Onboard Sapphire Princess in Alaksa 9/1/07

[PLHag]

Boarded yesterday in Whittier and just finished cruising College Fjords. Very cold this morning - still trying to acclimate. We were delayed leaving Whittier almost an hour due to late arrivals - presumably Princess transfers. Muster drill started at 8:00 p.m. which was wierd due to dining schedule, but everyone seemed to deal with it. We were scheduled to take a Princess Tour in Ketchikan (Exclusive Flightseeing & Crab Feast) and as I had feared, we had a note in our cabin upon embarkation indicating the tour was cancelled due to "operational reasons." They suggested we take the Wilderness Exploration & Crab Feast instead, but we're not game for that. Looking for an alternative now - perhaps the Back Country Jet Boat Adventure or Wilderness Bear Watch which at least provides us with a float plane trip. Formal night tonight. Not many children onboard. Weather was great in Anchorage since Thursday - sun was out and we were really overdressed. Took a private transfer to Whittier on Alaskan Leopard Comedy Tour bus. I highly recommend this smaller, more intimate transfer option which included a stop at the Alaskan Wildlife Wilderness Preserve and a second short stop at the Portage Glacier Visitor's Center for an awesome slice of homemade pie. Tunnel was scarcy, but I'm a scardy-cat. It took a total of 8 minutes and I survived. Town of Whittier was cute - wish we had planned to spend at least an hour there walking around. Not much to see, but quaint and had a lot of character. Speaking of character, we spent the day before the cruise driving to Talkeenta. It was a perfect day trip for us. There were a lot of Princess tour buses there (from the McKinley Lodge) and we met a few people who are onboard with us now.

 

I'll try to write more later.

[sunshine426]

Thanks for posting. Have a great cruise. We just got off the Sapphire a few hours before you boarded. Probably passed each other in the tunnel. She is a beautiful ship and we had a great time.

[Tennessee88]

if you see a photographer named Kamen from Bulgaria tell him jessica from Tennessee says hi and that she misses him..... he will laugh...haha he is a close friend and stop and get your picture taken cause he does really good work!!! have a great trip!!!

[jasl]

Hi Hag......We'll be boarding her on the 15th and have enjoyed the ship previously. Hope you have a great cruise. You are not the only one concerned about that tunnel.... with Alaska's earth quake possibilities, I too am not at ease, but what a beautiful drive. Glad you found the Alaskan Leopard Group, we had a great time with them a few years ago.

Happy travels . . . .. .

[TexasCPA]

Could you tell me what there was to see in the town itself? Is there a store (Wal-Mart, etc.) there where one might be able to pick up a thing or two?

 

I'm a diabetic and would like to have some cans of the low-carb Slim Fast to keep in the cabin refrigerator, but they would be way to heavy to haul in the suitcase all the way from DFW.

 

Thanks.

[PLHag]

Could you tell me what there was to see in the town itself? Is there a store (Wal-Mart, etc.) there where one might be able to pick up a thing or two? I'm a diabetic and would like to have some cans of the low-carb Slim Fast to keep in the cabin refrigerator, but they would be way to heavy to haul in the suitcase all the way from DFW. Thanks.

Not sure what town you're referring to. In Anchorage, we stopped at Costo for champagne (there's a Sam's Club next door) and we stopped at Walmart for water and diet Dr. Pepper. There are stores here called Brown Jug which are liquor stores. We stopped & picked up some beer there - they had virtually every alcohol you can imagine. We had no problem bringing anything on - but were, of course, very low key about it (all carry on).

If you're referring to the town of Whittier, we saw many LITTLE storefronts on the waterfront - maybe 15 total. Perhaps 1 little motel, 2 bars, 1 or 2 restaurants and several beautiful dogs (1 ugly dog contest winner) on the many docks. There was definitely 1 "takeout" liquor store on the waterfront, but we didn't stop there.

 

We are signed up for the Heli-Hike Adventure in Skagway. When we boarded we had a memo in our cabin that we had to turn in next day to the tour desk requesting us to provide our weight. I will write about that tour following on Tuesday night.

 

I realize our trip is late in the season, but perhaps it will help those sailing the week after us or even the people sailing early in 2008. As far as the Cruise Critic people, several of us met at the Skywalkers Lounge earlier today. And by the way, despite the drink menus on board, they carry two Alaska Brew beers - the Alaskan Ale and the Summer Brew, which I highly recommend. No more Becks Light and the glasses of Moet now cost $13.

 

(According to my husband (husky), no animals were harmed during the writin of this post.

[AkSusan]

Could you tell me what there was to see in the town itself? Is there a store (Wal-Mart, etc.) there where one might be able to pick up a thing or two?

 

I'm a diabetic and would like to have some cans of the low-carb Slim Fast to keep in the cabin refrigerator, but they would be way to heavy to haul in the suitcase all the way from DFW.

 

Thanks.

 

A little history about Whittier. It was originally built as a fueling depot for World War II. The only way in is through a tunnel (it's now a multi use tunnel where the train uses it as well as cars and it's on a set schedule). Everyone basically lives in one building, and stores are few and far between.

 

I would say that you would not be able to get your Slim Fast in Whittier. If you have some time in Anchorage you'll have no problems, as stated we have Sam's, Costco, WalMart, Fred Meyers (a division of Kroger), Carrs/Safeway.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)