Our Anniversary Cruise to Alaska
Frank and I took a cruise to Alaska to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. Frank wasn’t too fond of cruising up to this point, but he said he would gladly cruise to Alaska because he wanted to see glaciers. So, we sailed on Princess Cruise Line’s Golden Princess to three ports in Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan) and to Victoria, B.C. We had a fantastic time, despite the cloudy, sometimes rainy weather, and we were so blown away by the beautiful sights and clean, fresh air that Alaska had to offer!
Juneau It was rainy in Juneau the day we visited, and our excursion at this port was Summer Camp dog-sledding. After a long, wet drive up slippery dirt roads (scary!), we arrived at the camp and were greeted by 100+ Alaskan huskies! They are such beautiful dogs–so cute, calm, sweet, and even shy. Seeing them all made me miss Kiya even more!
12 of the huskies were harnessed up to our sled–a converted VW bug–and after some howling, jumping, and barking, off we went! These dogs LOVE to run! It was so amazing to us how fast they were able to pick up speed and keep it up. There were 2 break times on the run, and at each break, after they felt they had enough rest, the dogs would look back toward the musher and start howling and barking to let him know they were ready to take off again! So cute! It was so much fun getting to experience dog-sledding, and we even got to meet 5 week old husky puppies! But by the end of our excursion, both Frank and I were soaking wet from all the rain, even with our hooded jackets!
Our huskies running on the trail
Our converted VW sled
Frank and a husky puppy…we wanted to take one home.
Skagway We basically wandered around this tiny town on our own. We visited local shops, watched salmon attempting to swim upstream, and bought Frank some reindeer sausage. (Ewww, I know!) We went to a bar and grill where Frank enjoyed beer–Alaskan Amber– and fish and chips.
After arriving in Skagway
Skagway’s little harbor
Cruising Tracy Arm Fjord/Sawyer Glacier One word: AMAZING! We sailed through 26 miles of fresh air and beautiful Alaskan mountains, canyons, forests, and waterfalls, and at the end of it all, was the majestic sight of Sawyer Glacier. It was so blue and looked gigantic. Pictures don’t do it justice, and we are so glad to have been able to see a glacier in person (”before they all disappear” says Frank.).
Cruising through Tracy Arm Fjord
Passing by our sister ship, the Star Princess
Sawyer Glacier…an amazing sight to see in person.
Photos really don’t do it justice–it was so blue!
Frank, me, and Sawyer Glacier
Beautiful scenery
Ketchikian We went zip-lining in Tongass National Forest, the second largest rainforest on the planet! Our zip-lining excursion is what Frank was looking forward to the most, I think. And boy, it did not disappoint!
Neither of us had ever zip-lined before, and it was quite an exhilerating experience! We zipped across 8 lines–the longest being 745 feet across, and the highest point being 135 feet in the air–and walked across 3 suspension bridges that seemed a little too wobbly! I think the hardest part was waiting on the platforms that were built high into the trees. We had at least 9 people hanging out on those platforms at times, and some of them were literally trying to hug the trees to calm their nerves.
While high up in the trees, Frank saw a family of black bears and some eagles. All I saw were trees, the cable I was zipping on, and our guide on the platform that we were zipping towards. I was too nervous to enjoy the scenery!
All geared-up
Ready to go
That’s me zipping!
Frank was so excited and happy!
One of the wobbly suspension bridges we crossed
We got gold medals for completing the course!
A view of Ketchikan from our ship
Victoria, B.C. We didn’t have much time at this port, so we decided to wander around this cute little city on our own. We walked through the famous Empress Hotel, found a gelato place (reminded us of our time in Italy), and walked through the shops downtown. Nice and relaxing…
In front of the Empress Hotel
The parliament building
Onboard the Golden Princess There was so much we wanted to do onboard, but we had limited time! Besides the 24/7 food, there was golf, shuffleboard (Frank entered the tournament and won a silver medal), ping pong (no medal in this tournament), bingo (I won a round and got some $), the casino, the spa (treated myself to a massage and facial), trivia games (we now realize we’re not too good at trivia games), Movies Under the Stars (sooo cool! The ship had a big screen outside on Lido Deck and they showed movies in the evening), evening entertainment (a comedian, an impressionist, The Newlywed Game)…the list goes on. There were so many other things we wanted to do…maybe next time!
While wandering onboard
The staff helped us celebrate our anniversary, though belated, all day on our second day onboard. The first thing they did for us was decorate our cabin with balloons. We were also serenaded at dinner and served an anniversary cake!
On one of the formal dinner nights
Watching Star Trek at “Movies Under the Stars” on a gorgeous night! They even served popcorn!
On another night of “Movies Under the Stars”
We had a blast! And Frank’s even looking forward to another cruise! He wants to cruise in Asia, and I’m thinking the Mediterranean…Until next time! 