Semi live cruisetour Y4L, May 22-June 3

[renee00]

Day 0 - Anchorage:

 

Hi everyone, I wanted to write about my experiences on this cruisetour to hopefully help others interested in doing one. I'm happy to answer any questions. I'm planning to write a lot about the logistics of how all this works. I'll have internet access at the hotels (I hope!) so should be posting each evening up until we board the Koningsdam on May 30th in Skagway for the cruise portion, which we didn't bother buying Internet for. So then I'll vanish until Vancouver and recap the cruise part afterwards. 

 

I arrived in Anchorage this afternoon after leaving Texas very very early this morning. It is beautifully sunny here and in the mid 50s (clear enough to see a bit of Denali in Anchorage!). My parents will be joining me on this trip, but they don't arrive until late tonight. Meanwhile I enjoyed some beer and dinner at Glacier Brewhouse. 

 

This is their very nice IPA sampler. I followed it with their Laphroaig Barrel Aged Black Rye Bock beer. I highly recommend it if you like scotch. 

 

 

We're staying at the Clarion Suites tonight before moving to the Westmark tomorrow to officially start the cruisetour. The Clarion was the best bang for our buck that we could find given the astronomical hotel prices here. It's a little old, but it's a very large suite, and considering I'm expecting to sleep on a sofa bed for parts of this trip, it's nice to start with room for all of us. 

 

After Anchorage we head to Denali for 2 nights, then to Fairbanks, then 2 nights in Dawson City, 1 night in Whitehorse, 1 night in Skagway, then onto the ship! We end in Vancouver on the 3rd but are staying until the 5th. My mom and I did an Alaska cruise (on the Zaandam) plus Denali 6 years ago so parts of this should be familiar and parts very new. 

[oakridger]

Excellent!  I'll be watching for your posts and wishing I was touring Alaska too!!  Hmmm.....why do I suddenly feel like having a beer?  😁🍺

 

Enjoy the trip!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience,

~Nancy

Edited May 22, 2023 by oakridger

[ski ww]

Sounds like a great itinerary.

[renee00]

Day 1 - Anchorage:

 

I got takeout from Snow City Cafe for breakfast so my parents could sleep in. Very nice breakfast and allowed for a lazy morning. 

 

We couldn't check into the Westmark and meet our tour guide until later, but we were very happy to discover that the Anchorage Museum is now on summer hours and open Mondays. We've all been to the museum before and really enjoy it. There's beautiful native artwork and exhibits on the history of Alaska. Also a great gift shop! That was a fun way to spend the afternoon. 

 

 

We then checked into the hotel and met our tour guide. We've been given info for tomorrow (bags out in the hall by 6am and then leave for the train to Denali at 8:30). Also some nice suggestions of what to do in Anchorage. We'll get similar info packets at each stop on the cruisetour. Our tour group is large enough that we've been divided into two groups with two tour guides. 

 

Looks like the Westmark was renovated sometime in the past 6 years since we were last here, as the rooms look nicer than we remembered. 

 

 

We're doing 49th State Brewing for dinner, another favorite of ours. 

[quilty964]

Enjoy your trip!  Thanks for sharing with us!😊

[SightCRR]

Here is the shot from the faa camera near Denali. FAA WeatherCams

Thanks for taking us along. sightcrr. 

[renee00]

22 minutes ago, SightCRR said:

Here is the shot from the faa camera near Denali. FAA WeatherCams

Thanks for taking us along. sightcrr. 

 

Oh wow, I hope it's like that tomorrow! 

[wvucruisers]

Thank you so much for sharing!!!  We are staying a night earlier in Anchorage as well, but staying at another hotel.  Looking forward to following your path!  Have fun!

[renee00]

Day 2 - Train to Denali

 

We woke very early to put our bags out in the hall and then again a couple hours later to leave. We skipped breakfast in the hotel to wait for the train. The train ride was as beautiful as the last time we were here and with very good food for breakfast and lunch. It was a bit chilly on the train, so we needed our coats. It's about an 8 hour ride to Denali. 

 

We saw moose and caribou on the way, and even the very top peak of Denali and its neighboring mountains. First time I'd actually seen the great mountain, although I couldn't get a photo of it.

 

We did dinner at Karsten's in the McKinley Chalet resort. An excellent meal. Tomorrow we will wake up extremely early for the first bus tour of the park at 5:40am. 

 

 

 

[renee00]

Day 3 - Denali

 

There were a couple of advantages to having a very early (5:40am) bus tour of Denali: we saw a lot of animals and didn't have to compete anywhere with other buses. Also we got back right in time for lunch.

 

Denali blessed us today, with not only a view of the mountain but also most of the inhabitants of the park. We saw: moose (including very young baby calves), caribou, Dall sheep, a very blond grizzly bear, Arctic ground squirrels, ptarmigans, and spruce grouse. 

 

You can see Denali here in the background, way up in the clouds. Plus photos of a ptarmigan in a tree and some caribou. 

 

 

 

 

It was pretty cold as we got higher but not too bad with a heavy raincoat. It only sprinkled a little and was otherwise nice out though there was snow still on the ground. There were already mosquitos out and about but they seemed sluggish in the cold and didn't even try to bite me (and I'm normally candy for mosquitos!).

