Trip Report [5/25/19] Ruby Princess 7 day round trip Seattle.

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

This was a last-minute trip with myself and my two young adult daughters. We booked it only two weeks prior as we got a great price that we could not pass up. This was our fourth trip to Alaska therefore we did a lot of DIY excursions on our own. We have previously been Anan Creek for bears, seen whales bubble feeding in Juneau and taken the train in Skagway.

 

5/25 Seattle

5/26 Day at Sea

5/27 Juneau

5/28 Skagway

5/29 Glacier Bay

5/30 Ketchikan

5/31 Victoria

6/1 Seattle

 

We flew out of Los Angeles on Saturday morning landing in Seattle in about 10:30 and able to get to the port by 11:00. Boarding was very smooth and we were on board within a half an hour. It started raining as soon as we boarded the ship and fortunately for us it was the only rain that we experienced our entire trip.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-m3mtfKf/0/259f28b7/L/Seattle-7743-Edit-L.jpg

 

By the time we reached Port Angeles the rain had stopped and got a glimpse of the mountains of Olympic National Park.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-GQrcwFP/0/2f87a3f3/L/2019 Alaska-7751-Edit-L.jpg

 

Our first night was spent attending Stephen Schwartz’s Magic to Do show exclusively produced for Princess Cruise. Both of my daughters are very musical and love Stephen Schwartz's music the show to be disjointed and would have been much better have they just done seems from each of his musicals.

 

The next day was a sea day so we slept in and enjoyed a buffet breakfast. In the morning they had a lecture on 30,000 years of art history in 45 minutes which was quite interesting. Following that we went to Princess’ pub lunch which we enjoyed.

 

Bangers and Mash

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-jkmKjzq/0/1e0a2406/M/IMG_20190526_122818-M.jpg

 

Fish and Chips

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-2h4LzLs/0/80a7c890/L/IMG_20190526_122825-L.jpg

Bread and Butter Pudding

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-9C2QNwf/0/e1119ce0/L/IMG_20190526_123825-L.jpg

 

Later that afternoon we went to our first trivia contest. It turned out that the three of us were actually pretty good at trivia. We wound up attending most afternoon trivia and won a total of four times. We got to be known as “that family”. That night was formality and enjoy the very nice meal. After that we attended the evening show with impersonations and comedy of Michael Wilson. He was one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

The next morning we woke to the beauty of the Alaska archipelago during our approach to Juneau.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-QqDRn2B/0/d29ad29a/L/2019 Alaska-7763-Edit-L.jpg

 

We arrived in Juneau around 10:30 in the morning and luckily we were the first ship in port that day. since it was memorial day and there are four ship scheduled to arrive in Juneau that day we got off the ship rather quickly and took a taxi out to Mendenhall glacier to beat the crowds. It was a beautiful day with the temperatures in the mid-60’s.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-ckWmG3X/0/5e79f7bd/L/2019 Alaska-7783-Edit-L.jpg

 

We had only taken one prior trip out to mendenhall in our previous trips to Alaska. I had always wanted to take the hike out to Nugget falls but never had time to do that. The trail from the visitors center is 2 miles round trip. It is a well maintained path that is fairly level and can be done in around an hour. The scenery along the way is quite spectacular.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-tFQx9qK/0/2bc7bda7/L/2019 Alaska-7792-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-qPwMsDZ/0/b7af1710/L/2019 Alaska-7798-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-T42Xjnd/0/a576ad23/L/2019 Alaska-7853-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-7wR6xbW/0/d2e1f39a/L/2019 Alaska-7849-Edit-L.jpg

 

As the sound of the falls gets louder you are treated to the true magnificence of this glacial waterfall.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-D9QpCz8/0/99cef717/L/2019 Alaska-7801-Edit-L.jpg

 

One of the best features of this waterfall is that you can walk right up next to the falls to get the full experience.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-T8ck2Gv/0/028b6359/L/2019 Juneau-7808-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-rk6htNZ/0/3787f0a9/L/2019 Alaska-7817-Edit-L.jpg

 

From the extended shoreline you have a great vantage of Mendenhall Glacier.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-jwDjGz8/0/3515c3fe/L/2019 Alaska-7823-Edit-L.jpg

 

We returned to the ship for an afternoon of shipboard activities. Sailaway was around 10:30pm and as you can see the sun had just set.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-ggXfS5k/0/43356c81/L/2019 Alaska-7888-L.jpg

