Alaska 2017: Ketchikan

Our last port in Alaska was Ketchikan, aka: "The Salmon Capital of the World." In addition to all of that salmon, Ketchikan is known for being the first city in Alaska. And also known for: Lumberjacks.

Our stop in Ketchikan was short and we arrived very early in the morning. We had one excursion booked; The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. Dan and I did not do the lumberjack show on our previous trip to Ketchikan, but after hearing how much everyone enjoyed the show, it was on our must-do list for this trip.

The show is located across town, about a fifteen minute walk from where the Ruby Princess was docked. Here are the pictures that we took as we walked through the town.

The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show lasts about an hour and is held in an open-air arena, with first come-first serve seating.

The show centers around competitions between two pairs of lumberjacks, one pair from America and the other from Canada. It is similar to Medieval Times, in that depending on where you sit, you are either rooting for the Canadians or the Americans. All of the lumberjacks play a different character to give it a bit of a storyline. For example the "bad boy" lumberjack was on the Canadian side and he was a sore loser which ramped up the rivalry. The American side had a slightly goofy, bad-boy character too. With regard to the actual events, It was hard to tell how much was predetermined and how much was actual competition.

That said, it is a fun, high-energy show and clearly, the lumberjacks are all very talented. They did log-rolling, wood carving, axe throwing, sawing, and the final competition, where one lumberjack from each side had to climb up a tall tree. These are all skilled athletes, no matter how much of it may have been staged.

We rooted for the home team, but I can't remember which side actually won. It was a close competition throughout. The excitement wasn't so much in who won, but in the actual competitions themselves. If you're heading to Ketchikan, The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is a perfect pick for the entire family. This is also a very short port stop, so this excursion will leave enough time for you to enjoy the town.

The kids got a picture with a lumberjack. This guy was one of the "nice" characters.

Dan wasn't feeling well, so he headed back to the ship and I took the kids around the town. Ketchikan has a small indoor mall with an outlet store, where we stocked up on Alaska souvenirs and had a sugary treat.

Like the other ports, a lot of the stores in Ketchikan are tourist traps. I'm not sure what it is about cruise ports but they seem to be the place where people go to get jewelry. There are so many jewelers in Ketchikan and all of them had some kind of free trinket to entice buyers to enter their shops. We navigated around these stores, but we were lured in by a store selling items that change color in the light. I bought Zoe color changing nail-polish and Felix a tee-shirt, both were big hits.

Our morning in Ketchikan was a blur and before we knew it, we were back on the ship and enjoying an afternoon of swimming as the Ruby Princess headed to its final port, Victoria Island in Canada.

Alaska 2017: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Midway through our cruise on the Ruby Princess, we spent a day-at-sea cruising through Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Our ship slowly cruised through the five-mile inlet, getting close to the Margarie Glacier.

On our previous cruise, we visited the Hubbard Glacier, which was quite a bit bigger and more dramatic. While we only saw a few calvings on this trip, we saw many at the Hubbard Glacier. It's still exciting when it happens and we were happy that the kids got to experience it. The other thing that I noticed on both cruises, is the sounds that the are made by glaciers. When it calves, it sounds like a crack of thunder, and when the ice is melting in the water, it sounds like a glass of 7-Up fizzing.

Park rangers were brought on board to talk about Glacier Bay and answer questions. The kids club offered a "Junior Rangers" program. We skipped all of the activities and simply enjoyed the views.

As you might imagine, it's super cold being so close to a glacier. Although we all had winter coats, Dan is the only one who thought to bring a hat. Zoe and Felix are tough Swedish kids, so Dan let me borrow his cozy hat. Who wore it better?

Dan created this awesome time-lapse video as we sailed away from the Margerie Glacier.

There were plenty of animal sightings: eagles, whales, and sea lions, as we made our way out of Glacier Bay. This island was covered with sea lions sunning themselves. Or perhaps, wishing they were able to catch some rays.

Zoe and Felix were eager to swim, so we spent the afternoon poolside. Dan and I stayed bundled up and enjoyed cocktails, while the kids enjoyed the pool. The Bailey's cart was a great surprise! Coffee with a shot of Bailey's = yes please! Every now and then, they would announce a whale off the side of the ship and everyone would run over to take a look.

Another surprise was fish tacos from the Ketchikan Fish House were being served as a teaser for our next port: Ketchikan!

Alaska Cruise 2017- The Ruby Princess

Dan and I were fortunate to take a cruise to Alaska in 2016 and it was such a special experience, that we wanted to share it with Zoe and Felix. Since we were living in Portland, just a short drive from the departure point in Seattle, we decided that the summer of 2017 was the perfect opportunity to take the kids to Alaska.

