Star Princes 6/13-6/25 12 day Alaska/Denali northbound review- TONS of pics...

[saxgirl84]

 

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

 

 

they got really close to our boat. The captain had to cut the engine twice because they were so close. at one point, we could have reached out the window and touched one of the whales. unfortunately, I had my cell phone in my hand to take some pictures, and it didn't get the shot...

 

 

 

 

 

waving goodbye!

 

 

on our way back into the marina, our guides sounded as though that was the first time they had seen whales as well. They kept telling us how lucky we were, because they were not expecting that to happen, since their earlier trip out had only seen a few random whales, and they were expecting this trip to be similar. I guess we really lucked out! It was so much fun! and so worth the price!

[saxgirl84]

Heading back, we stopped off at a buoy being occupied by some seals. I had seen LOTS of pictures of this while doing my research and looking through the reviews, so I was excited to see it myself, and get to capture some shots as well

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also got a great view of a glacier coming back in

 

 

and a beautiful boat docked in the marina as well

[saxgirl84]

After a short ride on the bus again, we were dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier! When we got off the bus, and walked across the parking lot, I was in awe! the glacier was beautiful and I couldn't wait to walk down closer to it!

 

 

we stopped off for a bathroom break, and then headed down the trail towards Nugget Falls

 

 

saw some icebergs floating nearby

 

got our first glimpse of the falls from the start of the trail

 

 

 

another iceberg

[saxgirl84]

 

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

 

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

 

 

 

 

we headed back to town (we had missed our bus, but there were buses available for $10/person). I was so hot, and my feet were killing me from all the hiking we had done, so I wanted to head back to change into some shorts, and put on some more comfortable shoes. The 3 others stayed in town and went back up the tram again, since the tickets were good for as many trips as you wanted all day...

 

I headed back to the ship to change, and as soon as I sat down on the bed, I fell asleep! 2 hours later, I woke to my cell phone ringing. it was the other 3 letting me know that they were heading back to the ship... I guess I was done with Juneau before I knew it!

 

we headed to dinner- going back to Portofino and our favorite waitstaff! we asked to be sat at their table when we arrived, and the rest of the week, we didn't even have to ask, they knew we were back for Robert & Louis! the staff was very attentive, and super friendly. We were all very much impressed and made sure we gave each of them an extra tip at the end of our cruise!

 

after dinner, we headed up to skywalkers lounge to enjoy a drink and the views

 

[saxgirl84]

Next up- Skagway!!!

Again, after much research on Cruise Critic and the Alaska board specifically, I decided it would be in our favor to rent a car for this port, as I saw a picture of Emerald Lake once and immediately knew I HAD to go to this magnificent place! I made a reservation through Avis for an "intermediate" car which ran about $150 for the day. I think we ended up putting about $12 of gas into the tank to top it off before returning it at the end of the day, so our transportation ran a little more than $40 each for the day... much cheaper than the train at $100/each!

 

I would highly recommend renting a car if you have the means to do so!

now on to the pictures! - sorry, there are A LOT of them! I hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

a beautiful rainbow ending aboard the Norwegian Pearl as we were pulling into port!

 

 

[saxgirl84]

 

started heading up the Yukon Highway towards Emerald Lake- the fog was coming down quick!

 

 

 

about 5 minutes after this picture was taken, you could no longer see the bridge!

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

after about 20 minutes of driving in THICK Fog, white knuckling it up the windy mountain roads, we were rewarded with a beautiful view!

there are numerous "pull offs" along the highway at the most scenic area, and we may have taken advantage of nearly every one of them!

 

 

 

saw one of the WhitePass Rail Road trains pass by below

 

 

[saxgirl84]

we stopped off at the Yukon Suspension Bridge to take a peek, and also to use the restrooms. I believe it was $15 per person to get access to the bridge, and they charge $1/each to use the restrooms, however the girl that was working the booth at the time we arrived told us to just go ahead, as long as we didn't leave the deck... so we made sure we purchased some drinks at their cafe, and also picked up a few trinkets in their gift shop since she was so kind.

 

got to snap some pictures of the area as well

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

back on the road, we continued north on the Yukon Highway towards our next stop- Carcross!

 

 

 

this was a newer area, that was just opened a few weeks prior to our arrival. there were several locals selling their wares, a few ice cream shops, and a coffee shop. We stopped in and bought a few things, and tasted some local fare. it was a fun little place

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

and walking a bit farther "in to town" you can see the "original" Carcross-

 

 

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

back on the road, we headed a couple of miles north and came across the smallest desert in North America!

 

 

 

 

 

Put my feet in the sand in Alaska!?!

[dickinson]

I'm enjoying your pictures!! Gorgeous!!

[saxgirl84]

Jumped back in the car and again, headed north towards Emerald Lake!

 

and we finally arrived!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

More of this gorgeous lake! the weather cooperated with us, and provided some very dramatic color changes in the lake while we were there! It truly was worth the drive up!

 

 

 

 

As we were enjoying the views, we heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance, and saw the dark clouds moving closer, so we took a few more pictures, and headed south back down the Yukon highway towards Skagway

[saxgirl84]

there was a husky "ranch" that we had seen on our way north, that we decided to stop off at. It cost $8/each to interact with the animals. I was having puppy withdraw (left my 3 pups back home!) so I ponied up the $$ and went on a trek for some animal interaction!

 

 

 

 

this is what I was looking for!!!

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

more puppies

 

 

 

they looked like they enjoyed all the attention!

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2015 by saxgirl84

[saxgirl84]

I'm enjoying your pictures!! Gorgeous!!

 

Thank you!!! Glad you're enjoying them, and I hope you enjoy the rest! :)

[saxgirl84]

 

after getting my puppy fix in, the weather seemed to be following us, so we decided it was probably time to start heading south again, as there were a few more stops we wanted to make and we didn't want to get soaked!

 

here are some random pictures from around the area before we left

 

 

 

and the weather moving in!

 

[saxgirl84]

next (quick!) stop- Bove Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the weather actually made for some much more dramatic photos, since there wasn't a ton of sunshine, so I didn't mind the overcast weather. It also didn't last too long!

[saxgirl84]

heading back down south, we came across the Welcome to Alaska sign... it was super foggy (again) and I thought that made for a really cool picture---

 

here are a few more random pics of the rest of our day in Skagway

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Star Princess docked in Skagway

 

[saxgirl84]

we got back on board, and had 7:45 dinner reservations, again. Tonight, crab legs were on the menu... I had never had crab legs before (stop laughing!! :) ) so I was going to order them, as well as a second entree incase I didn't like them.. (they wouldn't have gone to waste, the other 3 all volunteered to clean my plate if I didn't like them!) Our Waiter again "took care of us" by bringing a big plate of crab legs for the entire table, and we all ordered individual entrees as well.

 

 

I loved the crab legs!! he brought just enough for us to all get our fill of them as well!

 

 

I ordered the surf and turf and it was excellent!

 

 

and then the chocolate dessert of the night

 

 

After dinner, we headed up to Skywalkers lounge again for a drink, and then off to bed, as Glacier Bay was in the AM, and I wanted to be up and ready for it!!!

[saxgirl84]

woke up about 3:45 hoping to get some sunrise pictures, but it was quite overcast, and no sign of the sun peaking out...

 

 

called down to room service to order some coffee (for my roomie) and hot chocolate( they charge $2.00 for this through room service) because we were planning on staying on our balcony for Glacier Bay...

 

around 5:30am I hear the boat that had our naturalists onboard motoring up next to us.

 

 

coffee and hot chocolate delivered:

 

we are ready for some glaciers!!

 

or some wildlife!