All Aboard The Denali Express

Posted on June 22, 2013June 22, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Bright and early we disembarked from the Island Princess for the last time. We passed through security checkpoints , under a plastic covered walkway right to the train.

Our tickets had seat numbers but not seats like you might expect. The numbers were really table numbers. When we first got on I thought it wasn’t too bad, even kind of cool. There was a table with a bench seat on either side. It wasn’t luxury but it would do. That was short lived because it turned out that there were 4 people to every table. That mean that unless you were about 12 years old it was going to be very cramped. It was a tighter fit than an airplane! To make matters worse we had to hold our carry-ons or put them under the table right where our feet were supposed to go.

The brochure says “Princess Cruises exclusive Direct-to-the-Wilderness service allows you to step off your cruise ship in Whittier onto your unique Princess Alaska rail and arrive at your Princess wilderness lodge that same afternoon.”

I guess that was true. It was a short walk from the ship to the train. The 9 1/2 hour trip turned in an 11 hour trip but being in the land of the midnight sun, it was still daylight when we reached Denali.

Another brochure describes the trip like this: Our exclusive Alaska cruise ship-rail-lodge connection takes you straight to Denali National Park. While others are still in transit, you’ll be enjoying more time at one of our two Denali area lodges where fabulous Princess service meets the real Alaskan wilderness.

Well I don’t know if I agree with that. The cruise ship passengers that went to the lodge by bus got there before we did. It was more like we were the last to arrive.

The last quote I’m going to share is the best. Our luxury rail service direct to Denali will make all the difference in your Alaska cruise vacation. It’s one of the many reasons Princess Cruises is the leader in Alaska.

If that is luxury I’d hate to see “coach”. Sandy and I both love to take railroads whenever we can. Vintage sightseeing railroad trips are high on our list. When we put this trip together we insisted that we wanted to take the dome rail car to Denali. We were familiar with the dome cars on the Grand Canyon Railroad. This was nowhere near as nice as those. It would have been fine for a short trip but anything over a couple hours is cruel and unusual.

The train is owned by Princess Lines. For the duration of the cruise and land tour you are always on or involved with Princess owned or operated properties so the deplorable conditions on the train came as a surprise after the opulence of the Island Princess.

I think it would have been fine if we’d had a little more room. The booths weren’t adequate for 4 adults.

Sandy didn’t say much about the crowded conditions but she tolerates people and crowds better than I do. Her issue was that we had a dome car for viewing but the dome windows were cracked!

They say you can never get a 2nd chance to make a great first impression. Denali Wilderness train didn’t make it. It was going to have to deliver some really special sights to redeem itself.

College Fjord to Whittier

Posted on June 20, 2013June 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

College Fjord to Whittier 24 Nautical Miles 8 Knots

As the Island Princess came about and started her return trip through College Fjord we kept our eyes peeled for animals. So far we hadn’t seen the abundance of wildlife we’d expected but maybe the unusually late spring and cold weather was partly responsible. At least the scenery was spectacular.

We did spot something. I’m not sure what. Just a dark head moving through the water leaving a wake… otter? seal? certainly not a whale or a porpoise. I’m really not sure. Now it’s easy to see how legends like the Loch Ness Monster come into being.

As we headed back to the stateroom we stopped to linger near the enclosed pool, not to swim but to say good by to the little stowaways we’d been watching the whole cruise. There were some little sparrow/ finch type birds that had apparently joined the ship in warmer climes but they seemed to be doing ok for themselves in the enclosed part of the deck.

But we had to get back to the room. Tonight we’d deal with luggage. It will be tagged and placed outside our stateroom door. We are going on to Denali and the luggage is limited. I sent some on to the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, things I didn’t expect to need but with the camera as my “carry on” I was still pushing the limit.

In the morning we’d be in Whittier where we’d board the dome train to Denali. That would take most of the day. The brochure says it’s 9 1/2 hours. For a number of reasons our train ride turned into 11 hours. The folks that took the bus arrived before we did! More on that later.

But I wanted to tell you a little about Whittier. We didn’t get to see much of it but we did get some basic information. All of our itineraries listed Whittier (Anchorage) so I wasn’t sure if Whittier was a neighborhood of Anchorage or if the names were for the same place or what.

