Review Sapphire Princess and 7 Day Independent Land Tour

[LarryF]

Did you find yourself being cold on the leg-area or were your pants very warm? I'm trying to start to pack and I'm a little nervous that my legs are going to be cold, but I guess that's why I bought the underarmor, right?

 

 

The pants were warm enough most of the time, but I did wear the long johns cruising Glacier Bay and College Fjords as I was on the front of the ship most of the time as it was cold! I like the hiking type pants as they are very comfortable and wick away water, so the few times we were in rain my pants never really got wet...

 

Larry

[tapia]

Thanks, I really appreciate all the information. It looks like I'm on the right track for packing.......

 

Thanks!

[judynorth]

Thanks, I really appreciate all the information. It looks like I'm on the right track for packing.......

 

Thanks!

 

Remember, it will probably be considerably warmer for you in late June than it was in early May.

[tapia]

I know, that's a good point, but I get pretty cold. I can always leave off the underarmor if need be :-)

 

Thank you!

[LarryF]

Here's a link to see weather conditions in Glacier Bay National Park. It will feel cooler than the outside air temperature due to the wind chill produced by the ship moving forward. I have heard of people actually in shorts and t-shirts during the summer, but have also heard that temperatures can be freezing as well in the middle of July. It's best to prepared for anything. I also packed a pair of shorts and short sleeve shirts just in case!

 

http://www.arh.noaa.gov/zonefcst.php?zone=021

 

Larry

[tapia]

Here's a link to see weather conditions in Glacier Bay National Park. It will feel cooler than the outside air temperature due to the wind chill produced by the ship moving forward. I have heard of people actually in shorts and t-shirts during the summer, but have also heard that temperatures can be freezing as well in the middle of July. It's best to prepared for anything. I also packed a pair of shorts and short sleeve shirts just in case!

 

http://www.arh.noaa.gov/zonefcst.php?zone=021

 

Larry

 

 

Wow, that looks great, thanks. I probably will pack a pair of shorts just in case, but I doubt I'll be using them.....

 

It's just too much of a variable, so layers is the way to go.

 

Thanks Larry!

[kristieokc]

Larry, I really feel as though I should be paying you a consultation fee for all this great information! I hope it is as fun for you to re-live the experience through your wonderful writing as it is for the rest of us to enjoy reading about it. :)

 

We are also headed to Seward after our cruise so I especially liked these last few chapters. We are taking the Kenai Fjords tour as well, although with a different charter. I still think your information will be extremely helpful.

 

One question --- we rented our car in Whittier to drive to Seward, then will return it in Anchorage. Our goal was to save travel time on the day we get off the Sapphire ... do you think we'll miss lots of amazing things by not making the drive from Anchorage to Seward? We'll be driving from Seward to Anchorage to catch our flight home, so perhaps we can do some of your suggestions, just in reverse. Or, maybe you're going to write more about that in the next few days (I'll keep my fingers crossed.) :)

 

Thanks again for sharing your trip with us!

[LarryF]

Larry, I really feel as though I should be paying you a consultation fee for all this great information! I hope it is as fun for you to re-live the experience through your wonderful writing as it is for the rest of us to enjoy reading about it. :)

 

We are also headed to Seward after our cruise so I especially liked these last few chapters. We are taking the Kenai Fjords tour as well, although with a different charter. I still think your information will be extremely helpful.

 

One question --- we rented our car in Whittier to drive to Seward, then will return it in Anchorage. Our goal was to save travel time on the day we get off the Sapphire ... do you think we'll miss lots of amazing things by not making the drive from Anchorage to Seward? We'll be driving from Seward to Anchorage to catch our flight home, so perhaps we can do some of your suggestions, just in reverse. Or, maybe you're going to write more about that in the next few days (I'll keep my fingers crossed.) :)

 

Thanks again for sharing your trip with us!

 

I really am having fun telling you all about our trip; it's just getting harder and harder to find the time! If someone has any suggestions of how I can get a job in the travel industry without taking a severe drop in salary, please let me know as I love travel more than anything!

