What a day traveling yesterday. We had to fly from LA to Phoenix and then Phoenix to Reno.
We disembarked from the Navigator at 9am. Our flight was at 1pm so we had plenty of time. Unfortunately, there weren’t any lounges in LAX, at least not through Priority Pass or Amex. So we just hung out at the gate for several hours.
Phoenix has several lounges which was good since our flight was delayed four hours. We spent the four hours in an Escape Lounge through Amex. The food was good but the bathrooms were not.
We finally arrived in Reno at 9:30. We had a room at the Silver Legacy. And the casino was good to us. We played for about an hour and then went to bed.
Our second port was Ensenada. It looked like a typical third-world country. The mix of wealth and poverty.
I booked a tour that took us to La Bufadora. It was approximately an hour ride to the site.
The scenery was dry with burnt grasses from the sun and heat. In the ocean were these huge circles. It’s their tuna farms. They sell to an Asian market.
We ran a gauntlet of vendors selling their wares, many of which were probably made in China. A polite No gracias worked to stop them from hassling us.
Finally, we reached the infamous blowhole. It’s one of the largest geysers in the world and the spray was impressive.
The coastline was beautiful here.
We stopped for tacos on the way back to the bus.
We slept on our way back to port. It wasn’t a great tour but at least we saw a little of Ensenada.
We spent the rest of the day packing, wandering the ship, and checking out the mini golf course.
Dinner at 5 with Carrie and Chris and then another production show.
Now I’m sitting in LAX waiting for our flight to Reno with a stop in Phoenix.
I’ve never been to the port in LA. It was a bit confusing. I thought we could walk to it from our hotel but it turned out it was miles away. And not very pretty.
The ship is huge. I guess I wasn’t expecting something quite this large. I think it has 4k capacity.
We watched from our balcony as we sailed from Los Angeles.
We walked around the ship getting our bearings.
We met up with our friends, Chris and Carrie from South Carolina. We made dinner reservations for four of us.
Our first port is Catalina Island. We rented a golf cart for six people since we met up with another couple on the tender.
This cute little deer walked up to us. Very friendly.
We found a church and the Chapel was open.
Then we stopped at a place for a pastry. I had an almond croissant and Bruce had a blueberry.
Now we are back on the ship getting ready for dinner. Maybe they will have escargot!
All good things come to an end. But memories last forever. We had an excellent time aboard the Ruby Princess.
Leaving San Francisco and going under the Golden Gate Bridge was fabulous.
The train ride in Skagway showed us the beauty of the area.
Our hike to Nugget Falls was exhilarating.
Seeing the glacier in Endicott Arm and the breathtaking mountains and waterfalls was spectacular.
We stayed on the ship in Ketchikan, but in Prince Rupert, we walked around town. I don’t think I’ve ever seen hydrangeas this color.
The Ruby Princess had some fun entertainment and on our last evening, the Captain played the electric guitar.
We docked in San Francisco early on Saturday morning. I woke enough to photograph the Bay Bridge.
Our stay for one night at the Hampton Inn in Burlingame. Many of the street signs are in Chinese.
We ordered Thai food to be delivered. Unfortunately, I have a cold. It seems I can’t cruise without getting sick. So I ordered a chicken noodle soup. It definitely made me feel better.
We woke early to catch a 6:45 a.m. flight to LA. We did get to spend half an hour in The Club, a lounge I use through Priority Pass. This is one of the benefits of the Amex Platinum card. Although it has a high yearly fee, $695, I gain about $1000 worth of benefits from the card.
This lounge was particularly nice and had several extra features including the Luminescence lounge.
We are staying at a Residence Inn. Bruce’s Marriott Bonvoy credit card gives him a free night each year. This seemed as good a place as any to use his freebie.
Our room was ready at 10am. We took a nice long nap and then went out for food and fun. The hotel is on the waterfront so it was a nice stroll.
We ate at the Maya Hotel. I had French toast and Bruce had tomato soup. They did not disappoint.
We decided to go to the Queen Mary. She was a beautiful ship that had her maiden voyage in 1936.
We decided to take the ghost tour because it is one of the top 10 haunted places in the US.
Our guide took us to the rope room which he said was a very haunted place on the ship. I took this picture of the back wall area. What do you see? Maybe a ghost! There was nobody in front of me!
After hearing several ghost stories, in the library, a particular cabin, and Winston Churchill’s cigar smoke, the tour was over and we were able to roam around by ourselves.
We decided to have a snack in the cafe!
The ship was lovely with its Art Deco decor.
The ghost room can be rented for $1000 per night and the other cabins are also available.
We took a walk on the bridge and there was an anti aircraft gun. These were installed during WWII when the Queen Mary went into service moving troops in and out of Europe.
The cost to board the Queen Mary is $45 with 10% off for seniors. It was well worth the trip.
We walked over 5 miles today – it will be a short night and than on to our next adventure.
Who? What? Prince Rupert is a small seaside town in British Columbia. It was the last stop on our cruise before heading to San Francisco.
We didn’t have an excursion but planned to go to a place to hike. We were told we would need to take a taxi there and make arrangements to have someone pick us up. It was far more complicated than I thought so we just decided to walk around the town.
Our first stop was the Sunken Garden. The flowers were in full bloom and stunning.
Our next stop was the Saltwater Bakery. Yummy delicious.
Interesting old homes were in the historic district.
Everywhere we walked there were beautiful flowers.
And old-timey telephone booths.
Eventually, we found our way back to the ship. It was all aboard by 3:30.
