What I did on my Summer Vacation Pacific Princess 6/11-25 Live

[whale-watcher]

Glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the Columbia Glacier cruise...this was a real highlight for us as well...such unique scenery and wonderful bird and wildlife viewing opportunities.

[jagsfan]

pamwinn

are "flammies" a Georgia term? I can't imagine wearing them in Georgia without expiring

from the heat. What part of Ga are you from?

That said, I can't wait to drop flammies into a conversation.

Does Princess still offer the float plane to Taku Lodge in Ketchikan, or to

Misty Fjords. Both of those stand out in my memory.

[rdsqrl]

Hey …I just finished watching an Affair to Remember..we were chatting about

It at lunch…so does anyone know what ship it was filmed on???? Sniff sniff

Wipe away the tears! Don’t want to drain minutes looking for this.

…

 

An Affair to Remember was filmed on the S.S. United States -- launched in 1952, she holds the record still for the fastest west-bound Atlantic crossing. My cousin was head of a consortium that owned her in the 1990s, which towed her to Turkey for asbestos removal. She's currently in docked in Philadelphia. NCL's parent, Star, now owns her but is looking for a buyer. Here's a current photo:

 

[saturngazer]

pegpowell, I did the Photo Safari by Land and Sea tour in Juneau two years ago. I was wonderful.. I would highly recommend it....

[mountainhouse]

Just a quick tip for those on cruises later this summer: We dined at Sterling’s last night leaving Valdez. Sterling is on the starboard, and the views coming out of Valdez are wonderful. Great landscapes and good steak together! Bring your binoculars.

 

Below is a photo of the ship docked at Seward. Since this is our first time here, I’m still getting over how big Alaska is. Second photos isn’t perfect, but it was my first try at photographing puffins in flight. Found later why we didn’t see too many on the Kenai Fjords tour ….. they’re all hunting at sea. We were in the buffet 2 hours after sailing, and they were everywhere.

 

 

[pegpowell]

Thanks Lynne, I'm looking forward to it. I've been to Alaska several times and seen a lot of Juneau so this looked like a great chance to do something different.

[California Native]

Hi Everyone

Today we were in Seward, and did the Kenai Fjords Cruise, that’s on

The 2nd page of shorex in the personalizer.

I would never tell someone not to do a shorex…

However, I do want to give you a heads up.

First I want you to know that in all my years of cruising

I have NEVER been seasick..until today

If you have a history of seasickness, I wouldn’t recommend this shorex for you.

If you have never been seasick I suggest you are prepared

In advanced with seabands to use if needed. They were sold onboard for 9USD

There were many of us that experienced seasickness for the 1st time

And yet there were just as many who were fine including my mom

The crew onboard was phenomenal..very attentive to those of us

Who were sick and constantly walking around the boat checking on others

The problem was you are on open ocean in a small boat

We did see whales, harbor seals, sea lions, waterfalls and a cool glacier and interesting Rugged coastline.

Lunch was a chicken ceasar wrap, small bag of carrots, and Nature Valley Peanut Granola Bar. Lunch is served about 11:30am , beverages were water and lemonade and.then at the end of the day They bake cookies…

Also, complimentary….saltines, ginger ale and barf bags

There was a snack bar for sweets, snacks, soda and beer to be purchased

Au Revoir! (it was French night tonight!)

more soon!

[California Native]

The Columbia Glacier Tour sounds wonderful. Was that a private excursion or a Princess excursion? If private, do you know if the Princess excursion is as nice? I would love to be able to get as close to a glacier as you did.

 

Thanks -

cindy

 

will answer this in detail later...it was a princess shorex but i will tell you how you can book direct...more soon

i'm a little worn out..so will be doing a BIG post in the next day or 2

with a copy and paste...

[Pia1913]

Hope you feel better Karen. Quickly!

[SwKnight]

Thanks for your last informative post for it gives me a heads-up on what to expect.