 

The only reason we rented the car in Anchorage was to avoid the much higher rental cost of a one way rental (it was $400 more to rent in Whittier and drop off in Anchorage). If you found a great deal or it's in your budget to do the one way rental, that's what you should do as you will be able to see the sights between Whittier and Anchorage when you drive back up from Seward.

 

I will be posting more about our travel from Seward back up to Anchorage later tonight and tomorrow...

[Tyrkitty]

I think we would all like to charter a trip through you next. Oh if only we could have such good luck. Sounds like you led a charmed life on this adventure. Plan to go back in '09 - not get canceled by Island Wings - do Glacier Bay instead of Hubbard and then independent land. Going back to do the Kenai Fjords trip was in my future plans anyway since we knew we would not have time in Seward between our land tour and the ship Southbound. Now if we could only be guaranteed a breaching whale. Probably will have to go a third time and redo Hubbard when the ice is not so thick and can get closer. Fall colors might be a nice change from snow although May just seemed right for Alaska - we wanted snow! Your reports are just so great to read since we can all dream of our future near perfect adventure.

[LarryF]

I think we would all like to charter a trip through you next. Oh if only we could have such good luck. Sounds like you led a charmed life on this adventure. Plan to go back in '09 - not get canceled by Island Wings - do Glacier Bay instead of Hubbard and then independent land. Going back to do the Kenai Fjords trip was in my future plans anyway since we knew we would not have time in Seward between our land tour and the ship Southbound. Now if we could only be guaranteed a breaching whale. Probably will have to go a third time and redo Hubbard when the ice is not so thick and can get closer. Fall colors might be a nice change from snow although May just seemed right for Alaska - we wanted snow! Your reports are just so great to read since we can all dream of our future near perfect adventure.

 

There must be some type of aura around Amy and me as we just always seem to have great weather and wonderful experiences on all our cruises. I think on our 14 previous cruises to the Caribbean we may have had a total of 2 or 3 days of rain!

 

I also believe a vacation is what you make out of it. We did have some cold rainy days in AK and the plans I made didn't always turn out to be the best (as you will see in the next chapter), but we just go with the flow and when things go a little sour, I follow the advice to "make lemonage out of lemons!"

 

Larry

[LarryF]

Hello All,

 

Sorry for the delay, but work has become all encompassing. :( Below, I’ve written about the rest of our day after the Kenai Fjords Tour and will try to post some more later tonight or tomorrow…

 

Continuing Sunday May 27, 2007

 

After we returned to the dock at Seward Harbor at 5:30 p.m. we dropped all our stuff in the Hotel room and drove over to the SeaLife Center, http://www.sealifecenter.com. We showed up at 6:00 p.m. and found out they closed at 7:00 p.m. We decided to go ahead and go in as we were planning to leave Seward the next morning. We used the Toursaver 2 for 1 coupon and the cost for the two of was $15.00. We didn’t get to see a whole lot in just 1 hour, but we enjoyed the wildlife viewing areas especially the area dedicated to Puffins.

 

Earlier, we had asked the desk clerk at the Hotel to recommend a good restaurant other than those located right by the hotel, and she suggested the Salmon Bake Restaurant, http://www.sewardalaskacabins.com/SalmonBake.htm. It’s located just a ¼ mile off the Seward Hwy. on Exit Glacier Rd.

 

We had passed by this restaurant on our way to Exit Glacier the day before and I remembered seeing it posted on this board. I just couldn’t remember whether it had gotten good reviews or not. Their slogan is, “Cheap Beer and Lousy Food” and that wasn’t the case as all. We really enjoyed this restaurant and very highly recommend it. It’s got its own true Alaskan charm about it and the dress code is jeans…well there really is no dress code It’s fairly small and most of the diners seemed to be locals which was a good sign.

