Alaska Revisited - Day 1

Day 1

The life of an Army “Brat” and spouse brought me to destinations all over the world – some loved, some explored, and some were merely moments in time until the next duty station. One of those destinations was Alaska in the early 1990’s as we were stationed at Ft. Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska for three years. Although we were in awe of the natural beauty and ruggedness of the surrounding area, it was a harsh reality for an Army family with young children. Between long and frigid winters, the Army kept our soldier very busy with trainings, deployments, and field exercises so that time spent exploring the beauty of our location was very limited. Although we appreciated the splendor of Alaska, it was a difficult duty station for our family thanks to the long dark and cold winters. I left there with a mindset that “I survived” and I wasn’t in a rush to return.

Fast forward almost thirty years and I find myself as travel advisor exploring destinations around the world in a different capacity. In this new role, I look at each destination I visit with the eyes of a visitor who is interested in seeing, exploring, and experiencing a destination to not only appreciate for myself but to also learn and share that knowledge with my clients. At least once a week, someone asks me or mentions Alaska for a desired destination and I have found myself hesitating to respond with excitement and positivity due to my somewhat jaded experience living there. I realized I needed to change that response and get a fresh perspective not only to be able to better serve our clients but to do justice to this amazing destination.

In March 2022, I was able to sail on Holland America Line’s Rotterdam and learned more about their ships and Alaska products. I was singularly impressed and excited about the beauty of the ship, the service, and the in-depth Alaska products HAL offers. They have been sailing Alaska longer than Alaska has been a state! I knew this was the way I wanted to revisit Alaska and experience it in a new way to get a fresh view of our 49^th state. A couple of weeks ago, such an opportunity came up and I quickly jumped on it! Today I board HAL’s Konigsdam in Vancouver, BC, to set sail to Alaska via the Inside Passage!

I started my trip in Houston staying overnight at the Hilton Garden Inn IAH which was clean, quick, and inexpensive using my Hilton Honors points. I opted to fly out Houston on United Airlines as it was a direct flight to Vancouver, the cruise starting point. An early flight meant driving in the night before to avoid possible delays the day of the flight. With air travel as tumultuous as it has been, I booked air direct with United so that handling issues would be much easier. You can also book flights, hotels, and transfer via Holland for a complete package but given the short notice of being accepted for this FAM trip (familiarization), I booked everything separately.

My parking lot was pre-paid and less than a mile from the hotel. I have used FINE IAH Parking several times and am happy with their covered lots, security, rates, and shuttle service. I was at the airport 2.5 hours prior to boarding time, dropped luggage off, had my Arrive Can QR code reviewed, and was off to TSA. I have TSA Pre-Check (worth every penny!) so it was a less than 10-minute experience to get through TSA to proceed to my terminal/gate. On the return trip, I will do my Global Entry interview as I go through Customs. Global Entry will expedite those international trip returns immensely!

It was a packed flight on an older United jet so there were no tv screens available. In flight WiFi was available through the United App but it was a bit touchy so watching movies or tv on the phone was not consistent. It is a about a 4.5-hour flight although we arrived about 20 minutes early.

After exiting the plane, you are guided through a nicely decorated arrival area to the first stop – customs. There are a number of kiosks and agents available to assist travelers though this step so it took less than ten minutes. You start with scanning your passport, answering the customs questions, take a photo, and it will print out a piece of paper that you save for immigration. Next, you see a customs agent who checks your passport, asks the purpose of your visit, and checks that you have your immigration form. Next stop was baggage which took about 30 minutes. After collecting baggage, you proceed through immigration who collects the customs form completed at the first stop.

The exit area is clearly marked for transfers, ground transportation, etc. There are also cruise lines present if you purchase services through their packages. I opted to take a cab to my hotel which were readily available outside. It was a flat fee of $38 Canadian Dollars and took about 25 minutes to arrive at Skwachays Lodge – Aboriginal Lodge and Art Gallery where I was booked. The cab driver was full of info about the local state of the economy post covid, some history, and the area where I was staying. Although the hotel was a very nice boutique style property, it was located right on the edge of Chinatown and maybe not the property for a new traveler. I enjoyed a lovely authentic meal in Chinatown, took a few pictures, and was back at the hotel by 5:30 pm as the time change (two hours) was starting to catch up with me.

I woke up early this morning and have my Uber scheduled for the short ride to the cruise port. I am excited to get onboard and explore the Konigsdam. We set sail at 4 pm and head to the Inside Passage so tomorrow morning, I should be seeing glaciers and white capped mountains. It is a work trip so we have some classes scheduled for tomorrow but I am ready to learn more about the product so I can plan our first Alaska group for 2024!

Stay tuned for more as I see Alaska with a Fresh View!