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| Princess Glass Dome Rail |
Day 8 Cruise Tour: Whittier to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge
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| Cruise Tour: Denali Explore AA3 |
Today we have to disembark and board the train at 8AM, thus we got up very early to finish packing and then met at the Vivaldi dining room for instruction before getting off the ship. I’ve chose to do the cruise tour because of the reputation of the wilderness in Denali. Several people I met who have done the Denali cruisetour have raved about their experiences in the wilderness. And some who were doing their 2nd or 3rd Alaska cruise this time will be doing the cruise tour also - and they regretted that they didn’t do the cruise tour at the first time. I thought: I have plenty of places I want to go and I don’t want to duplicate the route if I could avoid it; also, since I’m all the way in Alaska already, why don’t I just take 3-4 days more and explore the land part of Alaska. Thus, I decided to join the cruise tour and explored the Denali.
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| Sapphire @ Whittier, AK |
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| Bye Bye~ Sapphire~ >_< |
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| Booth seating on the 2nd floor |
There are several cruise lines that will offer cruise tour, e.g. Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, Norwegian Cruise Line. Or if cruising is not your cup of tea, there are websites that helps planning the land tour in Alaska.
(Alaska Tour and Travel- The Alaska Travel Experts: http://www.alaskatravel.com/alaska-cruise-tours/)
( Anchorage Big Wild Life: Official Source for Anchorage Alaska Travel Information: http://www.anchorage.net/?utm_source=acvb_email&utm_medium=email_internal&utm_campaign=Weekly+Specials+%26+Packages)
(Cruise Critic: Alaska Cruise Tour: http://www.cruisecritic.com/search/results.cfm?q=Alaska%20Cruise%20Tour)
I chose Princess over others-- simply because 1) Glacier Bay is part of the itinerary, 2) Princess have their own glass-dome trains and lodges in Denali, 3) the lodges are close to the restaurants that I want to try, 4) up to par design, coziness and comfort of the lodges, 5) last but not least- I prefer the Princess cruise tour itinerary (place to go, where to stay and the flow) over the others. I’ve also compared cruise tour vs. self planning (transportation and lodges) too-- the price was almost the same. And that gave me another reason to go with cruise tour rather than stressing myself with the planning.
I have booked the cruise tour plan A with 1 night in Denali, 1 night in Mt. McKinley and 1 night in Anchorage. If I were going in Sept instead of May, I’d have gone to Fairbank for the Northern light (AKA Aurora). Obviously each month will have “a specialty” to look for and for May, we are supposed to look for wildlife (they come down to the city to look for food during the winter time and will go back up to the mountain in summer; May is considered Spring- the last chance before the animals start going back to the mountain). We thought we could see some salmons and whales—but we were told that they will be available in June to July only, not May.
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| From Whittier to Anchorage |
One good thing going to Alaska in May is to see the winter look of Alaska – snow on top of the glacier, mountains, trees and on the side of the road. Temperature is around 41-55*F and the coldness really makes me feel like I’m in “the real Alaska”. Due to my subjective perception, I would feel weird to see “everywhere-green-88-degree*F” Alaska.
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| From Whittier to Anchorage -Damp area |
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| From Whittier to Anchorage |
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| From Whittier to Anchorage |
On day 1 of our cruise tour, we took the Direct-to-the-wilderness ® rail service (http://www.princess.com/learn/destinations/alaska/why_visit_alaska/rail_service/direct_wilderness/index.html)
all the way up to the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. According to the information we got @ the Vivaldi dining room, this would be a 9 hours scenic ride from Whittier to Denali. I was excited to see the glass-dome train and expecting to see some wildlife on our way up there. Some cruise lines’ trains provide seats that can recline and also rotate in pair such as Wilderness express by Royal Caribbean. Princess trains have booth seating with 4 people sharing the same table. We were assigned to sit at table 18 of car lliamna and shared the table with a cute “mature” couple. Excuse me for not able to remember the name of the couple- but I remember that the grandma was really prepare for the sightseeing. She showed me all the books she has about wildlife and the descriptions of the animals. Whenever we saw an animal, she would show me the picture and description in the books. I am really impressed with her sharpness and enthusiasm.
