My Alaskan Adventure! - Part 2 - Ketchikan

DESTINATION ALASKA - KETCHIKAN

Ketchikan is known as the Salmon Capital of the world! I bought some lovely locally smoked Salmon when I was there and it was beautiful, I even took some home it was that good!
There are Totem Poles scattered all around the town and there is a heritage museum to tell all about the history of them which is very interesting.

Fun fact: Ketchikan has the highest amount of standing Totem Poles in the world

The town of Ketchikan gets its name from Ketchikan Creek which runs through the middle of it. You can see the creek on some my pictures below. 'Creek Street', as it is known, is very pretty and has bars, restaurants and shops on the stilts running alongside. I really enjoyed strolling around for the day it is very picturesque and quaint.

Other popular things to do in Ketchikan are as follows;

• Outdoor Adventures
• Totem Bight State Park
• Saxman Native Village
• Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary
• Misty Fjords National Monument
• Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show
• George Inlet Lodge

View from the ship of the dock area

Another view of the dock area

Ketchikan Creek

Another Ketchikan Creek pic

And another one!

Stay tuned for my adventures to Skagway, Juneau and Vancouver! COMING SOON!
 

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My Alaskan Adventure! - Part 1 - Coral Princess and Glacier Bay

DESTINATION ALASKA - ONBOARD CORAL PRINCESS

Coral Princess in Whittier

I was lucky enough to experience Alaska with Princess Cruises on a 7 night Inside Passage cruise from Whittier, Alaska sailing through to Vancouver, Canada.

Well what can I say.... just amazing! The views of the glaciers and mountains whilst sailing on a ship of this size was awesome in every sense of the word. There was an eerie silence sailing through Glacier Bay and every now and again you would hear the glaciers creak and sometimes a big crash from the ice falling in to the water beneath! Spectacular! I even saw a guy in a canoe just underneath one of the glaciers shortly before the ice fell down, crazy if you ask me, but he was not hurt luckily.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay



Canoe Guy was under this Glacier!

Glacier Bay

As it was a very early arrival in Glacier Bay, around 5am, Princess Cruises provided teas, coffee, hot chocolate and liqueur coffees on deck so as not to miss any of the scenery which I thought was a great touch.

Top tip: Take some binoculars! They will come in very handy to spot the Dolphins, Whales, Eagles, Seals and various other wildlife that are sometimes hard to see in the distance with the naked eye.




Sailing in Glacier Bay

I was in Alaska at the start of the season which is the end of May and as you can see from my pictures the weather was beautiful most of the time, still with the snow covered mountains, and not too cold at all, I was very surprised. I even saw people sun bathing on deck which I never thought I would see on an Alaskan cruise! My best suggestion would be to take layers of clothing so you can add or take off as needed.

Coral Princess was a great ship to do Alaska on board. She is a relatively large ship so you still have all the facilities you would expect such as; Casino, Pools, Bars/lounges, Theatre, Spa and Gym, numerous speciality restaurants along with the main restaurant and casual buffet.
I do love Princess Cruises anyway, this was my first experience with them and have since sailed a further 3 times with them around the Caribbean. There was a huge deck buffet one evening in Alaska featuring lots of local delicacies such as smoked salmon and huge Alaskan crabs amongst other things!

The ship tended to be very quiet in the evenings I guess everyone was getting early nights ready for a full day of sightseeing the next day. I found the daylight hours very intriguing as the sun only sets for a few hours a night so even at midnight it is still bright sunshine! I have never experienced anything like it before.

I would highly recommend having a balcony cabin when sailing around Alaska. The decks do get very busy during the scenic cruising and having your own personal balcony where you are free to enjoy the scenery without the crowd is a bonus.

Some pictures of Coral Princess are below to get an idea of what it is like on board.



Atrium

One of the Pools



Explorers Lounge

Sabatini's Restaurant



Library

Wheelhouse Bar

 

 

Obstructed Ocean View

Stay tuned for my adventures to Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau and Vancouver! COMING SOON!

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Oceania completes $50 million fleetwide refurbishment

REGATTA RE-JOINS THE FLEET

 

 

 



Regatta is the final Oceania ship to complete the extensive dry dock refurbishment costing $50 million!! She will re-join, also recently renovated, sister ships Insignia and Nautica. The refurbishment took place over 6 weeks and has seen some new features and design elements on all the ships.

 

Changes include; 

ALL cabins on board having updated décor with the owners and vista suites bathrooms incorporating new marble and granite materials. The penthouse suite has had all new furnishings.

 

The Terrace Café, the lines casual dining restaurant, has had all new furnishings introduced, including new flooring, and enhanced lighting to complement the floor to ceiling windows. The cook to order station will feature items such as chops, steaks and lobster tails! Yummy! 

  

Debuting on Regatta is the Baristas Coffee Bar, serving complimentary espressos and cappuccinos.

 

The Sports deck, located on top of the ship, has new putting greens, shuffleboard and various other deck games. The main pool area has had mosaic tiles fitted.

 

Canyon Ranch SpaClub has also had a refurbishment with new changing areas, featuring a mosaic tile design, and steam rooms introduced.

 

All of the ships main lounges have been enhanced. Horizons Bar and Martinis have had new furnishings with Regatta Lounge benefitting from new carpeting, chairs and upholstery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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