We sailed on the Sea Princess 19 26 May 2001 on the Northbound Voyage of the Glaciers cruise. During this review (or novella), Ill try to accomplish two things. First is to relate our experiences on the cruise, and secondly to relate our personal experiences regarding the many questions that we, and many others, have had on the cruise forums. Ill summarize these at the end of the review.
Without the great folks who participate in these forums, the planning and the actual cruise would have been less than what we joyfully experienced.
ABOUT US
We are a 50 and 55-year-old couple living in Riverside, CA. Im a program manager for US Navy contracts, and she is a manager for a federal service agency. This was our second cruise. The first was a west coast cruise on Royal Caribbean to Mexico.
We talked for several years about her idea of going on an Alaska cruise. I reckon timing is everything. In mid-April I completed a contract commuting from Riverside, CA to Panama City, FL. She was having a birthday on 21 May. Downtime and celebration were certainly in order.
My task, if I chose to do so (SHE SAID I CHOSE TO DO SO) was to research on the Web somewhere to go to rest and celebrate.
PLANNING AND SELECTION
The first part was easy. It would be Alaska since we had talked so much about it. Since Alaska cruises are famous for the scenery, we thought a balcony cabin was important (you can read its cold outside). Lastly, she loves ports, and I love sea days, so the search was based on these ideas.
I spent the next couple of days doing web searches on these criteria. Princess Cruise Line kept coming up over and over again. After deciding on Princess, I searched for balcony rates since we didnt have a TA that we use all the time. Here, luck was really with us. We found a special on balcony cabins from GalaxSea Cruise and Tours. I called the 800 number and spoke to Elaine Wheeler. After talking to her for just a few minutes, I booked the cruise. For Judys birthday, I also booked the Special Occasions package. A strange thing here is that after searching all over the country on the web, Elaines office is in Pomona, CA. This is very close to our place. Go figure. Elaine did a fantastic job for us. Phone calls and e-mails were always promptly returned. This seems to be something that several people on the cruise forums didnt experience with the TAs they found on the web.
The northbound itinerary was the last, perfect match. Travel and check on-board Saturday followed by a sea day. Then 3 port days, followed by two sea days cruising Glacier Bay and College Fiord. Finally fly back home the following Saturday. Another way to say this is travel/boat, rest, run run run, rest, rest, and travel. Yep, that makes seven days! This really met both our ideas of a perfect cruise.
We also booked air and transfers with Princess. We booked too late for air deviations, so I was concerned about that part. More on this later.
I put together a computer spreadsheet that outlined the itinerary day by day. It included where we were each day, arrival/departure times, and the evening dress code. Room was available to identify clothes wanted for each day, and all the other stuff we wanted to take without forgetting something. It also contained the TA, Princess, and family emergency numbers we thought we needed. This worked out great. We just left a copy with our house setter and family so that they had it available.
All this planning was based on our previous cruise experience. I found that being waited on hand and foot made it almost impossible to generate an original thought during the cruise. For the most part, this proved once again to be true.
Finally, a little info about the forums. During my research for this trip, I came across the cruise forums. These interchanges between cruisers covered virtually every question and answer you could imagine. Getting answers from folks who have been there was absolutely invaluable in the planning and pre-cruise portion of this adventure. They are also a heck of a fun way to spend your time prior to departure. I suspect most of us become consumed with the trip prior to leaving, and the forums are a way to begin the fun before you sail.
TICKETING, TRAVEL, AND EMBARKATION
Two days after I booked the cruise by phone we received our pre-cruise package from our TA. (Just a note, we booked a specific cabin instead of run of the ship, or category guarantee.) This included the Princess pre-cruise information form; the Princess survey form, the Princess Alaska brochure, a cruise answer book, an excursion booklet, formal wear rental information, and the cruise cost verification form from our TA. The cover letter explained everything.
That day I filled out the forms, made copies, and mailed them out. I also filled out the forms on-line at www.princess.com. The next day I was able to access our booking on-line at the Princess web site. I checked every day hoping the upgrade fairy was around. I think he/she died since wishing and prayer didnt do any good.
We didnt book excursions on-line since we planned on booking direct with the tour operator. Those that did had their tickets in their cabin when they arrived.
We received our final ticket package about 9 days prior to departure. Our ticket packages were a clear plastic envelope containing our airline tickets; six color coded luggage tags each, and our cruise ticket book. There was a separate ticket package for each of us since the forms and tickets are for each traveler.
Our packages had an orange sticker on the outside indicating, express check-in. This program started on our 19 May cruise according to Princess. Princess says that this means that they have received and processed all the required information early enough to have it all pre-printed in the ticket book.
As I said earlier, Princess made our air reservations. They had us flying direct to Seattle, WA, and then the motor coach to Ballentyne Pier in Vancouver.
On the big day, we caught an Alaska Airline flight at 6:30 AM from Ontario, CA direct to Seattle, WA. We arrived in Seattle at about 9:00 AM. I had previously called Elaine on what would occur in Seattle to get us to the ship, and this too proved to be correct. We immediately went to the announced baggage claim area. No Princess rep was there, but no big deal. By the time the luggage came down, several reps where there. I claimed our bags and took them to the rep. It was the last time we saw them until our cabin that night. If I hadnt been in such a hurry, Princess would have gathered them up off of the carousel (make sure you have the Princess tags filled out and on your bags) and transferred them without my needing to do anything.
