Trip Report (Aug 5-17) Royal Princess, Alaska Southbound with 5 days DIY pre-cruise with kids

[thegoaliegirl]

This is my very delayed trip report for our August 2019 cruise. Figured late was better than never. About us, we are in our late 30's/early 40's and have two kids (6 and 8 ). We were traveling with another couple the entire time and then two grandparents for the cruise. 

 

I spent a lot of time researching and planning this trip. Hubby and I went 10 years ago and we were excited to go with the kids. Denali has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Combined with the fact that it seems to be the "must do" thing for people in Alaska, it took a lot for me to accept that Denali was not the best for us, for this trip. We figured out that we had 5 days to spend in Alaska before our cruise. We didn't want to spend the better part of a day getting up to Denali and another one coming from Denali to the cruise terminal in Whittier. Plus, I wanted to do the bus tour in Denali, but even the 5 hour one had the potential to be disaster with the kids. They are well behaved but sitting on a bus for long periods of time would test their patience. Once I let the guilt go about not doing Denali, trip planning went so much easier and I was a lot happier about my decision. In another 5 or so years we will probably look into doing Denali.

 

Once Denali was ruled out, then it opened up what we actually wanted to do and what was important to us. We decided we didn't want any long drives (ideally no more than 3 hours, not including any stops) and a lot of outside activities that the kids could do. They love earning Junior Ranger badges, so we looked into where we could earn those. We tried to not have our entire day filled with activities. We needed some down time built in, so we could relax or do more activities, depending on how everyone was feeling. As we figured out the activities we wanted to do, then the trip just fell into place once we started booking things.

[PhotoGal07]

Can't wait to read the rest!  

We're planning a trip for 2021, and the kids will be 8 and 10 then, and I came to the same conclusion about Denali!  There's no way a long plane ride, followed by a long train ride up to Denali, a long bus ride within Denali to see the sights, followed by a long bus or train ride back to get to our ship would end well.  

[thegoaliegirl]

August 5th- flew into Anchorage and arrived at 9:40am. We picked up our rental car at the airport (a mini van since there were 6 of us, round trip Anchorage airport from Avis, as it was the cheapest). This was super easy as it was all connected to the airport and we didn't need to use a shuttle bus. There wasn't a wait at the car rental counter, which is always nice. We picked up our friends in town (they flew in the night before) before getting on the road and heading south for Seward.

 

Made a quick stop at Beluga Point. Didn't see any belugas but it was nice to get out and take in the view.

 

Stopped at the Alyeska Resort and rode the tram to the top. Since we were there at lunch time, it was a great value to do the dine and ride ticket. It was an extra $10 for adults and $7 for kids to get a $20 credit each. We got 3 with the dining credit for our family and $60 was the perfect amount.  3 sandwiches (2 french dips and steak and cheese) and 1 kids meal, plus 4 cups for water was $56 and the food was really good. The views from the top were stunning. It was a fairly clear day and a great way to start our trip.

 

We arrived in Seward in the afternoon. The drive from Anchorage is so stunning! We ended up booking the Hotel Seward. We had two queens on the ground floor. We were there during a heatwave and our room was boiling hot, as we had no AC. Our room was by the parking lot, so we couldn't sleep with the window open. We would open the window and door to the room (into the hallway) to get some air moving. Hotel was clean and the staff seemed nice but wish there was AC or a pool.

 

Went to the Safeway in town and picked up some snacks like apples and soft drinks. (We had packed a bunch of pre-packaged individual servings of trail mix, gold fish and granola bars). I was impressed with the Safeway. It wasn't huge but prices were similar to back home in WA and had a large amount of produce. My local Safeway was doing a remodel and the Seward Safeway had about twice as many types of apples as the one back home.

