Grand Princess NB cruise tour 7/18-8/1/15

[mimmy52]

The show in the Princess Theater tonight was called the British Invasion featuring the Grand Princess singers and dancers. I was really impressed with the production values--the scenery, the lighting, the props, the costumes. That's what made the show.

 

 

From there we went to the balloon drop in the Piazza scheduled for 10:45, a celebration of 50 years of Princess Cruise Lines. The dance floor was crowded. We ran into the people we'd eaten with last night and we started dancing. After a few more songs, it was time for the balloon drop.

 

Waiting

 

 

The cruise director announced that some of the balloons contained coupons for prizes.

 

 

Jo managed to snag a balloon, but no prize inside. After that, it was bedtime.

[FOLcruisers]

Loving this review, thank you!

 

Do you know how cold it was during your glacier sailing days? Everyone was sooo bundled up.

 

We are packing water and wind resistant jackets, with hoods. Gloves, rain ponchos and waterproof shoes, layering for shirts, tee shirts, flannels and I am packing a sweater. Jeans and long pants but not planning long underwear. But also shorts and tees for warmer port days. It's exausting! Lol.

 

The food photos are gorgeous! We are foodies, love seeing these, the Aniversary deserts look so wonderful!!

 

Diana:)

Edited August 12, 2015 by FOLcruisers

[mimmy52]

Loving this review, thank you!

 

Do you know how cold it was during your glacier sailing days? Everyone was sooo bundled up.

 

We are packing water and wind resistant jackets, with hoods. Gloves, rain ponchos and waterproof shoes, layering for shirts, tee shirts, flannels and I am packing a sweater. Jeans and long pants but not planning long underwear. But also shorts and tees for warmer port days. It's exausting! Lol.

 

The food photos are gorgeous! We are foodies, love seeing these, the Aniversary deserts look so wonderful!!

 

Diana:)

 

Glad you're enjoying the review. Temps were in the 50s, but with the wind and rain, it felt colder. I hope you have better weather because it didn't make for good glacier viewing. My long underwear is silk so at least it doesn't take up much room. But it sounds as if you're packing the necessary things. It's always nice if you don't need the warmest clothing, but not a good thing if you need it and don't have it. My gloves got wet, so I did wish I'd brought two pair so I could have put on a dry pair when I went up to view Margerie Glacier.

[DKNYC]

Hmm we are going mid May next year so I think I may buy some long underwear. I am from New York but I am always cold.

Denise

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[rostbp]

Leaving Saturday. Going on Holland's land and sea 14 days. Hope we get a few days of sun!

[AryMay]

I am loving your review. Thanks so much for the time and extra effort that it takes to include photos!

 

Although it sounds like you and Jo had very different ideas on what you like to do, I think you and I would be very compatible!! As I read through your first posts from Vancouver I just kept thinking how it paralleled our trip last summer! From the stay at the Best Western, to the Stanley Park tour, Granvilled Island...and even trying poutine!! (The link to my CC review is in my signature...and I've also covered the cruise in my blog...My Souvenir Memories.

 

I feel bad that you ended up with not the greatest weather AND an uncovered balcony. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it improved for the rest of your cruise.

 

Thanks again for the time you've invested in this review...I will be anxiously waiting to read the rest!

[mimmy52]

Hmm we are going mid May next year so I think I may buy some long underwear. I am from New York but I am always cold.

Denise

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

I'm always cold too. That's why I made sure to bring enough warm clothes.

[mimmy52]

Leaving Saturday. Going on Holland's land and sea 14 days. Hope we get a few days of sun!

 

I hope you get sun too, or at least not a lot of rain.

[mimmy52]

I am loving your review. Thanks so much for the time and extra effort that it takes to include photos!

 

Although it sounds like you and Jo had very different ideas on what you like to do, I think you and I would be very compatible!! As I read through your first posts from Vancouver I just kept thinking how it paralleled our trip last summer! From the stay at the Best Western, to the Stanley Park tour, Granvilled Island...and even trying poutine!! (The link to my CC review is in my signature...and I've also covered the cruise in my blog...My Souvenir Memories.

 

I feel bad that you ended up with not the greatest weather AND an uncovered balcony. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it improved for the rest of your cruise.

 

Thanks again for the time you've invested in this review...I will be anxiously waiting to read the rest!

 

AryMay, I read your review more than once!

[DKNYC]

I'm always cold too. That's why I made sure to bring enough warm clothes.

My motto especially in this type of climates is ; There is no bad weather, only bad clothing. 😃

Denise

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[mimmy52]

July 24

College Fjord

 

The sun is out this morning!