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| From Whittier to Anchorage |
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| Lot of BIG Mosquito in the damp area |
It took 1.5 hours from Whittier to Anchorage. We saw a lot of birds (I don’t remember the names but the granny had showed me the book pictures and species’ names once), a lot of big mosquitos in the damp area and a moose in someone’s back yard. And on our way from Anchorage to Denali, we saw a group of mountain goats on the rock; a cub on a tree with mama bear on the floor; a lot of bald eagles, a caribou and a moose in the forest and a porcupine in the bush. To an amateur, I wasn’t able to take much pictures of the animals I saw mostly because it was hard to spot an animal (animals like to hide and covered up with camouflage) and the train moved fast that the animals will be “out of my window” soon after I discovered them.
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| Turnagain Arm-between Whittier and Anchorage |
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| Turnagain Arm-between Whittier and Anchorage |
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| Between Whittier and Anchorage |
The first level of the train is restaurant, kitchen and bathrooms; the second level is where we sit and the bar. We were so spoiled by the cruise with all the meals and now we had to take care of ourself after we left Sapphire. Since it was a 9 hours ride, we all were the captive patrons of the train restaurant. The prices of the food were as expected- a little bit pricey for a bistro restaurant but consider all materials were imported to Alaska, it’s actually quite reasonable for a vacation place. Be prepared to pay for 10-14 dollars for a salad or sandwich; 14 - 23 dollars for an entree, 6-8 dollars for a dessert.
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| First level of the train- Bistro Cafe |
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| Connecting the Train and the Lodge with the White School Buses |
We thought we would get to the Denali in 9 hours but due to traffic and delay, we got to the Denali terminal slightly after 10 hours. Here’s another reason why you should do the cruise tour when you are young-- you could recoup faster when you are younger as compared to the age after you retired. We were all exhausted after 10 hours train and 15 minutes connecting bus from train terminal to the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. One big plus to go with cruise tour is Princess will take care of all the lodges check-in/check-out and luggages delivery process. We got the room key and all the instructions for tomorrow excursion on the train and once we got into our room, our luggages were waiting for us already --they were delivered from the ship to the lodge.
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| Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge-5C (we Stay in the Middle, 2nd floor) |
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| Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge |
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| Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge |
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| Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge |
We arrived the Denali Wilderness Princess Lodge around 6:45pm and instead of having the Music of Denali Dinner in one of the lodge restaurant (which is a family style all-you-can-eat rib and salmon dinner, ~$ 60 per person, entertainment included), we went across the street to Salmon Baked restaurant for dinner. In order to be a non captive patron, I’ve researched around the area and found several restaurants such as subway, hot-dog, burgers, convenience store, quick bites, ice-cream store, etc. I’ve also found Salmon Baked restaurant that is close to the lodge and is highly rated by a lot of visitors. (travel tips) There is also ale house, pizza restaurant, fish & chips place etc close by the lodge and shuttle ran between Salmon Baked and those restaurants every 30 minutes.
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| Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge-Looking from the Salmon Bake Restaurant |
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| Salmon Bake Restaurant |
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| Salmon Bake Restaurant |
We ordered a prime-rib Philly-cheese steak sandwich ($16) and a halibut melt sandwich ($17) for dinner. The owner recommended the Philly-cheese steak sandwich to us and proudly said that even visitors from Philadelphia love the Philly C.S sandwich here. To be honest, I’ve never had the Philly cheese steak sandwich in Philadelphia so I can’t verify his statement, but the tender-and-juicy meat in this sandwich has made the eating experience so heavenly. The halibut melt was divine! The fish was nicely seasoned with herb & spice and cooked to prefect. Toasted cheese on top of the fish gave a second layer of texture to the sandwich. Even the fish-phobic Ryan had half of the sandwich-that means you don’t want to miss out this sandwich!
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| Prime-Rib Philly-Cheese Steak Sandwich ($16) |
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| Halibut Melt Sandwich ($17) |
We checked out the convenience stores around the restaurants and the lodge after dinner. There were free Wi-Fi and 2 shared computers in the main lobby. We called off the night early as we were so tired from the long commute.