 

The THREE of you make an UNBEATABLE team: :cool:

 

WHERETONEXT:D

PAMWIN:D

MOUNTAINHOUSE:D

 

Best wishes out there we board 6-25 Pacific Princess - and all my bag (one huge 49.5 pounder!) is packed and I'm ready to go.

 

"LEAVING on a JET Plane - don't know when I'll be back again....." music playing

[mountainhouse]

Good morning! Just coming into Kodiak and it's looks like blue skies. :D

 

[mii]

Has anybody done the Photo Safari by Land and Sea tour in Juneau? Would appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks

 

Peg on our last roll call in May to Alaska someone on there went on that safari out of Juneau and they loved it. so another vote to try it.:D

 

Marilyn

[ESquared]

We did the Kenai Fjords Tour from the May 28 Pacific Princess cruise. No problems with the seas. The seas were flat and calm. It's a beautiful tour so I hope the sea sickness doesn't scare folks away. My friends from Alaska highly recommended this tour even over the Columbia Glacier.

 

E&E

[jfgdbg]

Good morning! Just coming into Kodiak and it's looks like blue skies. :D

 

 

What a beautiful picture. Thanks to everyone contributing to this thread.

[jagsfan]

any time I'm going in a small boat I chew a bonine first......doesn't take much to make

me sick.

On our Kenai Fjords cruise we got crackers with smoked salmon spread on it. Only time

I ever liked salmon.

Mountainhouse.......your pictures are absolutely awesome. Having a camera is great.

Being on a cruise is wonderful, putting the two together is priceless.

Mimi

[snookymom]

any time I'm going in a small boat I chew a bonine first......doesn't take much to make

me sick.

On our Kenai Fjords cruise we got crackers with smoked salmon spread on it. Only time

I ever liked salmon.

Mountainhouse.......your pictures are absolutely awesome. Having a camera is great.

Being on a cruise is wonderful, putting the two together is priceless.

Mimi

I agree. Thank you all so much.

[margord]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time.

 

Marilee

[pamwinn]

pamwinn

are "flammies" a Georgia term? I can't imagine wearing them in Georgia without expiring

from the heat. What part of Ga are you from?

That said, I can't wait to drop flammies into a conversation.

Does Princess still offer the float plane to Taku Lodge in Ketchikan, or to

Misty Fjords. Both of those stand out in my memory.

 

Flammies are flannel PJ's. We makeup words and that is one of them to the best of my knowledge. Anything below 60 is cold enough for a georgian to wear flammies.:)

[pamwinn]

SEWARD June 18, 2009

 

After the Columbia Glacier Tour we were looking forward with great anticipation to the Kenai Fjords tour, rumored to be one of the best Alaska excursions. Fate did not smile on us. Therefore, do not read this next paragraph that has been blocked off for your convenience:

 

[We were among the first off the boat waiting for the shuttle to arrive. We noticed the same crowd from yesterday beginning to assemble. The same people that break in line, push their way onto the first shuttle, and claim the prime territory on the tour boat. These are the same people who show up late to disembark, ignore the fact that there is an obvious line, and then push their way from their perches on the stairs or other doorways and cut in line when the gangway opens. They are the same people who stay inside all warm and toasty while others stand outside shivering their timbers hoping for that special photo op only to be crowded out when the entitled realized some wildlife had appeared. They are the same people who after the end of the tour, descend from their prime seats to make sure they beat the people who are sitting right at the exit off the tour boat. There are quite a few ill-mannered, self-centered, entitled people on this ship. Now I realize this has nothing to do with Princess, or even cruising, it’s simply how some poorly potty trained, ignorant people are and we ended up booking a cruise with them. There, I feel better having said that and I appreciate the fact that you did not read it.]