The Princess rep then gathered all of us up and escorted us to the Princess motor coach gate. Our ticket books had a transfer ticket in them. We tore those out and exchanged them for a color-coded pass for our bus. At 10:00 AM our color was called and we were escorted to the bus.
This was our least favorite part of the trip. It was a two-hour flight of 1000 miles followed by a four and a half hour trip of 120 miles. The bus was slow, and the scenery not all that great. I really feel that paying for an air deviation for a direct flight to Vancouver would have been well worth the $35. Better yet, if you can, make your own air arrangements and arrive a day early. This really would leave you well rested and prepared for the first day.
Here is the fun part. When we arrived at Ballentyne Pier in Vancouver at about 2:30 PM. We went into the clearly marked express check-in line for our deck (Aloha 620). Because of the postings on this forum prior to our cruise I decided to time it just for fun.
The only thing you need to fill out is the on-board charge/credit card coupons (located in each traveler's ticket package) and sign the cards. We did this before we left home.
We walked to the desk, showed the Princess rep our express check-in sticker, and handed her the completed credit card coupon (nothing else!). She smiled, welcomed us aboard, and handed us our cruise cards. Then she pointed us in the direction of our loading gangway.
The whole embarkation thing took about 45 seconds. FANTASTIC !!!
We walked through a display for our obligatory boarding picture in the terminal area, and then went on- board the Sea Princess. There is security set up as you enter the ship. We passed our bags through a magnetic airport style detector prior to crossing the gangway. Once you board, just follow the roped in area to the interior entrance. At the door is a small computer check-in station. You slide your cruise card in it, the machine beeps, and youre logged on-board. This happens every time you depart or arrive on the ship. It gives the ship an exact list by name, and head count of whos there, or whos not.
The Cruise - FINALLY
DAY 1: The easiest way to say it is that this is one big and beautiful ship. Its 857 feet long with passenger areas from Deck 5 up to deck 15. You get to walk up from 14 to 15. By the way, there is no deck 13. As big as the ship is, surprisingly everything is close and convenient. We never had the feeling of being swallowed up by the size.
The ship is maintained immaculately. Its clean and pristine everywhere you go. Some folks we talked to said they actually saw people cleaning. We must have gone to bed way too early and slept way too late to see any of this.
Getting around is very easy if you remember a couple of things. Even number cabins are on the port (left) side of the ship looking forward. Odd number cabins are on the starboard (right) side facing the pointy end (front of the boat). The glass in the center elevators in the atrium always face forward (thank God they stay that way) and go from decks 5 thru 8. The rear and forward elevators go from deck 7 to 14. Simple isnt it! It really is simple once youve been there. By the way, the elevators talk to you, telling you which floor youre stopping at. The stairways are easy to walk up and down in lieu of the elevators. Ive put a deck-by-deck review at the end of this missive, so Im not going to do it here.
The focal point of the passenger area is the atrium. This is an absolutely beautiful area rising 4 decks from deck 5 through 8. To give this some kind of scale, there were over 2000 passengers (32 countries) and 850 crew (30 countries) on-board for our cruise. For us, English is our only language. We didnt encounter any problems with this. The only time we ever experienced anything like a crowd was leaving the Princess Theatre one night after a show.
Once we got into the ship, crewmembers directed us to the proper elevators for our cabin deck. Crewmembers also operated the elevators during the embarkation phase of the trip, after that you get to drive them yourself. If you are in a suite or mini-suite, or handicapped, you are personally escorted to your stateroom. This would be unrealistic for over 2000 passengers.
Of special note, I heard a gentleman in a wheelchair say how handicapped friendly the Sea Princess was for him.
CABIN: Our cabin was a category BB balcony stateroom on the portside, Aloha deck (A620). After reading reviews and comments on the forum of how small these cabins are, we were very surprised at how well they worked out for us on the cruise. While they are not suite-size it was very comfortable. And we spent a lot of time in the cabin during the cruise. (Dont get any ideas; it was mostly relaxing, reading, and scenery viewing.)
The cabin is about 9 feet wide by about 15 feet long with a balcony 9 feet wide by 3 foot deep. If youre traveling with a group, your stateroom steward can unlock the balcony divider for a longer balcony deck.
We had our stateroom configured for a queen size bed, so there was plenty of walk-around the bed space. The bed was very firm just like we like it. The whole balcony end is glass and the sliding door. This really gave the impression of space. Heavy curtains did block out the light. This is important in Alaska. On our final night at sea, it was broad daylight until 11:00 PM and the sun was up at about 3:45 AM.
The balcony had two plastic chairs and a round plastic table. There was plenty of room for the two of us. We even brought the table into the cabin, covered it with a blue and white Princess pool towel, and had our champagne breakfast on it. The balcony railings on the Aloha and Baja decks are solid steel for a foot and a half up, then small bars up another two feet capped with a wooden rail. It did not obstruct our view while setting in the cabin. This might be different on lower deck balconies.
On the balcony end of the cabin is a small stand with shelves. It surrounds a small refrigerator and holds the TV. Our refrigerator held at one time a six-pack of soda, a twelve pack of beer, the ice container, and a small box of milk. This might give you an idea of size.
