This cruise went to Alaska. 7 days
Here were the stops:
- Ketchikan, Alaska
- Juneu, Alaska
- Goes through Alaska fjords
- Skagway, Alaska
- British Columbia, Canada
This ship was exactly like Ruby princess. (See other post) but goes on different course.
First stop was Ketchikan:
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| Salmon run. |
I have fallen in love with this little town. It was sunny and warm and everyone was so nice and happy. All the shops were full of cheap, fun items and the tour guides were happy and loved what they did. It was just absolutely beautiful!! I took a ton of pics on this stop, sadly I cant fit them all on this post.
We did a regular tour of the hot spots. It was so worth it. We went in on an old trolley bus and learned the history of Ketchikan.
On this tour we stopped at a totem pole heritage center.
The Heritage Center houses one of the world's largest collections of unrestored 19th century totem poles. The poles were recovered from uninhabited Tlingit settlements on Village Island and Tongass Island, south of Ketchikan, as well as from the Haida village of Old Kasaan. The Center was founded in 1976 to preserve these totems and act as a cultural center. Sixteen of the museum's thirty-three totem poles are on permanent display, although the rest of the collection is available for research purposes. (Wikipedia).
There were totem poles everywhere in this little town. In peoples yards, on the side of the road, everywhere.
Another stop was a beautiful creek where the tour guide wanted to show us the salmon run and some wildlife. There was salmon everywhere. We also saw a black bear catch fish and even a bald eagle.
This tour took a couple hours but it was worth the money. On the way back we stopped at every waterfall he sees! oh it was so fun!.
Everywhere we went was just so green and beautiful! I wanted to move here like at that moment. I cant remember where we got them but we got a bunch of coupons for all the gift shops there. I think they were at the information booth.
The video is of the salmon run and a bear we saw.
Misty Fjords, between Ketchikan and Juneau:
Misty Fiords National Monument (or Misty Fjords National Monument) is a national monument and wilderness area administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Tongass National Forest. Misty Fiords is about 40 miles (64 km) east of Ketchikan, Alaska, along the Inside Passage coast in extreme southeastern Alaska, comprising 2,294,343 acres of Tongass National Forest in Alaska's Panhandle. All but 151,832 acres are designated as wilderness.
I was in aw of this!! Waterfalls EVERYWHERE!! Glaciers, green trees, all out beautiful. The small glaciers were fun to look at. I could not believe the color of some of them. It was like a deep turquoise. the picture to your right is a close up of the glaciers.
As we glided through the fjords we had an expert on the local wildlife talk on the intercom and tell us about how the fjords came to be and all the wildlife that inhabit it. Very informal and we learned a lot.
More pics of Fjords below:
Juneau, Alaska:
This place wasn't as impressive as Ketchikan. When we got there it was raining and cold, but still a cute little town.
We did the Mendenhall Glacier tour.
The glacier wasn't breathtaking, it was slightly dirty; hey its a glacier. From our point of view it didn't look that big. But apparently its huge. It was still beautiful, especially with all the green shrubs. There was a waterfall next to it so it was even more fantastic. After the tour we went to a local Mexican restaurant and it was delicious. Although I looked out the window and saw a bunch of homeless people. After dinner we walked to the tourists shopping and it was kinda sketchy. Homeless people asking to buy their products they were selling and following you. I recommend staying where the tourists spots are.
This is a video of Mendenhall Glacier.
Skagway, Alaska:
It was very windy and cold here. We had to walk quite a way to get to the actual town. Once we got there it was just a very, very small town with lots of things to see.
Skagway is a compact city in southeast Alaska, set along the popular cruise route the Inside Passage. It's home to gold-rush-era buildings, now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad runs vintage locomotives past the famously steep Chilkoot trail and offers sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.(wikipedia)
We went on a tour that went up to the Yukon, British Columbia and Klondike.
So many sights to see and it smelled so fresh up there, even though it was foggy and raining.
We went past the Klondike, up to the Yukon than to the Suspension bridge.
