**Golden Princess May 14, 2011 - Vancouver To Seattle**

[SlyOldLady]

LOL about overplanning! I am the same way. Taking my mom and Aunt on this cruise (their first) so they are freaking out about everything. They want to know exactly what we are doing at what moment of the day. ARGH! Welcome to the roll call. Since you are so close to Alaska, do you have any suggestions for a first timer?

 

Katherine

Hi Katherine, My dw and I spend a lot of time in most ports just walking around. This will be our sixth cruise to Alaska with Princess and have done some of their excursions and some on our own. Off hand the things we enjoyed were...whale watching, Mendenhal Glacier (Their's a local outfit that charges $14.00 round trip to the glacier so you can spend enough time to walk out to the waterfall alongside the glacier...very cool) It was years ago but we took the Mt. Roberts tram to the top and walked around, great view of the ship and eagles. The Duck tour is great when your feet get tired :) In Skagway, we have always grabbed the local tour company and taken their mini bus up to Canada which goes up alongside the train on the other side of the ravine, I think the price was $35 very beautifull. In Ketchikan we walk Creek Street, a visit Dolly's was interesting, they charge a few bucks to go through but it was fun. the Totem Bight State Park is a good ship excursion if you are a history buff. I always enjoyed the Alaska State Museum in Juneau as well. All the ports are fun but the run in and out of Glacier Bay is paramount. I'll get up early to watch the sun come up as we enter the park, it's breath taking, it's also cold as heck when you get up around the glaciers so you cant have on too many layers :) Gosh, I'm starting to get all excited just remembering all the past trips and planning the one to come... I think I'll go buy a new warm hat. Take care

[kath00]

Thanks so much for the suggestions! We are definitely doing the whale watching and will probably do Mendenhall as you suggested -- on our own. In Skagway we just decided to rent a car (SUV actually) so we'll drive up the hill toward the Yukon. We can't cross the border (long story but potential problem with Aunt's passport) but we don't mind driving close to it on our own. Not sure what to do in Ketchikan but we are looking at the ship excursion that is on a crab fishing boat. It looks child friendly and entertaining. We are only in port 4 or 5h so we want to book with Princess so as to not miss the ship pulling out! ;)

 

We can't wait for May to get here! I just got some new binoculars today so I was getting more excited just thinking about seeing whales...

 

K

[SlyOldLady]

I guess I should have looked at the itinerary...pretty short stops in Ketchikan and Victoria! I doubt we'll even get off the ship in the latter, too bad, it's a beautifull city. I wonder if Princess will even offer a trip to the gardens?

[travelcoupletoo]

I guess I should have looked at the itinerary...pretty short stops in Ketchikan and Victoria! I doubt we'll even get off the ship in the latter, too bad, it's a beautifull city. I wonder if Princess will even offer a trip to the gardens?

 

Yes they are offering a night tour to the gardens. They are suppose to be all lit up at night. We originally planned on staying on board too since we have been there before in the day time. But a few days ago we changed our minds, so we booked the tour to see the lights. Lisa

[willysgrandma]

We have been going back and forth about doing the Gardens in Victoria - for those that have seen it, it is worth doing?

 

We booked the White Pass Railway in Skagway through Shore Trips and the the Whale Watching/ Mendenhall Glacier trip through Princess in Juneau.

 

Debating about Ketchikan, since we are there for such a short period of time. Maybe just walka round town and grab the Lumberjack Show - is that even worth seeing?

 

We booked this so long ago - once it gets to be about time for final payment, then it seems like it's almost here, doesn't it?

[SlyOldLady]

the garden at night is very cool and worth every penny. When we go, we try to go in the late afternoon and look at everything then eat dinner and do it again during the evening hours...a very different experience. As far as the Lumberjack show goes...been there 6 times and always walked past the place. Have never heard anyone swoon over it or, on the other hand, talk bad about it either. To me, it never seemed to be something uniquely Alaskan so of course I kept walking and visited Creek Street and the houses of ill repute :)

[kath00]

Yes they are offering a night tour to the gardens. They are suppose to be all lit up at night. We originally planned on staying on board too since we have been there before in the day time. But a few days ago we changed our minds, so we booked the tour to see the lights. Lisa

 

OK you guys convinced me. We'll be stopping in Victoria during the daytime on the Sapphire before this cruise so we'll go see the gardens during the day. I booked the night time gardens tour just now for this cruise for me and my mom and DD. That should be fun! The beauty is that we can always cancel with PRincess until 24h before we get to the port, so if we feel tired and cranky, we can just not go. It's so weird to be in Ketchikan and Victoria for such short periods.