Across from that was a small desk with six drawers to store items. There is also a small stool and trashcan. There is one chair at that end of the cabin. I usually sat on the bed. The blow dryer is built in above the desk.
IMPORTANT: Bring at least a six-foot extension cord with 3 outlets. The only plug in the main area of the cabin is above the desk. Also, there is only one hanging hook on the opposite side of the bed from the desk. We brought a suction cup hook to put on the door if we had to remove clothing wrinkles with the steamer. Fortunately we didnt need it.
Storage was just fine. There are three closets inside the cabin door with lots of hangers. One is full length, a bar in the center divides one, and the third is shelving and pullout baskets. The safe is in this closet. Its a small safe, but I was able to get a 4 x 8 jewelry folder in it. The lifejackets were also stored here. There was plenty of room for everything we brought. Our large suitcases, folding bag, and shoes fit easily under the bed.
The bathroom is definitely a one-person affair. There are three small shelves by the sink, and an outlet labeled shavers only. Ive never figured that label out in all my travels. The shower was small but adequate. It had fantastic water pressure and temperature control. There was soap, shampoo, conditioner, and facial tissues in the bathroom.
The two pool towels in the room are assigned to your steward. If you use them, you need to bring them back to your cabin and exchange them.
On the inside of the cabin door is instructions for your lifejacket, and the assigned muster station.
Believe me, it took a lot longer to describe it than it did to become familiar with the cabin. I ranted on, because there have been so many questions about the balcony staterooms.
Outside our stateroom was a plastic holder that was used like a mailbox. This is where the Princess Patter and the NY Times excerpt pages where delivered. Your names are located under your mailbox. Because I notified Princess of Judys birthday during the pre-cruise registration, they had balloons and a Happy Birthday sign on the door. This stayed up from her birthday throughout the entire cruise. She also received a birthday card signed by the Captain. If you didnt plan for the balloons during your registration, just tell your steward and hell take care of it.
WARNING GUYS: Nothing could ruin the cruise faster than NOT having the balloons for your anniversary or her birthday, especially since everyone else has them.
Anyway, very shortly after arriving in the cabin our stateroom steward came by and introduced himself. Rod is from the Philippines and was our primary source of getting anything that we wanted. He did a fantastic job. Rod showed us how everything worked in the cabin and showed us how to get a hold of him at anytime. Each steward has a pager number to call. We did that twice, and he got back to us in less than 5 minutes.
During his cabin overview, we finalized the dates and times for the items in the special occasions package for Judys birthday. We requested our robes, and informed Rod of our dining schedule. This was important so that Rod knew when to turn down the beds and put out the Princess chocolates on the pillow. For Personal Choice Dining, all we had to do was put out the sign saying Please Make Up Stateroom. The room was always done when we returned.
There are also slips in the cabin daily to order fruit plates, and continental breakfast the next morning. My personal favorite was room service. We used this all the time for coffee and snacks. Again, it never took longer than 5 minutes.
The soundproofing in the cabin was excellent. You could hear loud, happy people right outside the cabin, but that was about it. We never heard noise from the cabins on either side of us, or from the pool deck above us.
After finding the cabin and doing the stateroom review, we set out to explore the ship. Again, I cant express how beautiful and well laid out the Sea Princess is. We had plenty of time before the lifeboat muster drill to explore most of the ship.
The lifeboat muster drill was scheduled for 4:45 PM. Several announcements were made regarding the pending drill. All muster stations were in large rooms inside the ship on deck 7. Our station was the Vista Lounge. Most passengers were at the muster stations with their lifejackets prior to the drill. Crewmembers were located throughout the ship to guide you to the muster station. They wore yellow ball caps with the word Guide on the hat, DUH!
An assistant cruise director from London named Gavin conducted our muster. Gavin was very entertaining and informative during the drill. Attendance was done by counting empty seats rather than calling names. Gavin then demonstrated how to don the life jacket, and explained the safety features contained on them. The whole thing to 20 minutes then we were back on vacation. This was the only drill all week.
Heres a word on intercom announcements all week. They were held to an absolute minimum. The Captain gave an update every day. The Cruise Director outlined daily activities, and announced changes in activity schedules. While in Glacier Bay and College Fiord, park rangers and a naturalist gave a running commentary of what to see and general info on the area. To hear them from your stateroom, you had to turn on your TV to the Princess channels. The exception would have been emergency announcements. These would be broadcast to all areas of the ship.
Dinner that night was casual, and yes we saw a lot of blue jeans. Dockers style pants for the guys were the norm. We had requested first seating, but we were waitlisted for this seating. The place on our cruise card for seating and table was blank. I asked at the Information desk about this, and was told it would be taken care of the next day, so if we didnt mind, we should use Personal Choice in the Neapolitan dining room. We didnt have a problem with that so away we went. We were seated with 4 ladies, and had a great time. This proved to be true throughout the cruise. It was prime rib night, and it was excellent. Portions were large, but if we wanted more, all we had to do was ask. The waiters and servers in Personal Choice were very attentive and entertaining, so we never thought we were missing something.
After dinner, we went to the Patisserie lounge to have a couple of toddys and watch the ship get underway. This became our lounge of choice for the entire cruise. We were a little late getting underway while waiting for luggage and a load of supplies. This was Captain David Christies problem, not ours. WE'RE ON VACATION!