 

 

Princess Patter for the day:

 

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

Since we wouldn't get to College Fjord until evening, we had a leisurely morning, had breakfast, and talked with friends we'd made on the cruise.

 

At 10:30, I went to the Princess Theater for the Culinary Show and Gallery Tour. It was very entertaining and fun. Executive Chef Joel Directo and Matre d' Rui Salmonete Pereira traded barbs as the chef demonstrated how he prepared various dishes.

 

The chef and the maître d'

 

 

He prepared salmon (but he de-skinned the one on stage and mine has never been de-skinned) and a pasta dish, plus a dressing of some kind that sautéed vegetables were added to. Then a pastry chef came out and made tiramisu in a cocktail glass.

 

 

There are video screens on both sides of the theater, and they showed whatever was being prepared since you couldn't see that from the seats. We were then taken for a tour of the galley. We were led down the main piazza stairs and entered the galley through a door next to the internet café. The kitchen is behind the Michelangelo Room.

 

The tour begins.

 

 

There was a table of vegetable carvings

 

 

This one had graced the buffet seafood counter at Horizon Court yesterday

 

[mimmy52]

The kitchen was huge, but not many workers were in it. I guess they clear them out for the tour. It was very clean, all stainless steel.

 

 

 

 

Our exit was through the Michelangelo Room where tables full of merchandise had been set up for passengers to buy. It looked like a bargain basement.

[mimmy52]

After lunch, I went back to the Princess Theater for the 1:00 Backstage Tour. It started with four people taking questions from the audience, one woman was in charge of production, one was a singer, one was from the orchestra, and I forget what the other did. After a certain amount of questions had been answered, we were all called onto the stage.

 

 

We were given demonstrations of light equipment, sound equipment, and scenery and how it's moved. This was one of the demonstrations of light.

 

 

We were allowed to see the dancers' dressing room and could look up to the next floor where costumes are stored. It was all very interesting.

 

 

 

A look backstage

 

[mimmy52]

Looking at the stage from the wings.

 

 

Some of the people had more questions, so they stayed on stage to ask them.

 

 

The weather was ideal today, as beautiful as it had been in Juneau, so I spent some time out on deck, mostly aft. I'd brought my swimsuit and would have enjoyed time in the covered pool, but the two big pools had been taken over by kids. Even the lap swimmers were coping in the aft pool which is for adults. It would have been nice to have the covered big pool for adults.

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

The naturalist had a table set up by the Princess Theater and I learned that sea otters might be spotted around 5:30 as we entered College Fjord, so I went up to the bow a little before that. I did see otters but from deck 14 they were pretty small.

 

Entering College Fjord

 

 

 

 

Wow, was it windy! Several people had their hats blown right off their heads and into the water. I found a spot on the port side where the wind was less and I could hear Sandy Schemp's commentary. Sandy said this was the most perfect day at College Fjord this year. As we passed glaciers, she named them, but I don't remember.

 

 

[mimmy52]

 

Then we got to Harvard Glacier. It was impressive!

 

 

There were a lot of minor calvings. I managed to capture one, although from a distance. I'll post three pictures, but I don't know if you can tell that they're different.

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

Looking back at the glaciers

 

 

I had moved to our balcony by now, once the ship turned to give starboard a view. And finally it was time to leave College Fjord behind.

 

 

Jo hadn't wanted to wait until after College Fjord to eat so she'd had dinner in Horizon Court already. We had to have our luggage outside our stateroom by 9:00 (which I thought was unreasonably early) but we packed and I put my suitcases out before I went to dinner. One suitcase was now tagged "Meet me in Anchorage" and the other was "Meet me Tonight."

 

I'd eaten every breakfast and every lunch in Horizon Court, so I went to the Da Vinci Room hoping to get a shared table. I was in luck and sat with two very nice couples, one from England and one from Ireland. I had the seafood soup which was very thin and I didn't think it was very good. I also had the regular salmon, which might have marked the third time but I love salmon. It was officially called "Alaska Salmon with Root Vegetable Hash and Mushroom Tea."

 

 

There was no Baked Alaska on the dessert menu, but the waiter said the Ice Cream Bombe was actually Baked Alaska. I was betting it wasn't, and I was right. I forgot to take a picture of it, but you can get the same thing from Dairy Queen (if you live in the states). It was just ice cream cake.

 

Showtime tonight sounded like a lot of fun, performances by the staff and crew. I had told Jo I'd meet her in the Princess Theater (we always sat near the same spot) and when I walked in, balloon batting was in progress.

