cougaraz

Unfortunately, this is the current view from our balcony. 

However, there is still more to come, photos, videos, yesterday's events and an overall review. 

12 hours ago, ShawninFL said:

Everyone just needs to break down and get a passport.  Although you can do closed loops to the Caribbean from the US with a birth certificate and a state ID, it's not advisable.  In the event of an emergency, if you do not have a passport, you are very limited as to what you can do.  Emergency back home and no passport, can't fly home.  Unexpected illness or injury that causes you or travel companion to have to leave sailing for land based care, you will have a bureaucratic hill to climb with the local consulate to get you a passport so you can travel home.  Yes, these are highly unlikely, but if they happen, the last thing you want to have to deal with is figuring out how you're going to get home.

Exactly, I am utterly beffudled by any of the reasons given for not getting a passport. Today it is easier, quicker and more painless than ever. They are cheap insurance against a bad day you hope never comes. 

Friday, 23 August, at Sea

The sun came up on Grand Princess sailing off the coast of Oregon under clear skies, sunshine and seas that were just rough enough to remind you that you are, in fact, on a ship at sea.  We have really been blessed with great weather on this trip and yesterday in Victoria was no exception.  Of course, Victoria is known for its amazing climate.  Yesterday the sky was absolutely flawless with blue skies, bright sunshine and temperatures climbing to a very comfortable high in the low 60s. 

We woke at a fairly early hour and watched Grand Princess make its approach into Victoria with very little difficulty. Overall, it was a smooth evolution.  Shortly after tying up at 0700, we headed down to the dining room for breakfast.  As we have come to expect the service was absolutely flawless and the food delicious.  I steeled myself for the big day ahead with the buttermilk pancakes which were plate-cleaning delicious.  Also, as loyal readers may find unsurprising, Melissa chose fried eggs cooked over medium.  We managed to enjoy enough coffee to get us going and ready for our day.

We disembarked onto the very wide and modern Victoria pier just as the Ovation of the Seas was making her approach to the pier.  We hustled to make sure we were well ahead of the 5,000 guests she was about to disgorge, but did stop for a picture with McKinley the Moose, including one with his good friend and our new roommate Stanley the Stowaway Teddy Bear.  Stanley joined us mid-trip and so far we are struggling with some boundary issues.  His first day in the room, he ate all the pillow chocolates and drank both bottles of Club Class wine, which given his diminutive size caused us some concerns about the nature of his relationship with alcohol.   He is also prone to napping at odd hours, hogging the bed and takes very long showers.  However, he does seem to enjoy adventures ashore.

We didn’t exactly have a plan for the day, but given the very short time the ship was in port, really just about six hours, the options are pretty well limited to a tour or a quick visit to the city.  We opted for the quick visit to the city as we have been here on cruises before and I was up here for work last fall.  Given the lovely weather, we chose to walk into the city.  From the cruise ship terminal, there is a well-marked pathway that leads through a quiet (boring) residential neighborhood and then down along the inner harbor straight to the Empress Hotel.  Unfortunately, there was some construction on the trail, so we had to divert into the neighborhood a little more than would otherwise be required.  Still, it is easy to navigate, level and from ship to the Empress of the British Columbia Provincial Capital building is 20-25 minutes of easy walking for us.  Along the way, there are a few hotels, a wild salmon café that was doing a booming business and the seafood restaurants of the fisherman’s landing. 

Arriving at the Empress, we stopped for shoot a little video take a few pictures and then seek out a hot cup of Canadian coffee from our good friend Tim Horton.  I first learned of Tim Horton’s when we were living in New England and there was a donut shop on literally every other corner.  Since then, I have enjoyed their donuts and coffee as far away as Abu Dhabi.  Fortified with hot joe, but choosing to pass on their free NHL coffee cup promotion (too much risk of getting a Habs cup, GO BRUINS), we headed to the Royal British Columbia Museum while walking through much of downtown Victoria.  The museum is centrally located near the inner harbor and admission was about $20US per person.  The exhibits are divided into three primary areas, one for special traveling exhibits (in this case on the history of the Maya), then an area on the natural history of British Columbia,  and one on the human history of the area.  I would say that we made a reasonably quick pace and spent about 2 ½ hours inside.  One could certainly invest twice that if unconstrained by time and fear of missing the ship’s departure.  Overall, I found both the human and natural history sections to be very interesting.  As many of the native cultures and flora and fauna of BC and southeast Alaska are held in common, it was a great academic exploration of much of what we had just seen.  Melissa and I agree that the dioramas of the plants and animals of various natural regions within the province.  I would say that the museum is well worth a visit especially the totem exhibits, but did feel that it lacked some modern context and I thought the story of exploration and development through the 1930s was well done, but then kind of just petered out.

After the museum, we walked over to the provincial capital for some great photo opportunities on the expansive lawn.  With the flower baskets around town in full bloom and the sun shining I think that there were quite a few locals sprinkled in among the tourists enjoying the gorgeous day.  Unfortunately, our time was short and I am a touch panicky about missing the ship, so we started our walk back along with a lot of other intrepid cruisers. Truthfully, it looked like a stampede heading back to the ship at 12:30!  Once again, the navigation was simple and it was no time before we were back onboard.

Having burned at least ¼ of the calories we had taken in at breakfast, we headed back to the Da Vinci Dining Room to find it packed and jumping.  People were back from their day ashore, everyone was arriving right at lunch time and so the room had an excited feel to it.  We found ourselves once again under the careful service of Alberto and Hari.  Melissa and I both started with the seafood quesadilla, followed by the chicken liver mousse for me.  I don’t have a Jewish grandmother who made me homemade chopped liver when I was young, but if I had she would have been proud of this dish.  Sure, it was given a gourmet twist, but the flavors and texture were so rich, but still humble, it was delicious!  For her main, Melissa chose Giovanni’s freshly prepared spinach and ricotta ravioli and I had the Monte Cristo sandwich.  Both were good choices and we rounded out the meal with mocha fudge ice cream and the apple-walnut cobbler.  Melissa got the better of the two with the ice cream as the “cobbler” was really more of a mug cake and I am still looking for the apples. Due to the sheer number of people returning to the ship at 1 pm, the Da Vinci dining room stayed open welcoming in passengers for lunch until 1:30 pm. We thought that was a really classy touch, even if it is a touch unfair to the crew, who work really hard with little downtime. But all of them did it with a smile asking us about our adventures (and enjoying our photos of Stan).

Full from our lunch and tired from our adventures, we retired to the room for some napping, but not before enjoying our departure from Victoria on the balcony under the gorgeous sunshine.  When I am able to post videos at home, it really was picturesque. 

Upon waking from my nap, Melissa had returned from the Horizon Court with some delicious scones which we proceeded to accompany with some fresh coffee from the International Café.  It appears that we will run out of punches on our legacy coffee cards on the final day of the cruise and just in time before the sundown at the end of August.

Our standard pre-dinner ritual found us in the Wheelhouse Bar enjoying the tunes being played by Holiday Dreams and the cocktails mixed by Bond.  It has become a real favorite of ours to get a drink before dinner, enjoy some music and conversation.  The most cruised passengers on the ship were also in attendance dancing the night away (they are at 2,306 nights aboard Princess, and it is a delight to watch the sheer delight they have in dancing each evening).  By the way, 2,306 nights, #SquadGoals!

At the Wheelhouse Bar, we have taken to bringing a notebook with us and jotting down ideas for future travel adventures, items to bring for our next cruise and some notes on what we have especially enjoyed or disliked about this particular cruise.  It was helpful when we were packing for this trip to look back on our notes from our sail with Cunard on QM2 in December.  Dinner was once again a smash it.  We have sailed quite bit, but I can’t remember a cruise where I looked forward to the dining room dinners quite as much as on this trip.  Alfred and I Wayan had us under the care and we started by finishing our fantastic bottle of Sancerre.  For starters, I had the smoked salmon and crawfish tails, while Melissa began with the panko crusted crab cake.  The crab cake was much better than the offering on the first night of the cruise.  This version had a nice hint of spice with a lot more crab and a lot less cake.  For pasta course, I had Giovanni’s special with olive oil, garlic, chili flake and broccoli and Melissa had the wagon wheel pasta with braised oxtail.  For mains, Melissa chose the Tandoori grilled prawns and I had the New York Strip steak.  The steak was very good and cooked exactly as ordered, medium rare, but the prawns were a bit of a sleeper hit, they were really flavorful and juicy.  Dessert was a split decision as I think we were both super happy with our choice, I had souffle and Melissa had the Frozen Chocolate Praline Torte, which based on the moans and groans of pleasure and the way Melissa guarded the dessert with her fork and elbow, I think it was a hit!.  I don’t think there could have been a better way to wrap up the meal.

We did pause after dinner for a quick spin through the shops to pick up a couple of souvenirs to ensure that the right folks back home have something to remind them of our adventures.

That just about wraps up this installment and before long we will have unfortunately sad notes about disembarkation and the ride home.  However, not before we once again visit passengers behaving badly and once again the issue is bare feet where they don’t belong.  In just a few hours I saw yet another person, with bare feet on the furniture.  In this case, lounging on a sofa and rubbing their dogs all over the armrest.  So, fellow travelers, you might want to make sure you wash you hands before heading to the dining room after your pre-dinner drink in Explorers because not all of your accompanying passengers have what we call common courtesy.  Of course, there is always someone looking to up the ante so this afternoon I saw a passenger walking barefoot down Deck 7, through the photo gallery and into the Vista Lounge for trivia.  Seriously, who does that?  I will reiterate that most of you are lovely people and justifiably horrified at what others will do onboard.

Thursday 22 August, In Port Victoria      

We awoke this morning to find that Grand Princess was gliding through the placid waters of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and making her approach to the pier in Victoria under rapidly clearing skies that would give way to brilliant sunshine.  Later in the day, during our visit to the Royal Museum of British Columbia, we would learn that one of the missions of George Vancouver during his journeys to what would later become British Columbia was to negotiate the limiting of Spanish claims in the Pacific Northwest.  Thus, and through the foresight of William Seward, it was the British and Americans who came to dominate the areas we have been sailing, rather than the Spanish and the Russians.

Yesterday we woke up late to a different scene, of continued rough seas and strong winds.  However, that was not going to put any kind of damper on our fun!  First of all, the rocking of the ship and occasional shudder while plowing into a big wall of water is my surest guarantee to a visit with Morpheus.

And second, after spending my entire adult life working on ships that do not ride nearly as comfortably as the Grand Princess, I am always amazed at how gracefully these big ships slide through the churning ocean like it is hardly even there.  I have sailed the seas on cruisers, destroyers, minesweepers and even was a subject in the effects of heavy seas on humans in an experimental Navy ship, but none of them prioritized comfort over performance the way Grand Princess does.  Unfortunately, the distributive water systems on the graceful lady paid some debts to two decades of work during our recent 24 hours in heavy seas.  Water pipes have sprung leaks on Dolphin Deck port side in multiple locations aft of midships, requiring industrial fans and carpet cleaning in some staterooms and the passageway.  Also, the Horizon Court had a major leak in the overhead spaces on the starboard side, between the buffet line and the covered pool area.  The result is the overhead just aft of the hand washing station has had all electrical connections, including lighting secured and the overhead is open and rather looks like it has suffered some battle damage.  The service line remains unaffected, but there has been some loss of seating and the area is decidedly darker than the surrounding seating.  I have no personal or direct knowledge, but I would also guess that some of the carpet cleaning we have seen in staterooms is related to passengers who may not have enjoyed the bouncing, rolling and pitching quite as much as Melissa and I have.

