Star Princess North to Alaska! Sept 10 2016

[Bimmer09]

"I'd love one but it's too early" I said to the pretty girl who offered me some Bailey's in my coffee. I love Baileys over ice but not this early.

 

 

The ladies of Tradewinds who had by now gotten used to "Mr Norris" humor

 

 

Always mindful of the time I made my way to the MDR to meet Carol for our regular 8.55 a.m breakfast. Just a couple of pics tell the story of our main course after the bread and pastries and fruits.

 

I love my Blueberry Pancakes

 

 

Carol loves her scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and hash browns

 

 

I went up to the Sanctuary, which we had booked for the day at a cost of $60 each but it was raining up there and the water came in through the wide openings of the roof so I left . Carol would go up there later when it had stopped raining and they dried the loungers. Carol got a free photo taken later and a free coffee mug, hot chocolate, blankets and a headband to stay warm.

 

With more people than usual up there, there was some jabbering and Carol retreated to the quiet of our sheltered cabin to stare at the mountain scenery passing by.

 

The Captain came on the PA again to tell us that there is a glacier ahead that most ships don't get to visit. It's the Johns Hopkins Glacier and it's off-limits to cruise ships during the summer as the seals are birthing their pups. This restriction lasts until the 1st of September. So today he wanted to show it to us.

Then he was gone-"Bye Bye!!"

 

The JH is a glacier that is currently still expanding. Later I'll show you some that are shrinking.*Tip- don't push off your first trip to Alaska too far into the future as Global Warming is what the name says.

 

I go down to the cabin to set up the GoPro on our balcony railing, passing through the Piazza as I do. I love these banners they have hanging there and never saw them on our two other Alaskan Cruises. They help get me in the mood.

 

 

 

[hockeyguru32]

The Horizon Court is nicely furnished and not reminiscent of a cafeteria. The table is laid with the glasses and cups you'll need and there are eating irons wrapped in napkins-on non formal days the latter were handed to you when they handed you your plate. The plates come in two sizes according to your appetite.

I always took a small 10 inch one. They are made of melamine.

 

Princess has upgraded (greatly) their buffet rooms on the Royal Class ships so they are less congested and tight where the food is laid out. I haven't sailed on a Royal Class ship yet but am sure I will at some point although I don't like some of the design features from the Italian designer Giacomo Boneheadi. The designer works to a mandate so not his fault at all. The interiors sure are eye ]

 

Had to laugh at the Boneheadi and I'm positive it is not the rum kicking in

[Bimmer09]

I've just got a letter through the post and it's from Mrs E.H. Ramsbottom of Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, who writes

 

"Dear to whom it may concern,

 

I have read all of your reviews on that Cruise board thing-I had to, just to affirm that they are all rubbish and you give Britain a bad name with your jocularity and whimsy. If my husband Wilfred and I should ever find ourselves on the same ship as the likes of you we will march straight up to the Captain and demand our money back!

 

While I have your attention can I ask you why you haven't shown the photo of you and that woman getting off the ship in Skagway? Were you so full of Guinness (which my husband says is NOT British and we brew many superior ales) that you had to be carried off?

 

And another thing-you said she was given a free photo in the Sanctuary. Oh, really? I've never heard of such a thing! Utter tosh and codswallop!

 

Yours etc

 

Mrs E.H.R"

 

Yikes-calm down woman. I only mentioned the free photo, like, half an hour ago.

Her Majesty's Post Office is really on their game.

Ok-here's what you crave apparently

 

 

 

Are we happy now?

[MisterMet]

Each elevator lobby has one of these handy signs to let you know where everything is located. It tells me I am on deck 14.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why?.....This

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twice this week, on the Formal Nights they run a specialty restaurant in the rear of the HC. It's called the Crab Shack and costs $29 per person. As we were enjoying the MDR so much we didn't go but it's something I'm sure we'll experience in the future, although neither of us like bibs, mess and using tools to eat.

