Day by Day Cruise Review: Grand Princess Alaska/Glacier Bay May 20, 2013

[MilliesMom]

Skagway was our favorite port of the three Alaskan cruises we went to. A lot of history which you could almost feel just walking around. We started to follow a tour group --turned out to be a free tour given by the US Rangers' date=' which ends up at the Moore House (also free admission but there's a donation box at the door).[/quote']

 

Sounds like great fun. You picked the right group to follow.

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/08/cruise-review-day-6-grand-princess-glacier-bay-may-25-2013-saturday-part-1/

 

Just realized that I have the incorrect date for Glacier Bay. Those blog entries should of read May 24, 2013 NOT the 23rd. If I go back in and correct the date on the title it will make the links invalid that I have posted on the cruise sites. As a result, I will leave them the way they are.

 

 

Today is the day we have planned for ages. Absolutely can’t wait to see Glacier Bay in all its majesty.

 

 

Sky: Overcast

Wind: Light Air

Temperature: 9.5 C / 49.1 F

 

 

It’s funny, in Skagway it was 50 degrees and we went without jackets in town. But 49.1 F out on the deck of the ship in Glacier Bay is COLD!!!! Definitely had to bundle to be warm.

 

 

Around 6 am the Park Rangers boarded the ship as we were entering the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. We reached the Margerie Glacier at 9:45 AM. We turned several times in front of the glacier so that all could see. At 3 PM we were on our way to Ketchikan.

 

 

At the end of this review I will post all of my videos that I took during the cruise. I have a number of them of Glacier Bay, but the one I will post now shows a large calving. If you are reading this via e-mail, the direct link is:

 

 

It was an absolutely amazing day. As I said we really bundled up to be out on deck, and I am glad we did. Winter underwear, socks, hats, gloves, scarf, pants, shirts, and our nice warm Princess Alaska jackets. We were toasty warm the whole time we were out on deck. Originally we had planned to go back down to our balcony but found that by following the turn of the ship (Deck 14 and 15) that we could keep Margerie Glacier in our sight and got some great photos too.

 

 

We did go to the show tonight called: Motor City and it was very good. It was in the Vista Lounge on Deck 7. It is a production show with the Grand Princess Singers & Dancers. Afterwards we went to the Motown Music Trivia game in the Explorer’s Lounge. Just played along on our own, didn’t join a team. It was fun either way, and there were a number of people there too.

 

 

We are in awe of the beauty of Glacier Bay. Amazing how still the waters can be even with the ship gliding through. We found so many reflections in the water too. Here are photos that Hal took in Glacier Bay.

[MilliesMom]

 

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]

 

 

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/08/cruise-review-day-6-grand-princess-glacier-bay-may-25-2013-saturday-part-2/

 

The following are photos that I took in Glacier Bay. (First one is looking back to the aft of the ship from our balcony)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following are photos that I took in Glacier Bay. (First one is looking back to the aft of the ship from our balcony)

 

 

[MilliesMom]

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/08/cruise-review-day-6-grand-princess-glacier-bay-may-25-2013-saturday-part-3/

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]

 

 

 

t is amazing all the colors in the glacier .. whites, blues, greys, and black. “Avalanches, rock slides, tributary glaciers and the scouring of the valley have caused an accumulation of dirt and rock.” Information from the Glacier Bay Rangers (they gave us each a great map too). They gave talks, walked around up on deck, did a narrative over the loud speaker of what we were seeing and even had a Junior Ranger program for the kids. They said “The Margerie Glacier is about one mile wide, with an ice face that is about 250 feel above the waterline, and a base about 100 feet below sea level.” While in Glacier Bay, you may see bald eagles, puffins, sea mammals like otters, seals, and even humpback whales. They said that if you watch the shore closely you might see a brown bear, moose or a mountain goat. We didn’t have binoculars with us, so unfortunately didn’t see any of those on our cruise. We had a wonderful time. I’m so glad that we went.

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/08/cruise-review-day-6-grand-princess-glacier-bay-may-25-2013-saturday-part-4/

 

Final photos of Glacier Bay. I wish I had the room and the time to post them all. My next blog post will be of another fabulous sunset that we saw this evening.

 

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]

 

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/08/cruise-review-day-6-grand-princess-glacier-bay-may-25-2013-saturday-part-5/

 

We saw some very beautiful sunsets on this cruise, many times from our cabin balcony. This one was so unique … check out the divide in the sky caused by storm clouds I think. We were sailing into the darker area and leaving the sunshine behind. It was just so unique. The next day in Ketchikan was fine, no rain, so not sure why the dark clouds. These photos are posted in the order they were taken. The difference has to do with what way I was facing. The sunset was to the right/aft. The bank of clouds was to the left/stern of the ship. The cloud reminded me a bit of the dust storms we see in AZ. You can see them rolling in. We didn’t experience any rough seas that night, so again, not sure why the clouds. None of the colors or lighting on any of our photos has been touched. All of our photos in this cruise review are in original format.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]

 

 

[MilliesMom]

[iloverags2]

I am really enjoying your report! And your photos are fabulous! Alaska is on our bucket list (living in FL we tend to just hop on ships that are convenient to us).

 

Thanks and looking forward to hearing and seeing more about your cruise!

[MilliesMom]

Formal nights on this cruise were:

 

Day 3 .... Sea Day .... Weds .... May 22, 2013

 

and

 

Day 8 .... Sea Day .... Mon ... May 27, 2013

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/09/cruise-review-day-7-grand-princess-ketchikan-may-26-2013-sunday-part-1/

 

Oh my gosh, how did it get to be day 7 of our cruise already. At the beginning of the cruise it seemed like we had forever ahead of us now we are down to our last few days. We are having a wonderful time, and would love to take this cruise again or one with Hubbard Glacier next time.