 

The weather played a factor in our enjoyment of the excursion. It was cold and rainy. The sea was rocky in the gulf of Alaska and people started getting sick and were vomiting all over the place, at least they were downstairs were all us riff-raff were relegated to sit. Someone brought a baby and the baby spewed all over the place. With all the vomit bags and sick people occupying the aft viewing station of the ship, it was difficult to enjoy the trip. I was afraid someone was going to throw-up on me, which would have resulted in my returning the favor even though the motion did not bother me at all. Vomit does!

 

We saw whales, birds, porpoises, seals etc, just not as many as yesterday. I did thoroughly enjoy the up-close and personal experience with Holgart glacier. We were much closer to the glacier than a cruise ship gets and it was spectacular. Most of the time was spent getting there and back and since the Pacific Princess followed a similar course that part of the excursion became a bit long (six hours). Many of those who weren’t sick were napping. I would have done the same if I could sleep sitting up.

 

There is a group of weird women aboard. They belch and fart in public. What’s up with that? I know that is funny to read about but when you experience it laughter is far from what you want to do. I’m thinking maybe stuffing them down a canon and firing them out to sea might be a good solution.

 

We had dinner in the buffet. While both breakfast and lunch are good there, dinner is lacking. It is not necessarily a quality issue. I attribute that to the fact that almost no one eats there so the food sits too long. The French fries from room service (not on the menu any longer) arrived crispy and hot. They were good and satisfied our hunger.

 

Reading this you might think we had a less than pleasant day, but that is not the case. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in spite of the burping, farting and vomiting. Certainly that will provide much fodder for back porch laughter back home. Tomorrow we will be in Kodiak where we have an SUV reserved so we can explore the Island….bear hunt!

 

Kodiak June 19, 2009

 

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day. I was able to give my feet a break and wear flip-flops. We took the shuttle into town and were dropped off across the street from Budget Car Rental in the lot where they park the rental cars. There are al kinds of small shops in that area and there is a grocery store nearby. The shuttle makes a second stop at the Visitor Center before returning to the dock for another group of souvenirs hungry tourists. It is not an impossible walk into town from the dock but there are people in our party who are starting to deteriorate and enter into decrepitude from all the activity so we opted for the shuttle. We drove all the paved roads we could find in search of bear but I think they prefer gravel roads so we did not see any.

 

We did see a deer. At least, everyone in my party except me thinks it was a deer. It sure was a funny looking deer if that’s what it was. I think it was a baby elk. Blind as I am it seems I can see better than anyone else though they are in denial and say it’s only the stuff they need me to read that they can’t see. We also saw a party of very large long legged rabbits (maybe snowshoed jackrabbits) that seemed very leery of humans. They must be on the menu here. We enjoyed beautiful scenery. We found the local Wal-Mart and tempted as we were, we opted for two weeks without going into Wal-Mart (world record is 11 days I hear) and passed it by.

 

Friday is king crab day at the Channel Side chowder house located under the bridge so we stopped there after our journey and prior to returning to the ship. Rex had the crab legs and the rest of us had fish and chips. I find it odd that we can get king crab at Costco in GA for about half what they cost in Alaska. Why is that? Anyway, we all enjoyed our food. My halibut was among the tastiest fried fish I have ever had. It was delicious. I called budget to ask if we could leave the car at the port as we were too full to walk or fit in the shuttle seats and they allowed that making our return to the ship very convenient. We were on the ship by 3PM and decided napping was in order after eating all the seafood so that’s what we decided to do before our 5PM sail away. Unfortunately, our toilet won't flush so I am typing this instead of sleeping waiting for the plumber to arrive.

 

More later…….

[California Native]

Hi Pamm...

what a bummer on your experience..

especially since you handled the seas so well

we were upstairs in the "prime" spots and had 4 really comfy seats next to

to us remain empty as Star Trek Geek and Mountain House who had originally claimed them were wandering around taking photos

and WOW what photos they got!

I agree with you about the aft area downstairs I had to leave that section to preserve my chicken ceasar wrap INSIDE my stomach...