 

Dinner was at Chinooks. It was spendy but good. Most had the halibut fish and chips and liked it. I had the scallop mac which was amazing. Went to bed fairly early, as we were up at 4am for our 7am flight.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 6th- day two in Alaska. The kids and I were up early, so we went for a walk down by the water, which is just a couple blocks away. We saw an otter floating by. There is a park in walking distance but it is up next to a campground. Kids didn't play, as figured they would be too loud at 7am for the people in tents.

 

Started our day with breakfast at the Sea Bean Cafe. It is a short walk from the Hotel Seward. Great coffee and a large assortment of breakfast foods at good prices. Food was fresh and delicious. Lots of fresh fruit.

 

We had booked Seavey's Ididride for 11:45am. On the 5th, in the evening I received a text asking if we would be willing to change our tour to an earlier or later time slot, as the one we were booked on was very full with cruise ship passengers. I really appreciated them contacting me. We changed to 9am and were so happy we did. It wasn't crowded. After a quick talk about the Seaveys (dad has the record for the fastest Ididarod time) we saw the kennels and were split up into groups for our summer dog sled ride. Our group of 6 got to be with Danny (oldest son, who has also run the Ididarod). There were 2 or 3 other groups but it did not feel crowded at all. The ride was so much fun. We had the "too" crew- they were all too old, too young or too tall to run the Ididarod. Mid ride Danny had to move two of the dogs around. That was neat to see. The kids got the choice of the bumpy path or the regular one- it was down a bit of a dip and the lead dog (Barney) gave a look back to make sure that was the actual command. The ride was followed by time to say hi to our dogs and then we moved on to the puppies. They were very cute. Ended with learning about the Ididarod. My husband got up there and put on most of the gear used in the Ididarod. I really appreciate that they included the photos from the sled ride for free. They air dropped them to us but could have texted/emailed. I thought that was a brilliant move. This was the highlight of our entire trip. We had friends that went two weeks before and it was their Alaska highlight as well.

 

Since it was still early, we drove the short distance to Exit Glacier. Exit Glacier is part of Kenai Fjords National Park. Kenai Fjords has a badge, as well as two patches that can be earned. For more badge info:  https://www.nps.gov/kefj/learn/kidsyouth/index.htm We opted to earn the Kenai Fjords Glacier Ranger patch by checking out an art for parks backpack. The main path towards the Glacier was closed due to a mama bear and her cub being on/near that path. So we did the path that went by the river. It was a nice fairly flat hike and got several glimpses of the glacier. We opted to not hike up to the glacier but went down by the river. The kids sat on the beach and did art of the glacier. You could find chunks of glacier ice in the river.

 

After we were done at the park, we had a late lunch at the Smoke Shack. The pork tacos were really good.

 

Started to wander around downtown but it was too hot out (heat wave) so we just went back to the hotel to relax. There were a few shops to go in but the kids were not having it. It was too hot to go to the park.

 

Dinner was at the Seward Brewing Company. It felt like they were trying too hard to be hip. It was one of our least favorite dining venues. I ordered the salted melon salad, which was refreshing, as it was basically just a plate of watermelon but was not worth $16, as it was quite small. The cauliflower side was really tasty.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 7th- day 3 of our DIY land tour

 

Today we had booked the 6 hour Kenai Fjords boat tour with Major Marine. Booked during their Black Friday sale (think it was 40% off). Since I knew we were going to Seward when the sale happened, but didn't know which date we would want at that point, I called and was able to get open ended tickets. So I locked in the tour and the price and then just had to call when I had picked the date. So easy.

 

I was apprehensive about this trip since it was 6 hours and it had a section that was rather rough, plus the price was a little steep, but once it was on sale, we went for it. To make things easier, we paid for the $27 for adults, $13.50 for kids.

 

Our departure was at 11:30am. Everyone is assigned a table on either the upper or lower level of the boat. We had a large table in the center of the boat. It held more than 6 seats. It gave us views out of both sides. There was a park ranger on board. We had picked up the Junior Ranger books at Exit Glacier but did not do those, so that we would have something to help entertain the kids on board/break up the trip if needed. Didn't mention it before, but we had given the kids new daypacks for Christmas (REI Tarn 18) and had loaded them with an activity pouch with notepads, pens, crayons, a boogie board, small games (like pass the pigs), plus they had tablets with headphones. So we were prepared for plane rides/long waits.

