Live? A test of Alaskan Wifi, AKA Our Alaskan Trip Report August 2018

[Oakman58]

I’m enjoying your trip report and thanks for including all the photos. My wife and I will be on the Westerdam in June for our Alaskan cruise so we're following you with great interest. I can’t wait for more.

[dee2673]

We went on that same excursion in Juneau and we had the same experience. Folks entitled and just rude. It didn’t ruin my trip but it did ruin that excursion. You’d think folks could step aside for a second so someone else could get a glimpse ! Ugh

 

 

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[lstrong]

Loving your review and writing style. Hoping for more!!!

[erewhon]

Wonderful experience to be so close to the bears, something you and your children will always remember.

[Grenouille21]

We went on that same excursion in Juneau and we had the same experience. Folks entitled and just rude. It didn’t ruin my trip but it did ruin that excursion. You’d think folks could step aside for a second so someone else could get a glimpse ! Ugh

 

 

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I can't wait to share about our crab fishing experience which was the TOTAL opposite of this experience and our next excursion. It gave me hope that not everyone is so self-absorbed!

 

I’m enjoying your trip report and thanks for including all the photos. My wife and I will be on the Westerdam in June for our Alaskan cruise so we're following you with great interest. I can’t wait for more.

 

So glad you are enjoying it! Thanks for reading!

[Grenouille21]

Loving your review and writing style. Hoping for more!!!

 

Thanks! Work has been super busy and the computer has been extremely slow! I am hoping to at least start on the next day tonight!

 

Wonderful experience to be so close to the bears, something you and your children will always remember.

 

Definitely a highlight of our trip! Now I won't have that burning desire to see a bear anymore! Bucket list... check!

[Grenouille21]

Awesome bear pictures! I’ve been on 4 Alaska cruises, including a land/sea trip, and you’ve seen more bears. Way to go and great trip report!

 

Thanks!! We were so incredibly lucky! I was so sure we would see a bear in Montana, but we didn't. This time we were in the right place at the right time!

 

You’re definitely having a WHALE of a time. You can BEAR-ly contain your excitement! [emoji228] [emoji199]

 

:eek::eek::eek:

And the winner of the Punniest Jokes In This Review Award goes to... DOGSTAR!!!!

 

:p

 

Wow, I LOVE reading your detailed review. You are a very talented writer. My travel planning style is a lot like yours. From Costco rental checks to National Parks and beyond. I think I was a travel agent in a former life...and good for you for energizing your kids when needed!

We went on an Alaska cruise in 2012 with Princess . We loved Pan Pacific but Air Canada, not so much. I'm glad you had a great experience. We rented a car after the disembarkation in Whittier and drove around for 10 days and it was fabulous to see the interior, staying in BnB's and self catering cottages, Denali in depth.

 

 

We are returning to Alaska in 2019 on HAL and cant wait. I took note of that fabulous drink...good to see they are serving Alaska Amber, which we cannot get east of the Mississippi. My favorite Princess drink was the Monte Chocso, a hot coffee drink. Addicted, but got the recipe!

 

I am enjoying reading about your excursions, taking notes! Looking forward to reading more!

 

Thanks for reading! It sure does sound like we have similar travel styles! I'm jealous of your long Alaska trip! HAL has some grown up coffee drinks, too. I'm just not a huge fan of liquor (wine or beer for me!) so I didn't try them. The counselors in the Tween Club recommended another one, but I can't remember what it was. My kids fell in love with the non-alcoholic Melon Mint No-jito. Recommended by our Wine Steward and an instant favorite.

[Grenouille21]

Cruise Day 4: Skagway

 

Today we had an EARLY wake up, because we had to be off the ship by 7:30am. It was rough, but we managed.

 

We had ordered a breakfast wake up call, though I had set an alarm for just before it would arrive.

 

As we arrived in Skagway I looked outside and was interested in what appeared to be a landslide, or something.

