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

[saxgirl84]

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

we woke up early the next day (around 5:30ish) and when we went out side, we noticed the mountain range that we could see looked quite different from the night before... hoping that we may get to see the Mt. yet before we left, we called up to the front desk to ask if it looked like the Mt. was showing at all... the woman that answered said she could see some of the peak, but not enough for them to do their "Mountian call" (similar to a wake up call, they will call you if the clouds clear and the mountain is in view!). We got dressed and headed up to the deck to check it out and saw about 6 other people out. One of the guys from our group was there with his binoculars, and said he could see the peak pretty well through them...

 

We then figured out why we weren't see it... we weren't looking up high enough! in the next picture, the peak of the Mt. is visible in the top 1/3 of the picture, right below the wider grey band that goes across the top... you really have to look for it (I'm sorry, I don't know how to put an arrow on the picture to point it out to you!)

 

the peak is there... I promise..

 

 

right above the top of this tree is where the peak is... this is the most of Mt. Mckinley/Denali that we got to see... it does extend a bit to the right of where the peak is...

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

After getting to see the Peak of the Mt. we boarded a bus for another couple of hour trip south to Anchorage! My cousin and her family are stationed in Anchorage while her husband serves in the Air Force, so I was excited to get to spend a bit of time with her (she's having her 2nd baby this weekend, I was hoping I would have gotten to meet him too, but he was still "cooking" )

 

halfway to Anchorage, our driver decided to stop to let us stretch our legs, and get some ice cream! He said it was the best ice cream in the area (there wasn't much around, so I'm not sure if he was just trying to be funny, or if he really believed it was...) it wasn't bad..

 

 

We continue on to Anchorage, and arrive at Captain Cook hotel around 1pm. The rooms were not yet ready, so they offered a room to hold our bags if we wanted.

 

I had rented a car since I wasn't sure if my cousin would be able to meet us in town (she lives about 15 minutes from where we were staying...) and I wanted to make sure I got to see her! The car rental place (Avis again) was about 8 blocks from the hotel, so we headed down to pick up the car... WE headed to her house, but she wasn't home when we arrived, she got called in to work for a meeting, so we decided to just drive around and check out the area... we came across an old boat sitting off the side of the road, so of course, we stopped to take some photos!

 

 

 

 

 

we finally made it to her house and hung out with them for a bit, then headed back downtown to check into our room and relax a bit before meeting them for dinner downtown.

 

[saxgirl84]

The next day, we were heading home, however our flight did not leave until 5:30pm, so we had a lot of time to check out Anchorage, and nearby places... Since we had the car, my cousin recommended heading down to "Beluga Point" to see if we could spot some Beluga Whales...

 

 

 

I remember them saying something about Beluga Point when we were on the train heading to Denali, so when we pulled up, and saw the train tracks, I knew we had been through here before a few days earlier.

 

 

it was a bit overcast, and VERY Windy and cool... so we did not stay long, as it didn't seem as we would be seeing any Belugas, the tide was out, and the water level was low...

 

we continued south on the Seward highway towards Portage. While doing my research, I had run across a few reviews that had shown the Alaska Wildlife Conservation center, and figured we could check that out if we had time... since it was only about 10am, we headed that way. It was about and hour drive from Anchorage, but well worth it!

 

we had ridden past this area on the train as well, so it was neat to see it a little closer and with more time to enjoy it.

 

[saxgirl84]

some of the animals we got to see

 

 

 

 

Snickers the porcupine--- apparently he loves peanuts-

 

they have a program you can pay extra (I'm not sure how much it is) for a behind the scenes tour and you get to interact with some of the animals. this couple got to feed the porcupine some peanuts...

[saxgirl84]

they had a Reindeer out for a walk... I can't remember his name...

the pink wrap he has on his antler is from where he broke it off, they are trying to get it to grow back and repair itself...

 

 

 

 

his antlers were covered in fuzzy hair...

[saxgirl84]

these 2 were rescues from the wild that were about 4 weeks old. One was named Kenai and I believe the other was named Chase (for where they were each found)...

