Carnival Spirit Alaska Cruise Aug 31, 2010

[SeeJennyCruise]

We enjoyed the return trip from the comfort of the ship. Hundreds of passengers had parked chairs next to the windows on all of the public decks. Some played cards and many held binoculars.

 

Terry and I went for a walk around the running track and then enjoyed a late lunch by a window on the Lido deck. The view of the fjord from the ship allowed another perspective and more opportunity to zoom in on some of the icebergs we had seen from the catamaran.

 

 

 

The icebergs really are a chip of the old blog. See the similarities in the close up of the iceberg below as compared to the close up of the North Sawyer glacier.

 

 

Such beautiful scenery.

 

 

I am still surprised by the tiffany blue, turquoise, and emerald colored waters we passed through.

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

Which camera did you buy? It is fabulous!! - Well the photographer is not bad either hehe ;)

 

After quite a bit of research and a postponed shopping expedition, I bought the Nikon P100. I wrestled choosing between the Nikon P100 and the comparable Canon, but I went for the 26X zoom and I am glad I did. My next one will be one for underwater. Don't tell Terry yet, ok? ;)

[blakey]

Fantastic review. Thank you for posting. Can't wait for the rest. Pics are great, too. We have the same cruise booked for next year about the same time and can hardly wait.

[SeeJennyCruise]

Day 3 at Tracy Arm Fjord was a wonderful day for us. It’s hard to describe the beauty and majesty of the snow capped mountains in the distance and the glacier water contained in a rock walled channel with thin water falls to numerous to count. Think of an experience blended between a visit to the Rocky Mountains and the Grand Canyon. It was an amazing excursion we will never forget.

 

We finished the day with dinner at the steak house. Our reservation was for 7:30 and there was enough day light to enjoy the scenery, although, the ship was not moving when we first sat down. You don't need a reservation to sit at the bar and it has a great view. I'm not sure what the hours are, but I would go there again if I wanted a quiet indoor spot for a cocktail one evening.

 

Our table wasn't ready when we arrived which surprised me as I saw a number of empty tables. When I learned we were going to sit next to a window, I happily went to the bar and enjoyed a very nice cosmopolitan with Terry.

 

Our wait service was very nice and we were pleased with the wine the sommelier recommended. Terry and the lobster bisque and I had the crab cake. The bisque won. Terry had the prawn cocktail and I had the beefsteak tomatoes. The prawns won.

 

The chef sent two different amuse-bouche to our table. Terry had the potato soup served in a spoon and I took the salmon tartar. The potato soup won.

 

I normally get the fillet or the surf and turf. I took our waiter's recommendation and went for the NY strip. Terry had the prime rib chop. Terry's steak won for tenderness and my won for flavor. I took half of it back to our cabin. The baked potatoes were also very good.

 

For dessert, Terry had the Washington apple dessert and I had the chocolate sampler. My chocolate sampler won hands down. :D

 

We always spend more than we budget for this meal. While it is $30 per person for the meal, we had two cocktails and a bottle of wine. We have enjoyed excellent service so we add to the included gratuity. It was a great meal and we will do it again on our next cruise.

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

I am up early on cruises so I can see what is going on outside. I love sunrises and sunsets on the ocean. We entered Skagway early Friday morning.

 

 

Terry and I read Psalm 104 each morning before these excursions. It was particularly appropriate for Tracy Arm Fjord on Thursday and our train tour out of Skagway was also going to deliver majestic views.

 

 

I love the reflection in the water in the photo below.

 

 

We were scheduled to meet our tour group at 7:30 a.m. so we were waiting in the line to disembark from the ship at 7:00 a.m. There was a bit of a wait before we were allowed to leave the ship, but we made the ¼ mile or so walk in short time and met our fellow passengers in a parking lot to meet our driver for Chilkoot tour.

[SeeJennyCruise]

We were scheduled to meet our tour group at 7:30 a.m. so we were waiting in the line to disembark at 7:00 a.m. There was a bit of a wait before we were allowed to leave the ship, but we made the ¼ mile or so walk in short time and met our fellow passengers in a parking lot to meet our driver for Chilkoot tour. The driver asked to see our passports before we boarded the bus. Evidently, they have had problems in the past when passengers said they had their passports, but had left them on the ship.

 

Chilkoot is the tour company, the tour we booked was called White Pass Summit Rail and Bus Excursion. I booked directly with Chilkoot, originally because I wanted to go on the seven hour Carcross tour. It was not available after Sept 1 and we ended up on the three hour train / bus combination. The train ride up to Fraser is the same for everyone, it is what you do after that which makes for the different tour combinations. Other CC friends took the longer tour with stops at Emerald Lake and to see the huskys. For our first visit (hopefully, not the last) visit to Skagway, I am happy with the length of our tour which allowed ample time for wandering around Skagway.