 

 

Here's a view of Skagway from the EXC Lounge. The street you can see is the Main Street in town. It made finding the ship quite easy after our excursion.

 

 

Also, there was a rainbow!

 

 

 

I think this was the morning we tried to exit the ship with our coffees and we were told we had to dump them. Luckily for whoever it was that told me this, I was already almost finished so I chugged it. Nobody tells me to dump my coffee! NOBODY! :hot-beverage::hot-beverage:

 

I think this was also when we discovered that the gangway/exit was on a different level than it had been in Juneau. Spoiler Alert: It was different again in Ketchikan! I guess they want to keep you guessing! (Or the ports are just at different levels, or something).

 

We had planned to do the White Pass.Yukon Bus and Railway excursion, or something like that. It was described as taking the bus into the Yukon, exploring, then taking the train back.

 

Got off the ship and had a lovely view of her from where the buses were.

 

 

Once we figured out how to get off the ship, we were directed to a bus, where we were told there wasn't room for us. I'm sorry, what? We were asked if we were sure our tickets were for 7:30am. Yes, quite sure, it says 7:30am right here, and this is the tour description. The bus driver was an older gentleman, and meanwhile a younger gentleman had approached and, in a sort of exasperated way, asked the older gentleman if he was sure all of the tickets he had taken were for the correct tour. He started (slowly) checking them. The younger guy tried to intervene, but the older guy eventually found some tickets that were for the 8:30 tour. He asked if anyone was supposed to be on the 8:30 tour instead, and they got off the bus. This meant we were the last ones on the bus, and there was almost nowhere to sit. I know we went to the back, but I don't recall where we sat because soon after we were seated our driver announced we would be taking the train up and riding the bus back.

 

What?

 

That wasn't the plan! We were supposed to bus up and train back.

 

The whole bus was murmuring about this sudden change of plans, and no explanation was given for the change. It didn't really matter to me, I just wish they would have explained why they changed it up like that. Totally threw me off.

[Grenouille21]

So off we went to the train, which was like 5 minutes away, which is why I have no idea where I sat on the bus. Never thought about remembering where we sat, either, and the driver said we shouldn't leave our things on the bus which meant, to me, that we might not end up back on that bus, or that our group might be joined with another group, or something.

 

As we approached the train, had to stop for another photo.

 

 

Better view of the rainbow as we were on the train.

 

 

 

So, we had been in the back of the bus, and that meant we were among the last to get off the bus, and the last to get on the train. That meant we had the worst seats on the train.

 

 

See, the train has ONE good side. ONE side has a dramatic view of the valley and the mountains. The other side has a view of trees and/or a wall of rock. There is a viewing platform on the front and back of each train car, but it holds maybe 3 people, and of those 3 only 1 or 2 can actually see off the good side, so you have to share.

 

 

If you read about our Juneau Whale Watching experience you can probably guess where I spent most of the train ride. Yep. Out on the platform.

 

 

I'm fairly short, and while I'm not thin, I can make myself take up minimal space. And I am 100% OK with people taking photos over my head if that works for them. For most of the ride, there was another guy out there with his camera, and we sort of switched in and out of the "good" viewing spot. Sometimes I scooted way forward and he stood next to/behind me, and I made myself as small as possible and hoped he appreciated it.

 

 

Meanwhile, the windows inside the train were fogging up because people were breathing (how DARE they!) so more people tried coming outside. NO ROOM!!!!

 

 

This sounds so negative, and it was a large part of what left me feeling very unhappy with this excursion. There is more that made me unhappy, but I'll get to that.

 

 

However, I've had some time and space to stop stewing about it. As I looked at the photos, deciding which to share (Spoiler Alert: I will share WAY too many photos from this excursion!), I realized that this was possibly one of the most beautiful places we went, and despite all of the nonsense that happened, I have some amazing photos. I saw, and visited, an amazing place that most people will not see. I saw glaciers that will not be there forever. So when you read this and it sounds like I am complaining, just know that I do feel very fortunate that I was able to visit this place, and share it with my kids.

