Star Princes 6/13-6/25 12 day Alaska/Denali northbound review- TONS of pics...

[dickinson]

Anxiously awaiting the rest of the cruise tour! Your pictures are stunning!

[Larry Barry]

Would you recommend the train/cruise for someone who walks with a walker? My husband is drooling over your pix and so wants to try it. How much actual walking could he avoid? could I handle luggage for both by myself and what about stairs in the actual train. Thanks so much. And thanks for your efforts in sharing your journey with us.

[flip side of fifty]

I too have spent over an hour on your review - Great Job!! :D I will be going southbound (after land portion) on the Star in June of 2016, just thought of your review as in reverse.

 

If you get a chance, I would love to buy the map you highlighted from Amazon. Do you have the link?

 

And Thanks again for all your pictures! Great Job.

[saxgirl84]

I too have spent over an hour on your review - Great Job!! :D I will be going southbound (after land portion) on the Star in June of 2016, just thought of your review as in reverse.

 

If you get a chance, I would love to buy the map you highlighted from Amazon. Do you have the link?

 

And Thanks again for all your pictures! Great Job.

 

sorry for the delay on finishing up the review, things have gotten a bit hectic around here, and I haven't had time to sit down and really finish. I will do my best to get some more done tonight, and at the latest, tomorrow!

 

here is the links for the book and map I purchased--- the book, if purchased as new, includes a map as well, which is the map that I took the pictures of the cities, simply because there was no glare from those pictures, there was a glare on the other map..

 

 

book--

http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Handbook-Mile-Mile/dp/0979491576/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_y

 

 

 

 

Map

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159775451X?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

[saxgirl84]

Would you recommend the train/cruise for someone who walks with a walker? My husband is drooling over your pix and so wants to try it. How much actual walking could he avoid? could I handle luggage for both by myself and what about stairs in the actual train. Thanks so much. And thanks for your efforts in sharing your journey with us.

 

 

I think you would be fine with the train portion. There really is no handling of your luggage, other than in your actual rooms. Similar to on the ship, your luggage is delivered to your rooms at each lodge, and you place it outside the door at the designated time, on the days you move to new locations.

 

We had a couple of people in our group from the church who used walkers/canes and they all seemed to do ok. most of the buses were equiped to handle wheelchairs, and had the front rows of seats "blocked off" for handicapped passengers.

 

the stairs on the train may be your biggest "obstacle" but they weren't too bad, just ask for assistance if you think you would need it, but I don't think there should be an issue. I would highly recommend going and enjoying yourself!!!

[saxgirl84]

Anxiously awaiting the rest of the cruise tour! Your pictures are stunning!

 

Thank you! I'm hoping to finish up either later tonight, or tomorrow at the latest! Sorry for the delay!!! Glad you're enjoying it!

[JimmyVWine]

Thank you so much for this. Your photos remind me so much of our Northbound cruise. You even took along the same camera as me! No wonder the pictures look so familiar. Great job!

[damnfinecoffee]

Saxgirl, your pictures are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them. You've got me so excited - we're leaving for a northbound cruise on the Star in a couple of weeks.

 

Would you mind telling me what lens(es) you used? I'd like to pick up another one or two before my trip so that I can better capture the incredible scenery. Thank you! :)

[SRQfireman]

Would you recommend the train/cruise for someone who walks with a walker? My husband is drooling over your pix and so wants to try it. How much actual walking could he avoid? could I handle luggage for both by myself and what about stairs in the actual train. Thanks so much. And thanks for your efforts in sharing your journey with us.

 

Be advised the stairs are steep.....but have no fear....they have an elevator on the trains to get you between floors !

[saxgirl84]

I'm back!!! Sorry for another long delay between posts, hopefully I'll be able to finish up today, and everyone from here on out will get the whole review at once. Thank you all so much for the responses, as it makes it worth it to know so many people are enjoying the review! And now, on with the show....

 

 

We jumped on a bus around 10am to head south from Denali Princess lodge to McKinley Princess lodge. the bus was comfortable, and the driver provided a lot of information on the area we were in, as well as the area we were heading to. It was a very interesting approximately 2 hour ride.

 

When we arrived at the Princess McKinley lodge, they had our packets waiting again, and as we stepped off the bus, we gave our name, and were handed our packet with our room keys and a map of the grounds. This lodge area was much more spread out than the Denali Princess, and they provided a shuttle bus to the farthest buildings. (I think it was buildings 17-25 but I'm not 100% certain, as it's been a few weeks!). We got our envelope and realized we were in building 25, so we hopped on the shuttle and headed back to check out our rooms. (I apologize, I did not get any pictures of our room at this lodge, I thought I did, but can't find them on any of my SD cards.) the room again had 2 double beds, and plenty of room. no air conditioning, more like a typical hotel room that we would normally stay at, not as "rustic" as the Denali lodge, but quite adequate for our needs. Comfy beds, and spacious room. no complaints from us.