 

We started the cruise off on the upper level outside, as it we were having amazing weather. We started by staying in the protected waters and saw starfish on the rocks, puffins, otters and oyster catchers before we left the protected waters and hit the rough patch. Suddenly, the boat was moving a LOT. We all had taken motion sickness pills (kids took kids Dramamine, adults took meclizine) but had to quickly get everyone downstairs to the center of the boat to limit the movement. 6 year old and my husband were feeling it the most. Kiddo fell asleep and felt better after an hour plus nap. Husband took some Dramamine (since you can take both at the same time) and then he was doing better.

 

You could tell they do this all the time. They were great about checking on everyone to make sure they were doing ok. I carry spit up bags (emesis bags I think they are called- thank you Amazon). Thankfully we didn't need them. 

 

Lunch was served once everyone was feeling better. I'm glad we did the buffet lunch, as it was easy and good. Tables were called up a few at a time. Everything looked pretty similar to their pictures. Salmon and prime rib were good, as was the bread and salad. The drinks were bottomless, and they had ginger ale, which was nice at the beginning. For Alaska, and for the ease, it was very reasonably priced. Found out at Seavey's Ididaride that they get the left over buffet salmon and prime rib that is left over every day for the dogs, so it doesn't go to waste.

 

The glacier was really neat and we got pretty close to it. On the way there, and back, we saw some transient orcas, harbor seals, stellar sea lions and saw a Fin whale. 

 

While we overall enjoyed this trip, I don't know if I would do it again. The kids were so-so about it, plus two were not feeling that hot. I couldn't imagine taking them on a longer one, at least until they are a little older. It was amazing to see all of the animals. My hope in Alaska was to see a puffin and I saw a lot. 

 

Since we had such a late lunch, no one wanted dinner. We hung out in our room (kids watched a show that they had downloaded on their tablets from Netflix). Everyone had an apple and a bag of trail mix before going to bed.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 8th- day 4 pre-cruise

 

Today after breakfast at the Sea Bean Cafe we learned a very valuable lesson. We went to finally let the kids play in the really pretty playground for the first time and it was closed for maintenance. They close it for 2 days to revamp/clean everything. I've never encountered that. We had some pretty bummed out kids.

 

Packed our stuff up and made our way up to Anchorage. Stopped at Subway in Girdwood for lunch on the drive up. Checked into our hotel- the Springhill Suites Anchorage Univerity Lake. It was a little out of the way (not ideal if you don't have a car) but has an airport shuttle. We picked it because we had enough points for a free night at a Marriott and it was the only one with a 2 queen studio with a sofa bed. Property is located on a small lake. You just walk out the back, go through the gate and you are on a walking path. Very quiet. The outside of the building has zero signage. Thanks to google maps we knew we had arrived. It wasn't until we had walked inside that we knew we were in the right place. Dropped our bags off and went to explore Anchorage after a quick stop at Costco.

 

We went to the Ulu Factory and checked out Creek Street, as they are right there together. We saw a bunch of people fly fishing and were so surprised to see them constantly throwing back their catch, as it was all dog salmon. Not something you see elsewhere!

 

Afterwards we went to the top of the JcPenney parking garage. It was a clear day and we could see Denali in the distance. We got lucky. It was as close as we would get to Denali this trip.

 

Dinner was at the Moose's Tooth. A bit of a wait for our party of 6 but so worth it. We ordered the Amazing Apricot, Santa's Little Helper, Lu-Wow and the Forager. All were to die for! Not our most exciting day of the trip.

