Because you could? Or just something you wanted to do and she didn't? Just curious. Sorry. Don't answer is you don't want to.:D

[fishin' musician]

But was wanting to ask. Why did DW fly home and you take the train? Because you could? Or just something you wanted to do and she didn't? Just curious. Sorry. Don't answer is you don't want to.:D

 

I guess mostly because I could. DW is OK for about one night, plus she had a shower to attend. I'll fly if I must, but it is typically not enjoyable. Traveling long distance by train is uniquely relaxing and invigorating. Yeah, they are usually late, but so what, it just extends my vacation. We did it similarly last winter, but I took the train in both directions to/from Florida for a cruise. I got caught in that huge midwest blizzard Jan. 5 on the return.

[mya603]

I guess mostly because I could. DW is OK for about one night' date=' plus she had a shower to attend. I'll fly if I must, but it is typically not enjoyable. Traveling long distance by train is uniquely relaxing and invigorating. Yeah, they are usually late, but so what, it just extends my vacation. We did it similarly last winter, but I took the train in both directions to/from Florida for a cruise. I got caught in that huge midwest blizzard Jan. 5 on the return.[/quote']

 

Sounds like fun to me. I'd do it if I had the time next June, but unfortunately I won't. Maybe one day. :)

[fishin' musician]

So, to conclude this epic review, Alaska is a place where I could live, not Fairbanks, or even Anchorage, but south, in the Kenai Peninsula. Winters there sound tolerable, it does not stay dark all day.

 

The Alaska folks are a unique breed, this is the last frontier and they are a proud bunch. They are fiercely independent, yet there is a strong element of team spirit. Most seem to not only tolerate us "lower 48ers", but to genuinely welcome us to there home (after all, come September, we are gone til May).

 

The Authentic Alaska cruisetour was an incredible experience. The name is quite fitting, this program presents a wide range of Alaska by Alaskans. Although I have nothing to compare it to, I believe NCL's land package being of far less scale than lines that have more ships in Alaska, is a far more personal experience. There were simply no weak points to it. Great accommodations, newer motorcoaches that were cleaned daily and very personable/knowledgeable tour director and driver. Like I said, incredible.

 

One funny line we heard a couple times regarding the 5 to 1 men to women ration... for the women: "The odds are good, but the goods are odd!"

 

The NCL Sun was also exceptional, yes, an older vessel, but you had to look very hard to see any signs of age. DW and I prefer vessels of this size. We sailed RCL's Legend of the Seas last winter and the Coral Princess northbound last June. In April we took the Princess mega ship Royal Princess, and felt it too large and just not personable. The crew on the Sun was outstanding! The Hotel Director joined in 1969!

 

There was not a lot of information/reviews on the NCL Alaska cruisetours, hopefully this will be of value to those researching. Those preparing can expect New York City or San Francisco pricing for restaurant food, but the surprising thing may be the comparable quality.

 

My recommendation, go for it! And if you want to further the experience, try taking Amtrak, but hide your watch...

[KroozFoolz]

 

The Alaska folks are a unique breed' date=' this is the last frontier and they are a proud bunch. They are fiercely independent, yet there is a strong element of team spirit. Most seem to not only tolerate us "lower 48ers", but to genuinely welcome us to there home (after all, come September, we are gone til May).

 

[/quote']

 

This was what we found on our visit in June as well.

 

I really enjoyed reading your experiences and looking at your wonderful pictures. Thanks so much for taking the time to put your report together and posting it here.

[QARandy]

I enjoyed reading your report and the pictures are great.

[EMED2010]

Wow! Thanks for the great review! Even though I'm not going on NCL I enjoyed hearing about how they do things.