First sighting the ship

September 9^th – We returned from our Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise of 2289 miles on Sunday. We spent Sunday resting, recovering and sharing memories and experiences with the others at Wine time. It was very interesting to get the perspective from others especially on the tours that we didn’t take.

Yesterday we tried to catch up on laundry and grocery shopping.

Trip highlights:

Day 1 – Loaded up luggage and caravanned to Seattle to board the Grand Princess. By the time we settled into our cabins it was time to explore and eat, explore and eat, repeat for a week!!

Talented drink server

Day 2 – travel at sea. Linda didn’t do well with the rock and roll once we hit the Pacific Ocean…

Day 3 – Ketchikan.  We had a very good and sunny day. The Lumberjack Show was great and the Clam Chowder delicious.

Day 4 – 6:00 AM an announcement that we were entering the Tracy Arm Fjord. It was a little misty and very cool when we hit the top deck but an awesome view in every direction. We spent an hour and a half up there spellbound by the beauty and the misty fog added to the mystic. Yes I would have preferred a bright sunny morning but…

Later that day we cruised into Juneau the capitol of Alaska. Our shore trip included the Mendenhall Glacier, a Rainforest area and the Mount Roberts tram high above the city. The Glacier and the giant waterfall next to it were great and only a one mile hike each way to see it. The Rainforest was an area with a walkway three quarters of a mile through well marked trails and identified trees bushes, fungi and moss followed by an interesting explanation of local geography by the couple who created this interesting place. The umbrellas they provided made the afternoon. By the time we got to the Tram we couldn’t see the top but went up anyway. Good view of the ship but little else.

Day 5 – we were in Skagway by the time we woke up at 6:00 AM but since we spent a week here on our last RV trip to Alaska we had a leisurely morning and then walked into town for a little shopping and a visit to the local Brew Pub. Interesting Spruce Tip Ale and a great Porter. Back on board by mid afternoon.

Day 6 – Another day at sea. Linda did much better this time and we went from one of the ship entertainment areas to another. There were so many great shows on the ship all week it was hard to plan which ones to take in.

Port side of ship

Starboard side of ship

On one hand across the floor dribbling a ball with the other hand

Linda becomes part of the entertainment

Building a Champagne waterfall

Day 7 – More time at sea but we were in Victoria, B.C. Canada by 7:00 PM. Our tour was for the Butchart Gardens which were probably great but in the dark it was hard to tell except for the Sunken Gardens and the lighted fountain in the lake. Would have been good earlier in the year when the sun was still up and the fireworks over the lake were still going when it did get dark enough. Not enough schedule adjustment on the ship’s part.

Day 8 – we docked in Seattle shortly after 7:00 AM and were shuttled back to the vehicles by 10 and back to the Campground by noon.

We threw the suitcases into the RV and headed to Olympia to retrieve Lexi. She had a good week but we were all happy to be reunited.