Alaska Cruise Review – Grand Princess July 20

We sailed on Grand Princess round trip from Seattle on July 20, 2014. This was our third cruise to Alaska, third cruise overall, first cruise on Princess, and first time taking the kids (four kids ages 10, 14, 16, 18). Our previous two cruises were on Carnival, and specifically on the Carnival Spirit which is now in Australia. I will try to avoid too many comparisons because our experience is pretty limited. But please understand, as far as cruising goes, Alaska was made for us. Neither DW nor I have great interest in Caribbean cruises, although we are now considering a Panama Canal voyage or Hawaii cruise.

Our itinerary had us flying to Seattle on Friday the 18th, spending the day in Seattle on Saturday, boarding the ship on Sunday the 20th then returning home directly after the cruise on Sunday the 27th. Ports for this cruise include day 1: depart Seattle, day 2: sea day, day 3: Ketchikan, day 4: Tracy Arm Fjord & Juneau, day 5: Skagway, Day 6: sea day, Day 7: mostly sea day then a few hours in Victoria, BC.

Why chose Tracy Arm? Mostly based on timing (more on that in a moment). We have already sailed Glacier Bay, and LOVED IT, so picking Tracy Arm was logical. I was pleased with the itinerary, although I wish we would have had a full day in Victoria.

The photo above is from a picture I took in Tracy Arm, and used some software to make it look like a painting. The photo below is the view of Seattle from our balcony before sail away.

Here is a picture of our balcony where I took these two photos. I spent a good portion of my time sitting on this balcony.

Here is a photo of the flowers on the table where we enjoyed lunch in the dining room before sailing away.

Booking

We booked at the last minute. Well, 16 days before sailing anyway, which is pretty much last minute. This was an idea we had in the back of our minds, and circumstances with the family (DS18 leaving home in the fall, other kids starting school in August) motivated us to get in one last adventure with the entire family before everything changes. Given the short timeline, we had to really scramble. We were not sure if we would roundtrip out of Seattle or end up with a Canadian port, so we quickly got passports for the kids just in case.

Tip: If you live near a US passport agency, you can walk in and in some cases get your passport in the same day. A $60 expedite fee is charged for such service. We made an appointment at the local agency over the phone for the next day, walked in (on a Friday), submitted applications, and returned the following Tuesday to pick them up. Easy (but expensive).

We considered all options for our Alaskan cruise: Princess, Carnival, HAL, NCL, RCCL and some others. I wanted to try Princess, so was hoping we could find rooms. We were constrained by dates due to kids’ activities (all are very active in school clubs that start first week of August), so it narrowed the search to about four ships.

Only one problem: they were ALL sold out! What I discovered is that about three weeks before sailing, lots of room changes happen. Some bookings are canceled, some rooms that were previously being held by TAs or the cruise line are released, lots of people are upgrading, etc. I spoke directly with the cruise lines and despite best efforts we could not find room for six of us across two rooms anywhere. We could find some mix ’n match rooms for 2 people, but that wouldn’t work for us because of ages of our kids (plan was to have DW and DD10 with me, and then DD14, DS16 and DS18 in another room, preferably close by).

Anyway, without turning this into a novel, here is what we did. We swallowed the bitter price pill realizing we were going to have to book expensive rooms that were available, and decided to roll with it and enjoy. We ended up booking one of the Owners Suites on Grand Princess for the two adults and DD10, and then booked a Window Suite for the teenagers (please don’t judge me! Yes, my teenagers had their own suite, which ended up being a nicer room than mine… more on that later).

Tip: We discovered the process for Princess’s computers to release rooms that been held but not paid for. I’m guessing this is a TA secret trick, because for days I would see rooms available online, and minutes later they would be “SOLD”, then the next day the same rooms and/or different rooms would be available again for a short time. Once I figured out the process, I was able to “snipe” the exact rooms we wanted and book online. Happy to share more details if anyone is interested.

These next photos are of the aft pool area.

Photo of the HAL ship leaving the port behind us.

Travel to Seattle

Booking at the last minute was expensive, but the real bite came from the expensive airfare to Seattle for six of us. If anything was wasted money, it was here… booking two weeks earlier would have saved us a bundle.

Tip: Book your flights as soon as possible – don’t wait. Check your airline’s change fee and if it is the same or greater than booking refundable flights, then get the refundable ticket in case your plans chance.

I had some Marriott points so we stayed at the Renaissance Seattle. The good folks there found us rooms right next to each other for the first night, and the second night we moved the kids into a connecting room on the other side, so we were all together. We flew in the afternoon so by the time we got to the hotel we ordered a mixture of room service to share.

Tip: I am a big Uber user, and since I travel to Seattle at least monthly, I had an SUV driver’s # handy that I found through Uber and had him pick us up at the airport. Six people, eight pieces of luggage, it was great to have a private driver and we had plenty of room. Price was cheaper than taking a shuttle or taxis since there were six of us. If anyone wants his name & # let me know. We had him deliver us to the pier, and even cancelled our Princess transfers and had him pick us up from the pier and take us back to the airport (was MUCH cheaper than the transfers for six people and more comfortable than riding the bus).

