Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

LIVE from Fairbanks to Vancouver cruisetour 9/6/09

Pia1913

By Pia1913,
in Princess Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

Off2China

Off2China

Posted
Posted (edited)
Thanks for the updates. We were on this tour 2 years ago and it's nice to see it relived again. How much gold did you pan ? Hope you get clear weather so you can see Mr McKinley.

 

Hopefully Pia's doing better than I did when we were on this trip. DH & I together got about $12 worth of gold. Then, of course, I went in the gift shop and paid $50 to have it put in a necklace that I haven't worn since!

 

When our group got back on our bus, the driver asked "Who got some gold?" We all answered "We did!" Then he asked "Who got the green?" We answered "They did!" He asked "Who got the shaft?" Answer was "We did!"

(Well, it was funny at the time--maybe you had to be there :D)

 

Oh--and if you don't have clear weather when you're at McKinley just take a picture of it on the front of the soda vending machine. DH did and it turned out great!!

Edited by Off2China
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
  • Author
Posted

What a great day. Started out chilly, but we took our jackets off by noon.

Breakfast at 7:00, on the bus at 8:15; off to see the

Alaska oil Pipeline. Pipeline is 800 miles long; 4feet in diameter; part of the lifeblood of the country. The Alaskan government made enough profit last year to give each resident (man, woman and child) a stipend of $2000 each. The amounts vary each year, but the average is $1500/PP.

Then we were off to the Eldorado gold mine. First we got on a train, a lot a Disney ride. We were serenaded by a Willie Cash emulator; quite good. We went through a tunnel which was an old gold mine and had several stops with demonstrations of gold ore digs. We then arrived at Eldorado where we had a demonstration and explanation of ore separation and then panning for gold. Afterwards we were all given bags of dirt and led into a huge area where we sat with individual pans and tried to separate our dirt and find gold. We got some. Into the gift shop we went where each person’s gold was weighed and appraised. We only found $15 worth, but one couple had $60. We were served unlimited coffee, hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies before heading back to the hotel in time for lunch. Several people had their gold embedded into earrings, pendants, etc. I had our “strike” put into a reasonably priced pendant for $19.99.

We had only about an hour before departing for our riverboat cruise on the Discovery III. This sternwheeler has 19 viewing monitors placed throughout the boat, so any seat is a good seat. It has four decks and has a passenger capacity of 900. There was live commentary throughout the cruise, as well as occasional taped video clips and comments from the bridge.

We passed the home of Susan Butcher, the woman who won four iditarods, but unfortunately died a few years ago of leukemia. Her husband and two young daughters still live there and are currently training 56 dogs; Alaskan huskies. He gave us a demonstration which we all thoroughly enjoyed. We stopped at an indian village which has been made to resemble the original Chena Athabascan Village of the early 1900’s. We were on land more than an hour and attended three different lifestyle scenarios. We visited a caribou area where the animals could care less about the people, since it was mating season and the guys were looking for their women.

Back to the hotel at 5:45; surf and turf dinner scheduled for 6:30. All in all an amazing and exhausting day. Weather was sunny and in the 70’s all day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Princess really outdid themselves tonight. We were told to expect surf and turf dinner but here is what we had.

 

Upon arrival: flute of champagne

 

Salad, accompanied by a Pinot Noir

 

Alaskan King Crab legs accompanied by Chardonnay

 

Beef Tenderloin accompanied by Merlot

 

Wine Intermezzo - Riesling

 

Dessert - made by the chef on site - flaming Bananas Foster over ice cream

 

Tomorrow we have an early start to Denali. We leave for the train at 7:20; breakfast on the train.

 

From here on my reporting could be sporadic depending on internet availability. I'll take notes though so you won't miss a thing.

 

Signing off on Monday night 9/7 9:00 PM Alaska time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DonahCBrown

DonahCBrown

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the updates. We were on this tour 2 years ago and it's nice to see it relived again. How much gold did you pan ? Hope you get clear weather so you can see Mr McKinley.

 

Pia got some, Mike didn't, Dennis & I both did- however, the real "gold" is what they get from the tourists having the jewelry made, and Yes, we both did - Pia got a pendent and i got earrings...yeah, I know...still, it was a FUN day and even though we're all beat, dinner was good, wine was excellent, and the story telling by the wine and food manager is something we will continue to talk about for some time, I'm sure:rolleyes:

 

Off to Denali EARLY tomorrow - hoping for continued amazingly good weather - it has been incredible so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisingallover

cruisingallover

Posted
Posted
Princess really outdid themselves tonight. We were told to expect surf and turf dinner but here is what we had.

 

Upon arrival: flute of champagne

 

Salad, accompanied by a Pinot Noir

 

Alaskan King Crab legs accompanied by Chardonnay

 

Beef Tenderloin accompanied by Merlot

 

Wine Intermezzo - Riesling

 

Dessert - made by the chef on site - flaming Bananas Foster over ice cream

 

 

Wow...you made me hungry and it is only 10:30 am my time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karatemom2 "Live from...." Rare

karatemom2

Posted
Posted
Hi Pia. Your "live from" is absolutely delightful. As you know, we leave Wednesday for Anchorage for our land tour and will meet up with you on the 14th in Whittier for the cruise! :D

 

Yikes...is it really me typing this reply???? :D I can hardly believe DH and I will be meeting up with you and yours and everyone else from the 12/14/09 Coral roll call.

