Summary--Sapphire Princess July 21-28

[Jabbermom]

I got so much information from this site when I started planning my Alaska vacation a year ago. So wanted to write back what we ended up doing and if anyone has any specific questions they can ask. We were a group of 6 with 2 kids (age 9 and 15). We flew into Fairbanks and stayed 2 nights at Pike Waterfront Lodge using our 2 for 1 coupon from Northern Lights. We rented a car for 24 hours. The hotel does provide airport and train transportation. The weather was in the upper 50's which was refreshing from the 100 degree days back home. On our full day there,we first went to the Alaska Museum of the North, which I highly recommend. We were there almost 2 hours. From there we went to a Botanical Garden just down the road. So many pretty flowers and they had a maze for the kids. We randomly looked for a place for lunch and stopped at a place called The Bakery (off the expressway going towards downtown). It was a diner that served breakfast as well as lunch and had homemade pastries and pies. From there we went to our tour at Gold Dredge # 8. It was interesting and we all enjoyed panning for gold. Also you can see the Alaska Pipeline there as well as from a viewing point a short distance down the road. We ended the day by visiting Pioneer Park which is an interesting mix of things. Their web site gives lot of information on whats there. We ate dinner next door to our lodge (Pikes Landing), which is on a river.

 

Took the train the next day to Denali. On this segment we did the Adventure class to save money. It didn't really matter the side of train as it was easy to move around. Never had any problems sitting up in the domed car. You can also stand on platform outside. We got off the train and took a bus that took us to the Princess Wilderness lodge, again using our 2 for 1 coupon from Northern Lights. I was pleasantly surprised at the lodge as I had read several negative reviews. It has many buildings nestled among the pine trees. We were put in a building right next to main lodge so I found that handy. But its easy to walk around. There are several stores in the middle of complex and several eating places. On the far side is an over look to a river with a short path along the edge and 3 hot tubs. We enjoyed staying there. In the afternoon we went to the park for the free Dog Sled demonstration. There is a bus that comes around the lodge and picks you up. You can get a schedule of times. They make drop offs at the Wilderness Access Center and the Park Visitor Center/train depot. The next day we had booked a ride on the shuttle that went to the Eielson Visitor Center. Unfortunately the mountain wasn't out. But we saw lots of wildlife--bears, moose, caribou, sheep. At one place there was a mama bear and her 2 cubs right by the road. They ended up walking right by our stopped bus as if we weren't there. The roundtrip ride is about 8 hours so you need to take food and water. We just got a box lunch through the lodge, but you can also go across the street to Subway. Across the road are many stores and eating places. One night we ate at a pizza place called Prospectors. It must be a popular place as we had at least a 45 minute wait. But it was good.

 

The next day we got on the train for the 8 hour ride to Anchorage. This time we rode Gold Star to compare. If you have the money, we thought it was worth it. Everyone has domed windows, with access to free soda on the car. There is a large platform on the back to stand on. So very easy to go back there and take pictures on either side. In Anchorage, we stayed at the Historic Anchorage Hotel which is not far from station. A person could walk if they wanted and didn't have tons of luggage to deal with. The place has no A/C but we didn't have hot weather. If you stay there ask for room in back as its extremely noisy in the front and you would need to open your window to stay cool. That's the main drawback to staying there.

 

The next morning we went to the depot and left our luggage there with the Princess people. We didn't see it again til it arrived in our stateroom on the Sapphire Princess. This was our rainiest day of the trip. We got to the train station a little after noon and checked in on the ship. The depot is just right there next to the ship. We were on the Sapphire Princess for their 7 day southbound tour. We picked this one to go to both Hubbard and Glacier Bay. Our week was July 21-28. We ended up getting an inside cabin as the price difference between that and the balcony was so great. We weren't sorry. unlike the Caribbean we would not have made much use of the balcony. We like going out on the deck so you could look in any direction. Also you could turn on the tv in room and see what it looked like outside. Mostly the weather was in the 50's except for 2 days it was in the 60's I took more light weight clothes than I needed. We also had anytime dining which this time worked great. Never a wait. When we were on the Ruby Princess in January, we always had to wait. So not sure what they do differently except many they may have one more dining room than the Ruby.

 

It was really cold and foggy on arrival at Hubbard. At first they weren't sure how far down we could go. But the fog lifted enough to get us down there. The weather was much improved at Glacier although still kind of cloudy. I really enjoyed Glacier Bay. So much more to see and we got really close to Marjorie Glacier. We saw a small amount of calving and some animals in the water while leaving the bay.

 

Each day the weather improved more. At Skagway we took the Whitepass Summit Rail and Bus through Chilkoot Tours --8 hour tour that went as far as Carcross in the Yukon. I enjoyed the trip. Had lunch at Carcross, access to a wildlife museum and pet the husky dogs. There are no assigned seats so on that train, so the left side going up was the best. But there was a small platform out the back of the car. We had a good bus driver for the return trip and stopped at many places for pictures or animals. We saw bear a couple of times.