 

 

after dropping off our bags, we headed back towards the main lodge building, which is where we spent probably 90% of the time we were at the lodge. the building had an amazing deck overlooking the park, and on a clear day, (which we never got) I'm sure you have an amazing view of Denali/Mt. McKinley!

 

 

 

a "map" of the mountain ranges so you can try and figure out what you are looking at..

 

 

and this was our "view" for most of our visit.

 

Since it seemed as though we were not going to "luck out" and see the mountain, we decided to take the bus into Talkeetna (the closest town, which is about 45-50 minute drive). the bus costs $10/person if you do not have an excursion booked through Princess,other wise it's included in the cost of your excursion. We did not have anything booked that night, so we ponied up the $10 and rode into town.

 

The bus driver again was fabulous. He gave us a lot of recommendations on things to do (there are not THAT many...) and places to eat. they have buses running every hour to and from the lodge. it's a great way to get to see some more of the area.

 

 

the bus drops you off right on the edge of town. Talkeetna is not large at all, it would probably take you 15 minutes at most to get from the far end back to the bus stop area...

 

[saxgirl84]

First thing we did was head into town, and we spotted the Denali Brewing Co. Headed over to try out a few craft beers, and hang with some locals...

 

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

after trying out a few different beers, we decided we wanted to wander around a bit, and maybe grab something to eat at a local place (there are plenty to choose from!)

 

we headed back onto Main st, and came across a guy walking with his dog. Since we're all dog people, we asked if we could pet her, and then we got to talking with him.

 

petting Bailey the labradoodle

 

 

We asked him for some recommendations on a place to eat, and he immediately pointed us towards "mountain high pizza pie". He said that most places were good, but for the best value, try there. After a few more minutes of conversation, where he also mentioned he wrote a book about the "Alaska State Troopers" (which happens to have been one of my FAVORITE shows prior to this vacation!). I told him I'd check out the book, and thanked him for his recommendations. He was a guide on one of the boating companies in town, but we already had an excursion booked for the next day, but told him we'd try and take his boat ride if time permitted...

 

we headed over to the restaurant he suggested, and checked out the menu. Everything looked and sounded wonderful, and we placed our order. then we looked around and realized that almost every table was now full, with what looked like a mix of locals and tourists (the people WITH or Without cameras! :)

 

 

We ordered some Mac N Cheese pizza- which was delicious

 

After dinner, we wandered around town a bit more, checking out some of the cute little shops, and checked out an art fair.

 

When we were on the bus to town, the driver had mentioned the burger shop across the street from the bus stop had a special ice cream that he recommended. the "state flower" of Alaska is Fireweed, and they make it into ice cream. Of course, we had to stop and get some of that before heading back!

 

here was their ice cream menu

 

and the fireweed ice cream! it was actually very tasty, a bit sweet with a hint of floral.

 

[saxgirl84]

we caught the 7:30pm bus back to the lodge from Talkeetna with our bellies full of awesome pizza and fireweed ice cream. ready for some relaxation on the deck.

 

There were a lot of people milling around, they had board games and cards available, along with lots of sitting areas inside to play games. There seemed to be a few big groups of people (one in particular that was pretty loud, but seemed to be having fun!) There was also a presentation on the Northern Lights that started at 8:45, which cost $8/per person. It was a great film about one of the local photographers (I can't recall his name! sorry!) who recorded his mission to capture the Northern Lights. it was very informative, and made me want to thing of doing another trip up during the winter to catch them! (although I can head about 5 hours north of my house and see them in the UP of Michigan during the summer, so there's that possibility as well)...

 

There was also an art gallery located in the lower level of the lodge, so I enjoyed checking out the photographs and paintings that were displayed there as well. It seemed as though they were having some kind of contest, but I never did find the "rules"...

 

After checking out the Northern Lights movie, and the art, I headed up to the deck to try and relax, read my Kindle and watch the "sunset" (and hope we would get lucky and the Mt. would reveal herself...)

 

 

 

I headed back towards our building (which was about a 10 minute walk from the lodge, not bad, so we didn't use the shuttle after the first trip) around 12:30am, with plenty of light to make me feel safe... I stopped along the way to take some random pictures of things they had posted around the campus

 

 

Since I was born in Ohio, I found this one kind of interesting...

 

some random rocks people piled up around the grounds..

 

and the fire pits--- unfortunately since it had been so dry, they were not having bon fires while we were there, but they said if there was not a "fire warning", they would have had s'mores by the fire, and there is also a bar there...

 

 

there were about 4 other fire pits in this area as well...

[saxgirl84]

a few more "sunset" pictures-

 

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

We had a flight seeing tour booked for the next day at 11am, so we woke up early, and grabbed a bit to eat for breakfast before catching the 9am bus to town...

 

 

Got back to Talkeetna and a couple of our group headed back to the mountain high pizza pie because someone left their binoculars on the table the night before. When she realized it, the front desk called the restaurant and they told us they would be there around 10am, we could pick them up anytime.

