CRYSTAL CRUISE – aboard Crystal Symphony. Tastefully decorated the ship has been kept in perfect order, the overall feel of the ship is timeless elegance without there being too much ‘bling’. Many of the crew had been with the ship since its inaugural sailing and now boasts 3 generations of the same family working on board together. Crew ranged from all nationalities but mainly European and South American. Exceptionally friendly feel to passengers and crew. One elderly lady on her 110th cruise with Crystal!!
Exceptional restaurant outlets – main dining room is the Waterside restaurant which boasts exceptional service with advice given on choices. Sommelier attended each table for advice on wines being served each night. Marketplace buffet restaurant on the 11th floor my pick for breakfast each day with stunning views. The Bistro – deck 6 coffee and cake and a whole lot more open all day for drinks and self serve snacks. Trident Grill open all day for snacks ie hamburgers, chips adjacent to Silk on the Lido deck 11
Speciality restaurants - Silk offering Asian influenced cuisine (my least favourite as felt it was Asian with an American twist) Prego (Italian /Mediterranean influenced) signature mushroom soup served in a bread basket. Churrascaria, this is the marketplace restaurant where at night a buffet with South American influences and fish and meat cooked on skewers and served at each table. Umi Uma amazing Japanese restaurant, most delicious and varied menu. Their Black Skinned Cod signature dish divine!! **On a 7 night cruise guests can enjoy two visits to these restaurants subsequent visits are charged at USD30.00 per person
4 sea days (2 consecutive) passed easily with plenty of onboard activities, interesting lectures, spa activities such as ladies pamper party, movies, Golf lessons, Bridge, Jewellery making classes, Bingo...in fact something for everyone!
JUNEAU– Alaska’s capital city. Established in the Gold Rush the town still resembles this, offering a blend of past and present with narrow streets and wooden buildings. Easily explored on your own. The current Salmon Fishing industry is apparent and arguably the best of Alaska seafood can be enjoyed here. Main street an easy walk with plenty of restaurants and bars to visit for a true Alaskan experience. A new boutique Brewery offers local brew but limits the amount you are able to purchase to 3 drinks per person. Easy walk into centre of town, where it’s easy to book onto a Hop on Hop off Bus for transport around the town with stops at Mendenhall Glacier, and the Salmon Fisheries two highlights not to be missed ( approx. USD50.00 incl National Park entry fee) Good walking track to the Glacier taking approx. 30 minutes
Not to be missed a visit to the Red Dog Saloon and Tracy’s Crab Shack both founded during the Gold Rush and not much has changed since then.
A pre-paid shore excursion I would recommend from here is a visit from here to a Musher Camp – which requires a helicopter ride onto the Glacier. Only here, can you experience an authentic Dog Sledding Camp
SKAGWAY – home of the White Pass scenic Railway. Another Gold Rush Town. Quaint and the historical centre well worth a wander through. The ship docks in town and it’s an easy walk to visit this on your own. Skagway is the home to the oldest brothel in Alaska, museum tours are held here each day. I elected to take the Ship excursion here, Sawtooth Mountain Rainforest Hike, operated by Packer expeditions. Excellent guides who were quite alternative in their approach. Very caring of all abilities within the group. We were met at the port and walked through town to the famous White Pass Railway train where we travelled just two stops (10 minutes) before commencing our hike. The hike of around 3 hours was through beautiful rainforest alongside a fast flowing river - not a loop track but still really enjoyable - water and snacks handed out twice by the guides during the course of the walk which was much appreciated!
GLACIER BAY & HUBARD GLACIER - two consecutive days at sea with the most incredible Glacier sightseeing I’ve experienced. Glacier Bay; sailed into the bay at around 8am and left around 1230 stunning must see inclusion for any Alaska travel. Margerie glacier stunning and still reaching the water where most others have retracted to the point where they no longer reach sea level. Parks and wildlife ranger on board for full commentary. The weather was perfect cold but clear sunny skies – the number of cruise ships allowed in Hubbard Glacier is limited and has to be accompanied by a Ranger. Arrived at Hubbard Glacier at around 11 and stayed in really close proximity until we left at around 1pm amazing!!!!!!! The best yet with the loud crack as some of the glacier cracked away and fell into the sea causing waves and movement of the ice packs that filled the immediate area.
SITKA – ‘Paris of the Pacific’ (formally known) This was easily my favourite Alaskan town – it felt genuine with a real year round population living here – pretty setting with a wonderful natural harbour too small for the cruise ships to dock at. Originally settled by the Russian’s, many of the quaint shops still stock Babushka Dolls and Russian Christmas memorabilia. There is a Russian Orthodox church in the centre of town now also a museum open to the public. The Sitka City tour shore excursion was everyone’s favourite therefore recommended for a good overview and history of the Town
KETCHIKAN – Salmon Capital of the world. When we docked in Ketchikan four other Cruise ships were already in port – the foreshore promenade was a mass of passengers joining their pre-booked shore excursions. Ketchikan is another destination easily explored on your own. Though we didn’t catch sight of any bears here we did see many eagles. I thoroughly enjoyed my self guided walk along the Ketchikan Boardwalk and visited all the buildings now predominantly souvenir shops, took the funicular to the Cape Fox Lodge – a hotel overlooking town, and walked back to the ship after covering the majority of hilly Ketchikan. There is a complementary shuttle bus running on a regular basis from all the tourist spots in town back to the wharf.
PRINCE RUPERT – here I elected to take another organised hike of the Butze Trail, a walk that could easily tackled on your own though the guide provided an interesting insight into the local indigenous population of the Tsimshian Tribe the original settlers of the area. Two ladies on the ship took a taxi from the wharf and then joined us on the hike – a very cost effective way of doing this CAD15.00 each way -rather than paying for the shore excursion. We gave way to being on Bear lookout here, for potentially seeing wolves!
VICTORIA – Vancouver Island. Our last port of call and a destination that has always been on my wish list. I chose to make an independent visit to Butchart Gardens sharing a taxi from the port a journey of approx. 40 minutes at a cost of CAD50.00 – shared by 3 this was a reasonable way to travel to the gardens. Entry to the gardens CAD32.00 – we spent 2 hours here, and this was the minimal time frame – ideally a 3 hour visit should be recommended. Stunning display of flowers and a comparable love story to the Taj Mahal this was built from an old gravel quarry – the before and after photos were really interesting.
Following the gardens we had coffee at the Empress Hotel then spent the afternoon walking along the promenade and exploring the retail outlets in the shopping mall near the harbour. I returned to the port on the wrong shuttle and was taken to the Carnival ship! Crystal shuttle was complimentary I paid CAD 10.00 whoops!
ALASKA lived up to expectations, certainly for scenery and Glacier viewing. The only guaranteed way to see the much promised Black and Brown Bears is to take a flight sightseeing tour, recommended and offered as an excursion from the cruise. Whales and Dolphins followed the ship and were seen in abundance. Otters were only seen in the Vancouver Aquarium. Bald Headed Eagles were seen in most of the destinations.
August was an excellent time to visit as the rivers were bursting with Salmon returning upstream to spawn. Apparently, a month later, there are many dead Salmon floating in the rivers offering more Bear viewing opportunities as they come to fish for these. Good destination for families as plenty of First Nation history together with possible wildlife experiences unique to this part of Canada and Alaska.