Turns out Whittier is a little town in its own right. It sits at the head of Passage Canal, a deep fjord that connects with Prince William Sound. It’s location provides easy access to the interior of Alaska. The town was originally established in World War II to allow for the movement of troops and supplies but it had a long history of being a supply route for the Chugach Indians, fur traders and gold prospectors.

One thing that I found amazing is that most, if not all, of the 180 full-time residents live in the same building, the multi story Begich Tower originally built to house operations and personnel when the railroad was extended. The railroad tunnel has been converted to allow both rail and auto traffic so Anchorage is now only 90 minutes away.

We got a glimpse of Begich Tower as we were escorted from the ship to the train. Once out of the cold we settled in for the next leg of the journey.

Oh Land Of the Midnight Sun

Posted on June 19, 2013June 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Seeing how tiny the boat is one can appreciate the magnificence of the mountains.

We had to stay up later and later to any glimpse of a sunset.

But the “Golden Hour” lasted much longer than an hour.

College Fjord

Posted on June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the last day of cruising. We’re well on our way through the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound .

Glacier Bay to College Fjord 438 nautical miles 18.4 knots

College Fjord contains the largest collection of tidewater glaciers in the world each named after an east coast college or university.

College Fjord is beautiful. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

It seemed that we’d finally left the rain and clouds behind. The sun was bright, reflecting off the white snow covered mountains.

Once you enter the Fjord you will pass Holyoke, Barnard, Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers on the port side. Harvard is at the head of the fjord.

On the starboard side you’ll see Amherst, Lafayette and Yale.

This is truly what you think of when you think of Alaska.

Grand Pacific Glacier

Posted on June 17, 2013June 17, 2013 by Dusty Roads

There was a time, many years ago, when Glacier Bay wasn’t a bay. It was an ice field. The bay was completely covered by miles of ice. As the ice receded the bay was formed and at the head of the bay we now have the spectacular Margerie Glacier.

But right next to Margerie Glacier, barely noticed because of its spectacular cousin, is a remnant of that Ice field. The Grand Pacific Glacier lies at the very head of the bay to the right of Margerie as you approach. It looks like land. It looks like dirt. It’s a black line as it reaches the shoreline.

No pretty blue ice for this granddaddy of glaciers but if it weren’t for this dark and unassuming glacier, we wouldn’t have the Glacier Bay of today. Back in the 1600’s the Grand Pacific Glacier made a final surge, tightening its grip on the area. Before its last push was done the valley was filled with up to 4000 ft. of ice. Then it began its retreat leaving the characteristic U-shaped trench which gradually filled with water giving us the spectacular beauty we see today.

At this time the Grand Pacific Glacier continues to retreat . As it does it grows Glacier Bay a little each day. Prediction are that by 2025 the Bay may extend another 12 miles.

As we left Glacier Bay we headed into the open waters of Prince Williams Sound. Our Princess Patter said to keep our eyes open for porpoise and other small dolphins but the more open waters of Prince William Sound also brought more wave action and the good ship Island Princess began to rock a bit. Not too bad but for someone prone to motion sickness enough to send me to my bunk. Sandy was fine but chose to stick close. I think she used the ship laundry while I rested. My case of sea sickness wasn’t severe, just enough to be uncomfortable.

By dinner time most of the discomfort had passed even though we could still feel the ship’s motion more than I expected from a ship her size. Looking out the windows we could see why. The waves were running 4-6 ft. They were beautiful and mesmerizing but I didn’t trust myself to watch them for too long. I didn’t want to get queasy again as tonight was lobster night. That’s my favorite dinner on these cruises.

I haven’t said too much about the food on board but most of the time it was quite good and there was always food someplace from the Horizon Grill to the Pizza stand to popcorn by the pool. You certainly don’t go hungry.

The dinners were excellent, for the most part. We had a wonderful scallop dinner one night and of course the lobster and prawns were out of this world. My Beef Medallions one night were very tough and almost inedible which I found surprising and on our last night I chose the “thanksgiving” dinner of roast turkey. The theme was American but it was obvious that the meal could not have been prepared by an American because it was the worst turkey dinner I have ever had. But that was an exception not the rule.