For our sixth trip to Alaska, my husband, another couple and I wanted to do something a little different in addition to revisiting some of our favorite ports. Princess Cruises’ new 14-night voyage roundtrip from Vancouver fitted the bill perfectly. And the fact the voyage would be on the Tahitian Princess, one of their smaller ships (maximum of 670 passengers), made it even more appealing to us. There would be eight ports of call as well as five days at sea (including a full day in Glacier Bay).
We flew into Vancouver one day early and stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel which is located adjacent to the pier at Canada Place. The hotel’s location was very convenient for us as the Vancouver trolley and bus tours both stop right outside the entrance to the hotel.
Our first port of call was Ketchikan where we were docked right in town on an unusually sunny day. We enjoyed our walk through a rainforest, a visit with reindeer and a totem-carving demonstration.
This was our fifth visit to Glacier Bay and it was the most gorgeous day ever - clear and sunny! We saw multiple calvings of Margerie Glacier. A special treat for me was seeing about three dozen puffins in the water at the base of the glacier – I had never seen so many in one place! We saw one bear in the distance and many orca and humpback whales.
The Tahitian Princess docked within walking distance of the town of Skagway. People who signed up for the White Pass and Yukon train excursion could walk directly across the dock to board the train. Instead, we took the ferry to Haines and then a bus to the Chilkoot River jet boats. We saw eagles, owls and other birds but unfortunately no moose. It was an enjoyable trip on the river, especially since we had another clear, sunny day.
The town of Valdez was a short walk from the dock. This port is not included on most cruise itineraries so it is less “touristy.” Definitely one of the highlights of our entire trip was our Keystone Canyon Whitewater Rafting excursion. It was wonderful – the scenery on the Lowe River was awesome! The fact that it was another beautiful, sunny day was just icing on the cake.
The days with no rain ended in Seward. We had decided to take a break from excursions so took a leisurely walk into town (2 miles), stopping at shops along the way. We spent some time in the Sealife Center before taking the shuttle bus back to the ship.
Kodiak was the other port on our itinerary which does not get many cruise passengers. The Ft. Abercrombie Park Nature Walk was an excellent hike through the rainforest and shoreline despite the constant rain. We stopped at the Kodiak Military History Museum in an WWII bunker during the walk.
Juneau is another city where the Tahitian Princess docked right in town. We hadn’t made any tour plans for this port, so the two men took the city bus to the Alaska Brewery ($1.50 each way) where they had a free tour and free beer. They were just as happy with their day as we women were with our day of shopping!
All ships must tender in Sitka, but once in town almost everything is within walking distance. We had a great tour guide on our Historic Russian America and Raptor Center tour. The Raptor Center is where they rehabilitate injured birds of prey and is well worth the visit. This tour also included visits to St. Michaels Russian Orthodox Church and the Sitka National Historical Park which has a long wooded totem trail. The tour concluded with a performance of the Russian Archangel Dancers.
Butchardt Gardens, of course, was the big draw for most people in Victoria, but we had visited several times before and chose something different. The visit to Craigdarrock Castle was quite interesting – I especially liked all the lovely stained glass windows. At the end of the tour, we had the option of being dropped off in front of the Empress Hotel to sightsee around the Inner Harbor before making our way back to the ship.
This would a great trip for the first-time visitor to Alaska, as well as for those of us who love returning to Alaska again and again and are looking for something a little different.