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| Main Lobby of the Lodge |
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| Main Lobby of the Lodge |
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| Main Lobby of the Lodge |
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| River at the Back of the Lodge |
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| River at the Back of the Lodge |
第八天 郵輪陸上假期: 阿拉斯加惠蒂爾 至 迪納利公主號原野旅館
今天比較早起床因為我們要提早收拾所有剩餘的行李,以及到Vivaldi餐廳集合拿取登火車的資料. 我們七時多登上列車, 八時左右便向迪納利出發. 我們慕著迪納利風光明媚之名而選擇參加郵輪陸上假期. 有些曾經到過迪納利的朋友們對他們的旅遊經驗讚不絕口; 在郵輪上我們碰到一些曾經坐郵輪到阿拉斯加的旅客(這已是第二或第三次坐郵輪了) 他們也選擇在這一次旅行到迪納利去欣賞風景- 他們有點後悔當初他們第一次到阿拉斯加旅行時沒有到迪納利去. 我心想: 我尚有很多地方想去探索,旅遊-- 若是能夠減少重複的旅遊路線, 那我們便可以多到其他地方去旅遊. 而且我們已經身在阿拉斯加- 何不多留幾天到內陸去觀光. 有見及此, 我們便決定參加郵輪陸上假期去見識迪納利.
有若干郵輪公司都有提供郵輪陸上假期- 例如: Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, Norwegian郵輪等等 若果你對郵輪的興趣不大-不是你的那杯茶, 網上亦有些網頁能提供資料幫助你安排陸上假期.
(Alaska Tour and Travel- The Alaska Travel Experts (阿拉斯加旅遊專家): http://www.alaskatravel.com/alaska-cruise-tours/)
( Anchorage Big Wild Life: Official Source for Anchorage Alaska Travel Information (阿拉斯加原野動態 旅遊官方資料網): http://www.anchorage.net/?utm_source=acvb_email&utm_medium=email_internal&utm_campaign=Weekly+Specials+%26+Packages)
(Cruise Critic: Alaska Cruise Tour (郵輪討論區-阿拉斯加團): http://www.cruisecritic.com/search/results.cfm?q=Alaska%20Cruise%20Tour)
我選擇參加公主號郵輪及陸上假期的原因有若干: 1) 她們包括冰川灣在行程內 2) 公主號擁有她們自己的玻璃車頂火車以及迪納利的旅館 3) 迪納利裡的旅館比較接近我想去試的餐廳 4) 她們的旅館比較舒適安逸,設計新穎 5) 還有我本人比較喜歡公主號陸上假期的旅遊流程及交通住宿安排. 我亦有比較過自由行(自己安排交通接駁,旅館及行程)及旅行團的價格—實際上相差不遠. 這令我更有充分的理由去參加陸上假期, 一勞永逸
我們參加了陸上假期A團= 有一天在迪納利, 一天在麥金利山, 一天在安克雷奇. 若果這一次旅行是在九月而不是五月的話, 我必定會到費爾班克去看極光. 阿拉斯加的每一個月都有它的”特別景色”- 例如五月的時候我們會去看野生動物 (動物們會在冬天了無人煙的時候到市中心內覓食, 夏季會回到山上避靜, 五月是春季-是觀看野生動物的最後機會) 我們還想觀看三文魚及鯨魚的蹤影- 可是三文魚及鯨魚的活動時間是在六至七月而不是五月.
在五月到阿拉斯加旅遊的好處是你能夠看到阿拉斯加比較冬天的一面: 雪蹟在冰川, 山, 樹, 及路上. 氣溫徘徊在華氏41-55*F左右- 寒冷的空氣令我置身在”真正的阿拉斯加”當中. 我個人主觀地認為88度溫暖天氣-四周綠油油的阿拉斯加是個非常奇怪的景象.
