Ken the cruiser

We just got back from listening to an awesome North To Alaska series lecture given by Dave Timmerman! The last part of his lecture discussed the evolution of the Aleutian Ballad crab fishing boat to one that now takes along tourists when they go fishing out of Ketchikan! It was so motivating, we decided to swap the Ketchikan duck boat tour we had originally booked for the below excursion on the Aleutian Ballad! Luckily, the excursions for the May 15 cruise don’t close out until tomorrow, 5 days before embarkation.

We just went by the casino and here’s what they said. On sea days, the cashier opens at 9 am and some of the tables open at 10 am. They will stay open until midnight, or a little later depending on how many guests are there at that time. On port days they will open once the ship gets far enough away from the port into international waters. For example, the casino was open on the last leg after we left Skagway, even though Alaska was on both sides of the ship as we left.

We had an interesting morning, even though we had nothing planned. First, we went to Sabatini’s for breakfast and sat near the entrance where we were quietly entertained by the various issues the Sabatini’s manager, Alfredo, had to deal with during the 45 minutes we were there, from a loyal Princess patron (his words) complaining about the breakfast for over 10 minutes to folks popping in for breakfast that weren’t suite guests. Unfortunately, as it was after 9 am and the MDR was closed, the only place he could point them to was the Lido buffet which most were saddened to hear. But on the bright side, there were quite a few guests that came in to just make evening reservations. I know, nothing catastrophic, but it was entertaining. 😁 Then we noticed our internet service expiration date only had 2 hours left, even though we had purchased the ($50) Plus package on all three legs. We first stopped by the internet desk to see what the issue was and discovered the Plus package was not listed on our account. Then I checked my Folio on the App and noticed I had also been charged for my drinks last light! 😱 So we headed off to Guest Relations with our confirmations in hand. Luckily, there was no one in Suite/Elite line and they were able to get our previously purchased Plus packages reapplied to our remaining bookings. Once they did that, our internet service expiration date magically bumped up to 7+ days, and the drink charges from yesterday disappeared! 🕺💃🏻

Thanks for the clarity on all fronts. The reason we probably didn’t see the LGB both times heading out from Vancouver on Apr 3 and May 8 was because we went to dinner at 5 pm at the Crown Grill and cruised under the bridge while we were there. Darn! It would have been nice to take a picture. Maybe I’ll get up early on disembarkation day on May 22 and take a picture of the LGB then. 😁

They had the regular 7:30 and 9:30 pm shows this evening, unlike embarkation day on April 30 when there was only the one 9 pm show. You can always go to the 8:30 pm game in the Explorers Lounge and then head to the late 9:30 pm show. I’m sure there might be something after the 9:30 pm show. But we usually head back to the cabin so I don’t have any experience in that area.

What’s interesting is that the Grand, Ruby, and the HAL Noordam were all docked at the Vancouver pier on the west side of the Lions Gate Bridge on April 30 rather than at the other pier east of the bridge where you are headed. I guess the “east” Vancouver port terminal was designed to handle larger ships like the Majestic and Ovation of the Seas, which appears to have to wait until around 2 am to cross under the bridge as well.

Day 10 - May 9 - Sea Day The internet is a little slow this evening. Maybe a bunch of the new 2,515 guests onboard are back in their cabins streaming movies! 😂 BTW there were only 20 of us staying on from the last cruise.

After our “free” dinner in the Crown Grill for being in a suite, we headed off to watch a very engaging Rock n Roll pianist, Jefferson McDonald. Then we were off to the Explorers Lounge to watch Strike Out hosted by Nick, the assistant CD, whom we very much enjoyed on the last leg.

And we’re off! Next stop Ketchikan day after tomorrow! This time the Zaandam gets to lead the way through the Johnstone Strait.

Thanks! We’re actually planning to do both of those, but weren’t aware of the trails up top. We noticed the tram was near where the Grand was docked last week, so we figured no need to book an excursion for that. As far as the 26-glacier cruise, we actually have that one booked through Princess. We realize it was a little cheaper if we booked it directly, as the tour boat will be right next to where the Grand will be. But since we recently made Elite, we get a 10% discount booking excursions through Princess, so it was pretty much a wash.

Here’s our updated itinerary for the second leg of our cruise. Basically, we’re not going on any excursions when we are in Juneau, as our Juneau excursion on the first leg pretty much checked the box of places we wanted to see there. 8-Day Inside Passage 14-Day Voyage of the Glaciers Date Destination Arrive Depart Date Destination Arrive Depart 4/29 Fly to Vancouver BC 10:30 PM 5/8 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM 4:00 PM Fairmont Hotel 5/9 Inside Passage 4/30 Port of Vancouver 9:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/10 Ketchikan AK 6:00 AM 2:00 PM 5/1 Johnstone Strait 5/11 Juneau AK 8:00 AM 9:00 PM 5/2 Sitka AK 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/12 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/3 Juneau AK 8:00 AM 9:00 PM 5/13 Glacier Bay NP 6:00 AM 3:00 PM 5/4 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/14 College Fjord 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 5/5 Glacier Bay NP 6:00 AM 3:00 PM 5/15 Whittier AK 12:30 AM 8:30 PM 5/6 Ketchikan AK 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/16 Hubbard Glacier 3:00 PM 8:00 PM 5/7 Inside Passage 5/17 Glacier Bay NP 9:15 AM 7:30 PM 5/8 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/18 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/19 Juneau AK 6:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/20 Ketchikan AK 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/21 Inside Passage 5/22 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM Fairmont Hotel 3:00 PM 5/23 Fly Home 9:15 AM

Cool! According to the Cruise Mapper Port Schedule, the Majestic arrives at 3 am and departs the following morning at 2 am. That seems kind of an odd time to leave a port.

Day 9 - May 8 - In Transit Day

We agree. We’re just getting settled in after 7 days.😂