The Quick Coach shuttle transported our family to Vancouver from Seattle for our Alaskan adventure aboard the Sapphire Princess.  We were joined there by my sister and her family.

The Sapphire Princess carries almost 2,700 passengers.  Although large, the dining rooms and entertainment areas are smaller and intimate.  Every day was a surprise at the breakfast and lunch buffets.  The items were different each day and the quality of the food items was extremely fresh, well prepared and presented exquisitely.  Our dining room waiter made each night fun with great service and lots of jokes for the kids (ages 10-14).  The ship was extremely clean and well kept. During the day when we were on the ship the kids would play tennis (enclosed fun area), putt-putt, swim and participate in the craft activities for kids club.  The adults would relax in the hot tub, read a book or take a swim in the heated fresh water pool.  Unlike Caribbean cruises, this experience at the pool was the ultimate in relaxation (no belly flops and hairy chest man contests!).  The gym and spa area offered things to try that you might have been wondering about at home.

During the voyage through Glacier National Park, College Fjord, and pulling out of each port, a park ranger would be shuttled to the boat and narrate all our viewings and wildlife sightings.  You felt as if you were watching a National Geographic show with such beautiful, peaceful surroundings.  We experienced several sightings of whales, dolphins, seals, and many otters right off the boat.  Don’t forget the binoculars!  This ship was one of the best we have traveled.

We pulled out of port at 4:30 pm, Saturday June 27th.  The first day was at sea.  It was very relaxing to familiarize yourself with the ship for the first day and not worry about what we were going to do.  Second day we pulled into Ketchikan.  This was not a full day in port, so we decided to just wing it and secure a city tour at the docks.  We found a local company that charged us $30 a person for a shuttle bus tour.  This included some local sites viewing whales, eagles, and waterfalls. 

The town is world-famous for the incredible totem poles in the region.  We visited the Totem Village and watched a craftsman at work.  In town there is a foot bridge not too far from the dock that the locals were fishing for salmon.  My brother in-law just happened to be carrying a collapsible fishing pole that he took out for the kids to try their luck.  Several salmon had been caught that day right from the bridge.  We did a little shopping and then headed back for departure around 1:30 pm.

The next day we arrived in Juneau, the capital of Alaska.  Our days have been quite mild weather-wise, with morning temperatures in the high 50s, warming up into the 60s during the day.  This morning we had chartered a helicopter glacier ice field excursion.  We booked this through Coastal Helicopters.  Doing this was a bit less expensive than the cruise ship excursion and they gave us an additional 10% discount from the internet booking.  We had approximately 1 hour of flight time as we explored the Norris Glacier.  The pilot/guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant.  Upon reaching the glacier, we proceeded to land ON the glacier and take a walk.  This was so exciting and exhilarating!  We even collected water for drinking.  The trip was quite comfortable as the company will also supply jackets and boots appropriate for the trip.  We arrived back at the heliport and the company provides transportation to/from the cruise terminal at no additional charge.  We returned to the ship for a quick lunch and then headed back to town.

Next adventure was the Mount Roberts Tramway.  This is a smooth,  1800-foot ascent to a mountaintop Visitors Center which provides awesome views of Juneau and surrounding areas.  We took a walking trail up the mountain and the kids got to enjoy several small patches of snow.

The adventure in Juneau was not over yet…late that afternoon Alaska Zipline Adventures picked us up at the bottom of the Tramway station for our Rainforest Zip line excursion.  This turned out to be a private tour with just the 9 of us.  The company will gear you up and explain safety precautions.  This is approximately a 3 hour fun filled romp through the forest on cables that are 100 Ft above ground.  A personal guide will take you to each of the 7 tree platforms to travel to.   A suspension bridge is the grand finale.  Here the kids will rock and roll while still tied into the cable system. 

Afterwards, we adventured into town a bit and stopped at the infamous Red Dog Saloon.  Here you will find a sawdust floor and live ragtime piano, just as it was in the old days.  Alongside the waterfront we found a crab shack serving fresh Alaskan king crab.  We all split a huge bucket to end our day in Juneau. 

The next day we arrived in our last port, Skagway.  We took a stroll through the rustic downtown area, hiked the lower Dewey Lake Trail (just outside of town past the railroad depot), and then found bicycles at the local bike shop and rented them for a couple of hours.  Found a nice path alongside the river just outside of town for the bike ride.  It was a nice way to end the land excursions and not too expensive.

Our next two days we spent just pure cruising among the glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord.  This was just breath-taking to be so close to these ice giants!  The captain would just pull up beside the glaciers and we would sit for a good hour or so at every angle to view and watch the glaciers “calving”.  This is when a piece of ice would fall into the ocean.  It would sound like an explosion followed by a huge splash.

Several glaciers had waterfalls running out beneath them.  In the bays we would also see several humpback and orca whales, and sea otters.  While in College Fjord we spotted a bear on the mountainside.  The whales migrate to Alaska during the summer to feed and then back to Japan during winter to breed.  To spot an eagle became very common as they are very abundant in all of Alaska.

Our last port was Whittier.  We actually pulled in on July 4th and fireworks were set off at midnight.  Not quite dark, it was different to see this at “dusk”.  We contracted a shuttle in the morning to take us to Anchorage for our final departure.  I would recommend finding an independent company for this, as it was just about half the price charged by the company used by the cruise line (just Google the information).

Remember, passports are required at the border even though you are only there for a short time to board the ship.

Alaska truly is “The Last Frontier” and I would highly recommend this trip to all!