Star Princess North to Alaska! Sept 10 2016

[Bimmer09]

Those cabins are only on the first three Grand class ships, the Grand, Golden and Star. They are ocean view cabins on the other six Grand class ships.

 

Thanks for the info and for reading along!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Do my eyes deceive me? Another Bimmer review? I actually went "Oh No" when I saw it because I knew that my next 30 - 60 minutes would be taken up with the review and I have so much work to do.

 

Of well, you have to have priorities.

 

Thanks for stopping by! Now-back to work!

 

LOL

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Both ships are now safely docked and ready for Turnaround Day.

 

 

 

Soon people were coming and going toting their luggage. I felt for the folks whose HAL cruise had just ended. Ditto Princess but they were making room for us!

 

[YOUTUBE]zbNYuU0w7LQ[/YOUTUBE]

Now it was time to eat in the Ocean Cafe and enjoy the buffet which was included in the room rate (Cruise Package)

 

We could see the Nieuw Amsterdam large through the window but my mind right now was focused on a plate infront of me...

 

 

 

Fuel for the morning! We planned to pack and then take a walk to Gastown to stretch our legs. We had to be back at the Hotel before 11 a.m as that is when the complimentary taking of the bags to the ship by a bellman ceased and we didn't want to be dragging luggage in the vast space underneath the hotel .

[Bimmer09]

I'm choosing to take 'absolutely bonkers' as a compliment in this instance. I've definitely been called worse ;) Cruising is definitely in the blood - Mum and Dad are off transatlantic again next month aboard the P&O Britannia.

 

We will be sailing on the good ship Disney Wonder - let's just say someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse and if you're going to sail Disney, best to do it a) on one of their most beautiful ships (I hope it's still as beautiful when it comes out of dry dock in November), b) with a 5 year old who still believes in the magic, and c) for free :)

 

Julie, I will be interested in your opinion of the Disney experience after the cruise. What's the sail date so I can check the itinerary?

 

Happy to hear that mom (my sister) and dad are off sailing on the Britannia.

I know they've done a lot of P&O and NCL sailings. They were on the Escape soon after it escaped from the shipyard I believe?

 

Kids 5 and under go free?

 

Thanks for the speedy response!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We set off on a very pleasant Vancouver morning to walk off our breakfasts; Bacon, eggs, potatoes, mushrooms and tomatoes in my tummy and Carol was loaded up with fruit, yogurt parfait, salami, lox, ham and a cheddar cheese omelet washed down with a latte (not included in free buffet) but ordinary coffee and OJ (not the ex footballer) was.

 

0.4 miles said Google maps and off we strolled.

 

 

It's an area of bars, restaurants and small shops for the tourist

 

 

There's an observation tower up there

 

 

 

I go to enter a store but the RCMP officer (a bear of a man) said "no pictures!"

 

 

I try the other side of the doorway but this cop says "You heard the man-no pictures-now beat it!"

 

 

Needless to say that store will never get my business! Next is a pretty store window that caught my eye.

 

[Bimmer09]

In 0.4 miles we reached our goal-the Steam Clock! We had walked over here on a warm August night in 2012 to hear it's merry "chime" but it didn't utter a squeak. We later found out (at 11.01 pm) that it stops the racket at 10p.m. Otherwise it blasts off every 15 minutes.

 

 

The environs

 

 

 

It's very cool when it does sound off with it's puffs of steam

 

[YOUTUBE]ILtQKLtxtAo[/YOUTUBE]

 

We were sitting on a bench outside a shop that sold Canadian goods and I saw some warm weather fleece jackets in the window. I mentioned this to Carol who had been talking about dressing in layers for when we were next to a frosty glacier. We went inside where the Asian staff were super helpful and Carol tried on several options. Meanwhile I bought a fridge magnet for $3 Canadian.

 

Carol bought a great black jacket for half of what I guessed it to be- a steal and it would later stand her in good stead.

 

We should have been heading back to the hotel (my plan) but Carol liked the look of that observation tower and said "we're here and who knows how long before we're back?" (I hope soon) so off we went..

 

I had to snap this little shop as we went.

 

 

Carol found a bench using the Vancouver Benchfinder A Go Go App while I did the Aperture/Shutter speed/ISO calculations.

 

[jmdlv1]

Glad to be aboard again!

First caught your Silhouette review then comparison of the two lines.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Jim

[jzad]

DAY 6 SKAGWAY Sept 14th

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 7 GLACIER BAY, Johns Hopkins Glacier Sept 15th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 9 WHITTIER,Alaska-excursion and fly home Sept 17th

 

 

 

 

DAY 8 COLLEGE FJORD, Harvard Glacier Sept 16th

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

So after my Wheeties I'll get on with the job at hand...

