Alaska 2023
Alaska - Cunard Queen Elizabeth - June 20 - 30, 2023
Alaska Inside Passage cruise
A cruise trip to
Alaska was always on our wish list and because we wanted to celebrate Angela's birthday in a special way, this year we finally did it. Booking a cruise and
choosing a cruise ship was not an easy task as this was our first time and we
knew nothing about it. But after some research about cruises, types of cabins,
itineraries, prices and length of the trip we finally settled on booking our
cruise on Cunard Queen Elizabeth ship.
Embarkation
Embarkation for
the trip was in Vancouver at Canada Place. We parked our car at Vancouver
airport long term parking and then took the Sky train, Canada Line from
Templeton station to Waterfront station which was the last stop. To pay for the
fare was easy, just tap on and tap off with the credit card. The fare was $4.45
plus the AddFare of $5 when your trip starts at YVR Airport, Sea Island Centre
or Templeton station. From there we had to walk just few hundred meters to the ships terminal. The embarkation process was very well organized. First we checked in,
then we did security, customs and then were directed onboard to our stateroom
where a cold complimentary bottle of champagne waited in the fridge for us.
Our 10-day Alaska Cruise Itinerary:
Day 1:
Embarkation in Vancouver
Day 2: At Sea
Day 3: Sitka
Day 4: Skagway
Day 5: Hubbard
Glacier Cruise By
Day 6: Endicott
Arm Cruise By
Day 7: Glacier
Bay Cruise By
Day 8: Ketchikan
Day 9: At Sea
Day 10: Victoria
Day 11:
Disembarkation in Vancouver
About Cunard Queen Elizabeth ship
Queen Elizabeth
is a British luxury ocean liner, with a capacity of 2,081 guests and 911 crew members which gives a good service ratio per guest. The ship has luxury accommodations
and plenty of dining options. The service throughout the ship was second to
none and the interior architecture and design made us feel like being on the
Titanic, maybe because in the long company history Cunard was merged for many years with White Star Line who owned the Titanic.
When booking the
cruise, your stateroom will automatically be linked to one of their four main
restaurants. You also have to choose if early, late sitting or
flexible. We were assigned to Britannia Restaurant and had flexible sitting. But
during the trip you can eat to the assigned restaurant, choose another one for
an additional cost or eat either at the ship’s Lido buffet or on the deck at the
Lido Pool Grill. We ate mostly at the Lido buffet and the food was excellent,
the best we ever had on any trip. The Afternoon Tea offered every day is also
an experience not to be missed. White-gloved waiters serve you the tea and a
delectable menu (that changes every day) in a live classic music ambiance. The drinks and Wifi on board are not included in the total price but you could buy different packages depending on your preference. We chose not to buy one and discovered that there were enough regular coffee, tea and soft drinks options at the buffet. Also on Cunard each person is allowed to embark with a bottle of wine or champagne as long as you drink it in your stateroom, which we did.
Activities and
Entertainment
Until this trip
we were reluctant to book a cruise for fear of being bored on the ship. It
proved to be the opposite. The options
of what to do on the ship were plenty. You can go shopping, relax and read in the
Library, go to Yoga classes or various fitness and dance lessons, play games on
ship’s Games Deck, swim in the Swimming Pools, participate in Trivia quizzes,
listen to live music, guest speakers or just enjoy the scenic landscape and
wildlife from the upper decks.
On each voyage
Cunard organizes two Gala Evenings with different themes, ours were Ice White
and Masquerade Evenings. Formal attire is required for these evenings and smart
attire on any other evening if you dine in a restaurant. But you can always
dress casual if you dine at the buffet or participate in activities.
There was world-class evening entertainment in the Royal Court Theatre, dance, theatrical
and acrobatic productions, musicals, rock and roll musicians, a talented
violinist and even a stand-up comedian. Taking photos during the evening shows in the Royal Court Theatre was not permitted. Live music was played everywhere on the ship,
Irish folk music, classical guitar, harp and piano music, a classical string
trio or music performed by the Queen’s Room Orchestra.
All the
activities were detailed in the Daily Programme provided each evening for the
next day. At times we had difficulties which one to choose because all of them were very interesting.
Ports of call
Being our first
time on a cruise we did not book any shore excursions this time and were happy
with just walking and discovering a little bit about each of the little Alaskan
towns on our itinerary. A former Russian fort, Sitka was the former capital of
Alaska until 1912 when the state capital was moved to Juneau. Known as the most picturesque
town of Southeast Alaska, it is also the place where Alaska was transferred to
United States in 1867.The city has a mix of Tlingit (local indigenous people),
Russian and American heritage. A free
shuttle bus departs from Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal to downtown Sitka, every
10-15 minutes. Once we got off the bus we followed the Sitka Sea Walk to Sitka National Historical Park and did the Totem Park trails. The Park preserves the
site of a Tlingit Indian Fort and its paths are lined up with many Haida and
Tlingit totem poles. We strolled through the city on our way back, visited St. Michael The Archangel Orthodox Cathedral, an orthodox church and did some shopping for souvenirs.
The town’s
interesting gold rush history, beautiful scenery, well preserved buildings and
wooden sidewalks transport you back in time of the gold rush days. Skagway’s
streets that once were filled with gold prospectors are now busy with thousands
of visitors that arrive by cruise ship every day during the summer season. We wondered how a town with
only a bit over a thousand people was included in the itinerary of all the
Alaskan cruises and learnt that it was because of its deep-water docking
capabilities of handling large vessel traffic. We spent some time walking
city’s quaint streets and visited Billy Moore’s log cabin, one of the first
white residents in Skagway before Skagway became the gateway to the Klondike
Gold Rush. We also hiked a bit on Yakutania Point trail before returning to the
ship.
Ketchikan was
named “Alaska First City”, being the first port of call as you travel north
and is also considered “The Salmon Capital of the World” due to its prosper
century-old commercial fishery. Ketchikan streets are lined with shops selling
souvenirs, jewelry, hand-crafted totem poles of all sizes, clothes and mineral
rocks. There are also unique, little craft shops along the famous Creek Street.
We also walked along the Ketchikan Salmon Walk, marked by fish-shaped signs, a
trail that takes you along the Ketchikan Stream upstream the route that the
salmon swim during their spawning season.
Located on
Vancouver Island, Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada. The
city is not too big so many of the attractions are in walking distance. As this
was not our first time in Victoria, we set our walking itinerary to discover
new places around and in the city. From the cruise ship terminal, we followed
Dallas Road Waterfront trail, along the shore to Beacon Hill Park, a very nice area with gardens, ponds, water fountains, a petting animal farm and sporting
grounds. From here we walked to Craigdarroch Castle, an historical landmark in
Victoria, purposely designed as a display of wealth and social status of its
owner, the wealthy industrialist Robert Dunsmuir. Then we headed downtown
to see Centennial Square, Chinatown, Parliament building and the picturesque
harbour. On our way back to the ship we did the Ogden Point Breakwater walk, a
scenic walkway with a lighthouse at its end.
Glaciers
The highlight of
our Alaskan cruise was of course viewing the glaciers, a site of indescribable
beauty. The first glacier on the itinerary was Hubbard Glacier at the head of
Disenchantment Bay. It is the longest tidewater glacier in North America and
its ice comes from St Elias Mountains of Kluane National Park in Yukon, Canada.
We spent one-day cruising through Endicott Arm. The views of steep granite
cliffs, floating icebergs and cascading waterfalls were breathtaking and at the
head of Endicott Arm we had great views of Dawes Glacier. The following day we
cruised through Glacier Bay which lies in the middle of Glacier Bay National
Park and Preserve and contains eleven tidewater glaciers that reach the sea and we
cruised by two of them, Lamplugh and Margerie Glaciers. Margerie Glacier is one
of the most active glaciers and while most of the glaciers in the park are
receding, this one is neither growing nor receding.
Landscapes
We booked the
cruise mostly with the hope to see unique scenery of this part of the world that
we could not visit otherwise, and we were not disappointed. The Alaska Inside
Passage is a coastal route through islands, bays, narrow channels, national
parks, snow-capped mountains and fjords. The views were spectacular and we
witnessed a different out of this world scenery each time we went on the deck.
Wildlife
With binoculars
and camera ready we spent many hours on deck every day, with the hope to catch
a glimpse of Alaska’s marine and land-based wildlife. Not always easy to catch
on camera, we still got some good shots because the Alaska Inside Passage’s
wildlife is abundant on land and on sea. We’ve seen plenty of playful sea
otters, harbour seals with their pups resting on fragments of glaciers ice, humpback
whales a few times, brown bears on shore and lots of bald eagles, the Inside
Passage being known for the largest population of this majestic bird.
Disembarkation
Our trip came to
an end on the 11th day in the morning when we had to disembark in
Vancouver. We enjoyed the voyage so much, we have seen amazing places,
wildlife, scenery, met interesting people from all over the world on and had so much fun doing
all the activities on board. Thus, we promised ourselves to do it again in the
future.
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