 

[thegoaliegirl]

August 9th- day 5 of our DIY land

 

We decided that there wasn't anything in the Anchorage area that we wanted to do, so we headed back down the Turnagain Arm to the Portage Glacier. We went to the Begich, Boggs visitors center, where the girls earned their Chugach National Forest Junior Ranger Badge. It also happened to be Smokey the Bear's 75th birthday.

 

Afterwards, we drove the short way to Byron Glacier. It is a fairly flat .8 mile hike each way. You end up a short distance from the glacier. So you can hike up to/on the glacier. The kids loved it. Definitely another kid friendly hike.

 

Lunch was again at the Subway in Girdwood. It was a quick and easy option that everyone enjoyed that was just off the main road.

 

Just north of there we stopped at the Indian Valley Mine to do some gold panning. We got the smallest buckets possible for each kid and they were tired of the work involved before they finished. So we helped them finish. They ended up with quite a few gold flakes and other small treasures in a small vial. It was hot and limited shade. There were a few chickens there. Felt like we had a nice explanation of how to pan for gold and didn't feel like we were up sold at all. 

 

When we got back to Anchorage, we picked up the one person in our party that flew in that day, and we all went out to the Moose's Tooth for the exact same pizzas. Somehow, on a Friday night, we got in without much of a wait at all. Think we were a little earlier.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 10th- Cruise Day!

 

Cruise day is finally here! Doing the Southbound cruise on the Royal Princess from Whittier to Vancouver. The morning was spent doing laundry (two loads but there were two machines in the hotel) and taking the kids for a swim in the pool after breakfast. Husband returned the rental car at the airport, and took the hotel shuttle back with the remaining person in our group.

 

We had booked a private  half day transfer to Whittier with Bear Paw Transportation for our group of now 8 people. In the end we went with them because they were slightly cheaper than other options and they picked us up at the hotel (other companies wouldn't pick up at our hotel). Our pickup time was 12:30, which gave us plenty of time.

 

Our driver came into the lobby to get us and he was great. When he found out we stopped at Beluga Point earlier in the week, he stopped at a different view point for us. Highlight of the tour was the Wildlife Conservation Center. It is a lot of walking but you see a lot of animals. It was a lot bigger than I was expecting. Great way to see bears- up close but still safe. When we finished there, we made a quick stop at a river to look at all the salmon running. Driver pointed out all of the types of fish we were seeing, which was nice. Our van was well loved and some of the inside trim was starting to come loose by the door. Other than that, I was quite happy with the transfer.

 

The tunnel was behind schedule by around 30 minutes, possibly a little more. They skipped pushing the exhaust out after the cars came out the other direction to help catch back up by a few minutes. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel is way more interesting than I was expecting. Seeing 2.5 miles on paper (or a computer screen) is way different than actually driving through it. One lane that is shared with the train. It is so unique. As soon as we left the tunnel, you could see the Royal Princess. Dropping off the bags was so easy, as they grabbed them as we were getting out of the van. 

 

Check-in was fast, since we had medallions and there were very few people there. I figured there wouldn't be long lines, since people were staggering in all day and could only enter Whittier in a 15 minute window every hour. We did have a slight delay because we had some crazy luck with the medallions. Two of our medallions didn't arrive to our house. We received an empty box but no medallions or anything in it, just an empty box. So we called Princess and eventually got a hold of the actual people who were processing the medallions. They did send out another set of medallions that arrived right before we left. Sadly, when we got to the port to check in, those medallions were not active and working. Thankfully, everyone got on the ship ok. We went to our rooms to drop off our luggage. By now it is almost 5pm. So we went to guest services and got the medallions fixed as well as getting access to the other room (my family was in two connecting rooms).

 

Dinner was anytime dining. Went right at 5 when the dining room, as we were starving and did not want to go to the buffet. I did not take photos of the menu but we were happy with everything we picked. The staff was amazing with the kids. 

 

We explored the ship after dinner and I know we went by the kids club but I don't think they were able to go the first day. Due to the tunnel backup, we left Whittier a little late, as passengers were delayed arriving.

