Ken the cruiser

BTW I just saw this on the Princess App under Profile -> Dining Preferences on our next cruise.  You may want to check the appropriate boxes on your App for your next cruise so they’re aware of any dietary issues you may have.

We just got off the Grand this morning after 22 days, and my DW got her hot chocolate every morning with almond milk.

Had a fun time on our excursion to the airport today!

First we stopped at Stanley Park across the bay from Vancouver to check out the totem poles at Brockton Park.

Our next stop was at the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge.

As you can see it was quite sturdy! 😂

Our final stop was the Capilano River Regional Park and Fish Hatchery. First we walked through the fish hatchery where they definitely try to add to the salmon population after the dam was built generating all kinds of issues with the annual salmon spawning cycle

  
Then it was time to walk around the park to see what we could see. Of course I had to take a photo of a bumble bee looking for tasty stuff! 😁

 
Two Common Mergansers, with one perched on the rock while the other was floating in the river.

 
Then we looked up and saw these two Bald Eagles with their nest about 20’ below.

 
There were also some serious clumps of moss growing on the trees in the rain forest we were in.

 
A huge Douglas Fir tree! 
 

 
Then I had a little guy land between my fingers to say hello. 😁

 
Here’s the Cleveland Dam that was built back in 1954, which you can see is a little steep for the salmon to swim upstream over! 😂

 
Then it was time to head towards the airport, where we have since checked in and are relaxing until we fly home tomorrow morning!

Thanks everyone for following along. Our next adventure will be in July when we board the Sky Princess for 21 days to visit Norway and a variety of Baltic countries. When I start my Live From thread for that cruise, I’ll be sure to post the link here in case any of you would like to follow along! 😁

We have arrived back in Vancouver where we started 23 days ago, and this time we were finally able to see the Lions Gate Bridge! 😁

 
and why the larger ships like the Majestic have to wait until low tide at 2 am to pass under it. This is the much smaller HAL Zaandam passing under it.

Here’s our excursion on the way to the airport tomorrow where we will be spending the night at the hotel there before flying home to 90F weather on Thursday! 😁

We made it to the Johnstone Strait entrance at 7:30 pm, with the Zaandam right behind us. Pretty much the same scenario as on May 7th on our first leg heading back to Vancouver.

 
And the gulls we’re having a grand old time flying around on the calmer side of the entrance,

 
while it was a little breezier on our side, to the tune of 20+ mph winds coming from the north with whitecaps freely spraying in the breeze! 😂

 
Obviously, if there was any marine wildlife out there to see, chances are we weren’t going to see them. So I took some photos and just enjoyed the moment.

 
Unfortunately, by about 8:30 pm the sun was setting,

and we were only half the way through the Strait. Again, pretty much the same experience returning to Vancouver on our first leg.

  
So we called it an evening and headed back inside to finish packing so our luggage would be out in the hall by 9 pm. So the lesson learned for us now that we have gone through the Johnstone Strait four times on this cruise is that our chances of seeing marine wildlife is pretty much slim to none based on the late afternoon departure times from both Vancouver and Ketchikan. So which route we take around Vancouver Island is of little consequence. Heck, who knows, maybe we’ll have a better chance of seeing more whales while cruising on the Pacific Ocean side! 😂

Does Princess do Alaska better? We’re currently on the Grand Princess for a 22-day B3B and are having a great time! See below Live From thread in my below signature area.
 

We have cruised to Alaska on the Celebrity Solstice (2015), the HAL Amsterdam (2017), the Disney Wonder (2019), and now on the Grand Princess. Each cruise line offered unique experiences and will always cherish the memories from each one. But I have to say, our current cruise on the Grand has been exceptional, especially with being able to go to Glacier Bay 3 times, the 26 Glacier excursion in Whittier, and the two wildlife excursions we went on in Haines, which included a ferry ride to/from Skagway, along with the Crab excursion we went on yesterday in Ketchikan. They also have had some great entertainment, to include 3 production shows on each leg, and a new comedian practically every night in the Vista Lounge.

But in the future if you decide to cruise again with Princess, may I suggest booking a Reserve Collection mini suite so you can dine in the somewhat isolated Reserve Collection “anytime” dining room every morning, where they serve Eggs Benedict, lunch on sea days, and of course dinner every night. We usually get the same table every time with the same servers, and at dinner time we’re in and out in less than an hour and the tables are spaced farther apart so we never have to talk with anyone. But then we always show up for dinner when they open at 5 pm.

Just some suggestions.

23 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Good that you will be on the Sky in July. Won't have to wait that long for another live.  Maybe you will bring your Northern Lights luck with you (for all of us).