And yes, they do play the Love Boat theme while getting underway.
At 8:00 PM we went to the Princess Theatre for the Grand Adventure Variety Showtime. The host was our Cruise Director, Billy Hygate. There was a dance number by the Sea Princess dancers, then a comedian, Adam Leslie. He was a riot. I thought Judy was going to hurt herself from laughing so hard. Then the very talented Billy came out and kept the show going. He introduced all of his assistant cruise directors, and they explained their role on the ship in a very entertaining way. What a great show.
After the show we stopped by the Wheelhouse Bar for a drink and listened to the music until time to head up to the cabin. With traveling and all, this can be a long day.
DAY 2: Today was a sea day steaming through the Inland Passage. We woke up and opened the curtain. WOW! The scenery was magnificent. Snow-covered mountains with about a billion trees everywhere you looked. We never tired of this view.
I moved Judys birthday up one day so that she (we) could enjoy the champagne breakfast on this sea day. I love giving her presents that I get to share. As I previously said, we brought in the balcony table, covered it with a blue and white pool towel, and pigged out. We ordered enough food for the rest of the cruise, and scarily we ate it all. There was nothing like sitting around in our robes, eating breakfast, and watching the scenery go by. It was so relaxing that we even opened up the bottle of wine from our TA. And that folks was our entire morning. Needless to say we didnt need lunch.
We eventually got dressed and went for a walk around the ship. We checked out that nights menu, and sat around the Patisserie lounge, people watching and talking, until time to get ready for the Captains Reception in the atrium. This was also the first of the golf putting tournaments held right in the Grand Atrium. This was a whole lot of fun to watch.
This was the first formal night. Judy brought two evening dresses for these nights, and I rented the combo Tuxedo package as my contribution.
A NOTE FOR THE GUYS: I ordered the tuxes from the brochure in our pre-cruise package directly on the web. We followed the measuring instructions, then in the note block I put in the sizes that I normally wear. They were in our cabin when we got on-board. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. Make sure you try them on right away. Princess does have extras on-board in limited supplies if the fit is bad. The tuxedos are yours for the entire cruise and are picked up by your steward the morning after the last formal night.
We enjoy the formal nights and dress for each other, and also to get into the cruise thing. You forum folks keep duking it out. Those posts are fun to read. The mix seemed to be about 25% tuxedos and evening gowns, 74% suits and nice outfits, and 1% jeans. What the hell, its their vacation too. We dont let small stuff like that bother us.
After Miss Judy and her Ogre got dolled up, we went down to the Atrium for the Captains Reception, which went from 5:15 to 8:15 PM to accommodate both dinner sittings. We had photographs taken at different spots for the different backgrounds. They had champagne for $2 and waiters strolling with canapés. We werent sure what the $2 was all about. It appeared to get you the champagne glass which they kept refilling the whole time. Go figure?
Captain Christie addressed the passenger twice, again to accommodate both dinner sittings, and then we strolled around talking to other passengers. I think cruising folks are unique. They leave all their personal baggage on the pier and will talk to anyone about anything. This is a fun part of cruising.
After the reception, we did Personal Choice again in the Neapolitan dining room. Without a reservation, we walked right in and got a table for two. I dont remember what we ate but it must have been good or else Id still be complaining. After dinner we got up and left the dining room. To our utter surprise, the Maitre D ran out and caught us. He dragged us back to our table so Judy could have her Princess Birthday dessert and have the waiters sing Happy Birthday to her. They must have overheard us talking and took their own initiative to recognize her special day. This was way too cool!
After dinner, we hoofed it back to the Vista Lounge to watch Cabaret Showtime with singer Mark Donoghue. This was another really good show. Unlike the Princess Theatre, the Vista Lounge serves drinks during their shows. After the show, it was back to the cabin and bed. What a great day, again.
DAY 3: Today is our first port visit in Ketchikan. We arrived and tied up between 6 and 6:30 AM. We tied up right downtown. Ketchikan is a small town, and very easy to walk around. It was 48.2 degrees in port, and drizzly rain. This isnt too big of a shock since Ketchikan measures their rain in feet rather than inches. We had breakfast in the dining room before heading out.
In the cabin, there was a coupon book for the shops in each of the ports visited. There are some pretty good deals in this book, and I know we hit every shop listed. Plus, Im sure we also hit every shop with a door. Judy will probably disagree with that statement, but Ill stand by it till my grave.
After breakfast, we hit the beach. This was our first real good view of the Sea Princess from the outside. Being an old Navy guy, all I can say once again is that shes one big, beautiful ship. Getting lost in town was not a problem since Sea Princess was by far the biggest building in Ketchikan.
On the pier we booked our first tour of the trip. It was the horse drawn trolley tour of Ketchikan run by Seahorse tours. Their ticket office is right on the pier and was only $20 apiece. Our tour guide was a young lady named Dani, our driver was Fred, and our companion was a husky named Nook. This two horsepower tour lasted a little over an hour. It went all over Ketchikan at a very tranquil pace. Dani did a fantastic job explaining the past and present of this part of Alaska and the town. We stopped at various Totem poles while she explained the story behind them. She also gave a mini-biology lesson on the habits of the salmon.