After sleeping in until almost eight, we headed down to the dining room for some breakfast.  The special of the day was another twist of Muesli, this time of the Swiss orientation as opposed to Dr. Bircher’s twist on the dish from earlier in the cruise.  Unfortunately, for me, I ordered the Huevos Rancheros.  Don’t get me wrong, what came on the plate was tasty, but it was just two fried eggs on a folded tortilla with a side of Pico de Gallo.  Silly me, after all this cruising, you would think I would know better.  Still, it tasted good and I was sure that if I really, really tried hard I could make it to the next meal before I got too hungry!  Melissa opted for her favorite, fried eggs and toast.  After breakfast, we were headed up to the room for me to type up my notes about Tracey Arm and read a bit, that was accomplished, but someone may have also knocked out a little napping.  I finished my second book of the cruise yesterday.  The first was an Alaska mystery, called A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow and yesterday I wrapped up Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild.  In very different ways, they were both excellent reads.  It seems appropriate to me, since I like to drink local, to read local while I am traveling.

A rigorous morning of ready, napping and typing behind us, we managed to drag our nutrient starved bodies down to the Da Vinci Dining Room for lunch.  Of course, Giovanni was preparing pasta.  I have eaten more pasta in the past 8 days in the previous 8 months combined.  I am not complaining, but I secretly think that his goal is to see exactly how much weight he can get the passengers in his section to gain during the course of their cruise.  I mean he doesn’t force it on you, he just stands there with homemade pesto sauce, coating freshly cooked linguine like the Italian uncle you never had, then he puts parmesan cheese on top, one more, oooh just a little more, bene, molto bene!!  So, we indulged, Melissa started with the goulash soup and then had the linguine for her main.  I had a smaller portion of the linguine for my starter and then a cheeseburger and fries.  None of the mains were really speaking to me and I was interested to compare the dining room burger versus the Salty Dog.  In a head to head battle for burger supremacy, the Salty Dog wins for hot, fresh and cooked to order burger, but the dining room is a much nicer environment so I think you really can’t go wrong.   In the first of two stunning decisions taken yesterday afternoon, we opted for no dessert.  I know, you are all staring at your computers and phones wondering what was wrong, are we okay, did the Club Class section of Grand Princess find itself in a wormhole and it has been transported to an alternate dimension where cruise ship passengers voluntarily skip entire courses?!?!  Fear not, we were just full and saving up for a great meal on formal night.

After a little more reading and snoozing we then embarked on a second stunning decision.  After 17 years, 16 cruises and 124 nights on Princess I finally went to the gym and worked out!  That’s right, off to the gym to put in a little sweat equity.  Actually, we are big walkers and love to get in our steps at home, plus it keeps our dog sane.  The gym onboard is actually pretty nicely equipped and since the Promenade was still closed due to high winds and heavy seas, it was the only viable option to hit our step goal.  The one downside is that the gym was very warm.  It is located high in the ship, has lots of floor to ceiling windows and is full of people working out.  So, no worries with working up a sweat, but it is clean and it was a good decision.  So, you are onboard, you just worked out, didn’t have dessert with lunch and are hot and sweaty, what do you do next?  Duh!  You go to Coffee and Cones and get a little soft-serve to cool down.  Probably not what anyone working in the fitness center recommends, but this is my story.

After showers and getting dressed for formal night, we headed down to the Wheelhouse Bar for a cocktail before dinner.  We enjoyed the musical stylings of Irish vocalist and guitar player James Guilmartin while we plotted future adventures.  Then it was off to the dining room for a fantastic feast.  We had great service last night, primarily from Ramon and Tyrone, drank a very nice bottle of Sancerre and ate like royalty.  The first surprise of the evening was the cured salmon on a crab and shrimp salad base.  The crab and shrimp were dressed with mayo and a hint of curry, resulting in a dramatic color and amazing flavor.  So good, in fact, that Melissa had originally not ordered one, but ended up with one of her own after sampling mine.  Of course, we both indulged in the escargots.  I like the snails, but really it is just a classy way to take a freshly baked crusty roll and dip it is melted garlic butter in the most civilized way.  Melissa did try the tomato soup and enjoyed it, but the star of the show last night was our ocean-dwelling friend the lobster.  For Melissa, it was a simple tail over risotto and for me it was the lobster thermidor.  Both were succulent and delectable and didn’t last very long on the table.  For dessert, we both opted for the Peach Melba offering that Giovanni was preparing.  I loved mine, but Melissa found the sweetness overwhelming and didn’t prefer it.  However, when the petit fors arrived and she discovered the Rocky Road chocolate bite, it was on like Donkey Kong.

That is about all for this installment. Another lovely day at sea onboard Grand Princess.  A couple of other notes.  First, we burned out a light bulb in a bedside lamp yesterday and it killed all the power to the lighting circuit in our room by tripping the breaker.  We called guest services and restoration took less than 15 minutes.  Also, two nights ago Melissa forgot her purse in the dining room when we left.  Upon discovering it missing the following evening (it was so important that she didn’t notice in the intervening 24 hours) she called guest services and they had it secured at the Passenger Services desk.  Everything inside was still there and after a quick signature on a form back in her possession.  Third, the ship has moved to primarily paper straws for drinks and for a few days all the coffee lids were also paper.  Neither product is yet truly comparable to their plastic counterpart, but we didn’t really mind too much.  Finally, the location of the casino on the Grand and its proximity to Piazza makes the smoking in the casino substantially more problematic than on other ships.  Deck 6 in particular, but at times the entire Piazza often smells strongly of cigarette smoke.  It is 2019 and high time for indoor smoking on cruise ships to become a relic of history.  The air handling systems are incapable of preventing passengers and crew from being exposed to second hand smoke.

See you all tomorrow!

3 hours ago, judyjudy56 said:

Thank you so much to both of you for doing this live thread.  It is the highlight of my day to read the updates.  We board the Grand on October 13th.  We are really looking forward to Club Class Dining now!  We hope Giovanni is still onboard in October.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

I am glad you are enjoying it!

2 hours ago, Retired Educator said:

A quick question...

On many of our other Princess cruises we have found the made to order Belgian waffles available at breakfast from the ice cream station outside by the pool.  It was usually posted in the patter on the back page.

Are they offering that on the Grand this cruise?  It was always a well kept secret the first day or so until people saw them coming into the buffet...then the lines became unbelievable...

Another 3 days for us to wait.  

I have not seen the waffles or any such notes in the Patter, but that doesn't mean it isn't available.  I will try to look and see.

Wednesday August 21^st, At Sea en route Victoria

This morning we are sailing on a choppy, gray sea.  As we exited Frederick Sound yesterday, it began to rain and as that afternoon wore on and we moved into the open sea, the waves and swell began to build.  By dinner time, the white caps were everywhere and the ship was rocking and rolling a fair amount.  Given my Navy background and plenty of cruising experience, I would say that it was a cruise ship weather severity of about 6/10 and a global sea-going weather severity of about 4/10.  The reality is that this ship is so well designed and rides so well that it was still a very pleasant ride.  That being said, for me, the motion of the ship is like an extra-strength Ambien, it just makes me want to curl up and go to sleep.  As I type this almost 24 hours later, the seas are moderating, skies are clearing and temperatures remain in the mid-50s with strong winds.

We made a very early start of our day in Tracey Arm yesterday.  Before retiring for the night Monday , we had opened the drapes on our balcony so we could have the natural light wake us up.  We had also set an alarm, but the sun and scenery had us out of bed earlier.  We were up around 530ish and were already being treated to gorgeous scenery as we transited through the narrow fjord.  Yesterday was a perfect day for Tracey Arm, with clear skies, lots of sunshine and very little breeze.  Still, temperatures were cool and we were wearing a base layer, mid layer, wind-proof outer jacket and fleece hats and gloves.  Melissa also wrapped herself up like a burrito in her blanket. The dolphin deck mini-suites are completely uncovered so we do get a little more weather exposure, but we also get unobstructed towering views that include the sky. 

We set up a little camp on our balcony including the GoPro, a stand alone camera and multiple cell phone cameras to capture all the gorgeous action.  Later in the day as we sailed closer to the glacier and most balconies were full you could hear the cell phone and digital cameras clicking and beeping away with fierce some regularity.  Unfortunately, some people also didn’t put their phones into airplane mode or turn off the notifications so you could also hear their text alerts going off.  Please note, our phones were out solely because they have very good built in cameras, we had no interest in texting, emailing, calling or checking in with anyone yesterday!

From the time we stepped on our balcony on Tuesday right through until around noon, the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.  With great weather conditions, the blues, grays and greens were explosive and completely surround the ship.  The sheer walls stretch up right from the water and frame every sight line in a way that makes this ship and the viewer feel very small.  There isn’t a whole lot for me to tell you, I will post photos and videos when we get home, but needless to say, we spent the morning enjoying the scenery, snapping tons of photos and just delighting in being surrounded by such majestic beauty!

We did order some room service breakfast, which was originally intended to be our meal for the morning, but as it turned out, it was a bit more of a snack than anything else.  It is important to be very specific when you order, because despite putting that we were dining for 2, the pastry and croissant check boxes being ticked resulted in one croissant and one Danish pastry.  No big deal and I am certain had we written 9 in the line instead of a tick mark they would have been happy to have buried our little table in baked goods.  However, as a result of the lighter than expected tray, after the ship had loitered in front of the South Sawyer Glacier and we had seen several Dahl Sheep as we commenced the return transit out of Tracey Arm, we headed down to the Da Vinci Dining Room for a more substantial breakfast.  I dined on a Giovanni made ham and cheese omelet while Melissa opted for her favorite fried eggs.  Of course, as expected it was all delicious.

Returning to our room, we spent the balance of the morning lounging and enjoying the scenery as it slid by.  Upon waking from a little snooze, we found ourselves in whale heaven.  Melissa looked out the window and started squealing and sure enough there was one or more pods of whales swimming by and for about 15 to 20 minutes of sailing we could consistently see multiple whales, spouting, breaching, flipping their tales and frolicking.  This all happened in Frederick Sound which is a well-known spot for whale sightings.  With such great landscapes surrounding the ship and in anticipation of Italian night, we opted to skip lunch in the dining room and instead visited the Salty Dog Grill for a burger.  There have been some changes since our last Princess cruise, including an expanded menu and the patties are now being cooked fresh as opposed to waiting in a hotel pan on the grill.  There are also expanded options for toppings, including multiple types of cheese and fry toppings as well.  Finally, they have taken to using a buzzer system for receiving your order as it takes a few moments to cook.  We waited about five minutes, just enough time to purchase an Alaskan Amber from the bar and find a table.  Our burgers were hot off the grill, juicy and flavorful, the fries were straight out of the fryer and delicious.  It was all gone and enjoyed in a surprisingly short period of time.

