Travel plan idea blog

Voyage of the Glaciers Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire Princess

Enjoy 2006 summer travel writing contest entry #8!

Come in out of the heat to one of the world’s most natural wonders. Princess Cruises offers the Gulf of Alaska: Voyage of the Glaciers cruise. A 7-day cruise with fantastic ports of call, including visits to scenic cruising in Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord. Meals that are fit for a king and entertainment are inclusive.

In order to really enjoy one of these cruises you must book a Balcony Cabin where you can see all the sites (whales, glaciers etc) from your cabin and in addition, Balcony cabins are usually bigger in size then your standard cabins and to do a inside cabin would be a waste. So I am defiantly choosing a balcony cabin.

DAY 1 Fly from JFK to Anchorage. We check in to our fantastic ship The Sapphire Princess and have dinner at one of her great restaurants the Pacific Moon Dining Room where you are treated like Royalty... Servers are just waiting for your glass to become half full. There I ordered a gourmet dinner that was fit for a Queen and all I had to do is sit back and enjoy.

Day 2 Collage Fjord, Alaska. (scenic Cruising) ahhh now this looks lovely. To cruise around the Fjords and be able to cruise real close to the whales and actually snap pictures of them. The weather is a nice balmy 60-70 degrees heck I even need a light jacket. After taking in the scenery, I find myself going to the Boutiques for some duty free shopping. I picked up some perfume which is usually about $50.00 for half the price and even a carton of cigarette's was only $20.00 (one carton per person). I then traveled my way to the Lotus spa to take in a nice massage actually was a couples massage. The price was 150.00 per person but ahhh it was well worth it. I felt like a new person.

Day 3 Glacier Bay National Park. (scenic cruising) Now this is heaven. The beauty of this is breath taken. It is hard to describe such scenery. So peace full and picture worthy. In addition, I figured I would take my hand in the nine hole putting course. My golfing is less than desired but fun and laughable with my partner. We also decided to see all the beautiful art in the World-class art collection gallery where they have exhibits of some of the worlds fantastic art collections. Night falls and we finish our dinner (which is lobster and steak) at the Sterling Steakhouse. What was nice about this Cruise on the Sapphire is that the dining was Personal Choice so we could eat when we wanted and of course like all cruises, as much as we wanted. We then went to the Grand Casino and I actually won about 300.00 dollars in the slot machines. My eyes grew dreary and we went back to our beautiful balcony cabin, in which all our towels where set up as animals on our bed. We cozy-ed into our bed and just listened to the waves and fell fast asleep.

Day 4 Skagway, Alaska. We rise and eat a gourmet breakfast and then take a shore excursion on the Valley of the Glaciers via a helicopter. We actually landed on a sheet of ice and walked all around it. Surrounding us was these big beautiful glaciers. Of course, I had to bundle up a bit but I was enjoying the coolness break from the summer heat. The excursion was spectacular and invigorating. I just stood there in amazement on the beauty that was surrounding me. The cost of this excursion ranges from 100.00 to 200.00 per person. Also if you want to add on the White Pass Railway and Heli hike. There are additional costs. We arrived back at the ship just in time for a quick swim and a Delicious meal at the Sabatini's Italian Trattoria. We then took in a show at the Princess Theater which reminded me a little of Broadway.

Day 5 Juneau, Alaska. At Juneau there was so much to do and see. We chose the Glacier Flight-seeing tour via float plane where we experienced the grandeur of Alaska while flying in a nostalgic float-plane over five glaciers.

Day 6 Ketchikan, Alaska. At Kechikan I finally got to do some Kayaking through Alaska's beautiful wilderness. I was able to see Bald Eagles, seals and also sea lions.

Day 7 At Sea... another beautiful day at sea where we took in more of what the Sapphire Princess has to offer. There is not one day where you can say.. hum I have nothing to do. The fun part is that it always either really fun activities or pampering of ones self.

Day 8 Vancover, British Columbia. Now is the time to disembark. I wish I could stay just a little bit longer. I had the time of my life. I will never forget the sites and the places and also the people I have met during my journey through Alaska.

The total cost of this trip for 2 people
$4369.68 cruise portion
$1,400.00 Airfare from NY
$500.00 on drinks.. we are light drinkers
$600.00 for shore excursions
$100.00 for tips at the end of your trip.

Total amount for 2 $6,969.68 and it was well worth it. So if you want to come out of the heat I highly recommend this trip.

Jennifer Permenter

Posted by James Trotta at March 18, 2006 12:52 AM