Besides the locals, we saw our first Alaskan wildlife right after starting the tour. On top of the climbing pole at the lumberjack show sight was a Bald Eagle. We figured he had to be the dumbest eagle in the world since he was sitting in the only spot those really big guys with sharp stuff went up to do their job.
After the tour we went into the trading post to buy a couple of pair of 8X binoculars that were on sale in our discount book. Being the man of the house, I wasnt going to ask where they were located in the store. After a long, fruitless search on the lower level we went upstairs. We ended up by a checkout counter with two ladies standing behind it. By now Im getting That Look from Judy so I broke down and asked where they had the binoculars. Without a word, one of the ladies pointed right behind me. If I had stepped back a foot, I would have had binocular marks on my butt. Aint this always the case? Now heres where I really take the big hit. The ladies at the counter apparently didnt recognize that Judy and I were together. They asked her if she was ready to check out. What does my queen say? You got it. She said, and I quote, No, Im with Stupid! Those ladies had a massive shocked looked on their faces at the rudeness of this cruise passenger. After I quipped back some inane comment, they realized we were together and broke out laughing. After the instant female bonding thing, stupid and her highness got personal service from the store staff. I guess its the little things that make cruising memorable.
After this debacle (my word, not hers) we stopped by the liquor store on the pier and bought beer and soda and ran it back to our cabin. Again, Princess has no problem bringing refreshments on-board for use in the cabin.
We then went back in town for some heavy shopping and a walkabout tour of the town. A dont miss is a walk down Creek Street. Its a boardwalk and buildings on stilts over the creek. Ive seen hundreds of pictures of it whenever Alaska is shown, but never knew where it was. In the early years it was the red-light district. Another dont miss on Creek Street is Dollys house. Im not going to say anymore except this was one hard working lady.
The weather was bad enough that the helicopter tours were cancelled. Princess refunded the money immediately to those who booked. Other tours we heard about from other passengers were the salmon hatchery, kayaking, and salmon fishing. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.
After running around town in the afternoon, we went back to the ship. We got underway at 3:00 PM. Tonight was the semi-formal night in the dining room. There were a lot of suits and sports jackets among the guys, with a few blue jeans to keep the forum folks happy. Again, we didnt care.
I tried the slots in the casino, but it would have been almost as fast, and just a lucrative to throw the cash over the side so the whales had some pocket money.
By this time we decided Personal Choice was for us. I dont remember the menu for this meal. Judy had some kind of seafood and liked it. Nothing on the menu blew up my skirt, so I ordered the always available Angus steak with a Caesar salad. It was fantastic.
Ill digress, regress, or talk out of order here. Whatever? Traditionalists like their sittings because they get to become very friendly with their tablemates and waiter staff throughout the cruise. We agree with that, but we never did get our seating straightened out. We stayed Personal Choice Dining throughout the cruise, and we really enjoyed it. We ate at different times, with different folks, and enjoyed excellent service. Without exception, our tablemates were very enjoyable. Maybe we were lucky, but we got to meet a lot more folks that way. We certainly havent made a solid opinion of which way is better or worse, they are just different. A word on automatic tipping. We also didnt have a problem here since the service we received was well worth the $6.50 a day per person. This is the same either in traditional seating or personal choice. It didnt appear to affect the service. If you dont like this form of tipping, just tell them at the information (purser) desk, and theyll stop it.
OK, back on track. After dinner we went and had more photos taken. This is not vanity by the way. Miss Beautiful looks great in every shot, but it takes a lot of pictures of the Ogre before one is found that wont scare ten lives out of our cat.
We went back to Patisseries for an after dinner cocktail while waiting for the evenings show in the Princess Theatre. The show that night was Rhythms of the City. It was a musical production show that Judy loved, and I was ambivalent about. Ill sure give them an A+ for energy though.
After the show, it was back to our favorite lounge for some final scenery and a nightcap before bed.
DAY 4: Today we pulled into Juneau at about 7:30 AM. We were up early, so we called room service for a pot of coffee and some Danishes and toast. We did this most mornings. We were tied up .2-miles from the towns information center. The weather was 48.2 degrees (yeah, Alaska was definitely in a temperature rut). It rained off and on with gusty winds all day.
Getting off the ship, we had a Princess opportunity to have our pictures taken with crewmembers dressed like a moose and a bear. This was too good to pass up. I now know how to deal with a bear encounter. Just grab them, give them a hug, and somewhere deep inside their head youll hear a soft GRRRR, eat you up. That will keep a smile on your face all day!
Princess ran shuttle buses the .2-mile for $1 each all day with unlimited trips. Most of the tours had buses and shuttles to pick up their passengers right on the pier.
We decided that we wanted to take the Mt Roberts Tram to the top of the peak and then just walk around town all day. Princess had a ticket booth on the pier that sold the shuttle tickets, and all day passes for the Mt Roberts Tram. The shuttle took cash, but we put the $20 per person tram tickets on our cruise card.
My real boss decided that the .2-mile walk to the information center/tram house wasnt too far to walk, so I agreed and off we went. Im glad we did because just off the pointy end off the ship there were 8 10 Bald Eagles flying around and landing in the trees right by our walkway.
