2014 Alaskan Land Sea Cruise Review

We returned from a Land/Sea (Volendam) Cruise EARLY Thursday morning and have been working on the review. Decided to do this before we left because we couldn't find any reviews of this type/itinerary on any of the CC threads. Have it about a third of the way done, and will be posting a part of it tomorrow. Got some amazing photos - now I just wish I could figure out how to post them. \\

Land/Sea cruise June 4 – June 18, 2014

June 3, 2014 : Actually, our adventure started at 3:00 AM on the 3rd. We were both so excited that we did not sleep well and almost overslept the morning we flew out. Had to be at the airport at 5:30 for our 7:30 flight. We made our 5:00 ride pick up call and were at the airport in time. Had the boarding passes in my hand, got the luggage checked it and went looking for my purse to get out my id. UH-OH, left my purse in our friend’s car (he was on way to take wife to the other terminal for her 8:00 flight). Used DH’s cell to call my cell – and luckily they heard it. He returned and pretty much did a drive-by flying toss. OK – tickets, id and passports in hand. Good to go, right? WRONG!!!

I got through security check-in just fine. DH lite up the walk through like a Christmas tree. Mind you he has all his original parts, so it should have been pretty easy. Went back through after removing belt and all other extra parts of clothing that could have set it off. Christmas tree lite up again. So they pulled him over for the pat down. Then I noticed he still had his hat on. Mind you, his hat is covered in pins that he has collected from various places. I told the TSA person that it was his hat. He got real huffy with me and “It’s not his hat!” Guess what folks. It was his hat. Anyway – hubby got a really good pat down.

We got a really good deal on the plane fare and flew first class. I have been ruined. Will never fly any other way again. What a pleasure to ride a plane with LOTS of space and not be packed in like a bunch of sardines in a can. OK – we flew from Minneapolis to Seattle and then HAL arranged for all other transportation and accommodations from Seattle going forward. We stayed the night at Seattle Hilton Airport. It was very nice, comfortable and spacious. We decided to take the light rail into town and visit the Pike Place Market. The weather was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Sunny but “not too hot, not cold, but just right” quoting Goldilocks.

We had been there before, but it was on a Saturday and didn’t get to see much. Not much of a crowd this day. Had lunch there, walked around some, had some Baklava and Chai at the Greek restaurant across from the main entrance and then went back to the hotel. Had dinner in the restaurant as we didn’t want to go too far out and be tired for our early morning flight to Anchorage. Mind you, it was a very nice restaurant but the prices are outrageous.

June 4, 2014: We caught the shuttle from the hotel to the airport, got all the bags checked, went through security without a hitch. DH wore a different hat with no pins. Landed in Anchorage about 3:30 their time. It was beautiful – the sun was shining and it was a comfortable temperature. Transported to the Anchorage Westmark and met our Journey Host – Rosemary Hanson who would be with us for the entire Land portion of the trip. We received paper work, luggage tags and information about the next day’s journey, met several of the others who will be traveling in our group, then had the rest of the day to ourselves. The hotel was – to simply state it – your standard hotel. Our room did have a small balcony that let us look out over the intersection of 6th and Broadway – so we did some people watching while waiting for our goddaughter who lives in Anchorage to come and pick us up. We had a wonderful evening seeing the grand-godchildren (4) and caught up on the news.

June 5, 2014: We put our baggage out at 7:00 (picked up by the driver to transport them to the train). We had breakfast in the hotel and then boarded the bus to go to the McKinley train. This would transport us to Denali. WHOO HOO - the primary reason why we decided to take this trip. The train was very comfortable; each car had its own narrator, its own bar and bartender (both alcohol, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soda pop and smoothies) and own dining car. The food was delicious and the company very interesting. We sat with two sisters from San Francisco who were doing the short three days with Princess and then joining their ship in Seward.

The scenery on the train ride is amazing – granted it was a little overcast and a couple of times, it rained in short spurts, but we still saw some beautiful country. The narrator helped break up the monotony of traveling and staring out the window. He had some very interesting stories regarding the specific area as well as helping us spot wildlife. Sadly, the only thing we saw from our side of the train was a mother swan with one duckling. The other side saw another swan and duckling as well as a moose. BUT. we didn’t give up hope , we still had Denali ahead of us.

We got off the train and on to a bus for transport to Denali. As we got off the bus, we were given an envelope with room keys, a map of the hotel campus and our schedule for the next two days. Included in the price of the trip was several excursions (the first was the next day, but more about that tomorrow).

The accommodations were wonderful. First – an explanation – HAL just purchased the property the first of this year and have been doing A LOT of renovations. They moved buildings to new locations, are building more lodging for guests and overall really fixing up the place. We were out by the river that runs out of the Denali National Park, with a picnic table out back looking at the river. Our “room” (for a better word was a very pleasant surprise. The room was the one on the lower left corner – entrance is under the balcony and the stairs. We entered into s “living room” with a HUGE TV mounted on the main wall, with a narrow sofa type table underneath it. On the opposite wall was a full size sofa sleeper with an end table holding a four cup coffee pot and a nice selection of coffees and teas. There was a small hallway with the sink and mirror outside of the bathroom. The bathroom consisted of a LARGE walk-in shower and the toilet.

The bedroom had a huge kingsize bed with a LARGE TV on the opposite wall. There were no closets but a beautiful chest under the TV was large enough to hold two towable carryon pieces of luggage. There were also two night stands on each side of the bed. There were hanging pegs on the wall for any clothing that needed to be hung up.

Will add more of my review and photos in the next few days.

Hope everyone is enjoying this so far.

Okie

SORRY RAN INTO SOME ERRORS TRYING TO LOAD SEVERAL PHOTOS. WILL TRY TO ADD THEM IN A LATER POSTING.

FYI - went to Photobucket and have tried to move photos over to it so I could post them. I am having trouble with the saving and titling the downloaded photos - will keep working on it, they might be posted at the very end. Please bear (no pun intended) with me...... I will get it right eventually.

