A New Folder on the Mac Desktop

New Folder

One of the great things about being in the Mac interface is working with what other systems call the directory. Basic to working on the Desktop (what you see when you trun your computer on) is making a new folder for the stuff that you will be creating.

Make sure that the name in the right hand corner says Finder. You can command Q the program if it does not show finder. It might say Safari in the upper right corner or Firefox. You can click and drag down the drag down the column to Quit if you do not want to command Q.

With Finder visible in the upper left hand corner, click and drag down the choices until you see new folder. When this is visible and highlighted, let go. A new Folder will appear on your desktop. Find this new folder and change the name to something that you want.

Once this is done you are ready to drag files into it that you want to organize in this category. So click and hold on the name of the file and drag it into the new folder.

You can have many new folders and use them to organize your computer documents. Just repeat the procedure as outlined above and you can have as many as you have hard drive space.
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Alaskan Cruise: Tips on things to Tag Along

Alaskan Cruise: What to Bring with you

Many of these tag a longs apply to travel in general and certainly most cruising situations.

Electrical Bar and an Extension Cord

Many cabins have just one electrical plug. Having an electric bar that allows you to plug multiple plugs into electric plug. An extension cord is needed as the plug may be way across the cabin. An extension cord will allow you to bring the power to where you need it. We allows need this as the power chair needs a place to be charged. If you have multiple electronics you will also need this handy convenience.

Sometimes the only  power outlet is in the bathroom only. We have forgotten this once and had to "borrow one" from the front desk for a 14 dollar deposit.

Night light 

If you have an interior room, it gets really dark in a cabin. A night light may save your toes or your head.

Laundry Pods and Quarters

Laundry soap comes in small plastic pills. These are great for cruise travel. A small baggie of these come in handy when laundry needs to be done. This stuff is highly priced when you get on the ship. Quarters are handy to run the machines. I have heard that some of the machines are now taking cruise cards... but again a baggie of quarters is pretty good insurance.

Your Own Soda

My wife is sensitive to sugar and caffeine. We always pack a cube of diet caffeine free  cube in our check in bags (using the platform collapsible roll on). Sometimes this will result in you appearing on the bad boy list and having to explain yourself but liquid is critical on the ship. When ever you go onshore I have never been turned back bringing on additional soda to replenish the supply.

Drug Store supplies

While the ship store has a ton of things to buy, it is pretty thin on items that you would normally buy in a drug store, particularly personal care items. They only care one kind of deodorant, and just one kind of toothpaste. A quick stop to Target or Walgreens will add comfort to your trip.

Cash

Cash is handy for buying items on shore and will work really nicely in the casino slots or tables. Ship casinos will also use your cruise card. When using your cruise card for casinos, a numeric password for that use is generated. Any winnings go on your cruise card or may be cashed at the cage the day before you leave the ship. The debarkation morning has no staff working the casino and no way to trade in your winnings for cash in your pocket.

Don't for get the tips for the various people that help you on the ship.  All drinks come with an automatic 15 percent tip included. 

Paperback books

Even though many people will love their kindles or their kindle apps on ship, a paperback book or two is pretty nice to have in your hand when you have time to sit and watch the water go by. Bring some new ones and pass them on to others in the library trade section. 

Sunglasses and Skin Care

Sunglasses are must up on the glaciers. Don't forget some lip balm and some sunblock. While most of days in Alaska are filled with rain in the summer, when the sun comes out it will burn everything in sight. If you are off hiking, mosquito protection is also comforting.

Snacks

It might seem odd, but we always bring along a box of crackers and cheese comb kits. They are the ones with the little plastic stick in them. They always come in handy when you just don't want to get up and face the crowd or for whatever.  They also go great with the fruit you will order for your room. Don't forget to order a pear, an apple and a kiwi if you like them delivered free to your room every day.  That is one cool thing about Princess Cruises. Don't forget to have high tea at least once on every cruise... its special and included in your cruise package. 

Water Bottle

Off the ship it is great to bring ship's water with you. If your have your own water bottle, you can save yourself some grief worrying about the safety of the water you drink.

Misc

I am sure I have forgotten one thing or another... you will too.  The list above I hope will not be in that category.

The Dreaded Last Night and Debarcation

Getting it all back in the suitcases

The last night of the cruise can be pretty hectic. Your bags except what you will wear the next day are expected to be in the hall before you head off to dinner that night.

Prior to this night you will find in the the Princess Patter or the other newspaper that the cruise line publishes, a list of colors of baggage tags. This is used to store your bags in a particular spot prior to you leaving. You will be issued a series of tags that bear this color in your communication slot outside your room. If you need more of your color they may be obtained at the pursers desk. The pursers desk is also the place that if your feel that you have been categorized with a time that will not allow you to meet your connections, you can plead your case. We are nearly always the last to leave the ship since we go out and get in our car to drive home.

Bags are tagged and but out at dinner the night before so that the crew members can hustle them down to the cargo hold and get them to a particular area so that you can find them the next day. An airline may have as many as 200 passengers, a cruise line will have over 3000. This is the way you can get to your bags without looking through 10,000 bags. Because of this huge effort, elevator use is somewhat slow during this time.

The Last Night in the Ship

The coast of Northern California is nothing to sneeze about regarding its intensity. The last night of the cruise will probably be the roughest. When the ship finally makes it around the bend in the predawn morning it all calms down. The sight of the Golden Gate Bridge in the premorning fog is pretty cool. Bring a coat and enjoy the lights of the city.

On some cruises depending on the nationalities of the crew and the passengers, an immigration check is made the minute the ship reaches dock. If this occurs, a member of each cabin must cue and carry the passports of all that are in the cabin. This can be pretty crazy especially since no one can get off the ship until the sweep is made. This can occur between 6 and 7:30 am. Those that are not complying are targeted with an all call. Luckily this has not happened in the last several cruises we have made.

Tips for the Disembark

Many people run for the buffet the morning of the disembarkation. As there as so many people that need to get off the ship not everyone should be running to the exits all at once. Having a nice made to order breakfast will help your transition to the real world. A cautionary note: The bar tags are all completed so if you plan to buy a drink before you leave, it will not happen. This is even true in regard to a soda. Coffee is provided at some of the waiting stations and water and some juice. But my first suggestion is to bring your walk off bags and go for a nice breakfast. It could be along time before you see your lunch. I really don't plan on being on solid ground until 11:00.

Be sure to pack your cellphone with your in your carryout bags. You will be close enough to call your land world on your trusty plan. You will be able to upload the photos you took for free as you wait for you color to be call of finish that book you started. There may be up to three hours to wait before you can get off the ship. Some folks find a spot to sleep a little longer. 

You will be out of your cabin by 9 am. Those without immediate colors will be relaxing in one of the assigned public areas. This is a good time to fill out your comment cards. Give some kudos to the people who have been working for you. The biggest comment card will occur when you get home and are asked to take a survey of your opinion of the various aspects of the cruise. On the day of your departure, you will not see your room steward or your table waiters. If you plan to tip the room steward in person, or the table steward, it is best to do it on the afternoon before your last night. A tip is included in your daily cruise card tab. It will be forwarded to you the night before you leave. Be sure to look it over a day or two before it gets published to your room. This will allow you to clear up any discrepancies. The pursers desk will print you an itemized total at anytime during the cruise. Your cruise card tag will be charged to your credit card on midnight of the night before leaving. Your liability for the card you posted will be checked several times on cruise to make sure that your card has room to cover your charges.

