Review: reposted Denali on our own and Princess Voyage of the Glaciers June 8th SB

[Hoppalong]

Just back from our southbound cruise on the Coral Princess.

 

Prior to boarding we took a trip to Denali. We flew into Anchorage and spent our first night at the Ship Creek Comfort Inn. They were very accommodating with airport shuttles, shuttles to the Glacier Brew House and shuttles to the train station, going and coming. They also held our extra luggage for a few days while we went to Denali prior to our cruise.

 

We took the Gold star dome train car to Denali and enjoyed the narration by a high school tour guide. They hold a completion and the winners are given the job of providing commentary for the trip. They switch trains at the half way point so the students return to their home town Anchorage or Fairbanks each evening. The views were great as was the food in the dining car on the lower level. Seats on the domed car are reserved so they are yours for the whole trip.

 

We had pre arranged for transfer to the Denali Bluffs and were met by a driver at the station. However our driver told us we had been transferred to the Grand Denali. What an upgrade! The Grand Denali is a beautiful new hotel overlooking the valley at the park entrance and the view from our room was great. We were later told the Bluffs was only serving the hotel staff and all Bluffs reservations were transferred to the Grand Denali. This may have been just an early season thing.

 

We were also met at the train station by Danny our driver from Talkeetna Aero Services to take us to the air strip for our Denali summit flight. He didn’t know if the conditions were good for our flight so he followed us to the Grand Denali and continued to check on the forecast while we checked in. We got the go ahead so we transferred to the airstrip. There we were weighed for seat assignment to balance the plane, met Trent our very youthful looking pilot and given safety instructions. The instructions included the use of oxygen masks as our flight would take us up to the rarified air at 22,000 feet.

 

The flight was wonderful! The perspective of looking down at the peaks was awe inspiring! The scale was hard to grasp. We felt we could reach out and touch the mountains and then we were told it was two miles between the North and South Peaks. Trent was very professional and thorough. He was constantly checking on our safety and comfort. He even took another pass as one passenger’s camera misfired and wanted another shot. It was a wonderful introduction to the park.

 

We returned to the Grand Denali and then went to the 8:30 show of the Cabin Night Dinner Theatre. Mediocre food and a corny show, but others seemed to enjoy it. My enjoyment may have been blunted by my having been chosen to portray Dan McGrew in the reenactment of the Robt. Service poem. We did use a two for one coupon which eased the pain, somewhat.

 

The next day we were up early to take 7:00 AM park shuttle. We arranged for a box lunch from the hotel the night before. They pretty much messed up everyone’s order but that was quickly forgotten on our wonderful ride through the park. The hotel transferred us to the Park Shuttle and we were among the first to board. We did get seats on the left side of the bus but as the day progressed which side you sat on did not seem important. Folks shared the views with those across the aisle. In fact I think there were more wildlife sightings from the right side. Due to the early season our shuttle only took us to the Eielson Visitors center and that made for a full day. Our driver provided commentary and his love of the park was obvious. We saw Doll Sheep, Caribou, Moose (mother and baby), Brown Bear with her cub and Wolves. Also Snowshoe Hares, Magpies, Willow Ptarmigans and red Fox. Our only disappointment was that the mountain was not out.

 

On our return to near the Park entrance we were dropped off at the sled dog demo. It was interesting to learn about the dog’s part in the Park and watch as they hooked up a team. All of the dogs were very excited and wanted to be picked for the brief run. The Rangers had to hold the dogs front legs off the ground as the moved them or they would not have been able to control them at all. It had gotten very cold so we returned to our hotel rather than linger at the kennel. We had dinner at the Grande Denali, very good.

 

The next day we returned to Anchorage on a Private Domed Car. This car was owned and staffed by Holland America. It had similar amenities as the Gold Star Domed Car just not quite as nice. For the cost difference I’d opt for this in the future. Most of the people on our car were part of a cruise tour with their guides. We were all treated to the commentary of our professional guide. The commentary on the way up was good but this was a level or two higher. And especially noteworthy was that the mountain was out! We had many views of McKinley and the guides alerted us to upcoming photo ops.

 

We returned to Anchorage and the Holland America cars were left about two blocks from the depot. I have difficulty walking and didn’t relish the walk, especially since we could look across the tracks to our hotel. However we were warned that we couldn’t just walk over to the hotel. The HAL bus offered us a lift to the depot which we gratefully accepted.

 

The next morning we were picked up by Gary with the Magic Bus for transfer to Whittier to start our cruise. Gary was a great host, driver and tour guide he clearly loved his job. He gave us commentary on the way and stopped at Explorer Glacier and Portage Glacier for photos.

 

Arriving at Whittier we dropped off our luggage at the boat and then walked to Swiftwater Seafood for lunch. Among our group we had Fish and Chips (Halibut) and Shrimp and Chips and Crab Cakes washed down with Alaskan Amber. It was all very good.

 

Around 3:00 PM we boarded the Coral Princess. Our Rum Runner flasks passed scrutiny. We then proceeded to our cabin. Entering our cabin we were greeted by a video of Samantha Brown cruising aboard a Princess ship. This and reruns of “The Love Boat” were television staples for the next several days. I also enjoyed the updates to follow along with Joe Upton's book.

