Review of Island Princess Southbound from team Flamingo

[Planning is Half the Fun]

I had so much fun planning this trip and these message boards were a huge part of my research for our first ever Alaskan trip. My husband and I and 5 other couples from our chuch small group have finally started our vacation of a lifetime! I hope that my notes will be helpful to someone later as they plan their trip. I can not upload pictures well from my phone, but I intend to also try to keep up with a more personal blog with pictures - i will post that link here when it is ready.

Our group ranges from age 40 (us) up to about 70 (I will not ask them). We are all from Jacksonville, FL where it was over 100 degrees 3 days last week. We are all eager to experience the predicted 60 degrees, regardless of the accompanying rain. We deamed ourselves "team flamingo" and everyone departed yesterday, each couple on different flights. We flew United and the flight crew were super personable however we we found the seats uncomfortable and the lack of entertainment disappointing.

We had a 5 hour layover in Chicago and decided to take the elevated train to see the city, even though we knew it would be a very brief chance to see the sights as it took 45 minutes to get out of the airport and then another 45 minutes on the train. It was $10 for a daypass and the automated ticket machines give very clear directions but over half the people around us had a hard time following them. The ride was about half underground or parallel to the highway, but the other half exceeded my expectations. I am sure i was the most excited person on the L, looking down on so many brownstone walkup apartments, many of which had rooftop porches and balconies they made into extra outdoor rooms. There was fun grafitti and murals all over and the city looked fun - never saw anything sketchy or dangerous. When we arrived downtown, we headed toward Millennium park. There were homeless beggers on every corner, but none approached us. We chose lunch over the park. My husband (i still dont know what "dh" means so i wont be using that really wanted a Chicago style pizza but we couldnt wait an hour for it to cook so instead he had a beef/meatball sandwich, which was advertised as an equally authentic experience. Giordono's was very busy and crowded. I had a salad and after $22 we were rushing back to the train. If we had more than 40 minutes downtown we certainly would have explored the park and took the double decker hop tour bus. But we had to rush back. We gave our day passes to other folks in line and they used them with no problem. There was a strange fluke and security checkpoint was sans bins or wands - keep your shoes on, put your bag on the belt, and just walk right through. Right after the checkpoint was a concession stand with Chicago cheesecake - can not recommend that enough, although 2 waters and 2 slices of cheesecake was $25.

After 6 hours we arrived in Anchorage and took a taxi ($25) to the Anchorage Grand Hotel, $188 per night. It's got a separate bedroom with a living space and stocked kitchenette. We wanted room to spread out for 4 nights before getting into our small cruise room. We also wanted a location close to downtown and the train station.

So that's day 1. I plan on daily check ins, but no promises.

[RoperDK]

Looking forward to your review. Hope you have a great cruise!

 

Dawn

[newdestination]

Have a great trip! I will enjoy hearing about it.

Edited August 22, 2016 by newdestination

[Planning is Half the Fun]

It was 55 degrees but we had a race to run. Well, some of us were walking. It was my first ever 5k, the Spenard Roadhouse. The serious runners found conditions optimal and did very well. Us walkers had a good time, too. The route was down the top of the Tony Knowles trailand then a uturn. Its a paved trail with breaks through the folliage to see the placid water. Some folks said they saw beluga whales but we certainly did not. The person who gave the peptalk (i thought he called himself the governer but nobody else seems to have heard that, he said "there's two kind of people in this world. Some of them are Alaskans. And some wish they were."

Next we went to the Anchorage Market & festival. Live music, lots of photo opportunities, and tents selling art, russian nesting dolls, tshirts, etc. Not the kind of place where locals are shopping but a great way to spend an hour. There were fair foodbooths - we had reindeer sausahe with chili and fried halibut with corn nuggets and cheese curds. Was tempted but chose not to let a vender photoshop me into a sled dog scene.

At the visitor center, you can take 5 postcards for free, address them to anyone, and they will mail them for you.

