Prior to our 7 night Alaska tour we took a trip across the Canadian Rockies on one of the fully escorted Princess add on tours. We chose the delux tour for the locations and hotels within the package and also opted for the Rocky Mountaineer train ride from Jasper to Vancouver as part of the trip. It is recommended that the tour is done first as it is quite demanding with one night stops in each place and you live out of suitcases for that period. This means that you can finally unpack and relax on the cruise. On arrival in Calgary we were met by our tour Director and taken to the Palliser hotel in the town centre for an overnight stay. The hotel has a nice indoor swimming pool.
In the Rockies you will most likely see black bear but once in Alaska you need to know the different indicators of the type of bear you see as colour isn't foolproof. Black bears can be cinnamon in colour and brown bears quite dark. A close encounter with a bear isn't recommended if the mother has cubs. With a black bear you fight back if attacked but with a brown bear you play dead and don't move (and silently pray). Bears can run surprisingly fast and climb tress so neither of these options is a good idea if getting away from a bear in attack mode. Bears usually attack if surprised or a mother is defending her cubs so never get between a mother bear and her cubs. You can buy bear bells to attach to your feet to warn the bears of your approach but I am not sure if it works as we didn't try this one out (no surprise). We woke on our first morning to find the local paper detailing a bear attack on a campsite in the area so it does happen! The problem is more people going into bear territory and not always following advice about food etc. with sad results for humans and the bears.
This is a pretty town with Mountains as the backdrop. We stayed at the Banff Springs hotel, which has spectacular views of the river that runs near it. The hotel is huge and has a beautiful medieval room that is worth seeing. The indoor pool is large and worth a visit. Indeed we even saw a bear warning notice at one of the viewing stops.
The best advice is not to go off recognised paths without a good guide who knows the area and the wildlife but there isn't time for this on the trip. The viewing places on the trip have well marked paths and if the bears were likely to be a problem you wouldn't stop there but it is prudent to be aware they are around. As you travel through the Rockies and the National Parks you can see a variety of wildlife, glaciers galore, the famous lakes such as Emerald Lake and Moraine Lake. The stops are well organised with toilet facilities at the stops. There is also the chance to go out on a tundra buggy onto the Athabasca Glacier. Our driver for this huge vehicle was a female student working for extra cash! Our guide made the pre cruise trip for us but Princess is renowned for the quality of their guides and tour escorts.
This was my favourite hotel out of the whole trip. The Lake is a lovely place to walk round but do take note of any bear notices as they are sometimes a problem especially in the early season when they have come out of hibernation are trying to find food. Common sense should ensure it isn't you! We didn't walk right round the lake, as there was a bear problem when we were there and several bears had been sighted there before our arrival.
At the end of the Lake is the massive Victoria Glacier that literally hangs off the rock face. On the morning we left the lake was shrouded in mist and dead calm which made it a surreal experience.This is the sort of place you could imagine from a Western with tumbleweed rolling down the main road and wooden decking lining the roadside with shops. Not a lot to do when you arrive there. There is an excursion you can do where you shoot some rapids but we warned you would get wet! The Rocky Mountaineer train leaves from Jasper so this is why the tour stays the night here.
Forget your perceptions of rail travel in our country. This is the ultimate experience except perhaps the Orient Express. Princess have their own carriage, which is the red leaf service. It isn't worth upgrading the level of service to Gold, as all you get is a position in a dome car. The train travels at a slow pace and there are plenty of wildlife viewings if you look. We saw mousse, bear, mountain sheep amongst others. I never did see the bear and cub that hubby saw as I chose that moment to visit the loo! That is the way it goes with wildlife viewing. The carriage has a steward/stewardess who serves you meals on the train.
Princess used a hotel right on the harbour at the end of our tour. There are float planes taking off regularly as this is a common form of transport here. We arranged an excursion through the hotel on our free day which took us up Grouse mountain to the famous totem poles and the chance to walk across the Capilano suspension bridge. Be warned, this is not for the faint hearted as it sways whilst crossing and is a long way up from the valley below. You have to do a return trip to get back to the totem poles where you came in! They do replace the wooden planking on the bridge each year though and you get a certificate to mark your crossing. Once we disembarked our cruise we had a day to kill before our evening flight. Princess provided hospitality at a central hotel in Vancouver. We took a taxi to Stanley . Island and took a horse and carriage ride round the island then had lunch at the aquarium on the island. ( Thanks to Caroline Morrell)
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