 

 

 

 

some other animals in the preserve---

 

 

[saxgirl84]

He needs to brush his coat!!

 

The backdrop was beautiful! the sun kept peaking out, making for some interesting views

 

And some Elk---

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

We didn't get to see any Bears in the wild, but we did get to see a few here...

Brown Bear---

 

 

 

you can just barely see the black bear poking his head out of his den...

 

 

Grizzly!!! this guy was ENORMOUS!

 

[saxgirl84]

we took a few more "scenic" pictures before heading back towards Anchorage (it was about 1pm and we had to catch our bus to the airport at 3:30)

 

 

 

 

[RMM34667]

Another thank you! Your review and pictures are wonderful. I feel like I was there with you.

[saxgirl84]

I dropped everyone else off at the hotel, along with our carry on bags, and took the car back to the Avis building down the street. As I was walking back towards the hotel, I saw the Alaska State Troopers museum!!! I had about an hour until the bus was to pick us up, so I went inside to look around...

 

 

 

 

very cool (FREE!) place to stop in. I wish I would have had a bit more time to look around, but I purchased a t-shirt, made a little donation, and signed the guest book. I was talking to the person who was working the museum and mentioned I had met the author of one of the books they were selling (it was about $2 cheaper here, but the copy I have is signed by the author :) )and she mentioned that they sometimes have state troopers who stop in for pictures. Too bad I didn't luck out ... oh well, maybe next time! I did joke that I had seen several on our drives over the past few days, but wasn't too keen on meeting any of them THAT way!

 

I continued my walk back to the hotel, met up with the rest of our group and caught up with some of the people I hadn't seen in a few days... We headed to the airport around 3:30pm, and had an uneventful flight back home... Sadly our adventures were done.

 

the view from the airport before we left... it reminded me of Las Vegas, with the sun shining and the mountain range in the distance... didn't look like what I thought Anchorage would look like

 

and the first actual darkness we had seen in nearly 12 days, landing in Seattle for our short layover...

 

 

That concludes my review! I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!

 

I can't wait to make my way back to Alaska sometime soon. If you are thinking of going, but aren't sure if it's worth it, rest assured, it's worth it!!! at the end of each day, we all said the same thing, " Wow! that day was pretty amazing, better than yesterday"... and it really truly was.

 

Thanks for tagging along on my recap of my trip!

[saxgirl84]

Thank you,Saxgirl 84 for your continued posts.

Very glad that you enjoyed the cruise portion of your vacation and the Alaskan ports.

My DH and I fondly remember an Inside Passage cruise we took in 2004, but did not do the land portion to Denali.

We regret that we didn't take a Princess cruise tour then. We are considering taking one in the near future,but hesitate to do so because of the travel/touring involved in the land tour.

If you have time,could you give some insight as to the pace of the land tour,please?

Did you find that the times posted to have the bags ready and boarding the train and bus to be difficult or was the pace easy for you and your travel companions?

MyDH and I are active 60+ ,but we wouldn't want to feel overtaxed by the pace of the tour.

I am looking forward to your continued posts and photos of the lodges,scenery and the special Alaskan moments you experienced on your vacation!

 

 

I'm sorry I didn't reply to your comment/questions sooner... I wanted to reply from my computer instead of my phone, because I figured I would be typing quite a bit...

 

We chose the 5 day land tour, and I think this would be the least ammount of time I would want to spend on the land tour. there were some people we met on the ship who were on a 3 day (I believe) tour and they started at the McKinley lodge for one night, then the Denali Lodge the 2nd night, and Fairbanks their 3rd night. I pitied them because they really didn't get nearly enough time at either lodge, as they couldn't have gotten there early enough in the day to have any excursions planned, and they had to leave rather early the next day, in order to make it to their next destination. I would highly recommend a 5 night,or longer land tour for maximum "relaxation". the pace really was not hurried at all.