 

We had two bathroom breaks on the 5 hour trip, with plenty of bathrooms with only one bus there. At the end, the driver kindly dropped off about a dozen people at the park visitor's center so we could shop and check out everything there. The chalet then runs a shuttle twice an hour to get back. The chalet itself also has a very convenient shuttle that runs around its ground continuously, which is great because the various parts of it are on a steep hill. 

 

We spent the afternoon relaxing and doing laundry. The chalet provides free self-service machines and only charges for soap. We walked over to the Princess Lodge for dinner at Fannie Q's. It was pretty good. I enjoyed the rockfish.

 

Tomorrow we leave for Fairbanks, thankfully not early (9am).

[renee00]

Day 4 - Fairbanks

 

We wanted to do breakfast at Karsten's, but they only offered a buffet that didn't look appealing so we got lighter fare (yogurt) at their coffee shop. 

 

Only a 3 hour bus ride to Fairbanks, including a rest stop. However, we arrived a bit late so only had a very short window of time for lunch. We went to the Crepery, which was very good, with crepes featuring food from all over the world.

 

We then went to our included excursion, at Gold Dredge #8. It was fun and involved information on the Alaskan oil pipeline, a train tour of the gold dredge site with explanations of how it all worked, and a chance for everyone to do some gold panning. 

 

 

The Fairbanks Westmark has wonderfully large suites but our room is very warm so we're trying to get a fan or something to help.

 

 

 

The streets downtown are very close together so everything is just a short walk from the hotel. We had dinner at Soba, an exceptional Moldovan restaurant downtown. We've had very good food everywhere on this trip, but this was the first that was truly outstanding. We had meat dumplings, pierogi, and chicken schnitzel. 

[renee00]

Update: the Westmark maintenance guy came by to fix the air problem in our room. Turns out they don't have ac, but just swamp coolers and ours was blocked up. He was able to clear it out though and now we're finally getting cool air blowing in our room. Phew, that was going to suck otherwise. 

[Elequieu]

This is lovely to read and see, bringing back great memories

[renee00]

Day 5 - Dawson City

 

We had to have our bags out by 5:30am this morning. Then made our way to the airport for our 10am flight to Dawson City, Yukon. We arrived around 12, Pacific time, having lost one hour. Both the Fairbanks and Dawson airports were smooth getting through, including Canadian customs. Regarding luggage, there was plenty of room in the airplane for backpacks and a personal item but I doubt any carry-on suitcase would have fit. The plane was a 737-500. It was a charter flight so just our 2 tour groups with plenty of room. 

 

The Westmark in Dawson is a fun series of buildings. Our room is in a renovated old schoolhouse! Wonderfully large room and so far nothing wrong with it! WiFi is limited to just the lobby and is very slow. 

 

We had lunch at Bonton & Co, a delightful restaurant and coffee shop featuring local Yukon ingredients and a rotating menu. Then we walked around town a bit, looking at the shops and old condemned leaning  buildings (built directly on permafrost). Note that walking around is a bit difficult here as the roads aren't paved and the "sidewalk" is uneven wooden planks with a lot of stepping up and down. Also, if it rains like it has here today everything gets rather muddy. 

 

We then napped for a while. It's really nice to have a couple of relaxing days after the rather breakneck pace of the last few days. We did dinner at Belinda's in the Westmark. It was much better than expected given there was little info about it online. 

 

Then my dad and I went to the Sourdough Saloon so I could do the Sourtoe Cocktail. It was fun! And gross. I did it with Yukon Jack whiskey. 

 

Sorry no photos today, my connection isn't good enough to upload.

Edited May 27, 2023 by renee00

[SightCRR]

Thanks for taking us along with your details. The gold mining in the area should be starting to pick up. Two different mines nearby on Gold Rush tv show. Take Care. 

[oakridger]

1 hour ago, renee00 said:

Sourtoe Cocktail

 

I had to Google that one and boy, I think you have a stronger stomach than I do!!  Ha ha.  Sounds like some good braggin' rights though!

 

~Nancy

[renee00]

14 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

I had to Google that one and boy, I think you have a stronger stomach than I do!!  Ha ha.  Sounds like some good braggin' rights though!

 

~Nancy

 

I'll admit I mostly did it for the bragging rights! 

[renee00]

Day 6 - Dawson City

 

We slept in and then did laundry this morning. It's expensive here, $3 CAD for each washer or dryer load. I got a breakfast bagel sandwich and latte at the Riverwest Bistro while my parents did the Westmark buffet. I think I made the better choice. 

 

Our scheduled excursion on a paddlewheel boat on the Yukon River was cancelled due to the boat not being operational. Apparently HAL will credit us for it. None of the other available excursions sounded that appealing (although we heard good things about the Top of the Dome scenic overlook from others on our tour), so we decided to DIY it after the rain stopped around noon. 

