Alaska Trip Summary
Talkeetna/Denali/Anchorage
Our first 20+ hr travel day was a killer. Not only was it stressful because we had 3 plane trips and a car trip – but the fact that the time was 4 hrs off was also a factor. By the time we got to Talkeetna, I think we were both in a daze. We slept well that evening but we really should have spent the whole next day relaxing and getting our bearings. Instead, of course, we got up and headed 3 hours north to Denali. In retrospect, we should have taken one full day to get to 
Anchorage, and then we should have taken the following day to drive to Denali. On the 3rd day, we would have either hiked Denali, or taken the bus into the park to see wildlife and spent another day hiking. Then, the following day we would have driven back to Anchorage for an evening before catching the Whittier shuttle the following day. All in all then, we needed at least an extra 3 days to maximize the first part of our trip. It ended up that by the time we got to the cruise ship, we were already exhausted from the first part of our trip. That somewhat set us up for feeling less-than-energized for the rest of the vacation. All of that being said, we loved Talkeetna because of it’s genuine charm, loved the hiking in Denali, and really enjoyed wandering around Anchorage for a couple of days. We just needed more time to do all of that!
Cruise and Excursions
Alaska is definitely a vast and open state, so taking a cruise makes a great deal of sense when trying to get from one place to another. The disadvantage we found, is that we took excursions on all 3 days so by the time we got ready for the excursion, did the excursion and came back, our time in the town was ending and we had to be back on the ship. With the exception of Skagway, our time in the towns seemed pretty short unless we wanted to get up and off the ship at 8am.
All of the excursions were well worth signing up for – we did the rock climbing in Skagway, the ziplining in Juneau and the snorkeling in Ketchikan. We felt like all 3 provided a true outdoor/Alaskan experience that was well worth sampling. I think in all 3 of the destinations we stopped, we could have spent at least a couple of days seeing what the areas had to offer. Again, that’s the advantage and disadvantage of a cruise – you get a true sampling of places that you might want to come back and visit someday, but it’s just a teaser – if you want true time in a place, you’re going to have to drive or fly there direct!
The cruise itself was *good* but not great or outstanding. The ship itself was nice but lacked a bit in service, entertainment and centralized structure. When we would sit down in a lounge or restaurant, it would take the servers a long time to either recognize we were there (if ever) and come over to take our orders. When they did finally take our orders, it took forever for them to actually come back and deliver our drinks. Once the drinks were delivered, not once do I remember them coming back and asking us if we wanted a second round. I found this disappointing as in most circumstances, the servers are the opposite and don’t leave you alone because they want that extra money. After all, that’s where the cruises make their money. Secondly, the entertainment both during the day and in the evenings was lacking. There really wasn’t much to chose from in terms of things to do during our at sea days, and since we weren’t lying around the pool, it would have made sense to have a full itinerary of fun things to do. I suppose it might have been different if it wouldn’t have been raining the first two days and we would have been able to see pretty things around us. In that case at least, we could have sat outside and just enjoyed the scenery like we did on our last at sea day. Lastly – the way the ship was designed was similar to a couple of cruises we’ve been on, where there is a tall central gallery but then everything else (lounges, restaurants) are spread all over the place with no real rhyme or reason – so it took forever to learn where everything was. In truth, I never did. Contrary to this set-up was our March cruise which had a big long ‘mall’ like center which helped centralize the restaurants, shops, etc. It’s probably a preference thing, but I liked always returning to the main strip and having things to do. On the Sapphire Princess, we always had to wander a bit before finding happening events going on.
On a positive note, the food was pretty good and the different restaurants offered a slightly different view to check out each evening (as opposed to dining in the same restaurant each night). When we did have sunshine, it wasn’t difficult to find a place to lounge and watch the passing scenery. Embarkation and Debarkation (getting on and off the ship) was smooth at each of the ports and the crew got people on and off efficiently (except for our final day which wasn’t so great). On another positive note, we did watch a show in the Princess Theater one of the evenings called “Piano Man” where a bunch of songs by Elton John, Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, etc. were featured and it was one of the better shows we’ve seen.
Weather
We had pretty consistent rain and low cloud cover the first 5 days which made for a slightly depressing start to the trip! The weather cleared up for us in Denali but not enough for us to see McKinley. We finally hit better weather on our first port day in Skagway and we had sunshine everyday forward except for Ketchikan (our snorkeling day) where it poured the whole time. Thankfully, we were in the water anyway so it didn’t matter! Our days in Vancouver were sunny and beautiful, so that made up for the initial rainy days a bit. In terms of temperature, we averaged somewhere between the 50s-70s. For Bill and I (Michigan Northerners), we found the lower end of this range to be perfect – light jacket and plenty of walking/hiking was the right combination.
Shopping
Eh. With the exception of Vancouver, I didn’t find much to get excited about in terms of shopping. Not saying I didn’t leave some green behind, but for the most part, the shops were the typical over-touristy kinds you get in all generic-ports, including Del-Sol (color changing shirts!) which only seem to survive in cruise ship port towns. I did buy some Jade which is local to Alaska. Alaska is known for their fish of course, so if you go, make sure to get some fresh Salmon, Halibut and King Crab!
Vancouver
I loooooooved Vancouver. Of course I did, it’s a city with the proper amount of trees, lots of cityness, skyscrapers galore, friendly fashionable people, trendy restaurants on every street corner, pretty scenery on the outskirts, and sunshine, but not too hot. I could have stayed for days in Vancouver and in truth, there was enough outdoor stuff around too that I think Bill could have been happy as well. The shopping was great and we had no problem finding cute, trendy restaurants to dine in come evening time. One of my favorite cities so far. What else can I say? I loved it!
Overall
We had a great time with Trina and Jasmyn – lots of laughs, good conversation, and new shared adventures in the wildnerness! Bill loved Alaska and could have stayed there forever. I thought Alaska was gorgeous but it also reminded me of northern Michigan with mountains. People who love northern Michigan/UP of Mich. (the woodsy parts, not the Petoskey/Traverse parts) would love Alaska. Alaska is just an upper Michigan on steroids – bigger animals, bigger mountains, more trails, more land, more adventure. I found it to be a beautiful place to visit but after our 2.5 hr drive to Denali in silence because a) the one fuzzy country station out of Talkeetna had died on the radio b) we had lost data coverage on our cellphones c) we had lost cell coverage on our cell phones and d) we had run out of conversation the 20hr travel day before… I realized it wasn’t the place for me long term. I like to hike and do outdoor things but then in the evening, please let me clean up, dress up a little and have a good meal! In Alaska it’s a bit of casual all the time. Much like Michigan. Vancouver on the other hand… had balance! We didn’t visit Seattle or Portland but I’m guessing they had the right amount of balance too – maybe all along the West coast.
Bottom line is that I am glad I visited Alaska – it was stunningly beautiful, vast, and for the most part, untouched. It has a woodsy character and a uniqueness that should be seen by all who desire to see true rough-edged wildnerness. Now go… and leave the cities up to me.