 

We took the last two available seats and then there was a line to get in, so I would recommend making reservations (if they take them). The number is

(907) 224-2204. Amy had a house salad with grilled salmon which she loved. I had a cup of Salmon Chowder than was one of the best Chowders I’ve ever had. I had the Captains Platter for dinner which included grilled salmon, fried shrimp and fried halibut. It was all wonderful. We finished it off with a mixed berry pie which was very good as well. The cost of the meal was $49 including tip (no alcohol). While we enjoyed Chinooks the night before, we both think that the Salmon Bake is far superior!

 

After dinner we drove toward Exit Glacier and stopped at a bridge that overlooks the Glacier. Directly in front of the bridge is a large rocky gravel area. In front of the rocky area is a wooded area and the Glacier is beyond the wooded area probably a mile or so away. My eyes first focused on the Glacier, but as my view pulled back to the wooded area and then to the rocks, I saw something moving and realized a black bear was strolling around the rocks just minding his own business. It was a wonderful way to end this glorious day in which we had witnessed such great scenery and wildlife in Kenai Fjord followed by a great meal and now topped off with our own personal viewing of the bear!

 

We drove back to the Hotel and walked over to a nearby ice parlor and we both had some hot chocolate for our night cap. It was nearly 11:00 p.m., but it looked like it was about 5:00 p.m. as we strolled back to our room.

 

Tomorrow we were going to drive to Cooper’s Landing and stay at the Kenai Princess Lodge. I had made no plans and was looking forward to just having a relaxing day and letting my wallet relax a little as well! So with the idea of just haveing a nice relaxing day, I drifted into a deep relaxing sleep as I dreamed about that wonderful whale breaching so high out of the water, and enjoyed being at peace…:)

 

Stay tuned for more...

 

Larry

[ecpc1302]

Still loving your reviews! Glad to hear you enjoyed the Salmon Bake. We are planning a walk to Exit Glacier and dinner there when we visit Seward next month.

 

Elsie:cool:

[Alaska surprise!]

awesome work!!

I am reading avidly.....

cant wait to go myself and experience all this first hand.

[cjnky]

I get this feeling YOU could NOT have a relaxing day - you had to find some adventure (or at least make relaxing SOUND like an adventure!) :D Anxiously awaiting next chapter!!

[NancyIL]

Larry, I love reading your wonderfully-detailed trip report! We just got back from our Alaska trip last night (3 hours ago), and though I should be in bed, I had to keep reading. I can't wait for the rest of the story!

[LarryF]

Larry, I love reading your wonderfully-detailed trip report! We just got back from our Alaska trip last night (3 hours ago), and though I should be in bed, I had to keep reading. I can't wait for the rest of the story!

 

 

Thanks Nancy. We had such a great time. I'm really enjoying writing about it so I can re-live the experience.

 

I cannot wait to read your review especially about the areas we weren't able to get to this trip.

 

I know how exausted you must be as were we after our trip!

 

Cjnky - You're right as I can't hardly relax on a 7 day cruise to nowhere; however, our day driving in Cooper's Landing and up the Sterling Hwy didn't offer a whole lot of Adventure, but I tried my best to find some!

 

Larry

[tapia]

I'm dying to read more, but since I leave tomorrow I think it'll have to wait until I get back. I'm LOVING your writing style. I'm afraid my review will be too much fact and not enough "heart."

 

Thanks for making my anticipation grow!

[LarryF]

I'm dying to read more, but since I leave tomorrow I think it'll have to wait until I get back. I'm LOVING your writing style. I'm afraid my review will be too much fact and not enough "heart."

 

Thanks for making my anticipation grow!

 

I enjoy sharing my inner feelings about the beautiful sights and inspirational encounters I have in my travels especially to all the great people on this board! We all seem to share the same type of passion for travel and it's so cathartic to be able to share my experiences with so many of you who really seem to care!

 

It reminds me of a comedian on board one of our cruises who said he was going to start his own business. He was going to hire himself out to returning vacation travelers and go to there homes and view their videos and slide shows and act like he gives a damn!! LOL!

 

Enjoy your Alaska trip and I know you will have your own great experiences!

 

Larry

[katiefish21]

Hi Larry, Ive thoroughly enjoyed your posts. We will be on the Sapphire on July 28th. I was wondering how much did you tip for the Misty Fjords plane tour. There will be 3 of us and I have no idea what to tip. I would appreciate any advise you have. Susan

[LarryF]

Hi Larry, Ive thoroughly enjoyed your posts. We will be on the Sapphire on July 28th. I was wondering how much did you tip for the Misty Fjords plane tour. There will be 3 of us and I have no idea what to tip. I would appreciate any advise you have. Susan

 

 

I gave Michelle a 15% tip and a giant hug as the tour was just so magnificent. I mostly gave out 10% tips for all our other excusions. I hope I don't sound cheap as I sure would have liked to have given Michelle and others larger tips, but the budget...well, you know.

 

Larry

[plenox]

Larry, this is great review. I have been copying and pasting every chapter on my word document so I can view it together. wow. it is more than 15 pages long even with small font size. I am very impressed. It sure will help a lot for my 2008 Alaska trip planning.

[thawan]

I too want to add my thanks for your review, we (dh & I) have enjoyed it very much. And we are looking forward to reading more. :D

[LarryF]

Thanks thawan and plenox for our kind words. As soon as I get home from work in a couple of hours I will post the next chapter. I just need to get some information from my wife as I'm having a senior moment and suffer from CRS Disease (Can't Remember S..t)!

 

Larry

[LarryF]

Hello all,

 

To continue…

 

Monday May 28, 2007

 

As we were in no hurry today, we slept in until about 8:00 a.m. and took our time getting ready for the day and packing for our short move over to the Kenai Princess in Coopers Landing. The weather was still very cloudy but no rain was falling and the morning temperature was in the mid 40’s.

 

We had breakfast shortly after 9:00 a.m. at the hotel and then checked out. We loaded all our stuff in the car and headed out of Seward. We really enjoyed Seward and I had a passing thought to go back to the SeaLife Center and take the back of the house tour. I even thought about really blowing our budget and taking another Kenai Fjord tour! But it was time to move on…

 

We took our time driving towards the Sterling Highway. The weather started clearing a little and patches of blue started appearing between the clouds. We stopped several times along the road just to marvel at the scenery surrounding us every inch of the ride. Having no plans or any ideas of where to go, we met a couple at one of our stops that mentioned they were going to take a drive on the Hope Hwy. They said they had heard it was a nice scenic drive and it was located not too far past the Sterling Hwy.

 

So we studied our Mile Post to point us the right direction and made our way to the Hope Highway. The turnoff for the Hope Highway is located at mile marker 56.7 on the Seward Highway. The road is 17.8 miles long and ends in Hope right at the waters edge of Turnagain Arm and Ressurection Creek. You can go to this link for more information about Hope, http://www.advenalaska.com/Hope/.

 

By the time we made the turn on Hope Highway, the weather had turned really nice with lots of blue sky; and with the good weather came great scenery. The Hope Highway runs along the south shore of Turnagain arm and the views of the Arm from this road are just outstanding. We took our time as we stopped frequently to just sit and be mesmerized at the beautiful mountains reflecting in the pretty blue waters. There is really nothing of any consequence in Hope. There is a road off to the right that has a few buildings but nothing seemed to be open, so we didn’t stop. The Hope Highway dead ends at the waters edge and over to the right there is an RV Park where were a couple of dozen RV’s and Tents were set up. A number of people had camp fires burning and they were just sitting around the fire taking in the gorgeous views of the Arm. It just looked so peaceful. I took some wonderful photos of this area and you can view them on my Webshot link below on page 8.

 

We turned around and drove back to the Seward Highway. I was happy we had talked with the couple we had met on the road because the Hope Highway drive was such a nice surprise and full of wonderful beauty.