 

We awoke the next morning in Skagway. It was again in the low to mid-60’s but the wind was blowing 15-20mph so it felt colder. Before the cruise I had signed up for a free NPS Klondike gold rush walking tour. I was about 45 mins and very informative.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-LsmcT5S/0/4b06d86f/L/2019 Alaska-7894-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-xwFzsfh/0/4465c956/L/2019 Alaska-7926-L.jpg

 

After this I had researched a short walk from the cruise ship to Yakutania Point. The trail started just at the end of the airport maybe 15 minute walk from where our ship was docked. It started with crossing a bridge across the Skagway river.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-9B74RRW/0/f66eccf5/L/2019 Alaska-7930-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-QDskFZM/0/d2143dce/L/2019 Alaska-7934-Edit-L.jpg

 

Trail was mostly level with some spots where you had to climb over some rocks.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-6TRNczn/0/6418346f/L/2019 Alaska-7939-Edit-L.jpg

 

Once you arrive at the point you would never know that you were a mere half a mile from the cruise ships.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-s9VmWJM/0/57c59ec8/L/Skagway-7951-Edit-L.jpg

 

Once back on the ship we headed to the Piazza where they brought out a bunch of 5 week old sled dog puppies.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-xMZDsCd/0/904e39d6/XL/Skagway-7985-L.jpg

 

The next day was by far our best day as we were to be visiting Glacier Bay. We got up early and bundled up and headed to the Promenade deck. I prefer to be closer to the water to experience the glaciers instead of being up high. The mountains were still full of snow as we entered the bay unlike when we had visited in late July.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-Jt6HWMj/0/e29b8f22/L/2019 Alaska-8000-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-FF7cFBQ/0/e4c463d8/L/2019 Alaska-8014-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-W5F3gFh/0/f2a7c83c/L/2019 Alaska-8026-Edit-L.jpg

 

Then we arrived at the main event, Margerie Glacier. On our previous trips to Alaska we had heard glaciers calf and saw a small splash in the distance but we never experienced what we saw today.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-KX9vDh7/0/aecfe1af/L/2019 Alaska-8051-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-JCVbcfJ/0/892b6272/L/untitled-8158-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-kbNZ5FW/0/adc1df13/L/untitled-8215-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-gVQrNDM/0/d9615775/L/untitled-8225-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-xgSxRGz/0/bd124312/L/2019 Alaska-8302-Edit-L.jpg

 

We then sailed back out to enter Johns Hopkins channel where we could glimpse this glacier.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-B3WMqpK/0/4b6a9c44/L/2019 Alaska-8376-Edit-L.jpg

 

And then on to Lamplugh Glacier nicknamed the blue glacier.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-GGb2Wks/0/70d1b1bf/L/untitled-8403-Edit-L.jpg

 

And the mountains above.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-37spg32/0/2308655f/L/2019 Alaska-8394-Edit-L.jpg

 

The next morning we arrived in Ketchikan and had the best weather of our trip. Temperatures were in the low 70’s and shorts and sunblock were the attire for the day.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-JNp9LfL/0/d1b72f69/L/2019 Alaska-8412-Edit-L.jpg

 

Again there were four ships in port this day and the crowds on Creek St were enormous so we took off on foot up Married Man’s Trail to escape the crowds.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-WDRXJHR/0/05212c49/L/2019 Alaska-8431-Edit-L.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-3nZfvJf/0/68b5551c/L/2019 Alaska-8436-Edit-L.jpg

 

We then meandered along Ketchikan Creek to the Deer Mountain Hatchery and Totem Heritage Center which were both closed since it was early.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-MbNkqxH/0/0ad1d9ee/L/2019 Alaska-8454-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-vMHDCtW/0/e70d81f9/L/2019 Alaska-8459-Edit-L.jpg

 

Since we were leaving at 1:30pm we headed back to the ship for lunch and sailaway.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-Vs8vZKb/0/0c6f1cae/L/2019 Alaska-8485-Edit-L.jpg

 

We had almost 24 hours until we made our mandatory stop in Victoria BC. We decided to take the short 20 minute walk into town and were rewarded by sunset over the Olympic peninsula.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-THpXFWh/0/07e5be1b/L/2019 Alaska-8509-Edit-L.jpg

 

Victoria was beautiful at sundown including the Parliament building and Empress Hotel.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-TBmtrkV/0/9f7e2319/L/2019 Alaska-8519-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-nfM3MwV/0/f618b60b/L/2019 Alaska-8522-Edit-L.jpg

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Vacation/2019-Alaska/i-pH4XGXC/0/0ea30748/L/2019 Alaska-8533-Edit-L.jpg

 

It was back to the ship and packing up for our departure in Seattle in the morning. We used the Seattle Port Valet service which was great. Put our bags outside our final night and did not see them until arriving in LA. Disembarkation was a breeze the next morning. We caught a cab to Pikes Place for a few hours and then caught the train to the airport.