June 6, 2014:

I forgot to include this information in yesterday’s posting – If doing the Land portion your final documents, etc. from HAL has a section that will state that you can pack one bag that can be designated “Join on Board” and that bag will be taken directly to the ship. This is incorrect. Be prepared to have all of your bags with you all the time. We packed one large suitcase with all of our cold weather clothing (for Glacier Bay etc) as well as our evening wear (we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on board, so we wanted it to be special). This bag followed us around but at the same time it was nice to have. We packed purchases in it and knew we were going to mail a couple of boxes home before we boarded ship.

This morning was like waking up in a different world. It was so peaceful outside – we didn’t hear any traffic noise, our neighbors from upstairs weren’t up bumping and thumping at 5:30 in the morning. Couldn’t believe how beautiful the day was. DH got up and made himself a pot of coffee, went out and around to the picnic table for a morning smoke. While sitting there enjoying the beauty of the day, he spies a young black bear walk down to the bank of the river (they were on opposite sides of the river) for a drink of water. DH just sat watching (and cursing the fact that he had left his camera in the room) while the bear calmly checked both sides of the river, then shambled back into the woods. What a great welcome to Denali.

We had the morning free, so we just wondered around the grounds, went up to the lodge for breakfast and then checked out some of the stores across the road. The usual tourist stores, but some of them are really cute. For the quilters out there, there is a gift and fabric shop that has some absolutely beautiful fabric. Was a good girl – didn’t want to have to carry fabric all over. We had our first excursion of the trip that afternoon. This excursion is included in the cost of the Land/Sea cruise and to me was the BEST one of them all. Whatever you do – DO NOT MISS IT. It is amazing.

Oh yeah – I am going to digress a bit – in our cruise group we have a total of 43 people from all over. There were three couples from Australia, couples from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota (DH and I) as well as another couple from Mankato, and three or four couples more from Canada. What was really wonderful about this mix, there weren’t any complainers or gripers. We had a great group.

Sorry back to the excursion. It is called the “Tundra Wilderness Tour” and it is beyond description. We boarded a Blue Bird type bus – except it had been modified and had the touring type seats in it. Be prepared – this is a 6 ½ hour to 7 ½ tour. There are bathroom breaks about every two hours so you are not stuck on the bus all the time. The driver and tour narrator for our tour was named Mary Jane and she is very knowledgeable about the park/preserve. She works for the Park Service year round and you can tell she really believes in what she does. First of all, we learned that Denali is not necessarily a park as we think of as a national park. The majority of the land is set aside to operate as a preserve and to protect the land and the animals from ANY interaction or interference from humans. The animals that reside in the preserve are completely wild.

As we started out, she told us that if we should see an animal or even think we saw on, to yell STOP and she would stop. As we proceeded into the wilderness we began to think the trip was going to be a big bust. Then from the back of the bus we heard a meek little "stop", and we all spotted a HUGE moose eating out of a tree along the side of the road. After that everyone was psyched up. We traveled a few miles further into the preserve and – LO and BEHOLD – in front of us just strolling down the middle of the road we saw the back sides of a mother grizzly and her two cubs. She saw the bus coming and decided to take the cubs into the brush.

By then Mary Jane had explained to us that all the buses strive to get at least a “Grand Slam” in animal sightings. The Grand Slam is the sighting of a moose, a bear, caribou and Dall sheep. An ultimate Grand Slam is when you sight the 4 listed above and either a fox or a wolf or a wolverine. Everyone tries for the Ultimate, but it is very unusual to get one. As we traveled deeper into the preserve, we spotted a large number of caribou. When we finally spotted a small flock of Dall sheep hanging off the edge of the mountains, we KNEW we had a Grand Slam. Will be honest we were really greedy and wanted the ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM and we were beginning to have our doubts that we would get it. Had been on the road for quite a while and kept seeing caribou, sheep and bears when DH yells STOP!!! He had spotted the tail of something going into a culvert, so we sat and waited for whatever it was to stick a nose out. And glory be – a fox came creeping out. WE HAD THE ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM!!!!!!! We were feeling pretty full of ourselves.

During the trip in, we happened to see two bears way down in a valley in between some ribbon rivers. As we sat and watched them, it turns out, the larger male bear was courting the smaller female. She would try to out run him, then she would slow up and the male would get close, then she would speed up. He got tired, and laid down for a few minutes. She stopped and looked back at him and then walked back towards him, he gets up and she starts to run away. He got close enough a couple of times to sniff her back side and she would turn around and slap him. The guys on the bus were cheering on the poor male and the ladies on the bus were cheering for the female bear. Finally had to move on - we never will find out what happened. 

Got to the turn around that is located miles from Denali. We could not see the mountain, it was encased in clouds. A big disappointment, but that was ok – we had an ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM. Turned around and headed back. On the way back we spotted a couple of Golden Eagles, and several small Arctic Ground Squirrels. Then a different flock of Dall Sheep, this one had several lambs and their mothers and Mary Jane said this was called a nursery. Then we spotted a BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN grizzly bear walking down the middle of the road. Just taking his time looking around and in no big hurry. Several times he looked back as if to say “what are you doing on my road”. Followed him for about a mile and got some great photos.

At the turnaround that is 60 miles out from Denali, we pulled over and looked back. The sun had burned off the overcast and the clouds had moved out of the way. We got to see the mountain in all its glory. It is magnificent!!!!! Got some photographs that will never be duplicated. We now belong to the 30% Club. It was explained to us that only one-in-three visitors to Alaska get to see Denali.

About a mile up the road we spotted another female bear with her cubs. Ok, so far we had sheep and bears, what was the chance that we would get another Ultimate. Then we saw a herd of caribou down below on a river flat – 3 down and 2 to go. Then another fox pops up out of a ditch and crosses the road in front of us. Not to get our hopes up, but we sure were close.

