Tried & Tested GOLDEN PRINCESS
Jo Kessel cruised with the family around Alaska on Golden Princess
A trip to Alaska ranks high on most people’s bucket lists, but I didn’t want to wait until most people start ticking a trip like this off – retirement. I wanted to visit this vast wilderness famed for its glaciers and bears with my children – 12-year-old twins Nathalie and Gabriel, and 10-year-old Hanna – to witness unforgettable scenery as a family. A cruise seemed the solution. After a memorable two days in
San Francisco to take in Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf and ride the city’s vintage trams, we were ready to board Golden Princess for a 10-day round-trip. The top deck buzzed as we
sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge – a romantic start to the voyage – before finding our cabins. Marshmallow beds proved the perfect antidote to jet lag, and from our interconnecting balconies we spotted porpoises, dolphins and whales over the next three days at sea. A fellow passenger asked if I was counting my sightings –he’d seen 17 humpbacks – but the truth is there were too many to tot up.
Sunny weather found us on pool deck (unlimited ice cream was a great perk) and the children flitted from swimming to Shockwaves, the club for eight to 12-year-olds where activities included ‘shark morning’ – digging for sharks’ teeth, making shark necklaces and learning shark trivia. This was part of Princess’s Discovery at Sea programme, which has been launched in conjunction with TV’s Discovery Channel with the aim of mixing entertainment and education. Also part of the initiative was Junior Chef at Sea, during which the ship’s patisserie chef taught Nathalie to ice a cake like a professional. We weren’t yet in Alaska, but Alaskan crab cakes and fish tacos gave us a culinary glimpse into the destination, served alongside burgers at the poolside grill. Evenings were more formal (a kids’ menu was available), feasting on watermelon and feta cheese followed by Alaskan-style seafood soup and all-American meatloaf in the main dining room. Our first port of call was Alaska’s
capital Juneau. We booked a Discovery-branded ship excursion, paddling a canoe (which the children dubbed ‘oar-some’) between icebergs for two miles
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travelweekly.co.uk 15 October 2015
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