27 Dec

Day 1 and 2 – Los Angeles to Anchorage to Whittier

 

I woke up crazy early on departure day, around 2:30 am!  I drove to LA and made my early flight.  Which was longer than I expected!  I feel like LA is so close to both Hawaii and Alaska, and it’s never as close as I think it is!

I met Debbie in the airport and we took a Lyft to our hotel.

We stayed at a Radisson, and walked to a nearby mall for dinner at the food court!  And then we walked to Nordstrom Rack where I bought some adorable rain boots that I was quite sure would not fit in my suitcase, but I really really wanted.  Ha!

We walked back to the hotel and fell sound asleep by 7:30!

We were party animals, clearly.

We paid for our early night by waking up at 4 am!

We had breakfast in the hotel and then took a Lyft to the train station. 

The ship leaves from Whittier, which is about a 2 ½ hour train ride from Anchorage.  We definitely wanted to try the train, so we didn’t even consider a bus or other method! 

We pulled up and dropped off our bags.  We wouldn’t see them again until our room!  Woohoo!  It was a little drizzly out.

It was pretty empty inside. We got one of the few benches.

I bought a Coke and perused the gift shop. Over time, it really started to fill up.

Then it was time to board! Here are our tickets!

And Debbie!

Me!

And we’re off!

We’re on a train selfie!

At some point they started calling us down by car to purchase food if we wanted to. I was starving!! So I wanted to.

We saw Belugas and Eagles! I took a bazillion pictures, but I didn’t any good wildlife pics!  I did get one of this lady scowling at me…

Debbie was taking pictures of me taking pictures.

It was just gorgeous!

We were seated at a table facing a couple, and we did not have much leg room at all! Carry-ons were a bit of a problem. So I do not recommend bringing much onboard!

We did enjoy talking to our table mates. They were from Australia, and she was a travel agent too! We met up with them a few times onboard, they were great fun!

There she is!

We were some of the first people there!

And the first people onboard! Around 12:30.

The atrium is beautiful!

We went right to lunch which was deserted!

Lunch buffet:

Mine:

Dessert!

Here’s our first Navigator!

We finished and went to explore!

The casino:

The shops:

Where is everyone?

Here’s the indoor pool area:

We peaked outside – Still rainy!

Back in.

We noticed a few hours in, that we had not seen a single child! It was kind of crazy!

We went and reserved the Sanctuary for Glacier Bay day. We were a little worried about the weather, but we decided we wanted to try it. Here’s a preview:

We had ice cream!

Our room was ready!

We unpacked! We had a stocked mini bar because of my Princess status, and we asked them to switch out the alcohol for us. No Coke Zero, sadness, but they had Diet Coke for me and sparkling water for Debbie!

There was a self-service laundry room!

We went back out to explore again. Here’s the theater:

And a lounge –

Upcoming events:

We stopped by the Rainforest Room. Princess only sells 20 passes a week, so that ensures you have lots of privacy there!

It finally stopped raining! Selfie!

The muster drill was next! We all gathered in our designated areas, and we watched a video, similar to how Royal Caribbean does their drills. The funny thing on Princess was that the video was done by the original cast of The Love Boat!! Which was amazing!! We loved it. They played the song and everything!

Then it was time for dinner. I didn’t take my real camera. Didn’t want to be a total tourist. Ha!

We had Anytime Dining, which means we could eat any time between 5:30 and 10. When we checked in, they would ask if we wanted to eat alone or with others. We usually chose with others and had a great time meeting different people every night!

Still no children. By the end of the cruise, we had counted 3 children onboard. Let’s just say Debbie and I were lowering the median age of the cruisers by quite a lot! And we are no spring chickens!

At some point we sailed away!

We were so tired, we went to bed at 9 tonight.

Party. Animals.

 

Cruising With Puppies and Princess

Day 1 and 2 – Los Angeles to Anchorage to Whittier
Day 3 – The Most Amazing Glacier I Have Ever Seen!
Day 4 – Glacier Bay Day!
Day 5 – A Little Skagway, But Mostly Puppies! 
Day 6 – Bears in Juneau!
Day 7 – Salmon and More Salmon 
Day 8 – Sea Day and Galley Tour 
Day 9 – Home Again!