Alaska Review: Aug. 26 - Sept 2 ~ NB on Star Princess

Thanks for your review. Enjoying the minute by minute details. If you want to post pics on this thread; here is how I do it; and its so easy. Upload all your photos to shutterfly. (shutterfly will never delete any of your pics), Once uploaded you can then right click on your photos and copy. Open up your Alaska thread and right click and paste. It takes about a minute or less to do this. the pic below is from our July cruise; Tracy Arm Fijord.

I'm really enjoying your review. We were NB on the Coral but we had Capital Tuovo also on our cruise--we were so lucky! I also LOVED my Cruise Companion and agree it's a wonderful thing to have. Our itinerary and activities appear to be the same as yours so I am enjoying reliving it and reading about how you spent your time.

Ketchikan:

We were up by 5:15 to see the ship come into port. (The Naturalist told us we’d come in at 5:30) Ketchikan is a really pretty port with the houses and buildings up the side of the hill… so watching the sail into port would be very picturesque.

Because we entered Alaskan waters last night, the clock changed again – back an hour. This is Alaska Time so we would stay that way for the remainder of our trip.

We managed to get ready for the day while watching the whole ‘coming into port’ process (a lot of in-n-out to the balcony) so we were able to head to the Terrace Pool area – and our favorite table in Horizon Court (far Aft – Port Side) as soon as she got docked and moored.

Again, they opened the hot buffet on Starboard at 6 am. We got our breakfast and headed to PORT side. We easily found a table by the window. Later in the cruise, more people began to figure out my little trick…but for now, it was almost empty on port side at 6 am…giving us a CHOICE of window tables.

Getting off the ship was easy – with short lines. Yeah, we DID have to dodge the photographer but we’ve gotten really good at that. J

Ketchikan is the port that everyone on CC raves about as THE place to get jackets, raincoats and hoodies/sweatshirts. There are actually FIVE Tongass Trading Company stores in town – each with their own specialty…but a lot of the same inventory too. The first one was right at the pier area. We darted in there quickly and found those wonderful jackets and rain coats for $20 and $25! We’d return later to purchase, because right then, we were in a hurry to catch the city bus to get to Totem Bight. It only ran once every hour and we didn’t want to miss it.

Finding exactly where to catch it (to get the RIGHT bus) turned out to be a greater feat than I had anticipated….We even went to the Visitor Center to get information. Final Tally: We were sent to 3 different places before finally getting to the right one. When we stepped onto that 3rd bus, in all my frustration, I just looked at the driver and asked “Does THIS bus go to Totem Bight?” He tried to joke with me in his answer… The problem was…I was in NO MOOD for a joke at this point. I tried to cover my frustration, but I'm almost certain it came through anyway…after our search and 2 'mis-informations'. I just looked at him and said… “I need to know the truth....we’ve been sent to the wrong place twice now”. He never really gave me a straight answer…but another passenger spoke up and said “Yes…that’s where we’re headed too”. We were all ‘friends’ by the time we got toTotem Bight --and I explained our fiasco and frustration…. ;p It WAS a city bus so made other stops…about a 20-25 min. drive.

We got there for $2pp. each way. ($4pp total)

Totem Bight is right on the banks of the Inside Passage - a beautiful location – with about 16 AUTHENTIC poles (That was an important factor for me) and a self-guided pamphlet detailing the history and information of each pole. There is a clan house that the brochures say you can only visit when on an official tour. However, the lady in the office told us when we paid our admission ($5pp) that if there was a tour in there, we could just walk in…if anyone said anything to just tell them we paid and could enter. ;p There WAS a tour in there and we DID enter and listen to the last half of it. (no one said anything to us) From that point on, though we chose to go it alone….occasionally coming across a tour group and listening in for a few minutes then going back to our pamphlet. (There were new tour groups coming every 5 min. after 9 am so we had our choice of who to listen to) We really liked having the freedom to go...listen as we wished, but not being tied to a tour group…and certainly not paying the prices those on tours paid. We DO want information…we just typically prefer to gather/read it on our own while soaking in the beauty and peace of a destination….away from chatter J

Potlach was next door and something I’d like to see in the future. We just didn’t think we had enough time this trip –with only 6-7 hrs in port and wanting to spend some time on Creek Street and see the salmon, et al.

To get back to Ketchikan, you can either cross over to catch the northbound bus as it continues on it’s route before turning southbound….or just catch it when it comes back that way going south… It’s all the same bus…same driver which means you DON’T want to miss the ‘next bus’….you’ll wait an hour if you do.

This Silver bus route goes by (very close to) Saxman Heritage Ctr, which is where some in our new-found friend ‘group’ wanted to go. We asked the driver to let us know when he got to the best drop off spot for Creek Street…and that’s where we said our good-byes to our new bus driver friend. (He had forgiven me for snapping at him at 7:30 that morning by this time. :D:D) We walked a little through the area, climbed up Married Man’s trail (amid wall-to-wall people) … saw the salmon on the ladder and darted into a few shops… The trail was VERY crowded by this time so that it was hard to get any good photos…we tried…. It might have been better to get to this early in the morning before things got so crowded, but we were concerned we’d run out of time and/or have to wait longer than anticipated on a bus going to Totem Bight. Totem Bight was our first priority and we didn’t want to cut it too close.

My ‘Take’ On Ketchikan:

This is one of those ports you can see and do for very little money if you wish. Some day I would like to take the Misty Fjord’s flight or boat excursion and THAT’S expensive, but for our first time in town, we really wanted to see what Ketchikan was known for - the totem poles.