 

 

But sometimes a girl's gotta complain, too! :p;)

 

 

There was a fog over the top of everything for a while, which made it feel sort of eerie, but also made me wonder what we were missing above.

 

 

 

 

[Grenouille21]

Sometimes the fog seemed to clear, and I thought it would just go away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really loved the landscape.

 

 

 

 

The fog held on, though. It wasn't really going anywhere. Not now, anyway.

 

 

 

 

[Grenouille21]

I did manage to get a few "Train Entering Tunnel" photos. Not the best, but not the worst, either.

 

 

That fog held on all the way to Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

I believe this is where we cross from America into Canada. When you arrive at the train station to get off the train Customs agents will board the train and check your passports. It is VERY serious business and felt almost theatrically comic, but I wasn't sure if it was meant to be comical/extra dramatic or if it really was serious business. I assumed serious, on the outside at least.

 

 

There's that fog again.

 

 

[Grenouille21]

So, the whole way up there was a narration playing inside the train cars. You can't hear that from the platform, though. I did go inside here and there, when the fog was particularly thick or when I was cold.

 

I heard the stories of the horses, and the travelers, and the bridge.

 

But one of the cool things about standing out on the platform for most of the ride is that one of the tour guides came out and told us some other info that wasn't in the narration. He told us when to look for specific waterfalls on the "boring" side of the train (as in, OK, there's the small one... now in 30 seconds there will be a HUGE waterfall right there...) and there it was. He also told us that as we entered Canada, the fog would stay on one side of the border. I think he said it was going to stay on the American side, but I may have that wrong. Whatever he said, he was right. I do remember that.

 

At this point the fog was making everything look VERY surreal.

 

 

 

Pretty sure this was the Canadian side. Definitely sure it was the non-fog side.

 

 

And back to the fog side (America).

 

 

Shortly after this, we arrived at the station and the Customs agent scared everyone. Luckily we all passed inspection and were cleared to get off the train and transfer to the bus.

 

Now, there was a bathroom on the train. Nice, right? But not really. It was kind of like the bathroom you'd find on a bus, only weirder. You had to pump a handle to flush, which felt like entirely too much work. I had to go, but since we were instructed to be seated for Customs I couldn't use the bathroom on the train. I figured I'd go on the bus. I thought it would be nicer, anyway. (Spoiler Alert: I was WRONG.)

[Grenouille21]

So we boarded the bus, and this time we took seats closer to the front. The kids sat on one side, together, and I sat across the aisle, at the window. I felt like we had such crummy seats on the train, we should have better options on the bus.

 

A man eventually came and sat next to me, and I assumed it was the same guy I sat next to before as most people seemed to be traveling in pairs and he had been sitting alone before. As the bus started, I decided to use the bathroom, which meant I had to climb past him. I said excuse me, and said sorry, and he snapped "Where are YOU going NOW?"

 

What? What business is it of yours, anyway? I was too shocked to say anything other than "Um, the bathroom? Sorry..." and run off down the aisle. I could not wrap my head around why anyone would be so Grumpy about it.

 

We got on and off the bus a few times to admire the amazing scenery.

 

This was my favorite view, possibly. It was just amazing. Every time the sun came out, the lichen glowed.

 

 

 

 

We stopped for photos at the Yukon sign. I think that's where most of these were taken.

 

 

 

 

[Grenouille21]

There was a mine entrance up there. I don't think it is an active mine.

 

 

There was a fire burning on the other side of the water. They said it was one fire, but it was an awful lot of smoke. We didn't see any active burning (no flames) but our driver said he hadn't heard that it had been put out.

 

 

When we stopped at the Yukon sign there was a woman with her dog, selling some items. Our driver said she lives on the side with the fire and was almost going to have to evacuate. It looked pretty bad from what I could tell but what do I know. I'm a city girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We eventually reached Emerald Lake, and got out to take some photos. But apparently I only uploaded one photo. Oops.