Well – guess what folks – WE GOT IT!!!!!!!!! Just before we left the park another moose was spotted down by a river getting a drink. WHOOT !!! WHOOT !!!! Over all we saw

1. 10 Bear

2. 17 Caribou

3. 24 Dall Sheep

4. 2 Foxes

5. 2 Moose

6. 2 Golden Eagles

7. 3 Arctic Ground Squirrels

We all agreed that this was a very successful excursion.

Now a word of caution: Because this trip is so long – the information sheet that we receive does tell us that a snack and a bottle of water is provided to every person who is on the bus. This might not be enough for some of you. For those of you who are used to eating a full meal during the time of the tour, there are lunch wraps available in lunches you can purchase. If you are not huge eaters, I would recommend that you purchase just one to share between you both. The lunch purchased usually includes your choice of a wrap, a piece of fruit, chips, cookies and a bottle of water. DH and I shared one boxed lunch and that was more than enough for both of us.

June 7, 2014: Today was a free day for us to do what we chose to do. We packed wheeled carry-on luggage for the land portion, so our clean clothes were starting to get limited. The Canyon Lodge building has a small launderette in it. We went up and washed a couple of loads, so we could continue with clean clothes. It cost us $2.50 per load to wash and dry a load. Not to bad.

For Father’s Day, I surprised the DH with an excursion to play golf at the Diamond ??? (can’t remember the whole name) Golf Course. So he had a 9:00 pm tee time. The golf course was a big disappointment as far as golf courses go, but his attitude is that "he played golf almost at the top of the world and in the midnight sun. So, overall he was happy. I had a Photography Shop excursion that was very enjoyable. I had bought me a new camera 4 months before the trip and took a workshop at the camera store I bought it at, but that 8 hour class didn’t teach me what I learned in the 4 hour excursion that I took. The instructor was a professional photographer who works out of, and does a great deal of work, around Denali. If you are a new photographer or want to even increase your knowledge of your camera – I do recommend this excursion.

Had dinner at the lodge and then headed back to the room. We had to pack for our “bags out” call at 6:00 AM tomorrow. Then we board a bus for Fairbanks. That won’t be so bad, it is about 3 ½ hours long. I know I took a lot of space talking about Denali, but it is such an amazing place and HAL has done a wonderful job of making it an experience to remember. In my opinion, everyone who goes to Alaska has to experience Denali just once.

June 8, 2014: Bags out on time, we headed up to the lodge for breakfast and some computer time before we left for Fairbanks. Wanted to check in on our DS#1 – he had a heart attack on Good Friday and at first we considered cancelling the trip. He made us promise that we would be sure to take our trip and to not worry about him. RIGHT!!!!! :P

Anyway – loaded up at 9:00 AM and on the road. The drive wasn’t bad at all. The scenery was starting to give way from the mountains to a more leveled off area – granted the mountains were still there, but the foliage was changing. We pulled into downtown Fairbanks about 11:00 AM. Some of the group went to various restaurants for lunch while the rest of us walked along the river’s edge. There are several monuments built there honoring early settlers, the Army Air Corp Alaskan Siberian campaigns, a Naval monument and a nice clock tower with a carillon. Down by the foot bridge that crosses the river we found a small vending cart. The gentleman operating it had HOT DOGS, chips and bottled water. DH and I realized that we had been craving a hot dog since we left Minneapolis and this was perfect. So we had a large fresh hot dog for $2.50 each. Not too shabby.

We all piled back on the bus and went on to the 2nd of the HAL sponsored excursions visiting the mining site known as Dredge 8. Part of the Alaska Pipeline is also exposed at this location and there was a very nice display telling us of the history of the pipeline as well as an exhibit that shows how the pipeline is built. Had a picture taken underneath it with my arm stretched up over my head. Now I am only 5 foot tall – I could have stood on the head of another 5 foot person and I still couldn’t have touched the bottom of the pipe. It is huge.

Moved on down the hill to a small tourist train where we were entertained by a gentleman playing a guitar while the train was being loaded. This train took us back into where the actual mining operation existed. We saw how the earliest miners worked the operation until it was purchased by a large conglomerate. Then we came upon the huge dredge that was used to dig up the dirt, moving the dirt into the skid area and then doing all of the panning within the machine. Had not realized just how much of a scar this type of operation would live on the face of the earth. It was still interesting to see.

We moved on to the end of the line and got to experience “panning for gold”. Granted, the water was warmed up for the “whooshes” (me included) in the group. Do not think I could have been a gold prospector, panning for gold in the cold water for a few flakes of gold. There is a gift shop (of course) on location that will weigh your gold for you. DH panned $5.00 and I got $12.00 worth. One fellow from our group panned $74.00 worth. He got a good poke to start with.

Back on the bus, this time we went on to the hotel. The Fairbanks Westmark is a very nice hotel, a little more upscale that the one in Anchorage. We went looking for a post office to mail a few things home so we wouldn’t have to cart them around in the luggage. The front desk has a good selection of the “if it fits, it ships” boxes from the post office. If you purchase them there, they will mail them out for you, (the one we sent home, was here before we got home). It is well worth the $12.95 to send it out.

Dinner and repacking – Bags out at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Then we fly into Dawson City, Yukon. Needed to be sure to keep passports handy. Board the bus at 10:00.

Will add more later.........

Okie

__________________

Many thanks! Enjoying your review! Looking forward to hearing more! We sail in 3 weeks!:cool:;):D

Enjoyed your review/trip report.

Keith

I'm really enjoying reading your report. We leave Thursday for our trip which includes a land portion in Denali and Fairbanks. I love all the details you included. Thanks!!

Thank you for sharing about your trip.

Thanks for the report, now you will be addicted to first class!

Thanks for the report, now you will be addicted to first class!

