We have always wanted to go to Alaska and from what we read and heard, cruising is the best way to see it. So, we had such a great time on the Princess cruise last summer in Europe... we booked it for Alaska -- Inner Passage.
We arrived in Seattle a day ahead of time to see a bit of the city and be ready to get on the ship without any delays on the day of departure.
Seattle is a great city... It is a hidden gem and we loved it. We stayed downtown and walked down to the Market by the docks the next morning. The people are great and we made a mental note that we have to go back with the kids and spend more time there.
My parents came along with us for the cruise because they have always wanted to see Alaska, too. We board the ship and are so excited for the adventure that lies ahead...
The girls know the drill... and take their positions on our room's balcony as we leave the port... So much ahead for us... we are very excited...
Now, we found cruising to be amazing. You can book excursions at each port through the cruise ship or you can explore on your own. Since, we have never been to any of these places, we chose to book some shore excursions... most of which my parents joined us, which made it really fun.
Juneau -- summer dog sledding camp:
Now, if you are an animal lover like me, you may think that this is not fun for the dogs... But, we came to learn that the dogs absolutely LOVE it... you can see from this picture that they are rolling around or waiting to get going... They love to run and this is their workout for the winter races... The trainers treat them so well and truly love all the dogs:
Tracy Arm Fjord -- glacier cruising:
If you have never seen a glacier... please put it on your list! It is an unbelievable sight to see... really takes your breath away:
Ketchikan:
We were feeling very adventurous and decided to book the sea plane excursion to a crab feast at the George Inlet lodge. Now, our 6 year old daughter had such a brave face. But, as soon as we were all fastened in with our headphones on (in an 8 seater plane) and we started to taxi out into the choppy water for our takeoff... the waterworks began. It may have been a year or two too early for her because our 8 year old thought it was a blast. I have to say that I thought it was a little scary, too... Shhh! We kept her distracted for the 15-20 minute flight when we landed (on the water) at the lodge for the crab feast...
After our arrival with our pilot (Granny is happy to be on solid ground, can you tell?):
Here's our little plane... leaving... we are taking a bus back to the ship... (big sigh of relief from my youngest (and me)... ;-)
Copyright 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment