Just Back...Island Princess w/ Victoria pre-cruise and Seward post-cruise...FABULOUS!

[mamadot]

Cool Cruiser, Thanks for the great review! We will be on the Coral in September on the northbound. We are in Knoxville so we know about Big Orange country which made your review even more fun!:)

[UTVOLS]

Whittier, Poor, Poor, Whittier.....

 

The morning we awoke in Whittier, it was the gloomiest, gray, rainy, yucky day we had experienced since Vancouver 7 days earlier. It made me that much more grateful for the beautiful days we had had while onboard.

 

Because we had made our own plans after disembarkation, we were slated with silver luggage tags and told we could not leave the ship until after 8:45. OH NO! Budget Queen said that we needed to be first in line at AVIS when they opened at 8:00 to pick up our car and make the 9:00 am tunnel. Although, at first, we freaked out a bit because it was 'NOT ON OUR SCHEDULE', we knew that we had until 3:00pm to get to Seward for our Kenai Fjords Tour. We did end up being able to get off of the ship closer to 8:30am, and my brother and SIL headed to AVIS to secure our rental.

 

Note to others....If you are a party of 4, a regular standard Avis Impala is generally a safe rental. If you are a party of 4 traveling to Alaska with 8 pieces of LUGGAGE...the Impala is a bit too small....

 

My SIL, who is as sharp as a tack, had thought about this a week earlier and had called to change, upsize, upgrade, and value-size our reservation....Unfortunately, the folks at the Whittier Avis, never got the memo....They said there were no larger vehicles available...

 

What were we to do? :eek:

 

Then, as luck would have it, the guy remembered a Honda Pilot that had just been brought in, and we were good to go. Shewwwwwww! *wiping the sweat from one's brow*

 

My brother and SIL swooped in and picked up DH and I where we had been standing with the fortress of luggage...We threw everything in the back of the Pilot and made it to the opening of the 9:00 am tunnel with 1 minute to spare. Do you remember me saying in the first installation of this review that my brother and SIL are lucky people to travel with? In case, any of you want to travel w/ them in the future, their phone number is 817-248- ! psych!

 

Wow! That Whittier Tunnel is something, isn't it?

Cough! Cough! Cough!

 

When we finally arrived on the Portage side of the tunnel, you will never believe what happened.....No rain, no gloom, are you kidding me? UNBELIEVABLE!

 

We popped over to the NP Visitor's center (which is very nice), chatted with the rangers and headed out to hike the Byron Glacier trail where we came across living, breathing, biting ..... BUGS!!!! We should have applied repellent. If any of you readers happened to be on the trail with us that day....my apologies....yes, I was the one waving my Mighty Ninja 'Get away from me Bugs' Walking stick!

 

The hike was fairly easy and very rewarding once you make it to the bench at the base of the Glacier. My DH and I headed out across a rock and boulder mound thinking we could touch the base of the glacier....I don't recall there being any 'Stop, don't go any farther' signs at this one. My brother and SIL waited patiently on the bench for our return...of course, they had witnessed my antics in the Yukon and were probably just waiting in preparation to call Search and Rescue?

 

We returned to our vehicle and headed out for Seward.

 

Our trip to Seward was uneventful, actually too uneventful.

 

No wildlife, nada, none, zilch.... and we were desperately seeking a moose! We took pictures of the Moose Crossing signs, never saw one, stopped in the little community of Moose Pass, never saw one, saw numerous marshy, swampy areas that looked like perfect little habitats for Moose, never saw one, we even hung our heads out the windows and made moose noises, never saw one!

 

Arrived in Seward at 12:30 and stopped by the Holiday Inn Express to enquire about an early check-in. Vladimir, the Russian, was unshakable. We pleaded, begged, and told him that we wanted to change our clothes before setting off on our Kenai Fjord tour at 3:00 and he told us to come back at 3:30….that was the earliest we could check in. There would be NO! upgrade, bathrobes, or early check-ins for us that night. I tell this portion with a light heart....we didn't really care that much about an early check in...we were really just afraid of Vladimir.