 

 

 

Norris

 

 

I'm late!! So glad I popped over to the Princess board just to see if there was a new review by Norris! Yay me!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[ccv]

Thanks for all your wonderful pictures and posts. Looking forward to your report for the rest of your Alaska cruise.

[Bimmer09]

Glad to be aboard again!

First caught your Silhouette review then comparison of the two lines.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Jim

 

Jim, welcome aboard! As you see in my signature I have a lot of reviews- some light reading for the long Pennsylvania nights!

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

Edited September 21, 2016 by Bimmer09

[Bimmer09]

I'm late!! So glad I popped over to the Princess board just to see if there was a new review by Norris! Yay me!

 

And Yay Me for having you aboard yet again! Greetings Ontario!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for all your wonderful pictures and posts. Looking forward to your report for the rest of your Alaska cruise.

 

Thank you for the compliments! Once I get onboard the ship I'll show the camera gear I was using. I spread it out in the cabin so it has to wait until then, when I show the mini-suite.

 

I have been banging away on this review in Safari, Lightroom and iMovie since 6 a.m today. I don't have another day off until next Monday so I am working 5 days straight and won't have a lot of computer time. We may not get onto the ship until late tomorrow afternoon.

 

Stick around and welcome aboard!

 

Norris

[KYBOB]

Long time reader, yes meaning I have read every review, first time to catch one in progress. Your style is one of the reasons I keep checking CC every so often to see if there is a new epic journal posted. A perfect blend on witty narrative, photos and video. And so much better than the typical dribble of ship was huge, main dining food was great, buffet eh, shows ??, and they didn't kiss my .....enough. Oh and horrors there was dust on the fan blades of the ceiling fans on deck!!

 

The video that impressed me the most was the ships coming in in Ft. Lauderdale at 5 in the morning, was amazed you walked down from the hotel at that hour just to film that, you rock!

 

Keep them coming, full speed ahead.

[perfect match]

I loved the pictures of the Star and the HAL ship coming into port. Beautiful! Loved the steam clock video too. I wondered what you meant by "steam clock" until I watched the video and saw it steaming. :cool:

 

I have wanted to go to Vancouver since the winter Olympics were held there a few years back. Unfortunately, I have a rather long list of places I want to go, and the list gets longer far faster than I am able to check places off said list. However, I am a trooper so I keep trying.

 

One of these days I'm going to convince DH to go to Alaska. Please keep the awesome pictures coming so I can keep showing him how beautiful it is. :D

[Susie001]

Huzzah! A new review from Norris, and although I'm late to the party, it's not done yet. Winning!

Thank you, your reviews are excellent, both for entertainment value and for information. Cheers!

[Bimmer09]

Long time reader, yes meaning I have read every review, first time to catch one in progress. Your style is one of the reasons I keep checking CC every so often to see if there is a new epic journal posted. A perfect blend on witty narrative, photos and video. And so much better than the typical dribble of ship was huge, main dining food was great, buffet eh, shows ??, and they didn't kiss my .....enough. Oh and horrors there was dust on the fan blades of the ceiling fans on deck!!

 

The video that impressed me the most was the ships coming in in Ft. Lauderdale at 5 in the morning, was amazed you walked down from the hotel at that hour just to film that, you rock!

 

Keep them coming, full speed ahead.

 

Thanks for the very kind words!

 

I remember that morning in Ft Lauderdale vividly as it was so windy when I got to the rocks that it blew my tripod (which is light and portable) over and my new stills camera lens got scratched while I was using the camcorder. Luckily it wasn't badly damaged. That was to see the Ruby come in. Exactly a year later (this January) I intended the same walk but a storm warning brought the ships in an hour earlier-something I only found out when I woke at 4 and saw them lined up ready to come in. There was a 35 mph wind and no time to walk that far so I had to shoot from the hotel with a 250 mm zoom on the tripod and try to stay upright. That was the morning we were joining the Silhouette. Still it saved me a long creepy walk in the dark.

 

Someday we'll be able to take more cruises but for now it's a max of two a year or one if we are lucky enough to get Wagner tickets and go to Germany.

 

I'm glad you enjoy the reviews so much-it's very gratifying indeed.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I loved the pictures of the Star and the HAL ship coming into port. Beautiful! Loved the steam clock video too. I wondered what you meant by "steam clock" until I watched the video and saw it steaming. :cool:

 

I have wanted to go to Vancouver since the winter Olympics were held there a few years back. Unfortunately, I have a rather long list of places I want to go, and the list gets longer far faster than I am able to check places off said list. However, I am a trooper so I keep trying.