 

We drove back south on the Seward Highway for about 25 minutes and turned on to the Sterling Highway (mile marker 37.7) and made our way to the Kenai Princess Lodge. It’s only about a 15 or 20 minute drive to the turnoff for the Princess Lodge and the drive is beautiful as you parallel the Kenai River. To get to the Lodge you turn left on to Bean Creek Road at mile marker 47.7 which is a two mile road with beautiful views of the River.

 

We arrived at the Lodge in hopes of being able to check in early, but that wasn’t going to happen. We were told we couldn’t check in until 3:00 p.m. which I thought would be the case. So we walked around for a few minutes just to familiarize ourselves with the property. The setting was really pretty and had wonderful views of the mountains and the river. But other than a restaurant, gift shop, indoor and outdoor hot tubs and a couple of short hiking trails, there is nothing else to do at the lodge.

 

We were thinking of signing up for a raft trip, but it was still in the 40’s and seemed a bit chilly. We decided to take a drive possibly to Homer with a stop in Soldotna for lunch at a restaurant the front desk clerk at the lodge recommended. I had read many posts on this board that said the drive to Soldotna was boring and had no scenery. It was hard for me to conceive that there was anywhere in Alaska that was not loaded with gorgeous scenery, but Budget Queen and others were right on with their remarks, as there was nothing to see during this hour and a half drive!

My eyes were having troubles staying open as we finally made it to Soldotna only to find the recommended Restaurant was closed for lunch.

 

I considered turning back, but something inside me told me to keep on driving and we were rewarded as the scenery began to drastically improve as the Gulf of Alaska came into view. One of the destinations I wanted to see in Alaska was the small town of Ninilchik. The pictures I had seen of the Russian Orthodox Church in Nilnichic had intrigued me and I just had to see this sight for myself.

 

We arrived in Ninilchik about 2:30 p.m. When we drove up the gravel road towards the church there were quite a number of cars parked along the narrow road, so we parked the car and began to walk along the road. I had a small chill go up my spine when I first viewed the church, not so much because of the beauty, but because of what I saw on the side lawn of the church. It had completely escaped me that today was Memorial Day. There is a cemetery located on the side of the church and there was a Memorial Day ceremony being held. I had to take a deep breath as I got caught up in the moment of the scene before my eyes. It was if I were staring at a scene that had Norman Rockwell painted would surely be amongst his most famous. The skies were a somber mixture of light and dark low hanging clouds with just a tinge of blue where the clouds parted. A lone bi-plane was flying over the cemetery and standing in the cemetery were war veterans from past eras holding colorful flags. Then the sound of gunshots rang out as a three gun salute was made in memory of those killed in action. And finally it seemed like the world stood still as a lone bugler slowly played a tear provoking rendition of Taps on his bugle. It was definitely a unique stirring moment and one we would have missed had the restaurant in Soldotna not been closed for lunch. Things usually happen for a reason…

 

As the veterans and other mourners sadly left the cemetery, a voice among them rang out saying, “Ok everyone come on over to my house for food and beer” and the small crowd began to laugh and talk more lively as they loaded in their cars and left the sadness behind them.

 

The view of the Church and the views of Ninilchik from the Church were beautiful. The church overlooks the small coastal town of Nilnichik and the Cook Inlet. Pictures from this area can also be found on page 8 of the webshot link below.

 

We decided to take a drive down to the beach and found a small restaurant right on the water called the Boardwalk Café. It was a small stand alone structure that you access from a small deck like boardwalk. It was just a simple small diner that provided great views of the water and surrounding mountains. The menu had a nice selection of burgers as well as chicken, beef, halibut and Portobello mushroom sandwiches and also Reindeer Hot Dogs. They also serve breakfast and dinner. We both warmed up with good hot cocoa and both ordered cheeseburgers. The burgers were outstanding and we fell in love with this little café by the seaside!

 

Homer was only another hour drive away, but as it was after 3:00 p.m. we decided we’d see Homer on a future trip and decided to make our way back to Cooper’s Landing. The drive back was not near as boring as Amy and I talked about all our great experiences on the trip thus far and tried to decide the best part of the trip, which was just not possible to do!

