Alaska’s Inside Passage – The Ports

Be a tourist and find every publication on ship and shore and then use the coupons when you want a freebee or maybe even a small discount. There are port maps on the rack near the ship’s on-board excursion desk, but pick up anything you find in each port.

Make sure you also have good walking shoes that have been thoroughly broken in, unless you don’t plan on ever walking.

The Princess@Sea app can be extremely helpful in keeping in touch with other cruisers, so make sure you know how it works. We weren’t able to load it until we boarded, but you don’t need WiFi ($69 per device for the cruise but you can change devices used) to use the app. You can even book excursions using the Princess@Sea app.

And lastly, before I share the individual ports with you, there are many more excursions offered after you board the ship. If I use Princess again, I would not prepay for any excursions. Visit the excursion desk (yes, there is a line) during the first full day at sea and book your excursions. Alternately, if you have no questions, the instructions on the detailed forms tell you how to use alternative methods instead of standing in long line.

On the first night, we received the nightly “Patter” newsletter and it was stuffed with excursion options for every port and also had excellent descriptions. Be forewarned, we did find the Ketchikan city trolley did not take us where the description said (see Ketchikan below). There might be other discrepancies, but there is no recourse other than to complain after the cruise is over. In all, the forms listed 52 excursions for Juneau, 47 excursions for Skagway, 42 excursions for Ketchikan, and 12 excursions for Victoria. That is a sizable increase when compared with excursions that appear on the Princess.com web site.

JUNEAU
Juneau was the first port of call and was allocated an adequate amount of time (11 hours) to go on excursions (which we did not buy) and explore the city (which we did a lot). Quoth the Raven, “Where’s the food?” I never knew ravens were so large and now understand why they are such a focal point of local lore. They make mynahs and crows seem like robins. These birds are loud and running everywhere on trash pickup days. Guess where they shop for food? The ravens by the docks act like they get regular handouts from tourists; very sociable until they realize you’re not going to give them any food. Then they quickly return to looting and pillaging the trash cans.

Juneau has a great museum (Juneau-Douglas City Museum) that is definitely worth the small amount they charge. They have lots of gold mining info focused on the 1898 rush and your admission includes a 30 minute film that you should ask about if you are not told the showing times. It will be a very informative 30 minutes of your life. Don’t forget to check out the public “Before I Die” board on your way to the museum. Maybe even add something?

Juneau was surprising hilly about 3-4 blocks from the docks. The port map you remembered to pick up near the excursion desk (you didn’t forget, did you?) has arrows on the streets to show you where the hilly streets are. So, if you have any knee or other walking issues, you can plan accordingly.

Alaska Knifeworks located near the boat docks had the best collection of knives I have seen in a long time. They also have very friendly, not pushy, salespeople who allow you to customize your purchase with different handle types and bowls. The knives are also made in Alaska usinf 304 stainless steel. We bought an Ulu knife, with a bluish colored bone handle, and cutting bowl combination and got a free diamond sharpener with our coupon from a tourist publication. We found many cheaper versions of that knife throughout our trip for under $15, but these were cheaper in blade quality and we never found a hardwood cutting bowl of similar quality. Ours was made of Alderwood, but there are other woods available. Buying for yourself or someone else? If price, not quality, makes the difference then you can wait. However, if you want a knife you can proudly display or are giving to a chef; this is the only place where we found such high quality.

Once you get past the touristy stores, you can find lots of local handcrafts; just look for the made in Alaska logo which is different than the design used in Skagway. There is still a bunch of stuff made in China and you will have to decide who to support. There are many t-shirts I only saw once so don’t pass up anything that you think you will regret not buying.

Juneau also has a rather large Ben Franklin store which we used to have in Hawaii. It’s a true “five and dime” store with some great bargains. The stuff for local people is located toward the back of the store. While not an island, Juneau is isolated with no roads entering the city. Just like the old days in Hawaii (the 60’s), everything has to come in by boat.

We were looking forward to having lunch at Tracy’s King Crab Shack located very near the boat docks, but it was too touristy for us. Princess Cruises even has an excursion with reserved tables if eating in a tourist trap is what you desire. The restaurant is highly rated, but reminded me of Waikiki with the accompanying high prices and too many people. Luckily, the Ruby Princess had plenty of good crab and lobster to eat which we discovered our first night on board eating at the Crown Grill. More on that in the Ruby Princess dining options post.

SKAGWAY
Skagway was the second port and my favorite. This town was the pathway to the Yukon gold rush in 1898. If you do some reading (I wish I had read more in advance), the town will probably have even more meaning for you. With about 14 hours in port, this became one of the most enjoyable towns to visit during our cruise; especially because it has never become “Disneyfied” by the haoles.