And then it was time for the trolley tour. $20 for 50 minutes. I am not sure if this was worth it to me - i didnt get the directional barings, history lessons, or scenic views I had anticipated. If you are tired and have time and money then i woudn't discourage you. While my driver was very funny and personable, it was mostly stories about his family and science lessons about earthquakes. Earthquake park seemed to just be woods. We parked near a cleaning and looked in at hilly terraine. We also hit hood lake but surprisingly no sea planes coming or going. The highlight for me was an underground home.

We had plans to explore the next day, so used our ats coupon book at Avis. Problematic: only 1 staff member of the 3 seemed able to do anything and three families had reservations but only 1 car on the lot and it had not been cleaned yet. But we snagged it and hit the road.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Drove back to Hood Lake, still no action.

Hit Alaska Wildberry which has an amazing website. This place is tailor made for tour buses. Giant water fall, giant plush dolls and taxidermy, but mostly candy and souveneirs.

Then we hit the Alaska Zoo. This was $15, we had the ATS bogo, and really enjoyed 3 hours there. Some of the animals seemed to be in pens too small, however there were enrichment things in almost every pen. And some of the pens were luxuriously huge. We watched brown bears wrestle and play with a ball for over half an hour. We thought we saw some concerning behaviors in some of the animals, but let the staff convince us there was a logical reason. So far, the zoo was our highlight.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

independence mine I loved this place - a state park on the ruins of a goldmine company site. We could have spent hours here. If you are interested, some things you need to know. Do not gps it from the website - thisis the address of a different state park over half an hour away. Also,the phone number isnt helpful, either. Its at mile marker 17 on Hatcher Pass. Second, if possible go on a day when the park is staffed. Wed - Sun, 11 -6. It's $5 per carload on the honor system. Some buildings have fallen, some are being restored. There's trails to look from different angles and lots of signs about the lifestyle of the miners and the science of their work.

Musk Ox Farm. This is a walking tour through a farm. The guide was extremely personable and kept my attention well. You cant touch them but there are a lot of tactile displays inside. Our tour started early and we had to join in. We paid with a groupon. Very informative. At the entrance there are huge cabbages, which made me happy as the garden behind the Palmer Visitor Center did not have the giant veggies i had wanted to see. But they did have a street sign nearby saying "arctic rd" which was a great photo opportunity for me.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Knik River Lodge offers helicopter tours out on to the glacier for $380 and with the ATS bogo, this was definitely well worth the splurge. It was a helicopter for 4 passengers. You negotiate for front seat and someone else gets it on the way back. The route out was more lengthy and scenic. No videos or pictures can prepare you for this. We followed the mountain out and saw some dahl sheep . After about 20 minutes, we landed and it was like landing on a different planet - in all directions all you could see was glacier. After unloading they gave us crampon shoes which were miraculous. I had no concerns at all and I am a bit clumsy. You could wander off wherever you wanted but we all stayed close. Really wish we had remembered to bring the empty bottles to get some water - there were streams and pools but you could walk anywhere you could see ice. He did show us one area where the water fell down a crevice making a man sized hole. He held us tight while we peered in and couldn't see the bottom. I would advise that if you go onto a glacier, wear tall heavy socks as the crampons did start to cut into me just above the talus. After about half an hour we did fly back in and took a direct route. I did get nauseus in flight, it was a windy day and we bumped a bit. Also I am sensitive to fumes. So far this was definitely our highlight. So far the weather has been dreary - in the low 50s with an intermittent drizzle. After the flight, some pretty heavy rain set in so our timing was perfect. I managed to notice some sunburn on my face before the helicopter so the sun had been finding me without me even noticing.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

We met up with friends at Moose's tooth. Waiting an hour outside in the rain wasn't a highlight, but we did enjoy our first restasraunt meal in Alaska. Service was great and the food was yummy. But if we were locals, I am not sure it would go into our regular rotation. 4 of us had our own small salads and shared 2 medium pizzas and desserts. We had 6 slices left over. Everything was great.

[Beachiekeen]

Really enjoying your updates! We will be doing 3 nights after our NB cruise so love hearing what you liked and what you didn't.

[Woobster]

My husband and I will be on this same cruise next year. I really appreciate your updates... Enjoy!!

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Today 3 couples headed south in a minivan. Learned a lot that I hope may help you.