Our total cost for 2 ppl: Bus: $8; Admission $10….walking Creek Street: Free. Shopping for those wonderful jackets and hoodies (and other things…): I’m not tellin’ :)

When we got back to the downtown area, messages finally downloaded to my phone – and I got a text about an emergency situation at home. That monopolized our thoughts and emotions for the remaining 2 hrs of our time in Ketchikan….even to the point we discussed the possibility of catching a flight home from Juneau the next day. :eek:

From that point on, our mood was rather somber…. We walked through the town, but nothing ‘glittered’ anymore. We went to Tongass Trading Company and made our purchases…made our last phone call home…then got in line to board the ship….still discussing what we should do tomorrow…???

Oh no! I hope everything worked out ok!

What a great inexpensive day you had. We did the Misty Fjords cruise on our trip but if we go back, I want to do just what you did--explore the city. Our excursion took our whole day and while it was great, I never got to get any pictures of Creek Street or the Welcome to Ketchikan sign.

Back On The Ship:

The line for boarding was very long…longest I’ve ever stood in to reboard in a port. (30-40 min) The only explanation I can come up with is that with the very short port time (6:30am-2 pm) it consolidated everyone’s return…3000 people trying to board within a very small time frame. It was never that bad again throughout the rest of the cruise.

We grabbed something to eat – pizza this time :) then took it to Horizon Court to get a salad….

Sailaway took us through the Tongass Narrows – This is such an interesting Sail-away. It started by taking us right past Totem Bight – we actually got some panoramic pictures of the entire place (it’s not that big area-wise) It was nice to get an ‘overview’ picture in addition to all my ‘individual’ pictures. J Then, we got an ‘up-personal’ view of the Alaska Ferry and all the float planes taking off and landing from the Ketchikan airport. The ship maneuvers between all of that. J To be honest, I don’t think we got a single pic of that though. We really were still ‘reeling’ from our afternoon conversations…it tinted everything we did and every response we had this entire evening. Now…. Before this sounds too ‘down’, I will add - Tomorrow, we will make a few more phone calls. It will set our mind at ease that everything REALLY is being taken care of at home - (We’re not just being told that by family members to ‘protect’ us or our vacation….) In fact, things will even be a little ‘better’ by tomorrow… We will be told to STAY on our vacation… That they’re taking care of things and we can take OUR turn when we return. None of that will stop us from worrying, but it will make things a little easier. We just have to get to tomorrow to find all of that out. ;p

The third of the Naturalist presentations was at 3:30 which gave us a bit of time. I needed to get a bit of laundry done and even though this was only our 4th day, I had looked at the schedule for the next 5 days, and this was the best time to do it. I just did 1 load…and it took about an hour…most of which I spent in our room…only 5-6 doors away. (No, I don’t sit down there with the laundry…the machines are quite capable of washing the clothes by themselves…and if anyone needs our underwear and socks badly enough to steal them, they can just have them.) ;p

At 3:30 we headed to the Naturalist Presentation: "Experiencing Alaska’s Awe Inspiring Flora". I wasn’t sure if I would like this one…While I like the flowers, it’s the wildlife that I was the most interested in. However…should I have been shocked?? It was actually quite interesting. She talked about the fireweed and how it signals the coming (and going) of summer. I was much more alert to the fireweed – especially on our Skagway day going up the Klondike Highway….for the rest of our time in Alaska. (and it was EVERYwhere)

It was at this presentation that we found out that Sandra would be up on the bow at 5:30 for our sailing through Snow Passage - prime humpback whale feeding area. That even took precedence over dining in the Dining Room for us! (See!!! More of the ‘break the mold ‘ thing’….we’ve RARELY missed a night in the dining room on a cruise… but we were missing a LOT of them on this cruise.)

Whale viewing was all it was touted to be! We saw not only several whales, but porposes and sea lions. Well worth missing the dining room for. ;p

After our evening of wildlife viewing it was off to the buffet – where they were having the Bavarian Bierfest. We don’t have a good German place here so actually enjoyed tonight at the buffet. Of course, that meant that of the 7 nights we COULD eat in the MDR, we were missing Tues. and Wed. nights when we would be in port too late…and Friday night when we would be in College Fjord from 6-8:30….and now, Mon. night too… Only 3 nights in the MDR on this cruise.

If I had to offer any packing advice to those cruising Alaska, it would be this: You don’t need 7 nights worth of MDR clothes - IF ……IF you’re wanting to see the wildlife. Most of these viewing times seem to be during the dinner hour – (at least on NB cruises) That means you must choose… wildlife viewing….or MDR. If you’re like us, the whales win…and you simply don’t need all those MDR clothes. ;p

The sunset was on OUR side of the ship tonight (not always the case throughout this cruise) It was chilly out on our balcony as we headed further and further north, but the view was incredible….water in the forefront…mountains in the background…a few whispy clouds in the sky and pinks, blues…purples.. It was beautiful!

Things we Missed Today because we were doing "All Things Alaska":

• The “Visa Card Sign Up Party. Yeah….they’re encouraging people to sign up for that Barclay card. I’m one who has posted here on CC about our struggles with that card. Thought we’ve gotten several hundred dollars in statement credit, I went through a LOT to get that!!! Ugh! They really need to FIX their issues before trying to increase their numbers. They’re only increasing the number of people ANGRY with them!! Oh well…. J
  

Oh no! I hope everything worked out ok!

 

What a great inexpensive day you had. We did the Misty Fjords cruise on our trip but if we go back, I want to do just what you did--explore the city. Our excursion took our whole day and while it was great, I never got to get any pictures of Creek Street or the Welcome to Ketchikan sign.

Thank you. Yes recovery is going well..... The minute we got home, I began unpacking and repacking....It helped that I was unpacking winter-wear...and repacking summer-wear. :) I'm taking my turn at care-taking now...and so thankful other family members were ABLE to step in over the last 2 weeks.

