Ruby Princess - Alaska Inside Passage - June 22 - 29, 2019

[jaycruising]

While these whales are potentially the same ones that I saw in Maui in February their behaviours are very different.  When they are in Maui, they are playing, having their babies and trying to mate.  When they are back in Alaska their main focus is eating, they actually eat for 22 hours a day and up to 1000 pounds of fish per day, so they aren't really about the playing, it is all about business!  But still amazing to see.

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

Also managed to spot this beautiful eagle in the air.

 

 

 

 

Soon it was time to make our way back to the pier and off for our final stop of the day.  I really enjoyed the whale watch, but I was a little bit bothered by the amount of boats in the area of the whales, there was at least 6-8 boats in the immediate area and close.  I know they are regulated, it just seemed like a lot to me.

 

[jaycruising]

Back on dry land and back on the bus, we made our way to our next stop Mendenhal Glacier. I did also really enjoy our bus driver, she did know a lot about the area. We drove by McDonald's and it is one of the only ones in the world that doesn't have the large M in the air. Because Juneau does not allow billboards and the likes in the area. We got to Mendenhal just before 5:00pm and we had until 6:00pm to get back to the meeting point to head back to the ship. I really wanted to do the Nugget Falls loop which is 1 mile, so I left mom to explore the visitors centre and I made my way to the falls.

 

With my terrible feet (I was born with bi-lateral club foot), I was not sure how long it was going to take me to get there, so I went as fast as I could.  It turned out to be a pretty easy trail and I made it in about 20 minutes.  I was so hot by the time I got down there I had to take off my sweater and try and get some of the mist from the falls.  It sure is beautiful.

 

 

 

Even another selfie!

 

 

[jaycruising]

Mendenhal Glacier is also stunning, too bad you can't get closer when you are here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

Back on our bus and heading back to the ship just after 6.  We got back downtown right around 6:30, our driver offered to drop some people off downtown if they wanted, we opted to head back to the ship.  We took a look around the shop right by the ship, mom found some cute PJ's for my niece and nephew but I wasn't sure.  So while mom headed back to the ship, I walked towards downtown to look in a few other shops.  I didn't get anything from them and really just found them too crowded to enjoy looking around, so I just headed back to the shop by the ship and found a Christmas decoration.  Of course I picked one without a tag and had no others around, so it took about 15 minutes for them to find the price.  I was back on board around 7:45.

 

This is one of my favourite spots on the ship, I love aft and spent lots of time on the promenade deck.

 

 

I changed my shirt and we headed down to the main dining room for dinner.  I started with the twice backed goat cheese souffle, it was amazing!

 

 

Apparently I was pretty tired looking while waiting for my main course that even the head waiter come over and said something.  It was a long day!

 

Beef Tenderloin for dinner.

 

 

Since I was so tired we headed back to the room right after dinner to see if we had any pier runners.  All aboard was 9:30 so no one came running since we had such a late away time, so we just enjoyed our balcony while we waited to leave.  It was actually 10:30 before we pulled away since 2 other ships had left ahead of us.  We had been in port with Holland America Westerdam and Eurodam and the Celebrity Solstice.

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

 

 

Shortly after we left I went and took a shower and crashed after our long and amazing day in Juneau.

 

Tomorrow we are in Skagway!  Not sure I will get more posted tonight, but will try.

[jaycruising]

29 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

 

 

I know it says it, mom did have the fettuccine but it did not come with the parmesan bowl but we didn't ask.  That was the only day it mentioned the bowl on the menu and we ate in the MDR all but the one day.

 

And thank you!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

4 hours ago, jaycruising said:

 

I know it says it, mom did have the fettuccine but it did not come with the parmesan bowl but we didn't ask.  That was the only day it mentioned the bowl on the menu and we ate in the MDR all but the one day.

 

And thank you!

I appreciate you letting me know. It is a small thing but at the time it generated a huge thread on CC and we Princess folk just love our Parmesan crisp bowls. They are so good. Obviously it wasn’t a deal breaker for me but when I saw it I got excited like I was 12 again. Lol. 

