Live From the Grand Princess, 22-Day Alaska B2B, Apr 30 - May 22

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Juneau!

 

 

 

 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

Looks like the weather is fantastic! 

[Nikulai]

Couldn't get a picture but I am watching three balls eagles and a golden eagle hunt out the window of the reserve dining room while eating breakfast. Such an amazing experience. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 4/30/2024 at 6:50 PM, Alaska05 said:

After reading your experience from the airport, we are seriously considering taking the Skytrain from YVR when we arrive about 6:00 pm on a Thursday evening.  We are staying at the Marriott Pinnacle on W. Hastings. 

Last year 4 of us flew in the day of the sailing from SFO and took the sky train. We all had one large bag with a smaller bag on top and a backpack. It was really easy and cheap. 
we had no problem walking our luggage from the station to the pier. We even stopped and bought wine on the way to the ship. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Tonight and maybe even tomorrow, as we will be farther north in Skagway, is looking pretty good! 🤞

We’ve seen them twice sailing out of Skagway. Like you we book the aft facing suites for Alaska. Set our alarm for midnight after going to bed early and then bundle up on the loungers that are facing north for that long sail down the fjord. Good luck!  I hope you get to see them. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Had a fun time on our excursion today.

 
First we headed to the Glacier Gardens Rainforest that took about 15 minutes from the ship to drive there. When we got there after a short introduction about their upside down trees, we hopped on a 16-passenger open-air shuttle that took us to the top of the forested garden area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
At the top there was a vista viewpoint to take some photos of the surrounding area.

 

 

 

 
Stellar Jay looking out over Gastineau Channel.

  

 

Then we headed back down the mountain where we spent about 20 minutes relaxing in a greenhouse-like setting. Some folks just hung out and looked at the flowers while others either had a quick snack or checked out the gift shop.

 

 

 
Then we headed to Mendenhall Glacier and were given about 90 minutes to check out the area, which worked out just fine.

 

 

 

 

Barclay’s Willow Blossoms

 

 

While we were waiting for our tour bus to pick us up, a fun thing happened. A Porcupine decided to cross the road near us to have a little bite to eat. As you might imagine, there were quite a few folks including us that wanted to watch! 😁

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the ship.

 

 
After we got back and had an afternoon snack up at the buffet, we headed to the cabin to relax and watch life pass us by for a while. 😁

 

 
Black-legged Kittiwaks and Herring Gulls flying around behind the ship.

 

Edited May 4 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s our Skagway excursion for tomorrow where we meet in the theater at 7 am tomorrow morning. That means we have to eat breakfast in the buffet! 😱

 

 

[arizonaperson]

@Ken the cruiser great photos.

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

@Ken the cruiser great photos.

Thanks! All I have is an iPhone SE. But I have found if I take a bunch of pictures, I can usually can find a few that will work. On our Otter, Eagle and Whale excursion yesterday, I took over 580 photos! 😂

[arizonaperson]

@Ken the cruiser I have an iPhone SE,but the very old & small one. I like the size & takes good photos.

[Ken the cruiser]

After another tasty dinner in the Reserve Dining Room, we went to an enrichment lecture presented by Pete Griffin.

 

 

 
Then we were off to the theater to watch the evening show entitled My Journey to Broadway with singer Krystal Washington, one of the production cast singers.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

And we’re off! Next stop Skagway, Alaska early tomorrow morning!

 

 

Edited May 4 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 5 - May 4 - Skagway, Alaska

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Had to get up at 5:30 am to get ready for a 7 am Skagway excursion. Opened the curtains and this is what we saw as we cruised up the Taiya Inlet towards Skagway! 😁

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in downtown Skagway, Alaska on a beautiful but chilly morning that’s supposed to creep into the low 50s by 10 am! 😁

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

What an awesome excursion!

  

 

 

We took a 45 minute ferry ride from Skagway down to Haines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Right before arriving at Haines, there was this little island loaded with sea lions!

 

 

 

 
Haines, Alaska

 

 
Here’s our ferry, which we also took back to Skagway after the tour of the wildlife center.

 

 
It was about a 45 minute drive to the center. Photos of that drive will be after the wildlife pictures, as we had a better position on the bus to take them on the way back.

 

 
The owner and main tour guide, Steve Kroschel, who truly loves all of the animals you will see and treats them all like pets! Of course, some with a little more respect for obvious reasons. It was truly an amazing experience! 😁

 

 
A couple of timber wolves.

 

 

 
Red-tailed Owl

 

 
Snowy Owl

 

 
Red Fox

 

 
Silver Fox

 

 
Arctic Fox

 
Porcupine

 

 
Mink

 

 
Moose being fed tree leaves and loving it!

 

 
Caribou

 

 

 
Wolverine who likes eggs! 😂

 

 
Pine Martin who likes raspberry jam!

 

 
Grizzly Bear who likes pie!

 

  
After a little over an hour and 45 minutes visiting the center, it was time to head back to Haines along the Chilkat River and a beautiful mountain range.