Yes, I've heard wonderful things about Misty Fjords...that's on my wish-list for our next Alaska cruise :)

Ketchikan:

 

We were up by 5:15 to see the ship come into port. (The Naturalist told us we’d come in at 5:30) Ketchikan is a really pretty port with the houses and buildings up the side of the hill… so watching the sail into port would be very picturesque.

 

Because we entered Alaskan waters last night, the clock changed again – back an hour. This is Alaska Time so we would stay that way for the remainder of our trip.

 

We managed to get ready for the day while watching the whole ‘coming into port’ process (a lot of in-n-out to the balcony) so we were able to head to the Terrace Pool area – and our favorite table in Horizon Court (far Aft – Port Side) as soon as she got docked and moored.

 

Again, they opened the hot buffet on Starboard at 6 am. We got our breakfast and headed to PORT side. We easily found a table by the window. Later in the cruise, more people began to figure out my little trick…but for now, it was almost empty on port side at 6 am…giving us a CHOICE of window tables.

 

Getting off the ship was easy – with short lines. Yeah, we DID have to dodge the photographer but we’ve gotten really good at that. J

 

Ketchikan is the port that everyone on CC raves about as THE place to get jackets, raincoats and hoodies/sweatshirts. There are actually FIVE Tongass Trading Company stores in town – each with their own specialty…but a lot of the same inventory too. The first one was right at the pier area. We darted in there quickly and found those wonderful jackets and rain coats for $20 and $25! We’d return later to purchase, because right then, we were in a hurry to catch the city bus to get to Totem Bight. It only ran once every hour and we didn’t want to miss it.

 

Finding exactly where to catch it (to get the RIGHT bus) turned out to be a greater feat than I had anticipated….We even went to the Visitor Center to get information. Final Tally: We were sent to 3 different places before finally getting to the right one. When we stepped onto that 3rd bus, in all my frustration, I just looked at the driver and asked “Does THIS bus go to Totem Bight?” He tried to joke with me in his answer… The problem was…I was in NO MOOD for a joke at this point. I tried to cover my frustration, but I'm almost certain it came through anyway…after our search and 2 'mis-informations'. I just looked at him and said… “I need to know the truth....we’ve been sent to the wrong place twice now”. He never really gave me a straight answer…but another passenger spoke up and said “Yes…that’s where we’re headed too”. We were all ‘friends’ by the time we got toTotem Bight --and I explained our fiasco and frustration…. ;p It WAS a city bus so made other stops…about a 20-25 min. drive.

 

We got there for $2pp. each way. ($4pp total)

 

Totem Bight is right on the banks of the Inside Passage - a beautiful location – with about 16 AUTHENTIC poles (That was an important factor for me) and a self-guided pamphlet detailing the history and information of each pole. There is a clan house that the brochures say you can only visit when on an official tour. However, the lady in the office told us when we paid our admission ($5pp) that if there was a tour in there, we could just walk in…if anyone said anything to just tell them we paid and could enter. ;p There WAS a tour in there and we DID enter and listen to the last half of it. (no one said anything to us) From that point on, though we chose to go it alone….occasionally coming across a tour group and listening in for a few minutes then going back to our pamphlet. (There were new tour groups coming every 5 min. after 9 am so we had our choice of who to listen to) We really liked having the freedom to go...listen as we wished, but not being tied to a tour group…and certainly not paying the prices those on tours paid. We DO want information…we just typically prefer to gather/read it on our own while soaking in the beauty and peace of a destination….away from chatter J

 

Potlach was next door and something I’d like to see in the future. We just didn’t think we had enough time this trip –with only 6-7 hrs in port and wanting to spend some time on Creek Street and see the salmon, et al.

 

To get back to Ketchikan, you can either cross over to catch the northbound bus as it continues on it’s route before turning southbound….or just catch it when it comes back that way going south… It’s all the same bus…same driver which means you DON’T want to miss the ‘next bus’….you’ll wait an hour if you do.

 

This Silver bus route goes by (very close to) Saxman Heritage Ctr, which is where some in our new-found friend ‘group’ wanted to go. We asked the driver to let us know when he got to the best drop off spot for Creek Street…and that’s where we said our good-byes to our new bus driver friend. (He had forgiven me for snapping at him at 7:30 that morning by this time. :D:D) We walked a little through the area, climbed up Married Man’s trail (amid wall-to-wall people) … saw the salmon on the ladder and darted into a few shops… The trail was VERY crowded by this time so that it was hard to get any good photos…we tried…. It might have been better to get to this early in the morning before things got so crowded, but we were concerned we’d run out of time and/or have to wait longer than anticipated on a bus going to Totem Bight. Totem Bight was our first priority and we didn’t want to cut it too close.

 

My ‘Take’ On Ketchikan:

This is one of those ports you can see and do for very little money if you wish. Some day I would like to take the Misty Fjord’s flight or boat excursion and THAT’S expensive, but for our first time in town, we really wanted to see what Ketchikan was known for - the totem poles.

Our total cost for 2 ppl: Bus: $8; Admission $10….walking Creek Street: Free. Shopping for those wonderful jackets and hoodies (and other things…): I’m not tellin’ :)

 

When we got back to the downtown area, messages finally downloaded to my phone – and I got a text about an emergency situation at home. That monopolized our thoughts and emotions for the remaining 2 hrs of our time in Ketchikan….even to the point we discussed the possibility of catching a flight home from Juneau the next day. :eek:

 

From that point on, our mood was rather somber…. We walked through the town, but nothing ‘glittered’ anymore. We went to Tongass Trading Company and made our purchases…made our last phone call home…then got in line to board the ship….still discussing what we should do tomorrow…???

Really enjoying your review! (Hope that things are okay at home. It's such a helpless feeling to get those kinds of messages when you are far from home.)