Those of you who have been reading know that we love to walk and so after lunch we headed down to the Promenade Deck and commenced a very nice walk.  The entire deck was open, so we were able to make the complete circuit.  We did so seven times (2 1/3 miles) in about an hour.  That is a very leisurely pace for us, but there was plenty to look at and  we didn’t hesitate to pause for photos and videos especially when more whales started to breach!  It started to sprinkle as we were finishing our walk and by the time we got back up to the room it was a full on downpour that lasted for several hours.  As the rain fell, the seas built and conditions deteriorated into a small storm.

After changing, we made our way down to the Wheelhouse Bar for our traditional pre-dinner drink.  It was the classic choice for both of us, a Sidecar for Melissa and a Manhattan for me.  There was once again live music and the regular crowd was gathered.  We really like the Wheelhouse bar, the drinks are great, the wait staff and bartender are always on point and it is a great way to get the evening started. 

Dinner last night was Italian night and it was a feast for all of the senses.  When we sat down we knew we were in for a real treat!  We asked Giovanni to recommend a bottle of Italian red wine and he suggested the Donnafugata Nero D’avola (Of course he did, he is Sicilian!).  It was a great medium-bodied wine that went very well with the entire meal.  Melissa and I both started with the prosciutto and melon.  I had this combination for the first time on a cruise and it is such an unlikely, but delicious pairing with the salty and savory prosciutto being balanced by the sweet flavor and soft texture of the cantaloupe.  Next, Melissa had the Minestrone soup and I had the eggplant parmigiana.  I really like the current chef’s take on the eggplant because it isn’t just swimming in melted cheese (not that there is anything wrong with that) and the red sauce has some really well-developed flavors.  The pasta course last night was the big hit, with Giovanni making Penne Arrabiata!  It was amazing.  The pasta was al dente, the sauce was bursting with bright flavors and the heat level was perfect, not a punch in the face, but a nice playful slap on the cheek.  On Giovanni’s recommendation, Melissa had the Brasato di Manzo al Barolo, Italian beef pot roast with polenta and vegetables.  He also recommended she order some extra sauce on the side.  Holy cow was he right.  Literally cow as Melissa’s portion was a respectable fraction of a cow and the sauce was delicious, but the portion was more than anyone could have eaten.  I had the Club Class special which was veal cutlets served over risotto.  My main was very nice and I enjoyed it, but the pot roast was the better meal and probably not a dish either of us would have chosen without a recommendation.  For dessert, Melissa opted for the Cassata ala Sicilian and I had the tiramisu.  Both were excellent and a perfect way to cap off a great meal.  From start to finish, the service, the food and the wine were outstanding. 

We were stuffed and sleepy after dinner, so we joined our fellow passengers who were swaying and stumbling just a bit as they tried to negotiate the ship in the choppy seas.  With the mighty waves to rock us to sleep, we were soon in dream land, probably planning our next cruise.

Overall, if you take one thing away from this post my recommendation is plan to get up at 5:30 am for Tracey Arm. The scenery is well worth it.

Tuesday, August 20, at Sea in Tracey Arm

Hello loyal readers and welcome back!  We continue to have absolutely stunning weather and our approach into Tracey Arm this morning was under mostly clear skies with sunshine.  Temperatures were cool during the approaching and dropped as we neared the glaciers into to low 40s or high 30s.  Breezes were very light and the seas were calm as a bathtub.

Yesterday we had a fantastic day in Skagway and were once again the beneficiaries of gorgeous weather.  We haven’t seen so much as a drop of rain the entire trip and have had sunshine at least part of every day.  Truth be told, the weather has been so good I am wondering if we are going to arrive in Victoria or San Francisco to find Biblical floods.

Grand Princess made a very smooth approach to the Broadway Dock and we were safely alongside very early in the morning.  We headed downstairs to the Da Vinci Dining Room and a hearty breakfast to support our planned day of hiking.   We both opted for fried eggs, over medium and hash-browns and some toast.  Of course, it was accompanied by some juice, a never ending cup of coffee and ice water.  We were discussing just how tasty the hash-browns are and I remarked that it is because they deep fried; how could they not be delicious?  All in, we love breakfast in the dining room, the food is very good, the wait staff are very attentive and it is such a relaxing way to start the day.

We were in no rush to get ashore as our tour meeting time was at 9:15.  We grabbed our bags, coats and hats and headed out to the pier.  As the day was clear and no rain was in the forecast, the paint team was hard at work.  It was obvious they had been making good progress since the start of the trip and I am certain that the lovely weather we have been enjoying has given the crew a great opportunity to get some topside preservation done.  I imagine the Alaska cruising season is tough, with lots of rain and lots of sea days complicating the process.  We found our tour group easily enough at the end of the pier.  We were booked on the Chilkoot Trail hike and river float.  This is the third time we have done this excursion and have now done it with two different companies.  On this trip we were with Chilkat Guides, on a previous journey we have been with Skagway Float Tours.  So, let’s talk about the big negative of the trip right up front, our guide Noah had bad B.O., I mean legit gross smell wafting over our entire trip.  I get it, the dude is kind of a granola, crunchy young guy with the long hair and the scraggly beard, but when you are in a customer service job, you need to be good friends with the soap, the shampoo and the deodorant.  To put this in perspective, had he fallen into the Taiya River and been screaming for a life jacket, I think the raft participants would have thrown a bar of Irish Spring and set some conditions for his return.

Nonetheless, we headed off on our trip.  The excursion includes a van ride out of town and over to the site of the former town of Dyea.  Early in the gold rush, before the White Pass and Yukon railroad was finished, miners also went to Dyea and then hiked the Chilkoot trail to reach in the Klondike River system.  The trail to the Chilkoot Pass is shorter than the one from Skagway to the White Pass, but the trail is steeper.  In addition, the Taiya River forms a massive tidal estuary near the former town of Dyea, meaning there was no deep water port and a massive pier was required for ships to berth there.  Today, there is literally nothing left of Dyea.  However, as were driving, we saw the first of at least a dozen bald eagles out on the tidal mud flats.  It took us about 25 minutes to reach the Chilkoot trail head with an outhouse that represented the last toilet option other than the facili“trees” for the rest of the trip.  The trail starts just 25 yards from the parking area and goes vertical almost immediately.  Unfortunately, one member of our group was not up to the task, which became apparent in the first few yards.  No shame on her, but perhaps an excursion marked “Strenuous” in more than one place was not the best choice for someone with mobility challenges.  To be fair, I think our guide could have done a quick sanity check and asked everyone about their comfort of climbing steps from the bottom of the ship to the top for 20 minutes straight over broken ground before we left the parking lot.  Still, the company adapted quickly, arranged for the participant and her companion to be driven to our raft entry point and we were soon on our way in a smaller group. 

On a dry, sunny, summer day carrying a 15 pound backpack and wrapped in the finest 5.11 and LL Bean gear that money can buy, the start of the Chilkoot Trail, is quite daunting.  The route is steep and while the trail gets lots of foot traffic and is well maintained, the ground is still uneven, broken by tree roots and a challenging non-technical hike.  When one imagines the trail muddy, icy or covered in snow being traversed by miners with heavy loads and dressed in the apparel of the late 19^th Century today’s journey feels pretty lazy.  All the more so, because we didn’t even approach the truly challenging part of the trail, nor did we have to make the trip dozens of times.  We were up and down over a large high point called Saintly Hill and mostly climbed for about 75 minutes before reaching level ground and the last 30-40 minutes of hiking were over level ground in the river valley.  Temperatures were mild and a t-shirt and light weight pull-over were more than warm enough.  Upon reaching the river, we donned life jackets and rubber boots to board a raft and float down the river.

 I say float because there are no rapids and the 30 minutes to the put out point is a very gentle float.  The river is very low because it is getting so late in the season, just a few weeks ago, it was running 2-3 feet higher through most of the area we were in.  In fact, we were rubbing the bottom several times and the guide’s oars were frequently hitting rocks.  The river is mostly glacial melt, so it is very chalky and visibility is measured in inches.  During our float, we saw several Bald Eagles, some sand pipers, either an otter or a member of the weasel family (he didn’t stick around very long) and a harbor seal.  We landed on a rocky beach and were met by support team who had cold water, hot water (with tea and cocoa packets) and chocolate chip cookies for us.  I mentioned we had done this with another company previously and they take out at the same spot.  There snacks also included cheese and crackers and salmon spread.  You may not always have a choice, but if you do, I recommend Skagway Float Tours.  From the take out point, it was about 30 minutes back to town.  Overall, this was a good excursion and we had a good time, but the guides odor issues definitely put a damper on things!

On the drive back, we opted to be dropped off in town with the intention of visiting the Skagway Brewing Company for some loaded tots and a pint of Spruce Tip Ale.  When we were in Skagway five years ago the brewing company was fairly new and they would give you a pint for a baggie of freshly picked spruce tips.  It was a very local feeling place that seemed like the brewery at the end of the world.  That previous location is now the local Mexican restaurant and the Skagway Brewing Company has moved into a new two story location on 4^th Avenue just off of Broadway.  We arrived to find it overwhelmed with people (not terribly surprising since there were 10,000 cruise ship passengers in town). However, the general suburban feel and “hostess stand at the front” no longer resembled the last brewery before the wilderness begins. Overall, it feels pretty similar to a lot of the breweries elsewhere in the world with a polished upscale vibe.  I am happy for the success of their business and still think they brew good beer, but we just weren’t interested in waiting a long time for a table or the crushing crowds of the bar, so we wandered on back to the ship and headed to Alfredo’s Pizzeria for lunch.

We were a little delayed in getting back onboard because they were moving the gangways around to account for the changing tides.  Honestly, we waited less than 10 minutes and I was impressed that the Staff Captain himself was out and supervising the movement and the preservation efforts.  There is an overarching theme on the Grand Princess right now of obvious involved and engaged leadership which clearly manifests itself in excellent customer service, a very well-maintained ship and food that is above the fleet average.  We found Alfredo’s to have plenty of open tables and it was just a few minutes before one oven fresh pepperoni pizza and an accompanying anchovy, olive and caper pizza were on our table and disappearing fast.  The crust was delicious, the toppings were decadent and we all but inhaled it all!  After some discussion over where exactly we would put the new quilt we were certain to buy if we returned to visit the quilt shop in town, we decided to seek a nap instead. 

Shockingly, we returned to our room to find someone else, with their shoes on sleeping in our bed!!  I was so frightened when I entered the room, I told Melissa to stay in the hallway! After some investigation and an elevated heart rate, we discovered that our room steward Jimmy was pranking us.  He had taken the decorative pillows and arranged them under one of the throw blankets we had brought from home, along with a pair of my shoes, a jacket and one of my hats to make it look like someone was asleep.  We had a moment of terror and then a good laugh.  When we saw him later, we thanked him and had another good laugh.  It isn’t something he had to do, probably isn’t even in his job description, but he went the extra mile to make us laugh!