 

 

 

 
A couple of Trumpeter Swans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
A glacier off in the distance.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

When we got back to the pier, we noticed the Zaandam was tendering their guests to the pier, even though they were pretty much right next to it.

 

 
Now I might also note the Grand is docked right next to the Zaandam, and we had to walk about 3 minutes once we disembarked the ship through the tunnel in the below photo to then take a two minute shuttle bus ride to the port! 😂

 

 
I’m pretty sure it has to do with the June 2022 rock slide, as the Zaandam did not have a gangway opened on the pier side.
 

After the first rockslide on June 23, 2022, which caused minor damage to Discovery Princess, an environmental consulting firm was hired to thoroughly examine the slope and recommend mitigation measures and emergency procedures to safeguard cruise ships and guests on other parts of the dock.

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/alaska-port-rockslide-work-to-be-done-by-cruise-season/94215

 

Edited May 5 by Ken the cruiser

[memoak]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

When we got back to the pier, we noticed the Zaandam was tendering their guests to the pier, even though they were pretty much right next to it.

 

 
Now I might also note the Grand is docked right next to the Zaandam, and we had to walk about 3 minutes once we disembarked the ship through the tunnel in the below photo to then take a two minute shuttle bus ride to the port! 😂

 

 
I’m pretty sure it has to do with the June 2022 rock slide, as the Zaandam did not have a gangway opened on the pier side.
 

After the first rockslide on June 23, 2022, which caused minor damage to Discovery Princess, an environmental consulting firm was hired to thoroughly examine the slope and recommend mitigation measures and emergency procedures to safeguard cruise ships and guests on other parts of the dock.

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/alaska-port-rockslide-work-to-be-done-by-cruise-season/94215

 

The HAL ship is moored right where the slide was. That location has to do a short tender to the small boat marina. It has been this way since the slide

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

The HAL ship is moored right where the slide was. That location has to do a short tender to the small boat marina. It has been this way since the slide

I would imagine HAL gets that berth at a cheaper rate than Princess is paying for theirs. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Glacier Bay reference material we were given today for tomorrow’s visit scheduled from 6 am to 3 pm, plus a map to help figure where it is actually located.

 

 

 

 

 

[milogurd]

 

Glacier Bay Information

 

To minimize impacts and maximize visitor experience, daily quotas for cruise ships entering the park are set at a maximum of two cruise ship transits per day. Park managers currently split tourist season between a 92-day summer season (1 June - 31 August) and a shoulder season (April/May, September/October). Since 2007, the summer seasonal quota has remained at 153 ship entries, and 122 for the shoulder season. Off season is defined as spanning the period 1 October - 30 April.

 

The operating conditions, travel routes, and length of stay by cruise ships in

Glacier Bay are structured and do not vary appreciably from day to day. Cruise ships that enter Glacier Bay typically cross into park waters from Icy Strait between 0600 and 1030 and follow the same route, traveling from the mouth of Glacier Bay up into the West Arm of the Y-shaped fjord, generally arriving to view Margerie Glacier (at the head of Taar Inlet) approximately 3-4 hours after entering (Figure 1 below).

 

Cruise ships are also required to spend a minimum of four hours north of Queen Inlet in the glacial area to ensure passengers have time to enjoy the glaciers and for on-board interpretation and education programs to occur. To that end, ships typically spend one to several hours sitting in front of Margerie Glacier and often visit Jaw Point to view Johns Hopkins Glacier

from afar (cruise ships are not allowed to enter Johns Hopkins Inlet until 1

September).

 

The ships follow the same route down the bay, typically exiting the park in the late afternoon or early evening between 1500 and 1900. Passengers remain on board during the entire visit; no passenger tenders are launched while ships are in the park and cruise ships do not overnight in the bay.

Edited May 5 by milogurd

[Ken the cruiser]

This evening after another tasty meal in the Reserve Dining Room, we headed first to see the new production show, British Invasion, which was great! 😁

  

 
Then we were off to watch the always hilarious Liars Club! 😂

 

 
The ship left port around 8:30 pm and is now on the way to Glacier Bay!

 

 

 
Luckily, we’ll be going there 3 times on our B2B cruise, as the forecast for Hoohah, which is just south of the entrance to Glacier Bay, isn’t looking too favorable.

 

 

Edited May 5 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 6 - May 5 - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

  

 

  

 

[memoak]

15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I would imagine HAL gets that berth at a cheaper rate than Princess is paying for theirs. 

I have been on numerous cruises on Princess to Skagway since the slide and we have berthed in many places including tendering next to the small boat harbor, the berth behind that one where you walk through the containers and tendering from outside the pier. It has nothing to do with the line and by the way both lines are owned by the Carnival corporation 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at Glacier Bay!
 

 

These photos were taken around 7:45 am and it is definitely overcast! 
  

 

 

 
There were also some otters swimming around looking for breakfast.
 

 

Our plan today is to hang out on the balcony while listening to the GP ranger talk on the TV. This is where having a protected covered balcony is going to come in handy today. 😁

 

New forecast for today.

 

 

Edited May 5 by Ken the cruiser