Island Princess May 8 Voyage of Glaciers lazy live

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I’m not one to use the internet at all on vacation but since I had to check in on the dogs about some meds they are on I couldn’t resist sharing a few tidbits. 

1.  When air canada loses your luggage with all your evening wear for the MDR, there is a great store called Winners in downtown Vancouver. It’s across the street from Nordstrom and is the Canadian version of our Marshall’s.  We got a sport jacket, white dress shirt, dark slacks and one dress for $180 US. The front desk will pursue trying to get our luggage from AC delivered to the ship. We are not going to give it another thought. Happy to have something that fell into the budget amount we will get reimbursed for to wear to MDR. The other stuff in the bag we will just do with out. 

 

2.  I am so happy to say that the soft, thick, cozy shawl collar terry robes are back in the full suites after having gone MIA for the better part of a year or more. 

 

3. The Island is really looking sharp. We haven’t been on her for 2 years. They still have the big wide promenade deck lined with cushioned teak loungers. There’s new red thick cushioned loungers in the covered lotus pool area. I now remember that I am always annoyed a bit by the blue “windshields “ in the front open decks. 

 

4 dinner in Bayou was excellent last night. Had the lobster (large sweet and tender) and filet (large tender and cooked to perfection) 

 

5. And the new wine list imho is fabulous. My husband has the bev package. I asked about the wine package and was told they did not have it but I didn’t need it. DH can order bottles at 25% off and I can drink them anywhere I want. The price of several favorite after the discount is not too much more than the price of the wine plus $15 corkage and I don’t have to shlep it onboard. For example my Whispering Angel cost $38 including tip. Vive cliquot (sp?) is $79. That’s not too bad considering it costs $60 including corkage to carry on. Yes I brought it on wo corkage as we get the first two free. 

 

Anyway the the weather is perfect! Crisp and there’s snow capped mountains everywhere. Off to Sabatini’s for breakfast 

[CruzinNoony]

We will be on the Island the end of July for a B2B out of Vancouver.  I'm interested in hearing all about your adventures!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

The first sea day, yesterday, the seas were a little rocky. We’ve been going in and out of fog. The temperature was low 50’s during the day, which I found quite pleasant for the promenade. After lunch it was sunny and warm on my aft balcony so tucked into the shade and took a long nap. 

Last night it got a bit windy and chilly. Bundled up for MUTS but gave up after an hour. 

Today it seems to be clearing after waking up to solid fog. We are going whale watching in Icy Straight today. Hopefully it’ll clear up a bit more. 

It would be amazing if our lost luggage showed up. 

[SETexaslady]

Looks like a beautiful day!   Enjoy the whale watching. 🙂 I've got that booked for Icy Strait as well.  Thanks for taking time to share your pics & thoughts.  🐳

[HaveDogWillTravel]

A beautiful day in Icy Straight Point yesterday. Mid 50’s. Whale watching was nice. We did see a half a dozen or so whales and twice very nice tails as they dove. The whales are right in the harbor here. Also saw some stellar seals while on the tour. 

Its .4 of a mile from the ship to where you get on the whale watching catamaran. They have people movers carts if you need it. There’s some nice restaurants, bars little museum, and of course shopping.

 

There’s a $5 shuttle to the town center. We got into port 1 and 1/2 hour late or so. Every tour was delayed that long and a half dozen or so were cancelled. We were going to go to town but didn’t as things got mucked up a bit time wise. 

 

There were a few open fire pits. Mark Harris our wonderful naturalist sat around one chatting with us.  

 

The dungenous (sp) crab is not in season. One reason it might be nice to come later. 

 

First three pics pics are from icy straight. Last one is Juneau. It’s high 40’s low 50’s here. We have only one other ship in port today. So we will get out and take advantage. On the return trip south there will be at least 4 ugh. 

Looking forward to Libby Riddle and the sled dogs tonight. She was the first woman to win the Iditarod. 

[SETexaslady]

Great photos!  I hope they were able to locate your luggage. 