 

Thoughts about the ship. I was somewhat skeptical about Princess’ Medallion Internet service especially traveling north to Alaska. It actually performed far beyond my expectations. There were a few dead spots but it was fast enough to keep connected with home. The ship itself was in great shape. We were familiar with the layout since we had been on its sister ship the Emerald Princess before. Most of the shows were good and there was always something to do if we were not outside enjoying the views.

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

Please delete this post so I can repost with pictures. Thank you

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

 

This was a last-minute trip with myself and my two young adult daughters. We booked it only two weeks prior as we got a great price that we could not pass up. This was our fourth trip to Alaska therefore we did a lot of DIY excursions on our own. We have previously been Anan Creek for bears, seen whales bubble feeding in Juneau and taken the train in Skagway.

 

• 5/25 Seattle

• 5/26 Day at Sea

• 5/27 Juneau

• 5/28 Skagway

• 5/29 Glacier Bay

• 5/30 Ketchikan

• 5/31 Victoria

• 6/1 Seattle

 

We flew out of Los Angeles on Saturday morning landing in Seattle in about 10:30 and able to get to the port by 11:00. Boarding was very smooth and we were on board within a half an hour. It started raining as soon as we boarded the ship and fortunately for us it was the only rain that we experienced our entire trip.

 

By the time we reached Port Angeles the rain had stopped and got a glimpse of the mountains of Olympic National Park.

 

Our first night was spent attending Stephen Schwartz’s Magic to Do show exclusively produced for Princess Cruise. Both of my daughters are very musical and love Stephen Schwartz's music the show to be disjointed and would have been much better have they just done seems from each of his musicals.

 

The next day was a sea day so we slept in and enjoyed a buffet breakfast. In the morning they had a lecture on 30,000 years of art history in 45 minutes which was quite interesting. Following that we went to Princess’ pub lunch which we enjoyed.

 

Bangers and Mash

 

Fish and Chips

 

Bread and Butter Pudding

 

Later that afternoon we went to our first trivia contest. It turned out that the three of us were actually pretty good at trivia. We wound up attending most afternoon trivia and won a total of four times. We got to be known as “that family”. That night was formality and enjoy the very nice meal. After that we attended the evening show with impersonations and comedy of Michael Wilson. He was one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

The next morning we woke to the beauty of the Alaska archipelago during our approach to Juneau.

 

We arrived in Juneau around 10:30 in the morning and luckily we were the first ship in port that day. since it was memorial day and there are four ship scheduled to arrive in Juneau that day we got off the ship rather quickly and took a taxi out to Mendenhall glacier to beat the crowds. It was a beautiful day with the temperatures in the mid-60’s.

 

We had only taken one prior trip out to mendenhall in our previous trips to Alaska. I had always wanted to take the hike out to Nugget falls but never had time to do that. The trail from the visitors center is 2 miles round trip. It is a well maintained path that is fairly level and can be done in around an hour. The scenery along the way is quite spectacular.

 

 

 

 

As the sound of the falls gets louder you are treated to the true magnificence of this glacial waterfall.

 

One of the best features of this waterfall is that you can walk right up next to the falls to get the full experience.

 

 

From the extended shoreline you have a great vantage of Mendenhall Glacier.

 

We returned to the ship for an afternoon of shipboard activities. Sailaway was around 10:30pm and as you can see the sun had just set.

 

We awoke the next morning in Skagway. It was again in the low to mid-60’s but the wind was blowing 15-20mph so it felt colder. Before the cruise I had signed up for a free NPS Klondike gold rush walking tour. I was about 45 mins and very informative.

 

After this I had researched a short walk from the cruise ship to Yakutania Point. The trail started just at the end of the airport maybe 15 minute walk from where our ship was docked. It started with crossing a bridge across the Skagway river.