 

The bags had to be out the morning you left from each lodge. I believe we left the Denali Princess around 10am, and the bags were to be out by 8am. We left the McKinley lodge around 10:30am and bags had to be out by 9am. Much nicer than on the ship, because you don't have to keep your overnight things with you in your carryon, and you can use your bathroom things in the morning, and still pack them away in your suitcase.

 

Since our flight left later in the day, we left our luggage in our room at the hotel in Anchorage, and they picked it up around noon and had it waiting for us when we got on the bus to the airport. the only times we ever touched our bags was at the airport, or in our rooms.

 

Everything was very well organized, and I really enjoyed "letting someone else do the driving" as I've seen a lot of people recommend doing a driving tour "on your own". As it seemed VERY easy to find your way around Alaska- (there are only a few roads, so difficult to get lost) I would think that whoever was driving would miss out on the beautiful scenery!

 

I would say Go! do the land tour (we had a lot of people in our group 60+ who are not typically "active" people, and they really enjoyed themselves!) and enjoy your trip!

[saxgirl84]

Thank you so much for this. Your photos remind me so much of our Northbound cruise. You even took along the same camera as me! No wonder the pictures look so familiar. Great job!

 

 

Thank you!!! I contribute the beauty of my pictures to Mother Nature, since she provide me with a beautiful subject! :)

[saxgirl84]

Saxgirl, your pictures are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them. You've got me so excited - we're leaving for a northbound cruise on the Star in a couple of weeks.

 

Would you mind telling me what lens(es) you used? I'd like to pick up another one or two before my trip so that I can better capture the incredible scenery. Thank you! :)

 

Sorry for the delay, I had to find my camera bag so I could tell you the correct length for the lenses I took... I had the 18-55 mm that came with the camera, and then a 55-250mm lens as well. I also have a macro/fisheye adapter that screws onto my 18-55mm lense to let me take macro shots, or wide angle shots, and I used that A LOT, especially in Glacier Bay and College Fjords. I bought the camera last Sept and got a great deal on it because it was the end of the line for that particular model, they were bringing out the newer model for their Christmas season, so I basically got the 55-250 lens for free.

 

if you have a longer lens, you may want to take it, but just keep in mind, you have to also CARRY it around with you! :) by the end of each day, my shoulders were hurting from lugging my camera equipment around all day, but it was so worth it!

[JimmyVWine]

Saxgirl, your pictures are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them. You've got me so excited - we're leaving for a northbound cruise on the Star in a couple of weeks.

 

Would you mind telling me what lens(es) you used? I'd like to pick up another one or two before my trip so that I can better capture the incredible scenery. Thank you! :)

 

You might want to look into renting a lens or two. Many of the photos that I posted here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1903541

were taken with this:

https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/canon/lenses/supertelephoto/canon-100-400mm-f4.5-5.6l-is

Yes, it was a bit to lug around. But many of the photos were taken from my balcony or on a whale watching boat. So it wasn't too bad.

[saxgirl84]

Did you have good weather? I wish we had gone in June in some ways. Did you post more pics?

 

 

We had amazing weather! It was high 60's to mid 70's the entire time we were gone, and only had real rain one morning, on our tour into Denali. It did rain a bit other days, but it was a light sprinkle and only lasted a short time. We truly lucked out with our weather.

 

When our TA started planning the trip for us and pricing it out, he told us he highly recommends the week we went simply because the weather is typically a bit warmer, plus we were there over the summer solstice, so we rarely saw total darkness after leaving Vancouver! It threw off my system a little, but I would so recommend going at that same time!

 

 

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[Kybabe]

saxgirl84, I, too, want to thank you for your wonderful review. My DH and I went to Alaska on a northbound with land tour(3 days) following. And you are so right! 3 days are not enough. We were not able to go into the national park. Next May we are going back and doing a 5 day land tour, again, cruising first. 2 other couples are going with us who have not cruised before and have not been to Alaska. I am so excited for them to read your review. Even though I have told them lots of info, I think that seeing your review and seeing your pictures will get them excited! Certainly got me wishing that I didn't have to wait 10 more months! Thanks, again!