[Cindy]

Thanks for sharing your story and your pictures! I’m living vicariously through you until we leave for our pre-cruise trip to Oregon on the 17th, followed by Ruby Princess on the 24th!

[phabric]

Love your pictures.

 

Following as I cruised from Seattle in 2017.

[13cheermom]

On 7/21/2019 at 3:10 PM, jaycruising said:

 

Next we headed down to the Internet cafe, I had pre-bought the single device internet package, but we decided that we would upgrade to the 4 device package, which was not on my cruise personalizer as an option to purchase ahead of time.

 

 

So we also are on this itinerary for next May, and we are all excited.  I also noticed we only have the single device internet package offer on our personalizer and wanted to get the 4-device plan instead.  It would be for my husband and I as well as our 2 adults daughters who will be in the adjoining cabin.  Do you remember what the pricing was once you were onboard for the 4 device plan?  Others have stated it appeared to be cheaper than what their online offers were.   If so I will just wait until we board next year, this is our first cruise with Princess, so not familiar with their policies.  Thanks for any insight into the internet situation.  We are following along and enjoying your review so much!

[jaycruising]

11 hours ago, Cindy said:

Thanks for sharing your story and your pictures! I’m living vicariously through you until we leave for our pre-cruise trip to Oregon on the 17th, followed by Ruby Princess on the 24th!

 

You are so welcome, it is letting me relive it as well.  We finish our trip in Oregon, you will have an amazing time!

 

10 hours ago, phabric said:

Love your pictures.

 

Following as I cruised from Seattle in 2017.

 

Thank you!

 

7 hours ago, 13cheermom said:

So we also are on this itinerary for next May, and we are all excited.  I also noticed we only have the single device internet package offer on our personalizer and wanted to get the 4-device plan instead.  It would be for my husband and I as well as our 2 adults daughters who will be in the adjoining cabin.  Do you remember what the pricing was once you were onboard for the 4 device plan?  Others have stated it appeared to be cheaper than what their online offers were.   If so I will just wait until we board next year, this is our first cruise with Princess, so not familiar with their policies.  Thanks for any insight into the internet situation.  We are following along and enjoying your review so much!

 

I would do this itinerary over and over, actually I want to do the one way next time.  The 4 device plan was $140 for the 4 devices unlimited for the week.

 

Glad you are enjoying it.

[jaycruising]

June 25, 2019 - Skagway

 

I will see how much of this day I can get posted, I am covering for someone at work, so having to work in the evenings as well and I still have a lot of photos to go through.

 

We arrived into port at 7:00am, but our tour wasn't until 9:15 so we took our time and went down to the main dining room for breakfast.  I really enjoyed this, just had sausage and eggs, buy you could tell it was super fresh, my eggs were still hot!  They also have a server roaming through the restaurant with pastries and the chocolate croissant is amazing!  I also had some fruit.

 

 

Wandered around outside the ship while we waited for our tour to board.  In port with us today again was the Celebrity Solstice, Holland America Nieuew Amsterdam and then also joining us was the Golden Princess.

 

 

 

 

A lot of the helicopter tours were taking off right by where we were docked, and they wasted no time, unloading one group and loading new ones in no time.

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

We had booked the Yukon Expedition & White Pass Scenic Railway tour through the ship, which would take us to just past Carcross, Yukon.The distance is about 65 miles one way.  We got boarded and they checked everyone to make sure we had our passports as we were boarding the bus.  

 

Our driver today was a gentleman named Mel, he is based in Utah and drives school bus in the winter.  He has been coming to Alaska for 13 years and was super knowledgeable.

 

Although we made a lot of stops along the way, I also took a lot of photos today out of the window of a moving bus or train, so there is some glare, reflection or blur in them.

 

Mel gave us a lot of history and information on the area, but I will be honest, I didn't retain a lot of it, but it was still a great tour.

 

Skagway River

 

 

 

 

Our first quick picture stop.