And finally headed back out to sea. It’s been an amazing cruise and we’ve met a lot of great people. Alaska is a place everyone should visit.
This morning I woke to a pink sky. The old saying Red sky at night a sailor’s deligh; Red sky in the morning sailors take warning did not hold true. The day turned out to be quite sunny but brisk.
Ketchikan was a tender port for us since two other Princess ships, the Discovery and the Grand, both were docked. Carnival and Holland America also were docked. I guess we drew the short straw.
I decided to do laundry in the morning and get a tender after I was finished. One of the advantages of Princess cruises is that their ships have a small laundry facility on each deck.
Usually, around mid-morning, you can hop on a tender without a ticket. That was not the case. We finally got our ticket, but our number wasn’t called until 1 p.m., and we had to be back by 5:30. I just didn’t want to deal with the lines to get back on a return tender, so we stayed on the ship.
We walked around the ship, had lunch, and read our books on the balcony.
We met with friends for coffee and then ate dinner with some new acquaintances. Afterward, we watched an Illusionist Elliott Hunter who was very good.
Tonight the skies are clear. Maybe a chance for Northern Lights. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Tomorrow we are in Prince Rupert in Canada for a short stay!
Last night I was checking the skies hoping the cloud cover would diminish. Unfortunately, the skies did not cooperate so no Northern Lights.
We woke early as we approached Holkham Bay and Endicott Arm on our ship, the Ruby Princess.
Dawes Glacier is a large, active tidewater glacier in Alaska’s Endicott Arm, known for its spectacular calving events where large chunks of ice break off into the sea.
The scenery was magnificent from the peaks of the mountains to the glacier tides below with their pale bluish color.
We looked through our binoculars hoping to spot some wildlife, especially on flat areas and outcroppings.
Waterfalls were everywhere.
It was an amazing cruising area with spectacular views.
The entire cruising area took several hours to complete.
And glaciers could be seen high on the mountaintops.
It was a memorable experience.
For the rest of the day, we had coffee with friends, met a new group of people for dinner, and saw an excellent show.
Tomorrow we tender in Ketchikan.
But tonight we have a full moon which means no Northern Lights.
Our second port is Juneau. It’s the capital of Alaska and what is interesting is that you can only get there by boat or plane. There are no roads in and out.
We woke up to a slightly cloudy day. Unfortunately, it was cloudy all night so no northern lights.
Bruce and I headed out in our hiking gear. Our goal was to go to the Mendenhall glacier and take a hike to Nugget Falls. But first, we stopped at Jellyfish Donuts for some sustenance. I had a coconut cream donut and Bruce had an Alaskan strawberry rhubarb.
We booked a tour with M&M Tours to take us to the glacier. They are right at the pier where the Ruby Princess docked. It was $80 each and the bus was clean, new, and comfortable.
The Mendenhall glacier is not the largest but it is the easiest to see in Juneau. It was approximately 20 minutes to the glacier.
We didn’t have access to the glacier but it was a nice view.
We hiked the one mile in and one mile out to Nugget Falls. It was well worth the walk.
It was a beautiful hike.
We stopped to eat some Dungeness crab. It was delicious but a lot of work.
Then we headed back to the ship. We walked six miles today and my feet hurt.
I’m hoping for a glimpse of the northern lights. Keep your fingers crossed.
Today, we arrived at our first port, Skagway. It was very foggy but beautiful, almost eerie.
Bruce and I had a little lunch before we set out on our adventure. We are taking the White Pass Railway. But first, we did a little exploring in town.
The train is a must-do in Skagway. It’s not difficult. In fact, it’s very beautiful and relaxing.
The ride is approximately two hours back and forth. You travel high up in the mountain and at certain points, if you are afraid of heights it may be a little intimidating.
That’s the front of our train heading into a dark tunnel.
We saw waterfalls on the way.
Bridal Veil Falls
The mountains in the distance were breathtaking.
To think that this railroad was built more than 100 years ago during the gold rush in the 1800s.
Deep ravines carved through the topography.
This little red caboose is a rental property through the US Forest Service.
When we reached White Pass Summit there was a building with the US and Canada flags along with state flags. This is the border between the US and Canada where we did our turnaround to head back to Skagway.
The mountains, bridges, and views took my breath away.
The fog lifted early in the day so our trip was spectacular. When we arrived back at our cabin the view was totally different from this morning.
And our evening was at a table of 8 with enjoyable conversation followed by a whimsical and fun production show.
We had four lovely sea days before reaching our first port in Skagway. It was a time to sleep late, go to the gym, enjoy the entertainment, and learn about Alaska at the Enrichment seminars.
One thing Princess Cruise Line does well is hiring a naturalist or expert to present to the passengers. We learned about sea creatures such as orcas, seals, and otters, and how they survive in Alaska.
We dined early every evening to get to the shows. One male entertainer, Todd Adamson, was great. He was in the movie Forrest Gump.
I didn’t expect to use our balcony but we had a lovely morning outside. Princess provides nice robes.
One morning I woke just after sunrise. And yes I went back to bed.
Bruce and I have Nikon binoculars that are ten-power. They’re great for seeing wildlife in the distance. We saw whales from our balcony yesterday afternoon. My lens is a Nikon 18-300, and it’s not quite as good as the binoculars.
The naturalist said look for seaweed and what looks like garbage. I did and when I looked at my photos I actually caught an otter.
Last night I woke hoping to see northern lights. Unfortunately no!
Just some more photos of the breathtaking scenery.
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