 

 

 

It was a great way to start us out enjoying ourselves and ready to enjoy the performers.

[mimmy52]

The opening number, YMCA, was a bit hit. The audience stood and joined in.

 

 

A couple of the performers

 

 

The cruise director's staff had a comedy routine that was hilarious.

 

 

All the performers did a good job and they all got loud and long applause.

[mimmy52]

The Grand Princess singers and dancers performed the final number.

 

 

For some reason, their applause was less than those of the staff and crew.

 

We were set for a 6:30 departure the next morning, so it was time for bed. But I took a few last pictures first.

 

 

[mimmy52]

July 25

Whittier to McKinley Princess Lodge

 

Looks like we might have another sunny day.

 

 

After I got ready and gathered up my backpack, I went to the Promenade Deck to take a few pictures of Whittier.

 

 

 

The building in Whittier where everyone lives.

 

 

Our group's gathering place was the Michelangelo Room, our disembarkation time 6:30. They had coffee, tea, and water available, and although I didn't see it, later someone said they'd had munchies (maybe some little pastries) near the disembarkation area. When Yellow 3 was called, we used our key cards for the last time to disembark and walked through the covered walkway to the train.

[mimmy52]

A word about our land tour. Jo and I went to a travel agency. She got there early, and when I arrived, she was already sold on Princess, partly because she thought the lodges were so beautiful. I had certain requirements from reading Cruise Critic. However, somehow I had a senior moment and forgot two things I wanted (so maybe I had two senior moments). One was two nights in Denali. The other was I didn't want a tour where you spend so much time on a bus. But that's what we ended up with. Fortunately, we had a great time.

 

We had been given our train car assignment and our table assignment about mid-way through our cruise. We were among the first on our car, so we took the seats at the table that were facing forward.

 

On the train. I loved the train ride.

 

 

We were told to bring one bag with us, smaller than the standard airline-size carryon. There was underseat storage for the bag.

 

 

Jo brought two large tote bags with her. One zipped and she put it under the seat. The other was open at the top and she put that between her feet. The woman across from Jo also had an un-zippable tote bag that she also put between her feet. Neither one said anything about it being uncomfortable, but they were both playing a game of footsies during the ride.

 

When we went through the tunnel, we could see the cars lined up on the opposite side waiting for the direction to change. (No picture.)

 

Our domed car had one level, with food and beverage service. If you wanted bottled water ($3) or alcohol or certain snacks, you had to go to the bistro car. Two women worked our car, one who spoke about the passing scenery, another who took the role of waitress. A third woman was the cook and she was responsible for two cars. The first two women shared some of their interesting photo albums that had pictures from 20 and 30 years ago of Alaska. The cook was also a musher who had 40 dogs.

 

It wasn't long before we had our first wild life sighting, a moose working her way through a marsh. Jo had the window seat, so I had to lean over her to take a photo. That's my excuse for it not being very good, although mostly it's because I took it through a window. You could go out on the platform between cars. I just wasn't out there at the time.

 

 

[mimmy52]

I ate breakfast on the train (they had a breakfast and lunch menu), an egg and cheese on bagel and later I had an ice cream bar. The ride took a little longer than the expected 5 1/2 hours because it had to stop twice on a spur and wait for a southbound train to pass.

 

Scenery along the way:

 

 

 

At one point we saw Dall sheep.

 

 

 

That second picture always looks like a unicorn to me.

[mimmy52]

While on the train, we were given a packet with our McKinley Princess Lodge room keys, information about the lodge, a map of Talkeetna, and luggage tags for our transfer tomorrow to Denali. We arrived at a whistle stop seven miles from Talkeetna at 12:45. The train was too long to go into the regular depot, so we transferred to a bus that took us into Talkeetna.

 

Off the train

 

 

Onto a coach

 

 

It was 1:30 before we got into Talkeetna. We had the opportunity to stay in Talkeetna and take a later shuttle to the lodge or go directly to the lodge. Carryon bags could be checked at a store called Mahay's across the bus parking lot for $1 per bag.

 

The parking lot at Talkeetna. Mahay's is behind the trees on the right.

 

 

I let Jo make the decision and she chose to go to the lodge.

 

 

[mimmy52]

We did not have to check in at the registration desk (at any of the lodges) but used the information we had been given to find our building and room. We were in building 10, directly across from the main lodge. We were told that our rooms might not be ready until 6:00 but we could put our carryons in it. Not only was our room ready, our "meet me tonight" luggage was already there.

 

Our building

 

 

Inside the building's front door

 

 

Our room