The Yukon Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian cable suspension bridge located on mile 46.5 on the South Klondike Highway in Northern British Columbia, Canada. It is 200 ft long and stretches 57 ft over the Tutshi River Canyon. There is an admission charge, and it is visited by over 25,000 people every summer between the months of May and September.The Yukon Suspension Bridge was completed in 2006 by Surespan Construction Group. The bridge's initial estimated cost for construction was one million Canadian dollars but due to the remote location and limitations on building supplies upon completion costs grew to three million Canadian dollars. In 2011 the bridge was privately acquired and now is locally owned and operated. (wikipedia)
This was very cool to see. We went into the cute store they had and got some snacks for the road. I recommend getting the ketchup chips! they were delicious. They also have a bunch of weird candies too. The bridge actually cost extra to go on, so we ended up just looking at it rather than crossing it.
After the bridge we headed up to British Columbia, Canada. I could not believe the colors. I know I say this about every stop, but seriously the colors!! The fall leaves and beautiful lakes made it just an amazing sight to see.
We made so many sight seeing stops and even saw a mountain goat. ( couldn't get a pic)
This tour was well worth our money. We did want to do the sled dog tour but we didn't have enough time.
Below are more pics of Skagway and the tour:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada:
Last stop was British Columbia.
Victoria, capital of British Columbia, sits on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island. With abundant parkland, it’s known for outdoor activities. The city's British colonial past shows in its Victorian architecture, including stately Craigdarroch Castle mansion. Butchart Gardens, with 55 acres of vivid floral displays, plus statuary, water features and a carousel, is one of many formal gardens in the city. (wikipedia)
We were only here for a few hours. We didn't do any tours on this one. We decided to walk to town. It took quite a while, and we kinda got lost. We made the best of it and enjoyed the sights. When we finally got into town it was so magical. It was night by this time but everything was lit up. The shops were so cute and lots to see. We walked up past the Parliament buildings, the harbor and walked by all the shops and went back to the boat. We walked a different way so we could get a different view of the town.
There was a huge building in the middle of this little town. This was one of the Parliament building.
Pros and cons of the ship:
( remember the emerald and ruby are exactly the same. I do not have pros and cons for the ruby ship since they are the same.) Pros-
This polar bear was in one of the gift shops in Ketchikan. It was humongous in real life. This picture does not do justice.
Some info is from Wikipedia (labeled) I do not take credit for the italic sections.
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| Heritage center |
The Heritage Center houses one of the world's largest collections of unrestored 19th century totem poles. The poles were recovered from uninhabited Tlingit settlements on Village Island and Tongass Island, south of Ketchikan, as well as from the Haida village of Old Kasaan. The Center was founded in 1976 to preserve these totems and act as a cultural center. Sixteen of the museum's thirty-three totem poles are on permanent display, although the rest of the collection is available for research purposes. (Wikipedia).
There were totem poles everywhere in this little town. In peoples yards, on the side of the road, everywhere.
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| Waterfall we stopped at |
This tour took a couple hours but it was worth the money. On the way back we stopped at every waterfall he sees! oh it was so fun!.
Everywhere we went was just so green and beautiful! I wanted to move here like at that moment. I cant remember where we got them but we got a bunch of coupons for all the gift shops there. I think they were at the information booth.
The video is of the salmon run and a bear we saw.
Misty Fjords, between Ketchikan and Juneau:
Misty Fiords National Monument (or Misty Fjords National Monument) is a national monument and wilderness area administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Tongass National Forest. Misty Fiords is about 40 miles (64 km) east of Ketchikan, Alaska, along the Inside Passage coast in extreme southeastern Alaska, comprising 2,294,343 acres of Tongass National Forest in Alaska's Panhandle. All but 151,832 acres are designated as wilderness.
I was in aw of this!! Waterfalls EVERYWHERE!! Glaciers, green trees, all out beautiful. The small glaciers were fun to look at. I could not believe the color of some of them. It was like a deep turquoise. the picture to your right is a close up of the glaciers.As we glided through the fjords we had an expert on the local wildlife talk on the intercom and tell us about how the fjords came to be and all the wildlife that inhabit it. Very informal and we learned a lot.
More pics of Fjords below:
This place wasn't as impressive as Ketchikan. When we got there it was raining and cold, but still a cute little town.