The people that come it to clean the rooms are from shore and they power through each room and collect all the junk that will left behind in big paper trash bags.  You must to a very careful job of getting your stuff out of your room in the morning. There is no recovery of found items like you would have in a normal hotel room. The classic thing left behind is electronic chargers. By the way, charge your electronic devices that night before.  Make sure everything is out of your mini safe.

When your luggage tag color is called you will head to the 4th deck with your cruise card and all of your walk out bags. We usually have a backpack for this stuff. Your curisecard will be checked and you will head down the gangplank to the dock. Sometimes you might be on the 5th deck instead of the 4th because of tides.

There is often a line along the gangplank as the customs and the immigrations people and the department of agriculture give you and your bags a look over.  If you ordered extra booze from the duty free stores you it will be delivered to your cabin the day before. You will have to hustle it out with you as you depart. On some cruises people are required to pay some duty on the booze they bought.  If you plan to do this you may consider packing you your bag a collapsible dolly. It is not recommended you pack your duty free booze in your big bags.

Retrieving your Bags

It is critical to know how many bags you set out the night before. To retrieve the bags you will go to that color of your disembarkation and search for your bags laid out on the ground. Once your have gathered your bags, I always get a porter to take the bags to the curb. Be sure to have a 20 dollar tip ready for this people. They will pick up your bags including your carry off bags and select a spot that your can have your driver partner (if you are working that way) pick you up. It is pretty much chaos on the streets so having a good spot is important. It is also nice to have them in one place and everything lifted and put on a cart. People without bags are usually able to walk right off the ship without having to go through this step. Unless you are really light dressers and strong muscled people, this is not a good objective for a 10 day Alaskan cruise.

Best Advice

I think that the best advice of all is to have fun and let the little things go. Princess is great at knowing that you are on vacation and are adept at getting the most of the little things done. Don't be the old lady that returns her banana 5 times because it is not ripe enough or that it has too many spots on it. Go with the flow and smile often.

Alaskan Cruise: Idle Time

Ship Life

Some passengers get perplexed by the relaxing nature of the cruise. There is time to devote to nothing to do at all. To those that are working so hard to make a living this seems like nirvana. To others agony. It can me both or none of that depending upon your emotional make up or your planning.

Day to Day:

Some people think that they will stay in bed all day and get nothing but sleep in. This can be done but daily cabin service would love to make sure that you are up and out sometime in the morning hours. They need to get in and change your bed and clean your bathroom and straighten up your cabin for you. They often leave a towel animal to let you know they care. There is also a turn down service in the the evening when you go to dinner where they make sure everything is ok in your room and make you sure it is neat for you you to get into at night. They leave a couple of chocolates. If there is a change in the routine or if your would like to order free fruit for your room you need to contact your room stewart and let them know the changes. They will be in the hall and soon in the 10 cruise you will know their name. It is often posted on a little card in your room when you first arrive.

Personal Activities

My wife and I participate in some activities together and some in a group. A deck of cards is always welcome in playing a game of rummy or gin rummy among ourselves. My wife loves to do word search puzzles... so there is a stockpile that we bring along to do some of that. A list of fairly current movies is broadcasted on your TV. Some of these are cruise centric, such as the old move North to Alaska and Disney sleddog movies and others are just current HBO types. On recent cruises there has been a movie night or two where a big blockbuster movie is shown in the theatre or the secondary night club spot. The movies or sports events of the day are also shown on the big screen outdoors. Seating in the outdoor movie theater can be somewhat limited for big sporting events and pretty darn cold on the Alaskan curise. Woolen blankets are supplied but often people opt for warmer venues. There are always kids that want to hot tub and head for the wool blankets.

Triva is a team event that happens throughout the day on ship. It becomes a mixer as the 6 member groups often require members from other groups than your own group to participate. Some cutesy prizes are awarded to the winning teams. These triva contests are run by the ship's social crew.

The library is open at certain hours of the day. Books may be checked out and returned. Many ships have very nice literature collections. Some have reference books that you peruse while you are there. I love some of the big art books that are contained in the library. The library is not open all the time as it requires staff to staff it. When it is not open, all the shelves are locked up. There are areas in the library which house books that they have brought on ship and have read and don't mind passing them on to others. These are free and you are welcome to take one and leave one too. Some people bring pretty current paperback books to this area. A cruise is a perfect place to bring a Ipad or a kindle full of books that you want to read. Download them before your get on the ship.

Lectures of all sorts

Various experts or speakers offer free lectures on various historical or scientific topics that are fun to hear.  Princess calls this the scholarship at sea program. Every day at sea a naturalist will give a lecture with slides in one of the big venues. There are also chances to learn how to line dance or zumba. On some cruises there are craft people that will use one of the nightclub venues to teach and have you participate in a free craft activity that takes about an hour or an hour and a half.  All the materials are supplied and it is kind of fun. Most of these are free. The Hawaiian cruise has a lei making seminar with all the materials. It was so popular that they offered it 4 days in a row and even then, some people not in line to get a reservations were not included. We signed up for that after missing out this activity the first Hawaiian cruise.

Contests and cruiser supported Activites

Bingo, even knowing the odds against winning is very popular among a certain demographic. Cards are bought and numbers are drawn with the usual patter. Some people love to participate.

A battle of sexes contest is often held on board. A cocktail contest with the professional bartenders overseeing is a fun spectator event. There is sometimes a group float em contest where bits of this and that become fodder for a raft contest across the swimming pool.

If you like wine at all, the wine tasting on the ship are a must. The usual wine tasting event costs about 10-15 dollars and you will hear about and taste around 6 different wines.  For the wine expert aficionado the premium wine tasting at 25-30 per person is also highly recommended. The wine expert on the ship walks you through each of the ones tasted and will talk about the way to appreciate wines. The tickets for these events are available through your table steward.  Again, provide you ship card and you are signed up. Appropriate appetizers are provided to go with the various wines. It might be a good idea to bring a little notebook to jot down the wines you really like and some notes. Wine that you taste might work out well when you get home and would like to get another bottle at a substantial savings in the grocery store or Costco. These wine tasting only occur a couple of times on the ship and usually during at at sea day.

A field trip through the backstage of the theater used to be a common activity. It was cool to see that costume vaults of the broadway shows presented. A cast member or two from the Princess show would escort a small group of people for the backstage tour.  These cast members coincidentally are also the people behind the library openings, triva management and some of the craft stations.

A tour of the cooking area used to be a free event. In recent cruises, it cost extra to do this. It is an amazing chance to see where all of the food is made. A free on stage demonstration of the chefs best quick dish is always a fun event. The head chef in all his tall white hat area chefs demonstrate on the big stage something that they are proud to show off.

There are ice craving demos by the pool on every cruise. In 25 minutes seahorses or dolphins apear from a solid block of ice. 

Music to Listen to and to Watch

Every night on the big stage a quality act or broadway/Las Vegas show event is provided after your dinner. This means that there are shows pretty late as the late dinners start dinner at 8 o'clock.  The singers and dancers perform on stage to a medley of popular broadway songs about half of the nights. There other half are comedians and or small groups of musical performers. All through the ship there is karoke and nightclub acts going on too.  A popular piano bar plays sing a longs and people are drawn to this venue to do a Mitch Miller kind of thing.