 

Went to Terri’s Fish and Chips for lunch and walked around the harbor where we got the biggest kick out of a sea otter who must be a resident. He gave us quite a show as he floated on his back, back and forth under the dock bridge cracking clams on his tummy. Gotta love a sea otter!

 

 

Next up....

 

Kenai Fjords Tour and Krazy in Love!

[UTVOLS]

Cool Cruiser, Thanks for the great review! We will be on the Coral in September on the northbound. We are in Knoxville so we know about Big Orange country which made your review even more fun!:)

'On a hallowed hill in Tennessee, like a beacon shining bright...

The stately halls of old UT rise glorious to the sight....

So here's to you old Tennessee,

Our alma mater true....

We pledge in love and harmony

Our loyalty to Youuuuuuuu!'

Sorry....got a bit carried away!

May you have a wonderful, safe, and sunny (like bright ORANGE) , voyage and adventure!

Come back and give us a review, 'kay?

[NancyIL]

Please don't be bitter...:( Maybe a little bit of crab dip might help?;)

*perk*...crab dip?!?!??! :D Hey - maybe I should suggest to Michelle that serving snacks on crappy weather days might make her passengers feel better about seeing all those clouds! ;)

 

From one Disney fan to another - I loved Skagway best, too. How could I not - it was the first time we saw the sun! We did the train/bus trip to Carcross - and I took a photo of those plastic goats on the hill at Caribou Crossing. I also didn't realize they weren't real until I noticed some time later that they hadn't moved! :rolleyes: We were hoping to meet Murray, and I asked Larry (from Chilkoot Charters) if he would give Murray a call. Unfortunately - Murray didn't answer. But before our arrival in Skagway, Murray DID ask Larry to tell "NancyIL" hello! After reading your report, guess I should've asked the ladies at the post office if they knew Murray's whereabouts! :p

[kehlx2]

you can call and ask them to mark you for capt larry, but then not everyone can fit on his boat. capt sean (as mentioned in the review) takes out tours, he is great. if on his boat, i wouldn't complain. :D

the thing with the purple boat, if the whales are further out...the speed of the purple boats makes it possible to get out to them and still get back in time to leave on your ship. this poster had a much more exciting whale watching then is usual. recent reports were of a few tails from a distance.

 

Just wanted to stop in here while I am reading her review..but I went & looked at your pics--nice pics--really nice & clear..now in Skagway--really good pics of the tunnel:eek: :D ..why did you take those?:D but the others were good,thanks for sharing..now to read on with the review here..got waylaid by your pics.

[Toyz711]

there is only one QUEEN....maybe she will let you into her court. she has got to be laughing ...er, proud of you and your whales!!

we had our sunny port in skagway, too...at least after 11am.

[Toyz711]

i was going to tell you that some of capt larry's tours serve smoked salmon. i was so busy i didn't know they were putting out the treats, inside. thank goodnes, DH knew how much i like smoked salmon and brought me some. when i went in to look for more, the plate was clear. but sean took pity and put out a few more. a little bit better then cheese? maybe it's too early in the salmon season?

[Jstringers]

Cool Cruiser, Thanks for the great review! We will be on the Coral in September on the northbound. We are in Knoxville so we know about Big Orange country which made your review even more fun!:)

 

Mamadot, come join our role call if you're on the sept 3rd cruise. We are from Knoxville as well and looking forward to the cruise.

[Jstringers]

fantastic reviews....thanks you ...and

 

GO VOLS

[kehlx2]

Whittier, Poor, Poor, Whittier.....

 

The morning we awoke in Whittier, it was the gloomiest, gray, rainy, yucky day we had experienced since Vancouver 7 days earlier. It made me that much more grateful for the beautiful days we had had while onboard.

 

GREAT reviews--love your way with words..have so enjoyed reading them...We are still waiting to go north--but only about 40 now..hoping it goes fast & then slows down while on cruise..although we have to take fleece--we are also spending 3 days in San Diego..now I await another review even tho we don't go there.