 

Noon Position: Alongside in Ketchikan.

Sky: Overcast

Wind: Light Air

Temperature: 14.0 C / 57.2 F

 

We were docked at Berth 4 at Ketchikan. We had been told it was quite a ways from town, but there was a free shuttle. We were disappointed that we didn’t have one of the main docks in town. Today there are four ships in town. We were there from 8 AM to 5 PM.

 

WELL, our concerns vanished once we docked. Yes, it was the furthest out, but it was an easy walk and we didn’t feel that it was “out of town” like we believed. It has a very nice walk area that has places to sit, public restrooms, and shops along the way. We find some of our best deals at the shop by shop that we came to first on the way to town. There is also a shop to the left as you get off the ship — easy to pick up things you forgot. The shop to the left of the ship, also had travel size items for shampoo, hair spray etc.

 

Lots of shops, all along the way. Visitor’s Bureaus along the waterfront too. Two areas (1 by town, 1 closer to our ship) of restrooms. We walked for hours again today. Only needed windbreaker weight jackets, and we were comfortable. Since we didn’t get over to Creek Street last time we were here, we made that our destination. Dolly’s House is right in the middle of Creek Street. As you face Dolly’s there are shops up to the right up a little hill including the Salvation Army Thrift Shop. We decided to walk up the hill and see what was there. So glad we did.

 

We found a store called Chinook & Company http://chinookandcompany.com/ . They have gift items, jams, and the BEST canned salmon we have ever eaten. Linda, the owner, was there that day and offering samples of the canned salmon. I passed, but Hal took a bite on a cracker. He raved about it, so of course, I had to try it too. Delicious!!! We had to have more, but didn’t want to pack it in our luggage. Linda said they could ship it to us priority mail. I was a bit leery, I must admit as we had never dealt with them before. She shipped the salmon as promised AND it arrived in AZ the morning we picked up our mail at the post office. Perfect timing. Definitely would buy from her again without hesitation and would highly recommend them to any of you that want to bring salmon etc home.

 

I’ve made two salmon balls since we have been home using creme cheese and the canned salmon. It’s been a big hit with all that have tried it. We have eaten it on crackers, and on bread for a great sandwich too. Here’s the recipe I used: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/salmon-ball/

 

After talking to Linda for quite a while, we realized that we were really hungry. We walk a couple of doors back towards town and went into O’Brian’s Pub

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g31030-d3223169-r136933197-O_Brien_s_Pub_and_Eatery-Ketchikan_Alaska.html

It was quite busy, is not a large place. We found two seats at the bar, then a table opened up and we moved there. They have Guinness Beer battered cod fish and chips. It was really good. I’m not a fan of beer, but the fish was good. We paid $15 per person for the fish & chips. So about $35 with tip (not sure if we paid taxes on the food or not).

 

Dinner in the main dining room was Italian Night. They served a fantastic Pasta Fagioli Soup. Hal had the Parmesan Pasta tonight and I ordered Mahi Mahi. I actually sent the Mahi Mahi back. I love this fish, but didn’t feel that Princess did a good job at all of seasoning it PLUS it was extremely dry. I asked for a second bowl of soup instead, which was quickly brought. It was GREAT!!!!

 

We did go to see Comedian Kevin Hughes in the Vista Lounge. He is so funny. He did 3 shows tonight, and we went to the early one at 6:30 pm. This show is NOT appropriate for kids but I didn’t see any warnings in the patter about it. Just an FYI.

 

Here are some of the photos we took in Ketchikan:

Isn’t this a great truck/car!!! We saw this right after we got off the ship.

 

I believe this is the shuttle into town, but I could be mistaken. It was just a bit from our ship and people were waiting to board.

 

Not a bad walk into town (walk on the upper level).

[MilliesMom]

Thundering Wings by Nathan Ackson, and the tunnel.

 

This sign was posted outside of one of the bars. Hal had to get a photo.

 

We saw lots of older cars in Alaska. This was downtown.

[MilliesMom]

The infamous Ketchikan sign. I was amazed at how many people got out in the middle of the street to take a photo. They didn’t care that there were lots of cars going, coming, and turning. They had to get their photo!!!

 

Homes built into the hill.

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/09/cruise-review-day-7-grand-princess-ketchikan-may-26-2013-sunday-part-2/

 

So many photos to share of Ketchikan … these were taken on Creek Street and of the Funicular

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/04/18/ketchikan-funicular-tram-elevator-lift/

Lots of shops and scenery in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]

 

 

[MilliesMom]

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/09/cruise-review-day-7-grand-princess-ketchikan-may-26-2013-sunday-part-3/

 

A lot of the shops have large stuffed animals or statues out front that you can take a photo with. Hal is a MAJOR fan of moose, so of course he had to have his photo taken with this guy.

 

Our ship straight ahead at Berth 4. Celebrity Solstice to the left at Pier 3. So not too far out, and we enjoyed the walk.

 

 

This is a great photo of the walkway into town.

[MilliesMom]

As you walk along the waterfront be sure to look up. They have beautiful mosaic signs along the way. Each set is different.

 

Another moose and a bear. Who could resist especially after walking for over 5 hours today. This little shop was right outside of where we got off and boarded the ship.

 

In Ketchikan keep your eyes open for totem poles and wood carvings.

[MilliesMom]

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/06/09/cruise-review-day-7-grand-princess-ketchikan-may-26-2013-sunday-part-4/

 

The following photos were taken from the ship in Ketchikan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]