Commercial Part Lecture

 Day before reaching a port, a member of the ships crew provides a lecture in the main theater to talk about buying possibilies a the port that your are approaching. A map is handed out that gives the shopper the layout for the cruise supported businesses. The map is great, the cruise supported businesses that is another thing. Diamonds International is a common cruise supported business. Look with a jaundice eye at the "fee" things offered by the supported businesses. 

The Princess Patter

With all of these things going on throughout the ship, how to you keep track? The ship will put in your communication slot right beside your room door a printed daily newspaper for the next day. It is usually in that spot before you go to dinner. In it will be a captain's blurb and a couple of advertising pieces too. Most of it is a blow by blow of what is going to happen the next day. It is vital to hang on to this as you plan your day. Additional copies of this may be obtained at the purser's desk.

Camera delights on the Alaskan Cruise

Coming from a family where my sisters joke that photography is a contact sport, it is always a concern regarding which cameras to bring on a trip. An Alaskan cruise is no exception.

Cell phones and the Cruise

Our new new obsession with smartphones comes with a serious unrealistic cost when used on or near the ship. While there is connection to your cell phone connections in Juneau, one should consider the cost of the roaming charges as they often do not relate to the same world of cell phones that we use in the lower 48 states to send to facebook of all of our finest selfies. My suggestion is that you disconnect the phone and put it in the cruise room safe while you are on the ship. Break it out to shoot a photo in Juneau make a call or two to find out about how things are at home and put it back again. Use your point and shoot USB oriented camera to take great photos of your adventure. When you return home to your familiar connections may be used upload those gems you would like to share from your computer's hard drive directly to your facebook account or sent to your friends. The savings here could be as much as 75 dollars.  If you plan to use your cellphone in Victoria plan on spending extra money on "foreign travel" connections. The Canadians have a different viewpoint regarding mobile (cellular) phones and it is considerably more expensive to jump into the middle of their system with your plan.. or the agreement of your plan with their plan for you.  If you plan to use your smart phone when you get off the ship, don't forget to bring its charger so that it will be in shape as you arrive back home. It is not a great way to stay in touch with your friends on the ship when you go ashore. It does come in handy as an entertainment source at the end of the cruise.  There is often a long wait to get off the ship (your color has to be called) and it is really nice to have a smart phone to call or to engage in the internet while you wait for the call after you have vacated your room. Being that you are back in the world of your cellphone contract it is great to connect with your "smartphone world."

Fancy Cameras

If you are a user of a great camera, such as a DSLR with fancy lenses, there is no reason not to take such a device. Weight is not an issue unless you are flying. The ship will allow you to bring as much wieght along as you want. The only restrictions are what you might want to carry comfortably on your excursions. This may also apply to the use of computers on the ship. Consider your computer laptop without the use of the internet. It can me used to write a blog or a diary or to process photos that you have taken. It can be used to play the music you want to hear or watch that movie that you have been wanting to watch but have not found the time to see. Use of your laptop in the ship's wifi connections will not save you money.

There will be some places that you will want to take great photos. The Alaskan trip has some unbeatable photographic opportunities. The movies can be priceless and some of the dramatic views including the inside passage and whales and sea otters and bald eagles and bears are subjects that you just do not want to pass up. Don't forget to turn on the anti vibration features.

Internet use on Ship

Hooking a computer up to the internet in a ship that is constantly moving its position is problematic and the cost of the service through the ship's IT is problematic too. There is a very effective computer lab that you can rent time to send emails and collect emails and even catch up on your favorite sites on the ship's computers. Sadly, effectiveness of this resource is at best is pretty slow. There are certain times were every computer in the library is used. The night before landing, people head for the computer to make changes in airline connections and flights. Our last cruise had a 2 dollar a minute charge for internet use. When considering the old AOL charge of 49 cents a minute as excessive it will give you pause.  Granted there are some packages that you can get a better deal in connection minutes especially on the first day on the cruise. Cruisers can buy a package that will allow you to use the computer and the internet or  use your laptop's wifi for 2, or 5 hours or 10 hours. Again everything is charged to your account and your room card so no money will change here until the ship lands and you "settle up" your charges the night before or agree to have the ship charge your account the amount they believe you have spent. Some people compose their emails by hand before they log on and send using the ship's internet connection. When you sign off the computer, the program will tell you how many minutes you have spent on the internet. In most cases the cost will also be revealed if you do not have a purchased plan. So get the plan the first day the price goes up on the 2nd day of the cruise. 

Skagway...The origin of the Skag?

The inside passage gets really wide, I am talking miles wide as it reaches the end of the Lynn
Canal in the northern areas of South East Alaska. The little town of Haines, made famous by the Porcupine gold mines and the Discovery Channel's weekly adventures in Gold Rush. Here the high school kid made the choice to become a gold rush mine owner over going to college. Haines is was  and the northern outpost of the army in World War II it is complete with the officers homes all looking the same and standing straight and tall in front of the parade grounds. But wait, this blog entry is about Skagway, the old time mining town across the miles of the Lynn Canal and just a little north.

Both Skagway and Haines are on the mainland of Alaska. They are the only cities in South Eastern Alaska that are connected by roads to the Alaskan Highway and the only ones that are not on islands.

Skagway and the White Pass and its Chilkoot trail is the place that Jack London uses as the setting for the novel White Fang. It is the landing spot that most of the Alaskan miners used to get to the Klondike mines. From Skagway, the miners had to haul their belongings up this steep narrow pathway to the Lake and proceed 430 miles by boat and other means to the Klondike gold mines.

The first 15 miles of trail up to the 2885 foot summit are paralleled by the White Pass train. A common excursion is a trip on this train. The venture takes the visitor up the pass along with about 12 to 14 other sightseeing railroad cars at one time. A commentary is provided over the PA as tales of Soapy Smith, the ultimate swindler are noted and his grave site is passed. The emergence of the trail is clearly identified as the train route constructed after the gold rush makes its way to the top. Passengers jam for the ends of the train to take photos and to minimize the distortion that the big glass windows produce on photography. It is an old time recreation and well worth the 90plus dollars apiece that this adventure costs. As the train crosses over into Canadian Territory, no stopping and getting off the train is permitted. Bathroom facilities are provided on the train. The train has some ventures with steam but most are diesel powered trains. Coming down is pretty exciting so I will leave that adventure to those that want to experience it themselves.

The White Pass pickup for the train is right at the dock whereas the town itself is about a half a mile away from the dock. Getting to the town itself may be done in the greatest of luxury with female buggy drivers in 1898 clothing ready to provide taxi service my horse.

The ship slides into a dock right up against the rocky cliff. The final cruise of many captains is documented by appropriate graffiti the celebrate the cruise ship captains last trip up there and the year that was completed. 

The town has 970 residents except during tourist season. 400 cruise lines visit this little town each summer. A free 45 minute walking tour of the historic district is provided by the National Park Service 5 times each day. The town is full of brothel museums and saloons that are waiting for the tourist dollar. I found a Time magazine that was pretty current at the newspaper/bookstore. As it is connected to the Alaskan Highway, 96 miles away, it becomes a small RV niche for those with RVs and a connection for them to get out of the center of British Columbia and get to the connection to the Pacific Ocean without using a ferry.As far as I could see, there didn't seem to be any whale watching marine oriented fishing trips or any thing along those lines offered. Some friends of mine rented a car and independently drove the route that the train took. There might be some savings there if you have to get up the canyon and don't want to use the train. My advice, save some money so that you can do the train. There are some amazing views along the way. We even saw some white Alaskan goats on a far away hill as we traveled up one time.

