Cruising Alaska on the Golden Princess - Yakutat Bay and Hubbard Glacier

Today was the day of the:

• Drunk Walk. Hardly anyone could walk straight.
• Privacy Sign City. Cabin after cabin on our deck had their privacy signs out a good chunk of the day. 
• Ginger Ale Cafe. The most requested drink at the Piazza bar was ginger ale. 
• Clothes Hanger Symphony. The clothes hangers, empty and full, danced and made music as they bounced along the clothes rod.

All the open decks were closed and seasickness bags placed in the restrooms. The waves were high and the winds strong. Last night the Captain had told us we would see a bit more chop in the seas, but at the noontime update he told us the storm was worse than expected. How much worse? We’ve been experiencing 70 mph winds.

My plan was to hang out in Skywalkers today to do some writing, but even I, the iron stomach girl, felt a little queasy. Our cabin at the back of the ship is not fun, so I imagine up on deck 17 to be even worse. So the Piazza it is. We snagged the coveted corner spot tucked behind the bar but next to the window. Out of everyone’s way and a great place to look at the wild waves.

Being down here gave me the opportunity to take a look at the coffee menu. Here is the link to the menu.

I also noticed the sugar/cream/stirrer station is not at the bar like usual, but in a separate spot away from the beverage line. Pretty smart.

I was able to be around for the fruit and vegetable carving. Look at that bald eagle.

Crab Shack was today – during the day. Other ships have it happening in one half of the Horizon Court in the evening, but here on this ship it is held in the Crown Grill from 12:00-1:30. Even though it is happening at lunch time it is still $29 each. We didn’t go.

Today was also Yakutat Bay and Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising day. We were delayed getting into the bay because of the weather, but once we got there the seas calmed down. We've had some amazing weather when cruising Yakutat Bay in the past and this afternoon wound up being okay after all. Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure, all taken through the windows of the Piazza.

The most exciting part of our viewing came as the ship was turning to leave. A huge, top to bottom face of the glacier dropped into the water. Unfortunately my camera was turned off when it happened. But it was huge.

Want more photos of Yakuata Bay? Check out the great views from a few years ago here.

Tonight is formal night and the Captain’s Welcome Aboard party. The champagne waterfall is set up and they are serving champagne, mimosas, and orange juice. We didn’t make it to the show last night and won’t make it tonight. We’re turning into boring cruisers.

Tomorrow is Glacier Bay. Crossing fingers for great weather.

Here is the link to today's Patter.

Cruising Alaska on the Golden Princess - Embarkation Day

In 2002 I took a picture when we were in Whittier of something that looked like a hotel. Here's that picture from 16 years ago.

On all of our subsequent trips to Whittier I've looked at that building and wondered about it. Wondered if it was a hotel or bed and breakfast or somebody's home. Well, it's a hotel. It's the hotel we stayed in last night, the Inn at Whittier. It was nice staying so close to port for a change. All we had to do is walk just a bit and we would be on the ship. 

Our room

The view at breakfast

Embarkation at Whittier should be super easy. Everyone has to come through the tunnel at Whittier to get here. All cars, coaches, and even the trains share the one lane, one way road. You can find my most recent picture of the inside of the tunnel here. It opens for traffic heading out of Whittier on the hour and to Whittier on the half hour. Just time your walk to coincide with no one coming into town and you should be good. Easy peasy if you beat the train passengers. And with no customs to go through (that'll happen after disembarking in Vancouver) it should have been even more easier peasier. But it wasn't. There were two dozen folding chairs in the waiting area for about a dozen of us independent travelers another 300 train passengers. It was a bit of a mess. We all stood in line for close to half an hour before they opened the check in line around 12:30. They really needed that line open before folks started piling off the train.

We headed to the buffet for a quick bite before going to the cabin. As reported by someone else, there is a dripping water issue. At least there was in the middle of the Horizon Court where they had a bucket near the pastry section. Not just a slow drip, either. That's the only drip I've seen so far but I haven't wandered far.

We are in an interior cabin on the Caribe deck, C737. We just booked this cruise a couple weeks back for a rock bottom price so we won't be complaining too much. Although I might be tempted to say something about that dirty Q-tip hubby found in the nightstand drawer. Yuck.

I left hubby to take a nap (after he washed his hands, of course) and I am camped out up in Skywalkers. Such a pretty view of Whittier from up here. The rain has stopped and the sun is out. 

Muster Drill is at 7:45 pm tonight and All Aboard is after that at 8:00 pm. Tomorrow is our first scenic cruising day with Yakutat Bay and Hubbard Glacier on the itinerary.