The Mt Roberts Tram was fantastic. Its a 2000-foot ride straight up the mountain to the upper station. What a fantastic view. Im sure Ill say that more than once. When you get off the tram, you are in an enclosed walkway into the gift shop and restaurant. There are windows in the walkway giving more spectacular views. After walking around the gift shop (of course), we went outside. There was snow all over the place. We hiked around the trails and took pictures of each other with the mountains and valleys as backdrops. Golf shoes would have been better than our tennis shoes for snow hiking, but with a little slipping and sliding we made it. One of the trails takes off by the heritage house. Our favorite sign of the trip was hung outside on a bulletin board. It said what to do if you encounter a bear. Number 1 read something like Make sure to identify yourself as human, and make sure the bear knows youre a person. This was too much for my wise mouth to hold in. What in the world were we supposed to do? Walk up to the bear, shake hands, and say, HI, Im a human. Now please set down while I give you a slide show differentiating my 190 pound bald, person body, and your 500 pound fur coat with teeth. I was almost afraid if we did encounter a bear that Id be tempted to walk toward it with my hand out and a bunch of presentation slides. Enough of that one, too.
There are also observation decks overhanging the side of the mountain. From these we got phenomenal aerial views of the Sea Princess, Juneau, and a long view of the waterway leading into the city. It was breathtaking in the beauty of it all.
Once down from the mountain, we walked back to the ship for lunch. Judy was hungry for a hamburger, so to the dining room we went. We sat with two couples and had a great lunch with great burgers.
After lunch, it was back to town for power shopping with Superwoman. It was really getting cold and windy, so we were really glad we had gotten the shuttle tickets.
After 4 days of shopping that afternoon, I was finally given permission to escort my sweetie back to the ship. Again, another great port visit.
The ship got underway at about 8:00 PM. It was casual night for dinner. Neither of us found anything on the menu that blew up either of our skirts (even if we both had pants on). We both had Caesar salads, she had the chicken breast, and I had the steak again. Both meals were very good.
After dinner, we walked around the ship then stopped by the photo gallery to look at our pictures up to this time. She was great in them all, but the cat was still in danger. Oh well, I just had to keep trying.
From there it was back to Patisserie for drinks until show time, again. The show that night was the Pub Night Comedy Show in the Vista Lounge. Since this was our first Princess cruise, we had not seen it. The cruise director, Billy Hygate, and his staff did routines and audience participation skits that were absolutely hilarious.
After the show, she decided we were tired, so we went to the cabin and watched a movie and drank room service coffee and hot chocolate. Sometime during the movie, the crew must have gassed us because I have no memory of the movie or the rest of the evening.
DAY 5: We pulled into Skagway at 6:30 this morning. Yep, it was 48.2 degrees. We were already up having our room service coffee, Danish, and toast. The ship was moored a good hike from town, but right alongside a siding for the White Pass Railway. Those that took that tour went off the boat right onto the train. We didnt take any tours in Skagway, so cant comment on how they were. It must have been a good flying day because there were more helicopters and planes flying around than since I left Vietnam.
After getting ready, we walked into town. Skagway doesnt look a whole lot different that it did during the gold rush. I believe quaint is the word. It only has 700 permanent residents. There were four cruise ships in that day, so we certainly could have conducted a successful coup if we wanted to.
In town, all we did was walk around and shop. With my queens urging and permission, we were able to break the 12-day shopping spree that day in two. No offense to Princess, but we had the best meal of the cruise in Skagway. We stopped in the Northern Lights Pizzeria specializing in Italian and Mexican food. That got my sick sense of humor going again. My burrito platter and her enchilada platter were to die for, and we live in southern California! After seeing my 12 millionth ULU knife, and wooden train whistle, we headed back to the ship.
Somewhere between getting back aboard and dinner, Im sure there were a nap and a stop at Patisseries. I just dont remember because were in full cruise mode now.
Dinner was casual that night. Judy had a seafood thing that she said was very good, but I still had a breeze up my skirt from the menu that night, so I had the steak again. Its still good.
After dinner, we went back to the photo gallery to see if her other half had improved in the last two days. No joy! We did pick up the bear and moose picture though. My bear sure had a cute growl.
We did some stuff around the ship that probably had something to do with alcohol and scenery while waiting for the show to start. The show that night in the Princess Theatre was Words and Music. It was a production song and dance show of Broadway tunes. This was another really good show. It was back for a nightcap, and off to bed.
DAY 6: Today is a sea day sailing in Glacier Bay. The ship stopped at about 6:00 AM to pick up park rangers who would narrate during our day in this stunning area. I cant do justice with words of the beauty of this place, so I wont even try. (And no, you dont get off that easy; I still have some things to say.)
We had our room service stuff, and then bundled up and went on deck. Here is where you want to have your camera and binoculars ready. About three hours up Glacier Bay, we came upon two huge brown bears at the side of the bay. The Captain slowed way down for about a half an hour so everyone could watch these magnificent animals. They were too far away to see well without binoculars, but there was sharing among some of the passengers. Again, what great folks cruisers are.
After the bears, we steamed on up to Marjorie Glacier. The Captain stopped the ship very close port (left) side to the glacier. We sat there a long time with the rangers telling us all about glaciers. You could hear the glacier snapping and popping all the time, and dropping off small pieces. It sounds like a summer thunderstorm. Then we got really lucky. With a massive roar of that thunder sound, a large side of the glacier calved into the bay. Absolutely unbelievable! A huge cheer and applause went up all over the ship. It goes to show that we never get too old to be awed by something that spectacular. After that sight, a large cave in the side of the glacier started spewing broken ice like an out of control, huge slot machine. Each time it did this, you could hear a roar inside the glacier, and then watch the jackpot!