 

 

 

 

Stopping here for the night, and hoping to pick up again tomorrow. Enjoy!

[Alphen]

Enjoying your report very much, a nice warm-up for our first Alaskan visit next year, looking forward to your crab fishing report.

[pmjnh]

Nice review of Skagway. When we went to Skagway we had originally planned to do the train excursion with the ship. We ended up renting a car at Avis, just a block or so from the pier and drove into the Yukon . The day was totally foggy . The people who took the train excursion regretted it that day because their entire ride was in the clouds. We got lucky and had sunshine once we got to Emerald Lake. We also saw bears (black) in the road. A mother and 2 cubs . My hubby had to get out and call a tourist back because she wanted to get an up close photo of the bears and she was dangerously close to being between momma and baby bears. Wrong move. We saw that same behavior a LOT in Yellowstone. What are people thinking?

 

Looking forward to more please :)

[Grenouille21]

Enjoying your report very much, a nice warm-up for our first Alaskan visit next year, looking forward to your crab fishing report.

 

Awesome! You will have an amazing time! Thanks for reading :)

 

Nice review of Skagway. When we went to Skagway we had originally planned to do the train excursion with the ship. We ended up renting a car at Avis, just a block or so from the pier and drove into the Yukon . The day was totally foggy . The people who took the train excursion regretted it that day because their entire ride was in the clouds. We got lucky and had sunshine once we got to Emerald Lake. We also saw bears (black) in the road. A mother and 2 cubs . My hubby had to get out and call a tourist back because she wanted to get an up close photo of the bears and she was dangerously close to being between momma and baby bears. Wrong move. We saw that same behavior a LOT in Yellowstone. What are people thinking?

 

Looking forward to more please :)

 

As we were heading back from the Yukon I decided I would rather have rented a car and drove in. Or maybe I decided that's what we would do next time, if/when we return to Skagway.

 

What is UP with people getting super close to wildlife??? We saw people approaching elk and bighorn sheep and pronghorns in Yellowstone, much to the annoyance of our park ranger tour guides who had to yell at them. DS was 10 at the time, and he started yelling at people too. When we saw the bears in Juneau we were way too close, but we had a human shield of rangers guarding us, and we weren't approaching the bears, we had been there all along. Yet people kept trying to pass the rangers, either because they didn't see the bears (how could you miss them?) or because they wanted to get closer. People really don't think these things through!

[Grenouille21]

Day 4: Skagway cont'd

 

After stopping at Emerald Lake we arrived at Caribou Crossing, where we had 1.5 hours for lunch and exploring. Caribou Crossing had a BBQ lunch, Wildlife Museum, Mounted Police Museum, dog sled rides (additional fee), animals to pet, and a gift shop. We left most of our stuff on the bus and headed out to eat and check out the place.

 

http://cariboucrossing.ca

 

The lunch was a little confusing, as no one really told us where to go. We were handed a plate with chicken on it, and I thought that was all we would get to eat. It turns out there is more food inside, including rolls, cole slaw, and donuts. The donuts were really good, and so were the rolls!

 

We ate in a covered wagon, which was pretty cool.

 

We stopped to check out the animals after we ate.

 

They had puppies we could hold. One of them licked DD's face so much it stopped being cute and she just wanted to give it to someone else. She tried again with another one and it did not try to eat her face, so she liked that one a lot more. I think this was the face-licker, all tuckered out from eating DD's face.

 

 

The sled dogs were all READY to go out on a run. If you've never been to a sled dog camp, it is quite a sight/sound to behold. When someone is getting the sled ready all the dogs are BARKING SO LOUD and jumping up and straining to be chosen for the sled. Once the sled leaves all the dogs immediately stop barking and settle down. These dogs were READY TO GO!!!!!

 

 

The place was really cool, but what really stood out was the scenery. The sky looked fake, that's how picture perfect it was.

 

 

I don't follow the rules.

 

 

We really liked the alpacas. They were so cute!!!