To really improve our chances of seeing the Northern Lights in all of its glory, as they are awesome, we just booked the October 2026 NL cruise on the Majestic! But we’ll definitely bring our cold weather clothing on that cruise, as I’m sure it will be chilly too! 😂

32 minutes ago, SkeeterPilot said:

Thank you for the input.  Does Princess offer the train that goes from the port directly to the Anchorage Airport?

If you go to www.princess.com/excursions, then select Alaska and Anchorage (Whittier), you’ll find a list of all the excursions they offer, to include airport transfers from Whittier to Anchorage - or - you can just click on this link.

 
https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/anchorage-whittier-alaska-excursions

50 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thanks for the commentary on the boat.  I thought King Crab was a winter harvest.  I saw that they had a few "to see" in a tank.  Did these go to the tribe or back in the water?

 

I am glad I had a chance to do Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau.  Would have to rob a bank (or take out a mortgage) now.

 

Your time on the ships are way too short.  You need to do a world cruise.  Thanks for taking us along.  So happy you were able to see some Northern Lights.

I believe the “male” king crabs as well as some of the other smaller crabs in the pots will be going to the tribe, while the Rock Fish and the Halibut were thrown back into the water. The octopus was put back into solitary “tank” confinement with a couple of prawns to keep him company and will be released tomorrow morning.

As far as the king crab at Tracy’s in Juneau, I think they said it was around $40 for 1/2 pound of crab. But there was definitely a long line of folks waiting to get in there when we walked by there!

As far as time on a cruise, we can usually handle up to 30 days. But after that the “newness” starts to wear off and we’re ready to go back home. In the case of this 22-day B3B, we’re ready to go back home day after tomorrow and warm up, as it’s been quite chilly this whole cruise up here! Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a great time and went on a lot of cool excursions. But it’s time to go warm up until July when we head to Norway and the Baltic on the Sky Princess for 3 weeks! 😁

As we only have an iPhone and iPad when we’re on a cruise, we have no issues texting over Wi-Fi with friends and family back home “via the Cloud” that also have either an iPad or iPhone. However, we have not been able text those that have something different, such as an Android.

We were on the Sapphire Princess for 30 days on an Antarctica/SA cruise and are currently finishing up a 22-day Alaska cruise on the Grand Princess (see Live From threads below), and we would opt for the Grand again over the Sapphire for one reason if we were going on an Alaska cruise.
 
The Grand has the more wide open Vista Lounge where they hold the Comedy Lounge every night as well as a variety of Alaska-based lectures while the Sapphire Princess along with the other Grand-class ships have the smaller Club Fusion. BTW this photo only depicts 2/3 of the size of the Vista Lounge.

 
As far as comparing Alaska cruises on NCL versus PCL, does NCL even offer professional lectures on their cruises? Just something to think about if you wanted to go to some lectures while on your cruise to learn about the various aspects of this awesome state!

Good morning from somewhere in the Queen Charlotte Sound!

Heading once again towards Johnstone Strait! The last time we did this on May 8, it took 24.5 hours to get from Ketchikan to the entrance. If the same holds true this time, we should arrive there around 7 pm.

 
So let me just jinx our cruise through the Johnstone Strait right now, so I won’t get too excited about the potential of what we might see if we are able to cruise through it in the daylight! 😂

 
Johnstone Strait is home to the largest resident pod of killer whales (orcas) in the world, with a population of approximately 200 whales. There is no better place to view these amazing marine mammals. In addition to the orcas that can be viewed around Robson Bight, Johnstone Strait offers up a wide variety of other marine life, including minke, humpback and grey whales, Pacific white sided dolphins, harbour porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, harbour seals and Steller’s sea lions. Bald eagles and an abundance of seabirds will also be encountered in the area.

 
https://vancouverisland.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/vancouver-island-bc-islands/johnstone-strait/

6 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

@Ken the cruiser It’s probably too late to ask you this, but would it be possible for you to go into ocean now and act like you’re going to order a chef salad. Does it give you choices to leave things off of the salad? A few  years ago, it would give you choices to leave off eggs and things like that but there was never a choice to leave off the cheese. I’m just wondering if they ever corrected that and if we can leave the cheese off. Thank you. 

Unfortunately, it does not appear that you can leave off the cheese.

Day 22 - May 21 - Sea Day cruising through the Inside Passage

After dinner, we headed to the Laugh Lounge to watch the very funny Gary Delana!

 
However, since we’ve seen the production show Born to Dance a couple of times already on this cruise, we decided to call it a night and head back to the cabin to go through all of the photos we took today! 😁

While we were at the Laugh Lounge, we pushed off from the pier and started heading to Vancouver where we will dock day after tomorrow.

What a fun and interesting excursion! To start off with our tour vessel, the Aleutian Ballad, was docked at the same pier as the Grand, which made it very convenient to get to!

