We have arrived
We arrived in Anchorage late yesterday afternoon. After two on time flights, a couple of people ahead at pre check security. We had to get up at 4am for our first flight, so we were really tired. We flew first class, but of course no lie flat seat or anything like that.
When we went to check our bags in, there was a family of ten going to somewhere in the Caribbean and half of them did not have the VeriFLY app authorization, so we stood in line behind them while it was sorted for quite some time. The only other delay was our bags were really slow coming off the belt In Anchorage. There was a Tauck agent. Another couple joined us and a family going on the Bridges tour which must start the same day as our trip. We have not seen anyone else yet
Our welcome packet was waiting at reception. The Mount Cook hotel is an Historical hotel of America, so some might find it a bit dingy decoration wise. We ate dinner at one of the restaurants on the recommended list from the TD. We had a 5-45pm reservation and it was really busy, we waited an hour for our entre which was halibut cheeks which we like but they were a little over cooked.
We had to wait for a table at breakfast this morning, The desk said it would be a half hour but more like twenty minutes, we ate reindeer sausage.
We made a late start for our walk around town, it’s really quiet. There are a lot of empty stores/buildings, gorgeous annual flower displays and homeless people everywhere, yes everywhere. The highlight was a theater showing a film about the Aurora which was fantastic with moving music to accompany it. We found a place called the Sandwich Deck near the hotel and bought take out Poboi sandwiches. We are tired, having a rest and then out again to see the Oscar Anderson house.
Comments
I flew from DEN to EWR a few months ago on United. Some flights were 737s with just wider first class seats and some flights were 757s with lie flat cubicles. Price was the same Guess which flight I took? Before you book, check the equipment details...
Isn't it weird to get off a long flight like that and hear people speaking English and using USD?
British - When you were standing in line behind the family going to the Caribbean for some time, did the agents know that you’ve been on over 50 Tauck tours? They must not have based on the respect they showed you! 😂😂
Have a great tour!
Try the reindeer sausage at breakfast.
British, have a great time!
Naughty Sam!
We have just returned from the Welcome dinner. 39 people on the tour, experienced 28 year Tauck TD
Here are some statistics. Only one man was wearing a jacket. Some were smart casual, a lot were not. It did not matter.
This is the 11th Grand Alaska tour this year. The TD told us the following….Only 2 have been Covid free. One tour had 20 people test positive the day before getting on the ship, they were off the tour right there
While Tauck no longer enforces masks, it was strongly encouraged. The TD wore his mask. We chose a table with five other people, the only other ones making any attempts to mask up tonight. The TD told us there is a Covid spike in Alaska right now, which we were aware of.
There have been more changes/modification to the tour we were not aware of and yet to find out. We were all privately weighed tonight prior to our float plane ride tomorrow.
Yikes for covid. It may be that BA.4/5 variant going around. Those N95 masks should serve you well. I hope the tour is smooth for you and everyone else on it!
The weather may not be conducive for it, but try to eat outdoors if an option. IMO, that's the weakest link in the chain, as you can't wear a mask during meals. On my recent Hawaii trip, mask wearing was almost non-existent, but nobody (that I'm aware of) got Covid on tour. Just about all our meals and activities were in open-air settings.
British - I hope you enjoy your float plane ride. When we did it in Sydney, Australia it was a lot of fun. I got to sit in the co-pilots seat for the ride (due to my size).
This will be our second float plane experience. Last time we landed in the harbor in Vancouver. A Mr.B bucket list!
We had to leave Grand Alaska last week because of positive Covid test.I am aware of 12 of 41 who did not board the ship. I am going to contact some people we met who arrived home today to see how the cruise portion went and if others eventually tested positive. I was not positive when they tested us but hubby was, I was then positive 40 hours later, so testing is good but only to some extent as you can be positive 1 day later and have gotten on the ship.
We are on the July 16th Grand Alaska trip and have questions of what happens if you test positive for covid before boarding the Princess ship? Are you quarantined for 5 days and then fly home? Is this at your expense? Is there any compensation from Tauck for missing the cruise portion of the tour? How often are you tested on this trip?