I appreciate the encouragement that it is of interest to anyone - my travel companions are always intrigued by how much knowledge I glean from these treasure troves. Glad to give back a little.

Well we knew that the ride to Seward would be 5 hours round trip and that we wouldn't be able to add in the 5 hour day cruise there. We had just wanted to stop and look and hike and play without any real plans.

AWCC was $12.50 each and there was a ATS bogo. We spent about an hour there. It was a good opportunity to see some moose, bison, bears, caribou, and such up close.We had some low mobility folks in the group so we drove up to each habitat and got out for a closer look when we were interested. It felt more like their natural environment then the zoo had. They had an hourly program where they would feature a different animal, telling us stories while feeding the animals. I bought post cards and they asked if I needed stamps. Come to find out, they print their own stamps and they have their actual animals as the image, which I was really impressed with. Several people in my group had been resistant to going and balked at how everyone in the car was expected to pay admission - there was no option to just sit in the parking lot and abstain. At the end,however,2 of the 3 of them put it in their top 5 favorite experiences of the day.

The intermittent drizzle was back and we decided to head straight to Seward and stop along the way back if we were still interested. We did stop once to stretch at a pull off. We quickly counted 9 different types of mushrooms growing _ many we had never seen before. Since we had no expertise in the types of fungi,we just took pictures, but I bet some of them would have been terrific sauteed. A swarm of mosquitoes abruptly herded us back into our van and the drizzle increased to a solid rain but temps were in the 60s. The views are really scenic, even in the fog.

Exit Glacier

We chose the 1.3 mile path to the glacier's edge instead of the 8 mile one to the glacier's field. We didn't understand the difference and we had two with injuries and one with severe sickness and a z PAC that hadnt kicked in yet.for a while it is a clear rubber mulched trail through the woods. There is a clearing where you can look up at the glacier and see the rushing river coming down hill. Some chunks of ice have broken off and are floating down hill and sometimes they get bounced so hard they end up on land. We posed with a few chunks which is good because that's the only contact we had with the ice. There are signs with dates throughout the trail telling you if it was 1916 the glacier would be this far down. The signs show dates getting more and more current and sometimes there are actual pictures showing visitors at that time on the glacier yet the rest of the landscape matches exactly; it is clear this glacier is retreating. Towards the end, you leave the woods and the terrain is more steep and mountainous. Which is when I remembered my asthma inhaler was back in the car. The sick one and I definitely were sucking air and taking pit stops but we finally got to the top of the trail with 2 observations. One we were confident we had walked way further than posted and 2, we weren't even close to the edge of the glacier.I believe the sign telling us how far was probably installed several decades ago and did getto the edge, but they couldnt safely extend the trail any further. None the less,it was like nothing we had ever seen and an amazing photo opportunity. In all we were here about 2.5 hours. After returning to the ranger station I asked for details of where in Seward we could see the puffins and otters and such and was extremely disappointed to hear these were only accessible on those 5 hour boat tours.

We decided we better distract ourselves with a meal and try to boost our spirits. We drove a little further into Steward and pulled into a parking lot to check help and travel advisor for suggestions. We eventually decided we couldn't decide (it was 4pm) and just walked into the nearest restaurant which was called Rays. We were seated right in front of a I

Window and enjoyed watching all the boats come in to port. One guy wandered out onto the gangway for an upclose look at fishermen cleaning their huge catches. Our food refreshed and while most of us didn't clear our whole plates, everyone was satisfied. Each couple's bill came to between $90 and $100. Towards the end we started seeing an otter floating right beneath our window. We drove down to the last dock and walked out to watch two otters for quite a while. Up until these guys, the only animals I had seen in the wild were a Dahl sheep and a squirrel like creature, so the otter was nourishing to my soul.

We just headed straight home afterwards - we were out of energy and needed to do laundry since tomorrow is cruise day!!! the sun came out for our ride home and we got to see the same scenes in a totally different light. A conversation arose about Bob Ross,who we had not realized had lived in Anchorage. One friend said "I never liked his paintings because his mountains looked fake. But now I realize that Alaska mountains look nothing like Pennsylvania mountains. His mountains look exactly like these."