Amen to that - will have to continue to calculate cost of first class plane tickets into the budget. Will even take a lower priced cabin to be able to enjoy that luxury. And I do like the balcony cabins that we have been hooked on.:D

Okie

Land/Sea cruise June 4 – June 18, 2014

June 9, 2014

Bags out in the hall on time. Went down for breakfast and then waited in the lobby for our bus to arrive. We will be flying out of Fairbanks and heading for Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. Since this flight is taking us to a “foreign” country, we will need our passports when we land. Boarded our plane, 43 people on a 737 – what luxury – everyone had their bank of 3 seats, so we really got to stretch out and relax. Everyone grabbed a window hoping to get some good shots of Denali as we fly back and circle around. Yep – we were able to see the mountain from the air. Since starting this trip, I have lost all comprehension of distance or height because of the overwhelming size of the entire states.

DH picked the right side of the plane and was able to get a great photo of Denali sticking up through the clouds. Mind you, we were WAY above the cloud cover and still saw a large portion of the mountain peaks. I know I am repeating myself, by trying to comprehend the complete size is mind boggling.

The flight only took an hour. Since Dawson City accepts flights from another nation (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA) it is considered an “international” airport. Keep that in mind as I describe the “runway” at the airport. Dawson has ONE runway, and it is not a concrete or asphalt one. What’s left you ask, well the runway is hard packed DIRT. Yep, dirt. DH (who is a retired Air Force Loadmaster) took one look at the runway out the window and just chuckled and said “oohhh, this can’t be good”. BUT as we touched down, everyone was impressed. Out of all the flights and landings that we had throughout this trip, this landing was the BEST one of them all. No hard jolts on contact and no hard hits to the brakes. As there is just one runway, you disembark from the plane by going down stairs that roll out on large wheels. (Didn’t know there were any more of those in existence any more). :D

Bussed into Dawson City, with a running narration from the bus driver. She gave us some background on the history of the town and how it came into existence. We saw some of the remains from the dredge gold mining that took place in the area as well as a description of the town. Now, Dawson City is dedicated to preserving their original structures and maintaining the integrity of the town. Any new structures must be approved and built following the guidelines (with modern amenities included). This town is probably the most authentic historical town that I have visited.

The hotel in Dawson City is in the process of remodeling and updating. There are some old buildings and some new buildings that have been seamlessly integrated. An original part of the hotel was used as military barracks and has some beautiful furnishings. Our room was one that had already been restored and redecorated in the Victorian Era. The paint and furniture are very authentic, with modern touches. I think you will find it very comfortable.

There is a building in town that is being destroyed by the permafrost and rather than tear it down, they are letting it deteriorate naturally, allowing students to study the effects that the permafrost has on structures and learn how to build new structures that are protected against the damage caused by the weather. The entire town is filled with building that truly represent the pioneer spirit of the early gold prospectors. Don’t get me wrong – there is plenty to do in Dawson. While I did a couple loads of laundry, DH walked around the town and found some interesting buildings to photograph. If a person is interested in early architecture, this is a great town to walk around in.

We decided to take in the “Diamond Tooth Gertie” show. It is a show based on the music and entertainment of the early 1900’s, filled with songs and dances. All the money raised by the “saloon” is pumped back into the community. Over the years – Gertie’s has paid for a new high school, a library and computers to allow for advanced classes skyped to the high school. There was a lot of talent packed into the show and I personally enjoyed it. Gertie’s club is a short 3 to 3 ½ block walk from the hotel.

June 10, 2014: This morning was a free morning, so we walked up town, taking in the sights and taking photos of some of the more interesting buildings. On the main shopping road, there is a really cute little part with several monuments dedicated to the early settlers. There are the typical souvenir stores there is an old fashioned hardware and outfitting store, with some antiques tucked into the corners right in the middle. What caught my eye, a kid size Spiderman fishing rod. It seemed out of place so DH just had to check it out. While he was in there – I found an ice cream stand located inside of a small lunch diner. The ice cream is just to “die for”. First time around, I had a double dip of Double Chocolate and Peanut Butter cups. The second time around, I had the New York Strawberry Cheesecake. I think I died and went to heaven. They were both SOOOOOO good.

This afternoon we went on a HAL sponsored excursion on the Klondike Spirt. This is a paddle wheeler boat located on the Yukon River. We sailed up one direction first seeing the small fishing cabins that are still used by the natives as summer fishing cabins, a beautiful small church and its cemetery. On the way back towards town, there were a number of abandoned paddle wheelers that had been left along the banks. The boats have become skeletons of their former glory. Sad to see, but at same time, one must appreciate the fact that they were not stripped and destroyed.

Sailing the other direction up the river, we turned around at the junction where the Yukon River joins with another river and you can see the color difference between the two original sources. One river is very murky and is affected by the amount of glacier silt that is flows down from the mountains, while the other is from a different source. After the river cruise, DH walked around some more taking photos of the old brothel building as well as others, while I returned to the hotel to pack for the “bags out” time of 6:30.

June 11, 2014: Had breakfast and waited to load up the bus. This was going to be a long day for us. The drive to Whitehorse from Dawson is about 8 hours long. We did have several stops along the way (potty, photo ops, etc.). We stopped at a unique roadside place called Moose Crossing. The mosquitos there were unreal. This stop was the first experience that we had had since we started this trip. They were merciless. Be sure to keep your repellent handy for this portion of the trip, YOU WILL NEED IT. The small store, has fresh baked treats, a small gift shop, fresh coffee, hot chocolate and restrooms. Moose Crossing is also known for having a land line telephone that is up a tree. I won’t tell you where it is, you have to find it yourself. :D

We stopped for lunch at a small camp ground operated by a small tribe of natives. Had homemade chili or turkey vegetable soup, salad, dessert and drink. At this time, Rosemary arranged for a group photo to be taken, so we would have something more than names to remember people by. This was a very pretty area, set up on a bluff above a beautiful river.