Thanks in advance - John and Sandy Gualala CA
We tested positive at the Fairbanks Princess. They offered everyone five free days and meals delivered to the room if you wanted to quarantine there. No-one makes you stay you can leave and fly home if you like since there is no testing to board a plane. Tauck is giving a prorated amount back for everyday starting from the day you test positive. For us that will be 8 or 9 days not sure, they will mail a check in about 4 weeks. We also had travel insurance, this falls under travel interruption due to illness section of the insurance. I am working on that paperwork. I will submit receipts for flights home, that is the only added expense we had. If you have other expenses, additional hotel nights, meals, transports, medical, you can submit that to insurance. You only get tested once the day before the cruise. Everyone was diligent on our tour wearing masks, hand sanitizer etc. but it did not help. One of the previous tours had 50% that could not board ship, we had 30%. Some were so surprised they were positive… no symptoms at all… I contacted people who took the cruise, they were only aware of 1 more person who became ill on the ship. The land portion was great, glad we got to do it. Maybe we will take the cruise part ourselves in the future. Hope you have a good time and stay healthy.
Grand ALASKA Day 1
Can you believe Donald Trump was staying in our hotel last night!
Mr. B thought he spotted some Secret service looking guys in the afternoon, he saw they had ear pieces in and they were wearing suits and standing around. Turned out he was campaigning for Palin.
Our group of 39, possibly the largest group we have encountered with Tauck except perhaps an early US tour, left the hotel at 8-30am. Breakfast buffet is provided in the Quarter deck on the 10th floor of the other tower part of the hotel, just for Tauck.This is because the main breakfast area is very crowded.
The usual seat rotation occurs on the bus
We had a brief driving tour of the town before heading for a private guided tour of the museum at 9am which focused on native artifacts and was really enjoyable. I did not take any photos as the displays were extremely dimly lit. Be sure to view the other parts of the museum after the guided tour, there is just about enough time. We particularly liked the modern art in those areas. We left at 11am.
The bus drove on to Wasilla where we had a leisurely lunch, more leisurely for us because six of us waited and waited for our food to appear. After everyone else was finished, Mr B made his way to the TD to point our we were still waiting, it turned out our ticket order had slipped to the floor in the kitchen. So we waited about 45 mins for our halibut sandwich which was a heavy coated battered over cooked couple of pieces of tasteless yuck, I don’t recommended it, better to stick to the massive Cesar salad, pasta of pizza. The only saving grace was that we were in one of the few two seater booths, so a little more Covid safe.
We then made our way to the float plane experience which I think will be one of the highlights of the tour. There were seven planes in total, most were small seating the pilot and four others. You may not be on the same plane as your spouse/partner as the seating is all about your weight and you are told where to sit. We were on one of the smaller planes, if you have any mobility issues, bad knees or hips, be prepared to have to enter on your hands and knees and very awkwardly get into your seat whichever seat you are assigned, it’s a challenge to get to it. Mr. B was next to the pilot. I drew the short straw and got the loan back seat where even my short 5 feet one-ish legs were cramped up and by the last half hour, I was so uncomfortable that I could not wait for the trip to end which was such a shame. The flight however was wonderful. You get a totally different perspective flying over a glacier than viewing it from the ground. The pilot provided very little commentary apart from a few glacier facts but that did not particularly matter for us because we have been to Patagonia and I studied them at high school and we’ve seen enough documentaries about them. I’m sure other groups had more talkative pilots. The huge numbers of lakes and gray rivers formed by the silt of the ever moving and melting glacier were just amazing to see from the air. Mr B spotted one moose, otherwise we saw no wildlife during about the one hour 45 minute flight. We landed on Fish lake in quite heavy rain and walked up a short track or the bus.
Note from the TD was to wear light clothing because the plane can be hot and that there is quite a lot of plane shake so big cameras are more awkward to use. I just took my cell phone. In general so far, I’ve not seen many cameras and I haven’t used mine yet.
The next part of the tour is where it has changed from scheduled because the lodge that was planned for this part of the tour was closed after the first two tours for staff shortages..Copper Lodge, so we are staying at McKinley Lodge which is very nice. We are in building 18 which apparently Tauck always seems to be allotted. If you cut through lodge 17 as suggested by the TD, it is only a short walk to the main building where there is the main restaurant, shop and internet.
Grand Alaska Day 2
Our day started with a visit to an original Homesteader property when we met the owner’s daughters and grandson. The daughter joined us on the bus ride out to the homestead and told us the amazing story of the journey to Alaska around sixty years ago. We spent about 90 minute there learning about how life was then and now. We were all enthralled by the lifestyle! Note, you will be standing for about an hour while you listen to part of the story, your feet will get damp in the grass. This is going to be another highlight of the trip…. But wait. There’s more….