So that's it for today. Tomorrow morning we hit the train to Whittier.:D

[Planning is Half the Fun]

https://www.facebook.com/brandi.gonzales/media_set?set=a.10209883620675991.1073741833.1497772606&type=3&__nodl

 

Can anyone tell me if this link gets you to my Facebook page where I have put my pictures In a public album called team flamingo?

[mapleleaves]

yes, the photos are there ! Good memories, for sure.

 

Thanks for posting your trip report and photos .... this info will be helpful to people in the planning stage of their visit.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Thank you Maple.

I'll tell you about our great hotel now. The staff are super friendly and make you feel very important. They are quick to jump up whenever you come near put a big smile on their face and meet your needs very quickly. There is a separate bedroom which is great for some people having jet lag. They can sleep in peace. There is a kitchenette and everything is comfortable. We really wanted to have space to spread out before we got in to the small Cruise Room. It's also very conveniently relocated. It's just up the hill from the railroad and just down the hill from the Anchorage fair and Market. You can see both through your windows. It is also just a few blocks from downtown. It's certainly dated but clean. A continental breakfast is delivered to your door every morning if you put out a door hanger requesting it. Granola bar, oatmeal, muffin, Juicebox. Perfect for snacking throughout the day while on the Run. The biggest complaint someone might have is not wanting to be woken up by the 5:30 a.m. train everyday. For me this was perfect; it helped me get started with my day since there was so much I wanted to do here. I have no regrets about this hotel. We paid $188 per night using Travelocity.

[Beachiekeen]

LOVE the pictures and I wasn't going to push a helicopter-to-a-glacier excursion in the fam but now that I've seen your pictures, I might have to. Just incredible!

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Once again, made this choice because of the ats bogo, which got us both here for $80. We sat at tables with half the folks facing backwords. We had the princess tags on our luggage and were told we didnt need to think about them - the depot would get them delivered to our room. The ride was slow and pleasant. A narrator with a microphone points out sights but we only saw a few eagles en route. There is a concession stand but they had no tions to us bringing on our own snacks. I had hoped to take a gander at the 2 tall buildings of the city while waiting for our glacier cruise,but it was foggy and chilly and i wasnt sure even which direction to walk. So we just waited the half hour for the glacier quest boat to load up.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Phillips Glacier Quest Tour.

$113, lasted 3.5 hours. Today was a dreary day and it was hard to see the shore most of the time. The boat travels counterclockwise so the starboard seats had better views of the shoreline. The route passes numerous waterfalls, stops at 2 glaciers, and passes by several more. Our boat was only about a third full - everyone had plenty of room to spread out and you could also go outdoors on one of the 3 decks. They pull up close three times, stay about 10 minutes, and rotate around. If you go on this trip, definitely dress warmly and raincoat. You sit in booths and they deliver a hot lunch - meat, cole slaw, and chips. The chicken nuggets was fine but the fishsticks didnt taste like fish at all. We saw just one animal swimming in the distance but it wasnt clear what it was. This cruise was certainly child friendly. The ranger gives them things to do such as bringing manipulatives and pictures table to table. At the end they are pinned junior rangers, which they seemed to love. I think my final suggestion on this would be to wait and only buy a ticket upon arrival if there is visibility.

[georgie73]

Great review and details - thanks!

[AryMay]

I kind of feel like I am traveling with you!

 