What happened next was somewhere between a coma and a nap!  We both crashed out hard and it felt great!  When we woke up to our alarm, there was no hesitation because we were off to the Piazza to meet some new four-legged friends.  Iditarod dog musher Ryan Reddington was onboard with four of his newest puppies.  The little ones were just six weeks old.  Ryan was onboard too and was signing autographs and you could donate to his Iditarod campaign efforts.  We have friends whose kids mush and it is not an easy or inexpensive endeavor.  There was a long line, but it moved quickly and after a quick rub of hand sanitizer, we were on the floor for some play time with Nike.  Nike was a pretty active puppy and gave us a few good sniffs and a couple playful bites, but what he really wanted to do was get away from the people and get back to playing with his siblings.  When our time expired, we got up and moved to the staircase to look down on the Piazza.  By then, Nike was the only one of the four who was not well on the way to dream land.  Three of the four little guys had just met a lot of new friends and were looking to catch some snoozes, big crowd or not. 

We headed back to the room for a shower and change before we were off to the Wheelhouse Bar for our customary pre-dinner drink.  I opted for a Dark&Stormy which always reminds me of the time we have spent living on the New England coast and Melissa went for a virgin Piña Colada.  My late father loved a virgin Piña Colada in the Wheelhouse Bar, he never really cared too much for the alcohol, and he loved cruising to Alaska.  Melissa said it was a very Jack moment to watch the sunset in Skagway with a frozen drink in hand.  The usual jazz band wasn’t bumping last night, but there was guitarist and he was okay.  His music is pretty mellow, maybe a little too mellow, but then again, I was listening to live music just steps from where I eat, sleep and play with puppies, so no complaints from me.

We had a different waiter than we have had on previous visits to the dining room.  His name was Alfred and he was very efficient and friendly.  Our late lunch at Alfredo’s hadn’t left us starving at dinner, so we did a little sharing of appetizers, one of the goat cheese soufflé (which I am pretty sure I could crush half a dozen of with a big basket of crusty bread and a nice bottle of Riesling) and one of the quail and venison terrines, both of which were totally delectable.  I also had a portion of the potato gnocchi which were served in a very tasty and tangy tomato sauce.  Following the intermezzo of sorbet (which left my palate sparkling clean) Melissa had an entrée portion of the fettuccine Alfredo and I had the seafood stuffed trout.  To be frank, Alfred gave me the raised eyebrow and offered to bring me something different if I didn’t like the trout when I ordered it, but his fears were unwarranted, I was a member of the clean plate club last night.  The trout itself was pink fleshed and delicate, the stuffing was mild and the very bland sounding barley pilaf was in fact delicious.  For dessert, Melissa went with the classic Crème Brulee and I had Giovanni’s freshly prepared Cherries Jubilee with vanilla ice cream.  Neither one survived contact with the spoon and were rapidly enjoyed. We both also enjoyed the “Mignardises” Alfred brought us with our coffee, the best being the chocolate rice krispy treat balls that tasted like Grandma’s homemade fudge.

After dinner, we walked through the Piazza to see Stanley (the loveable Princess Bear) dancing with the Grand Princess Dancers. The entertainment was quite fun and engaging.  We also enjoyed listening to the fantastic musicians play in the Piazza.  Finally, although we did not go in, we did enjoy watching hundreds (okay maybe a lot less) of women stuff themselves into the Effy Store to participate in their pink champagne party…  Thankfully, Melissa is quite claustrophobic in high-pressured store sales environments so she decided to not attend!

That just about wrapped up our day in Skagway and we were ready for an early morning journey through Tracey Arm.

Before we go though, let us revisit another installment of passenger’s behaving badly!  Our first example involves the restrictions on what you can and cannot take ashore.  Every morning before passengers disembark, SEVERAL, announcements are made that you cannot carry food, produce, coffee or agricultural products ashore.  In case you miss the announcement, the staff is nice enough to put the same reminder in the Patter.  It isn’t Princess policy, it is USDA policy and it certainly isn’t the fault of the security guard who tells you that you can’t take your coffee with you, so you don’t need to get angry with him and you certainly don’t need to decide that the appropriate receptacle for your about to be unfinished coffee is the kiosk where he is working despite him directing you to the nearest trash can.  Speaking of appropriate receptacles, the elevator is not a good choice for disposing of your half-eaten ice cream. 

And when you decide to get irate with the barista because they won’t serve your latte in a paper cup in Tracey Arm (in accordance with policy) perhaps you should take note of the many people who decide that the entire ship is their trash can. Based off our observation walking on the Promenade, people will deposit any and everything wherever they happen to be standing at the precise moment they decide they no longer require that service item.  Given the amount of plastic mugs on top of cabinets, stashed in angle irons, and just thrown on the deck where they can roll into the sea, it is no wonder they don’t allow paper cups during the cruising in Tracey Arm.  Guess what we discovered today?  When you behave like an adult and take your used service items to literally any of the bars or approach any of the crew members on the ship, they will take them with a smile and ensure they are properly taken care of.  That’s all for now folks, thanks to the 99% of you doing it right, saying please and thank you, sharing a smile and making the 1% who do behave badly look terrible.  We have found that most passengers do it right and are great people, but there are some people who just don’t seem to have any manners.

Sunday, August 18, 2019 in Juneau

Good evening fellow Cruise Critic’ers!

This is the wife, Melissa, taking over the blog post this evening to talk about our action-packed day in Juneau. Scott is currently laying in the bed moaning about how he is stuffed from eating too many King Crab legs at dinner (is there such thing) so I decided to take over the pen and share my thoughts about today.  

Currently, the Grand Princess is still docked in Juneau at 8:30 pm and I am writing this post while watching the remaining sunlight dissipate into the night. Our view from our balcony is spectacular. We have a gorgeous view of downtown Juneau and the wharf area.  A National Geographic cruise ship is parked directly across the dock from us. As I am typing, the last trams are coming down Mt. Roberts and Bald Eagles are flying overhead scouring the waters for some easy-to-grab fish. Simply put, Juneau is truly spectacular.

Our departure from Juneau will be in an hour and frankly not sure we will be up then as we both need our rest before we hike the Chilkoot Trail tomorrow in Skagway.

Today was one of those very special days you get only on a cruise. Both of us woke up this morning naturally about 5 am and after some half-hearted attempts to go back to bed, we rose out of bed about 530 am, pulled back the curtains, and truly were blinded by the sheer gorgeousness of Alaska as we sailed by islands, forests, glacial streams, as we transited into Juneau.  Winds were quite heavy initially but as we made our way inland, they started to die down.

Both of us bundled up and spent most of the early morning on our balcony scenery gazing. It helped that we brought along some binoculars as we saw some wildlife. In a move of brilliance, I did order coffee from Room Service and am not lying, when I say that within 2 minutes of hanging up the phone, we had a knock on our door delivering it! Coffee and Scenery –  the early bird really does get the worm!!

After a couple of hours, we hit the Club Class Dining Room at 7:30 read for breakfast. Both of us ordered the tasty Muesli Special (comprised of rolled oats, apples, honey, hazelnuts, shredded coconut and milk) followed by eggs, hash browns and toast!  As usual, out Club Class Dining team went out of their way to ensure we had a wonderful meal!

After breakfast, we walked back to our room, grabbed our backpacks, and then headed out into town for an unknown adventure as we had a few hours to burn before our Salmon Bake tour started at 11:15 am. However, what we failed to remember before we set out, was that today was Sunday, so after traversing through all of downtown Juneau in about 15 minutes only to find closed store after closed store (and some belligerent homeless people), we decided to change tactics and get tickets for the Mt. Roberts tram up the mountain versus walk up and down the street staring in the windows of closed jewelry shops (side note, the amount of jewelry stores is truly staggering. Do that many people buy diamonds to keep all of those places in business; the accountant in me does wonder?)

We arrived at the Mt. Roberts tram ticket station about 9:15 am. Although there were a few people in line, the line moved relatively quickly… and by 9:45 am, we were on top of the mountain! The ride up the mountain was simply gorgeous. Juneau this morning was blessed with crystal blue skies and sun, which made everything (the water, the ships, the mountains, the trees) sparkle on our way up!! In the past, we have done the Tram only to find we can’t see anything on top of the mountain due to the fog or heavy rain clouds. Today, we had unparalleled views!! We could see miles away!

We hit the top of the mountain and after taking a ton of photos, we decided to do some hiking around the top as we still had time to burn. As such, for over an hour, we hiked the Alpine Loop Hike (0.5 mile roundtrip) coupled with a hike to Father Browns Cross (0.5 miles roundtrip) that were spectacular!! We even were able to spot some mountain goats grazing on Mt. Juneau across the way with our binoculars!

This leads me to my first recommendation… if you are ever cruising Juneau and need an idea of something to do, I definitely would advise you to do some hiking on top of Mt. Roberts. It did help that we came prepared. We had on long pants, hiking boots, and jackets. In our backpacks, we had water, extra layers, knit hats, gloves and of course my husband had a first aid kit! We never planned to go hiking, but honestly getting some fresh air and activity felt amazing!!  

After hitting our 10,000 step goal, we decided that it was time to take the tram down the mountain at 11 am as it was time for us to meet at the pier for our Salmon Bake tour. There was absolutely no line on the top for the return tram, so by 11:05 am we were on the pier waiting to depart for the Gold Creek Salmon Bake.  The Gold Creek Salmon Bake is located about 15-20 minutes away from the pier out of Juneau proper closer to Mendenhall. We have done it before and always enjoy attending when we are in Juneau.

The meal and experience isn’t fancy - A re-furbished school bus picks you up on the pier and takes you 15 minutes toward Mendenhall for an outdoor Salmon Bake. The Salmon Bake is located next to a stream that has a beautiful waterfall about 125 steps down the path from the food. The meal is simple but tasty. At the “buffet stand” they serve you Caesar salad, coleslaw, baked beans with reindeer meat, cornbread, real au gratin potatoes (yes, real potatoes and real cheese), clam chowder, followed by coho (silver) salmon that is smoked over an Alderwood fire. The Salmon Bake also offers a delicious brown sugar glaze for the salmon, but I personally just like mine plain! For an extra fee, you can also buy yourself an Alaskan Amber, which we did and didn’t regret it as the beer helps balance the sweetness of the meal!

You can eat as much or as little as you want at the Salmon Bakes. There is also no time limit. Buses depart every 10-15 minutes. After enjoying a leisurely meal, we headed back on the bus into Juneau about 1:30 pm arriving back to the ship about 2 pm!!

When we arrived back to the pier at 2 pm, we arrived to great swarms of people everywhere! While we were gone, the Ovation of the Seas (a 4,900 passenger monstrosity) had docked alongside the Grand Princess, overwhelming much of the pier area. The line for the Mt. Roberts Tram now snaked out for 100-150 yards out the door and all the stores and restaurants were overflowing!