 

As we neared Coopers Landing we came to a road called Skilak Lake Loop Road on our right hand side and on a whim I decided to turn on the road and see where it would take us. It’s located near mile marker 76. It turned out the road was all gravel and until we realized we could look it up in the Milepost, we didn’t know the road was 18.5 miles long! We had already driven 10 miles with no scenery at all and it didn’t make sense to turn around, so we kept going. About that time we came across a beautiful site of Skilak Lake and as we began to come around a bend in the road, we were astonished to see a black bear standing in the road a mere 20 feet in front of us! :eek: Once again, we just happened to be at the right place at the right time! It is just so fascinating to come across wildlife in the “wild”! We could have stayed there all day, but a jeep came tearing around the corner from the other side and the bear went running into the woods. :(

 

The last 5 miles of the road were very scenic with great beautiful views of the Lake. So if you’re inclined to take a little side trip on this road, I would recommend turning on to it at mile marker 58 as most of the scenic viewing was located in the first few miles of the road coming from that direction. I also just read some info about the road, and there are a lot of turnoffs from the road (that we did not take) that lead to very scenic areas.

 

We finally made it back to the Princess Lodge between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. We checked in and made our way to our room. The rooms are located in clusters throughout the property. We drove to our cluster and unloaded our stuff and chilled for about an hour. The room has a separate sitting area that has its own private porch with views of a snowcapped mountain through rows of thin sets of trees. The bedroom and bathroom are located on the other side of the wall from the sitting area. The room was well appointed and comfortable.

 

There are two hiking trails at the lodge which we took that take you right down to the Kenai River. The river is very pretty and has a beautiful greenish color to it. We had heard there was a lot of excitement earlier in the day when a black bear had swam across the river chasing a moose and her calve and people all day had caught glimpses of the Moose and Bear. We were on the look out for them, but never saw them.

 

I had read a lot about Gwin’s Lodge, http://www.gwinslodge.com, on Cruise Critic and decided a long time ago that we would have dinner there. The Lodge is located at mile marker 52 on the Sterling Hwy, about a 15 minute drive from the Princess Lodge. It was everything I had read about and knew it was a great choice for dinner. The Lodge had not opened yet for the Season, but the Restaurant was crowded with mostly locals and doing a lot business. I would recommend calling ahead for reservations if they take them at (907) 595-1266.

 

Their menu is a newspaper named Gwin’s Lodge Gazette. It has a written history of the lodge and Cooper’s Landing. It also gives a number of sports fishing tips. It has a wide selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Amy had a small salad and a bowl of chili. She loved the chili and we think it was made with reindeer sausage, although we don’t know that for sure. I had the smoked Alaskan Salmon chowder that was just out of this world. It was sooo good and they provide the recipe in the Gazette menu. I had the Jumbo Sea Scallops for my dinner and it was excellent as well. Amy had a multi-berry pie for dessert which was scrumptious and I had ice cream of course which I wholeheartedly enjoyed! I highly recommend Gwin’s! :)

 

We returned to the Princess Lodge and decided to go in the outside Jacuzzi. It was really cold before we got in the Hot Tub and even colder getting out,:eek: but it was so relaxing and really hit the right spots on my aching back from all the day’s driving!

 

We finally called it a night and I couldn’t help but laugh when Amy turned the lights off. The room had 4 skylights along the beam of the ceiling and the room was just as bright before she turned out the lights! Anyway, we had another great day in Alaska and tomorrow would be day of transition as we would make our way to the Glenn Highway and travel to Chickaloon. You’ll have a tough time finding it on any map and most people from Alaska have never heard of it. So why were we going to this unknown place?:confused: Stay tuned…

 

To be continued…

 

Larry

[cjnky]

OK, now I've been forced to add the Hope Hwy and Bean Creek Road to my itenerary, as well as the Boardwalk Cafe in Ninilchik!! Another FABULOUS review Larry!! :D