With great friends!
In June of 2022 we took our first trip post-pandemic. Due to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, we had to cancel several cruises. Leisure cruising completely stopped for more than a year, and it’s slowly getting back to going again. When mask mandates and travel started opening up, we decided that a trip to Alaska would be a good way for us to ease back into our favorite past-time.
Our dear friends David & Cindy went with us. We all bowled together pre-pandemic and then David and Cindy moved to Las Vegas. We miss them and planned a trip together – and it was cancelled twice due to COVID – and we have rescheduled it to 2023 but we couldn’t wait that long, so we planned this Alaska trip and asked them to join us – to our delight they booked too and we were ready to sail!
Although cruising had started back up for the most part in the fall of 2021 – most ships still required masks and any on-shore excursions required masked guides and that the groups stayed together. We booked the Alaska trip for a time we felt that those restrictions would be removed.
As the cruise date got closer and closer we were following other cruisers online and the mask mandates were fading and on our planned trip they were deemed ‘optional.’ We did have to show proof of vaccination and we had to test negative for COVID prior to entering Canada – which is where our cruise started.
Once onboard we were disappointed to learn that Princess Cruises had decided to reinstate mask requirements in the indoor areas of the ship. We learned from online forums that the previous sailing had several passengers come down with COVID so the cruise line was being pro-actively cautious. We understood but didn’t love it!
We ended up having a wonderful time – and can’t wait to plan the next trip! We may wait a couple of months to see how the COVID restrictions go…. without further ado – here’s the recap of our awesome trip!
Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers (Northbound)
| Date | Port | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Port | Activity |
| Saturday, June 4, 2022 | Vancouver, Canada | Embark on Majestic Princess |
| Sunday, June 5, 2022 | At Sea | Relaxing Day at Sea |
| Monday, June 6, 2022 | Ketchikan, Alaska | George Inlet Lodge – Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast |
| Tuesday, June 7, 2022 | Juneau, Alaska | Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest with the Allen Family |
| Wednesday, June 8, 2022 | Skagway, Alaska | Historic City, Liarsville Gold Panning and Salmon Bake |
| Thursday, June 9, 2022 | Glacier Bay National Park | Scenic Cruising |
| Friday, June 10, 2022 | College Fjord-Prince William Sound | Scenic Cruising |
| Saturday, June 11, 2022 | Wittier (Anchorage) Alaska | Disembark & head home |
On to Embarkation day!