[UTVOLS]

there is only one QUEEN....maybe she will let you into her court. she has got to be laughing ...er, proud of you and your whales!!

 

You are absolute right! and I would not qualify to even be her Jester.

I hope she is proud, as we took an awful lot of her advice, but I doubt she has time to read such long, painful reviews. She has far to many questions to answer....

And just in case you are reading, BQ.....Get back to work!

[UTVOLS]

fantastic reviews....thanks you ...and

 

GO VOLS

 

 

Thank you and Right Back at you....:)

[UTVOLS]

[quote=kehlx2;11099728

 

GREAT reviews--love your way with words..have so enjoyed reading them...We are still waiting to go north--but only about 40 now..hoping it goes fast & then slows down while on cruise..although we have to take fleece--we are also spending 3 days in San Diego..now I await another review even tho we don't go there.

 

 

Thank you for letting me know I had a reader and that you were enjoying it....I work better with a little encouragement!:o

Have a truly blessed time on your vacation!:)

[UTVOLS]

Kenai Fjords and Krazy in Love...

 

Seward and Kenai Fjords….Could it get any better than this?:D

 

We showed up for our 6 hour 3:00 pm Kenai Fjords Tour with the company of the same name around 2:30. My sister in law and I presented our complete, intact, non-wrinkled, unstained Toursavers booklets WITH our coupons unremoved to the KF employee who chuckled at us because we made such a big deal about it. He did say it was necessary though. He made note of our dinner preference, the grilled salmon or chicken dinner and handed us our boarding passes.

 

(sidenote.....We found the dinners to be quite yummy. Grilled Salmon or Chicken, salad, rice, corn on the cob, bread and a yummy lemoncurd dessert bar. Complimentary, bottomless, coffee and tea during the sailing with additional snacks, fruits, and beverages for purchase at reasonable prices...ie. a Large SnickersBar was $1.00) During the tour, the boat pulls up to Fox Island and picks up dinner made by the resident Chef. Nice touch...the crew gets a kick out of timing themselves on how long the transfer takes. It is literally 30 seconds!

 

I will start off by saying that this may have been (and I have run this opinion by our whole group) our favorite excursion…Favorite because everything about it was great. The boat, the captain, the crew, the weather, the wildlife, the professionalism of the company, everything was superb…Even now, I am hardpressed to think of a negative.…And if you want to price it out ‘dollar per hour’, it ended up being our least expensive.

 

We were on their newest boat, the Aialik Voyager, and the captain and crew were EXCEPTIONAL. As we were leaving the harbor, we saw several sea otters, an adult and a youth, and before we left Resurrection Bay, and still within eyesight of the town, we saw humpbacks and pods of Orcas. We honestly didn’t know we were going to get ORCAS!!!:) Capt. Terry was thrilled and commented 'if we were beginning to see such things that close in, we were in for a grand time.' Now, he could possibly say that to all of his tour groups (Remember, I thought the plastic sheep were real at Caribou Crossing), but I believe this man was authentic. He was professional in every sense of the word. He was not flamboyant or theatrical…he was authentic and genuine and downright solid…

 

Now, back to the wildlife….we saw a giant male Orca, as well as a 2007 baby and mother swimming in unison. When taking pictures, I was actually able to capture 4 Orcas at various distances in one frame. What a blessing. We ran through the middle of what Captain Terry called the resident A-K pod. When I say ‘through the middle’, please do not envision that we were anywhere close to running into any, But these creatures seemed to be spread out from shoreline to shoreline. I believe Capt. Terry said that the pods generally stick to themselves, but in August, they all come together as a ‘SuperPod’ with one Matriarch. I will keep my fingers crossed for you August cruisers to experience the ‘SuperPod’…our group just loved saying it over and over….’SuperPod’ ....even sounds special, doesn't it?:rolleyes:

 