We did the Mendenhall Glacier tour.
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier about 13.6 miles (21.9 km) long located in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles (19 km) from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as part of the 5,815 acres (2,353 ha) Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, a federally designated unit of the Tongass National Forest. The Juneau Icefield Research Program has monitored the outlet glaciers of the Juneau Icefield since 1942, including Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier has also retreated 1.75 miles (2.82 km) since 1929, when Mendenhall Lake was created, and over 2.5 miles (4.0 km) since 1500. The end of the glacier currently has a negative glacier mass balance and will continue to retreat in the foreseeable future. (wikipedia)
It took forever to get to the actual glacier. We made unnecessary stops and he gave us a tour of the city. It was nice to see and it was included in the tour. But he took way to long on the city tour than the glacier. We only had 15 min at the glacier. We were super annoyed and upset that we had so little time to explore. We headed straight to the glacier and enjoyed the view before we had to head out. There were people that signed up for the fish fry after the tour and they had to be there at a certain time. So that's what cut out glacier time.
The glacier wasn't breathtaking, it was slightly dirty; hey its a glacier. From our point of view it didn't look that big. But apparently its huge. It was still beautiful, especially with all the green shrubs. There was a waterfall next to it so it was even more fantastic. After the tour we went to a local Mexican restaurant and it was delicious. Although I looked out the window and saw a bunch of homeless people. After dinner we walked to the tourists shopping and it was kinda sketchy. Homeless people asking to buy their products they were selling and following you. I recommend staying where the tourists spots are.
Shopping was way fun and lots to see and buy. Everything was on sale since we went right after summer ended so all the summer stuff was on sale.
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| View from the ships balcony |
Skagway, Alaska:
It was very windy and cold here. We had to walk quite a way to get to the actual town. Once we got there it was just a very, very small town with lots of things to see.
Skagway is a compact city in southeast Alaska, set along the popular cruise route the Inside Passage. It's home to gold-rush-era buildings, now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad runs vintage locomotives past the famously steep Chilkoot trail and offers sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.(wikipedia)
We went on a tour that went up to the Yukon, British Columbia and Klondike.
So many sights to see and it smelled so fresh up there, even though it was foggy and raining.
We went past the Klondike, up to the Yukon than to the Suspension bridge.
 |
| Yukon suspension bridge. |
This was very cool to see. We went into the cute store they had and got some snacks for the road. I recommend getting the ketchup chips! they were delicious. They also have a bunch of weird candies too. The bridge actually cost extra to go on, so we ended up just looking at it rather than crossing it.
After the bridge we headed up to British Columbia, Canada. I could not believe the colors. I know I say this about every stop, but seriously the colors!! The fall leaves and beautiful lakes made it just an amazing sight to see.
We made so many sight seeing stops and even saw a mountain goat. ( couldn't get a pic)
This tour was well worth our money. We did want to do the sled dog tour but we didn't have enough time.
Below are more pics of Skagway and the tour:
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| outside of skagway |
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| Main street |
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| Skagway main street |
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada:
Last stop was British Columbia.
Victoria, capital of British Columbia, sits on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island. With abundant parkland, it’s known for outdoor activities. The city's British colonial past shows in its Victorian architecture, including stately Craigdarroch Castle mansion. Butchart Gardens, with 55 acres of vivid floral displays, plus statuary, water features and a carousel, is one of many formal gardens in the city. (wikipedia)
We were only here for a few hours. We didn't do any tours on this one. We decided to walk to town. It took quite a while, and we kinda got lost. We made the best of it and enjoyed the sights. When we finally got into town it was so magical. It was night by this time but everything was lit up. The shops were so cute and lots to see. We walked up past the Parliament buildings, the harbor and walked by all the shops and went back to the boat. We walked a different way so we could get a different view of the town.
There was a huge building in the middle of this little town. This was one of the Parliament building.
The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
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| Parliament building |
The Speaker and the Sergeant-At-Arms are amongst those responsible for the legislative precinct, which by statute include the Parliament Buildings and grounds.