 

[Grenouille21]

We went through the Taxidermy Museum, which was included with our tour. Oh, lunch was included with the tour, too.

 

We did some shopping, and eventually headed back to the bus... where there was a woman in my seat.

 

Now, it would be one thing if we had all been changing seats every time we had got in and out of the bus, or if I hadn't left my stuff on the bus in my seat. But my whole backpack was on the floor in my seat, and this woman was there, staring me down as I got on the bus. As I approached my seat, looking very confused, she said something like "Well I suppose I have to MOVE now...." and I said something like "Sorry, that's where I was sitting." And she went on to say that it had been HER seat when she first got on the bus, and she had been sitting next to her husband (Grumpy, who had been sitting next to me for 2 hours and hadn't said ONE WORD about it being his Grumpy Wife's Seat, even with all of the getting on and off the bus to take photos before lunch), and where had I sat when we first got on the bus (you know, for the whole 5 minute ride to the train station) and I truthfully said I had no idea. She went on about how I was in HER SEAT and now she had to sit next to a STRANGER, and she had booked this tour AS A COUPLE and now she had to sit with a STRANGER... and on and on as she went to the back of the bus.

 

I could not believe what was happening, and I sarcastically asked her if she was going to be OK and she seriously said something like "Well I suppose I will, I mean I was OK for the 2 hours I had to sit with a STRANGER!" and I rolled my eyes and sat down.

 

Now, as I told you all, I had no idea where I had sat in the beginning, for 5 minutes. We were not told that these were OUR SEATS for the duration, and that we would be returning to those exact seats. We rode the bus in Juneau and if someone wanted to save their seat they left stuff there, otherwise people just sat wherever and no one said a word about it. How was I supposed to know that we had to stay in our original seats? My kids were taking up 2 seats in a different section of the bus and no one said a word to them because WHO CARES???

 

I was totally in shock over her anger and indignation, and it took a while for me to shake it off.

 

We drove past the "World's Smallest Desert" and took photos.

 

 

And shortly came to Carcross, which was a cool old town. Our driver told us there was a law that no one could drink alcoholic beverages within a certain distance of a bridge. You can imagine why that law was written, but hopefully you'll get to hear the story some day.

 

This is someone's Retirement Home.

 

 

The Carcross Public Library.

 

 

I wish I had been able to take this photo from outside the bus.

 

 

We had a short time to explore here. My kids tried to talk me into letting them get ice cream but they had eaten so many donuts I said no. Mostly because the idea of eating anything else made me feel sick.

 

 

When we got back on the bus, Grumpy's Wife was in my seat again (this time I had intentionally left my bag there to stop her from trying to take the seat again), staring me down as I got on the bus.

 

Let me stop and acknowledge that you may be wondering why I am interchangeably referring to it as "My Seat" and saying that we should all be able to sit wherever we want. It had become obvious to me that sitting wherever we want was NOT happening, so I realized I had to claim my seat (much like the Yukon Gold Miners had to claim their gold- though NOT with the required 1000 pounds of food needed to make the trip) or I would be left sitting far from my kids, and someone else would have to police their fights and listen to their whining. Hey, explain to me why I thought that was a bad idea? Anyway, when in Rome, you claim your seat, apparently. If this was how it was going to be, this was how it was going to be. If it had been that way from the beginning I would have grudgingly accepted it.

 

So as I approached Grumpy's Wife she started up again. "So I guess I have to move AGAIN?" "Well you are sitting in my seat. See? My bag is there." She shakes her head and carries on to the back of the bus. Grumpy follows her to the back and I think he is finally going to sit with his Grumpy Wife but nope, he came back and sat with me.

 

Meanwhile, DD and DS are whining. DS is not in the window seat and he claims he NEEDS to sit in the window seat or he will be carsick. So he NEEDS me to switch seats with him. This means I will be in the non-window seat, on the crummy side of the bus, with DD.

 

So I had the crummy side of the train, the crummy side of the bus, the crummy seat neighbor, and now I end the ride with the crummy side AGAIN?