Haines is the step sister of the Skagway pair. By fast water boat it is 45 minutes each way. That is very doable. There is infact a boat rail package that you can buy for 175 that would include a trip on the fast boat over to haines an a trip on the train to the top of the White Pass.  Haines is a more realistic city. It has a bakery and grocery store and a number of "wilderness" excursions. Its biggest claim to fame is the bald eagle sanctuary. There are a few doo doo traps like the hammer museum. The sheldon museum in town is pretty cool. The docents there are primarily school teachers. The first year we went to Haines we could see the mechanics of a working salmon cannery. They were canning dog biscuits because it wasn't certified for salmon people consume. The last time were were there the cannery was not available for tour. There are some really cool atrists that work in Haines. The officers quarters are cool to see. They remind me of the houses at the Presido of San Francisco. Helicopter and seaplane adventures may be engaged here too.

You will like Haines or Skagway or both. Be adventuresome.. get off the ship!

Alaska Cruise: Juneau of Course I did!

Alaska's capital city is the quintessential Alaskan port. There is a trip here that will please almost everyone and staying on the ship even has its rewards.

Juneau the Setting

Juneau is located on the Gastineau waterway. The ships that visit here, and almost all of them do, are rewarded by a pleasent city that strings itself along the waterway for many miles. It is very close (20 miles) to the Mendenhall glacier. A glacier that is about 150 feet tall and 20 miles long. As a walking town there is plenty to see and do as the state natural history museum is about 10 blocks away just a couple of blocks away from the harbor.

Mt Roberts Tramway

Mt Roberts, a gigantic mountain fronts the dock area where an Indian built and supported tramway takes vistors on a pretty exciting trip right up to the top of the mountain. An Indian center is located and a small  raptor/nature center provides science and geology information. Several trails start at the top of this spot. It is interesting to see the flora of this area. Incredible photo may be made from this spot as visitors can spot their ships from the top side down from this lookout.  A wonderfully produced movie shows here near the gift shop. The movie is free and well worth the time. A cafe is also available here. The last time we were there, a spotting scope was aimed down on a bald eagle nest that was half way down the mountain. A couple of eagle kids were being tended to by their loving parents. Its a part of nature that you seldom see. The gift shop is pretty extensive but not particularly dominate in the scope of this adventure. Passengers may purchase excursion tickets ahead of time, but there is no advantage to do this. If the wind blows this excursion shuts down. Tickets may be purchased at the gate in the middle of the tourist mall.

The ship arrives in this narrow gap between the big mountains. That is the best way to describe the Juneau arrival. It can be rainy, it often is, or beautifully sunny, it often is. This port does not disappoint. As many as 6 ships may spend the day here.

 

 Excursions

A 20 dollar bill will get to the glacier and back without going though the ship's excursions. 3 dollars more sends you into the interpretive center (highly recommended).

Becoming a Musher

One of the  ship's excursions will get you with enough money to the top of a glacier by helicopter (weather cooperating) to meet up with a dog sled team on the glacier for a do se do of a half mile being pulled by the anxious to cooperate dogs. For a lot less money, there is an excursion that takes about 35 people at a time up to the summer dog sled training camp. A small bus goes up a one way road to get to the base camp of the dog sled grounds. About 75 dogs yelp at once to be a part of the group that gets to pull a chopped off VW bug equipped with  seating for 6 to be pulled with its tires around a 1/2 mile circuit from the entrance to the old Juneau mine to a view point of a rainbow falls. An interpretive center sit up in 5 wall tents supports the background of the sport prior to the trip. The docents are actual sled dog racers and provide visitors the inside narrative of dog racing. Our female docent had a team that she was training from Montana. At the end of the tour, visitors are encouraged to enter the dog nursery and love the new puppies that are being trained to race. This last part was by far the most popular piece of this excursion.

This excursion may seem a little pricy from the ship, but believe me this is the one that keeps people coming back on the cruise to Alaska. If you decide to to this one, sign up early and bring cameras along. It is one of the excursions that get filled up fast.

Fly Fishing Alaska

Sue treated me to a fly in fly fishing adventure from Juneau one trip. We met at the dock and were transported over to a hanger area by the airport. We bought a one day fishing pass and were decked out in chest waders and fly fishing gear. They were using Sage equipment which is pretty high quality equipment. We walked out to the float plane and soon we were in the air. We traveled about 35 miles away and dropped down to fish this pristine freshwater stream heading into the salt water narrows for dolly varden, a long skinny member of the trout family. I caught 2 and returned them to the water, as did everyone else. They were about 22 inches in length. We were fishing in the delicate inter tide zone between the fresh and salt waters. Our guides carried rifles in case there were bears that would approach us in the shore. The local bald eagles swoop down to give us the once over but headed off to hunt in the bay.

The chest waders were used to walk out to the float plane to fly home and to give us a little more time in the water as the tide rose about 10 feet as we were fishing.  This was not a cheap excursion as it was almost 500 dollars for a couple of hours of fishing. It was pure fun however.

 There are two hour whitewater adventures off of Mendenhall river. There are salmon bakes which most everyone I know that has been on one truly loves. There are trips to the fish hatchery fish ladder and aquarium which was as expected was pretty Alaskan oriented, not that it is a bad thing just not a major event in my book. On the VIP tour the first time we were in Juneau we were taken to the glacier, an Alaskan rainforest and a visit to the Alaskan state museum in a big Greyline type tour bus. Overall it was not a great bargain, but it gave us an overall look and feel for the area.

Juneau Shopping

Just as you get off the ship, maybe a couple of blocks away there is a big warehouse building full of Alaskan merchandise. It is a place to get something to bring back home if that is a requirement of yours. A tee shirt factory is also located there that sells not only tee shirts but sweatshirts and jackets too. They practically give away red plastic parkas that will somewhat protect you from the rain. It might be wise to pick up a few of these for other adventures back home or later on the trip, 

Further into town is the Red Dog Saloon. While I have not been in there, by daughters thought that it was kind of cool. There is a saloon with people writing messages on every square inch of wall space and a saloon show recreating a turn of the century show.

Juneau has its share of down and dumpy resident saloons and small local craft stores. Up on the hill above town there is a small town movie theater and an artist store that sells art made by local artists. A couple of non chain book stores are available up there too. You may have to venture up there to find an ATM machine. You use an ATM card to let you into a glass inclosed kiosk that houses the machine. Sue and I found a food truck style barbeque that put out a decent halibut sandwich.

Eating on Shore

My daughters used Yelp to find a wonderful crab and seafood spot right down by the wharf. It seems to be called Tracy's Crab shack. They fly in their king crab from North Alaskan ports each day so it is really fresh. There always seems to be a crowd there so if you are going be patient for the wait. It made one of my daughters, a devout non seafood eater, a devotee.  It looks like they have expanded their presence so maybe it will be easier to get in to eat there.

Sue and I were pretty beat after prowling the town of Juneau one afternoon in the cold wet. We stopped off at the restaurant, fish cannery (a green building hanging over the dock). We ate some pretty fine chowder near a crackling fire. It just hit the spot.