During this time, another large brown bear walked around the right side of the glacier and did whatever bears do. After about 15 minutes, he walked back around the side of the glacier to continue his bear thing out of sight.
The Captain then turned the right side of the ship to the glacier so everyone gets a chance to see it. Those of us on deck just walked to the other side and continued watching this splendor.
After leaving the glacier we headed back out of Glacier Bay. The Captain heard that a whale watching tour boat had spotted a large group of humpback whales. He modified our cruising scheduled and headed into the sighting area. We again were lucky. We watched a large number of whales blowing and swimming in the area. The Captain stayed in the area for about 45 minutes. He even adjusted the ships events so that everyone had a chance to see the whales if they so chose to.
Tonight was the last formal night, and the last chance to get a formal portrait that wouldnt kill my cat. Once again the doll got all dolled up, and I put on my other tux. We went down to get more pictures taken, and then back to the Patisserie to relive the day over drinks.
Even though it was lobster and Beef Wellington night, for some reason we decided to skip dinner. So, she sat there looking good with me while we continued to talk and watch the scenery and people.
We tried the show in the Princess Theatre, but it wasnt for us so we snuck out. We decided to go to Rockys Disco for karaoke. This was a whole lot of fun, and we saw the best-dressed good and bad singers wed ever seen. About 1:00 AM we decided wed had enough fun and went to bed.
DAY 7: This was our last cruise day, with the afternoon steaming around College Fiord. We slept in late, ate in the room, and then got dressed. Judy stayed in the cabin reading while I went to the casino. If I followed my own advice, there would be some pretty well off whales out there.
The disembarkation package was delivered that morning. It contained complete instructions and luggage tags color-coded for our estimated departure time of 6:45 AM. Disembarking is based on your travel arrangements. Our flight was at 12:10 PM out of Anchorage the next day, so we had to catch the bus early in Seward to make it.
Once we got up into College Fiord, my she bear came out of hibernation and we went up on deck. Whew, was it cold out there that day. We went to the Riviera Grill and got coffee and hamburgers, and ate until we got up to the glaciers. Again, they were indescribably beautiful.
Here, the ship started out left side to the glaciers. We stayed on deck until the Captain turned the ship around. At that point we went to the cabin for coffee and rolls, and spent the rest of the day in the cabin and on the balcony watching the sights.
Because Princess wants the majority of your bags outside the cabin before dinner, we went ahead and packed everything but what we were going to wear, and our overnight necessities. That stuff went into our carry-on. We also filled out the tip envelope for our stateroom steward, Rod. We presented it to him personally so that we could thank him for helping to make this a great vacation.
Before dinner, we went down to the Photo Gallery hoping to save my kittys life. Hes one lucky feline, as the last nights formal pictures turned out to be the keepers.
Dinner that night was obviously casual with everyones bags packed and gone. It was prime rib night again, and we had two tremendous couples for our table companions that night. What a great night to end the cruise. We made one stop after dinner at the Patisserie for a farewell drink, and to say goodbye to some of the Princess folks we got to know on the cruise.
After that, we went back to our cabin, ordered room service coffee one last time, and watched a movie before turning in.
DISEMBARKATION: The night before I made a wake-up call using the ships automated system. It worked just fine.
We docked in Seward about 2:30 AM. We didnt hear a thing from our cabin so that wasnt a problem. We got our wake-up call at 5:00 AM, got up and dressed, and packed our final items. Horizon Court and one of the dining rooms opened at 5:15 AM for breakfast.
Our color was called at 6:30. We grabbed our carry-on and departed the ship. From there, we walked to a metal building on the pier. Inside they had all the luggage sorted by our disembarkation color. We gathered it up with no problem and took it all of 20 feet to the Alaska Airlines counters. Here we checked in for our flights, and checked our bags with the airline. This is a great service.
After that, we gave our transfer coupon to the rep, and were taken to our motor coach for the 3-hour ride to Anchorage. Just as we were leaving for the trip, we saw a baby moose running through the yards in town. The Seward Highway is a beautiful trip. We went straight to the airport, boarded the plane, and got home about 9:00 PM.
To sum it up, this was a fantastic cruise, and a fantastic cruise line. It was a 7 day, 1801 nautical mile wonder. If there were any problems, they were so small as to be unimportant. Both Judy and I are ready to go again anytime.
Forum Stuff things I didnt really discuss above
AGE OF PASSENGERS: It was definitely an older crowd on this cruise as a whole. There were a few kids around; they seemed to be having a good time.
ATMs: The ship didnt have an ATM, but they are plentiful in each port.
COFFEE: Dining room and room service coffee was wonderful in our opinion. Coffee in the lounges will have you upside down on the ceiling. It was really strong.
PACKING: Take clothes you can layer with an outer waterproof jacket. To prevent wrinkling, we packed each item in dry cleaner bags, and they came through with no problem. Remember the extension cord for your cabin.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHIP STAFF: They were always shooting pictures, but they were never pushy to either take the picture or sell you the picture. It was very unobtrusive.
ALARM CLOCK: There are no clocks in the cabins, so we took a travel alarm that worked great.