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

Back on the bus...

 

 

 

Our next stop was at Fraser BC, we didn't actually get off of the bus, but this is where the Border Agents are as you are going into Canada.  This is one of the only places where the inspection stations are not at the actual border or close to each other.  The US border station is 7.9 miles south of the actual border and the Canadian station is 7.6 miles north.

 

This is also where you board the train if you are doing the one way route, we would be back later.

 

 

 

When you get to the Border Station they will advise you to get your passports out and hold them up as the Border Agent gets on the bus, he will walk down the aisle and ensure your passport is valid.  On a side note, we were the only Canadian's on the tour.

 

[jaycruising]

 

 

 

Our next stop was at Tutshi Lake, BC.  It is probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen, we were also lucky with the weather and the water was like glass the day we were there.

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

 

 

 

 

The remnants of an old mine.

 

[jaycruising]

 

There is a beautiful sign welcoming you to the Yukon, but we did not stop to take a picture as there were about 7 other buses there as we went by.

 

We pulled over by the Carcross desert, just enough time to take a picture without getting off of the bus.  I will definitely have to come and visit my cousin who lives in the area to tour more, we didn't have time to see her unfortunately on this trip, since we didn't know what times we would be at certain locations and we were only in the area for an hourish.

 

 

Next we stopped at Caribou Crossing for our lunch.  It was alright, but not as good as yesterday's lunch.

 

 

We didn't really like this stop, and I think we stopped for too long, but that is just my opinion.  What I didn't like was that EVERYTHING else besides our lunch was an additional cost.  They have sled dogs you can see and go on a cart ride with, a wildlife museum and a petting zoo.  We just sat at the table and finished our lunch then a couple from Oklahoma joined us and we visited with them until it was almost time to go, they were on Golden Princess.  We just left enough time to go over and buy an ice cream cone, finish that and then get back on the bus.

 

We went a little further north to Emerald Lake for a quick picture stop.

 

 

 

The colour comes from light reflecting off white deposits of marl, which is a mixture of clay and calcium carbonate at the bottom of the water.

 

Just as we were leaving the lake, Mel let us know we had to go back to Caribou Crossing to pick up some others from another bus that was having some trouble, but just as we left Emerald Lake, we had to pull over to see this guy.

 

 

Back at Caribou Crossing we picked up 10 more passengers, our bus was still not full, so that was kind of nice.  We made a quick 15 minute stop in Carcross and then we stopped quickly at the Yukon sign again, but it was still so busy that I didn't get off the bus.

 

I am going to leave it here for now, and will be back with the train portion soon!

[hellokitty1]

On 7/21/2019 at 3:06 PM, jaycruising said:

June 22, 2019 - Embarkation Day

 

Yah! It is cruise day finally!

 

Up and down to the restaurant in the hotel just before 9am for breakfast, it was alright nothing great. Back up to the room to relax a bit and just finish getting our stuff together before heading to the ship. We left the hotel right around 10:30am. It took us about 45 minutes to get to our parking. We parked at Seattle Cruise Park, it cost $157 for the week, which is pricy, but they all are in Seattle. They asked us not to arrive before 10:30am and before 2:30pm. They quickly loaded the bus and we were on our way to the port.

 

I was super happy we had not taken a ride share to the port, they have to drop you off almost a mile from the terminal building. It sure is a different terminal then the Fort Lauderdale one. We could not locate a porter anywhere, and since 2 ships share the same building you have to look for a porter wearing a certain colour for your ship. Since we were close to the building I just hauled our luggage in. We were quickly through security and had our cruise cards in hand in about 15 minutes.

 

We got on the ship and we immediately headed to the Da Vinci dining room for lunch. When I asked the staff wanted us to go to the Lido Deck buffet, but I just said, no I wanted the main dining room and they sent us on our way. It was right around noon and there were maybe a dozen tables filled in the restaurant, it is so peaceful

And the hazelnut souffle was delicious!