The Neo-baroque buildings face north on Belleville street facing the Inner Harbour and diagonally across from The Empress Hotel. A statue of Queen Victoria stands on the front lawn as well a statue of a soldier to commemorate the province's World War I, World War II, Korean War and Afghanistan War dead. Atop the central dome is a gold-covered statue of Captain George Vancouver. Free guided tours of the facility are offered year-round. (Wikipedia).
There were flowers everywher!! Around the harbor, sculptures of whales, and trees. Even if it was dark we could still see a lot.
Below are more pics of our adventures:
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| Flower sculptures |
Pros and cons of the ship:
( remember the emerald and ruby are exactly the same. I do not have pros and cons for the ruby ship since they are the same.) Pros-
- All employees were so happy and very helpful
- Everything was clean including pools and hottubs
- Room was spacious and clean
- Food was delicious!!!
- Small boat so won't get lost or confused
- Gym was clean and spacious. Every piece of equipment was taken care of and clean.
- Lots and lots of activities to do. For young and old.
- Steam room and sauna was included! so worth it.
- International cafe is open 24 hours
- At a certain time of day at international cafe, there will be waiters handing out fresh cookies and milk.
- Piazza was so beautiful and lots of activity going on.
- Running track is big and very nice to have
- The salty dog pub ( which is extra) will sometimes have a complimentary lunch or brunch. Keep a look out.
- Bars were hardly busy and drinks were delicious.
- Entertainment was phenomenal!! ( on shows i liked)
- 24 hour room service is free. Just tip to show kindness.
- Movie under the stars is well worth your time
- Free popcorn and comfy blankets during movie under the stars
- They do a "voice of the ocean" like "the voice" on T.V. Its fun to stay updated on it and possibly participate.
- Trident grill has everything. From burgers and fries to hot dogs. Since we were going to Alaska they had fish tacos and they were delicious.
- Free ice cream by the pool
- There are a couple adults only pools that were mostly empty.
- Hardly any kids on this ship
- Soda package totally worth the money. Especially if your going for a week or longer.
- During the cold days, when watching a movie by the pool. They sometimes serve warm soup for free. Its delicious and warms you up fast.
- Take advantage of the anytime dining in the restaurants. Its good to get a lot of variety, since all you do is eat.
- Sometimes they hand our free mimosa, champagne, and even margaritas. Keep a look out on your princess pat paper.
- Tax and duty free shopping
- If you are nice to housekeeping they will be nice to you. Please say your please and thank yous. Who knows, you might make their day.
Cons-
- Ship is old and needs an upgrade
- Chocolate journeys and other certain restaurants are extra.
- International cafe doesn't have a huge selection after 11 pm
- No swim diapers allowed in pools. Only potty trained children.
- Was not to impressed with "Magic to do" in the theater. Just not for me. Performers were amazing though
- Shakes are not included with soda package anymore
- Formal night dinners; service would take quite a while. We would wait up to an hour for our main dishes and sometimes appetizers.
- They would have us wait at the front of the restaurant for formal nights. It was such a small space that we were crammed in there like sardines. People couldn't even get off the elevators.
- We memorized the ship within 3 - 4 days, due to the size. But thats what we signed up for.
- Formal nights were way busy. Especially out in the Piazza. Good luck getting nice pictures there without anyone else in them.
- The food in the buffet seemed the same. You get sick of it.
- Sometimes it was too cold to sit and enjoy a movie outside by the pool. One day it poured on us when we went to watch Beauty and the Beast. Very cold and hardly any blankets left.
- When it rains be careful, it can get extremely slippery outside. Mainly by the pools.
- No ATMs on the ship
- Everything in the shops are EXPENSIVE!!! But fun to look at
All in all very fun experience. I had a group of 4 and we all had a very enjoyable cruise. Each of us had something we liked. My mom got the coffee card and it was well worth the money.
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| The voice of the ocean |
Below are some more pics:
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| Desserts from dinner. I think its called love boat. |
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| Movie at the pool |
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| This is in Skagway. Its on a rock up on a small mountain behind the town |
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| Ketchikan police boat |
This polar bear was in one of the gift shops in Ketchikan. It was humongous in real life. This picture does not do justice.
Some info is from Wikipedia (labeled) I do not take credit for the italic sections.