Thanks for your review. Enjoying the minute by minute details. If you want to post pics on this thread; here is how I do it; and its so easy. Upload all your photos to shutterfly. (shutterfly will never delete any of your pics), Once uploaded you can then right click on your photos and copy. Open up your Alaska thread and right click and paste. It takes about a minute or less to do this. the pic below is from our July cruise; Tracy Arm Fijord.

 

Thanks for the info. I use Shutterfly for all our photos...but of course, when we got into town, I repacked and left town almost immediately - so photos aren't even off the camera yet...much less sent to Shutterfly :)

With this new-found information, I'll try to put some up when I get home...may be 2 weeks though...sorry.... :)

Enjoying your review! Thanks for doing it.

Juneau:

I was once again up early this morning – like 5:30 early…very restless night. DH was not quite ready to begin the day at 5:30 though…. That was fine. I told him I would be at “our spot” - back of Horizon Court Port side at “our table” and he could join me when he was ready....as long as it was BEFORE 7 am as we needed to be getting off the ship by 7:30. I took my Alaska Cruise Companion to keep me company and headed out the door…

By the time DH finally made it to the dining room, I had gotten my breakfast, eaten it…and had a few coffee refills. :rolleyes: ( Yeah...we'd actually BOTH had a restless night.....)

After DH had his breakfast, we packed our day packs and got off the ship. It was about 7:45.

Our plan was to go to Mt Roberts Tramway first thing….then come down for a 9 am phone call. It would be noon at home and there would be information/answers by then. From that point, we had TWO possible plans for the day…all based on how that phone call went.

Plan A:

• Pick up rental car.
  
• Mendenhall Glacier; McCauley Salmon Hatchery and Douglas Island/Treadwell Mine
  
• Return rental car then go BACK up the Tramway to see things in the evening light… then play it by ear from there on out….
  

Plan B:

• Make flight arrangements; Get back on the ship to pack and do whatever is necessary to leave the ship
  
• Transport to airport and fly home
  

Our ship was docked at Franklin Street dock...and though it’s not the closest to the Tramway, it wasn’t a bad walk…maybe 6 blocks. It was chilly…but a BEAUTIFUL day!! The Tramway began running at 8 so we were the 2nd car to go up…not crowded at all. It got VERY crowded later in the day. We talked to people later who planned to go but decided against it because of the lines. It was VERY pleasant up there that early in the morning....temps probably around 50 at 8 am - and forecasts of 66 for the afternoon high. In addition to the viewing decks with windows that opened for photos, there was also an extensive trail system all over the mountain with maps for sale in the gift shop. We would have liked to have spent more time up there…maybe hiked one of the trails but needed to be down off the mountain by 9 for our phone call….. We looked around a bit…then took one of the trails to the first two lookout points. It was a very nice vantage point (2nd one was better....) with views of the Juneau harbor and the Star Princess below. The Eagle Raptor Center is up there as well, but they didn't open until 10. We decided that if we returned that evening, we’d see it then - they were open until 6 I believe.

Getting down off the Mountain wasn’t any problem at all that early…we waited less than 5 min. Such was NOT the case later in the day. Some on our ship reported wait times of an hour for that return tram down the mountain.

It was 9:05 when we got off the mountain - and I made my phone call. As I mentioned yesterday, that phone call put our minds at ease (kinda….) There was improvement…and other family members were taking care of all that needed to be taken care of. We were INSTRUCTED to NOT fly home… I felt better after that call…still worried…but at least the dark cloud hovering since yesterday was gone….

Now …moving forward with Plan A :) There was a bus – full 54 passenger bus in the ‘square’ that went out to AJ dock – where the NCL ship was docked. It was meant for NCL passengers…but we needed to get to Juneau Rental Car which was right by AJ Dock. Walking it is not impossible…but it’s about .8 mile. I didn’t know if PCL passengers were ‘welcomed’ on this…but with my lanyard and PCL cruise card removed, we could get on that bus as if we belonged there. From the drop off point, it was about a block over to the rental office.

A Few Words About Juneau Ca Rentals. They rent older model, higher mileage cars – for much less than Avis et al. And since Avis closed their office on the pier, (the hotel they were located in closed for remodel this year) their cars had to be picked up at the airport….which would be either time consuming(city bus) or expensive (taxi). I got our car from Juneau Rental Car for $59 for the WHOLE day… not pro-rated by the hour. We had NO PROBLEMS with the car. It ran fine. It didn’t have all the bells and whistles that newer cars have…but honestly, I was there to see Mendenhall Glacier…and Treadwell Mine, et al…not ring bells or blow whistles. ;p

Our first destination with the car was Mendenhall Glacier. Some recommend getting there as early as possible if you’ve rented a car and are in control of your day. We just really wanted photos from the Tramway in the early morning light…otherwise, I would DEFINITELY recommend that. The parking lot was not big but adequate for the cars there – as most visitors arrive via bus tours… The Visitor Center and areas surrounding however, were packed with people.

We took 2 hikes there - Nugget Falls and Photo Point Trail. The views from both are similar – both nice and I am glad we did both…but they aren’t drastically different. (Photo Point trail gives a more ‘straight on’ view of the falls and glacier together while the Nugget Falls Trail gets you RIGHT UP TO the Falls [- if you choose to get that close...and a view more from the side. ) The weather was pleasant though we had our down coats and hats. Back at the visitor center was a viewing deck and room with full windows if you didn’t want to be outside.

After leaving Mendenhall, we headed toward McCauley Salmon Hatchery. We looked for a place to stop for lunch en route. I assumed we’d find many options…we actually only saw 1 - McDonalds. That was fine.