 

One of these days I'm going to convince DH to go to Alaska. Please keep the awesome pictures coming so I can keep showing him how beautiful it is. :D

 

Nancy, so far since Sunday and a lot of time on the computer I've only covered up until 10 a.m Saturday.....our first 18 hours since arriving in Van and 7 of those were spent sleeping. In short you ain't seen nothing yet and certainly none of Alaska. We go to the same ports over and over (this was our third time in 5 years of cruising) and are never bored for a minute.

 

It'll be a few days before I am actually showing you Alaskan pics but they are worth the wait.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Huzzah! A new review from Norris, and although I'm late to the party, it's not done yet. Winning!

Thank you, your reviews are excellent, both for entertainment value and for information. Cheers!

 

Thanks Susie-never too late! I'm glad you enjoy the long reads.

 

Norris

[TreacleScone]

Julie, I will be interested in your opinion of the Disney experience after the cruise. What's the sail date so I can check the itinerary?

 

Happy to hear that mom (my sister) and dad are off sailing on the Britannia.

I know they've done a lot of P&O and NCL sailings. They were on the Escape soon after it escaped from the shipyard I believe?

 

Kids 5 and under go free?

 

Thanks for the speedy response!

 

Norris

 

We are on the 9 night Alaska sailing departing on 24th July 2017.

 

In this case, whole family goes free! We are guests of a good friend who is 'working' as a Youth Activities Co-ordinator B2B on this sailing and the next 5 night one departing 2nd August. She can bring up to 3 guests along free of charge on DCL and when she asked if we wanted to accompany her, we gave it some serious consideration - that was a tough 10 seconds, I can tell you.

 

I'm enjoying these Vancouver photos. We're building in 3 nights in Vancouver and 5 nights in Seattle (where our cruise companion currently resides) to the trip and this is giving me a bit of flavour of what to expect.

[Drysil]

Norris, I've come by after your excellent Silly review to see a more in-depth look at Star and her itinerary. What's more, we'll be sailing your Reflection cruise on March 25, so I'll be anticipating that one, as well! Thanks so much for your detailed information -- it is truly a joy to read.

[newdestination]

Great review! I cannot wait to read the rest. We had a great time in Alaska on the Star in June.

 

Sitting in my armchair reading and eating bonbons....

Edited September 21, 2016 by newdestination

[Walt fan]

Norris - always a day late and a dollar short - but I am here and cannot wait to read your review, as always. I am the crazy cat lady that asked about your kitties in your Celebrity review. Good to hear Little Snowy is doing well.

 

I won't be able to read much until we get back from our road trip. Leaving Friday for a week to go to Crater Lake and along the PCH.

 

Our one and only Princess cruise was June 2016; we are on the Star same itinerary as you. All other cruises were on RC. Hoping to shove DH on a Celebrity cruise next year. We will see.

 

I am another huge fan of your reviews and cannot wait to follow along. Your pics and writing and take on life are priceless. Take care Norris! I will be probably chiming in at the end!

 

Carol

[Bimmer09]

We are on the 9 night Alaska sailing departing on 24th July 2017.

 

In this case, whole family goes free! We are guests of a good friend who is 'working' as a Youth Activities Co-ordinator B2B on this sailing and the next 5 night one departing 2nd August. She can bring up to 3 guests along free of charge on DCL and when she asked if we wanted to accompany her, we gave it some serious consideration - that was a tough 10 seconds, I can tell you.

 

I'm enjoying these Vancouver photos. We're building in 3 nights in Vancouver and 5 nights in Seattle (where our cruise companion currently resides) to the trip and this is giving me a bit of flavour of what to expect.

 

A Disney cruise for free? How awful!I wouldn't stand for it.

 

More Vancouver photos coming right up. I love Seattle too but never cruise from there. Now I am going to look at your itinerary under my microscope..

 

Thanks Julie!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I've come by after your excellent Silly review to see a more in-depth look at Star and her itinerary. What's more, we'll be sailing your Reflection cruise on March 25, so I'll be anticipating that one, as well! Thanks so much for your detailed information -- it is truly a joy to read.

 

Hi and thanks for visiting! I'll have a Reflection review completed before you sail.

 

Keep following along as the good stuff is coming up soon (ish)

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Great review! I cannot wait to read the rest. We had a great time in Alaska on the Star in June.

 

Sitting in my armchair reading and eating bonbons....

 

Armchairs and bonbons and rambling reviews...good combo with the shorter evenings coming in.

 

I cannot wait to write the rest!

 

Thanks for popping in to say hi. I always welcome new faces.

 

Norris