On most Princess cruises the Juneau stop is the place that Libby Riddles the first woman to win the Ididorod race stops by the ship and gives a talk about the race and sells some of her books autographed. She is on board most of the afternoon and is willing to talk to the passengers about her adventures.

Juneau is a big enough city to have a Costco and a Walmart. You can pile in with the crew that generally heads for these stores in a shuttle bus, or you can hire a taxi to get you there if you want what these places provide. They are not reachable by foot.

I am happy to hear about your adventures in Juneau. If you write in the response, I may copy and paste them into the next entry. 

Alaska Cruise: Ketchikan and other oddities

Almost all Alaskan Cruises stop by Ketchikan on the Alaskan circuit. Ketchikan is the first Alaskan port that passengers arrive from the ship. Just like all the other ports on this circuit, it is small. It hugs along the side of the land on an island. Up from the port are some steep hills and a number of houses that are situated on the cliff. This requires multiple flights of stairs to get to these houses. If a fish dinner is on your request there are several nice places here. You may want to use Yelp at homeand collect a list before you arrive. Most of this town connected to the tourists is walkable. 

 Marine Hardware

Most of dockside is devoted to the tourist industry. There are some pretty cool stores that you would not expect here. One of these stores happens to be the most prolifically stocked hardware store that you can imagine. Dockside the bottom floor stocks marine hardware for all sorts of boats. This is a major fishing stop for this part of Alaska and it clearly represented here. Upstairs in this hardware store is a clothing store. Major brands of weather clothing is represented here. It is not just a look what mom and dad brought me back from Alaska type clothing store. On one of our trips it was pretty rainy when we arrived at Ketchikan. Sue had made up her mind that she was not going to get off the ship because it looked too uncomfortable. I jumped off the ship and found here a first class rain jacket to wear to the excursions that we had signed up for and paid for. This port is somewhat plagued by its own success. Passengers of several ships may dock here at the same time. A 20 foot difference in tides between getting off the ship and getting on the ship may leave you scratching your head. Sometimes we got off the ship on the 4th deck and got back on the deck on the 6th deck.  Ketchikan is also home to the classic tourist niches. There is a Diamonds International and Del Sol tee shirt shops, a ton of other quasi gift shops on the port main street. There are some rather touristy attractions that are really kind of cool.  This is a port that you will have time to do a couple of excursions if you want to. You may sign up for them on the ship or you can save a couple of dollars and easily get hooked up for them when you get there by walking off the ship and signing up with the hawkers as they roam the street. You may just want to get off the ship and walk around.

The last time we were there, we had delayed signing up. The cruise line said they were full but I think that they were trying to spread out the attendance so that everyone would not overload the first shows. Even when signing up on the street, the hawkers will take down your name and your ship. There is a good reason for this. On our last trip, the ship decided to sail out of town 45 minutes earlier than it had scheduled. Notification was made to the vendors of the shows and we were retrieved from the middle of one of our excursions that we paid for on the street and were spirited back to the ship so that we would not miss its departure. Our excursion was refunded, even though we had not booked it through Princess. The inside passage to Juneau is can by particularly knarly if you they have to take one of these big ships through during low tide. It is a spectacular trip. The big mountains come right down to the sea's edge on both side of the ship as the ship motors through it at 24 miles an hour.

What to Do in Ketchikan?

There are Three really nice things to experience in Ketchikan. A cable car on wheels is pulled by a couple of draft horses through town as college age docents describe the features of the town. A group of really big draft horses (like clydsdales) are kept during the summer so that this tour can be made available. A husky dog accompanies the tour along with a horse driver and a narrator. At the end of the dock area these horses pull the carriage up a pretty steep hill. We were at the top of the hill when we were intercepted by the owner of the operation. He picked us up with the manual wheelchair in the biggest pickup truck I have ever seen. He explained to us the we had to get back to the ship so that it could sail right away.  We saw another part of Ketchikan.
The tour allows passengers to see the classic sights of Ketchikan. The wooden dock area, the old time prostitute gulch and the salmond ladder built right in town. The various totem poles are explained and a glimpse of living in this town even in the summer are explained. We have enjoyed this tour a couple of times and it does not really get old.

The other cool show at this port is the lumberjack show. Still photography only (or so they say) It is at a little rustic outdoor theater that has a wooden roof to protect the audience and an arena that is setup for the various lumberjack events. One side cheers for the Canadian champs and the other side cheers for the American champs. A mc narrates the show and everyone has a great time. The performers are actual college aged competitors that put on the show. They climb the tall pole and run the axes and the chainsaws.  A big part of the show is the rolling logs. What a sight! Access to the show is through the little gift shop that sells tons of Alaska branded rustic souvenirs.

After a couple of hours of out on our own in the little town, Sue and I begin to feel hungry. There is a domino's pizza franchise in the little mall area. Please don't compare the prices with what you would pay down in the lower 48 for the same thing. Prices are high because most of everything need to be shipped here. And here is a long way from Seatttle.

I asked the keeper of the draft horses what they did with them in the winter. They barge them down to Washington for the winter. It is too expensive to ship feed for them in Alaska.

We have also visited the TotemHeritage Center. It is a pretty low key place visitors may see some Indians working on totem poles. There is a nice museum of very old totems and some stories about battles around Ketchikan.

 

The Bridge to Nowhere

Before you leave Ketchikan, take a look at the landing strip on the other side of the ship from the port. This is the famed proposed bridge to no where. Very few people live on the other side of this waterway. The only place that a plan can land to get people in and out by plane is across the waterway. They have to use a barge like ferry to get to the town. To build a bridge to connect to the town would mean that it would have to be tall enough for all the the cruise ships to pass under it. There is an amazing fleet of float planes docked up beside this airport too.  If you are lucky to see an Alaskan Air jet with a couple a hundred passengers taxi in or take off you can get an appreciation for the dimensions of the air strip in the middle of nowhere. 

It is easy to be put off by the tourist sections of this town of 8,100 inhabitants. But look around and explore a couple of blocks away from the major wooden portside and there are some very nice made in Alaska treasures to be found.

Alaska Cruise: Comments from a reviewer

Linzi has read my comments on this blog regarding tips for an Alaskan Cruise.

Here are here comments:

Hi Dad,

Your article(s) looks good! Solid tips for room choice and stuff. Especially dining and bringing drinks onboard!

My 2 cents- I think bringing a down coat is totally appropriate for Alaska. I guess I disagree with you on that one, maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up on the windy side of SSF J

Also, I think a great thing to do when you get on the boat is to drink the free champagne and hang out in a lounge or on the deck. This is the only time they give out free booze- actually the art auctions are another place, come to think of it.

Also, for your piece on “don’t miss the view” you might want to mention that the underside of the GG Bridge isn’t the red that’s visible from the top. Fun trivia!

 
She has some good tips here. Thanks Lindsay!

Alaska Cruise: Ports of Call

Princess Cruises use the same ports of call with a little variation throughout its Spring and Summer season.

Victoria

The first or last port of the Alaskan cruise is the one required port that is outside of the United States. Victoria is often this port and sometimes Vancouver fits this requirement.