We relaxed a bit there, took advantage of the wi-fi, then headed to McCauley. This is not actually a “tourist” centered location (though they give a pretty good little tour.) It is in fact, a REAL hatchery where they’re fostering the spawning process…..and ‘hatching’. ;p Now…They give regular tours…and when we arrived, we were instructed to just join one already in process. I wish I had just asked to wait until the next one as coming in after it had started left a lot of gaps in our ‘information’.

Because they’re more of a working business than a ‘tourist’ attraction, they don’t really have the ‘running of a tour’ down to a science. That’s not a complaint as we thoroughly enjoyed our time there….it’s just an observation. I DO highly recommend a visit here though -to understand all about the salmon spawning process….and the impact that has on the economy of SE Alaska. Their website says there’s a $5 admission. The tour guide asked us to stop by the desk to pay that…but there was no ‘monitoring’ of this. After we finished our tour of the hatchery, we went inside and DID stop to pay our admission…but we seemed to be alone in that…???? As DH was paying the girl there, she commented that not many people actually did that… hmmm…. I find that interesting…that people who can afford a trip to Alaska can’t afford a $5 admission….. Good Grief!! We didn’t mind at all funding what they’re doing there….They’re not raising the salmon to harvest; they’re raising them to release. Now….most of them WILL end up either being food for bears…or food for eagles…or food for other wildlife…Some will be caught by fishermen and be food for people…but that’s the plight of ALL salmon. This operation is just increasing those numbers…. (ok…off my soap box now….)

After we finished with the tour and paying our admission, we went through the displays they had there. It’s just 2 rooms....but interesting. There’s a tank with fish, a few interpretive displays and an area where you can ‘touch’ various sea creatures. I don’t know if that was meant for children, ;p but I enjoyed finding out that the spines/spikes on many of these creatures are actually very soft… They LOOK ominous to protect them from predators…but they’re neither sharp, nor hard…. Interesting….

At the end of our tour, we made another phone call home to get the latest doctor report. Though we WERE enjoying our day, ‘home’ was constantly on my mind…these calls and good reports helped me make it through the day. :)

We then left McCauley and headed back toward town and crossed the Douglas Island Bridge over to Douglas Island. It was quite challenging to find the Treadwell Mine area - It’s not a Tourist Attraction either….visited by only the few who know it’s there…. Haha! There’s no “Visitor Center”….no Signs to show you where to go /find it. It's just a small parking area - in the middle of a residential area - leading to a path with markers...that you have to 'find' on your own. Thankfully, I had printed the explanations/descriptions for all the markers from their website (http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/facilities/documents/TreadBroch1.pdf ) so had that with me….without it, we would have been at a total loss. To do this, I actually copied/pasted it all to a document, then edited it a LOT to bring it down to a more manageable size...didn't want to print and bring 11 pages!!!)

The Treadwell Mine story is actually quite interesting. It was the largest gold mine at that time….operating 24 hrs a day, 363 days a year and employing almost 2000 people. They had a facility fitting to only the most elite. In 1917, the shafts of Treadwell Mine flooded with waterfrom Gastineau Channel…

Even with all the information I had, we never found the location of the actual cave in/flood. It’s somewhere over by the water (Obviously….) and we were walking part of the path that was probably 300-400 ft inland…would have to drive over to find the other markers. We just didn’t do that.

Honestly, we were very tired at this point… (long day; restless night) After about an hour or so, we headed back to Juneau. I DO recommend a visit to this for anyone interested in history....and wanting solitude.. It's very peaceful and quiet walking those paths. The only people you encounter are locals walking their dogs... :)

We knew that Libby Riddles would be doing a presentation at 7 and we kind of wanted to hear that….We got gas in the rental, returned it, transported back to the ‘square’ area and walked the 6 blocks or so to the ship….stopping off at a souvenir shop on the way. DH saw some Alaska socks he just HAD to have. I just giggled… :D

Getting back on the ship was a breeze compared to yesterday…no lines at all. After dropping our things off at the cabin and grabbing a bite to eat in the buffet, we headed to Princess Theater to hear Libby Riddles. I was SOOO glad we made the decision to return to the ship early to do this (that was NOT part of our original plan..) She was a HOOT!! She tells her personal story/history, talks a bit about the dogs…the Iditarod…then takes Q&A from the audience. Crew members carry the mic around for questions. She did a Meet N Greet at 6:15 that evening which we didn’t know about until later (I hadn’t paid much attention to anything in the Patters prior to 8:30 pm – All aboard time. )

After this, we went to get more oatmeal cookies to take back to the room (LOVE :hearteyes: those oatmeal cookies….) and went to bed…It had been a long day…and tomorrow was going to be ANOTHER long day…

Yes…that evening, there were entertainers all through the ship…Trivia, Art Sales, Tanzanite raffles, movies and Comedy shows....even a MUTS movie at 10:15. But…Alaska was taking ALL our time and energy…no time for any of those things…..

To get to Juneau, ships must sail UP the Gastineau Channel…That means that when you leave, you have to go BACK down that channel to get to Stephen's Passage. At that point our ship turned north headed to Skagway. Within a few minutes of sail away, we sailed by the Treadwell Mine area and could have seen the remains of the mine where the cave in/flooding was.... but we missed it. I was disappointed in myself for not remembering to be out there to see that. (Cause I knew we would sail past it…) I fully intended to but just got so involved in the Libby Riddles stuff that it totally slipped my mine. :eek:

There’s also supposed to be good eagle viewing at Juneau sailaway – they release salmon around Sheep Creek….and the eagles congregate there. Prime humpback whale viewing is a little further as well as the beginnings of the Chilkat Mountains - about an hour and half from sail away. We missed those viewings too…

I include that information for the reader’s interest - not because I have any commentary about it. :o

By the time WE passed the whale area, we had completed our oatmeal cookie heist, disposed of all the evidence and were headed to bed.