 

 

 

There was a menu laid out by the elevators

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

The Horizon Court is nicely furnished and not reminiscent of a cafeteria. The table is laid with the glasses and cups you'll need and there are eating irons wrapped in napkins-on non formal days the latter were handed to you when they handed you your plate. The plates come in two sizes according to your appetite.

 

I always took a small 10 inch one. They are made of melamine.

 

 

 

Princess has upgraded (greatly) their buffet rooms on the Royal Class ships so they are less congested and tight where the food is laid out. I haven't sailed on a Royal Class ship yet but am sure I will at some point although I don't like some of the design features from the Italian designer Giacomo Boneheadi. The designer works to a mandate so not his fault at all. The interiors sure are eye candy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very inviting rooms with lots of window tables

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool carpet!

 

 

 

 

We did the Crab Shack on the Caribbean Princess in the summer of 2014. It was a fantastic food frenzy and well worth the $$. Maybe not the thing to do if you don't like to do the bib/cracker stuff[emoji3]

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited October 14, 2016 by MisterMet

[Bimmer09]

We did the Crab Shack on the Caribbean Princess in the summer of 2014. It was a fantastic food frenzy and well worth the $$. Maybe not the thing to do if you don't like to do the bib/cracker stuff[emoji3]

 

Trip, I am sure we can deal with the mess/crackers, hammers and chainsaws just once . I love peel 'n eat shrimp with a cold beer.

 

I like how Princess is focusing on food options to spice things up-The Crab Shack, Curtis Stone, Alfredo's Pizzeria and the sushi/tapas at Vines.The Chef's table, Winemakers Table, Untimate balcony Breakfast and Dinner. They could do Asian perhaps a couple of nights in the Cafe Caribe-using electric woks.

 

I know they do a Bavarian theme one night in the buffet so they can turn their hand to ethnic cuisine. I'd pay for an Indian night in Caribe and there are often Indians in the galley.

 

Norris

[MisterMet]

Hopefully when we're on the CP on the British Isles cruise in September we can do the Pub Lunch. When in Rome...Also would like to try Curtis Stone's place. The Asian night sounds like a lot of fun too. Have a great weekend!

 

Trip

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Bimmer09]

I'll be away from the computer for most of today as after work we are going to the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

 

 

We are sailing slowly in Glacier Bay

 

 

 

It's a mist-lovers dream

 

 

 

and we come to Lamplugh Glacier

 

 

More, much later

[AF-1]

Nancy I enjoyed the heck out of that chair on the way back as I'd already taken enough pics. I spent very little time in it after we left the town limits on the way up. On the way back it was beer and snacks time.

 

I'm sure another 4 years or more will pass before we are on the train again, if at all as there are so many other tempting excursions.

 

Norris

 

Hi, I have a question. The luxury coach up the pass; was the trip 4hrs each way or 4 hrs total? Also, the price you paid $300; was that roundtrip? Thanks. That coach seating looks great

[DocJohnB]

Norris,

 

Discovered this amazing blog just yesterday while looking thru another blog that you had responded. What caught my eye was the Star Princess link.what a pleasant surprise. I am booked on her for a Hawaiian cruise in November, 2017.

 

Having never sailed on Princess in over 35 cruises I am trying to gather as much info as possible about Princess in general and the Star in particular. I think I have found the "mother lode" in your musings. Your combination of verbiage and photography/videography is interesting to say the least.

 

I am only on page 5 of (so far) 15 pages, so, if you will excuse me, I have to get back to some more enjoyable reading/viewing.

 

John

/FONT]

Edited October 15, 2016 by DocJohnB

[Bimmer09]

Hi, I have a question. The luxury coach up the pass; was the trip 4hrs each way or 4 hrs total? Also, the price you paid $300; was that roundtrip? Thanks. That coach seating looks great

 

4 hours round trip. We have done 8 hour (and longer) excursions in Italy but I would baulk at 8 hours on the train.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Discovered this amazing blog just yesterday while looking thru another blog that you had responded. What caught my eye was the Star Princess link.what a pleasant surprise. I am booked on her for a Hawaiian cruise in November, 2017.