Onward to Whitehorse – as we were driving down the road, our bus driver hit the brakes and stopped rather suddenly. We weren’t sure what was going on until she turned the bus around (a feat in itself as this was on a two lane highway, and the bus was a huge tour bus) and went back. She had spotted a huge black bear walking along the tree line, about 50 feet from the road. We watched him for a good 15 minutes before he went back into the woods. After turning around (again), we headed toward Whitehorse. One of the group members spotted the bear again, this time, he was really close to the road, feeding and drinking at a small pond. We stopped and watched him for another 10 or 15 minutes. He totally ignored the bus, he was too busy feeding his face.

Made it into Whitehorse about 5:00 and finally got into our room about 6:00. There was a mix up and we were assigned the same room as another couple. Got it all straightened out, dropped off our carry-ons and then went looking for dinner. Decided to go to a program at the hotel called “Frantic Follies Vaudeville Review ”. Never have I laughed so hard at a show like this. My sides hurt from laughing so hard at so many comedy routines. This show is an ABSOLUTE MUST SEE!!!!!!!

We were tired and knew tomorrow was going to be another long one. Our “bags out” time was 7:00, so we turned in. It turned out to be a very long night. Out of all the nights that we had spent on the road, this was the worst bed that we have slept in. It was so hard it felt like we were sleeping on a sheet of plywood. Plus – the Whitehouse Westmark accepts dogs and we had a very large, very vocal dog in the room next door to us. Not sure of what could be done to help with that, so made the best of it, knowing we could doze on the bus the next morning.

June 12, 2014: Breakfast and loaded up. This last stretch on the bus lasted about 4 hours with a short stop in a small town called Carcross. It was a cute little town with an interesting visitor’s center and an amazing bakery. Had a chance to stretch and use the restrooms. So it was a good break.

Last stop (no more bus rides) was at Fraser, Yukon, Canada where we boarded the White Pass train that would take us the rest of the way into Skagway. Another excursion that was covered by HAL. This train ride was AMAZING. Saw some beautiful scenery, experienced and very HIGH trestle that seems to be suspended over nothing, and some very dark tunnels. Should you be on the train – make sure you are in the right side of seats if you are going down the mountain and in the left side of seats if you are going up the hill. Be sure to have your pass ports with you. This train is where the Canadian Border Patrol comes on board and checks passports. Without it, you could have some problems.

Got checked into the Skagway Westmark, very interesting buildings, they used to be military barracks and still have some of the character of the buildings. As soon as we dropped of the bags, my main goal was to check out down town and to find the closest QUILT STORE. It is 1 ½ blocks from the hotel. For all of the quilters out there. This is a really cute shop, they have a wonderful selection of Alaskan batiks and other Alaskan panels and prints. The prices are very reasonable (much like what you find in the states) and are so friendly and helpful. DH was getting antsy, so he went right next door and had a couple of beers. When I was done at the quilt store, we realized that we were hungry. Went right back next door and had a delicious MEXICAN lunch. It was so good and we were ready for a break from hotel food.

DH went down to the post office and got another box, so we could mail out even more of our loot. Packed it up and then went down for dinner. Decided we were ready for another early night. Tomorrow is our last full day on land and we want to be able to enjoy Skagway to the fullest.

Will finish this up tomorrow. Hope you are enjoying the saga.

Okie

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

Land/Sea cruise June 4 – June 18, 2014

June 13, 2014: Our first full day in Skagway. This is a day that we have all too ourselves, doing what we want to do and explore the town. Up early and down the block to a local café, “Sweet Tooth Café” for breakfast. After breakfast, we walked around the town, just looking at the town itself. There are a lot of places that are only open during the season and only a handful that stay open year around. During the summer the population swells to about 3,000 and at the end of the season, the population drops to approximately 800 people. The town has a two lane bowling alley in the community center as well as other activities to keep themselves busy.

Skagway citizens take a lot of pride in the history of the town. They had done a great deal of restoration and renovation to the earlier buildings. The Mascot Saloon (free admittance) was restored to what it would have been during the heydays of Skagway. The Red Onion Saloon was more of a brothel than a hotel but it was a very “active” business. One building that fascinated me was the Arctic Brotherhood (founded in Sitka) building. It was built in 1899, the building is completely covered in driftwood. Found out that the original purpose of the brotherhood was to address racism against the Native Alaskan people.

After walking around town for about two hours, we went back to the hotel, packed up a box to be mailed home (wanted to be sure not to overload the luggage) and did two loads of laundry at the hotel. There is a small (2 washer, 2 dryers) launderette in the U shaped building across from the main lobby. Price is reasonable and actually pretty quick, 25 minutes to wash and 45 minutes to dry. I forgot to mention that when we were doing our laundry on June 7th, that I had packed 10 of the Laundry pods (I use Arm & Hammer) as well as about 20 dryer sheets, so I didn’t have to purchase any along the way. The 10 pods and the dryer sheets (in a small, separate zip-lock bag) all fit into a quart size zip-lock bag. Am glad I did this – the Skagway hotel charged several other guests 50 cents a pod and 50 cents a dryer sheet.

This afternoon – while I did laundry – the DH went on a booked excursion called “Ghosts and Good Time Girls Walking Tour”. It took him around the town of Skagway to the various brothels, bars and other “goodtime” locations. The tour was led by town citizens dressed in period costumes and gave the guests a quick view of what life was in 1900 Skagway. He said he enjoyed it, and learned a few things about the life of the prospector in that period of time.

Dinner at the hotel was very light, neither one of us were very hungry, so it was soup and salad each. They served a Dungeness Crab Bisque soup that was out of this world. We both really liked that. Had an early night, we were both pretty tired from all the walking around that we did.

June 14, 2013: This morning we learned about the Hop on/Hop off bus. S.M.A.R.T. busses run every 20 minutes and stop at designated stops all over town. It costs $2.00 a ride unless you purchase an all-day pass. That will run you $5.00 per person for the whole day. The bus goes out to the ships dock and in my opinion it is well worth the $5.00 for the day’s investment. Next time we go to Skagway, this is the route we will be going. Will save a lot of wear and tear when you want to go from one end of town to the other. This is also the day that we say good bye to Rosemary.

