Just back from amazing Alaska

[justbreezing]

11 of us did Jewel of the Seas July 3rd Inner Passage cruise for a cousins reunion. We're all seniors but for this trip put our mojo on and really covered a lot of territory. I have some amazing pictures which I'll put on here whenever my granddaughter shows me how to do it, but for now I wanted to share some stuff that I think might be helpful to some people before I forget.

First off Alaska was not my choice but majority ruled. I had no desire to go there. Boy was I wrong. It is awesome-wherever you look there is natural beauty that's postcard perfect. Everyone couldn't stop talking about how lucky we were. Apparently we had the best week of weather Alaska has had in a long time. We did not get one drop of rain and it was in the 60's, 70's & 80's the whole trip. I'm not going to mention anything about the ship here.

Seattle - Weather was beautiful. We used eastside taxi from airport to downtown ($29. plus tip) (there was just two of us at this point). We stayed at the Paramount on 7th & Pine. Very nice hotel-good location-nice room. Breakfast restaurant in hotel was good. At night it was Asian but we didn't eat dinner there.

We had a full day in Seattle and we both had been there a few times before so we took Argosy Tillicum Village Salmon Bake cruise to Blake Island. It was very enjoyable-the salmon was really delicious-the island is pretty with a beach and waterfall and several animals roaming free. The show was nothing to speak of but the boatride was very nice. Caution-for anyone not too steady on their feet. Depending on the tides the ramp going down to the boat could be a problem to navigate. I have CHF and COPD and they had to take me down and up in a wheelchair. Even some perfectly capable younger people had a hard time with it that's how steep it was. Seattle waterfront is still a mess. It's all torn up and I doubt if it will be done before the cruising season is over so plan accordingly.

Another four of our cousins had arrived overnight so we had arranged for a 6 passenger Cadilac escalade SUV from Tacoma-Seattle Shuttle to pick us up at the paramount at 10:30am to take us to pier 91. Eddie showed up promptly and we were on our way. The pier was very crowded already. The Celebrity solstice was also in port. My 93 year old uncle who they had in a chair was waiting in the disabled area and I also requested a chair. I had to wait about 15 minutes till one was available but once they came they took my whole party with me through priority security. They were very accomodating so if you really need help don't hesitate to ask. We all meet up in the Windjammer buffet and were even able to get a table for 12. We were allowed in our rooms after 1:00PM

Most had OV rooms but we had a balcony on the 9th deck and I was so glad we went for the extra - to me it was well worth it. There is just so much to see you don't want to miss any of it. We saw a few whales, 1 orca, 2 eagles and a few sea lions sitting on top of a piece of ice floating in the water plus the most amazing scenery all from our balcony. The first day was a sea day and we especially was greatful for the balcony.

Juneau- If you have any mobility problems I suggest you look off the side of ship to see which ramp they are using-depending on the tides this could also be a steep ramp. I asked for wheelchair assistance and they took me right to the bus area where we were to get our excursion to Mendenhall glacier. It was a short walk for the able bodied. The bus was full and left on time. It felt a little cool right down by the glacier but the viewing area by the visitors center was hot (80). Good to know. There is an elevator if you go around the back of the center so you don't have to do all those flights of stairs. The hike to the waterfall is pretty level and not too long. Absolutely bring binoculars-you cannot fully appreciate the glacier without them. After the glacier we went to the Red Dog Salon for a drink and a bowl of chowder which was delicious. It was very crowded but fun. Warm clothing was available in the stores for a fraction of the cost they get for the same thing in Florida. My suggestion pack light and if you need something warm buy it there.

Skagway- Ship docked at 7:00am. We had booked an excursion with Frontier Excursions for 10:00am so we had a good breakfast in the MDR and took our time getting off the ship. This was a good idea to avoid the cattle call crowds.

This is a long walk from the dock but there are golf cart shuttles from the ship to the security check. We got one right away because most people were already off the ship. Then there is more walking past security to where the various excursions meet. We took a 7 hour Yukon Exploration tour that went up the white pass trail past Frazier into Canada . We saw Bennet Lake, Emerald Lake and everything along the way. We made many stops for photo shoots and because the day was crystal clear we got some amazing pictures.We stopped in Carcross for a BBQ chicken lunch where there was a petting zoo and musher camp. We got to play with the puppies and the bigger dogs. They were beautiful. They had an ice cream shop with the most delicious homemade ice cream. Our tour guide was Heidi and she was just amazing. If you have the opportunity to do this tour which I highly recommend please ask for her. You will not be disappointed. And for an extra special treat on the way back we saw a baby bear on the side of the road grazing on some leaves. We got some great up close and personal shots of him. The best tour ever and even though we were all exhausted it was one of the highlights of our trip.

I will post the other ports tomorrow as I am tired now. I hope this info is helpful to anyone who has a disabled person in their party. I had searched for a lot of this before I left and couldn't find it so I want to help others who might be looking.

[EMED2010]

Sounds great! Looking forward to your pictures!

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your report and look forward to the photos.

 

Keith

[loeytalldog]

Sounds like you had a great trip! Will look forward to the pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[LoveCruisin72]

Justbreezing, we did an Alaska cruise/tour with Princess a few years ago. Your comments brought back many lovely memories. We are going again in May of 2016 so it's lots of fun doing all the planning. I look forward to reading more of your comments.