Here is the stack of today's first day papers, including the Patter.  

Talkeetna, Alaska

When we were looking for a place to spend a few nights in Alaska, I didn't do a search for a hotel. I searched for cabins. We were happy with our stay at McKinley Creekside Cabins. And we were even happier with our stay at the Talkeetna Wilderness Lodge and Cabins.

How could you not when your cabin looks like this?

How can you not when you can sit on your porch in the morning, with a view like this, soaking up the warm Alaskan sunshine?

It was down a gravel road several miles outside of Talkeetna. We couldn't have asked for a better location. Peace and quiet.

After some time spent in that morning sun, we headed into Talkeetna for breakfast. On the way we came across quite the view. After two days of clouds, Denali popped out. Just spectacular.

Then we made our way to a place called the Talkeetna Roadhouse. I sat down and hubby got wide eyed. He pointed to a sign right behind me. See that sign? It said Adam from Man v. Food sat in the exact same spot I was sitting.

Here's the view from my seat (instead of the sign on the wall).

 I went with a breakfast wrap, hubby went with biscuits and reindeer sausage gravy. Of course, he added plenty of pepper.

Then I saw these raspberry cinnamon rolls in the case.

While we weren't hungry anymore, we just had to try one. Oh. My. Goodness. Best thing ever!

 If you're interested in their menu, you can find it below.

A Day in Denali - Tundra Wilderness Tour

When we booked a Tundra Wilderness Tour a couple months back we knew very little about it:

• We could choose a time but the actual time will be assigned 24-48 hours before the tour begins.
• It goes into Denali National Park.
• The tour uses an old school bus.
• There was some kind of snack or lunch or something.
• It was supposed to be a good tour.

That's it. We didn't know a darn thing else.

After doing the tour today I can report it was a good tour. Actually, a great tour. I highly recommend it.

Yep, our assigned time was different than the time we signed up for. Thank goodness! We had chosen a 6:40 am time (yikes, right?) but our actual assigned time was 9:10 am (whew).

Yep, it was an old school bus with student seats replaced with coach seats.

We had brought a box lunch from McKinley Creekside Cafe, just in case. They made amazing box lunches.

Look at the size of the brownie they put in our box!

 And the turkey and red onion!

But we really didn't need them as when we got on the bus there were boxes of snacks on our seats. Good snacks? Yep, and bottles (actually cans) of water to boot.

Just look at the variety of snacks each of us got.

Why would we need such a robust box of snacks for a bus ride? Because this bus ride went 52 miles into Denali National Park. On gravel roads and dirt roads, roads inaccessible to private vehicles. Through the forests and tundra and snowy vistas. For seven hours! (Later in the season the road opens a bit deeper into the park, but not in May.)

We saw bears. Lots of bears.

Lots of caribou.

Lots of Dall sheep.

How about porcupines? Yep.

Ptarmigans? Yep. Lots.

And if you didn't have a good view from your seat, the driver stopped the bus and used a zoom lens camera to get up close video. That video is broadcast right then and there on screens throughout the bus.

They had a heavy snow winter and it made for spectacular views.

No climbing up to the top of this viewpoint.

The roads were in good shape. But some of them were a bit scary. Glad I wasn't driving! 

See the road in the side of the mountain? Scary!

 It was an amazing day. Even heading south towards our hotel in Talkeetna was super pretty. Alaska is just gorgeous this time of year.

What to do with 19 Hours of Daylight in Alaska

While we're in between cruises we've been doing some touring around Alaska. Wildlife and scenery and food and quirkiness and lots of daylight.

First stop, car rental pickup in Whittier, Alaska at the convenience store/bait shop/hardware store/harbor store/car rental counter. Yep, it's just as crazy looking inside as it is outside.

Next up, drive the tunnel. The only way out of Whittier is through the train tunnel. I've driven it before and it is always scary driving on the train tracks.

My photo from 2012

Current photo. Scary!

Then breakfast for the road from the Alpine Bakery in Girdwood, Alaska. A gigantic blueberry scone and an apple fritter.

A stop to try and snap a photo of Mt. McKinley. Nope, too cloudy.

Another stop, more scenery, and lots more snow on the ground.

Careful of that moose crossing the road. 

Check into McKinley Creekside Cabins. A cozy queen bed cabin and an amazing view of the creek and mountains right out the door.

Dinner at the onsite cafe. Delicious cheeseburger, Turkey Pot Pie with the flakiest crust ever, and a unbelievable apple pie made by their brand-new baker.

No better way to spend the 19 daylight hours in Alaska.