Thanks for your posts...the details you provide are so helpful to others planning a trip.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Getting onboard was no trouble at all. Our interior room was much more spacious than we have experienced with other cruise lines. There is a full length cabinet with shelving and 3 sets of drawers. After dinner we went to the welcome aboard show with a few song and dance numbers, and a ventriloquist who sang and did impressions. He was funny, but every single impression he did was of someone long passed from this earth. He definitely knew his audience. We have since seen a grand total of 5 children total on board. Other than the staff, i would estimate that less than 5% of the passengers i see are in their 30s or less. I am very comfortable with that, but know that some other folks here have wondered about that. One other thing we noticed was that staff in all different areas seemed to be pushing a premium wine tasting experience. After our 6th offer for it, we asked more specific questions and learned that the staff get points for selling those and also coffee cards, etc.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Unfortunately our weather was not desirable. It rained nonstop and was so foggy we could only see maybe a yard away from the ship. The boat did have a lot of fun indoor activities planned. I took the ship orientation tour, watched the fruit carvers, took a very interesting art history lecture, and played trivia. We spent the afternoon in the horizon court buffet on deck 14, we got a table near the window and were able to see as good as everyone else. The windows seemed pretty fogged up, but that might have been outdoors. This was a formal night and while we were dressing for our 5:15 meal (which i dont recommend) the fog lifted a little and we could see and hear the glacier but had to head in to eat. Afterwards we went to the motor city show, a song/dance number on the r&b movement which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

The sun finally broke through and we had our first ever clear day. There were many options for where tobwatch and we really had a hard time deciding. Deck 15 proved to be scary windy, although it is nice to be able to see big sky as well. On deck 11 there is a front deck and you can see where you are going. My favorite place was on deck 7, where we were able to see straight out without the blue glass barrier. It was hard to hear- the speakers were just muffled. The rangers sell a $30 jump drive of photos so i decided those would be better than my own pictures, anyways. i do highly recommend binoculars. The photograpers make laps and take your pictures. They are $20 each or for $200 you can have all your pictures and also a jump drive of them, so that's what i got. For luch the buffet had "taste of alaska" - with several fish and shrimp options. The grill served a halibut sandwhich, which was declared by some to be their favorite thing they had eaten so far. We saw some more goats or sheep but no other animals. We did see some calving, however i dont think we were very close as we never heard anything from the glaciers. Also, today was actually warm. We had seen pictures of people really bundled up on other threads, but today if you found a place out of the wind, you wouldnt even need a hoody. Also, if you want to stay indoors there are plenty of chairs in windows throughout the ship. Once again dinner took us almost 2 hours so be sure to allow that much time in your plans. We then went to see a comedian who definitely was a hit. I had intended to stay out for the Klondike party, however when i walked up to the atrium they were dancing with the audience to "friends in low places" and then patsy's "crazy" ... i realized this was not the high energy party i had been expecting. just as well, i needed to go rest up because tomorrow is our first port day and i am ready to go see something new.

[katfer]

Once again, made this choice because of the ats bogo, which got us both here for $80. We sat at tables with half the folks facing backwords. We had the princess tags on our luggage and were told we didnt need to think about them - the depot would get them delivered to our room. The ride was slow and pleasant. A narrator with a microphone points out sights but we only saw a few eagles en route. There is a concession stand but they had no tions to us bringing on our own snacks. I had hoped to take a gander at the 2 tall buildings of the city while waiting for our glacier cruise,but it was foggy and chilly and i wasnt sure even which direction to walk. So we just waited the half hour for the glacier quest boat to load up.

 

Loving your post...just booked a southbound in 2017 what r these coupon books? bogo and how do I order? You are so right..planning is half the fun1! How did you go about research airfare? Any tips? We are in Memphis. Can't book yet ..to far out sorry if I'm all over the place just so excited thanks will be eargerly waiting for your next post!..

[Beachiekeen]

Bummer about the viewing--that is something that I worry about. I would be so disappointed if we couldn't view the glaciers! Thanks for the deck tips. We are on the Coral but I believe the deck plans are the same. Can't wait for your reviews on the ports!

[JanetAlice]

Once again, made this choice because of the ats bogo, which got us both here for $80. We sat at tables with half the folks facing backwords. We had the princess tags on our luggage and were told we didnt need to think about them - the depot would get them delivered to our room. The ride was slow and pleasant. A narrator with a microphone points out sights but we only saw a few eagles en route. There is a concession stand but they had no tions to us bringing on our own snacks. I had hoped to take a gander at the 2 tall buildings of the city while waiting for our glacier cruise,but it was foggy and chilly and i wasnt sure even which direction to walk. So we just waited the half hour for the glacier quest boat to load up.

 

I an assuming you booked the train independently. So Princess still took care of the luggage?