Thankful that we had started our day early, we decided to board the Grand Princess and catch a snooze before dinner!

After a few hours of shut-eye, we snuck up to the Horizon Court about 4:30 pm for a delicious scone (or two),  some clotted cream and a cuppa tea! (One of my favorite things about Princess, definitely are their scones). We did try to get a peanut butter cookie (which are my mother-in-laws favorite) but despite there being a sign that said, Peanut Butter Cookies available upon request, there was no one working behind the counter to serve them to us, which honestly was a good thing, as we were still stuffed full of salmon!

After our tea break, we mozied back to our room, and read on our balcony for a few hours while watching the people on the dock! Honestly, made for some great entertainment.

Around 6:30 pm, we headed downstairs to the Wheelhouse Bar to sip a cocktail before dinner. We decided to skip the Libby Riddles lecture tonight at 7 pm, as we had heard her previously, and the theater was quite packed by 630 (and rightfully so). After a leisurely cocktail, we then headed into the Club Class Dining Room for a wonderful dinner.

Seriously, the issue tonight with the dinner menu, was there was way too many fantastic options… On offer were king crab legs, cioppino, surf and turf, crab and artichoke dip, lobster bisque, and many others.  For Club Class, Giovanni was serving up homemade Caesar Salad, including with anchovies if requested!

Unfortunately, after gorging ourselves with Salmon earlier in the day, dinner tonight was a light-fare for us. We decided for an appetizer, to split one order of the Caesar Salad and Crab and Artichoke Dip. Not sure when Scott ordered the salad that he intended to share it, but  a sign of a good husband is they know when to keep their hands out of the way of my fork!! So share we did… Our waiter also remembered that we love the bread sticks, so they brought us an entire basket of the bread sticks just for our enjoyment.

For dinner, both of us got the King Crab legs, which were superb! Most of the hardwork had already been done on cracking them, so all we had to do was delicately pick out the delicious crab meat and dip it into butter!  The crab was cooked to perfection and fresh, so it made for some tasty eating.

For dessert, we both got coffee. Scott got the burned rhubarb napoleon with nectarine ice cream while I had the apple and walnut spring roles. Both were delicious, but I definitely noticed Scott stopped short of licking the plate when there was no more napoleon left for him to devour!

Pleasantly stuffed, we headed out of the dining room… briefly listened to the musicians play in the piazza midship before heading upstairs to type this post!

Tomorrow we arrive in Skagway for another fun day of hiking!! Can’t wait!

Finally, a few of you have asked us what we recommend to pack for an Alaskan Cruise, so thought I would share a few things I find essential:

1)      Pump Hand Soap for your stateroom bathroom. Using the provided bar soap to wash your paws becomes tedious after awhile. Pack a $2 bottle of pump handsoap… it’s worth it!

2)      Pack light-weight travel blankets that you can use to snuggle up in as you sit on the balcony or read on your bed. The duvet Princess gives you is nice, but it is very warm. We purchased two 50 inch x 60 inch polyester blankets from Amazon Basics before we departed. They pack down to nothing if you use the packable Ziploc bags… but having a blanket to snuggle in, is so very nice!

3)      Metal magnet clips. You can put the clips on the walls (as the walls are magnetic) to hold up your daily Patters and any paperwork you may want to access.  Also, great for holding up notes and reminders.

4)      Small portable hair-dryer. I have the worlds thickest hair and the wall hairdryers the cruise lines offer just don’t cut it for me. I believe most cruise lines now have eliminated their restrictions on home hair-dryers, but I still bring my travel one with me. It is a 1,200 Watt Conair Mini-Pro hair dryer that is a champ and has my hair dried in a few short minutes.

5)      Sturdy walking shoes / pants especially if you plan to do any hiking while in Alaska. Tennis shoes are great, but as it can rain a lot when you’re in Ketchican or get fairly cold in Skagway, my LL Bean leather hiking  style tennis shoes are a tried and true friend!! Not only do they keep your feet warm and dry, but they also keep me upright so I don’t slip!

6)      Binoculars!!

7)      A small fan (about the size of your hand) for your room. Not only does it keep the air circulating in the room but it does provide some nice background noise!

😎      A non-surge protected power strip. Princess now gives you plenty of usb outlets and regular power outlets; however, being able to charge all of your equipment in one place, helps ensure it doesn’t get left behind!

That is it for tonight folks!! Can’t wait to tell you all about Skagway.

Sunday August 18^th, In Port Juneau

Good morning loyal Cruise Critics.  We awoke this morning to howling winds and a very frothy sea as we made our way toward Juneau.  However, as we made the turn up the arm toward Juneau at about 5:45, the winds began to be blocked by the mountains and now, just about two miles from the city, the breezes are slight, the skies are very sunny, with a few widely scattered clouds and temperatures comfortable in the mid to high 50s.  It looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day.

Yesterday in Ketchikan, we also enjoyed a spectacular weather day.  While skies were cloudy and threatening throughout the day, we managed to have an entire day ashore in Ketchikan without a drop of rain.  For the uninitiated, that is quite unusual.  This is Melissa and my 5^th cruise to Alaska and the first time that part of, or every single minute of, the visit to Ketchikan didn’t have rain.  There were a few unfortunate souls that were a little behind us in their return who did get rained on while waiting to get back on the ship, but overall it was a great weather day.

We had an early start to our morning because we had booked an excursion that departed at 7:15AM.  The early hour meant that the Horizon Court was our only viable option for breakfast.  I have a love-hate relationship with buffets in general.  I love the bounty of options and choices, but that often means I end up with a giant plate of mis-matched food in a very strangely composed meal.  I also find that I tend to dramatically overeat at buffets. 

Yesterday, the Horizon court just after 6AM was busy, but not crowded and both lines were open.  They were offering the standard breakfast fair with some decidedly Asian options available as well.  Once again, the biggest downside to the buffet was revealed, which is passengers behaving badly.  Two incidents that bore this out, one, it is not okay to eat with your fingers from your plate while in the buffet and then continue to use the utensils to serve yourself other items.  Does this actually need to be said?  Second, Melissa was getting fried eggs and took the last one on the tray, a replacement tray was ready, in the window, just waiting on someone to bring it and since Melissa wanted two eggs, she was waiting patiently for it to arrive.  In the meantime, the lady next to her proceeded to close inside of the acceptable personal bubble, actually begin making contact with Melissa and was about to start boxing her out like Dennis Rodman fighting for a rebound, all while loudly complaining about the delay.  Are you curious how long this entire episode took?  Less than 60 seconds.  I mean come on people, Princess is going to keep the food coming, there is no need to be rude or start hip checking people to get to the food.  Having safely secured our food, we found a table and enjoyed our breakfast.  I thought the food was good, with my mini onion and mushroom quiche being the standout dish.  We also ran into The Mikado and his lovely wife enjoying their morning before heading ashore.

After breakfast, we gathered our things from the room and headed out to meet our tour of the Rainforest, Totems and Crab Feed. Disembarkation was smooth.  The newest cruise card scanning device is extremely fast and efficient.  I still remember the machine that you had to insert your card and how that process slowed things down.  In the latest version, the machine is not any limiting factor, rather the passengers and their readiness to show their card.  Stepping out on Deck 5, we had to negotiate about 20 aluminum steps down to a floating pontoon and then up a ramp to the quay.  At 7AM, the tide was coming to the morning low and it bottomed about around 8:30.  By the time we returned after noon, the high tide was well on its way and it had moderated the slope of the ramp as the pontoon had risen with the tide.  However, since the ship and the pontoon came up together, the stairs remained the same slope.  For those in wheelchairs, there was an additional entrance/exit with a ramp being run on Deck 4.

Once ashore, the scene was pretty typical of a large ship arrival in any port with tour guides looking to assemble their groups, local tour operators offering last-minute options and taxis queueing for waiting passengers.  I will say that at around 7AM, the pier area was certainly busy and there were people about, but compared to similar arrivals around the world, the scene was fairly subdued and orderly.  We found our group easily enough and were directed to a waiting bus with our driver Lee.  We were booked on the Rainforest Hike, Totems and Crab Feed tour and it materialized that only 20 of us were on the tour.  This made for a very nice experience as the bus wasn’t crowded, it was easy to reassemble for bus departures and maneuvering the group in and out of locations was quick.  Lee, out driver,  looked like he was about 12 and there were some questions as to his legal status for operating a large bus, but he assured us that he was 21 and had received all the appropriate training and certification to operate a commercial vehicle in Alaska.  In the end, he was an excellent driver and a great guide.  I tend to be pretty tough on tour guides in reviews, but Lee was top notch.  He was knowledgeable across a wide variety of questions that were posed and his driving was cautious, but efficient.

Our first stop was the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary which is a preserve located on the site of an old lumber mill.  The area was used for selective lumber cutting of cedar which was milled on site and a large portion of Ketchikan was built with the resulting wood.  Our group of 20 was divided into two groups of 10, each with a guide a commenced a walk through the property.  The trail was wide and in very good condition and the pace was leisurely, but this is not a good tour for people with mobility issues.  We had a chance to see lots of evidence of bears, including scat, scratches on trees and footprints in the mud that were fresh since the tide had gone out, but alas, no actual bears.  We also saw an immature Bald Eagle and plenty of salmon running in the creek.  The property also included visits to the previous saw mill, which still contains the original equipment and is now used for carving of traditional totem poles and a satellite location of the Alaska Raptor Center.  They had two birds on location, Kylie who is a 24 year old red-tailed hawk and Lucy a 5 year old Bald Eagle.  It was pretty amazing to see them as we were just a few feet away.  The last stop on the tour was of course the obligatory gift shop, but outside was a really nice totem garden with about a dozen poles.

From there, it was back on the bus and off to the George Inlet Lodge for a crab lunch!  The historic building is just about 15 minutes from Ketchikan and right on the water.  From the parking area, there were 79 steps down to the lodge, but they had a Polaris ATV to take folks who couldn’t make the walk down to the lodge.  We sat next to Jeff and his lovely wife from California and had a really nice conversation.  Lunch included a beverage (water, tea, lemonade, Pepsi products, Alaskan Amber or red or white wine) a small salad, all the Dungeness Crab you could eat in the allotted timeframe and cheesecake with Alaska blueberry topping.  Our hostess Jessica walked us through the finer points of breaking down and eating the Dungeness Crab and then were we off and flinging bits of shell, crab meat and some muttered profanity as we battled our way into the tasty little critters.  The crab was unbelievably fresh, sweet and moist.  So good in fact, that the drawn butter was nice, but kind of gilding on the lily.  Time ran out before I had made a complete glutton of myself, but I managed to pack away two full crabs worth of meat and left entirely satisfied.  Lee made short work of the drive back to town and we were soon at the very busy piers in Ketchikan. 

Melissa and I opted for a stroll around town, including a chance to see the salmon swimming their way up the creek beneath the infamous Creek Street.  We also purchased a couple bottles of water and debated at a taxidermy shop downtown the merits of obtaining a bear and/or wolf skin rug for the home.  I believe that I am safe in saying that neither is likely to grace our home in the near future as the CEO of our house made her feelings quite clear on the topic. 

