Alaska Cruise - Princess Cruise + Porsche Club of America Treffen at Sea

Check out the recap video here: Alaska Cruise Recap

At the end of July, my wife and I had the privilege of going on a 7 day Alaska Cruise with Princess Cruise line hosted by Porsche Club of America - Treffen at Sea. Since most cruises that go to Alaska take off at port of Seattle, we had the opportunity to check out Seattle for a night as well.

The next morning, we headed to the docks to get ready to board the giant 16 story Princess Majestic where we had a gorgeous balcony view of everything on the west coast of Canada heading to The Last Frontier. I have to admit, I was not ready for the beauty of the coastline that we encountered all along the way. The way the ocean slammed right into the side of a mountain or the way the trees come right to the beach. You quickly realize how much open land there really is and how much is untouched by man, at least so it seems.

Now finding the right balance to document a once in a lifetime journey to Alaska vs living in the moment and taking it all in for what it is and keeping the camera in the room was a huge struggle. Often times I want to document to the best of my abilities but it does require large amounts of brain power to be putting in that type of work day in and day out. So this blog is mainly focused on the times I did bring my camera out and got to capture moments of the trip that got documented and the rest, well that is logged in my memory banks haha but without further ado.

The Princess Majestic is massive and I mean it is HUGE! I think we were probably the largest if not the second largest ship all 7 days we encountered other cruise ships. That definitely has its benefits because we had tons of options for food and things to do. The Majestic is made for a more mature crowd so it did not have state of the art things to do like rock climb, water slides, kart racing and such so know that when you are booking, to book according to your interests.

I was on a cruise 20 years ago with Carnival to Mexico for 3 days and the food wasn't something I remember being all that great but on the Princess line, I had many moments of head nodding approvals (which is pretty tough for a cynic like me). I rarely eat at buffets due to low quality foods that taste terrible but on the ship, they changed it up frequently so you would not get bored. On top of that, you get 3 to 4 nights of premium eating at any of the many restaurants they had on board. If you opted for the 15 drink package a day, you would easily find a bar located every turn of the boat.

The nights at sea are awesome as you start to get lost in the wonder of our planet, how dark, large and untouched much of it is. A large floating city with 5000 people on it floats by every few hours or so as cruise ships come in large droves to the Alaska waters, how odd it must be to be for random wildlife that live close to the water to witness every night. The idea that you can be entertained, eat lavishly, sleep and watch movies as you wake up in a new town is the best thing ever. Now that I am in my mid 40s, the convenience of that is so attractive.

Our first stop in Alaska (out of the 3 stops) was Ketchikan, a small quaint town which is famous for being the largest collection of standing totem poles. The homes in Alaska are snuggled between tall Feltleaf Willow trees that make them feel so cozy. It must look amazing here in the winter when snow is nestled in every nook and cranny. For those that are more adventurous, you have a handful of hours to go on a hike and make it back before the ship sails off. One of the things I wanted to see more than anything else was a bald eagle, the majestic bird that represents our country, the Great old USA. I was lucky enough to witness a bald eagle in the distance as I was standing on the side of cruise ship balcony. I originally thought it was a large crow but soon realized it was a bald eagle. It was gliding out about 50 yards from the ship and I screamed at my wife to come look at the bird. She was fumbling to find my phone to get footage but by that point, the eagle had already passed. It was incredible.

We spent some time in Ketchikan walking around, shopping a bit and eating Filipino food. I thought it was odd encountering an Asian restaurant out there but then I realized that massive amounts of Asians on cruise ships get dropped off everyday, so then it made so much more sense. We did tourist things, like take photos next to this giant wooden eagle and take in parts of the history Alaska has. Ultimately our fear of missing the boat pushed us to get back on a bit early and find comfort on the ship.

You have to forgive me as the details of the trip are a bit hazy and I really don't remember how much of it we were at sea and how many of it was on shore but of the 7 days, I think we docked about 4 times, so 3 were at sea is what I am assuming. The nights at sea, the casinos are bustling as people are looking for ways to entertain themselves. If that wasn't your cup of tea, you could watch comedy shows, go to karaoke shows or hang out with friends at the bar to name a few. Our crew did a bit of everything, so we definitely made our rounds. The best part is just how accessible food was at any given time. All hours of the day!

Our next stop was Juneau, Alaska which is the state capital and much larger. When we docked, you can see a long line for Tracy's Famous Crab Shack and if you know me, you know how much I love King Crab and Dungeons Crab so it was a must to stop by here. Although our bill came out to $200, it was definitely worth it to experience that in Alaska. The crab was so sweet, insane good. Skip the snow crab as it was dry and tasteless compared to the King Crab. The dungeons was decent if you are a budget but do not eat it before you eat the King crab or you will find yourself not being too happy like we were lol. We spent the rest of the day shopping and sending our son a postcard to remember us by lol. Luckily Alaska is pretty free about the use of cannabis so it is accessible if you are into that type of leisurely activity. You're welcome.

Our last stop was in Skagway where we did our 2 hour train excursion to see vastness of the Alaskan landscape. It was cool to experience the deep forest mountainous ranges and the abundance of waterfalls and rivers. They serve you champagne or mimosas to keep you vibin' all day long! Then they drop you off in a tourist zone to do more shopping and eat what locals eat. One of the best things on the trip besides the King Crab was this Alaskan Fry Bread from a place called Doughboy. Wow, get two of them because its insane good. Tip, there are two lines, left side to pay and the right side to get your donut. Don't wait in the donut line if you haven't paid yet lol.

Before we headed back to Seattle, they said a rule of cruises is that they have to touch a foreign land so we headed to Victoria BC Canada for 4-5 hours before heading back. My wife and I stayed on the boat vs trying to scramble to see Victoria in such a short period.

I have to say that the landscapes really put me in a state of awe. You really can't believe how beautiful this planet is and how much wildlife animals like bears and eagles get to life their best life doing what they do without the interference of man. Budgeting for excursions is something you should consider as they are not cheap but if you are only going to go to Alaska one time, you may want to do as much as you can. I hope that if you ever go, you can really take in the beauty of this trip. It is not a hype filled cruise with loud music and young folks running amuck. Instead it is a cruise to relax and take in the serene moments of nature and enjoy your compadres who tagged along with you and make memories together. We did exactly that and we have become huge cruise fans and we cannot wait to do it again very soon.

Thank you to everyone at Princess Cruise for your hospitality and service, for it did make a huge difference on our quality of experience. Creating these types of memories with the ones you love is priceless. Do it now before you are too old!

Check out more information here: Princess Cruises

Drew Manley