 

We took a short bus ride in a decent 24 passenger van to the train and we boarded with other passengers who were also booked with Chilkoot. Here is our bus driver waving goodbye to us. He will now drive up to Fraser B.C. to pick us up in a little less than two hours.

 

 

I loved the flowers on the carts as decoration. A great solution when the ground will be covered in snow in a couple of months.

 

I had a problem with my picture upload for Skagway and Juneau. I will have to stop now to upload those photos again. I have over 700MB of pictures for Skagway alone so it may take a little while. I'll be back later. Now is probably a good time to get some more laundry done. :rolleyes:

[rrraydon]

I've never been interested in an Alaskan cruise. My husband has mention it a few times over the years but, it wasn't something I had ever been interested in and he pretty much is agreeable to go anywhere.

 

I have no idea what made me click on your review but, man am I sure glad I did. What have I been thinking????

 

I brought my husband over to read your review and check out your pics. I believe we'll be on an Alaskan cruise sometime in 2012.

 

Thanks for your awesome review and your wake-up call! :)

[SeeJennyCruise]

I've never been interested in an Alaskan cruise. My husband has mention it a few times over the years but, it wasn't something I had ever been interested in and he pretty much is agreeable to go anywhere.

 

I have no idea what made me click on your review but, man am I sure glad I did. What have I been thinking????

 

I brought my husband over to read your review and check out your pics. I believe we'll be on an Alaskan cruise sometime in 2012.

 

Thanks for your awesome review and your wake-up call! :)

 

So glad you are enjoying the review. It really was a trip of a lifetime for me and Terry. We have a few other places on the bucket list we want to hit, but then, we want to go back to Alaska. There is so much more to see than we touched in the seven day cruise.

On to Skagway...

[SeeJennyCruise]

Here is a picture of one of the White Pass Summit Railcars. The cars are all named. At the train shop in Skagway they have Christmas ornaments representing railcars with different names on them. I could not find the ornament with the name of our railcar on it so I bought a magnet instead. Yes, I can be that ____. :o Oh, and I purchased a super soft baby blue hooded jacket with a train for one grandson, a couple of ball caps, child book, and chocolate bars.

 

The ball caps are sold on the train for $5 each. My husband bought one and we decided we needed another one for my Dad. Once we were in Canada, the staff on the train could not sell us anything so we went to the train shop in Skagway and they had the caps behind the counter. They are nice ball caps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other cars on the train held passengers who were on the cruise ship excursion tours or those who booked directly purchasing a train tickets. There are several options that involve the train excursion. I am pleased we took the bus back as it afforded views we did not have from the train.

 

Sit on the left side of the train when you board in Skagway. The vista views will be on the left as you head toward White Pass and Fraser, B.C.

 

See the smiling faces below? Fellow CC passengers. The man in the front right of the picture is smiling, it's just hard to tell :p You will see a bigger smile later when he has his new ball cap.

 

 

 

Instead of washers and dryers in the back yard, they have old trains in Skagway. :p

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

Here is the conductor. You better have your ticket. :) I believe everyone in our railcar was on a Chilkoot tour so we did not have tickets. There were hikers on other cars that we dropped off along the way. I presume they had tickets.

 

 

 

 

You can stand in between the cars on short platforms to take photos. It got quite a bit cooler on the outside platform as we traveled farther into the mountains.

 

 

 

 

The railcar was warm inside and it had a small serviceable restroom. One of our fellow passengers told me she was glad to have been warned before we went through a tunnel, because it went pitch black while she was in the restroom and she would have really been nervous had she not known we were in a tunnel.

 

I spent most of my time outside the railcar to take pictures. It took me almost an hour to figure out to stand on the platform just behind the car for a little wind protection. Sherri was smarter than I. She had it figured out much sooner than I did. Sherri took our picture below.

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

There is a naturalist on board who shares information about the area and railroad along the way. It is about 1 3/4 hour train ride from Skagway to the White Pass Summit and to the Fraser Train Depot in British Columbia. The rail portion of the trip is about 28-miles and the journey back by bus allows for several photo opportunities at the Canadian border and other sites along the way.

Pictures from the train ride...

 

 

 

Check out the bridge in the picture below.

 

 

 

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

More pictures from the White Pass Summit Rail train...

 

 

I managed to get some pictures of the berries and flowers found near the tracks when we stopped to let hikers off the train.

