Live From the Grand Princess, 22-Day Alaska B2B, Apr 30 - May 22

[no1racefan1]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just took a sneak peek at the NOAA Northern Lights forecast for the next 2 nights and wouldn't it be awesome if there was a similar forecast while we were on the cruise!

 

NOAA Aurora Viewline for Tonight and Tomorrow Night

 

That would be fantastic! I hope that's the case for you.

[Nikulai]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just took a sneak peek at the NOAA Northern Lights forecast for the next 2 nights and wouldn't it be awesome if there was a similar forecast while we were on the cruise!

I keep hoping!

[milogurd]

@Ken the cruiser If possible, can you let us know if you can find out who the naturalist "might" be for the 14 night 5-8-24 trip. TIA.

[Ken the cruiser]

I was just reading about Johnstone Strait. Pretty fascinating, especially with the potential of seeing so much wildlife on our first day after leaving Vancouver. Luckily, we’ll be cruising through this narrow passage 3 times! 😁

Johnstone Strait is a deep and narrow glacier-carved passage located between the east coast of Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, extending roughly from Telegraph Cove in the north to Rock Bay in the south. Johnstone Strait serves as an important thoroughfare for marine vessels that include cargo freighters and cruise ships bound for Alaska in the summer months.

 

Johnstone Strait is home to the largest resident pod of killer whales (orcas) in the world, with a population of approximately 200 whales. There is no better place to view these amazing marine mammals. In addition to the orcas that can be viewed around Robson Bight, Johnstone Strait offers up a wide variety of other marine life, including minke, humpback and grey whales, Pacific white sided dolphins, harbour porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, harbour seals and Steller’s sea lions. Bald eagles and an abundance of seabirds will also be encountered in the area.

 

https://vancouverisland.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/vancouver-island-bc-islands/johnstone-strait/

 

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, milogurd said:

@Ken the cruiser If possible, can you let us know if you can find out who the naturalist "might" be for the 14 night 5-8-24 trip. TIA.

No problem. We will definitely be attending all of the lectures and will provide a brief summary of who was the lecturer and what was discussed. 

[milogurd]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I was just reading about Johnstone Strait. Pretty fascinating, especially with the potential of seeing so much wildlife on our first day after leaving Vancouver. Luckily, we’ll be cruising through this narrow passage 3 times! 😁

Johnstone Strait is a deep and narrow glacier-carved passage located between the east coast of Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, extending roughly from Telegraph Cove in the north to Rock Bay in the south. Johnstone Strait serves as an important thoroughfare for marine vessels that include cargo freighters and cruise ships bound for Alaska in the summer months.

 

Johnstone Strait is home to the largest resident pod of killer whales (orcas) in the world, with a population of approximately 200 whales. There is no better place to view these amazing marine mammals. In addition to the orcas that can be viewed around Robson Bight, Johnstone Strait offers up a wide variety of other marine life, including minke, humpback and grey whales, Pacific white sided dolphins, harbour porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, harbour seals and Steller’s sea lions. Bald eagles and an abundance of seabirds will also be encountered in the area.

 

https://vancouverisland.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/vancouver-island-bc-islands/johnstone-strait/

 

Unfortunately, on our last few cruises on this route, we were in Johnstone Strait late in the evening or early in the morning after departing or returning to Vancouver.

[Bemidji Ty]

Ken, thanks so much for your research.  We will be doing the 14 day Van to Van starting June 5 on the Grand.  This will be our 5th time to Alaska on Princess.  We love it.

 

Cheers.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 hours ago, milogurd said:

Unfortunately, on our last few cruises on this route, we were in Johnstone Strait late in the evening or early in the morning after departing or returning to Vancouver.

Thanks for the heads-up, as knowing the estimated times when we might pass through Johnstone Strait helps. Now, whether we see any wildlife or awesome scenery as we pass through is another story. But then for us it's all about the "hunt" for memorable photos as well as having a great time while on a cruise! 

 

On our recent Antarctica/SA cruise, I was surprised when I woke up briefly to see we were cruising through Beagle Channel's Glacier Alley around 5:30 am with no pre-notification from the ship. 

 

 

Another time as we were cruising from Iceland to Greenland, we went out on the balcony just before midnight where we watched some Northern Lights for about 10-15 minutes.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW in most cases Princess excursion prices usually go up, sometimes quite significantly, the closer you get to cruise time. I know, who knew!! In our case 9 of the 10 PCL excursions we have booked had gone up. However, there was one that dropped $10 per person (from $279 to $269 pp) and there were seats still available. So we cancelled the existing 2 reservations and immediately rebooked them saving a whopping $20! 🕺💃  

 

The nice part is when we initially cancelled the original reservations, the refunded funds were immediately provided in OBC which we subsequently used to rebook the same excursions moments later rather than having to pay the "new" excursion fees with our credit card. I'm also guessing since we're so close to going on the cruise, the extra $20 will be made available as refundable OBC in our shipboard account once we board the May 8th leg of our cruise where the excursion is booked. 