Victoria as a port is usually a half day stop. The other half day is required to get far enough North that Kitchikan is a reasonable arrival the day after the Canadian port. So getting to Kitchikan, the first Alaskan port requires at least a day and a half and two nights of travel. Everyone is excited to get off the ship a little so there is a backup on getting off the ship. This port is one that you can only choose one activity since the time here is so limited. A number of excursions are available at this port. Some are more valid than others. I suspect that the chocolate tasting and the wine tasting, tea at the Empress Hotel  and the pub crawl lack a little authenticity since it all happens between 8:30 and 1pm. The exception to this is when Victoria is the last of the ports vistied before heading back to SF. This set up allows the passengers to be on board in the late afternoon and and early evening.  Our favorite excursion here is the Butchard Garden/butterfly garden combination. Both of theses are exceptional trips and are combined together for an additional 8 to 10 dollars over the Butchard Garden excursion by itself. About 20 big greyhound like buses arrive on the tarmac near the ships (about 150 yards away). These busses head for either the butterfly garden first or the Butchard Garden first.

Victoria's Butterfly Gardens

 The butterfly gardens reside in a greenhouse like environment. Young high school/college aged docents show the visitors the way the butterflies are raised and point out how to attract them to land on your hat or your colorful clothing. Koi fish and flamingos also inhabit the environment. Some pretty exotic butterflies and moths are visible throughout the tropical plant areas. It can get pretty stuffy in this big covered environment. A fairly large butterfly themed gift shop accompanies this place. It is a great place to have a movie camera as movie makers try to capture butterflies in flight.

Butchard Gardens- Victoria

Butchard Gardens is a wonderful stop. These gardens were made on an old limestone quarry that produced raw materials that allowed San Francisco to be rebuilt after the earthquake fire of 1906. If you have ever planted flowers in your backyard you will be amazed at the various themed gardens that are presented here. It is not a sendentary activity so make sure you have some comfortable walking shoes to attack this one. A merry-go-round is a fun activity for kids of all ages. It is on a grassy knoll at the end of the main route. There is even a computer generated design fountain at the end of the formal garden. My favorites are the hanging begonia gardens on an terrace on the left side as you walk down the main trail, and the rose garden with the rose tunnel and the blue delphinium backdrop to the rose grotto, on the right side of the main trail. Make sure your rub the Tuscan pig's brass statue on its nose for good luck for the year.

Sue has two favorite stops at this place. The gelato shop on the garden side of the Italian formal garden has the best mango gelato in the world. The main gift shop is amazing too. It has a super collection of fine English tea cups for sale. It also has seeds of almost every seed used in the garden. Particularly interesting is the rare blue asian poppy that was discovered an propagated here. They have seeds available for trying at home.

Both of these parks are about 13 miles from the dock. It is really not practical to hire a taxi to take you to these locations. There is really nothing at the dock except a picnic like park area. The town is about 3-5 miles away. It is not impractical to get a taxi to take you to town if you would like to see it. The bus from the gardens usually takes a side trip through the city on the way back to the bus. The bus driver often provides a commentary about living in Victoria.  Do not plan on getting off to shop however. There is usually enough time for passengers to sift through the dock side gift ship before you need to go. Check the next paragraph for more information regarding the gift shop. 

Since you will only be here a half a day renting a car is a little over the top too.

If you want to just get off the ship and plow around, the best Canadian gift shop is located at the end of the dock. It takes and give change in either US money or Canadian (this is a rarity). It is crowded most of the time but the prices are very good and if you need something that says Canada on it or if you want to bring back some of those little English tea biscuits...this is the place. 

Other Ports not of the Docket

Over the years they have included other ports and some ships still dock at those ports. We find that the itineraries for this year have not included two ports that we have enjoyed over the years. Sitka, now served by other lines included many cultural stops. The Russian influence is noted here where the local women have formed folk dancing presentations that the excursions highlighted on this stop. We also had a great experience at the endangered raptor center here and came face to face with an educationally designated adult bald eagle. The visit to St. Michael's Eastern Othodox church was stunning and memorable too. We had great adventures in the many islands that surround Sitka. There are islands that have a remarkable colony of sea lions.

Besides Sitka, princess cruises has also stopped going to Icy Point. These port was great because it had great connections with the Indian culture and provided a out adventure stop with hiking zip cording. Sue and I had an amazing whale watching trip off of this port. The humpback whales of California and Hawaii come here to feed. They are usually around Point Adolphis. While this is often a part of the Juneau package, they are much closer here.

The only reason Ican think of as to why Icy Point and Sitka are no longer included is that they both require a tender trip in. Tenders are little boats that are used in emergency to get passengers to safety. They are also used to get passengers to ports where the dock is suitable for the cruise ship to dock and let passengers off. On two occasions medium sized excursion boats were hired to get the passengers back to the ship in time for the ship to meet its schedule. 

If these ports seem important, check out other cruise lines that make these ports part of their itinerary.

Alaska Cruise: What to pack?

A 10 day cruise going anywhere presents an interesting problem regarding packing for the trip.  Also more importantly, what do you bring to wear on such a cruise? What about wine and soda on the Ship?

Clothing to be packed What is the weather like?

When we first started to do Alaska we really didn't know what to pack. Our first inclination was to pack as though we were spending an extended vacation in San Francisco. This works out pretty well. The climate up the coast in Victoria and Alaska is pretty similar to San Francisco without the wind. There is more rain in the summer so a rain windbreaker or one of the newer micro fabric jackets will be pretty convenient. The idea that you will need big puffy down coats is not supported.  Shorts will probably not be used on the ship or really thin T shirts. So long pants and undershirts are comfortable on the ship and on the shore. Stay layered. The big issue is whether you are someone that would not mind spending some time in the laundry room or not. If you plan to do the laundry room thing use just one machine at a time out of courtesy to others. There are usually about four washers and four dryers in each of the laundry rooms. There are 6 laundry rooms for 3500 passengers. The math is crazy. Packing 10 of everything is kind of crazy too.

Pool Stuff

 If you plan to use the pools or the hot tubs be sure to bring your suit. Towels will be provided. It is very cool on board ship and on the open deck. This is not your tropical adventure.  The outdoor pools get very little. There is a demand for the hot tubs. Some of the bigger ships have half indoor and outdoor pools these are often saltwater pools.  The whole thing is off the board if your meet with choppy seas along the way. And you will.  A coat is handy for watching the movie on the outdoor screen at night.  Major sporting events are often screened up on this outdoor venue too.

Dress Code and What to Wear

For most dinners men wear polo or nicer button down shirts. For women they may wear most anything that is considered dressy casual. A lot of casual glitter is worn. On a 10 day cruise there will be two "dress up" nights. Some of the older people make it a formal night with tuxedos and evening gowns. Most of the guys wear sport coats or suits and ties for this night. It is also the time that formal photos are taken both is set ups around the ship's lobby areas and at the tables. A very few people sneak by without the formal set ups by eating at the buffet or ordering in room service. These nights are usually the nights that lobster and steak is served and or the fancy French menu. It is important to pack a nice outfit or two for these big nights. A champagne tower is often set up in the lobby and the captain is there to have his picture taken with you pouring champagne on to the tower. Balloons drop and a new year in the summer is celebrated with free champagne for all that want it. It is important men to bring a pair of nice shoes for this evening. These formal nights are held when the ship is not in port and is traveling for a whole day to get to a port whenever possible.