 

 

 

Jeanne J

 

Hello Jeanne from a former Diamond cruisemate! I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip. Safe travels!

 

Pia, thanks for this great live thread!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ellbon

ellbon

Posted
Posted (edited)

i wear my pendent from that mine daily. i just got a new chain.. seems sleeping in gold breaks them after a while. i prefered the boat ride to the gold mind.

 

since internet is free at all lodges we should see more postings. never had a meal that good in Alaska,.

Edited by ellbon
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Off2China

Off2China

Posted
Posted
Talked with Donna and Arlene as they were cruising down the railroad track to Denali. They sounded like they were having a lot of fun. Can't wait to hear about their afternoon ATV excursion in Denali Park.

 

Okay, just have to ask. Who is Arlene? Obviously I've missed something in this thread :confused::D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
coo359a2

coo359a2

Posted
Posted
Okay, just have to ask. Who is Arlene? Obviously I've missed something in this thread :confused::D

 

No you didn't miss anything - it's Donna and Pia in Alaska.. A big senior moment while trying to keep up on another roll call "live". Not as good a multi tasker as I thought I was.:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruzrbachoua

cruzrbachoua

Posted
Posted
Princess really outdid themselves tonight. We were told to expect surf and turf dinner but here is what we had.

 

Upon arrival: flute of champagne

 

Salad, accompanied by a Pinot Noir

 

Alaskan King Crab legs accompanied by Chardonnay

 

Beef Tenderloin accompanied by Merlot

 

Wine Intermezzo - Riesling

 

Dessert - made by the chef on site - flaming Bananas Foster over ice cream

 

Tomorrow we have an early start to Denali. We leave for the train at 7:20; breakfast on the train.

 

From here on my reporting could be sporadic depending on internet availability. I'll take notes though so you won't miss a thing.

 

Signing off on Monday night 9/7 9:00 PM Alaska time.

 

Pia, my DH wants to know if you need someone to help carry your luggage....his mouth was watering when I read him your dinner from yesterday. I said I would fit in your luggage and keep everything neatly pressed....DH said he would carry them.....LOL:D

 

We are loving your LIVE thread and I love ya for including the weather along with your activities. will really help me in packing. We have never been to Alaska and cant wait!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We are on the train enroute to Denali. No, no wifi capability. This will be a cut and paste. We were given seat accomodations and meal vouchers before leaving the hotel, so when we boarded went directly to our table for four. All of our carryons fit well under the seats; even my 21” wheelie. We were escorted to the dining car and could order any breakfast and beverage we desired and just presented the vouchers and signed the check. Rudolph sausage on the menu; everywhere. I passed. The boys ate it. Wonder if that’s the reason their noses are glowing.

We have arrived. Trip was about four hours and we got our room keys just before we got off. A short bus ride took us to the Denali lodge. This is one big place. We lucked out and got rooms in the newest building and on the lower level too. Large room, king bed, club chair with ottoman, large screen TV. Too bad we have so much to do that we won’t have time to make much use of it. Oh yes…..no wifi.

We had scheduled a private ATV ride so we had little time before we got picked up. Each one of us had their own ATV and we followed the leader as a caravan. Six of us in all. The trails took over 2 hours. What a blast! Never did this before and it was quite an experience. On the way we encountered a group of men who had just shot a bear and were skinning him. Poor bear. I know it’s hunting season and legal, but still……..poor bear.

We made it back to the hotel with about 20 minutes to spare before our evening dinner and show at the Denali Theater. Great meal (ribs, corn, garlic mashed potatoes, salmon (for some), strawberry shortcake). The show was adorable; waiters and waitresses become actors; all very good singers too.

Tomorrow will be a very early day. We depart for the 8 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour at 6:20 AM. I understand there is wifi in the lodge main buildi ng and since we are close by I’m going to try and post this tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Happy to see it posted, but signal is not very good and keeps going in and out. I just wanted to add a few things and I hope this one will post too. While on the train we saw 2 moose (meese? mooses? singular moose? moosies?) The train sort of listed while everyone stood up all at once to see them, As for the dome train, it's everything you hear about it and more. Also, the colors are changing. Lots of reds and yellows with the diminishing green. Gorgeous.

 

The weather remains wonderful. Warm and sunny all day today

 

 

More tomorrow signal permitting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JWJs

JWJs

Posted
Posted

Pia ~ love reading your "live from" to find out what's going on and how much fun you all are having. What an outstanding adventure! The ATV rides sounded exceptionally cool. I'm with you..."poor bear."

 

We are looking forward to everything this Alaska Cruisetour brings our way. See you all on the 14th.:D

 

Jeanne J

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note to karatemom2: Good to hear from you! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ellbon

ellbon

Posted
Posted

i did a lot of Cmas shopping in that lodge. alos white waterraft for the 1st time and meet jeff King. timee flew by.

 

I alos did the train from fairbanks to Denali.. breakfast was not bad. On the dinner train i skipped eating as had a late lunch in Talkneeka.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...