 

we then headed over to K2 Avaiation- which was just a few minutes walk from where the bus dropped us off.

 

just across the train tracks...

 

the sign

 

standing infront of the building... getting a little nervous...

 

 

some of the planes in the airfield...

 

 

walking towards our aircraft...the nerves are gone, the excitement is building!!

[saxgirl84]

our plane from the ground...

 

 

 

 

all buckled in...

 

and ready to fly!

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KrnG]

Did you have good weather? I wish we had gone in June in some ways. Did you post more pics?

[saxgirl84]

one of the camp sites for those people crazy enough to climb the mountain!

 

 

some "glacier lakes"

 

view out the front as we were getting ready to land

 

and the view after landing.... the picture doesn't do it justice... the clouds parted and the sun was shining right over the ridge as we got off the plane... I think my comment when I stepped onto the glacier was "Holy Sh!t this is unbelievable" (which made the pilot laugh)

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

and more from the glacier--- we actually landed a bit farther away from their normal place, because there were already 3 planes down there, and he said that was too busy for his liking. /he took us to a place called "gargoyle peak" I believe. it was phenomenal.

 

 

 

there was a very small (yet still loud) avalanche after we landed... you can kind of see the snow falling down in this picture (looks almost like a waterfall)...

 

 

 

they provided snow boots if you wanted them, but if you had waterproof shoes, and didn't mind wet pant cuffs after you got back, there was no need for their boots...

[saxgirl84]

back on the plane (I switched sides for a "new view") and ready too head back...

 

 

 

 

one of the main 3 (I can't remember which he said this was) rivers- either the Susitna, the Chulitna, or the Talkeetna... they all meet at the edge of Talkeetna.

 

[KrnG]

We sailed on the Star Princess July 11-July 18. I enjoyed your pictures so much. We did not see much of Ketchikan as we were on a tour so enjoyed those pictures especially. It looks like you had more sun than we did so of course was jealous about that. I guess it is hit or miss with Alaska. I am sure it took a long time to post all those pictures so thank you!!

We probably saw 10 whales on our whale watching tour in Juneau. They acted like that was quite remarkable. Do you suppose they tell every tour that? LOL....Thanks for allowing me to relive our trip a little bit this morning.

[saxgirl84]

back on solid ground, even though our heads were in the clouds, we head back into town and continue our adventures from yesterday...

 

Since there is no promise we will ever make it back to Talkeetna again (although out of all of the places we visited, this was by far my absolute favorite! I want to make it back again soon!) we decided to check out another option for food...

 

We settled on the Wildflower cafe- which was also recommended the night before, it was a bit more pricey, but the food was just as good...

 

 

they had some brews available as well

 

enjoying a Raspberry Wheat from the Alaska Brewing Company- it was delicious!

 

 

after lunch, we headed back out for more exploring.

 

 

 

[saxgirl84]

a bit more of Talkeetna

 

 

 

apparently Man Vs. Food was in Talkeetna in 2009- there were a couple of places that had things posted from the show..

 

 

a building for sale... anyone want to buy this for me so I can open up a shop?!

 

you can rent a cabin right on Main St for the week...

 

here's the bldg-

[saxgirl84]

we headed back over to the Denali brewing Co. again to try out a different brew, and talk to some more locals... there were 3 people sitting at a table not too far from us, and one of the guys (probably mid 30s) had a coast guard hat, and a duffel bag with the coast guard insignia on it, so we started talking to them, and found out that he was showing his parents around Alaska. They were from Helsinki, and were very pleasant and fun! He said he had been in the Coast Guard 10 years before, and was stationed in Alaska for a couple of years, and wanted to show his parents around. He recommended we go down to "the beach", which was at the end of the road we were on.

 

we headed down towards the beach, where we met up with a few more "locals" (one of the guys was from Anchorage, but brought his family up to Talkeetna for the summer while he worked on the Alaska Rail Road.) and enjoyed the flowing river.

 

 

the water was a bit cold, but still felt great!

 

 

We headed back into town and tracked down the book that we had heard about the day before, and of course, purchased a couple of copies

(I had it finished before we got on our plane to fly home. it was a great read!)

 

it had been a long day, and we had to finish packing, as we were heading to Anchorage the next morning, so we caught the bus back (after stopping for some more ice cream - I got the "polar bear" this time, which was just coconut and vanilla), and enjoyed a very relaxing, beautiful night on the deck hoping for a glimpse of the Mt. We ate dinner at the Mt. View restaurant, and just kind of lounged around... we did take a quick hike on one of the trails behind the lodge, and checked out their veggie garden (again, the pictures I thought I had, have disappeared, sorry! )

 

it was clearing up quite a bit, (there were wild fires nearby, which was causing a very hazy view, so no Mt. McKinley for us..) so I waited out on the deck reading, until about 11:45, but still no view... headed back towards our room, and took a few pictures of some flowers along the way... the tremendous amount of sunshine these plants get, made them so exceptionally vibrant and so big!