 

Side note about our staterooms. When we were looking at taking the kids on a cruise to Alaska, we couldn't decide what type of room to book. Could we all fit in an inside? What did the upper berths look like? Would my kids be ok on them? To solve the issue, we did a test run with the kids by surprising them with a 1 night cruise from Seattle to Vancouver September 2018 on the Emerald Princess. We also purchased future cruise deposits on that trip, to get extra OBC on our Alaska sailing. The bunk beds have a recommended age of 8 (I believe, might be even older) and I can see why. There are lots of places where a kid could fall off the bunk. On the Emerald, we had an Oceanview and there was a gap in the bunk railing about hip height that a kid who moves in their sleep could slide right through and off the bed. My 6 year old wiggles a LOT in her bed and is often sideways or upside down. We knew that there is no way she could be up there, so I slept on an upper bunk. It wasn't too bad.

 

So now we knew that we either needed two connecting staterooms or if we were in one, at least a deluxe balcony to get the sofa bed for my 6 year old. After comparing costs, we decided to book two connecting insides and saved a bunch of money that way. A few months after booking, my mother in law decided to join us on the trip, so we added her to the room with the kids. In June (two months before sailing) we received an upsell offer for $139 to a balcony or $189 to a deluxe balcony. We jumped at that offer and left a message. When they called back the next day, we got two mid-forward connecting balconies for $139pp (except 3rd passenger in the one room was free). My MIL gets severely motion sick, so we declined the deluxe balconies as they were higher and way aft. We ended up paying about half the going rate for the balcony room. Big win. We kept the doors between the rooms open, as well as having the balcony divider open.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 11 and 12- Scenic Cruising - Hubbard Glacier (11th) and Glacier Bay (12th)

 

I tend to get up before the kids, so having two rooms and a balcony was a life saver. I would run down to the International Cafe and get a pasty and a coffee to take up to enjoy on the balcony. I would sit and enjoy the views until the kids got up. My kids always find me when they wake up. They would sneak past my MIL and come to our room (why we kept the inside door open) and knock on the balcony door. It was a very relaxing start to the day.

 

Then we would get dressed and I would take the kids to the buffet or the International Cafe, so they could be in the kids club by 9am. Then I would pick them up by noon, for the lunch break. Then drop them back off at 2pm and pick them up at 5pm. Drop off again at 7pm and pick up at 10pm. They absolutely loved the kids club and begged to be there every second it was open. There were 76 kids in the 3-7 age group and 147 kids in the 8-12 age group. My 6 year old came home with a lot of crafts. My 8 year old was more into skeeball and the video games (mine craft and Nintendo Switch) as she doesn't get to do that at home. Figured it was their vacation as well and this was what they really wanted to do, so why not?

 

After dropping them off in the kids club in the morning, I'd meet the rest of our group in the buffet for breakfast. I was a happy camper when I realized my bagels and lox were in the buffet every morning. Thanks to the Medallion app, we were able to find everyone easily. Lunch was in the buffet with the kids. 

 

We had an assigned early dining time for the 8 of us. It worked well, as the kids ate with us but next time, we might try anytime. They missed the kids buffet dinners at 7pm with the kids club on formal nights because they had already eaten dinner. My 8 year old is a fairly adventurous eater and loves seafood. My 6 year old ate fruit for her starter, then plain noodles (no butter or sauce) and then fruit for dessert most nights. She also has a severe shellfish allergy and the dining staff did an amazing job checking every night to see if she was going to switch her dinner choices. We never had an issue in the buffet, but again, her preferred choices are fruit and more kid friendly options that we made sure were no where near any shellfish in the buffet to limit cross contamination.

 

MIL and I got hooked into the Princess bracelets because she wanted to go to the Alaska Spotlight Shopping Show on Hubbard Glacier day. If you go, sit in the front few rows, as they hand out a lot of freebies. The kids won

some color change hair clips. That was where you got the info on the charm bracelets. By the end they were completely full. It was a lot easier once we found out that you could go to the Shopping Concierge once per night to get one charm you missed on the ship that day. They didn't have the port ones there. Not something I would do again. MIL ended up with a lot of Effy freebies as they were always picking her for games and such.