Our last stop in Ketchikan was at Parnassus Books.  If you are looking for a book or just want to browse a great bookstore, you should stop in.  It is across the street from the Federal building, right near the top end of Creek Street, with a sign that says “Catch a Good Read Here”.  They have a really nice selection of books written by Alaskan authors, with an obvious strong focus on Alaska in both the fiction and non-fiction realms.

Reboarding the ship we settled in for our customary afternoon nap, but not before heading topside for a snack.  We were both a bit peckish, which is just plain wrong, but nonetheless we obtained some loaded fries with cheese and chili and some Stromboli and meatball focaccia from the Salty Dog and Slice.  The fries were made to order and amazing, the Stromboli was very good, but could have been hotter and the meatball focaccia had been good some time previous to our arrival, but had been under a heat lamp a little too long.  Of course, no such visit is complete without a swing by the soft-serve stand for a quick cone. 

We continued our new evening tradition of visiting the Wheelhouse Bar for a drink before dinner and were not disappointed.  Holiday Dreams was playing, the usual suspects were dancing, and the cocktails were superb.  Melissa opted for a Cable Car while I had the Speyside Cider.

Dinner in the dining room was once again fantastic. Our enjoyment aided by a delicious bottle of The Prisoner red blend from Napa Valley (the wine brand choice may be a reflection of my lost argument at the taxidermy shop).

For dinner, I started with the air dried beef and Melissa went with the grilled calamari.  Next, Melissa had the baked potato soup and I opted for Giovanni’s pasta of the day which was penne Puttanesca.  I think it is fair to say that Melissa enjoyed her soup, but had a little pasta envy….it was SOOOOOO good.  For our mains, Melissa had the clam linguini and I had the ribeye.  I have read a lot of Cruise Critic lately about the beef on Princess and have to say last night seemed to bely everything that has been said.  My steak was cooked a perfect medium rare, it as a very nice ribeye, marbled and with decent fat on the cap, but no gristle or tough bits.  I am a bit of a purist and probably would have preferred it didn’t come already sauced, but honestly it was just plain delicious.  For dessert, Melissa ordered the Rocky Road ice cream, which should surprise no one and I went with the chocolate journey, which featured coconut flavors and a really nice creamy texture.  Once again, dinner was a smashing success.

Overall, we are enjoying our cruise immensely! We have found the crew extremely friendly and anxious to please.  Similar to past cruises, we often find the best part about the cruise is meeting other fellow cruisers…

That just about wraps up this installment.  Up next, adventures in Alaska’s capital city.

5 hours ago, szubieta said:

Great reviews!  Do either of you have the Club Class dining?  If so, I am trying to decide on a mini-suite with CC.  What are the added menu options? 

 

TIA!  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

We are in Club Class and I think each of my reviews has highlighted the specific options in either pasta, an entree or dessert on offer. 

10 hours ago, The Mikado said:

No. 

The Mikado is right. 

Absolutely gorgeous weather in Juneau today. 

A before and after of Giovanni's penne with puttanesca sauce....it was that good!

Saturday August 17th, in port Ketchikan

Good morning and thanks for tuning in to check on our adventures.  This morning found us under cloudy skies and making our way into Ketchikan.  Since we passed into Hecate Strait last night, we have had no seas and winds have died down to just a puff of air.  Temperatures are still very mild, maybe dropping down into the very high 50s overnight and low 60s during the day.

Since it was Melissa’s birthday, she got to choose what she wanted to do for pretty much the whole day.  She opted for a trip to the dining room for breakfast and since it was 7:30 and because it was her birthday she got all of Club Class to herself.  An entire seating section, a head waiter and six service staff to wait on her every need.  Giovanni said that it usually gets very busy around 8:30 on sea days, but that any earlier and it is quiet.  In additional acknowledgment of her special status, they put her favorite breakfast food, Eggs Benedict on the menu, so there was no doubt about what her choice would be.  She started with a bowl of cereal and, of course, the obligatory freshly baked pastry.  For me, there was also a bowl of cereal and then a mushroom and cheese omelet made by Giovanni.  With reflection, it probably isn’t necessary to have multiple courses of food at breakfast, but it is a very nice luxury.

With the weather finally cooperating, we were able to get in a great walk on the promenade.  Although the full circuit wasn’t available due to high winds on the forward most portion, we were still able to cover a nice amount of ground and get out exercise by making a large horseshoe around the aft 75% of the walking area.  There were some people out and about, but not as many as I would have expected.  Our first stop of the morning was the Princess Theater for the axe throwing challenge.  The ship had brought onboard one of the lumberjacks from the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show in Ketchikan to put on a competition for passengers in axe throwing.  The cruise director Steve also got up and participated.  Overall, it was fun, but I thought it could have been a little better produced and longer.  It seemed a touch of a waste to bring the lumberjack onboard for a 20 minute show.  Our next stop was our first trivia of the cruise in the Vista Lounge and it was a packed house!  I know cruise ship trivia is popular, but this was as many as I have ever seen playing at once.  I really liked the hostess, she was fun, but all business and didn’t waste time repeating questions.  Her trivia was challenging, but not insanely difficult, 17 of 20 was the winning score, and we posted a respectable 14 of 20. (My wife also did an uncharitable scream of delight that startled a lot of the theater when she found out she gave the right answer as to what Company Steve Jobs took public in 1995).

Lunch for us was again in the dining room and the offerings were tempting, with a surprise smash hit at the end!  I started with the calamari and they were a very nice way to get the meal going.  They were so lightly battered and served with a little marinara for dipping.  Melissa started with the specialty pasta, which was fusilli in a cream sauce with smoked salmon and her main was the Irish lamb stew.  I though the stew was an interesting riff on the classic which would feature a thicker, heartier gravy style sauce.  In this case, it was huge, tender chunks of lamb, cabbage, potato and carrot in a broth.  Based on her clean bowl and the small taste I was able to sneak, it was delicious.  I had an entrée portion of the pasta and it was so good, it just fit perfectly for a cold, gray day sailing in Alaska.  For dessert, Melissa was torn between the blueberry roulade and the pistachio ice cream.  Of course, when she asked Alberto for a recommendation the only possible outcome was going to be both.  It turns out to have been a good decision, because while the pistachio ice cream was good, the roulade was amazing!  The sponge was soft and caramelized, the cream rich and the blueberry clearly made from fresh berries.  Fake blueberry has such a strange and cloying flavor that the difference is obvious. Melissa promised one day she would even try to bake me one.

After lunch, we decided to get some more exercise by walking through the Horizon Court to see what was being offered in the Mexican Buffett selection of the day. Although we did not partake, the selections including green pork and crispy tacos looked amazing! We also caught a glimpse of the delicious fish tacos being offered at the Salty Dog as part of the 50 years Alaska celebration.

If you have been paying attention at all over the past few days, you know what is coming next….an afternoon nap!  Honestly, we both work stressful and demanding jobs and when we are on a cruise, the opportunity to take a nap is just too good to pass up.  Being the dutiful husband, I did slip out and return to wake Melissa up with a warm scone and some clotted cream from the buffet.  During the time between then and our getting ready for dinner, it became obvious that my poor planning which resulted in not bringing a book was not going to be able to endure.  Melissa had her Kindle and was not too thrilled with me constantly asking about what was next and pestering her with my enthusiasm for just about everything.

We showered and dressed for dinner, Melissa in a very nice cocktail dress and me in my kilt.  My family tree has a branch that can be traced to the Isle of Ulva and the MacQuarrie Clan.  Thus, I have a MacQuarrie Modern kilt that was made for me by Gordon Nicolson in Edinburgh.  As The Mikado mentioned about 20% of guests wore formal attire, another 40% in respectable jackets and dresses, and a solid 40% opted for suburban mall Saturday morning casual.  As Melissa observed, whom ever thinks jorts with a suit jacket and suspenders counts as formal gear, was seriously disturbed!

 Our first stop of the evening was the Wheelhouse Bar where some members of the Grand Princess Orchestra were holding forth with some great jazz standards from a 5 piece band.  After a nice set, they slimmed down to just a drummer, bass player and pianist and continued to pump out some really great music.  There is a solid contingent who come to dance every night and though we don’t join them, the room is totally civilized and charming.  We were still there when the Captain’s Welcome and Champagne Waterfall event was breaking up and many of the senior officers and their families came in for a drink as well.  The waitress Gladys is all smiles and already knows, after just two nights, that Melissa likes a Sidecar.  I am a bit more unpredictable, preferring to try different things, so I opted for a Manhattan last night.  The bartender was on point and I appreciate that the house version is mixed with Bulleit Bourbon.

We arrived at dinner a little later than  on previous evenings and got a great table, right by the window.  I surreptitiously passed a note to Giovanni that it was Melissa’s birthday so he could ensure that appropriate celebratory activities were executed.  We ordered a bottle of the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne, because, well why not?!?!?  It was Melissa’s birthday and we are celebrating 12 years of great cruising adventures together.  I am not a drink snob, I say drink what you like and what makes you happy; however,  for me and my tasting experience, the jump between okay Champagne and good Champagne is a monumental one.  I almost can’t drink the cheap stuff, but the good stuff is a bit of a transcendent experience for the taste buds.  Turning to our meals, we each ordered the crab quiche appetizer and then shared an order of the duck and pork rillette.  The quiche was good and the rillette was surprisingly bursting with flavor and though rich, not overwhelming.  In another top quality customer service move, the chef put Melissa’s favorite soup on the menu for her birthday, so we both enjoyed the French Onion soup.  The broth was delicious and the crouton sinking under a melting island of cheese made for a wholly amazing dish.  For her main, Melissa ordered a lobster tail off of the ala carte options from the Crown Grill and substituted a baked potato for mashed potatoes, which was a great option to have since she could have lobster on the night she chose,  rather than the designated night by the menu rotation.  I opted for the Club Class special which was diver scallops with polenta and a balsamic reduction.  I think that it is fair to say that both mains were very well executed based on the clean plates that were cleared away and the smiles all around. 

The dessert special last night was a flambee, minus the flames of bananas and pineapple with vanilla ice cream.  It was tasty, but not particularly noteworthy.  Of course, to cap off her big day, Melissa was presented with a chocolate on chocolate on chocolate treat with a candle and singing by pretty much the entire Club Class dining crew, which turned Melissa bright red.  It was a supremely enjoyable meal.  The whole team in Club Class, Rachel, Alberto, Ramon, I Wayan, Hari, Giovanni and Milos are absolutely fantastic.

Obviously, I post based on what happened yesterday, but as I type this, we are on our balcony, enjoying the gorgeous scenery as we sail out of Ketchikan. We are currently sitting outside at 6 pm on our balcony as we glide by small islands filled with Hemlock and Spruce trees under cloudy skies occasionally interrupted by breaks with brilliant sunshine.  More to come on this topic tomorrow!!

Onward to you know, Juneau!!...

Until next time…..

It is crab feasting time in Ketchikan. 