Next I’ll write about our Cabin – angled balcony B744

Loved reading your two previous posts. Very much looking forward to your future posts.....:):):)

 

Bob

Thanks Bob....I'm enjoying writing it...and reliving it all. Can't wait to go back! :D

Really enjoying your review! (Hope that things are okay at home. It's such a helpless feeling to get those kinds of messages when you are far from home.)

Thank you. Yes things are going ok at home...it was a VERY helpless feeling. .I"m taking my turn at care-taking now...and it's going well.

Enjoying your review! Thanks for doing it.

You're quite welcome! :D

Thanks so much for your excellent review ! I agree with you on the naturalist presentations -- they're wonderful. I too purchased the "Alaska" book and was able to chat with author Rachel Cartwright in order to tell her how much I appreciated the book. EBC:p

Very in depth review; thank you..

Thanks so much for your excellent review ! I agree with you on the naturalist presentations -- they're wonderful. I too purchased the "Alaska" book and was able to chat with author Rachel Cartwright in order to tell her how much I appreciated the book. EBC:p

Wow!! Where did you meet up with her?

Star Princess Baja Deck 744 (B744)

We originally booked an interior cabin on this cruise – partly because of finances…and partly because we didn’t know how much use or value we could get out of a balcony on a Late Aug. cruise. We thought it might be so windy….so cold….and so rainy….that we’d not be able to really use or enjoy it anyway…so why pay the high prices to get it?

Honestly…I don’t think my opinion on that has changed…..

However…when the upsell offer came, it was just a few hundred dollars more than our interior. When I looked at THAT financial equation, I realized it might just be worth it.

We took it…and after looking at all the available cabins…researching here on CC all afternoon…and actually communicating through email with one of the regulars here on CC, we decided to book B744.

B744 is the last side cabin on Port side - and has an angled balcony.

As far as the room...it's like any other balcony cabin on Star (and most PCL ships??) As far as noise....we never heard any....There was no traffic going past our room cause it was the last cabin.

Many reviewers here on CC don't necessarily have positive things to say about the balcony though. I have come to the conclusion (imho) that the reason they didn’t like it is that they were cruising a warm weather destination. I can completely understand why someone sailing in warm climate wouldn’t like it. It’s closed in…sheltered…keeps you from the sun. That, however, was the very reason I thought it was fantastic for Alaska in late August. (I can’t speak to the subject of Alaska in July…)

Our balcony was probably 70% bigger than other Baja Deck balconies...possibly not as big as the Caribe balconies…but certainly bigger than the Baja ones. By 'angled balcony', I mean that when we went to our railing, it did not face straight out the side of the ship. Instead, it faced at a 45 degree angle. We looked straight up to the bridge… We could easily see what was ahead for our ship…we could NOT view aft AT ALL. That would probably be the one negative. We did not think it was big enough to ‘ax’ the balcony though. If we wanted to view aft, we went out thatlittle door on Deck 12 to the Terrace Pool…so easy to get to. :)

There was PLENTY of room for our two chairs and table leaving ample room for walking etc… Some here on CC have said they requested a lounger and got one. We didn’t sit out there because it WAS windy and cold….so didn’t feel the need to ask our steward for that. We mostly used the balcony for viewing at the railing.

It should be noted that there is pretty much NO privacy when at the railing as you’re at a 45 degree angle to the balcony of your neighbors. Actually, the cabin I think I would NOT want to ever have would be that room…the 2nd from the last cabin Aft… (B740 & B741) Our neighbors, B740, only had privacy on their balcony if we weren’t out… If we were out there, we had a direct view onto their balcony. They were nice people by the way…we had some very pleasant conversations with them…so it might be a GREAT set up for people traveling together??? Or ‘really nice people’. :D:D

Now…about the ‘aft’ part. I’ve always relished the idea of walking far distances on a ship – to kind of compensate for the added intake of food. We CHOOSE stairs when possible…have never balked when we needed to go from end to end on the ship for whatever reason…and of course, thoroughly enjoyed our early morning walks around Promenade. However, on those cruises, we were coming from someplace MID-Aft. :) When booking this cabin, I under-estimated the difference between Mid-Aft and REALLY REALLY Aft (as in the very last cabin on the side of the ship) I didn’t think it would really make that much difference. There was a difference.

Now…it didn’t ‘ruin’ our cruise by any stretch. Perhaps I weighed a pound or two less at disembarkation than I would have weighed if we’d been mid-aft… (wishful thinking….) ;p but I DID notice the difference. We found ourselves ‘planning’ our treks back to the room…and sometimes fore-going a trip back just because of the distance.

Would I refuse to book this cabin again because of it? Absolutely NOT…but it was something we noticed.

Now…getting to the buffet was easy…down the hall to the stairs, up 2 flights...and VOILA….Food!!! The Theater where the Naturalist presentations were …or the MDR– a VERY LONG WALK!!!

That being said, this cabin for Alaska was a WINNER!!! In our opinion, you just ‘deal’ with the negatives – isn’t that the case with just about any cabin though?? You figure out the positives and negatives and decide what you’re willing to accept and what you’re not. ;p

Wow!! Where did you meet up with her?

Rachel Cartwright was the naturalist on board our ship, the Emerald. She did the narration from the bridge as we sailed along, and her narration was simulcast on the t.v. in our cabin. She made the narration very fun and interesting -- she's a great speaker. One day, I read in the Princess Patter that she would be downstairs in the Atrium at a certain time, so I went over there to meet her. Told her that I spent most of my career teaching high school, and I appreciated her work in making her presentation both very educational and very fun to listen to. As you know, her book is great ! She's such a friendly, approachable person, and she signed my book. She's on sabbatical from her position as a professor at Calif. State University Channel Islands, so she's doing research on migrations of whales from Hawaii to Alaska.