 

Having never sailed on Princess in over 35 cruises I am trying to gather as much info as possible about Princess in general and the Star in particular. I think I have found the "mother lode" in your musings. Your combination of verbiage and photography/videography is interesting to say the least.

 

I am only on page 5 of (so far) 15 pages, so, if you will excuse me, I have to get back to some more enjoyable reading/viewing.

 

John

/FONT]

 

John, glad you are reading along and welcome!

 

If you read my Princess vs Celebrity comparison you'll see I touch on most areas of the Princess experience with photos-that's a good place to start in getting to know the brand, probably.

 

I have a ton of ship pics waiting up ahead-everything follows my timeline, and the order the pics are taken in lets me know what I was doing, otherwise it would be a fog (or a mist!).

 

Thanks for the compliments!

 

Norris

[2pbears]

I know I am dreadfully late to this party Norris but I just came across your review and am delighted to have some good entertainment on a dreary, rainy day. I thoroughly enjoyed your review of the Med cruise last year and gained some valuable information to apply to our 2016 Med cruise. Will have to do some power reading as I am only on Page 2 but I'm with you and hopefully will catch up before too long.

[Bimmer09]

I know I am dreadfully late to this party Norris but I just came across your review and am delighted to have some good entertainment on a dreary, rainy day. I thoroughly enjoyed your review of the Med cruise last year and gained some valuable information to apply to our 2016 Med cruise. Will have to do some power reading as I am only on Page 2 but I'm with you and hopefully will catch up before too long.

 

Always better late than never!

 

I'm glad you find it entertaining and hopefully a brisk read as I hope to avoid dull at all costs.

 

My last Italian cruise (Emerald) is my favorite so far- for the ports. The previous one (Ocean Princess) did introduce me to Venice and Rome so that is a close second, again for the ports. I am hopelessly in love with Italy, as is Carol.

 

If you can gain valuable information from my reviews as well as a chuckle then my work is done.

 

Thanks for coming aboard!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

This is the first glacier you get to see in GB. Lamplugh or Lamplight if you have your spellchecker turned on.

 

(two photos stitched together in Lightroom)

 

Earlier this morning, just as it got light a Park Ranger had been dropped off by a fast boat. This ranger was on board to give commentary to what we will see today. Princess pulls out all the stops for Glacier Bay. There's no music on deck and the MUTS screen is silently showing the view from the webcam above the bridge.The waiters are pushing their specialty coffee carts and they are setting up a lunch buffet by the pool on the port side.

 

The decks have people I haven't seen all week, out and about with their cameras. I spend much of my day on the decks and see those that come and go and I'm seeing a multitude of new faces today.

 

Although the glacier is made of water condensed from the sea and lifted up high to chill and fall as snow-lots of snow-unimaginable amounts (forget the snowblower)- it isn't predominately white. Hundreds of feet of thick frozen snow become ice and under the crushing weight begins to slide forward from high in the mountains to where it meets the sea as a "tidewater" glacier. They can move at 12 feet a day. When they reach the warmer water they begin to fall apart at their leading edge. That is "calving" and tourists like us like the gunshot-crack sound and the big splash it creates as chunks the size of cathedrals crumble into the sea after a journey of 1,000 years or more.

 

 

Lamplugh is 8 miles long which pales compared to say Hubbard Glacier at 76 miles long and 3 miles wide but it has dragged rocks, dirt and vegetation along with it and you can see those dirty looking bands. Hubbard is what you see on Southbound cruises from Whittier as the ship doesn't call at College Fjord.

 

They are also very jagged and smooth isn't in their vocabulary. Having landed on one in a helicopter it took a flight way beyond the face to find a flat spot to land. That was Taku Glacier near Juneau.

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

We move on. Some glaciers haven't made it down to the sea yet and are high up in the mountains. With global warming will they ever get there?

 

 

 

I'm standing on top of the bridge looking down to the bow mast to take this shot. The bridge roof is open during GB day. Many go here for the great views and there's not a puff of wind today. A ship's photographer will be there to take your picture if you want.