 

Here is our itiniary:

 

Juneau -- whale watch and Mendenhall with Princess

Skagway -- rented car with Avis so we can drive up through the same area that the Whitepass RR goes (which we've done in the past)

Ketchikan -- definitely booking through Princess since we leave so darn early. Booked the crab fishing boat trip, which has a video with it on myprincess.com that looks fantastic for little kids. DH will take DD on the kayaking at Tatoosh island, which DH and I did last time we were in AK and it was spectacular!! If you are in reasonably good shape, I can't recommend this enough.

Victoria -- the gardens night tour versus the double decker bus tour. I hear it's VERY cold late at night in May in Victoria so be prepared...

 

Then Seattle we pick up our car and drive to San Diego! :D Spending the night at Grants Pass and then someplace on the coast. :)

 

CANNOT WAIT! Katherine

[travelcoupletoo]

We have been going back and forth about doing the Gardens in Victoria - for those that have seen it, it is worth doing?

 

We booked the White Pass Railway in Skagway through Shore Trips and the the Whale Watching/ Mendenhall Glacier trip through Princess in Juneau.

 

Debating about Ketchikan, since we are there for such a short period of time. Maybe just walka round town and grab the Lumberjack Show - is that even worth seeing?

 

We booked this so long ago - once it gets to be about time for final payment, then it seems like it's almost here, doesn't it?

 

For the gardens, I love taking pictures of flowers/plants, so any garden is good. But these gardens are by far some of the best I've come across. But don't know what they will be like a night. Pictures I've seen look very cool, though.

 

We've been to Ketchikan several times, but never stopped at the lumberjack show, haven't never heard anything good or bad about it. But it's not our thing either. Lisa

[travelcoupletoo]

OK you guys convinced me. We'll be stopping in Victoria during the daytime on the Sapphire before this cruise so we'll go see the gardens during the day. I booked the night time gardens tour just now for this cruise for me and my mom and DD. That should be fun! The beauty is that we can always cancel with PRincess until 24h before we get to the port, so if we feel tired and cranky, we can just not go. It's so weird to be in Ketchikan and Victoria for such short periods.

 

Here is our itiniary:

 

Juneau -- whale watch and Mendenhall with Princess

Skagway -- rented car with Avis so we can drive up through the same area that the Whitepass RR goes (which we've done in the past)

Ketchikan -- definitely booking through Princess since we leave so darn early. Booked the crab fishing boat trip, which has a video with it on myprincess.com that looks fantastic for little kids. DH will take DD on the kayaking at Tatoosh island, which DH and I did last time we were in AK and it was spectacular!! If you are in reasonably good shape, I can't recommend this enough.

Victoria -- the gardens night tour versus the double decker bus tour. I hear it's VERY cold late at night in May in Victoria so be prepared...

 

Then Seattle we pick up our car and drive to San Diego! :D Spending the night at Grants Pass and then someplace on the coast. :)

 

CANNOT WAIT! Katherine

 

We are ready to go NOW!!!! Usually we do our own tours for the most part, but this time we have a lot of OBC, so we are spending it on Princess tours. We have been to Alaska a few times and have done some of the "normal" tours, so we are doing a few different ones.

 

Our plans include:

 

Juneau: Mendenhall glacier, whale watch & Lodge salmon meal

 

Skagway: Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4

 

Ketchikan: Back country zodiak expedition

 

Victoria: Gardens by night

 

Like Katherine, we can't wait either!!! Alaska is a really special place. - Lisa

[SlyOldLady]

DH will take DD on the kayaking at Tatoosh island, which DH and I did last time we were in AK and it was spectacular!! If you are in reasonably good shape, I can't recommend this enough.

Kath00 This sounds great, do you need kayaking experience?

[kath00]

Kath00 This sounds great, do you need kayaking experience?

 

Not at all. DH and I had never been in a kayak before. The waters are gorgeous and totally still. They give you everything you need. You climb in at a "beach" on one of the islands and then off you go. You can petal as much as you want or as little. A guide is next to you at all times and points out wildlife and answers any questions. We probably had a group of about 10 kayaks out. We saw bald eagles, seals, lots of different birds, etc. I even took my big mombo Nikon with me and it never even got close to getting wet. The fjords are just so still and pretty, it's like kayaking on a giant mirror. :) Very much worth the trip...

