The Odyssey, on-the-sea, part II. (Alaska)

[shark b8]

Also, “people-watching” was, um ……interesting.  😳.  (sorry to be > PG rated)

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by shark b8

[curmudgeon98]

On 8/12/2022 at 2:10 PM, shark b8 said:

 At the cruise terminal: (1) walked straight off the ship, passed several unmanned checkpoints, (2) never showed passport or Covid docs, (3) never showed ArriveCan docs, (4) walked straight to an almost-an-hour snake line, to get a cab.  When I asked about Uber, we were told “the pick-up area is off-site, several blocks away”.  Which is perhaps just how the taxi companies like it.  😡 

Interesting point on taxis.  Two weeks ago we were trying to catch a fairly early flight out of Vancouver, so we carried our own bags off at about 8am.  We walked straight through and directly to a taxi and were on our way at about 8:05.  It sounds like that worked better than I'd realized... we got to the airport with time to kill, but if we'd done a regular departure I'm sure we'd have been anxious in the taxi line.

[shark b8]

5 hours ago, curmudgeon98 said:

we carried our own bags off at about 8am.  We walked straight through and directly to a taxi and were on our way at about 8:05.  

yeah, we just had the opposite circumstance, no flight to catch, no deadline to meet, just Ubering to hotel.  So we took our time, and found ourselves in that long line with a bunch of other people wearing Royal Caribbean hats.  That one for us was just luck of the draw, you win some, you lose some.  
 

Wandering Vancouver is fun (but expensive, seems to me).  We walked by the cruise terminal again today - the Niuew Amsterdam doesn’t have that many decks, but sure is loooong.  A good hike from bow to stern.

 

Will check in with Rocky Mountaineer people here in the hotel this aft, and board the train first thing tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

 

 

[CalmSea]

Love your posts.

 

We did a 7-day Rocky Mountaineer tour in May. We loved the 2 days on the train, but not so much the crowded bus rides after the train. You are doing a 12-day tour, presumably with 5 days on the train, which  involves less bus rides. Looking forward to see your photos and comments.

 

In Vancouver, Rocky Mountaineer put us up in the Farimont Vancouver. It is about a 15 minutes walk from the cruise terminal, but uphill. Wonder which hotel you are staying in.

[shark b8]

7 hours ago, CalmSea said:

In Vancouver, Rocky Mountaineer put us up in the Farimont Vancouver. It is about a 15 minutes walk from the cruise terminal, but uphill. Wonder which hotel you are staying

Also Fairmont.  And the last night after the train trip, we’re at the Pan Pacific, which, ironically is in the same big building as the cruise terminal - if we had stayed there just off the ship, would have had no taxi hell. 

[shark b8]

At that market tour we took, I saw this. Didn’t know our state had bison. Must investigate.  
 

[shark b8]

8 hours ago, CalmSea said:

We did a 7-day Rocky Mountaineer tour in May

excellent - If you think of any tips or tricks of trade, or any “ if I knew then what I know now” type stuff, would love to hear them.   

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, shark b8 said:

At that market tour we took, I saw this. Didn’t know our state had bison. Must investigate.  
 

Anything for the Vegans?

[CalmSea]

6 hours ago, shark b8 said:

excellent - If you think of any tips or tricks of trade, or any “ if I knew then what I know now” type stuff, would love to hear them.   

Food on the train was surprisingly good. One can order an extra main course for sharing, which we did for both lunches.  To compensate, we had a very light dinner later.

[visagrunt]

On 8/13/2022 at 11:06 PM, shark b8 said:

So, here in Vancouver we took a 2-hour “foodie-tour” of the Granville Public Market, a foodie paradise.  anyone else think the morel is the best mushroom on the planet?

Leaving aside the King of edible Fungi--the truffle--I still put morels a close runner up to chanterelles.

But we get vastly more morels out here--especially after years of significant wildfires.  So morels it is!

[shark b8]

Onboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[travelwell]

Shark b8, I have enjoyed following along your journey. 

We took the Rocky Mountaineer Gold car in June for 2 days from Vancouver to Jasper. We then rented a car for a week at the Fairmont's in the Canadian Rockies. We really had a ball on the train. Service was very good. We expected some hiccups post Covid and found none. Food very good and you can ask for odd additions for meals. I asked for 2 slices of bacon with my fruit and yogurt parfait and they did not blink. You will not go hungry and alcohol can be had all day.You will be traveling thru a stunning part of the world. Just know the hotels in Kamloops pretty much a 3 star experience. It is a small town with wonderful people but no resort type hotels. I would love to hear of your experience.

[shark b8]

Riding through beautiful country.  This is “Hell’s Gate”.  

 

 

[shark b8]

4 hours ago, travelwell said:

the hotels in Kamloops pretty much a 3 star experience. It is a small town with wonderful people but no resort type hotels.

Precisely our experience.  We’re in the Kamloops Marriott, it’s pretty modest, but we had a GREAT pizza at a funky local hangout, and had a fun chat & laughs with the servers.

 

Re hotels, best room we ever had was at the Four Seasons in Dubai. I never compare anything to that, as it would never measure up, and besides, then we’d lose the fun memory of “the best”.  😉 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by shark b8

[DTtravelers]

We interrupt this train trip to bring you a special bear report from the Odyssey…

 

To remain in good graces with shark b8 and avoid legal proceedings,  and help our September cruisers, I offer the following:  we met a nice couple from Glasgow + Liverpool who had never seen a bear in the wild.  They came back from their Ketchikan tour yesterday drenched but in high spirits. They encountered 5 black bears on their excursion.  Lots of smiles.

 

Lovely day in Sitka today.  The salmon run is beginning… lots of pinks, chum and a few steelhead.  Locals said that by next week they would be so thick that you won’t be able to see the pebbles in the creek.  Amazing sight.

 

Every day.  Best day ever!

[shark b8]

Excellent!  (have put legal counsel on hold for the moment. we’ll see).     😎

[shark b8]

 

[shark b8]

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

Theresa a vintages train museum along the way, liked the old red snowplow on the front of the engine.

 

[shark b8]

In Banff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

(including only to illustrate the difficulties of managing window reflections and power/telephone lines, in trying to do nature shots from a train. Yes, our carriage does have an open air vestibule that can accommodate ~6-8 people at a time, unfortunately there are quite a few folks who have seemingly never been introduced to the concept of taking a good shot, and then moving away so that others can do the same. 😡)

 

[shark b8]

We’re at the iconic Banff Springs hotel.  And did the wonderful gondola ride, stunning view of the valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

Unfortunate placement of luggage compartment handle on our tour bus. 😳

 

[CalmSea]

While in Alaska, you harvested some glacier ice. If you want some replenishment of your glacier water, bring a bottle with you when you visit the Columbia Icefield on your way from Lake Louise to Jasper. You can fill your bottle with glacier melt water on the glacier itself.

[shark b8]

excellent, thanks!