 

[Bimmer09]

 

We'll turn to port to enter that inlet leading to the John's Hopkins glacier

 

 

 

 

And up ahead is the

 

Johns Hopkins Glacier

 

 

People practice their photo skills as we sail between majestic rocks

 

 

Sorry there's just one photo of the Johns Hopkins-there was a napkin folding seminar in the Piazza I had to attend....

[wnycruisefam66]

Thanks Norris for the entertaining review & wonderful pictures! Came over to the Princess boards as we're looking at an Alaskan cruise for 2018 & trying to decide between Royal Caribbean & Princess. I look forward to reading your other reviews. Something to help me get thru the long cold Buffalo winters!

 

Tina

[Bimmer09]

The napkin folding seminar was a dud so I went back up on deck

 

(lens at 70mm)

 

(lens at 200mm)

 

There's no need to fix your gaze on the glacier just yet as it's a couple of miles away and you'll eventually spend 90 minutes stopped in front of it. What side of the ship should I be on? Any. The ship will turn halfway through the close-up so that both sides have equal opportunity. If your side is facing away from the glacier take pics of your surroundings or go to the buffet and have the place to yourself.

 

I take pics on the way forward. Pics of the glacier's neighbors.

 

 

Now and then I'll check our orientation to the glacier. It hasn't moved, which is good.

 

 

 

The web cam on the big screen

 

[Bimmer09]

Thanks Norris for the entertaining review & wonderful pictures! Came over to the Princess boards as we're looking at an Alaskan cruise for 2018 & trying to decide between Royal Caribbean & Princess. I look forward to reading your other reviews. Something to help me get thru the long cold Buffalo winters!

 

Tina

 

Hi Tina and welcome!

 

Glad you are reading along and enjoying.

 

We're in Glacier Bay at the moment-something you won't visit on Royal Caribbean.

 

Hopefully you'll like what you see here. Lots of ship pics coming up too.

Have you read all of this so far?

 

Norris

[Lucky TGO]

Great review!! Some of the best pictures I have ever seen. Thank you.

Tony

[Bimmer09]

Great review!! Some of the best pictures I have ever seen. Thank you.

Tony

 

Tony, thanks for popping in again. I'm glad to see you are still following.

 

Thanks for the compliments on the photos! My goal was exactly that as on previous trips I just got point and shoot shots that lost the richness and detail that my eye had seen. They were good enough as momentos and reminders but this time I wanted to get some vivid pics that I could share with people who haven't stood gazing in awe at what enough snowflakes and continuous cold weather can become, given time.

 

I never stop being amazed at the Natural World and how much harm we can do to it though our consumerism.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Looking back over my shoulder.

 

 

 

 

High in the mountains to the left of the glacier

 

 

 

and forward, the ship slowly and quietly gliding along

 

[Bimmer09]

It was after our previous Alaskan cruise on the Diamond in August 2102 that I started to seriously think about getting a DSLR camera and after a couple of months of reading as much as I could decided on a Canon and I took the plunge in November as an early Christmas present to myself. I'm very happy I did.

 

 

I'm on Promenade deck starboard

 

 

 

 

The Captain announces we will let the port side have the first look. I'm on starboard and rather than rush to port take pics of what I see, away from the crowds.

 

 

[Bimmer09]

I remembered that I had the Go Pro running on the starboard side and went back to the cabin as I couldn't operate it from my phone due to the wi-fi connection not being effective 2 decks below. I went up to the cabin on Dolphin Deck (#9) to turn it off.

 

 

It's attached to the balcony railing.

 

 

I'll be making trips back and forward between starboard and port until the ship turn to starboard for good.

 

 

 

The results of non-stop calving, day after day, even when there's no ship full of passengers to see it happen.

 

[Jasperdo]

Hello again, Norris,

 

Just wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned you. Been away on another cruise, a Pacific Coastal on the Explorer of the Seas. Royal Caribbean gave us an offer we couldn't refuse. And we only had an hour and a half drive from our house to the ship.

 

I'm finally caught up with your review again. It's excellent as always. And your photos - magnificent! I must say that I'm very jealous that you got to cruise up the Inlet to John Hopkins Glacier.

 

Looking forward to the rest.

John