We stopped in the very small town of Telameeka where we had about an hour to walk around, get a coffee and browse in the quaint stores. Some of the stores were of the t shirt etc variety but In between were little stores with people who were selling goods that they had actually made. So shoppers out there, don’t dismiss quickly checking out the stores, there is plenty of time to see most of them and get a coffee.
We purchased a left handed hand carved wooden skillet spoon and a spurtle from the man who made them…we are both left handed. In another store I purchased some hand carved bone jewelry pieces, again by the man who made them. I love unusual costume jewelry and always
get favorable comments about it if I actually take any jewelry on a tour with me, I’ll try to post pictures later, no Internet in the rooms, I’m writing all this in my notes. The prices were really reasonable compared to wha y I have seen so far and just beautifully made…..local crafts are made in the long winters of Alaska using local woods/ bone from animal that have been killed for food etc
This is when something really rare happened on all of our tours,,,a couple were late arriving back to the bus. The TD was clearly annoyed and was out scouting around for them. Another person was standing around outside smoking at the time we should have been departing…just so annoying. Eventually, the couple strolled along and seemed to find it amusing that we were all waiting for them. I get the impression that as lovely and experienced as our TD is, if it happens again, he will definitely say something.
A ride on a speedboat followed, of course we arrived later than planned We sped along on two adjoining rivers looking at scenery and searching for wildlife. Only a loan bald Eagle were spotted by some. We walked a short trail and had a picnic lunch before about an hour long speedboat ride to the lodge. Note, good shoes are important and getting off the boat was going backwards down a short ladder and then up a short but steepish rocky trail, which I guess could be tricky in wet weather. You do not get wet on the speedboat, it has a roof and sliding windows.
After dinner at 8pm there was a 45minute talk with lovely slides of the natural cycle of a typical year in Alaska by an experienced local. It’s amazing how tired you feel when you haven’t had much exercise, our bodies seem to cope less well with a four hour time change than an eight to twelve hour one, but we are getting there.
Just a few notes…WATER BOTTLES…Tauck has obviously gotten the message about their water bottles being too heavy. We have been provided with small ‘Swell’ brand white bottles, which are lighter and easier to carry. I really like them. SHOES AND WATER PROOFS…really essential to have good walking shoes even if we don’t do much walking because of the gravel, dirt or grassy paths we have already encountered. Apart from rain on leaving the plane yesterday, it has been dry, it can rain any time and I guess turn muddy.
Mask wearing…after our TD talk at the welcome dinner where only seven of us had masks, the majority are mainly wearing masks, one man, I’ve never seen one on him and sure enough, he is the one who is coughing the most. At this point we are in a state park, so masks are not required, but tomorrow we move to the National Park where it is a requirement.
At the back of my mind is that bit of anxiety about finding we are Covid positive at the testing before we can get on the ship.
The TD has explained that those who test positive will get a refund for the missed part of the tour.
Could you see Russia out your window?
British - Is the photo of your knees on the float plane or the speed boat? If that's the room for a 5'1" person it would be impossible for me, a 6'6" person to ever fit.
If the picture is from the float plane, then I'd likely end up in the co-pilots seat like on previous float plane flights.
Thanks, British, for such great detail. Good to hear many are masking; fingers crossed. Glad ex-potus sighting did not dampen your spirits.
Great report on your trip British and the pictures, glad to hear more people are wearing masks. Have a great time.
So appreciate your taking the time to share. Great info. Stay well.
Thank you for your ongoing report, British. WOW, that plane is really small, I can understand your discomfort in the last row. Love the picture of the flowers, beautiful.
Sam, my pics of the knees are on the float plane. You have to sit where you are told. The man in front of me was tall and had plenty of leg room which I could not see, the lady sitting next to him mentioned that and was so relieved it was me who got the back seat. The pilot could have moved his seat up if I had known.
Will try to post today’s great day during the night. It’s not even 9-30pm and I’m falling asleep. Early start tomorrow.
Here are a couple of teaser photos from today
British - I assume that is a mannequin on the dog sled dressed as if they are in the Iditerod.
No Sam, it’s a real person! Have not yet written yesterday stuff, I slept a little better. Early start soon and raining.
Great pictures British, have a great day !!!