We took the White Pass & Yukon Route train to the top of the mountain pass (there’s a cheaper bus ride excursion option, too) on its first morning trip. It turned out to be good timing because it gave us so much more of the day to explore Skagway. While either side of the train is good because you turn around at the top and you get equally good views, specific features on the port (left) side of the train going up the pass were not mentioned again when going back to Skagway. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to get off the train at any time. So, set your camera setting for “bumpy”. While I am not sure I would not do it a second time, this excursion was definitely worth the money especially if you like trains.

An excursion we did not take, but seems very interesting, is the Graveyard tour which we passed while on the train. I would take that excursion if I am in Skagway again. We spent the rest of the time exploring the 100 year old buildings, attending a stage play, and shopping in Skagway.

Don’t miss this one. The Day’s of 98 Show is an incredibly enjoyable and original play depicting Jeff “Soapy” Smith from his point of view. It is a fantastic melodrama/vaudevillian show with lots of musical numbers. It was an absolute hoot to watch and I would see this every time I am in Skagway. You know you have found the right building if you see 2 women hanging out the second floor window and engaging people who walk by on the street. Even if you don’t want to pay for a ticket ($25 each), these 2 women are worth watching just for their antics. Go inside early, because there is a very talented man playing guitar and singing a song about Jeff “Soapy” Smith as a prelude before the show. The ship even offers excursions to this show because the quality is so good. They also have a facebook page.

Now for the small print. One man will be selected from the audience to participate on stage for a scene. Somehow, I was the one selected from the audience. Luckily, I have many years of theater work behind me. So I just hammed it up on stage and silently improvised. After all, it is a melodrama where larger than life physical movements and exaggeration are the style.

They will also choose 2 women near the end of the play to do a short, easy cancan dance with the ladies. The ladies picked were well over 50 and did great, so don’t say no unless you must for physical reasons.

There were many shops to browse, but 3 of them were absolutely exceptional.

Shopping highlights of Skagway included a gallery by National Geographic wildlife photographer, Barrett Hedges. He also offers limited attendance workshops which you can see on his detailed web site. His photography is so good that you will find it hard to leave without at least 1 photo. Photo sizes start at 5×7” so you can easily fit it into your luggage. We bought a photo of 2 absolutely cute bears.

Another shop with locally and regionally made items, Alaska Artworks, was packed with stuff. It was impossible to pass on a beautiful watercolor of a bear peeking out of the water by Katie Sevigny. Hey, if we’re not going to see bears in the wild, at least having a photo and a watercolor of them is a valid second choice.

We also found Farnan’s Christmas Store. They have a facebook page, but no web site. You can find the address and contact information here along with lots of other Skagway town info. The irony is that this Christmas store is open on a seasonal basis and the season for visitors to Skagway is 5 months long from May-October. I’m going to assume they close during January-April. I cannot imagine local people not shopping in this store during Christmas time. We bought an incredibly unique hand painted ornament which will always remind us of this trip when we hang it on our tree every year.

GLACIER BAY
Glacier Bay National Park was the next “stop” and we spent about 6 hours in this part of the cruise. Like the Skagway train, no one gets off (except the park ranger). The Ruby Princess was rotated in a 360 degree pattern to view 2 glaciers, so you will have a view no matter on which side of the boat you are sitting. Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing segments of the cruise. I think it was because of my personal expectations with hoping to see calving glaciers and perhaps more marine mammals than just seals lounging on mini icebergs. In fact, seals in Glacier Bay and the big ravens in Juneau were the only wildlife we saw except for some dear along the road in Washington State.

If you have even been to New Zealand and visited the Franz Josef Glacier (or others) on South Island, you may be equally disappointed. At least you don’t have to walk miles to stand in front of the glaciers in Alaska.

The Sanctuary area (no one under 18 yrs. old is allowed) on the Ruby Princess’ bow is available to reserve a chair and enjoy the view with food and drinks. I am not sure the $60 cost for each person is worth the reserved chair from 6:30am-3:30pm, even if you can reserve a lounge chair. Remember, the boat turns 360 degrees so plant yourself in a warm area with drinks available and you should be happy.

And last, it is important to note that to maintain the pristine nature of Glacier Bay, no disposable items (to-go cups, napkins, straws, etc) that can blow off the ship are prohibited from being used by the ship’s crew. That does mean there is only one inadequate size of coffee available from the International Cafe so you might want to order 2 of them. Grande? Not today.

KETCHIKAN
It rains here a lot as evidenced by the Tongass rain forest. In fact, locals joke that if it doesn’t rain in 4 days they get worried. Maybe because many of them store catchment water in 10,000 gallon tanks next to their houses. I understand their feelings because that is how I had water supplied when living on the Big Island of Hawaii. I have found that rural island life is basically the same around the world.

Unfortunately, I found the 6 hours spent here made it difficult to see more of what we would have liked to see. “We took the City Highlights, Totems and Creek Street by Trolley” tour and went to Saxman village to view some unique examples of totems narrated by a very knowledgeable tour guide. I found out why Abraham Lincoln with his stovepipe hat was carved on the top of one totem even though he was dead for 2 years before “we” bought Alaska. And heard the reason why William Seward’s (remember Seward’s Folly from your high school history class) totem had red paint on his face because he failed to understand the Potlatch tradition.

Take notice of the street signs on stairways everywhere. The town maintains all the stairs with street signs, and there are a lot of them everywhere.

The trolley never went down Creek Street which has a bawdy history; nor did we walk the street as written in the excursion description. We did see it from a two blocks away, but walking back from the boat would have taken too long given the time we had remaining. A couple of people did get off the trolley when offered and took an allegedly free shuttle back to the boat. I would suggest you spend your time at Creek Street unless you have a real desire to see authentic totems. Some of those original historic houses (which are now museums) on Creek Street do have an admission fee, though.

There is one store in particular on the dock, Tongass Trading Company, with some great bargains. Lots of the stuff is touristy and mostly made in China, but you might find some cheap gifts you really like if you search through their marked-down items. It’s like a giant ABC store without the beach mats. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t really like touristy stores.

VICTORIA
We never left the boat in this final port which visited from 7pm to 11:59pm. The gardens are supposed to be beautiful, but early May is not a good time to see them. It was still a bit light outside and maybe the horse-drawn carriage ride would have been nice. But we went to see the comedian on board for his second performance which turned out to be even better than his first performance a few days earlier. We didn’t miss not visiting Canada. So, you decide.

SEATTLE
Your start and finish port. There are several must-see places in this city and we chose to stay at a Hampton Inn overnight on both sides of the cruise. We easily walked to the Space Needle and Dale Chihuly’s glass exhibit from the hotel. And you can add a side walking trip to Pike’s Market where the original Starbuck’s still stands a few blocks away. Remember, any downhill walking results in walking back uphill. Anything that goes down must go up. Well, sort of. I have enough physics knowledge to know that is wrong, but it is potentially funny.

Consider buying at least a combo ticket for $49 that includes both the Space Needle and Dale Chihuly’s Garden & Glass exhibit unless you have no desire to visit the Space Needle. It is privately owned by the original builder’s family and is operated for the purpose of making them money. Your ticket entitles you to entrance during a specific time slot which should give you enough time (about 1 hour) to visit Chihuly’s glass exhibit before you wait for your time slot at the Space Needle. You don’t need a ticket to spend money in the gift shop on the bottom floor of the Space Needle. It’s now all about the Benjamins.

If you have never been to the Space Needle, built for the 1962 World’s Fair, then you should probably cough up some money just to say you have been there and get some great photos. If you have been there before and haven’t been back since the most recent remodel, you will most likely be disappointed. The full service restaurant on the revolving floor is no longer there. It has been replaced with counter service food and an inadequate number of tables to eat what is not much more than gas station quality food IMHO. You can buy alcohol if you are willing to stand in a rather long line. Did I sound disappointed enough?

Your ticket for the Space Needle entitles you to a rather decent photo taken by a photographer before you take the elevators to the top. And there is a high altitude selfie photo op on the rotating floor level. Just look for it and then scan your ticket before standing in place. Your ticket is your access to both of the free photos that will appear on their web site. Apparently, they store these photos for a few weeks, or more, but I wasn’t willing to test that hypothesis.

Whether you have seen his artwork or not, Dale Chihuly’s Garden and Glass is a must see in Seattle. There are few words that can describe what he creates with glass. Unlike the Space Needle, you can just walk in after you get a ticket. His web site will move you if you have never seen his work before. While I basically knew what to expect, it far exceeded my expectations. There are also some excellent short videos played in a small theater and included in your admission.

While staying at the Hampton Inn mentioned above, we found a great restaurant recommended by the Hampton Inn front desk just a couple of blocks away. The McMenamin family has restaurants and lodges in the Northwest and if their restaurant on Roy Street is any indication of the quality for which this family strives, I would certainly seek out other McMenamin dining and lodging options in the future.

This restaurant/brewery was so good we visited it both nights we stayed at the Hampton Inn. There are lots of other restaurants in this area, too, but this restaurant makes their own beer and has the best Reuben sandwich I have eaten in decades. Their fish & chips were also excellent.

That ended the cruise but as someone who has lived in Alaska recently told me when I mentioned our trip, “You didn’t really see Alaska then”. And I replied, “The only bears, eagles, and moose I saw were on shirts and mugs”. But, they have excursions that will get you to those places if you are willing to pay (and take a chance).