You could sit up top or down below in the somewhat heated area where most of the 80+ guests hung around at.

 
After introductions and a safety briefing, we were off and headed towards Annette Island where the Metlakatla Indian Community controlled not only the land rights but also the water rights surrounding the island. The tour company has a reciprocal arrangement with the tribe where they are allowed to fish in their waters and conduct these tours while in turn the tour company gives the community most of the fish they catch and return the rest to the sea.

Annette Island off in the distance in the center of the photo.

 
The first thing they did when we arrived was to do some hook and line fishing.

 
Where they caught a few Rock Fish

and a nice size Pacific Halibut.

 
Next we headed to a spot to feed a bunch of Bald Eagles, which is only legal because we in the waters controlled by the Metlakatla Indian Community. Anywhere else in the US, it’s illegal to feed Bald Eagles. As you might imagine, this was one of the highlights of our 3-hour tour! 😁

 
Notice the small fish in the left claw of the Bald Eagle!

 
Here is the crew member feeding the eagles.

See the Bald Eagle in the bottom of the photo snatching the fish out of the water?

 
Plus there were at least 5 hanging out in the trees across from us that are probably full from the early morning tour visit! 😂
 

 
Then it was time to go catch some prawns

 
before heading over to catch some crabs!

Bairdi Snow Crab

Then it was time to head over to pull up a “simulated” King Crab pot.

 
The reason why it was a simulation rather than a real pot loaded with king crabs was because of this little guy that likes to sneak into the pots and eat them.

 
A Giant Pacific Octopus, which they caught yesterday and put in “time out” in the barrel for a couple of days before releasing him back into the waters, hoping he learns his lesson and stays out of the king crab pot! 😂

  
This is where they keep the king crabs they caught the other day to show us.

 
Then it was time to head back to the ship and be entertained by some truly fascinating “Deadliest Catch” stories from the various crew members and Captain onboard.

Definitely recommend going on this excursion if you get the opportunity! 😁

28 minutes ago, billco said:

Isn't the fact that Captain Circle members have been able to book the 2026 Europe cruises for a week? Kind of an insult to Elites if Princess sends them an e-mail that they can book on the 22nd.

https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions

2026 Europe: Bigger and better than ever!
Introducing Loyalty week! If you’ve sailed with us before, you can book before everyone else and enjoy a limited time offer of up to $200 in savings per person‡ by being a valued past guest.

Thanks for posting the link. Funny thing was they never did note the beginning date of the Loyalty Week for the 2026 Europe itineraries. But in the future, I guess I’ll have to keep a closer eye on the Cruise Deals section for special early booking times like this one.
 

Yes, that would be kind of an insult. But then they could have sent the early Elite notification email letting them know about the Loyalty Week deal associated with the 2026 European cruises a day before it actually started. 🤔

4 hours ago, billco said:

My CVP told me Princess doesn't do that any more. Now, they give Captain Circle members a week to book their cruise. It's called Loyalty Week. "Introducing Loyalty week! If you’ve sailed with us before, you can book before everyone else and enjoy a limited time offer of up to $200 in savings per person‡ by being a valued past guest."

Whoops! Sorry, looks like I already posted this last week.

Did you by chance post the link where us Elite folks that don’t have a CVP would see this change. 
 

16 minutes ago, knbcruisers said:

Nice to see Tricia Kelly still performing.We saw her pre-Covid on the Caribbean Princess and were impressed.. fun fact she is from DHs hometown and when you speak to her in person she lets her native Boston accent out😊

She was great and got our attention right from the start when she sang a couple of Janis Joplin songs! 😁

Just one more thought. Once you’re onboard your cruise, the chances of some of the more popular excursions that have not sold out yet going up even further is very likely as well.

As we wait to go to lunch, I of course had to check the possibility one last time for seeing the Northern Lights tonight, as it appears it might be a clear sky for us around 11 pm tonight as we will be located well before as the Surf Inlet area where the cloud line starts, especially since we’ll be looking north from our aft balcony. But then it’s probably just wishful thinking. 😁

On 5/3/2024 at 10:27 AM, teecee60 said:

Great news for those of you who were on the Disovery Princess or Emerald Princess for the recent Total Solar Eclipse! 

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/princess-cruises-sails-prime-viewing-133000036.html

 

Maybe they will even have a really good astronomy enrichment speaker on board...😁

I wonder if the Elites are still going to get an email letting them know they can start booking this cruise on May 22! 😂

Sky Princess Departs Southampton on August 8, 2026; Bookings Open May 23, 2024

We have arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska!

The Royal Princess is docked behind us today.

And the weather is looking good for our afternoon boat excursion!

Day 21 - May 20 - Ketchikan, Alaska