Luggage Requirements

There are not a maximum requirement for number of bags on the ship. There is not a requirement that the bags are under a certain weight. There are laundering facilities on the ship. They are coin operated and use quarters. An ironing board and ions are available too. People that have dry cleaning to do will find a vallet service. Often on ships that have a long cruise a "deal" is offered so that a bag of clothes could be washed and dried for cruisers at a bulk rate. This is particular nice for people that have traveled across the country by plane and only have a small bag of clothes to bring.

Alcohol and Diet Coke

There is a limitation of the amount of alcohol that you can bring on board. It will vary from ship to ship. Alcohol is a major way the ships keep the prices down on the cruise fares. They are vigilant in monitoring the bags that come on the ship so that they maintain their profit margin. When Sue and I were first cruising in 2003 there was a push to pitch the alcohol even at breakfast. This push has subsided considerably as they noticed that the  sale of alcohol has contributed to missing passengers overboard. There will still be the availability of alcohol at every ship wide event. I often will "nurse a drink and that is perfectly acceptable. The bartenders and waiters make their living at the 15% that they tack on to every drink they sell. Overall the drink cost is not as expensive as drinks that you may buy at the Hilton. It can still add up.

This is  a great time to order a drink that you would not order at home. I was fascinated by big blue drinks. Together with the bartender we figured out that maybe I wanted a blue lagoon.  It was made with Caraquau (sp) I would never would have ordered one at home.  Sue had a Peach Rita once that she had never tried before. Both were cool adventures.

Some passengers have devised ingenious ways to "smuggle" in more booze than the ship allows. It is amazing how much listerine the passengers need on the ship. (for instance)

Our big issue is getting caffeine diet coke on the ship. I usually pack a 12 pack or two in the a rolling cart cube. This has sometimes landed me in the bad kid line on the ship. I had stand in line with all the booze smugglers and explain whey we needed to bring in so much soda... that they also sell at 2.50 a pop (pardon the pun). My excuse is that my wife likes diet soda and cannot handle the caffeine. I have yet had to surrender it. Not so lucky are the booze smugglers. Their stuff is often impounded until the last night of the cruise. By the way I usually buy the soda deal and a coffee card as both are great ways to get liquid that isn't ice tea or weak coffee down me. Once we are on the way, the ship has no problem allowing you to restock your stores of soda at the ports. Many passengers have sopped me as we enter the ship form the port and say,"I didn't know we could bring our own soda on the ship." Yep, you can.

Fresh Fruit For the Room

Some cruise lines offer some pretty nice extras. We always order fresh fruit for the cabin through our room steward. This is free on Princess and we usually order an orange and a couple of pears and kiwis. These can be replenished every day if you desire.

Alaskan Cruise Ship Tips Embarcation First Evening on Ship

It used to be that when you signed up for the cruise you had a packet of tagboard punched recipts. No now. The tickets can be printed by you. Even the luggage tickets can and should be printed by you. Climbing on board is simple because you have gone on line and filled in all of the blanks that are required by the ship to let you on. This used to be a laborious task and took over an hour to complete.

Some of these blanks include emergency contact people, home addresses and phone numbers, passport numbers... you will need one since the ship travels to Canada.There are also chances online to book excursions. Excursions are activities you will want to do when the ship arrives at the various ports. More excursions latter in this entry.

Don't miss the view

Getting to the ship in San Francisco is pretty exciting. As you travel across the Oakland Bay Bridge, you will see your ship stand out on the skyline of the city.  It is a white 17 story whale docked along the pier. It is decked out in its flags and is a beautiful piece of anticipation. You are going to get on that ship and go to Alaska.  How fun?

Getting On the Ship - Embarkation

Traveling along the Embarcadero, drivers should pull to the bay side lanes. As they approach the docking area a set of police officers is directing traffic into the passenger drop off area.  As you are dropped off luggage is stacked on the curb and a dockworker, stevedore,  will load your bags up and get them on the ship for you. A 20 dollar tip is in order for this service. The passengers will head to the lines where travel documents are examined and you provide your credit card and the cruise line will provide you with the cruise card. It will have all the information needed for you to get into your cabin and will be your source of payment while you are on the ship. All tips, ship store purchases, spa treatments, wine and drinks, casino card and excursions will be entered on this card's account as the trip progresses. You may request a running total at anytime at the pursers desk.  Replacement cards can be made but it is a good idea to bring a lanyard to keep the cruise card handy. We always hang our lanyards with the cruise card on them in the same place as we go into the cabin. Lock you wallets in the safe. Each room has a safe to store your valuables.  As you board the ship, an electronic photo is taken so that your card can be matched with your face as you leave the ship or enter the ship.

San Francisco has a great parking set for the ships. Just 3 blocks away is the parking garage. The driver (if you come this way) can drive the car up to the vallet parking and walk the 3 blocks back to join the people waiting in line to get on the ship. Usually, the lines go rather quickly and there is not much of a delay... maybe 10 to 20 minutes to get processed and headed for the ship. The big deal here is to get the bags out and into the fray before you go to park. Parking can be paid for with a credit card at the end of the trip.

Stay Away from the First Ship Food

Plan on eating in Livermore or somewhere before you get to the ship.  The first afternoon buffet on the is ship is usually the worst. The entire ship thinks that it has to go eat the minute they arrive on the ship. The worst food, the biggest crowds for eating this food will occur at this time. I always suspect that the crew that dose not get to go ashore is not happy about cooking up for the afternoon buffet.

Part of processing your entry on the ship will include a map of the ship. Usually only one map is provided for each family. It will be the only time that you will see these maps. It might be a good idea to request two of these maps as finding places on the ship at first is difficult even with one of these maps.

As you enter the ship, there are people assigned to point you to your cabin. Elevators can be pretty full here too.  Some of the passenger elevators are disabled so that the ship can use the power to bring up all of the luggage. Ideally your luggage will meet you at the same time you arrive at your room. If not, it will not be long before you get all the pieces. Your room steward (the person who will keep you cabin tidy) will meet you and make sure that you have a plastic protector on top of your bed.

On the Ship Yeah!

As a tip from my daughter... we always wipe down all surfaces with haniwipes. This includes all countertops and TV remotes and all bathroom surfaces. So since starting a cruise with an issue. It has got to help.. right?

Sue, my wife always packs a rolled up waffle foam back support and a yoga mat for the mattress. Some of the mattresses on these beds are not particularly comfortable. Carrying your own helps this out. When she meets the room steward she shows the person the waffle support and asks if it could be used on her side of the bed. We usually tip ahead here as a exta 20 or a prepaid phone card will do wonders for their attitude.

It is important to make the muster meeting. This occurs very soon as you get on the ship. You find the life perserver, do not put it on and arrive at the muster station. This is the place you meet if the ship gets in trouble. Do not use the whistle as these are not sanitized between cruises. Yeah, I know you knew that. If you do not go they will know and pester you about a make up session.

Coming out the muster station meeting, everyone tries to use the elevators to get back to their cabins. This is a mistake, as luggage is still coming up from the storage area and few elevators work. The stairs are tough and steep but will yeild you a more pleasant condition than waiting for the elevator in this case.

Eat Before you Arrive

Plan on eating at your first dinning room meal. You will meet your dinner mates and will get to meet your waiter and his assistant. This meal is usually pretty good. The first night show is short but will give you a chance to see the cruise director an listen to the rundown on the cruise's entertainment menus.