Bags were out by 9:00, had a small breakfast at the hotel and were checked out of the hotel by 10:00. Loaded onto the bus and were transferred from the hotel to the ship. As we boarded, we said good bye to Rosemary and went on board. As we were met at the top of the gangplank, we were directly moved straight into the lounge. We were checked in, given our cabin cards and then released to go to our room. As we left the lounge, there was a photographer to take our boarding photo, so we did not miss the “boarding” experience. We had the morning free, so we unpacked our carry-on luggage, found the camera and decided to explore the ship a little bit.

A bit off subject – While on the land portion of our trip, not once did we have to worry about the logistics of moving our baggage, making sure we knew what the itinerary was, making sure we were at the departure locations, getting our room assignments, insuring that they were accessible and guaranteeing we had transportation for the various activities that were part of the Land Sea cruise. That was all done by our Journey Host. Rosemary Hansen was our babysitter, our guide and what else you would call her. She did a wonderful job and to be honest, I don’t think we would have been as comfortable with the trip without her. She was marvelous and I do not have enough words to tell everyone just what a wonderful job she did.

The Volendam is called the “ship of flowers” and all over the ship there were large fresh flower displays. The bending of floral perfumes was amazing. The ship always smelled like it had been sprayed with air freshener every 15 to 30 minutes. Many of the displays were in very large vases and urns. They never became unbalanced or unsteady. Went up on the Lido Deck and had a quick lunch from the Dive-In. DH had the Taco Bar and I had a hot dog and fries. (Yes, I was still craving a hot dog). The changes made to the Lido grill (now known as the Dive-In) is a positive change. Orders are taken and you are given a table buzzer that goes off when your order is ready. No more waiting in line and then having to carry things all over looking for a table. You can find a table and be settled in before your meal is ready. Also made a reservation for Sunday night in the Pinnacle Grill

After exploring for a while, we returned to the cabin and sat out on our balcony. Had a bucket of beer for the DH sent to the cabin for embarkation. It was very comfortable temp wise and we watched an Alaskan Coastal ferry being unloaded and reloaded, DH drank some of his beer and I had a soda. We were totally amazed to watch a huge tractor type truck pull off the ferry with one of the largest goose-necked campers that I have ever seen. According to a dock worker, they come into Alaska this way instead of driving the AlCan Highway both ways. By coming by ferry, the travelers can also experience Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. They start out of Seattle and come north then drive back to the U. S. through Canada. Then the ferry started loaded and we watched them load a BUS size RV onto the ferry. Was so fascinated by the whole thing that I took photos. Still haven’t figured out how they managed to get so many cars and other vehicles on that ferry.

Had an excursion this afternoon and would be missing Muster. We went on the Skagway Street Car City Tour. The tour busses were 1929 buses that had been restored by Boyd Coddington (a huge name in the custom hot rod world). Wish we had taken this tour the first morning that we were in Skagway rather than our last day. However, there were two sites that we did not find during our first day in town. The train yard outside of town, where there were several old trains as well as some current engines used by the White Pass train and the Gold Rush cemetery. This small cemetery is very interesting, filled with many graves from persons who were early settlers Skagway. The town has done a wonderful job of maintaining it.

Muster was scheduled for 4:30. However, there were a number of passengers who joined the ship today that had excursions that were scheduled during that time (us included). HAL scheduled a second muster to be conducted at 7:00. There were about 20 attending and it was the quickest muster that I have ever attended. Love that kind of a muster.

A late, but light dinner in the Lido and then we checked out the Casino. We turned in earlier than anticipated, because we were a little tired. The beds were wonderful and we slept. Woke up feeling so rested, can’t describe just how wonderful the HAL beds are. Wish I could pack it up and take it home with me.;)

Went up to the Lido for a light breakfast and then find a good spot to enjoy Glacier Bay from. Decided that our balcony was the best spot on the whole ship. We had been here before (2 times before) and knew what to expect. We had our map from the first trip. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining but we still had a few clouds in the sky so the color was perfect. I did take about an hour’s break and went and had a manicure. It was very enjoyable and was a nice break while we waited to get all the way back into the park. As we got closer we did notice several things.

The water flows coming down the mountains were larger than what they had been before. It was beautiful. Also, and this is frightening, the glaciers are a lot smaller than what they were when we visited them 5 years ago. DH was up in the Crow’s Nest while the ranger was lecturing about the glaciers and according to what the DH heard, the glaciers are losing approximately 7 feet a month in their size due to all the calving and melting. There were two glacier’s that connected at the shore when we were there the first time we saw it and this time there is a large space of land separating them. We are losing the glaciers and most of this is happening because of “global warming”. If you didn’t believe in it before – all you have to do is see the glaciers and see how they are being affected by it. Not to be an alarmist, but we, meaning mankind, must find something that we can do to stop the destruction. It would be such a great crime to lose these beautiful forces of nature forever.

After we left Glacier Bay, just relaxed until it was time to go to dinner at the Grill. We had been looking forward to this all day. Today was an extra special day for us. Forty (yep 40) years ago we were married. So much living occurred in that time. We were seated and talking, enjoying the evening as we opened the cards we purchased for each other. Both stated laughing at the same time – We had purchased identical cards for each other. Is that a sign that we have been together so long that we have started thinking like each other. Hey – I hope there are still things that we need to find out about each other.

We both ordered a shrimp cocktail (the shrimp were not shrimpy – they were huge) the 7 ounce filet, a baked potato and the grilled mushrooms. Dinner was perfect!!!!! There was a group 6 at another table and it turns out there were celebrating two couples celebrating their 50th and 53rd anniversaries; at another table was a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary and lastly another couple celebrating their 38th anniversary. The Grill was full of romance that evening. The maitre d presented all five couples with a “to die for” CHOCOLATE cake with two candles on it. Took photos for those who had the smarts to bring a camera.