 

 

 

We sailed on Ruby Princess to the Caribbean in 2014, in basically the same room so it was really just to see what differences. The biggest difference was new carpet, both in the hall and in our room. The small TV in the corner had been replaced with a larger flat screen mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed, just like the Royal. And then the new beds! The new beds are amazing! 100 times better then the old ones.

We spent some time unpacking and getting settled and we were quite happy to shove those suitcases under the beds for the week. I was tired of hauling them around!

 

Thank you for sharing so much great info. May I ask what time you arrived at the pier and about how long check in took and what time you actually got on the ship? Thank you!

Edited July 24, 2019 by hellokitty1

[jaycruising]

23 minutes ago, hellokitty1 said:

Thank you for sharing so much great info. May I ask what time you arrived at the pier and about how long check in took and what time you actually got on the ship? Thank you!

 

You are most welcome!

 

We were on the shuttle from the parking lot (off site) at 11:30, it took us about 15 minutes to get to the port, about 10 minutes to figure out what to do with our luggage, waiting for it to come off the bus and cause I was looking for a porter and finally gave up and took it in myself, from there we didn’t stop and just made our way through, we were seated in the restaurant by 12:15 and that was with a detour because we went to the wrong floor for the dining room. 

[jaycruising]

Going to finish up our day in Skagway now.

 

After the stop at the Yukon sign we had to haul a$$ to get back to Fraser in time to catch the train going south.

 

 

Each of the buses on this sort of tour is assigned a specific train car.  So we all got into our train care and it wasn't long until we were off.  Each car has water available for everyone and there is also an information booklet on each seat.  Each car also has it's own washroom.  You can go and stand out on a platform on the front or back of each car, but you cannot go between cars for safety.

 

For the first part of the journey, I spent some time outside on the platform.  They asked that you did not spend all the time out on the platform so that others could go out, that of course didn't happen, a few people in our car were out on the platform the whole time.

 

They also have a tour guide over the speakers on the train who will give you some history of the areas as you are going by... of course, I retained little 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

Once we got away from the more flat areas and to the part we were basically hanging off of a cliff I went back inside.

 

 

The train used to cross this bridge... no thank you!

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

As soon as we got down to a more flat area and less of the side of a cliff, I headed outside again.  It was about 22 celsius (71 Fahrenheit), and these train car windows are big, almost half of the height of the car, and they do not open, os it was HOT.  Everyone was melting, I kept moving further and further away from the window to try and cool down, the woman in front of me was blocking the window with her coat.  I went in and out of the car quite a few times, I was trying not to hog the platform.

 

 

We did have to stop a couple times to get to spots where northbound trains could pass us, and we also stopped a couple of times to pick up hikers at designated spots.

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

 

The ships in the distance.

 

 

 

Our train ride ended at the train station and Mel was there to pick us up and would drop us off downtown so we could go shopping or take us back to the ship.  If you take the train roundtrip on an excursion booked from the ship they will pick you up and drop you off right at the ship.

 

Alright, our thoughts on this excursion before we finish off the rest of our day.  The bus ride was great, Mel was super knowledgeable and entertaining.  I really liked the stops that we made.  As I stated before, didn't really enjoy the stop at Caribou Crossing.  The train was cool and it was neat to see, but we will never do the train again.  And we are both thankful that we did not do the roundtrip train, since we are not sure that we would make the return trip.  Mom and I are both not great with heights and I also have anxiety and being in a train car where you can watch the one in front of you rocking back and forth while you are on the side of a cliff, just doesn't really work for us.  So if you are afraid of heights and those types of things freak you out, you may want to avoid this.  But it was a cool experience and I don't regret it, but I won't do it again!  I know many love the train, it is totally just because of my fears, otherwise it was awesome.

 

We opted to get dropped off in town so that we could look around a bit, and they told us it was about a half mile walk back to the ship, it was actually about a mile back to where our ship was docked.  There is one main road in Skagway which is Broadway and most of the shops are located on this street.

 

We were dropped off at the museum.

 

 

This town has the best signs and store names!