Whittier, Alaska

Wednesday, 22 Aug 2018 – Today, we were scheduled to take a 9-hour rail ride from Denali to Whittier and board the Coral Princess cruise ship.  Our alarm woke us at 5:30 AM, so that we could set out our small suitcases by the door by 6:00.  We ate our two cookies plus a few nuts for an early breakfast.  We planned to purchase a more substantial breakfast on the train.  By 7:20 AM, we were in the main lobby of the lodge, standing in line to board one of the buses to take us to the train depot. 

Once at the depot, we were pointed in the direction of St. Elias car toward the back of the train, where we had been assigned seats.  We settled into seats 5C and 5D.  Our guide on this car was Daryn.  Although the seats were very comfy, the air was a little cold; Sally kept her sweatshirt hood over her head and her neck cushion across her legs.  Besides Daryn, a second young man (Grant) was taking orders for drinks, snacks, and reservations for the dining car.  Daryn was originally from Naperville, IL, but was extremely knowledgeable about Alaska and the sights we were passing.

At 10:45 AM we went downstairs to the dining car, where Jesse ordered blueberry pancakes and Sally ordered tacos with egg & bacon.  We shared the meals, with Jesse getting a little more than his half.  The breakfast was very good.  At about 1:30 PM, our train stopped for another group to board.  We assumed that Val and Ed were among them.  We texted them and eventually we heard from Val, who responded, ”See you on the ship.”  By 1:15 PM or so, the sun came out.  Being away from the mountains, the temperature inside our railroad car became warmer.

Jesse asked Daryn if he remembered our granddaughter, Mary Kate, who had worked on this train last summer.  He said that he remembered her and that she was very nice and did a good job there.

At one point an hour or two before Anchorage, the train stopped and several Princess employees boarded.  They would be completing our boarding process in advance to facilitate our embarkation. 

Although, we would soon be meeting with one of the Princess reps, Grant said it would be okay for us to go ahead to the dining car for a late lunch.  We sat with another couple from Boston, MA, one of the five states Jesse has yet to visit.  Jesse ordered chili and Sally, clam chowder.  During lunch, one of the Princess reps stopped by our dining table to start our cruise ship boarding process; however, we had left our boarding passes at our coach seats, so she completed our boarding process after we returned to the coach.

Later, we rode beside the ocean, where some of the passengers saw a beluga whale near the coast, though we didn’t actually see it.  We rode by lovely mountains and glaciers.  For a while, the sun shone directly on us and the sunlight was blinding, but that passed.  Eventually, the train went through two long tunnels.  (We had been bussed through them previously in September, 2013 before boarding a cruise ship to Asia.)  At 5:30 PM, the Coral Princess came into view at port in Whittier, and the train came to a stop.  It had been a great ride, with a glass dome overhead and an excellent narrator. 

Since the Princess rep had already checked us in and issued our cabin keys, we were allowed to go directly through security to board the ship.  Being elite Princess passengers, we were steered to the short security line.  Soon we were in our cabin, D212 on Deck 9, the Dolphin deck.  Our luggage was already in our room, which normally never happens.  Although we were exhausted, Sally was also very tired of sitting; therefore, she unpacked.

We met our cabin steward, Hedy; her friendly smiles made us think that she should be working on an Oceania cruise ship.  At 7:45 PM, we went to the inevitable safety drill, where we saw Val and Ed from a distance.  Soon we talked with them and went to Horizon Court to eat dinner together.  No dancing or shows for tonight – we went right to sleep!