 

 

Trail was mostly level with some spots where you had to climb over some rocks.

 

Once you arrive at the point you would never know that you were a mere half a mile from the cruise ships.

 

Once back on the ship we headed to the Piazza where they brought out a bunch of 5 week old sled dog puppies.

 

The next day was by far our best day as we were to be visiting Glacier Bay. We got up early and bundled up and headed to the Promenade deck. I prefer to be closer to the water to experience the glaciers instead of being up high. The mountains were still full of snow as we entered the bay unlike when we had visited in late July.

 

 

Then we arrived at the main event, Margerie Glacier. On our previous trips to Alaska we had heard glaciers calf and saw a small splash in the distance but we never experienced what we saw today.

 

 

 

We then sailed back out to enter Johns Hopkins channel where we could glimpse this glacier.

 

And then on to Lamplugh Glacier nicknamed the blue glacier.

 

And the mountains above.

 

The next morning we arrived in Ketchikan and had the best weather of our trip. Temperatures were in the low 70’s and shorts and sunblock were the attire for the day.

 

Again there were four ships in port this day and the crowds on Creek St were enormous so we took off on foot up Married Man’s Trail to escape the crowds.

 

We then meandered along Ketchikan Creek to the Deer Mountain Hatchery and Totem Heritage Center which were both closed since it was early.

 

Since we were leaving at 1:30pm we headed back to the ship for lunch and sailaway.

 

We had almost 24 hours until we made our mandatory stop in Victoria BC. We decided to take the short 20 minute walk into town and were rewarded by sunset over the Olympic peninsula.

 

Victoria was beautiful at sundown including the Parliament building and Empress Hotel.

 

 

 

It was back to the ship and packing up for our departure in Seattle in the morning. We used the Seattle Port Valet service which was great. Put our bags outside our final night and did not see them until arriving in LA. Disembarkation was a breeze the next morning. We caught a cab to Pikes Place for a few hours and then caught the train to the airport.

 

Thoughts about the ship. I was somewhat skeptical about Princess’ Medallion Internet service especially traveling north to Alaska. It actually performed far beyond my expectations. There were a few dead spots but it was fast enough to keep connected with home. The ship itself was in great shape. We were familiar with the layout since we had been on its sister ship the Emerald Princess before. Most of the shows were good and there was always something to do if we were not outside enjoying the views.

[sbt518]

Really nice photos! Thank you for sharing them.

 

I have a few questions about your taxi to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau.

 

Did you reserve it in advance? Or are their taxis waiting at the port?

When you were ready to leave, did you call them to come get you or was the return trip pre-arranged?

And, did they drop you off and pick you up close to the visitors center?

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

22 hours ago, sbt518 said:

Really nice photos! Thank you for sharing them.

 

I have a few questions about your taxi to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau.

 

Did you reserve it in advance? Or are their taxis waiting at the port?

When you were ready to leave, did you call them to come get you or was the return trip pre-arranged?

And, did they drop you off and pick you up close to the visitors center?

 

We walked right off the ship and taxis were right there. We prearranged a pickup time and they were there waiting. They dropped us off back at the ship but I imagine they will take you where ever you want. 

[quack2]

Great pictures.  What kind of camera and lens were you using?

[newdestination]

Thanks for doing the report.  Your photos are beautiful!

[Sburlington]

Excellent photos and review. Thank you for sharing. We will be doing this same cruise on the Star Princess in August with our adult children and our grandchildren.

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

2 hours ago, quack2 said:

Great pictures.  What kind of camera and lens were you using?

I use a Nikon D4 with the full range of lens (14-24,24-70,70-200). I love wide angle shots and the telephoto for glacier calving shots. I was selective off the ship so I would not be weighted down.

[quack2]

13 hours ago, GoofyontheHiSeas said:

I use a Nikon D4 with the full range of lens (14-24,24-70,70-200). I love wide angle shots and the telephoto for glacier calving shots. I was selective off the ship so I would not be weighted down.

 

I'll be trying out a 10-22 and 18-400 on my Canon 70D next week.  One day in Talkeetna (Denali flight), one day in Seward (Kenai Fjords) then a Seward to Vancouver cruise on Celebrity Millenium.

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you so much for the photos. I didn't know about the totem pole in front of the Parliament in Victoria - that is now a must do photo when we go!

 

PS the puppy looked cute too!