陸上假期的第一天, 我們乘坐Direct-to-the-wilderness ®玻璃火車直接由郵輪碼頭到迪納利公主號原野旅館. 跟據我們在Vivaldi餐廳集合時所拿取的資料, 這個風景之旅車程須時大概9小時. 當我們看到玻璃車頂火車時已經格外興奮-更希望能夠看到野生動物. 有些郵輪公司的火車有提供能後傾及後轉的坐椅—例如Royal Caribbean的Wilderness express火車. Princess火車是卡位式有餐抬的坐位, 而我們被安排坐在lliamna卡車的18號抬跟一對”成熟人士”一同共用餐桌. 我忘了這對成熟人士的名字,但我還記得那準備十足的婆婆. 她展示給我們看她那些有關野生動物的資料書籍. 當她看到動物時, 她會翻查書籍然後給我們看那些資料. 我對她的熱誠及知識感到非常敬佩.
由惠蒂爾至安克雷奇須時大概1.5小時, 途中我們看到許多不知名的鳥, 在沼澤地帶看到許多很大的蚊子, 及在某人家的後院看到一隻很大的駝鹿. 由安克雷奇到迪納利途中我們看到一群長毛高山山羊; 小熊在樹上爬,媽媽熊在地上; 許多禿鷹； 馴鹿及駝鹿在森林中以及草叢裡的箭刺蝟. 對於照相初學者而言, 在高速火車上識別及鑑定野生動物的位置已非常不容易,更不用說要拍下它們的動態,所以我並未有在車上拍下動物的照片.
火車的下層是廚房,餐廳及洗手間; 第二層是酒吧及我們坐的地方. 在船上,我們每天的膳食都由船公司悉心的安排好,但是由離開船的那一刻開始,我們便要照顧自己的早晚三餐了. 九小時的車程使我們不得不在車上的餐廳用餐. 就小餐廳的格局而言,餐廳的食物是比較昂貴. 但是當考慮到所有物資都是由外州輸入到阿拉斯加時, 我能夠理解這旅客區食物價格的定位. 要有心理準備看到10-14元的沙律或三文治, 14 – 23元的主菜, 6-8元的甜品
我們本以為會在9小時內便會抵達迪納利,但是由於交通阻塞的關係, 我們須要多於10小時才能到達迪納利. 這令我更想到要趁著年輕的時候旅遊—因為年輕的時候恢復體力的速度比較快. 經過10多個小時的火車及15分鐘的巴士接駁才能到達迪納利公主號原野旅館, 所有人都累壞了. 跟陸上假期旅遊的好處是公主郵輪公司會安排一切旅館的登記及退房手續—以及行李的寄存運輸. 我們在火車上已經拿到旅館的鎖匙以及第二天的行程資料. 當我們抵達房間時, 我們的行李已由惠蒂爾直接送到房間裡面了.
我們在傍晚6時45分左右抵達迪納利公主號原野旅館. 我們選擇到旅館對面的Salmon Baked餐廳用膳而不去旅館內的餐廳去看音樂表演吃晚餐. (Music of Denali Dinner, 每位大概60元, 家庭餐廳形式的自助餐-任吃肋骨及三文魚.) 為了避免成為旅館的“俘虜顧客”, 在出發前我略為調查了旅館附近的餐館—附近有subway三文治店, 熱狗漢堡店, 便利商店, 快餐店, 雪糕屋,等等. 我亦找到了這家Salmon Baked餐廳．有很多旅客對這家餐聽亦讚不絕口. 旅館較遠的地方亦有酒吧, 批薩店, 炸魚店 等等, 每三十分鐘Salmon Baked餐廳附近亦有小巴出發到那些餐廳.
我們點了肋排費城芝士三文治($16)及大比目魚三文治($17)作晚餐. 店主自豪地表示費城來的旅客亦大讚這裡的費城芝士三文治非常好吃, 店主極力推薦這三文治給我們. 我從未品嚐過費城裡的費城芝士三文治,所以我無法印證他的評鑑, 但是那嫩滑又多汁的牛肉令這飲食經驗推至神殿級的境界. 大比目魚三文治亦是完美的作品. 魚肉先用香料醃製再烹煮. 微焦的芝士增加了另一層次的口感. 連對魚有恐懼症的Ryan也吃了半個三文治--- 這表示你必定要嘗試這個三文治！
晚飯後我們逛逛四周的便利店及餐廳， 再探索一下旅館內的設施． 我們發現旅館大堂內有免費Wi-Fi上網服務及有兩台公共電腦給旅客使用 我們就此回房休息沒有再到其他地方，因為我們大家都累壞了．
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