My all-time favorite dessert is crème brulee and I had made up my mind that I was going to have it tonight. The chocolate flavored strip was wonderful, just the right amount of chocolate flavor to send a person into shock, but when I tasted the traditional flavored strip, I was in LOVE!!!!!! But then took a bite of the last strip of the dessert and was very disappointed. Not sure what the flavor was, but it left a strange taste and feel on my tongue. That is ok – we took our cake back to the cabin and we ate Chocolate cake for breakfast and drank coffee and tea from room service. Talk about feeling decadent.

Will post this and start on the rest of the review. Reading back on this portion of the cruise, it seems almost boring after having had such great adventures while on the Land portion, but believe me, it wasn’t boring. It was just a different pace. We were having an opportunity to relax and just enjoy the beauty of the glaciers, the ship and all the people and be content with our own company. That was something that we realized that we were losing with of our activities back home. We are both busier than what we were before we retired.

I hope everyone is finding this helpful.

Okie

Using the ferry ( the Alaska Marine Highway) is a wonderful way to experience southeast Alaska. In some locations, those big rigs have to be BACKED ONTO the ferry .... that's interesting to watch.

It's very expensive to take a vehicle on the ferry (they charge by the foot), but if your RV gets 8mpg, buying gas all the way from Seattle to Haines is also expensive. Not only do you have to pay for your RV, but you can't sleep on your RV in transit so you have to either get a cabin or sleep on the deck. Many people will chose to drive one way, then ferry the other way. You'd be surprised at how many folks from Florida, Goergia, Texas make this trip and spend 3-4 months exploring the NW and Alaska.

I've taken the ferry to Skagway. It was fantastic. A very different experience from a cruise! Oddly enough, travellers from Australia, UK, and other parts of the world will choose to travel by ferry because it gives them the ability to spend as much time as they want at each port. And when they get to Juneau they can take a ferry or fly to Gustavus to spend a few days at Glacier Bay. It's not easy to plan, since the ferries can arrive/depart at odd times, like 3am, or the stop is every other day, but it sure provides a great option for exploring the SE.

Using the ferry ( the Alaska Marine Highway) is a wonderful way to experience southeast Alaska. In some locations, those big rigs have to be BACKED ONTO the ferry .... that's interesting to watch.

It's very expensive to take a vehicle on the ferry (they charge by the foot), but if your RV gets 8mpg, buying gas all the way from Seattle to Haines is also expensive. Not only do you have to pay for your RV, but you can't sleep on your RV in transit so you have to either get a cabin or sleep on the deck. Many people will chose to drive one way, then ferry the other way. You'd be surprised at how many folks from Florida, Goergia, Texas make this trip and spend 3-4 months exploring the NW and Alaska.

I've taken the ferry to Skagway. It was fantastic. A very different experience from a cruise! Oddly enough, travellers from Australia, UK, and other parts of the world will choose to travel by ferry because it gives them the ability to spend as much time as they want at each port. And when they get to Juneau they can take a ferry or fly to Gustavus to spend a few days at Glacier Bay. It's not easy to plan, since the ferries can arrive/depart at odd times, like 3am, or the stop is every other day, but it sure provides a great option for exploring the SE.

Since we got home, the DH has been devouring a magazine he picked up in Ketchikan. "The Last Great Road Trip". He keeps talking about traveling Alaska like this next year. He promised me the Panama Canal next year so he will have to wait for 2016 before he can do the road trip with ferries. Haven't burst his bubble yet. Want him to get over the high he is on from this trip. That should be in about 2 months.

Right now I am planning the Panama Trip.:D

Okie

Since we got home, the DH has been devouring a magazine he picked up in Ketchikan. "The Last Great Road Trip". He keeps talking about traveling Alaska like this next year.

you may or may not want to give him this link! It's a travel blog and this particular trip is a WA couple travelling to Alaska via RV. They drove to BC then used several ferries on the way up spending a few days at each port, and now they're heading back home via Yukon and BC.

It's fun and interesting to read about their daily travels. Some nice photos as well. There are many other Alaska trip reports in that link too. He may get addicted to it.

Some people fly into a port like Juneau, then use the ferry to explore other communities in the SE, and perhaps pick up a round trip rental car n Haines to drive further into the interior.

http://www.mytripjournal.com/waaliworld&p=1

Land/Sea cruise June 4 – June 18, 2014

June 16, 2014: We are in Ketchikan this morning and will not leave until later this evening. This is our 4th time here and we just decided to do the free shuttle, just wandering about the town. There are a number of really interesting places that are overlooked because there is no mention of them on the excursions list. Most first time cruisers don’t know to look at city web sites to find places to see. We both decided we wanted to spend some time at the Totem Heritage Center and the Tongass Historical Museum today. Think we will stroll down Creek Street too. In all the times that we have been to Ketchikan, we have never walked the entire street. On our previous trips, the street has always been so crowded and always felt claustrophobic. While at the Tongass Historical Museum, we discovered the “back way” into the street and it was actually much easier walking against the flow of traffic rather that go with the flow.

The Totem Heritage Center is a small building with basically three rooms but it is full of some amazing artifacts. The totems that are displayed show a wide range of figures and age. The oldest totem is estimated to be about 170 years old and the “youngest” is about 100 years old. The museum has done a wonderful job of preserving them as best they can. When looking at the artistry and beauty of the totems a person tends to forget just what it takes to care one of them using only the basic primitive tools. DH was fascinated by the canoe that was displayed in one of the side rooms. The canoe itself had been carved out of one large red cedar tree and was so smooth inside and out. In addition to the canoe and totems, various masks, baskets, beadwork and other art forms are also displayed. The entrance fee was $5.00 per adult and is well worth it.