We had a group of porpoise play with the boat, swimming from side to side underneath and then trying to race us. Did you know that if you clap your hands and whistle it gets them that much more excited? (That's what Capt Terry told us...hmmmm. Now that I think about it, he actually might have just been seeing if he could get the whole boat to act like idiots:D ) We saw two massive clumps of stellar sealions sunning on their rocks, as well as puffins and numerous other birds on ‘poop’ island as our men called it. That place looked like it had been white washed. We got a huge kick out of the puffins who had eaten too much and couldn’t get airborne but just drug their bottoms across the water. We spent over half an hour at Aialik glacier watching it calve repeatedly. The Captain cut the engines and with the silence of everyone onboard, we were awe struck at the sounds the glacier made!

 

 

The tour concluded just after 9 pm, and when we were pulling into the harbor, Captain Terry was giving the regular 'Goodbye and Thank you for sailing with us' speech and you will NOT believe what he didn't say……..There was no, nada, zilch, not ONE hint of ‘please be sure to leave us a sign of your appreciation on your way out.’ SHOCKING! and again professional!. Although, we were already prepared with tips in hand, we ended up deciding to give more, just because we felt like it wasn’t expected…..AMAZING! Captain Terry actually stayed on the upper deck and waved and said goodbye from ‘his balcony’ as we were leaving, so it was even that much more obvious that the guy didn’t expect anything. When my husband and brother went upstairs, they thanked him and slid the tip into his hand; he seemed genuinely surprised and said that he would be sure to share it with the crew. Good guy…..:)

 

We walked back to the HI Express to shower and fall into bed. Vladimir was not there to tuck us in.

 

We were however, Krazy in Love with Kenai Fjords!:p

 

 

 

 

Hopefully, coming soon....

 

The LAST and FINAL chapter......

 

Exit Glacier and Hello Boot Camp!

 

 

.

[Jstringers]

WE WANT MORE!!!!

Surely there's more you can add? How about more on the ship...we'll be on in a month..hanging on every word!

[UTVOLS]

WE WANT MORE!!!!

 

Surely there's more you can add? How about more on the ship...we'll be on in a month..hanging on every word!

 

 

Gosh….want to know anything specific?

 

OK....YOU asked for it!

 

This is gonna add some length to my already long report....Jstringer is the one the blame,People, Jstringer .

 

Although I am not a huge Soda drinker, I found the $27.50 charge to get the Soda ‘sticker’ worth it…If you’re feeling a bit qweezy, there’s nothing like a glass of Ginger Ale. They will usually serve it in a smaller glass, but you can ask for a Large.

 

They will provide you with an eggcrate, feather pillows, and bathrobes….upon request.

 

On your room service continental breakfast form that you hang on your stateroom door before you go to sleep at night, write in ‘please bring an omelette or a bowl of oatmeal’…they just might surprise you…they did me! Make sure to tip them and be VERY grateful!

 

There is a Secret Deck on Caribe Deck 10 forward…you must walk thru a door that says ‘Crew Admittance Only’ and then through an additional door to get there. (There I go breaking another rule!) You will be a few decks below the Bridge and the officers on the bridge Will see you if you go out from the overhang…We stood by the railing and turned around and smiled at them a few times…our being there did not seem to be an issue. Funny memory…while we were standing out there viewing Majorie Glacier, a guy (who appeared as though he had been asleep in an inside cabin for several days,) stumbled out there and says….”What’s the Attraction?!?” We all pointed to the Glacier and he glances at it….shrugs his shoulders, says “hmmmm….” And goes back inside…..

 

Ask for Hand Sanitizer and for heaven’s sake, DON’T touch the tongs in the Horizon Food Court!

 

If you have Anytime dining, the busiest time is between 6:00-7:45. They will give you a beeper and the wait could be up to 45 minutes. My suggestions is to call each morning for a reservation…for 8:00, ask for table #95 by the WINDOW w/ Dennis and Ferdinand. Also, The Maitre de will not turn you away on Smart Casual night if you are wearing jeans, hiking pants, ball caps, parkas, etc. especially if you are FAMISHED….just don’t wear any UT apparel…you may be mistaken for UTVOLS.