 

Kath

[willysgrandma]

You've convinced me to do Victoria Gardens. DH loves to take pictures, I'm sure he'll get some great ones here.

 

Perhaps we'll meet up with everyone else doing the Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier trip.

 

Does anyone have any restaurant recommendations near the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver?

[willysgrandma]

Just had another room cancellation for the Metropolitan for the 13th. If anyone is interested in a room here at $145 CAN, let me know - I have 2 available.

[SlyOldLady]

Just had another room cancellation for the Metropolitan for the 13th. If anyone is interested in a room here at $145 CAN, let me know - I have 2 available.

 

I was just looking for a hotel and would love to grab one of those if it's still available.

[willysgrandma]

We have information on our travel blog.

 

I was just looking for a hotel and would love to grab one of those if it's still available.

[jbeb]

Thanks so much for the suggestions! We are definitely doing the whale watching and will probably do Mendenhall as you suggested -- on our own. In Skagway we just decided to rent a car (SUV actually) so we'll drive up the hill toward the Yukon. We can't cross the border (long story but potential problem with Aunt's passport) but we don't mind driving close to it on our own. Not sure what to do in Ketchikan but we are looking at the ship excursion that is on a crab fishing boat. It looks child friendly and entertaining. We are only in port 4 or 5h so we want to book with Princess so as to not miss the ship pulling out! ;)

 

We can't wait for May to get here! I just got some new binoculars today so I was getting more excited just thinking about seeing whales...

 

K

Hi Kathy,

Ed and I booked the Crab fishing boat tour off the Princess the other day and I thought of you and your family...

Hope you can arrange it. Kids get a discount too!

Jan

[Kyana]

We paid on Wednesday. Also got news from Princess last week that they are now going to allow us to disembark in Victoria. That will save us over $500 plus it would have cost to get home if we disembarked in Seattle. All 7 Window suites are gone. I still have not seen anything of a CC get together yet on sailing day. Can't wait for Sabatinis for breakfast every morning. Hope the same Maitre d as last year. He was a real hoot. Notice that the new suites up by Skywalkers were put on at half price for the April departures to Hawaii. WINDOW SUITES ROCK. CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!:):):)

[Kyana]

WS co cruisers check out WS on Princess threads. Had a little fun with it. Where is everyone, this thread use to be very active. I see we have a few casulities (cancelled cruise) and not sure how many we will be cruisng with. :confused::confused::confused:

[willysgrandma]

Last chance to reserve one of the discounted rooms at the Metropolitan ($145 CAN) plus tax for the night of the 13th. Turning in unbooked rooms next Monday, the 28th. My blog has info

[Carol & Jim]

Willysgrandma, we may be signing up for this cruise tomorrow and might want to use your hotel space. If so I'll email you at the agency, or call tomorrow.

Thanks, Carol

[kath00]

Hi all,

 

We are all paid and ready to go NOW! LOL. Seriously, I am starting to make a "pile" in my closet. I think that's called pre-packing. My mom and Aunt are also coming and much to our pleasant surprise, so is my cousin and her family. We're excited to have more family join us since before this cruise, my family pretty much thought we were NUTS for wanting to get on a ship. :D:rolleyes:.

 

Dad still thinks we are going to hit an iceberg and end up like the Titanic so he is staying home. But that's perfectly fine with me. I don't want to be responsible for consoling him during the whole trip...

 

By the way check out my new luggage for the trip. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

 

 

 

[willysgrandma]

We have to send the list March 1.

 

Willysgrandma, we may be signing up for this cruise tomorrow and might want to use your hotel space.

Thanks, Carol

[willysgrandma]

Fabulous luggage - that will be so easy to find!!!!!

 

Hi all,

 

 

 

By the way check out my new luggage for the trip. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

 

 

 

 

 

[Carol & Jim]

We booked today! Got our flights and everything! :D

Willysgrandma, we decided to spend 2 nights precruise so one night at the Metropolitan wouldn't work out, sorry. I'll probably do Priceline and see what pops up, always a surprise!

Now to think about shore excursions???

[willysgrandma]

Want me to see if they can add a second night for the same price?

 

We booked today! Got our flights and everything! :D

Willysgrandma, we decided to spend 2 nights precruise so one night at the Metropolitan wouldn't work out, sorry. I'll probably do Priceline and see what pops up, always a surprise!

Now to think about shore excursions???