 

In Juneau we had signed up for Harv and Marvs whale watching tour. It was amazing. There were these bubblenetting humpback whales. I think they counted 13 of them. They would form a circle underwater (and you could hear them sing on the boat because he had something that went in the water to listen) and then you would see the herron flying as the whales surfaced with their mouths open. The guy said its not something you see very often as usually these whales are solitary creatures. It was a really great day weather wise as well. Highly recommend taking a whale watching trip. Our group of 6 had our own boat. On the way back we were dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier, which is well worth the stop. It was still to early for the salmon to be running, so no bears there. But loved the scenery.

 

Next we went to Ketchikan. It was the best day weather wise. They said its not usually like that--it was bright blue skies all day with no clouds. The 3 guys went on a fly out fishing trip with Family Air and had a great time taking the float plane to a lake and fishing. The girls went on the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman Tour which was really interesting and would recommend. They pulled up lots of fish, crab, prawns and even an octopus for everyone to see/hold and talked about fishing in the Bering Sea. Also they took us to a point where they threw fish in the water and bald eagles would come down and scoop them up. Very cool. Also that day we had walked around Ketchikan and shopped and walked down the historic boardwalk. We wanted to go to Totem Bight Park but didn't have enough time if we wanted to see any of Ketchikan. You are subject to bus schedules that only run once an hour so that took up too much time, given our late arrival.

 

The next day was at sea and just a regular sea day on a cruise. But it was nice to just relax. We went to maybe 3 of the shows on the boat. If you have any specific questions just ask.

 

When we got to Vancouver we had purchased a bus transfer to Seattle as it was much cheaper flying home from there. Its about a 4 hour ride. 45 minutes was taken up at the border where you had to get out and go through security. They drop you off at the airport and we went to where the hotel pick up site was and called the LaQuinta (Seatac) where we stayed overnight. There are eating places within walking distance of that hotel.

 

Flew home to 110 degree weather. Ugh.

[caribill]

When we got to Vancouver we had purchased a bus transfer to Seattle as it was much cheaper flying home from there. Its about a 4 hour ride. 45 minutes was taken up at the border where you had to get out and go through security.

 

Did you go through US Customs and turn in your US customs form before getting on the bus or at the border?

[Jabbermom]

Before getting on bus. Just went through security at border (like you do at the airport) But only our stuff that was carried on the bus. Not the big luggage loaded in the bus.

[picture]

How was the ship ? Service/food.

 

Cabin?

[Jabbermom]

Loved the ship. Service was good at all the tables we were at, as well as in the cabin. Ate at the different dining rooms at night (4 different ones) and the buffet at breakfast and sometimes lunch. Also ate at the new pizza place on deck five and it was good. The International Cafe is good, especially if you want something quick. They were very attentive to the tables. The food was pretty much like all the other cruise ships I've been on serving that many people. And the menus were similar to the ones when I was on the Ruby earlier this year. But, I'm happy anytime I'm not cooking or cleaning up. I got the kid ultimate drink package as you can get all the soft drinks, juice, milkshakes, hot chocolate (good on the cold days), virgin drinks you wanted. Think it was $7.00 a day.

[dcruisers]

Thanks for your review! We loved Alaska and did both land and sea. But we sailed to Alaska on the Island.

We are booked for HI in Jan on the Sapphire...and so we are very interested in the ship, cabin you had and the crew.

We are looking forward to sailing on the Sapphire and to any additional info.

Welcome home.

[vivavegas]

Nice review! Sounds like your family participated in lot of fun things. How was the train ride?:)

[Jabbermom]

We enjoyed the Sapphire. It was too cold out for me to enjoy Movies Under the Stars although one evening my husband did. They have blankets and popcorn. In the afternoon they come around on deck with warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. The ice cream bar was very popular as well. I liked that one pool had an enclosed roof. Kids really enjoyed swimming there. The pool was lukewarm, but not real cold. Hot tubs were better :) Our cabin was inside on the Caribe deck. We were perfectly happy with it. Had adequate storage. The only things a person might need is an extension cord as there is a lack of outlets and a travel alarm clock. We didn't use the casino but saw they had at least one night without smoking. The 9 year old with us enjoyed the kids club.

 

The train ride could be a little long, but I like riding on trains. So didn't mind it was kind of slow. At least you aren't cramped like in an airplane. You can get up and move around whenever you wanted. They would announce when they were serving say breakfast, lunch, dinner in the dining car. The scenery was better in some spots than others, as it would have been on the highway. We rode the train since there were 6 of us and all our luggage for the cruise. Also one way car rentals are so much more expensive due to drop off fees.

[Smokeyham]

Thanks for the great review!

 

Are there any adult-only pools on board Sapphire?