 

We had originally booked a port side balcony cabin. During the weeks preceding final payment we were offered a guaranteed mini-suite. Due to the larger bath facilities and the couch we accepted this offer. Our mini-suite was C417 mid-ship on starboard. It was the first cabin on the mid-ship bump out on the Caribe Deck. It has been noted that this cabin has close proximity to adjacent cabins and privacy may be compromised. This was not an issue as we never saw our neighbors. Others leaning over their railings kept to themselves and maintained the illusion of privacy. This cabin has a smaller balcony than most other mini-suites. The covered balcony only has room for two chairs and a small table. This was not a problem for us. The starboard cabin may offer less viewing however in both College Fjord and Glacier Bay the Captain turned the both so both sides had glacier views. Had this been a bigger concern we could have spent more time on deck to get views from both sides. Here’s a link to photos of our bump out cabin http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/id7.html

 

The first two days were at sea. We cruised College Fjord and Glacier Bay. We saw glaciers calving and wildlife including sea otters and sea lions. The ship’s naturalist, Barbara Bennett, was very good at calling out natural features and wildlife spotting. She was broadcast over the ships PA system and on the TV. In Glacier Bay Park Rangers joined the ship and provided commentary. The Rangers and the ship’s naturalist also gave programs on board.

 

On our third day we arrived in Skagway. It was a little surprise to wake up looking at a sheer cliff with the names and logos of many cruise boats and their Captains names painted on it.

 

With Murray’s Guide in hand we rented a car at Avis and headed to the Yukon. Murray’s guide proved invaluable and we had a great time. We went through Carcross, had soup and sandwiches at the Cinnamon Cache then on to Emerald Lake where we turned around. Our return trip included a roadside photo encounter with a black bear.

 

We returned the car and wandered around Skagway. We stopped at Corrington’s and enjoyed the museum collection. We were told that this is the last year for the museum as it’s being sold off or donated to other museums.

 

As I mentioned earlier I can’t walk very far so we took the shuttle to get from the boat to downtown Skagway. It was two dollars per trip or five dollars for all day. Most folks walked it easily.

 

Returning to the boat we stopped off at the Skagway Fish Company at the foot of the Railroad Dock. Great food and more Alaskan Amber.

 

Our next port was Juneau. We walked the short distance from the boat to the waiting Harv and Marv’s van. Jay’s (Marv) father in-law picked us up and drove us to the boat docks for our three-hour-tour. Eagles, otters, sea lions, Humpbacks and Orcas. We had a great time and once again, as with our pilot and shuttle driver in Denali, it was obvious how much our host enjoyed his job and how proud of Alaska he was. On our return we had a quick stop at the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Ketchikan was our next port. We’d made reservations with Island Wings for Misty Fjords flightseeing. We were picked up at the “Liquid Sunshine Gauge" and delivered to the Island Wings base. We had a great flight with Michele. Our flight included a lake landing where we got out and walked on a small island. Ketchikan did not live up to its reputation, it was clear and sunny. Returning to Ketchikan we walked Creek Street and took the funicular to The Cape Fox Lodge where we enjoyed the totem poles and had lunch overlooking the town. We walked back down Married Man walk and watched a brief film at the Discovery Center before returning to the ship.

 

Our next day was a sea day we were on the Inland Passage and saw porpoise on our bow wave as well as eagles overhead.

 

We disembarked in Vancouver using the self disembark where we had to handle all our luggage. This was not a big deal. We were in the first group off the boat so we could take the 9:20 Quick Shuttle to Seattle. Things went smoothly. At least until we got to US customs. There the agents seemed disinterested as we waited for them in our growing line. We had a nice conversation with our Quick Shuttle driver and I believe he will be checking out Cruise Critic to plan an Alaska Cruise for he and his wife.

 

Meals onboard: We generally ordered room service for a breakfast of Danish, yogurt, a carafe of coffee, a fruit bowl, cereal and milk and juice. Our lunches onboard were at the Provence Dining Room and our evening meals were "Anytime Dining" at the Bordeaux Dining Room. Portions in the dining rooms were small but, adequate. I confess I ordered double portions on the night crab legs were served. We did eat in the Horizon Court once or twice but generally shied away from it. We also ate in both of the specialty dining rooms, Sabatini’s and Bayou. We timed these dinners to avoid formal nights in the other dining rooms. I definitely preferred the Bayou. Sabatini’s was ok but some of the prep seemed odd. I ordered shrimp and scallops as my entrée and they came with some sort of sweet pepper sauce. It wasn’t an improvement over more traditional preparation. Our traveling companions also ate snacks at the pizza and hamburger grille and said it was very good.

 

On board entertainment: The Dance review seemed lame. The singer and standup comedian were pretty good. I enjoyed the presentations by the naturalist, Barbara Bennett and Ititerod Winner Libby Riddles. The lounge singer was so, so at best but the jazz singer in the Bayou Café was very good. Other performers in the atrium and smaller venues sounded good in passing.

 

Getting about: I had been concerned that transportation especially in Denali would be a problem as we were carless. It was not. They were well prepared and shuttles were available to get you anywhere.