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful cruise ! :p - EBC

Rachel Cartwright was the naturalist on board our ship, the Emerald. She did the narration from the bridge as we sailed along, and her narration was simulcast on the t.v. in our cabin. She made the narration very fun and interesting -- she's a great speaker. One day, I read in the Princess Patter that she would be downstairs in the Atrium at a certain time, so I went over there to meet her. Told her that I spent most of my career teaching high school, and I appreciated her work in making her presentation both very educational and very fun to listen to. As you know, her book is great ! She's such a friendly, approachable person, and she signed my book. She's on sabbatical from her position as a professor at Calif. State University Channel Islands, so she's doing research on migrations of whales from Hawaii to Alaska.

 

 

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful cruise ! :p - EBC

Ahha....that makes more sense. I knew she was teaching now and was a little confused about her being back on a ship. ;p How fortunate for you - to have met her!!

We then left McCauley and headed back toward town and crossed the Douglas Island Bridge over to Douglas Island. It was quite challenging to find the Treadwell Mine area - It’s not a Tourist Attraction either….visited by only the few who know it’s there…. Haha! There’s no “Visitor Center”….no Signs to show you where to go /find it. It's just a small parking area - in the middle of a residential area - leading to a path with markers...that you have to 'find' on your own.

Oh...and I want to mention that Rachel Cartwright was also on our cruise that we did in 2014. I had a couple of different guidebooks with me so didn't purchase hers (almost wish I had) but we did take a photo of her map as she suggested. We spent a lot of time looking for wildlife and it was helpful to have a better idea of when and where to look. (A little blurry...but good enough to use!)

I am looking forward to the rest of your review. Will you post a link to your blog? I would love to see your photos when you get them posted!

Skagway

Today our plan was to take a rental car on the Klondike Highway.

So many people take the WP&YR Railway in Skagway. That was not our choice though. Why? Well…it’s not because I think the train wouldn’t be a wonderful experience….It would. :) It’s because the train would not be a ‘new experience’ for us. We’ve done the ‘train through the mountains’ thing. We’ve ridden the Narrow Gauge Railroad from Durango to Silverton, CO quite a few times actually. When shopping and comparing day trip choices in Skagway, we discussed all our options – and the fact that because the train would not be a new experience for us…and because we really wanted the freedom to stop frequently en route…gaze, soak in and view the beauty at our own pace, we would be happier with a rental car. The routes are basically the same. The train goes on one side of the canyon; the highway is on the other. We were able to not only ‘take our time’ getting to Carcross, but spend as much time there in town as we wanted…THEN….go further– to Emerald Lake before turning around. …and we did it all for the price of ONE train ticket that would have only gotten us to Carcross. So…that’s our reasoning…not to disparage the train option…just saying there is more than one way to do this…. ;)

Now….One more thing before I get into our day…..

SUNRISES!!! An interesting phenomenon seemed to happen yesterday morning…and again today. We went out to the Terrace pool area (‘our spot’) every morning to see the sunrise. We would see beautiful sunrises…then about 7 or so, the fog would roll in…just about the time everyone else was coming to the buffet or Terrace Pool deck. Sitting at a window table you could barely see 5 feet off the side of the ship…no water…no shoreline…certainly no sky, sun, clouds, etc… just fog. I couldn’t help but wonder…Did all my fellow cruisers think Alaska was just foggy? Did they know about the beautiful sunrise that took place just 30 min before…or 45 min before…or an hour before? Would they go home and say that Alaska in August was “fogged in”?

I wonder… :confused:

Because the truth (OF OUR CRUISE) is that those who were out and about at 6 am saw things that those who didn’t stir until 7 never saw…. They say the early bird catches the worm…well, he also catches the beautiful sunrises in Alaska…… (at least, that’s OUR story….)

So, this morning, after our breakfast and sunrise viewing…right on schedule, the fog came in. It was 7 am. By 7:30, it had turned to rain…. This was not a drizzle. It was a steady rain - big drops! :) (Yeah....I was expecting SE Alaska rain to be 'drizzle'....ha) How interesting that in Ketchikan where it rains 340 days a year, we had a dry, beautiful day...and in Skagway, considered one of the drier places in Alaska where they get only 26” of rain a year, it rained all morning…. :confused:

I had WANTED to be getting off the ship by 7. Alas!! That was not in the cards...partly because of the rain…and partly because we were so tired – this being our third port day in a row. However, promptly at 7:45 we were walking down that gangway…. Decked out in our down jackets with rain jackets over them and carrying 2 VERY stuffed day packs/totes. (full of more winter gear, snacks, water, guides, maps and printouts, etc….)

Avis is located about 5-6 blocks from Railroad Dock. We walked it at a pretty quick pace. J I knew there was a good chance we’d encounter lines there with 4 ships arriving in port at the same time. The line was only 3 long…but the 2nd person in that line made us all want to pull our hair out before they finally took their keys and walked away. They did not speak English and I don’t think ever understood what the guy behind the counter was trying to say to them….and in the meantime, we were standing out in the rain. (Yeah…the ‘office’ is actually more of an over-sized closet…)

We finally got our rental car…and I will add here - We paid more for this rental car for ONE DAY than we paid for our FIVE day rental in Anchorage….

We were using the online FREE version of Murray’s Guide for our day. http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/south_klondike_hwy.html You can buy the full version (online??) for $5…. That’s not much, I agree…I just didn’t think we needed that – the free version seemed to give all the info I thought we’d need…or EVER be able to use. Of course, as with the Treadwell Mine info, I copied/pasted to a document and edited it to bring it down to a manageable size. (The entire thing takes you all the way to Whitehorse….I only needed it as far as Emerald Lake.) It started as 8 or 9 pages – It was 3 by the time I got through with it – and I even added a few bits of info I got from other sources.