 

Meet Marius, the head waiter, and tell him you love THAI food…..

 

Beware of ‘Dr. NO’ at Customer Relations….his answer will always be NO, regardless of what the handbook says…..find the cute girl from Scotland, she was a sweetie….

 

Enter the Spa raffle and BE PRESENT to win at 5:30 on sail away day….you just might win a facial or a pedicure like my Brother…..

 

Don’t play the ‘Winning for Dummies’ slot machine…it eats your nickels…play the Harvey Corman & Tim Conway one, it’s two to the right….

And take 3 of your friends and alternate putting the nickels in…more fun that way! And don’t sit by the Grumpy man playing the ‘Catch a Bass’ slot machine, especially with you 3 friends…he thinks you’ve brought him bad luck!

 

If you have a balcony, stay on it….don’t run around the ship looking for a better spot…

 

Go to all the lectures, by Dr. Eley….

 

Each night, before you go to bed….look your ‘Honey’ in the eye… and thank them for sharing this experience with you.

Or yeah…and it’s also nice…if you ever go to the Horizon food court, bring her back something like a Danish or cup of coffee….but wrap the tongs in a napkin and Sanitize afterwards….for heaven’s sake…..:eek:

[Jstringers]

I always wear orange. I'm constantly surprised by the sheer number of VOL fans we meet all over the world. I ussually cruise during a bye week, but this year my DW has a wedding to go to in Vancouver (she's from Vancouver), so we'll combining the wedding with the cruise. I'll miss the opening game (first one missed since 1981) but I guess I'll live.

 

If I'm confused for you...I'll sing a few verses of Rocky Top and I'm sure they'll let us pass.....if for no other reason than to get away from us!:p It's worked before.

[UTVOLS]

I'll miss the opening game (first one missed since 1981) but I guess I'll live.

 

For the love of Pete, What kind of FAN are you ?!? :eek:

[NancyIL]

Hey - did you know that ILLINI fans also wear orange? Well...my son does cuz I bought him a bunch of t-shirts. (I don't know how to play with colors on here, and that's probably a GOOD thing!) :D

 

Can't wait to read more!!!

[CALMOM]

Thank you so much for a very honest and in depth review of your cruise. You have just made me even more excited about my upcoming Island 9/3 trip, if that was even possible. Thank you again for your time.

[UTVOLS]

Thank you so much for a very honest and in depth review of your cruise. You have just made me even more excited about my upcoming Island 9/3 trip, if that was even possible. Thank you again for your time.

 

 

BUT Wait! There's More......;)

 

It has been my pleasure...

Blue SKies, Lots of Whales, and Happy Memories are my wishes for you!

[UTVOLS]

Can't wait to read more!!!

 

 

Ahhh, Nancy...You already know the ending,

But thanks from cheering for me....:p

[mii]

I just have to mention to you about the "secret" doors on the Caribe and Baja decks. They are used extensively on Panama Canal routes. I know this because I have been there twice so really they are not secret anymore. Hopefully other people will remember to go to those 'secret" doors whether they are in Alaska or Panama Canal. Enjoyed your review very much.

 

marilyn

[NancyIL]

I just have to mention to you about the "secret" doors on the Caribe and Baja decks. They are used extensively on Panama Canal routes. I know this because I have been there twice so really they are not secret anymore. Hopefully other people will remember to go to those 'secret" doors whether they are in Alaska or Panama Canal. Enjoyed your review very much.

 

marilyn

 

Very few people were on the forward Baja and Caribe decks on our NB Coral sailing, so I think they are still a secret...at least in Alaska.

[NancyIL]

Ahhh, Nancy...You already know the ending,

But thanks from cheering for me....:p

 

True - but reading your report makes me want to cruise again - cuz I HAVE to see the sun in the port towns...and a few more whales...and walk to the waterfall at Mendenhall....and sit at table #95... :)