 

But then I realized DS would get to sit next to Grumpy, and if we got off and on again Grumpy's Wife would have to try and tell DS to move, and then she would have her first Mama Bear encounter, which she would never forget. So I grudgingly said fine, and when Grumpy returned to his seat he had a new neighbor.

 

So obviously I was still mad that Grumpy's Wife was so mad at me.

 

But what dawned on me as we drove off was... why was she mad at ME instead of at her husband... who was sitting with me/DS INSTEAD OF HIS (GRUMPY) WIFE??? He had the choice of going to the back to sit next to her, as obviously there would have been an empty seat and/or at least one person who was traveling alone since there had been an empty seat next to someone when we were on the bus for 5 minutes, and he sat next to me. Plus you know how there are like 3 seats in the very back, next to the bathroom? I think there had been one woman taking up all 3 seats when we were on the bus for 5 minutes. Grumpy had plenty of space to sit back there, and he chose not to. I bet Grumpy had the quietest 2 hours of his entire vacation sitting next to me (and eventually my son, who switched seats with me, I'll get to that in a minute).

 

What's funny is Grumpy and I did sort of talk at one point. It might have been only 2 sentences, but it was pleasant and not Grumpy.

[Grenouille21]

So at this point it felt like we had been on the bus forever. Most people wanted to go back to the ship and be done with it. But the driver kept stopping and asking if people wanted to get off and take photos. YES! YES WE DO!!!

 

 

 

Some guy behind me groaned when the driver opened the door to let us take photos. Too bad, dude!

 

 

I think we did a drive-by of this waterfall, thanks to Groaner.

 

[Grenouille21]

Remember the photo I took from the EXC Lounge, looking straight down the Main Street of Skagway? Here is the opposite view of that photo.

 

 

As we were walking there were some people crowded around a truck. We passed, and I wasn't going to look, but I did, and I'm so glad I did. I still have no idea what this is! Is this a dog? Is it a lion? Is this some mythical hybrid dog-lion? It was staring straight ahead, ignoring everyone like a boss. I felt so bad for it, because people were just gawking. It looked embarrassed.

 

WHAT IS THIS????

 

 

This is the most photographed building in Skagway.

 

 

This is the snowplow train, which can apparently blow snow 100 feet.

 

 

One last view of Skagway, and we were done.

 

 

I have no idea when this was but it was from some point this day.

 

[Grenouille21]

I must not have taken photos at dinner, with the exception of this photo of dessert, which was Creme Brûlée.

 

[Grenouille21]

Sorry, I ran out of storytelling steam earlier.

 

Or maybe you all are friends with Grumpy and his wife and you all hate me now?

 

Honestly, if she/they had said something oh, I don't know, when we all were getting on the bus after getting off the train? I might have moved. I had NO idea anyone was feeling displaced until Grumpy's Wife started trying to steal back her seat. But instead neither of them said a word until halfway through the trip. If you are THAT upset about it, why stew about it for 2 hours before saying anything? So weird!

 

If you haven't all left, Glacier Bay is up next. I will also try to actually read the notes I took while I write the report, instead of looking at them later and realizing that I missed some details, like the part about how the bus driver was telling stories on the way back, and 90% of the bus fell asleep. Or the part about how the bus driver was having a hard time driving the bus downhill (IE the entire road back from Yukon) and the brake alarm was going off for an unsettlingly long time. Or the part about how we ended up behind a bicycle group that was coasting downhill, plus the brake alarm going off at the same time. Or the part about how the bus driver was driving about 10mph because of all of the above.

 

It was the longest bus ride ever.

 

My notes from Glacier Bay are more detailed so hopefully that will read a lot better. Plus (Spoiler Alert) nothing bad happened for the rest of the cruise! Yay!

[kftw]

I'm still here & enjoying your review.

[Bruinboy]

The bus driver was Mr and Mrs Grumpy’s cousin. I thought you knew that. Still here. Still enjoying.

 

 

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