[saxgirl84]

We sailed on the Star Princess July 11-July 18. I enjoyed your pictures so much. We did not see much of Ketchikan as we were on a tour so enjoyed those pictures especially. It looks like you had more sun than we did so of course was jealous about that. I guess it is hit or miss with Alaska. I am sure it took a long time to post all those pictures so thank you!!

 

We probably saw 10 whales on our whale watching tour in Juneau. They acted like that was quite remarkable. Do you suppose they tell every tour that? LOL....Thanks for allowing me to relive our trip a little bit this morning.

 

 

I was looking at booking that trip along with the following(this week) on the Norwegian Pearl as a birthday trip for myself, but alas, my sister talked some sense into me and convinced me to save my money and stay home, since I'm currently unemployed... I guess it's a good thing I didn't if your weather wasn't that great...

 

As for the whale watch tours, 10 is a lot! I'm not sure if they just say that, but I did read some reviews before going that said they only saw a couple, so I'd say we were both lucky to see as many as we did. I took a tour last year in Nova Scotia and didn't see any whales... Of course they didn't have a money back guarantee, like you normally find in Alaska, so we just chalked that trip up to a fun foggy ride around the North Atlantic :-P

 

 

 

 

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[saxgirl84]

Another thank you! Your review and pictures are wonderful. I feel like I was there with you.

 

 

Thank you! I felt like I was back there while writing it! I'm now going to go through the rest of my pictures and put together a picture book so everyone here can see how amazing this trip truly was!

 

 

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[saxgirl84]

saxgirl84, I, too, want to thank you for your wonderful review. My DH and I went to Alaska on a northbound with land tour(3 days) following. And you are so right! 3 days are not enough. We were not able to go into the national park. Next May we are going back and doing a 5 day land tour, again, cruising first. 2 other couples are going with us who have not cruised before and have not been to Alaska. I am so excited for them to read your review. Even though I have told them lots of info, I think that seeing your review and seeing your pictures will get them excited! Certainly got me wishing that I didn't have to wait 10 more months! Thanks, again!

 

 

I think 5 days was just the right amount of time... I also think that doing the land tour AFTER the cruise is the way to go, as it gives you a chance to relax after your "first vacation". There were people in our group who wanted to do the tour first, but I think they were glad we did it the way we did, because they weren't exhausted on our trip home!

 

Enjoy your trip next year! It's always fun to experience things with people for their first time!

 

 

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[Kauai Kid]

Loved your review and pictures. We had a great time following along with you. We leave for a round trip San Francisco, Alaska, on the Golden, 8/10/15. This will be our third cruise to Alaska and hope we have more to come. After reading your review I'm sure we will.

Kauai Kid.

[MTJSR]

Wow, that was awesome. Fantastic review and photos to follow along. My first cruise was to Alaska and that brought back a ton of memories. Thank you for taking us along!

[benjoon]

Thank you for your wonderful review. I thought your idea of the maps on your cabin wall was wonderful. I have bought a couple of maps of South America to take with us. We are kind of doing a B2B in December but in two different ships and two different cruise lines. We are travelling from Fort Lauderdale. It will be nice to map out our route as we go.

[RNRcruisers]

I think 5 days was just the right amount of time... I also think that doing the land tour AFTER the cruise is the way to go, as it gives you a chance to relax after your "first vacation". There were people in our group who wanted to do the tour first, but I think they were glad we did it the way we did, because they weren't exhausted on our trip home!

 

Enjoy your trip next year! It's always fun to experience things with people for their first time!

 

 

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Another Michigander here! Thanks for the fabulous review. Your pictures are awesome! We did a 7-day cruise on the Star in 2013 and are planning a trip back next year with a land portion added on. I was thinking it would be more relaxing to do the cruise last but you said the opposite. So the land portion is more relaxing than the cruise? I will have our travel partners read your review, they haven't been to Alaska and when they read this they will want to book it right away! They are also big wildlife buffs so that will be an added bonus!