 

 

 

 

 

Some hikers who left the train along the way. So cute, they remind me of my sons and my "little" brother. I yelled at them, "Don't forget to write your moms!" :)

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

More pictures from the train... let me know when you have seen enough and we'll start back down the mountain :p If you look at the top left of this picture you will see a red caboose with people near by. We dropped off some hikers here. The caboose can be rented as a cabin. It is outfitted for hikers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the tunnel I mentioned? We went through two tunnels on the train ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Luanne21]

I am loving your review. We did this trip in June, and had so much fun. I can't wait to read the rest.

 

Thank you

[bonniemari]

We did an Alaskan cruise about 10 years ago. Reading your review and seeing your pics makes me want to go again. Just said something to my DH about going to Alaska again in August/September 2011 and he said that sounded good to him. He is glued to the Cowboys game so he might not be paying close attention to what I said but guess what? He's going back to Alaska next summer.

[SeeJennyCruise]

What do you think you will see next on the train ride? Would you guess blue skies?

 

 

 

We are definitely in the mountains now.

 

 

 

 

Here are the sawtooth mountains. We will see this again on the bus ride back.

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

We did an Alaskan cruise about 10 years ago. Reading your review and seeing your pics makes me want to go again. Just said something to my DH about going to Alaska again in August/September 2011 and he said that sounded good to him. He is glued to the Cowboys game so he might not be paying close attention to what I said but guess what? He's going back to Alaska next summer.

 

Football games have done wonders for my vacation plans :D

[SeeJennyCruise]

As we get closer to the Canadian border, the landscape has changed some and there are now views on both side of the train.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are passing the border now.

 

 

 

 

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

We are in Canada now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About this point, those inside the train are hearing everyone must come inside the railcars for the Canadian customs officers. I was outside trying to get a camera shot and didn’t realize they meant right now.

 

 

Here is the shot I was trying to get...

 

 

 

 

 

I took one more shot and went inside the railcar and took my seat.

 

 

Welcome to Fraser, British Columbia.

[SeeJennyCruise]

Fraser, B.C. is a train stop and water house. The water house is the red building and was used for steam engines. Before we stopped, the Canadian Customs Officer walked through the train and looked at our passports.

 

 

Shortly after we got off the train and either took pictures, boarded waiting buses, or found our way to the three stall bathroom. Of course, there was a line for the ladies. It wasn’t too bad a wait and the bathroom was clean, although, the water was cold for hand washing. Not bad at all really.

 

Look at the scenery we had to look at while we waited! This is the same shot I was trying to get from the train. Really beautiful! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had about a ten minute wait for our bus driver who had to drive through customs before picking us up. With the beautiful scenery we did not mind a bit. There were some mosquitoes and our friends from Oregon were the only ones smart enough to bring mosquito repellant with them.

 

I was surprised to have mosquitoes it such a cool climate. It could not have been much warmer than 50 degrees. The mosquitoes were more like gnats for me and I wasn’t bitten so it was just a slight annoyance while we were waiting for our driver.

[SeeJennyCruise]

A few more shots before we leave Fraser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may notice Terry is sporting his new White Pass Train ball cap and that is a smile on his face. :p

 

Below are the pictures we took at our first stop after starting down the Yukon Highway on the bus. The Sawtooth Mountains are in the background.

 

 

Zoom in on Sawtooth Mountains...

 

 

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

Back on the bus and headed into Alaska again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The border guard stations for Canada and the U.S. are not actually on the border to accomodate the difficult snow conditions. This sign is actually a bit past the border and customs entry.

 

A larger bus was at this photo spot and we waited for the larger group to finish taking pictures and then our bus driver and tour guide took pictures for our group. Nice.

 

An Inukshuk made by the Kiwanis at the same stop as above.

 

 

 

There was actually something of a drop off not too far off. I would have a good hold of small children if I had them.

 

 

 

 

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

Same "Welcome to Alaska" stop, more pictures

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry I do not remember the name of our bus driver / tour guide. He did have a lot of interesting information to share with us along the way. Every time we got back on the bus, he would have a funny set up story for us that ended with a prop of some sort. After a few we knew it was coming so I had a camera ready.

 

[SeeJennyCruise]

We stopped about five times between Fraser and Skagway.

 

 

Here are the Bridal Veil Falls that we saw from the train. The pictures below are near the bottom of the falls. Bridal Veil Falls are a beautiful waterfall that cascades 6,000 feet from the glaciers on Mt. Cleveland and Mt. Clifford.

 

[going to see the world]

Love your pics, looks like you had a great time. :)