This route would take us from Alaska (Obviously…) through British Columbia into the Yukon. - YES...YOU DO NEED PASSPORTS TO DO THIS!!!

...will try to finish this out tonight.... :)

 

I am looking forward to the rest of your review. Will you post a link to your blog? I would love to see your photos when you get them posted!

I will! I'll try to get some things posted on there within the next few days....then I'll definitely post a link. :D

Driving the Klondike Highway

Because it was raining, we opted to skip the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls on our way out of town. We planned to catch them on our return, but we didn’t actually end up doing that…

The US/Canadian border was at M14.7 Of course, that’s where we found the “Welcome to Alaska” Sign – on the opposite side of the road obviously- since we were headed into Canada. We KNEW this was the time to get that photo though. There was no one around (it was probably 8:30 - 8:45 am??) Sure enough…on our return trip, when we were actually ENTERING Alaska, there was a tour bus and multiple cars…so glad we already had our pic. We didn't actually go through Canadian Customs until M 22.7. This was pretty smooth – involved a ‘wait’ but once they found out we were cruise ship passengers, we were all but waved through. (no need to worry about cruise ship passengers over-staying their welcome….)

Some Interesting Points Along The Way:

• The William Moore Suspension Bridge: This is built over an active fault line so is only anchored on ONE SIDE….to allow it to move as needed. pretty interesting looking...
  

• Photo stops along the Tutshi River; There are nice mountains and valley views around here too...I just have always liked 'water' in my photos.... ;)
  

• Iditarod Musher Michelle Phillips has a place on the highway…I think you can see the dogs…perhaps take a dog sled ride. However, we already were ‘covering’ the ‘sled dog’ subject: Libby Riddles on the ship, Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla (coming soon…) and the Demonstration with the Sled Dogs of Denali – working dogs who help rangers patrol Denali Nat’l Park in the winter. (again…coming soon) I felt like we were ‘covering’ the subject nicely and didn’t need to make that stop too.
  

• Area around Windy Arm is absolutely beautiful (and quite appropriately named…) It was SO cold there that we pulled out our winter gear – down coat, hat, gloves….Still beautiful!!!
  

• The “Welcome to the Yukon” sign was at M50…another important photo op for us. We got our pic on the way north… As with the Alaska sign, there were a LOT of buses, vans, cars, etc…when we came back by there.
  

• Our last BIG stop before Carcross was Bove Island…. That was a MUST stop for us… Because we got there still fairly early (10:30???) we got the morning light in our photos… Of course, the reason we got there so early was because we DIDN’T hike around Gold Rush Cemetery or Lower Reid Falls that morning. I think it was a trade off and honestly don’t know what I would recommend. It comes back to the “You sometimes have to make choices between two REALLY GREAT options…” :confused: You just can't do everything......at least in one trip.
  

We decided to go on to Emerald Lake and Carcross Desert then come BACK to Carcross after turning around and heading south. We just wanted to go to the furthest point…before stopping for what we anticipated would be an extended stop. (in Carcross)

Carcross Desert is labeled as the "World’s Smallest Desert” I don’t know if that’s true…I can only assume it is…cause that’s what the sign said. :D

Emerald Lake is touted as the “Most photographed lake in the Yukon". It WAS indeed Beautiful. We DID indeed photograph it….and it WAS indeed emerald.

It was hard to turn around and head BACK south after seeing Emerald Lake. I wanted to just keep driving north. But posters here on CC had told us (many many people said this…) that nothing past that point was spectacular enough to warrant driving further…especially since the risk of hitting fog or other problems could cause us to not make it back to the ship in time. We turned around L

Back in Carcross, we parked and got out…walked around a bit…and ate our lunch (We brought some packaged items just for this purpose...didn't know what we'd find in the way of food. Carcross had a little, but not much....glad we brought our own). I was really missing those wonderful oatmeal cookies right about then....Do you think I could have gotten by with smuggling 2-3 with us that day? :D OH LANDS…I Loved those oatmeal cookies!!!!! (I NEED that recipe!!) ;)

After about an hour in Carcross…walking around…darting into a few stores…visiting the train station and getting some nice photos of the train coming into town, we VERY RELUCTANTLY got back in the car and turned it south.

Our drive back obviously took less time than getting there though we DID make a few stops…mainly things that had a totally different view when driving south…or areas where the afternoon light was just beautiful on the mountains…or places that were raining or really cold/windy on our route north and we wanted to ‘enjoy’ them for a bit now that the sun was shining. (yes...it had turned into a beautiful day....)

Re-entering Alaska and going through US Customs (M7) was much the same process as going through Canadian Customs was this morning. It DID take a bit longer –because of the many MANY buses, vans, shuttles, etc…of tour passengers. Now, they had a dedicated lane for those, but I’d be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge that the extra congestion slowed the process down for everyone. That being said, it probably wasn’t more than 10-15 min….

Everyone said to allow 5-6 hrs for the trip to Emerald Lake and back. We allowed 8 (cause we ‘know’ ourselves) and it actually took us all of those 8 hrs…and we didn’t do the Gold Rush Cemetery or Lower Reid Falls. With that it could easily have been a 10 hr day…. But that’s just ‘us’. We stop…we gaze….we soak in and absorb…then RELUCTANTLY get back in the car and drive on. (Yeah…there were more than a few times when DH was saying “COME ON!! WE’VE GOT TO GO!! " - In my defense…He was just as bad at ‘lingering’ as I was….just at different spots!!! ;p

We got back to Skagway about 4:00…but decided we couldn’t go to Lower Reid Falls then. The National Park Service would close at 5 and we HAD to get there before they closed. We didn’t have much trouble finding a parking place and went right in.