 

Just thought I'd pass this experience along in case someone was curious what happens when you cancel and rebook a PCL excursion to take advantage of a drop in price.

 

Edited April 25 by Ken the cruiser

[milogurd]

On 4/24/2024 at 8:47 PM, milogurd said:

@Ken the cruiser If possible, can you let us know if you can find out who the naturalist "might" be for the 14 night 5-8-24 trip. TIA.

@Ken the cruiser I just checked the Princess app, and they added naturalist and North to Alaska presenters for the 5/15 - 5/22 southbound cruise.

The North to Alaska presenter should be Nick Jans - the author of "A Wolf Named Romeo".

The naturalist should be Pete Griffin - https://www.thestorytellingranger.com . His online schedule indicates he is on the Grand from April 21 through July 17.

Edited April 26 by milogurd

[Ken the cruiser]

I just checked the weather forecast for our arrival at Sitka on May 4th. Without a doubt, we're definitely glad we're bringing our cold weather clothing, as it will probably feel even chillier with the forecasted 15 mph winds from the northwest! 🥶 

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@Ken the cruiserthis will be a fantastic journey and I will definitely love following your adventures. I sailed an 11 day RT Vancouver Sapphire itinerary that left April 29th last year. I’ve sailed the early May trips often but last year leaving those few extra days earlier really made a difference.  In particular the White Pass Railway out of Skagway was even more stunning than usual. When we went thru the tunnel the waterfall that is usually flowing was frozen solid. It was spectacular…everyone was surprised and oooohing and ahhhhing. We didn’t get pictures as we were just so gobsmacked by how pretty it was and didn’t want to take our eyes off what we were seeing. 

 

FWIW we sailed between Vancouver Island and the mainland during the evening last year while still light.  It was such beautiful scenery. I just checked my photos and we entered around 4:30 and were at the south end around 8:30.  I’ve sailed it at 3 other times and it was always during the daylight hours. At least on my sailings the naturalist always let us know where we’d be when and what to look for. 
 

Do you already have the Alaska book Princess sells onboard?  The big foldout map inside is worth the price. 
 

Have a great time and thanks for taking us along. 

Edited April 27 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Ken the cruiser]

43 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

@Ken the cruiserthis will be a fantastic journey and I will definitely love following your adventures. I sailed an 11 day RT Vancouver Sapphire itinerary that left April 29th last year. I’ve sailed the early May trips often but last year leaving those few extra days earlier really made a difference.  In particular the White Pass Railway out of Skagway was even more stunning than usual. When we went thru the tunnel the waterfall that is usually flowing was frozen solid. It was spectacular…everyone was surprised and oooohing and ahhhhing. We didn’t get pictures as we were just so gobsmacked by how pretty it was and didn’t want to take our eyes off what we were seeing. 

 

FWIW we sailed between Vancouver Island and the mainland during the evening last year while still light.  It was such beautiful scenery. I just checked my photos and we entered around 4:30 and were at the south end around 8:30.  I’ve sailed it at 3 other times and it was always during the daylight hours. At least on my sailings the naturalist always let us know where we’d be when and what to look for. 
 

Do you already have the Alaska book Princess sells onboard?  The big foldout map inside is worth the price. 
 

Have a great time and thanks for taking us along. 

Thanks for coming along and for your insights. We had been on the White Pass Railway before, but that was in July. Since that was one of the few stops we didn't have an excursion booked yet, the potential of seeing a frozen waterfall sounded pretty cool. One question if I might ask. Do you remember which side of the train was the better side to sit on to take pictures?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

50 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks for coming along and for your insights. We had been on the White Pass Railway before, but that was in July. Since that was one of the few stops we didn't have an excursion booked yet, the potential of seeing a frozen waterfall sounded pretty cool. One question if I might ask. Do you remember which side of the train was the better side to sit on to take pictures?

This will be a very different experience than July. I did one trip in August and while I appreciated many facets of a summer trip to Alaska I greatly prefer the less crowded & colder early spring experiences.  
 

The best side depends on which way you’re headed.  Going up out of Skagway sit on the left. If you do the Yukon tour that drives you up into Canada (they were doing that again last year- we saw Dall Sheep 🐑 on the mountain at the Yukon border.  Close enough to see with the naked eye but fortunately we had our binoculars that put them up close and personal) then sit on the right heading down back to Skagway.
 

Of course be sure to spend some time on the open area at the back of the cars. I also prefer sitting in the last car. Best views out the back! You also get nice views of the rest of the train as it goes over bridges and into tunnels. 
 

