Part I: Asia cruise report from "Whittier to Osaka - 9/16 - 10/14"

[Sandy R]

To introduce ourselves, my DH and I are in are late 60's, very active and experienced cruisers with 40+ cruises, 32 on Princess, including 3 cruises on the Diamond, sister ship to the Sapphire. We avoid ship tours if possible, opting for private tours. After booking a cruise with ports we haven't been to, I become obsessed about doing research about the areas. Before this trip, I purchased a Canon XT digital SLR with a 17-85 zoom lens, so I was eagerly anticipating the photo ops we were going to encounter!

 

I read another account of this cruise, with some negatives, so I thought I'd share my take on our 4 weeks aboard the Sapphire Princess. Because it was such a long cruise I'll break it into parts... If you have any specific questions, please ask and I'll try my best to provide answers. BTW, I brought home all the Princess Patters and Princess Port Guides.

 

Part I: Anchorage/Whittier

Before starting our trip, I had logged onto tripadvisor.com for info on hotels in Anchorage. Most of the major downtown hotels were very expensive and reviews were mixed. We decided on the Homewood Suites, about 2 miles from downtown. We flew into Anchorage on 9/14 and arrived at 11:00 pm. We called for the Homewood Suites airport shuttle and they were there within 10 minutes. We rented a car for the drive to Whittier but Homewood provides 3 shuttles, one to downtown, one to the airport and one to another area of Anchorage, so a car isn't necessary. The Homewood Suites are 2+ years old so they still felt new. They have 1 & 2 bedroom suites which are quite large, central air & heat and their windows open. The staff was eager to help and the breakfasts included in the price were adequate.

 

Second day, we were shuttled into downtown where we picked up our rental from Avis (much cheaper than an airport rental). We strolled the downtown area, then drove south along Turnagain Arm towards Portage... the scenery was incredible, the roads made for an easy drive and we stopped at several vista points along the way. Because it was late in the season, many areas on the water side was frozen and the foliage on the mountain side were beautiful shades of greens, reds, yellows and oranges... it was also on and off misty and rainy, a minor inconvinience. We stopped at the Wildlife Conservation Center but only got out of the car to take photos because of the weather. We by-passed the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center because by the time we got there it was raining. We took the turn toward Girdwood and stopped at the Bake Shop, recommended on cruisecritic. It was crowded with friendly locals and the food was as good as has been reported... great soup, homemade bread and rolls and sandwiches large enough to feed two. After a full day's drive, we opted to walk to TGFriday's for dinner, a block from the hotel. We seemed to be the only locals in the restaurant so several people struck up a conversation with us, which was fun.

 

On Saturday, with on and off rain again, we drove towards Whittier and were first in line to go through the Whittier tunnel at 11:30 am. The drive through was really interesting and once on the other side, Whittier was right there... cold (about 55 degrees) but to our surprise no rain. We dropped off our luggage, filled the gas tank at the only gas station in town and dropped off the rental at the General Store, about a block from the ship. Embarkation was quick and we were eating lunch at the Horizon Buffet by 12:30 pm. After lunch, we explored Whittier... a tiny place but filled with great photo ops.

 

The Sapphire set sail at 5 pm, while it was still light out, so prepared for cold weather, we stayed on deck as we sailed through the glaciers... amazing scenery!

 

Part II coming next: The Sapphire Princess

[Druke I]

Thanks for posting, keep it up.

 

We took similar itinerary (reversed) on Sky Princess, 4-97, Osaka to Vancouver. Very enjoyable trip, but very cold across Bering Straits between Vladivostock & Dutch Harbor - ice build-up so heavy outside decks closed for 2 days!

 

Several containers of food didn't make it to Osaka - we ran out of milk and some veggies. When we pulled into Dutch Harbor, members of the Purser's staff and chefs "cleaned out" the shelves of the local grocery store.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[Coral]

Sandy - welcome back and I can't wait for more! Especially the last installment (Osaka, Kyoto).

 

You just finished one of my dream cruises - hope it was wonderful!

[Coral]

Sandy - welcome back and I can't wait for more! Especially the last installment (Osaka, Kyoto).

 

You just finished one of my dream cruises - hope it was wonderful!

[Druke I]

Oops - I am date challenged, and failed to note that your trip is over, not in progress.

 

Hope it met your expectations.