 

We still wanted a boat tour and a chance to see more of the Yukon River so we walked down to the free ferry that connects the highway on the opposite bank. They have a nice spot for people walking on board to sit or stand at the railing (it even has a heat vent from the engine keeping it a bit warm for people). It's about a 6 minute ride across, and the ferry just goes back and forth carrying cars continuously. We rode it straight back after and got some lovely photos of the river and Dawson. One of the employees even came over and talked with us a bit about the area. We learned that everything hasn't quite started up for the season yet, including the nearby US-Canada boarder crossing which doesn't open until June 1st.

 

We then did the walking path along the river on top of the dike. As we got to the other end of Dawson, we left the river behind and cut over to the Jack London cabin and museum, where we heard a very interesting presentation on his life. Donations of $5 are recommended. 

 

We had dinner at the Aurora Inn next to the Westmark. It was nice, a bit more upscale than the Westmark restaurant. Then my mom and I went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's to gamble a bit and watch one of the can-can shows. The slots were loose and the singing and dancing a lot of fun.

 

I'm hoping to have a good enough connection tomorrow in Whitehorse that I can upload a bunch of photos. Neither cell reception or WiFi are very good in Dawson. 

[SightCRR]

In Whitehorse keep an eye open for the DC-3 airplane that is a weathervane and spins around as the wind direction changes. It is at the Transportation Museum. The World's Largest Weathervane, a DC-3 – Whitehorse, Yukon - Atlas Obscura

[RuthC]

12 hours ago, SightCRR said:

In Whitehorse keep an eye open for the DC-3 airplane that is a weathervane and spins around as the wind direction changes. It is at the Transportation Museum. The World's Largest Weathervane, a DC-3 – Whitehorse, Yukon - Atlas Obscura

How neat! Thank you so much for posting the link. I had never heard about this weathervane, and am sorry I have never had a chance to see it. 

[renee00]

20 hours ago, SightCRR said:

In Whitehorse keep an eye open for the DC-3 airplane that is a weathervane and spins around as the wind direction changes. It is at the Transportation Museum. The World's Largest Weathervane, a DC-3 – Whitehorse, Yukon - Atlas Obscura

 

We were able to see it briefly when we drove by the airport coming in! I wouldn't have realized it was a weathervane. Very cool. 

[renee00]

Dawson City photos

 

Now that we're in Whitehorse, we have real Internet again, so here are a bunch of photos from Dawson.

 

 

 

 

 

[renee00]

Day 7 - Bus to Whitehorse

 

We had to have luggage out by 7 this morning and got on the bus around 8am for an 8-9 hour drive (including frequent breaks). We were a bit nervous about the road as it only became passable basically yesterday after a number of washouts were fixed. Even with it open there were still spots that got pretty rough, but our driver did a good job. 

 

We stopped every hour or so for scenic overlooks, shopping, and lunch. This was the only included lunch on the tour and was at a neat campground run by First Nations people. We also watched a very nice documentary on the bus about the Klondike gold rush.

 

 

We arrived in Whitehorse at dinner time. The hotel here is the Sternwheeler. It seems the most basic of all the ones we've had and pretty small rooms, but no problems so far. Dinner at Tony's in the hotel was nice although busy with multiple tour groups.

 

[renee00]

Day 8 - Skagway

 

Bags out by 7:30, bus boarding at 9am. We went to a very nice French coffee shop and bakery, Baked, a block away that someone in our tour recommended. Then to Tim Hortons for donuts for later. Lots of tour people going to both places. I think people are tired of the expensive hotel buffe⁷t breakfasts. 

 

The bus ride was about 4 hours to Skagway but we gained an hour. We stopped at Emerald Lake scenic overlook (gorgeous!) and CarCross (shops and coffee). Plus a very brief stop at the 3200' summit at the Alaska border where it was snowing!

 

 

 

In Skagway, we had lunch at Bonanza Bar & Grill. Great halibut fish & chips and beer. We then had a little time for shopping before boarding the White Pass & Yukon railroad for our 2pm excursion. It was as beautiful as my mom and I remembered from 6 years ago but definitely colder and with more snow now in May!

 

 

 

 

Once back we checked into the Skagway Westmark. It has some charm but very small rooms and no wifi in rooms. We were supposed to have a cocktail party with our tour group but it was cancelled. We did dinner at Skagway Brewing. It was an excellent dinner with excellent beer. We wanted to check out Klondike Brewing after but they closed at 6 when most of the tourists left. 

 

 

Tomorrow, we have to have luggage out at 6:30am to get to our Koningsdam cabins. But we don't leave for the ship until 10:30 so should be a nice relaxing morning. We'll have a bus transfer taking us over as a group. Our instructions just say that we need our IDs to board so looks like no boarding passes for us. 

 

I'll try to do an update in Ketchikan if I can, but if not see you all when we get to

Vancouver. 

 

[SightCRR]

Here are some easy and not so easy trails. NPS also has gold rush museum and may have some walking tours. Not sure where your hotel is but not a big town. Looks a little cloudly on the faa camera but if the clouds lift it will be gorgeous.  Yakutania Point and Smugglers Cove: 183 Reviews, Map - Alaska | AllTrails  sightcrr

Edited May 30, 2023 by SightCRR