 

Wish I had taken better notes of what we did on board, as my sea days blur together. We had a wonderful time and relaxed and did a lot of glacier viewing.

[thegoaliegirl]

Aug 13- Skagway

 

Today we were in Skagway from 5:30am to 8pm. We booked the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad independently at 9am. We booked independently because it was a little cheaper and we liked the times better. Downside was that we boarded the train in town, about 20 minutes away. If you book through Princess, you board the train by the ship. It was interesting with some great views. It was fun to go out on the viewing platforms. It was another day we were thankful for snacks and their daypacks with entertainment. By the time we turned around at the summit to go back, they were bored but happy to do something in their daypack before taking a nap on the way down. This is another one of those excursions that I'm glad that I did it and enjoyed it but don't see the need to do it again. Our car was not crowded but we did not get dropped off in town. We got dropped off at the other cruise terminal, as we were connected to some cars of people from a different cruise ship.

 

Once we got off the ship, we went for lunch at the Skagway Brewing Co. simply because it was the first place we stumbled across. There was a long wait, so I went back a block to the Klondike Gold Rush Junior Ranger Activity building to earn that badge. It was one of the neatest badges they have every earned. It was just one room but it was interactive with a little video about a them. To earn the badge, they were asked questions about the video/word and how they interpreted it. It was the first one with no paper to fill out. My 6 year old was asked about one and my 8 year was asked about two. It was really interesting. We needed maybe 30 minutes tops to see everything in the room. It was all free. Made it back before they had called our name for lunch. Lunch was so-so. It wasn't the best one of the trip.

 

After lunch we took the kids to Mollie Wash Park. It is an amazing park that is just off the main street. They had a blast there. It was well maintained. Great for kids of all ages, and let them get some energy out and be kids for awhile.

 

Ended our time wandering around a few shops before making it back to the ship in time for dinner. Of course, the kids went back to kids club after dinner.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 14- Juneau

 

Today we were in port from 6:30am to 5pm. We had nothing planned. We had originally thought about going to Mendenhall Glacier but I was the only one interested in that. Kids were hoping to just spend the day in the kids club but stead we went on the Point Roberts Tramway as a family and watched some cruise ships arrive. It was fairly clear out. We were still fairly early in the day, so the crowds weren't there yet.

 

We ended up taking the kids to the kids club in time for lunch (on port days you sign up in advance to get them on the list. If they are there for meal times, they will take them to the buffet for lunch in a special closed off section. It is completely free.)

 

When we were back in town, we went to Tracy's Crab Shack. When my husband and I were there 10 years ago, it was just a shack down on a pier and there was just one local eating under a canopy with us. He shared some of his crab because he wanted us to try the type he was eating. Now, it is a cruise ship excursion. Long lines to order and then you go find a table and they bring the crab out to you. The crab is amazing and large but it is expensive. We enjoyed it but it was a very different experience than last time.

 

Made it back to the cruise ship with plenty of time to get ready for formal night. We had reservations in the Crown Grill that night and the kids did the buffet with the kids club. It was our 4th cruise and first time doing the Crown Grill. I was blown away by how good everything was, and how large my ribeye was. Loved the specialty salts, especially the black Hawaiian lava one. (I found it on Amazon). 

[thegoaliegirl]

August 15- Ketchikan

 

Today were were supposed to be in port from 10am to 6pm. We left about 1 1/2 hours early as we had to get under the bridge in Vancouver at low tide. We might have gotten into port a little earlier than 10 but not by a whole lot. We had booked the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show independently at 11am, followed by the axe throwing competition. It was a blast and everyone loved it. I would go back and do this one again. The axe throwing competition added at least another hour, if not more. Had to wait for everyone else to clear out, then we went out back and got a lesson before throwing. Fun to watch if you weren't competing. Then the credit card machine in the gift shop was down. 