I haven't seen The Mikado since the meet and greet, but loving his contributions. Photos are coming, but probably not quite so live as the internet is weak sauce. 

Arriving in Ketchikan. 

9 hours ago, The Mikado said:

Survey says about 20% formal, 40% coat and tie, 40% slob.

Agreed. 

Saw some great tuxedos and gowns last night though. 

Friday August 16^th, At Sea

Hello Loyal Readers! Thank-you for tuning in to hear about our adventures at sea…

All in all, we continue to sail under very fair conditions.  Seas remain slight, but the breeze is fresh an is producing some small whitecaps.  There is blue sky breaking through the clouds and on the sunny side of the ship temperatures are very comfortable.  Over the past 24 hours the ride has been gentle and mellow.

Yesterday was a very relaxing and enjoyable sea day onboard the ship.  I have to say that the Princess Patter was so full of interesting activities that we had to make choices and miss some events we might otherwise have attended as there were simply a finite number of hours in the day and we love to spend time eating, reading and napping as well.  Our first breakfast of the cruise was a treat especially as we arrived at 715 to a nearly empty dining room! There is something so luxurious and decadent about being waited on at breakfast.  We were surprised to learn that as an additional benefit in Club Class, Giovani is now making omelets to order at breakfast, with a wide selection of fillings to choose from.  Melissa opted to start with a melon plate, while I had a bowl of Raisin Bran.  I ordered the Mexican omelet which came from the kitchen and Melissa ordered a ham a cheese omelet which Giovani made just feet away.  Both were very tasty and as expected, a very nice selection of fresh pastries were available as well.  I think that the small luxury of fresh baked pastries, breads and cakes at every meal can get lost in the overwhelming food choices on a cruise, but it really does add such a nice touch to every meal. 

To answer a question that has been swirling on the Princess boards, I did walk through the buffet yesterday morning and indeed omelets made to order are available there.

After breakfast, we ventured up to Club One5 to join of fellow Cruise Critic users for the meet and greet.  The group was small, but we had a very nice conversation and the views from One5 are very hard to beat.  It is always nice to put faces and real names to the avatars from online.  We took some time to catch up on emails and other internet business before heading off to lunch.  The internet onboard remains fairly consistent with what we have experienced in the past on Princess.  The WiFi connection in our stateroom seems to be strong and has been reliable across multiple devices.  Other notes on our room, it is pleasantly cool, but we have kept the thermostats set to the lowest available temperature and according to our digital thermometer that maintains a very pleasant 70 degrees.  In a perfect world, I would like the coldest setting to be too cold and have a little extra capacity, but as we are sailing through a cool part of the world, we are a just a door opening away from temperatures in the low 60s outside on the balcony.  The water pressure is very strong and the hot water is available at any desired setting between luke warm and ‘burn the dirt off’ hot!  My only complaint about the bathroom is that I think the lighting is a little lack luster.  The three overhead lights are sufficient, but only just barely.

We opted to take our lunch in the dining room again and were treated to a fantastic meal.  There never really was much doubt about where we would dine, because they were serving Chicken Korma and it is one of Melissa’s absolute favorite Princess dishes.  Our meal was enhanced by sitting next to a very friendly couple from the Bay Area who are very experienced cruisers and world travelers.  I love hearing stories of people’s adventures and adding locations to my growing list of places to visit.  Melissa started her luncheon with pea soup, another of her favorites,  and I had an appetizer portion of the fresh pasta which was a tomato sauce with garlic, tomato, sage and some red chili…absolutely delicious!!  We both had the Chicken Korma, accompanied by a dizzying array of condiments for our main.  The flavors were spot on and the dish was more than generous on the portion size.  For dessert, Melissa had butter pecan ice cream and I had the rice pudding.  Rice pudding is interesting, because it is such a classic comfort food dessert that my Dad used to love, but it hit the spot with just a few bites of sweet to close out the meal.

After lunch, Melissa and I separated, she headed to the Lotus Spa for a massage and I was off to the Wheelhouse Bar for the Veterans get together.  We had a very nice group of veterans assembled, including a Marine who was wounded on Iwo Jima.  It is always great to have all who have served meet and share in the brotherhood.

 I will relay Melissa’s assessment that her overall spa experience was a 6 out of 10.  The women’s locker room had no functional lockers as none of the dials or locks worked resulting in all the females having to change and then carry all their clothes/valuables into the actual treatment room. The Spa Staff didn’t even try to pretend the locks worked but no notices were posted in the locker room. She said her bamboo massage treatment was okay but the female massage provider was definitely not an expert. Finally, she subjected her to some rather unrealistic sales pitching, including a recommendation that for her ‘health’ she return for some medi-spa work, products totaling $250 and 2-3 other treatments.  I do feel that on this particular cruise, the Lotus Spa sales and marketing is a little over the top and honestly for the quality of product they are delivering, they are overpriced.  This isn’t to say that you can’t have a nice treatment or experience, but I think they just push too hard and under deliver. That being said, Melissa said she did enjoy some down time on the cruise and feels blessed to be able to get a treatment.

What does one do after a massage and a big meal?  Of course, one takes a nice long nap!  The relaxed motion of the ship is better than just about anything invented by modern pharmacology and when paired with a full belly and no work to be done, it makes for a powerful sleep aid. 

After showers and dressing for dinner, we opted to skip the event in Club One5 and instead visited the Wheelhouse Bar for a pre-dinner drink.  I really like their revamped cocktail menu, focusing on some classics and expanded offering of craft beers.  I was very surprised to see a Sculpin from Ballast Point on the menu and for less than I could get a bottle at home in San Diego.  There was some very nice live music from Holiday Dreams, doing jazz and dance standards.  Our cocktails, a real daquiri and a Sidecar, were very nicely prepared and the dark wood, brass and green tones were a great setting.

As we have come to expect already, dinner was a parade of flavors, highlighted by the deft touch of Giovani with the pasta.  We arrived at dinner at 730 and the Davinci Dining Room was hopping.  Both Club Class and the rest of the room were busy and there was a lively atmosphere that was contagious.  The dinner menu was both broad and deep in its offerings.  I have read some recent reviews that menus on Princess were smaller in their offerings, but empirical evidence does not bear that out.  The menu featured seven main course offerings, including a pasta, a vegetarian option, two seafood options, a poultry option, the Curtis Stone Crafted pot pie and a beef entrée.  With the addition of the always available options, there was an additional pasta, seafood and beef offering, plus a burger.  For those dining in Club Class, there was a futher pasta selection offered and an additional seafood main.

Melissa started with a nice lamb and barley soup coupled with a delicious dinner roll, while I went with the mushroom tart.  I found the creamy sauce to be flavorful and absolutely bursting with great earthy flavor of mushrooms.  Giovani’s pasta of the evening was spaghetti with tomato sauce, herbs and shrimp.  I would say it was delicious, but I don’t think that would do it justice.  In fact, we asked both Giovani and our waiter exactly what type of negotiations would be necessary to take him home with us.  Melissa’s main was the Shrimp Americain offering and I had the Curtis Stone pot pie.  Melissa got the better of the arrangement, her grilled shrimp were perfectly cooked and not over sauced.  The pot pie was okay, but a bit too much butter and cream and not enough leek and seasoning.  Dessert for me was a souffle, because well, why would you not?  I mean honestly, I am not going to make myself one at home and none of the restaurants in my neighborhood have it on offer.  Melissa built her own Sundae, which looked good, but we all know she is just saving up for a Volcano.  All in all, we are more than impressed with the dining room food service thus far.  The menus are varied and our food and service have been spot on.

After such a full day of relaxing, we were exhausted and did manage to get to a fairly early bedtime.  It was a perfect first sea day, we are fully into relaxation mode, we have met some great people, have been eating delicious food and having a great time.

As an added bonus to today’s update, let us spend a moment to talk about passengers behaving badly onboard.  Specifically, let’s talk about bare feet and their appropriateness for public places, quite simply, they just aren’t.  I am willing to give a free pass to a woman who put on shoes for dinner only to discover that they were simply murder on her feet and needed to make it back to her room for a change.  It isn’t exactly polite, but I think everyone could understand the situation and it was temporary to achieve some obvious relief from pain.  However, intentionally removing your shoes, while in a bar on the ship and then choosing to sit such that your feet are actually on the chair is never okay.  In fact, putting your feet, bare or not, on furniture in a public place is never okay. 

That is all for now folks! Appreciate you tuning in as we sail north to Alaska!

And if you see Melissa out and about, wish her a Happy Birthday today! 

Thursday August 15^th, At Sea

Good morning from Grand Princess, underway off the West Coast of the California, near Eureka and sailing north under clear skies.  Temperatures this morning are noticeably cooler than yesterday, with a predicted high only in the mid 60s.  The ride is comfortable with a little bit of vibration and movement that is mostly wind induced on our northerly transit.  The seas remain quite calm with some white caps, but there is very little swell running at the moment.  That being said, we are bucking headwinds of close to 40 knots.  The result is that the Promenade Deck is not available for walking this morning due to safety concerns, which is a bummer. My wife did attempt to walk outside on Deck 14 and 15, but after nearly being swept off her feet by the wind, we decided to head inside.

Returning to yesterday, we had the smoothest and quickest embarkation experiences we have enjoyed in all of our years of cruising.  We checked out of the Palace Hotel at 11:00 am in San Francisco and the doorman helped us catch a taxi and we were on our way.  The trip down to Pier 27 was quite quick and pleasant on such a gorgeous day.  I was momentarily worried when we turned onto the Embarcadero as the traffic was very heavy, but it was momentary and once we started moving it was smooth all the way to the entrance to the pier.  San Francisco has implemented some smart policies in the vicinity of the pier, especially putting crossing guards at the entrance to the pier taxi queue and parking area.  The Embarcadero is a very popular track for walkers and runners, so having someone there to deconflict the vehicle and pedestrian traffic is a great win for both groups and a solid safety improvement.

Our taxi driver had no problems making his way to the curb by 11:25 am and the loading and unloading area was active, but not busy.  The only hiccup or negative point in our embarkation was the porter service we received.  In Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Southampton the porters are friendly, proactive and more than happy to help get bags out of the vehicle and on their way to the ship.  However, yesterday in San Francisco the porter seemed more than happy to have us unload our own bags, was not friendly by any definition and seemed a bit put out that he was being asked to move bags.  Nonetheless, within moments our bags were on their way and we were headed into the terminal.  We had to show our passports and the entrance door and then proceeded to security.  The screening was painless and quick, with no need to remove shoes or belts.  From there we proceeded to check in and there were agents just looking for work, they were waving their little number signs and looking a bit sad that no one was using their services.  We checked in at the very last station and had a very nice older gentlemen checking us in.  He was new and in training, so it took a few extra seconds to scan our passports and deliver our cruise cards.  He was super friendly and given a few hours of practice will be great at helping people start their cruise.  Cruise cards in hand, we walked to the ship, with a momentary pause for the obligatory photo and we were onboard!  No lines, no waiting and no drama.  We were dropped off at 1125 and by 1145 we were sitting in the Davinci Dining Room browsing the lunch menu.