With an admission price of $3.00 per person, the Tongass Historical Museum is well worth the visit. The museum has a display in one wing that is aimed at preserving and displaying materials that relates to the history, art and culture of Ketchikan and the southwest section of Alaska. The displays are a combination of displays from both the museum’s permanent collection and private collections owned by residents of Ketchikan. One display was dedicated to what could and had been purchased from “The Exchange Hardware, Paints & Oils” store. There were toys, telephones, an old portable typewriter, globes, a coffee grinder, an early sewing machine, clocks, fine china and crystal displayed. The museum also hosts temporary displays from other institutions within Alaska. While we were visiting, the temporary display was dedicated to the history of fishing out of Ketchikan, with several artifacts and photos from community members.

As you come out of the Tongass Historical Museum and turn to the left, you find the “back end” of the boardwalk bridge crossing over the creek and you are at the end of Creek Street. Creek Street is a boardwalk built on pilings along the banks of Ketchikan Creek. The entire area was formerly the area of town considered the “Red Light District”. There are 10 to 15 houses that have all been restored and occupied as art galleries and gift shops. Dolly’s House is the only one that operates as a museum, decorated as it would have been during the days it was a “brothel”. During the summer months the creek is full of salmon spawning upstream. If you keep an eye open, you might even see a few otters or eagles nearby. We were not that lucky that day, but it was such a beautiful day, everyone was just enjoying sitting out in the sun.

We left Creek Street, cutting across the street and took the short walk over towards the main street. It is a short walk and you see several smaller boats docked right there. As you walk past the “Lumberjack” show, you hear the audience applauding and yelling their approval. The fish house next door has a crowd sitting out at the tables and appear to be enjoying the fish dinners. My main goal at this point of the walk was inside the Salmon Landing building. Yep, you guessed it – The Silver Thimble Quilt Shop. I still needed to pick up a few things for the quilt projects I left at home, as well as finding a few gifts for my quilting club. Found a huge selection of Alaskan style panels at reasonable prices so that was all taken care of.

After that, we decided to head back to the ship, find some lunch and settle in to the Crow’s Nest in time for the afternoon Trivia contest. Ran into a couple from the Land portion of our trip. He had booked a fishing excursion for halibut, but had been unsure about how successful he would be. He was tired, very sore and a little sunburned but a very happy camper. When they get home, there will be about 50 pounds of flash frozen halibut fillets waiting for them.

June 17, 2014. Today we traveled closer and closer towards the end of this trip. The closer we get to Vancouver we realize we want the vacation to continue but, we also realize just how tired we are and how we are so looking forward to our own bed. Had a light breakfast this morning – Mariner’s Luncheon was today.

This is the first time out of our four Alaskan cruises that we have sailed the Inside Passage. It is so beautiful. As we travel through the changing scenery (and believe me, it changes very quickly) I understand more clearly all the rave reviews that I had previously read. Sitting on the balcony, enjoying our room service hot tea and snacks from room service, it was such a peaceful trip. Unfortunately, I did have to take some breaks to go down the hallway to check laundry. That little launderette became the busiest room on board ship.

Don’t know if I said anything previously about the launderette on board ship before. Located close to our cabin, it was very convenient to get a couple of loads done quickly. I know the ship has a wonderful laundry service on board ship, but after we used it extensively on our 14 day cruise, we discovered that I was allergic to the laundry soap used by the ship. That is why I would much rather do my own laundry. It cost $1.50 to wash a load and $1.00 dry. We did 4 loads of wash while on board with a total cost of $10.00, so it was cheaper than having the ship do it. So we went home with clean clothes. WHOO HOO – no laundry for at least a week.

The Mariner’s Luncheon (for those Mariners who joined the ship on the 14th) today. It was a very small group, only about 25 to 30 people in total attending which made for a very nice, quiet group. I had the blackened catfish and DH had 10 ounce New York Strip – both were delicious.

June 18, 2014: Up and about at 6:30 this morning. Cleaned up and went up to the Lido for a light breakfast. We were not too sure of what the schedule was for disembarking. Our group was called 2nd at 8:15. As we walked down the gangplank we were greeted by several representatives from the various cruise lines. As soon as they spotted my cane, I was plopped into a wheel chair and we started moving down the hallways. After we recovered the luggage, we rolled up to the customs officer, passport and customs form in hand. He looked at the form and waved us through. Customs in Vancouver was the easiest that we have ever experienced. Then traveled through several more hallways, to where we were to meet the bus that would take us from Vancouver to Seattle.

We were on board the bus by 9:15, the bus was sealed for boarder customs and on the road by 9:30. Our driver wasn’t sure of where to go, so he followed another bus out of town and we wound up at the airport in Vancouver. It’s a good thing all of us had late afternoon flights or rental car pickup in Seattle or we would have been in a lot of trouble. The trip was uneventful from there on, but there was a long delay due to road construction. We still made it into Seattle before 4:00. Our flight did not leave until 7:00 that evening. We decided to take our time and find something to eat (did not have lunch as we were on the bus). Then just found a spot to roost close to our departure gate. It was kind of a let-down after all the traveling that we have been doing.

Plane left on time and before we knew it, the pilot was announcing our approaching Minneapolis. Boy what an approach. The entire time that we were gone we had beautiful weather while Minneapolis had been getting severe thunder storms and rain. We flew in during a doozy of a lighting storm. It was on all sides and somehow the pilot found a hole and went in.

As we walked into the house, it started raining. Talk about good timing. It was so wonderful to crawl into our own bed.

The trip is over and we are glad to be home, but at the same time, wishing we were back on board ship again. SSSSOOO -- we have starting researching and planning the next trip. :D

Hope everyone has enjoyed reading this and looking at the photos. Should you have any questions, please let me know.

Okie

<<< Hope everyone has enjoyed reading this and looking at the photos. >>>

I didn't see any photos. Would love to!

<<< Hope everyone has enjoyed reading this and looking at the photos. >>>

 

I didn't see any photos. Would love to!

The link did not work for this side of the review.

It is posted under the "Cruise Lines A-O" then "Holland America Line" thread titled "Review of Alaskan Land Sea Cruise in Process"

The only way I could get it to come over was by linking it with my Facebook Album.

Okie