We were on the train May 5th. 
 

We were at Hubbard Glacier May 2 and it snowed on us! I grew up in the snow in NY and while I do not miss living in it I do sometimes miss those snowy silent fluffy flakes days. 
 

 

Edited April 27 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

This will be a very different experience than July. I did one trip in August and while I appreciated many facets of a summer trip to Alaska I greatly prefer the less crowded & colder early spring experiences.  
 

The best side depends on which way you’re headed.  Going up out of Skagway sit on the left. If you do the Yukon tour that drives you up into Canada (they were doing that again last year- we saw Dall Sheep 🐑 on the mountain at the Yukon border.  Close enough to see with the naked eye but fortunately we had our binoculars that put them up close and personal) then sit on the right heading down back to Skagway.
 

Of course be sure to spend some time on the open area at the back of the cars. I also prefer sitting in the last car. Best views out the back! You also get nice views of the rest of the train as it goes over bridges and into tunnels. 
 

We were on the train May 5th. 
 

We were at Hubbard Glacier May 2 and it snowed on us! I grew up in the snow in NY and while I do not miss living in it I do sometimes miss those snowy silent fluffy flakes days. 
 

 

Thanks!! We'll just be taking the train up out of Skagway this time around, so we will focus on getting seats on the left side in the back. 😀

[Ken the cruiser]

OK, all of our preparatory work has been done and our bags are packed! All we need to do now is wakeup early tomorrow morning and head to the airport. So with that said, I think it's about time to bring on Freddie to get this party started!! 🕺💃

 

 

[ljandiernp]

I'm on the 5/29 sailing from Anchorage (Whittier) to Vancouver so I'm really looking forward to hearing about all you ship experiences as well as wildlife sightings. Have a wonderful vacation!

 

Laurie

[silkismom]

Everyone needs a little Freddie to get the heart going.

[KLM3164]

Bon Voyage! 🍾 🚢 🥂 Wishing you safe travels and thanks for taking us along. 

[Paula_MacFan]

We're doing a 15 day cruisetour starting May 24, with the land portion first and then Southbound cruise on Sapphire starting June 1.  I'll be following along to get prepped for our trip 🙂 

 

Looking forward to your reports! 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here is an updated timeline and more importantly a smaller footprint so it's easier to read on my devices. 😉

 

            8-Day Inside Passage                                 14-Day Voyage of the Glaciers

Date	Destination	Arrive	Depart	Date	Destination	Arrive	Depart
4/29	Fly to Vancouver BC	10:30 PM		5/8	Port of Vancouver	7:30 AM	4:00 PM
	Fairmont Hotel			5/9	Inside Passage
4/30	Port of Vancouver	9:30 AM	4:00 PM	5/10	Ketchikan AK	6:00 AM	2:00 PM
5/1	Johnstone Strait			5/11	Juneau AK	8:00 AM	9:00 PM
5/2	Sitka AK	10:00 AM	6:00 PM	5/12	Skagway AK	7:00 AM	8:30 PM
5/3	Juneau AK	8:00 AM	9:00 PM	5/13	Glacier Bay NP	6:00 AM	3:00 PM
5/4	Skagway AK	7:00 AM	8:30 PM	5/14	College Fjord	6:00 PM	8:30 PM
5/5	Glacier Bay NP	6:00 AM	3:00 PM	5/15	Whittier AK	12:30 AM	8:30 PM
5/6	Ketchikan AK	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	5/16	Hubbard Glacier	3:00 PM	8:00 PM
5/7	Inside Passage			5/17	Glacier Bay NP	9:15 AM	7:30 PM
5/8	Port of Vancouver	7:30 AM	4:00 PM	5/18	Skagway AK	7:00 AM	8:30 PM
				5/19	Juneau AK	6:30 AM	4:00 PM
				5/20	Ketchikan AK	10:00 AM	6:00 PM
				5/21	Inside Passage
				5/22	Port of Vancouver	7:30 AM
					Fairmont Hotel	3:00 PM
				5/23	Fly Home		9:15 AM

[Ken the cruiser]

Our travel day is here and the weather between Alabama and Vancouver by way of Atlanta and SLC airports is looking pretty calm for the most part. Hopefully, all goes well and we arrive on time late this evening. 🤞

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at our regional airport with 90 minutes to spare before boarding and we were the only ones checking in or going through security. 😁
 

[EDDY0827]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:37 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks!! We'll just be taking the train up out of Skagway this time around, so we will focus on getting seats on the left side in the back. 😀

When I took WP&YRR in 2021, they had all of the passengers swap sides of the rail car so that everyone got to sit on the scenic side of the car. At that time, we couldn't go into Canada due to Covid restrictions.

[phabric]

When I took the train we also switched sides to give everyone a chance to see from both sides.