Have a great day!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

No luggage yet.  Juneau was a great day. Eagles were flying all around the hills across from the ship. There was a plankton slick in the harbor and it was cool to watch the birds feeding from it. The pines were exploding in pollen. Pretty crazy. There were a couple of drizzles but for the most part it was sunny and mild.

The king crab legs were fabulous in the MDR last night. They served Tracy’s Crab Shack crab cakes at the grill for lunch. They were okay. 

 

As we had already been to the glacier we stayed in town and went to the state museum. We enjoyed it. 

It’s stunningly beautiful in Skagway this morning!  Off to the waterfall hike and crab feed princess excursion at 9 am.

 

Apparently the Island is getting Medallion Net on turn around day. 

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks for your TR.

 

Cheers

[NOUMEA]

Thanks for posts, but sorry about luggage...

Beautiful pictures, you're making the best of an annoying situation.  Insurance should cover most of your losses; so dress like a touristy cruiser!

 

[SETexaslady]

Beautiful photo! Glad you had nice weather & enjoyed the day.  🙂  Thanks for sharing the medallionNet letter..  I've already bought our packages for that. I hope it works well.     I'm impressed that they served King crab for dinner. 😮  So maybe I shouldn't eat at Tracy's for lunch that day... maybe we'll get it for dinner too! 🤩

[HaveDogWillTravel]

This morning I couldn’t get cc to work on my phone where all my pictures were. Now it is so I’m going to post some pics from Juneau. We will be  in Juneau on the South bound trip. Will let you know if the Tracy crab  cakes are at the grill again as well as king crab legs. If so there’s really no point in paying $50 or more for them on shore!

There’s a photo of the pollen explosions.

Can you see the eagle flying in 5th pic?  They were easy to see but the photo doesn’t do it justice. 

Devils club is a nice little bar a local suggested. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Burro creek falls lodge and crab feast excursion was really nice. It’s 122 acres and you can hike independently or with the guides. The folks who put this on are very friendly and we learned a lot about the history of Skagway and what it’s like to live year round here. 

Jay Dot is a musher and we talked a long time about his experiences.

Jarod is the caretaker and showed us the hydro electric system they use. He even turned it off to show us and then turned it back on. He showed us the salmon hatchery too 

The meal was delicious.  Sorry no pics of the food but when a HUGE pile of dungenous crab gets put out I roll up my sleeves and eat. There was open wine, beer, coffee and s’mores for dessert around a campfire. 

Again the weather is phenomenal. Low 50’s and sunny. 

 

Jay Dot also let us know that there is a very good chance of seeing the northern lights tonight. On a scale of 0-9 the score is a 4 for seeing them. He showed us a photo from last year this time and it was beautiful. We are definitely getting a nap after dinner and setting the alarm to wake up when it gets dark. I am going to be crazy stoked if we actually get to see the northern lights.   

 

There’s a nicely stocked liquor store with very reasonable prices in town. We bought a bottle of wine and brought it on board without issue. Didn’t have to pay corkage and we will drink it in the stateroom. I’ve been wondering about that. Now I know. 

 

We we also bought a liter of makers mark on board for only $30. It will be delivered to our stateroom on the 14th. We will have it for the return trip. 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I have photos of all the bar menus, the entire wine list from MDR if anyone’s interested. I also took pictures of the ship so I could reference it later for balcony position, overhang, shade and size. If you’re interested let me know and I will post. If there’s anything else you want to know I can try and get it for you.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[SETexaslady]

Oh wow! That tree pollen is no joke! 😮  I do see the eagle!  

[SETexaslady]

LOVE the nature pics!   You will be so very lucky to see the Northern lights.  That would be incredible! Fingers crossed.
You've got a great room with a view, too.  I don't know how you're making it without your luggage, but you're getting along just fine. I told my husband about the lost luggage and he suggests we split our two suitcases so if one gets lost, maybe we'll be okay with the one since it will have some of both of our clothes.  We're flying straight in to Vancouver without having to change planes, though. So really hoping that won't be an issue.    

[milolii]

Thanks for the report.  I hope you are having a great time. You have a great attitude. 

Your pics are stunning.  

