Alaska on the grand princess

My wife and I are booked on the Grand Princess for the 10 day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco, CA in August, 2013.

Can any of you who have been on this cruise give us any hints, tips and advice about the cruise and the ship?

Any advice or observations about embarking and returning in San Francisco?

Thanks...

The Grand Princess has never been to Alaska yet.

Last year, an older ship, the Sea Princess did this route.

Be sure to arrive to San Francisco a day or more before the cruise so you do not miss the ship due to a plane delay or cancellation.

Disembarkation can be smooth but sometimes gets behind schedule.

If you fly home that day I would book a flight around 1:00 PM to be on the safe side.

Keith

I also recommend that you arrive in San Francisco a couple of days early. There are a lot of sights to see in SF.

We have sailed on the Grand Princess -- before her recent make-over. We loved the ship.

I have sailed up the coast from San Francisco a number of times and have made 17 round trips to Alaska but none from from San Francisco. However, I was on the Grand for 17 days in September and can assure that with her refit a while ago she is in great shape. There have been some negative posts re the removal of the rubber matting from her balcony decks, which have now been painted, however this did not effect our enjoyment of our cruise.

My wife and I are booked on the Grand Princess for the 10 day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco, CA in August, 2013.

 

Can any of you who have been on this cruise give us any hints, tips and advice about the cruise and the ship?

 

Any advice or observations about embarking and returning in San Francisco?

 

Thanks...

For tips on the Grand Princess, the best place is the Princess board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

For info on San Francisco, try the West Coast Departures board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

Another good place for info would be the Roll Call boards. Here are Grands:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=303

My wife and I are booked on the Grand Princess for the 10 day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco, CA in August, 2013.

 

Can any of you who have been on this cruise give us any hints, tips and advice about the cruise and the ship?

 

Any advice or observations about embarking and returning in San Francisco?

 

Thanks...

We are sailing the same cruise out of San Fran on 6/29/13. We sailed on the Grand a year ago and enjoyed the ship. We had been on other grand class ships and it was interesting to see what they did to the Grand with it's makeover. This will be her first time in Alaska. We sailed on the Coral Princess back in June to Alaska so sailing on the Grand will be a little different. More people, but more space. We also really like the idea of sailing out of San Francisco under the Golden Gate. That is going to be one of the highlights for us. We are flying in a day early for the cruise. SFO is notorious for getting fogged in and flights delayed. We are staying in the Fisherman's Wharf area the night before. We are actually planning on walking to the ship since it is only a few blocks from the hotel. Might make things easier, who knows.

As for Alaska, there is a reason we are going back. It was just incredible to see. You do need to be prepared for a variety of weather conditions in AK. I wore everything from shorts to jacket, hat, and gloves (all in the same day too...) Layers are good. Rain gear is also good to have since it does tend to rain in AK. We did a fair amount of hiking so we had good hiking shoes as well. There is a lot to do in AK and a wide variety of excursions/activities, so think about what you want to experience/do. It will be nice on this cruise to have a few days at sea before and after AK to relax.