We booked last minute ( just a few months out) and secured a cabin on Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess. A shout-out to our travel agent, Chris Lee, the owner of "I'm on a Boat" travel agency, for taking care of us. I highly recommend using Chris to help plan your next vacation. He's extremely knowledgable, kind, and helped us get a great deal. Thanks Chris!

Our cruise took place last June, just over a year ago. We drove to the cruise port and used the long-term parking option at the cruise terminal for our car. Here we are waiting for the shuttle to the cruise terminal. The first picture of the holiday!

Greetings at the cruise terminal.

There was plenty of staff on hand to make our embarkation process a breeze. We arrived a few hours before we set sail and we were on the ship within fifteen minutes.

Here are some shots of the Ruby Princess. These were taken at different ports in Alaska, so you'll notice the different weather. Seattle blue-skies and Alaska gray.

If you've been on a cruise, you'll know that photos are taken of you at every opportunity. Here is our official embarkation photo. Felix had a green shirt on, hence the blending into the glacier. We all thought it was hilarious. We ended up splurging on the full-photo package. The photographers on the cruise ships do a great job and it's an opportunity to get quality photographs of all of us together. I highly recommend buying on the photo package.

On a previous cruise with the kids ( 2 week Mediterranean with Royal Caribbean), we stayed in a large balcony suite and had a ton of amenities that came with booking that class of cabin. This time, we had a smaller budget and booked an exterior cabin with two bunk beds. It was no-frills.

That said, we were perfectly happy with the smaller cabin. The thing I've realized about all cruise ships, is they're brilliant with how they design the space and storage in the cabins. We had no problem storing all of our belongings and never felt cramped. With the colder weather in Alaska, we really didn't miss not having a balcony and most of the time, we were exploring the ship or off at a port. I think the space, amenities, and balcony were great when we were in Europe. I used the balcony every single day of that trip. However, in Alaska, we didn't need more than we booked.

Here is a look at our cabin. The bunk beds are shows up, in "day-time mode." The cabin attendant put them down every night for us. One thing I always look forward to on cruises are the towel animals. Even though our cabin attendant was attentive and great in other respects, we did not get the much anticipated towel animals. It may sound silly, but the lack of towel animals was a disappointment. We did get turn-down chocolate, which was not a disappointment!

The most exciting thing is running around and checking out the ship for the first time.

The kids were most interested in the pool. The pool was heated and they used it every day of the trip, even when the temperatures were chilly in Alaska. Dan and I often sat on lounge chairs, bundled-up in winter coats, enjoying hot drinks, while they swam.

The Ruby Princess does have a great kids club and the kids attended one session. Kids clubs have never been their favorite thing and they did not return. They did meet kids at the pool that were their age (7 & 9 ), who loved the club. Zoe and Felix did want to attend a party that the kid's club held in the main atrium on the last day of the cruise. They had games, face painting, and crafts. The kids loved it. A giant shark and pelican were leading a dance party!

Speaking of dance parties; Zoe and I went to the midnight balloon drop gala party that was held on the last sea day. Dan had a stomach bug and Felix just couldn't stay awake, so the girls went to the party. It had the vibe of a wedding reception, with a live band playing classic hits that manage to transcend generations.

We attended two of the main stage shows. Here's a picture of the theatre, nearly empty.

The first show was a family-friendly comedian/magician named R.J. Lewis. Admittedly, after seeing a majority of the shows in Las Vegas, we are a tough crowd. That said, we were all delighted by Lewis' show.

The second show was Magic to Do, a musical revue featuring songs by Stephen Schwartz. If the name Stephen Schwartz doesn't ring a bell, you've surely heard of his hit musicals: Wicked, Pippin, and Godpell, among others. I'm not at all a fan of Schwartz's musicals and if I had realized that I'd be sitting through an hour of his music, I'd probably have skipped the show. That said, it was an hour of high-quality entertainment. The singers and dancers on the Ruby Princess are all first-rate and the show was a pleasant surprise. As the title of the show implies ( it's also a song from Pippin), there was some magic elements. Considering the limitations on a cruise ship, the sets, costumes and effects were quite the spectacle. We all enjoyed it.

Although every evening show was family-friendly, we only attended the two, because the others were not appealing. There was another comedy night and a few other musical revues. Additional entertainment included cruise favorites like bingo, trivia, and game shows. There is a casino and a sports deck with mini golf. Princess Cruises has a partnership with the Discovery Channel and they had special programs with naturalists on board the ship. Often crew members were dressed in lumberjack/jill costumes to reflect our destination of Alaska. And of course, there were the endless art auctions. I'm not sure why cruise ships are so big on the art auctions, but clearly people are purchasing.

Our week-long cruise on the Ruby Princess was filled with activities, including four ports and a day of cruising through Glacier Bay. Coming up: Dining on the Ruby Princess and port reviews!

Here are a few shots as we sailed away from the port in Seattle, heading towards our Alaska adventure!