While it is important to get your stuff stored away, it is hard not to be a part of the sail a way. Dress warmly and head out on the top deck to watch as the ship pulls out into the Bay and watch as everyone cheers as it passes Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. Sailing under the bridge in this size of ship is something to behold. Coming home will be much less memorable as it is usually dark and foggy and very early in the morning.

Alaskan Cruise Tips: Where?

One of my friends is headed up to Alaska this summer via a Princess Cruise Ship. It will leave San Francisco and stop in the normal South East Alaska Ports. It is a 10 day round trip on one of Princess Cruise Lines bigger ships,the Golden Princess. Sue, my wife, and I have taken this cruise ship to Hawaii a couple times out of the port of LA, San Pedro. We have been to Alaska 5 times on the pretty much the same Alaskan itinerary. We are also thinking about doing it again this summer.  In this blog entry, I hope to provide my friend and my other readers some helpful and interesting tips regarding this adventure.

History

The trip from San Francisco is 10 days on the ship. It is important to get a great room so that the trip will not be insufferable. Our first Alaskan cruise adventure from San Francisco included passage on a very small ship. The company was not sure that there would be a significant demand for tickets and the small ship was a shot across the bow. Princess had purchased a couple of ships from companies that had gone out of business. One of them was a former Renaissance  Cruise Line that they dubbed the new Pacific Princess. The Alaskan adventure exceeded expectations and the 10 day cruise replaced a 665 passenger ship with one that could take 2500 passengers. It was the Regal Princesses. Our last cruise from San Francisco was on the Star Princess.  Princess has embarked on a policy to leave a ship at these "home ports" and allow all cruises from that port to be from that ship. As San Francisco has developed their cruise ship facilities, bigger ships are now docked there as their "home" port. The Golden Princess is one of the bigger ships in their fleet and reflects the both the increased market of San Francisco and its accommodations at the peir. The Golden Princess is a really spectacular ship. It can move 3500 passengers 28 miles an hour with complete comfort. It has wonderful stabilizers to keep the ship from swaying back and forth too much and amazing passenger amenities.  We have taken this ship twice to Hawaii from LA and back in 15 day cruises.

Planning

Cruising is as big a time commitment as it is a financial commitment. 10 days of your life will be spent away from your ordinary existence. Really, no cell phones no significant internet... just you and 3100 new friends on the open ocean. A few timely tips may make it more comfortable and enjoyable.

An Alaskan trip is lots of fun and can be enjoyed on many different levels. Some people see it as a big party time. They are living the life large in a moveable Las Vegas. There are amazing ways to enjoy the ship as a mini Las Vegas. These is a large casino on every ship (except for Disney). There are nightly shows that you may not want to miss. If you plan to use this trip with this as your major plan you are probably on the wrong cruise line and should play to fly to Vancover and get on the Carnival cruise which is centered on this agenda. Carnival is less expensive than Princess and tends to attract a younger crowd which includes many more families with kids.

An Alaskan cruise with the crowd that is very modulated will enjoy themselves more on the Holland America cruises. My friends who have taken both support this thought and have had a great time on Holland but understand that the energy for daily activity is more centered on personal service rather than shipboard activities.

Norwegian is another cruise line that haunts the Alaskan waters. It sends some nice sized ships up into the same area as Princess. They do not have any seating times for dinner and this allows for passengers to come into the dinning room anytime during the hours they are open and eat. They also promote more outside dinning in their specialty restaurants. These are all for an additional charge. All the other cruise lines have these too and have modified their choices so that you may also do some dining with other friends then ones selected by the company. A smaller dining room is selected for this and there may be a wait of 10 to 20 minutes to be seated. There are also alternative choices  or at a steakhouse, an Italian or French restaurant for an additional charge of 15 to 25 dollars per person. These require a reservation sometimes a couple of days ahead. Since you have already spent a good fee for the nightly dinner and they are amazing in every respect, these places are not entirely required unless you are celebrating a particular occasion or you have a particular interest. One of my daughters and I shared a saddle of veal in the French bistro one night on board a Norwegian ship headed for Mexico that was certainly spectacular. Norwegian was lacking however, in its menu for lunch.  It served the same lunch entrees throughout the cruise in its dinning room. Norwegian cruises out of Vancouver, British Columbia this summer.

My wife and I have always chosen Princess for our Alaskan trips because leaving out of San Francisco is so much less of a hassle than to get to an airport and get on a plane two hours early and then get to a ship from a plane after flying a couple of hours. I know people do this all this time... but there has to be more compelling reason than more choice to make this happen. Princess and Celeberty curise lines are only viable options out of San Francisco and this year. Celebrity is a bit more expensive and offers fewer trips overall. Princess Cruises as  the choice  is very palatable. You get three more days on the ship leaving from San Francisco. As my father said, any day on the ship is a luxury. He is right.

Where on the Ship?

On our Alaskan trips Sue and I have always with the exception of the first one have chosen an interior room. One of the reasons is that they usually are more handicapped accessible. They are also cheaper. If you are even a little claustrophobic, you may consider an obstructed view cabin. These cabins are generally on the level that the tenders are hung and include a porthole. The porthole does not open but is does provide light and most of the view out of the porthole is not obstructed by the tenders in our experience. Most of your time you will spend in public areas.

Many people like to use a travel agent to get a cruise booked. They are sponsored by the cruise lines to make sure that you have someone to explain all the different booking options. They are also the agents for added services. A cruise consultant, another name for an agent that knows their way around the booking process, may be able to add on a bus link up from your home city to the dock and back so that you will not have to use your car to get you to the dock. One of my friends who is cruising this summer is using this service with an additional cost of 80 dollars each to do just that. He and his wife will be picked up in Merced and dropped off on time at the dock in San Francisco to catch their Alaskan cruise.

If your departure date is within 90days of your investigation, you may be best served in the ticker section of Vacations to Go.com on the web. Things get a little desperate in the cruise industry when the departure is close at hand an a certain percentage of cabins have not been sold. Prices for cabin often drop significantly at this time. It can be sort of a risk too. Some people sign on early for a cruise and hope that they will be upgraded before this rush occurs within the last 90 days.

The following paragraphs relate to the Golden Princess and other sister ships such as the Grand Princess:  

Our favorite stateroom location is on the Lido Deck. It is on the same deck as the pools and the buffet. The Buffet is located on the other side of the ship and passengers with staterooms on this deck need to consider that they must walk to the other side of the ship for food service.  For some this is no small task as the ship is pretty long. Our pathway extended past both pools, the outdoor pool and the indoor pool before coming into the buffet doors. With all the excitement you would expect, this stateroom is fairly quiet. At times when exercise classes are in progress you may hear some thumping on the ceiling but outside of that it is fairly quiet.

A big part of the ship's entertainment occurs in the center plaza area on this ship. The center plaza areas have a 24hour European style small plate serving area and bakery. The Starbucks style coffee is located there. Service is provided at your table for the fancy coffee. The wine cellar/tasking is there also. Access to the internet and the library is located in this hub. Our cabin had access to this area through the elevator that dropped five floors to the art gallery. an easy walk through the art gallery opened to the plaza. Mini concerts and trio type entertainment was programed often at the plaza too. Our assigned dining area was a little problematic. It was across the ship and down 6 decks. The last deck could only be accessed by going the the 5th deck down and changing to a particular elevator that was for special needs. Everyone else spread across the staircase prior to dinner between the 5th deck down the the 6th.