Our vacation started with a week visiting my sister in Seattle. After a week with her and her family we flew to Fairbanks via Anchorage. We took the UB5 12 Night Classic Alaska cruisetour with 5-day land tour before boarding the Diamond Princess. Princess representatives were waiting for us at the Fairbanks airport, took us to baggage claim, and guided us to the coach. Before getting on the coach, they handed us our first envelop with our room key, luggage tags, and itinerary for the next day. Everything was well-organized and self-explanatory. They gave us envelop at every stop with all the information we needed on a daily basis, like which coach/train to take, time to put baggage out, etc.

The coach stopped at Princess Lodge near the airport first and then to Bear Lodge at the other end of town where we were to stay for two nights. I don't know whether we were the 'overflow' guests or because our whole tour group was placed there for convenient. I was actually looking forward to our stay there. I have checked out the Bear Lodge on line and liked what I saw. It's part of the Wedgewood Resort which encompassed a huge campus. The room was very spacious with two queen beds, flat screen TV, a balcony, air-conditioning, coffee maker, and wi-fi access (need to get code from front desk). After cleaning up a bit we went downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. We knew that the prices for food would be more expensive in Alaska but our first dinner turned out to be quite OK for the price. After dinner we explored the grounds of the resort. It was too late to get into the Antique Auto Museum so we just went on the trail to Wander Lake. Visited the outdoor museum and had a very pleasant chat with the gentleman working there.

First Day--The coach took us first to the Alaska pipeline, then El Dorado Gold Mine, and the Sternwheeler River Boat ride. Enjoyed them all! It was raining on and off but we still had a great time. Panning gold was a lot of fun but the delicious free cookies and hot coffee/cocoa melted us on a cold wet day. I thought it was quite considerate of them to give each of us a poncho for the rain. Read more