I sat outside upstairs and I was the only "sicky" up there..

and fortunatly not hurling just several shades of green

you would have had perfect viewing station of all the wildlife!

I hope the 4 of you enjoy the rest of the cruise! :)

[Toto2Kansas]

Oh My Pam and Karen, that sounds pretty nasty. I have only experienced the pukeing group so far on catamarans in the Caribbean in the past, but even then, it isn't any fun. Nothing worse that bouncing around in a boat and have someone next to you upchuck all over the seat in front of them. ARGH!

Well, it seems there is always some small 'group' on most cruises that feel they are privledged and are more important than the next. Hopefully you were able to 'step on some toes' (literally), and I am sure you said 'OH excuse me, I am so very sorry' LOL We all forgive you, we know it was only an accident. :rolleyes:

Thanks for reporting about your tour, hopefully you will not be with the same group on your tours for the next ports. Enjoy!

[pamwinn]

Hi Pamm...

what a bummer on your experience..

especially since you handled the seas so well

we were upstairs in the "prime" spots and had 4 really comfy seats next to

to us remain empty as Star Trek Geek and Mountain House who had originally claimed them were wandering around taking photos

and WOW what photos they got!

I agree with you about the aft area downstairs I had to leave that section to preserve my chicken ceasar wrap INSIDE my stomach...

I sat outside upstairs and I was the only "sicky" up there..

and fortunatly not hurling just several shades of green

you would have had perfect viewing station of all the wildlife!

I hope the 4 of you enjoy the rest of the cruise! :)

Mountainhouse is a very talented photographer. He not only sees what is there but is able to capture it. I love his photos. I am looking forward to seeing STG's too.

[pamwinn]

Oh My Pam and Karen, that sounds pretty nasty. I have only experienced the pukeing group so far on catamarans in the Caribbean in the past, but even then, it isn't any fun. Nothing worse that bouncing around in a boat and have someone next to you upchuck all over the seat in front of them. ARGH!

Well, it seems there is always some small 'group' on most cruises that feel they are privledged and are more important than the next. Hopefully you were able to 'step on some toes' (literally), and I am sure you said 'OH excuse me, I am so very sorry' LOL We all forgive you, we know it was only an accident. :rolleyes:

Thanks for reporting about your tour, hopefully you will not be with the same group on your tours for the next ports. Enjoy!

 

I can only do that mentally. But it's fun!

[popeyeandolive]

I can only do that mentally. But it's fun!

Thanks for all of the beautiful pics and very very useful info. My husband and I are on Pacific September 3rd. Can't wait. Had to respond to sea sickness problem. Very early on in my cruising, I discovered ginger because my first trip was on the Regal to Alaska and my second was on Pacific (The Love Boat) to Bermuda. I was sick on both cruises but only one day on each. Both ships were on the the smaller side and it was recommended by the cruise staff. It totally works for me. Since it is not a drug, I will take it just to play it safe. It is called Ginger Root and I buy it in health food stores. They also have gum which I will try for the first time. Ginger Ale also good. Drink it room temperature (no ice). Just had to put my two cents in.

THANKS AGAIN ALL.

[Pia1913]

Thanks for all of the beautiful pics and very very useful info. My husband and I are on Pacific September 3rd. Can't wait. Had to respond to sea sickness problem. Very early on in my cruising, I discovered ginger because my first trip was on the Regal to Alaska and my second was on Pacific (The Love Boat) to Bermuda. I was sick on both cruises but only one day on each. Both ships were on the the smaller side and it was recommended by the cruise staff. It totally works for me. Since it is not a drug, I will take it just to play it safe. It is called Ginger Root and I buy it in health food stores. They also have gum which I will try for the first time. Ginger Ale also good. Drink it room temperature (no ice). Just had to put my two cents in.

THANKS AGAIN ALL.

 

Ginger is better if you take it in the capsule form because it's in an extended release mode. I would never cruise w/o my bottle of ginger caps.