 

By now, we had very little time left. We went to the Southwest Alaska Discovery Center where the kids earned their Tongass National Forest Junior Ranger badge. We did a quick lap down Creek Street before rushing back to the ship. The line to get on was very long. It was the only time we really had to wait to get back on the ship. Think it was because our port time was shortened.

[thegoaliegirl]

August 16 - sea day

 

Today was a nice relaxing sea day. I didn't take notes on what we did, other than having to pack everything up, which is always so sad. Make sure if you have a kid in kids club to pack an extra piece of luggage. We came home with a lot of crafts and stuffed animals, etc.

 

We had some non-refundable OBC that we hadn't spent yet, so we spent the rest of that on a few Alaskan souvenirs for everyone. Husband and I got Alaska fleece jackets and wear them all the time. They are perfect for those in between days or under a rain coat. Kids got hats and a Stanley or an Eskimo girl. We also got a Royal Princess ornament for our tree.

 

Learned today that the kids club staff is not part of the general tipping pool. If you want to give them tips, they must be done in cash. Thankfully I had a little cash on me. 

[thegoaliegirl]

August 17 - arrived in Vancouver

 

Disembarking in Vancouver was super easy. There was a marathon finishing nearby, so it was extra crowded. We did not have anything planned until our flights home at 7pm. After researching, I found that the Pan Pacifc bell hops will store your bags. Cost was $5 per bag if you pick up before 3pm or $10 if you pick up later. You pay when you drop your bags off. It was so easy and they were so very nice.

 

Right outside Canada Place is a hop on hop off bus stop. There are also volunteers walking around offering to help but we were told that Stanley Park was an easy 20 minute walk to get there and see everything and then 10 minutes from there to Granville Island. We quickly realized that was not the truth and got on at the next hop on hop off (HOHO) stop. It was so easy. We got off to look at the totem poles in Stanley Park and had no issues getting on the next one that came by. Then the driver suggested that anyone that wanted to go to Granville Island get off for the False Creek Ferries, as it was faster due to traffic. That was an unexpected plus, as the boats were included in our ticket and so cute. Reminded me of a kids bath toy. In just a couple of minutes we were at Granville Island. We had lunch there (lots of great options). By now were are starting to run into time issues to get back by 3, so we found the bus stop (a long walk from where you get off the ferry) and rode the rest of the way back to Canada Place. Picked up our luggage and made a bathroom stop. The staff in the Pan Pacific called a mini van taxi for us to the airport. Ride was about 45 minutes. We got to the airport too early to check in. We had to wait until the 2 hour mark to check in. While we were waiting to check in, I bumped into someone that had worked in the kids club on our cruise. She was too early to check into her flight home, so we talked for a bit. She was Canadian and said that the majority of the staff are teachers (current teachers on a school break or former teachers). She was a teacher on a school break but had to head back as school was about the start. It was an interesting look into kids club that I just got lucky to get. You could tell they all loved being in there.

 

Once we had checked into our flights we went through Canadian customs and pre-cleared US customs. So we were in a smaller isolated area for US flights. Our Alaska Airlines flight was down a long hallway, that you had to go down  and then up from. Our annex area had a small kids entertainment toy, that maybe would be good for a 1-2 year old. In the main area there was a small maze and climbing toy with a slide. It was crazy busy. There were a few food options in the airport, so we ate dinner at the airport. Got home late but had an amazing trip.

 

If I think of anything else, I will add it later.

[stosto52]

Great review... looking into planning similar cruise in 2021 with my two girls (4 and 6) at the time.  

[teese]

Enjoyed the review, especially since we were on the same cruise. 

[ebony.1]

Thankyou. l enjoyed reading your review. We went to Alaska in 2018 on the Star Princess, North & South & loved it. Can't wait to go back.

Edited February 15, 2021 by ebony.1
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