PRINCESS PATTER: This is the daily event publication delivered to your room.
THE SEA PRINCESS Deck by Deck
DECK 5: Starting on the Plaza Deck the atrium at this level has the Grand Plaza. This area has several seats and sofas for relaxing, or a meeting point for groups. On two days of our cruise, it was even the site of golf tournaments run by the cruise director staff. They were really just putting contests with a putting cup and plastic hazards, but a whole bunch of folks participated while everyone cheered. Winners received Gold medals for there skill.
This deck also contains the pursers desk (labeled Information). Heres where to go for answers to your questions about the ship and such.
The shore excursion desk is located across from the information desk. Theyll answer any tour question you may have. One benefit of visiting here periodically is the excursion-board they maintain there. It lists the all of the Princess sponsored tours and indicates their availability. I wouldnt depend on a specific tour being available, but its the place to check.
The Neapolitan Dining Room is located on this deck. This dining room was used for Personal Choice dining. I discussed this during the review of the cruise, but they do display the days menus on a stand right outside the dining room.
Lastly, we come to the Patisserie Lounge. This is where Judy and I spent a lot of time. Large windows and comfortable seating made this our favorite place for coffee and later cocktails. We would sit and talk and just watch the stunning scenery go by. It was also a great place to meet others on the ship and compare notes.
DECK 6: Up the stairs (or elevator) is the Emerald Deck. The Sicilian Dining Room is located on this deck. This dining room was used for the two settings of traditional dining. There was also a stand displaying the days menus. (Its the same menu as Personal Choice in the Neapolitan).
On each side of the ship sit the Reflections and Latitudes boutique and shopping areas. If we didnt get enough shopping in port, here was another chance. These shops were mostly clothing and jewelry boutiques with one shop for general goods such as souvenirs, postcards, over-the-counter medicines, and such. Nope, didnt have a liquor store. We had to bring that on in port. Again, there was no problem doing this for cabin consumption.
DECK 7: Up one more deck, and youre on the Promenade Deck. We looked on deck 7 as the main deck of the ship. The front and back elevators end on this floor. All of the lifeboat muster stations are also on this deck. Three laps around the outside deck equaled one mile.
Going forward from the atrium on this level takes you into the Wheelhouse Bar. This is a beautifully appointed bar with wood covered walls and ceilings. Ships models and nautical paraphernalia decorate this area. Every night different bands played here. Most nights it was a rotation between two groups playing big band and swing. One night it was used for the country western night.
Passing forward through the Wheelhouse Bar is the Princess Theatre. This showroom was used for the larger production shows during the cruise.
Going aft from the atrium on the left side is Rockys Disco. This was the home of DJ Ed and Karaoke. Those nights were crazy fun. While we couldnt sing nearly as good as a few of our fellow passengers, if we had the guts we good hold our own with the worst of them.
On the right was a small area called Entre Nous. We never went in, but we think this is the wine and caviar bar.
Just back from this area is the photo gallery. All the pictures taken are displayed here for you took look at. If you want a specific picture, just take it to their shop and pay for it. Otherwise there is no obligation to buy. You can also get your film developed here. We thought the cost was a little high, but if you cant wait, heres the place.
On the left side of the ship is a small game room for cards and the available board games you can checkout.
Next to the game room is the library. There are plentiful books to check out. The room is comfortable with ocean view windows. Bring your favorite CDs to listen to. The chairs have built in players.
All the way back on this deck is the Vista Lounge. The name is accurate. It has a lounge layout of tables and sofas, with drink service. Shows played in there every night.
DECK 8: The Dolphin deck is home to the Casino and Lagos Pizzaria. The casino has several slot machines. There are a couple of nickel machines, several dollar machines, and a whole bunch of quarter machines. There are also a few blackjack tables and a crap table.
Lagos makes whole pizzas from scratch. They also have corezones on the menu. It takes about 20 minutes for the pizza, but its worth the wait.
DECK 9: Caribe deck is cabins only.
DECK 10: Baja deck is cabins only.
DECK 11: Aloha deck is cabins with a small viewing deck aft. This was also our home deck.
DECK 12: The Riviera deck has pools and spas. The fresh water pools were at 94 degrees, and the spas were at 100 degrees. Believe or not, people do use them on the Alaska cruise. An outside bar is also located on this deck along with deck chairs for sunning and viewing.
Aft on this deck is located the beauty parlor, gymnasium, video game room, and the kids zone area. Port side amidships is a small room containing a virtual reality golf course.
For those who havent tried this, you hit real golf balls with real clubs against a screen showing various golf courses around the world. A computer calculates where you hit the ball, and away you go. I believe it costs $20 for a half an hour, and reservations are highly recommended.
DECK 14: The Lido deck has a spa, the Riviera Grill, and the Horizon Court buffet. The Riviera Grill is an outdoor spot for hamburgers, hotdogs, and brats. The Horizon Court is the 24 Hour food and drink area on the Sea Princess. I guess it takes the place of the midnight buffet.
During dinner hours, Horizon Court becomes the Bistro. They serve the same food as the dining rooms, but it is very casual.
The Sabantini Steak House is also located in the same area as the Horizon Court. There is an $8 per person charge to eat here, and reservations are highly recommended.
Deck 15: The Sun deck has a splash pool, outside bar, and the table tennis courts.
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