 

Are you you doing a B2B?  Some of your comments to suggest that. Maybe I missed it.  

 

Still no luggage? 

 

And you flew in the the day before or day of?   From California?  We are on Air Canada in August, but a short 1.5 hour flight from Calgary to Vancouver, day before sailing.  

 

Did you have a formal night yet?  Was it the first sea day?  Thanks for the MDR  “ specials”  good tips.  Great news on the wine list.  I have 2 bottles of Rombauer ready to go.  LOL.  But I do believe some of their wines are on the MDR list.   

 

Thanks for your report.  Hope the dogs are doing fine.  We had pets on medicines for several years.  So can relate.  

[packerpegster]

Please post wine / drink lists!  That would be awesome!!

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting. I am tempted to take a north-bound cruise without DH next month if I can work it out.

[CATGUY7]

10 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Burro creek falls lodge and crab feast excursion was really nice. It’s 122 acres and you can hike independently or with the guides. The folks who put this on are very friendly and we learned a lot about the history of Skagway and what it’s like to live year round here. 

Jay Dot is a musher and we talked a long time about his experiences.

Jarod is the caretaker and showed us the hydro electric system they use. He even turned it off to show us and then turned it back on. He showed us the salmon hatchery too 

The meal was delicious.  Sorry no pics of the food but when a HUGE pile of dungenous crab gets put out I roll up my sleeves and eat. There was open wine, beer, coffee and s’mores for dessert around a campfire. 

Again the weather is phenomenal. Low 50’s and sunny. 

 

 

So glad you posted this.  I had it on my “maybe” list, and went ahead and booked it after I saw your post.  Thank you!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

13 hours ago, SETexaslady said:

LOVE the nature pics!   You will be so very lucky to see the Northern lights.  That would be incredible! Fingers crossed.
You've got a great room with a view, too.  I don't know how you're making it without your luggage, but you're getting along just fine. I told my husband about the lost luggage and he suggests we split our two suitcases so if one gets lost, maybe we'll be okay with the one since it will have some of both of our clothes.  We're flying straight in to Vancouver without having to change planes, though. So really hoping that won't be an issue.    

That’s a great idea on the luggage.  They only lost one of our bags.  It had all of out formal wear, smart casual wear, all my lingerie under clothes, shoes, make up and my small purses. We still had three bags arrive so we have things to wear but had to buy somethings that were missing entirely. It pays to overpack. Unfortunately I like designer clothes so the items are worth far more than the $3000 insurance covers.  But you know they are just things. So I’m over it. I’d like to get them back but can’t let stuff rule my happiness. 

 

We flew nonstop SJC to Vancouver and the lady in SJC put two luggage tags on one bag. The missing bag had no tag.  I will always look to make sure each bag gets a tag in the future. Maya at the customer service desk has been diligent calling air canada and following up. So far they haven’t even found it. 

 

Look ok at the great weather we have!  3 years ago it was cloudy. Can’t wait to see it all again in the sunshine. 

[SETexaslady]

You are SO having wonderful weather!!  I hope we can be as lucky!   You're right about the suitcases..  can't let lost luggage ruin your trip. 😉  I'll remember that if it happens to me. 🙂    Since you mentioned the two luggage tags on one bag mishap, I'll be watching when they tag ours. Thanks!

[milolii]

Ah!  I see, SJC!  We have never had problems, but good tip about making sure bags are tagged.  DH usually does this, I don’t pay much attention.  Usually happy  the weight is ok.  LOL  

Weather looks georgeous.  

[GuardCruisers]

Can you do Burro Creek Lodge on your own, or only through an excursion through the ship?  I cannot find a website for them.

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

4 hours ago, GuardCruisers said:

Can you do Burro Creek Lodge on your own, or only through an excursion through the ship?  I cannot find a website for them.

 

It’s only through an excursion. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

 

On 5/12/2019 at 5:11 PM, packerpegster said:

Please post wine / drink lists!  That would be awesome!!

This is taking too long on the ships WiFi. I’ll finish it when we get to Whittier Wednesday. 

Edited May 14, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel