Alaska

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.

Dining

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

Sitka

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.

Skagway

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

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.

Victoria

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 11^th 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.