Our first lunch was precisely as we have come to expect it.  Ever since we learned about dining room lunch on embarkation day, our first go was on our South America cruise on the Golden, we have taken advantage and I have had a chance to compare various ships on a menu that remains largely the same across the years.  So, I ordered the bay shrimp and avocado appetizer, the cheese filled ravioli and the souffle for dessert.  Melissa also started with the bay shrimp and avocado, had the salmon for her main and the papaya frozen yogurt for dessert.  The service was friendly and attentive and the food was delicious.  Honestly, the ravioli might be the best I have had onboard, the cheese filling was light, creamy and full of flavor.  Our first impression, which would be confirmed at dinner was that the food and service are both outstanding and exceeding expectations.  We were pleasantly surprised to see Giovani as the head waiter in our section.  We sailed in a suite on our South America cruise and he was our host in Sabatini’s for breakfast.  He is funny, friendly, engaging and runs a very tight team that delivers great service.

After lunch, we spent a little while exploring the ship.  My impressions, based on my cruising experience and two decades in the US Navy, including two Executive Officer tours is that the ship is in very good condition, cleanliness is absolutely outstanding and new carpet and cosmetic refreshes are obvious in public spaces.  I did notice that the age of the ship is noticeable, not in terms of neglect or damage, but the aging and maturity that occurs on a well maintained ship over time.  The exterior paint on the hull looks like it could use a refresh, but I suspect that is primarily due to lots of salt and moisture on recent runs to and from Alaska and some very stringent regulations on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in California.  All in, the Grand looks fantastic, the crew is warm and friendly, the new carpet looks great and you can see that Medallion installation is in progress.

During our walk around, we proceeded outside to take some pictures and enjoy the warm sunshine.  I don’t think many people say or hear those words when referring to San Francisco.  Having spent a lot of time in the Bay Area and Melissa having lived here for two years, yesterday was definitely a one in a million type of day for departure.  We did not hear an announcement about rooms being ready, but we were outside and fairly interested in other things, so we may have just missed it.  So around 1:20 we headed down to our room.  Fortuitously, it was ready and we headed inside.  We are in a Dolphin Deck mini suite and the room is great.  Everything is in good repair.  Recent upgrades include the installation of two flat screen TVs mounted on the walls to replace the previous smaller flat screens installed in the corner credenza.  Also, the lamps have all been replaced with new models that include a USB charging point.  I will go into a more in depth description and review of the room later.  When we arrived all four of bags had arrived, but I took a few moments to shoot some video of the room before we brought them inside and started to unpack. 

Unpacking went smoothly as Melissa and I deftly maneuvered around each other to stow all of our clothing and supplies in a little under 30 minutes.  During that time, our steward, Jimmy, stopped by to introduce himself and welcome us onboard.  Having unpacked and having some time before the Safety Assembly, which is the new term for muster, we decided to take a brief nap.  I have to say, it was a great call.  30 minutes of snoozing was just what the doctor ordered for some refreshment.  We proceeded to Explorers and as we arrived a few minutes early, we had not trouble securing a seat on the left side near the back.  While our steward said 3:15 and the Patter said 3:20, it was closer to 3:40 before things actually started.  Once the briefing began, it was less than 10 minutes total and was very direct and painless.  I still remember having to put on my lifejacket and actually stand under my assigned lifeboat, which seems like it was quite a waste of time.  There is now no requirement to bring your lifejacket and I think they have done a commendable job of making the briefing direct, to the point and a short as practical while still conveying the required information.

Following the Safety Assembly, we headed down to the International Café.  We are traveling with a substantial supply of unused punches on the legacy coffee cards thanks to having the worlds best mother who enjoys her daily dose of caffeination and International Café peanut butter cookies, so we are keen to use them up as we are the last in our family that will be cruising prior to their expiration at the end of August.  I retrieved two large lattes and headed to a table only to discover Melissa had secured a piece of pecan pie and a cookies and cream cheesecake.  I am not usually a huge sweet eater, but these were absolutely delicious, neither was over sweetened and they had great flavor.  We enjoyed our snack and then moved to the Promenade just as we started moving away from the pier. 

We had a fabulous perch on the port side to watch us making our way off of the pier and out into the channel.  When the ship was fair in the channel and headed outbound, we shifted up to our balcony and were treated to absolutely stunning views of the city and Golden Gate as we maneuvered out to sea.  Once underway and making way, the breeze became pleasantly cool and fresh.  This brings me to my first major tip for any cruise, but especially for Alaska, bring a good pair of binoculars.  We have a compact pair of mid-range Nikon binoculars and it was great to be able to see Melissa’s old neighborhood and the city up close.  There are a lot of reasons that the 10 day Alaska trip out of San Francisco is so popular, but I think that the chance to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the highlights and it is such a breathtaking and iconic way to begin the journey.

After a quick rinse in the shower and a change of clothes we were off to dinner in the dining room.  We had a very nice table for two and our waiter was Ramon from Mexico.  He was very friendly and the service was exceptionally efficient.  Generally, we like to take our time with dinner and enjoy each other’s company and a nice leisurely meal.  Last night perhaps wasn’t as long or drawn out as some nights will be, but we were understandably tired and in a mellow mood.  Melissa had the honors on the first bottle of wine and opted for a superb Col D’orcia Italian red.  It was pleasantly sharp and a great accompaniment for rich or meaty foods.  My dinner choices were the crab cake, the chilled cucumber and yogurt soup with the roasted pork for my main.  Melissa opted for an appetizer portion of the fettuccine alfredo and the Club Class special for the evening which was a LARGE cut of the prime rib served with a Yorkshire Pudding.  My crab cake was pedestrian, too much cake, not enough crab and the sauce was sort of congealed.  It was okay, but was not blowing my skirt up.  The chilled soup was light and refreshing, but I ordered it primarily as an homage to my late dad who loved the chilled soups on Princess.  However, my pork was a home run, it was moist and tender, the sides were a great compliment to the meat and the sauce was delicious!  Melissa was kind of quiet while her prime rib disappeared, save for a lot of satisfied mmmmmmm sounds, which I took to mean it was delicious.  

For dessert, I went with the flourless chocolate cake and Melissa chose a scoop of chocolate chip and a scoop of butter almond ice cream, both choices were big hits.  All in, our first dinner was a solid success with great service and food.  I would love to tell you about the wild evening we spent trying all the bars, checking out all the shows and putting a hurting on the casino, but we were tired, we are on vacation and we decided to go to bed early and enjoy our wonderfully comfortable bed.  As far as embarkation days and first impressions go, the crew is friendly, the ship is looking great, the food is delicious, and we have already met some great fellow passengers.

We are onboard and ready for muster. Details to follow, but embarkation was absolutley perfect. In fact, from the moment we stepped out of our taxi until I was ordering lunch in the Davinci Dining Room was under 20 minutes. 

A perfectly crafted cocktail, served in an elegant location. 

Good morning from San Francisco where the weather is absolutely gorgeous!  Skies are clear, the sun is shining and temperatures are comfortable and headed for near 80 today.  Our travel day yesterday from San Diego to San Francisco simply could not have gone any smoother.  I was up at a normal time and worked until around noon.  Then it was a quick trip home, a bite of lunch, change of clothes and bidding farewell to our loyal dog.  We miss him, but I am not convinced that he doesn’t prefer the family he stays with to us while we are gone. 

We took an Uber to the airport, checked our bags, meeting the maximum weight requirement by just ½ a pound on one bag.  I had weighed it at home, but didn’t think I was actually cutting it that fine.  Security was a bit of a drag as the portion of SAN where we boarded was not operating TSA PreCheck when we went through.  Still the lines weren’t too bad and we were able to help a military spouse traveling alone with her baby get through with a stroller and bags to wrestle.  As is my custom, we were generously early and I took the opportunity to shoot a little video around the terminal and play with my new gimbal.  When the cruise is over, I plan to edit all of my video into a highlight reel of the trip.  We boarded on time and the flight only had 70 passengers on a Southwest 737.  This was nice because we had the middle seat between us empty and no one was there to mind that I suction cupped my GoPro to the window and shot some super cool videos of us coming up the coast of California.  We made an on-time departure and had a very smooth flight up, eventually arriving at the gate about 15 minutes early.

We were in a portion of SFO that I had not been in on a Southwest flight before, it was very recently remodeled and exceptionally nice, with fresh décor and very wide transit areas.  By the time we made our way down to baggage claim, the belt was already rolling and our bags were among the first off.  I would estimate that from the moment we stepped off the plane until we had bags in hand was well under 15 minutes.  It was a fast walk to the taxi queue and we were on our way into the city.  Traffic was better than average for 530 and we made a quick trip into the city.  When Melissa and I were dating, I lived in Monterey and she lived in San Francisco, so it was a drive that I knew very well. 

We arrived at the Palace Hotel and it remains every bit as spectacular as I remember it.  The physical building is such a throwback to when style, design and artistry were as important as function in the design of great hotels.  Check in was painless and we were up to our room expeditiously.  Our room is very nice and large by the standards of hotel rooms in any American city and bigger than a lot of very nice apartments by San Francisco standards.  We dropped our bags, made a quick change from travel attire into something a bit more refined and headed out for a drink.

We made our way to the Pied Piper on the first floor of the hotel and had a couple of absolutely fabulous cocktails.  Melissa had a Sidecar, which led to some discussion on whether the English or French School is correct on the ingredients and I enjoyed a very nicely made Old Fashioned. 

After our drinks, it was a short 10 minute walk to John’s Grill and a stroll down memory lane.  12 years ago this summer, we went to John’s Grill after we got engaged and the next morning embarked on our first cruise together!  The restaurant was hopping for a Tuesday night and we sat upstairs, just a few tables from where we sat that night.  Of course, the engagement ring sits a lot more comfortably on Melissa’s finger a decade on, so she didn’t spend quite as much time staring at it as she did in 2007.  I had a steak and Melissa had the cioppino, both of which were really nicely prepared and delivered.  The food isn’t over the top gourmet, nor the service unusually attentive, but both were solid and we had a great meal.  I would love to say that after dinner we hit the town, but the reality is that we hit the pillows and settled into the very nice bedding of our hotel for a well-earned night’s rest.

This morning, we were up early and went downstairs from breakfast in the Garden Court! As far as physical locations for a meal, I am not sure I have been anywhere else on the planet that is quite such an extraordinary blend of the classic and the modern.  The breakfast buffet was sublime, very high-quality food, a broad selection and accompanied by the type of first-class service that just isn’t very common when dining buffet style.  We took our time, enjoying the food, juice, coffee, each other and not having to worry about getting to work.  After breakfast, we took a quick walk, picked up a couple essentials and are now finalizing our preparation to head to the ship.  We are planning to arrive between 11 and noon.

Stay tuned for more of the adventure!

7 hours ago, The Mikado said:

We board our train in San Luis Obispo at 15:30 and arrive in San Francisco at 22:30. After we get our bags in the room, we’re heading to the Buena Vista for an Irish coffee. 

 

The day has arrived. 

That sounds like a great plan!