Saturday in Seattle was spent enjoying the usual: Pikes Market, the ferries, and a late lunch/early dinner at Anthony’s, etc.

We readied our bags on Sunday morning, and left the hotel at 10:00 AM, leaving time to drive by a few sights along the way.

Tip: I’ve seen the question about luggage tags come up a few times on these boards. We laminated ours before leaving, just out of convenience, and then on our way out of the hotel we stopped by the front desk and borrowed their stapler and attached them to our bags.

This photo I took of the sun rising on our first sea day.

This is the view of the aft portion of the Grand Princess. Our balcony is the top right balcony on the back.

Here we are about to leave Ketchikan, and waiting for the HAL ship to leave before us.

Embarkation & Sail Away

Having sailed out of Seattle once before, we understood how the port works so this was no problem. We gave our bags to the porter, tipped him, and made our way to the check-in. The check in representatives were very nice and helped us be excited. Big smiles, very welcoming. I loved it.

I had pre-paid gratuities and soda packages for all six of us, and they already had the stickers on the cards (the tumbler cups were delivered to our rooms before the luggage arrived with a thank you note).

Since we were in full suites, they directed us to the premium waiting area, which was just a sectioned off area that filled up pretty quickly and was soon standing room only. We arrived at about 10:30 AM and were let on the ship at 11:45 AM

They queued us up outside for about 10 minutes before finally scanning our cards and taking our picture and letting us on the ship. Once on the ship we went right to passenger services and had an extra key made for each of our rooms so we could easily go between rooms, and then started exploring. More about the ship later.

After a quick exploration of the ship, we decided to eat lunch in the dining room. When we entered there were maybe only four other tables occupied. Food was… amazing! Yeah, we’re easy to please I guess. We loved the food – all of it every day. We both felt that the buffet didn’t have the variety that we experienced previously on Carnival, but we were pleased with the quality.

Tip: If you’re unsure which dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day, simply look on the back of the patter that will be in your stateroom when you board. It has the dining room times listed.

After lunch we went back to our room to unpack. While unpacking, the phone rang and it was dining services calling to remind us that as part of our Suite we had included cover charges at specialty dining that night. I told them there would be six of us and we’d like the Crown Grill at 5:30 (we’re early eaters so we can also be late eaters again before bed), and they said we were all set. Great service.

At lunch we had reminded the kids about how lucky they were to be on such a vacation, claiming that as children we their parents had never experienced such extravagance, etc. (we poured it on thick). We encouraged them to try new foods, experience new things, and have the time of their lives. They did just that! At dinner time, my kids surprised me by all ordering new and different dishes, and they loved them.

Tip: At dinner at the Crown Grill, I didn’t want to choose between steak and lobster, so I asked for both. Don’t forget you can combine menu items. It’s your vacation, enjoy it your way!

Our muster station was in the Vista Lounge, and it was so nice to enjoy muster sitting down and relaxed. So relaxed in fact that a few people fell asleep, but the Princess staff was quick to wake them up (one guy got a little upset, citing numbers of cruises he’s sailed, referring to himself as elite, but they still make him stay awake for the briefing). For the Grand Princess (assuming it is this way on all Princess ships), you have to take your life jacket with you to muster and try it on. Seems like a pretty smart policy. Our kids muster station was in the Library & Crown Grill. They said it wasn’t as comfortable, as many people were standing and it was hard to follow what was going on.

A few photos from Tracy Arm Fjord:

Looks cold doesn’t it!

Alaska Ports

Since we booked late (and not to mention spent all our money on expensive suites ), we didn’t do any crazy excursions. The one I wanted to do the most was the Tracy Arm explorer, but it was sold out a long time ago. Despite that, we had a great time in all the ports, walking around and doing various activities on our own. Here are a few notes from our adventures.

Ketchikan: The walk from the far dock into town and up to Creek street is only about a mile and was very enjoyable. It is flat, so easy walking. When we go to Ketchikan we enjoy walking up Married Man’s Trail, and checking out the fish ladder. We were pleased to see a handful of salmon trying to jump up the rapids. Then my kids went exploring up the various stairways, etc.

Juneau: We finally took the tram (wanted to on previous trips but schedule didn’t allow it – since we didn’t have anything scheduled this time we could go enjoy it). The hiking and hanging out on top of the mountain was really fun. The view was incredible.

Skagway: I’ve decided this is a “must do an excursion or rent a car” town. With three ships in port at the same time there is barely any room to walk. In the past we’ve rented a car and driven up into the Yukon up to emerald lake, etc. I’d like to take the train ride next time.

Victoria: They really should stop here and spend the entire day or even overnight. This is such a wonderful town. DW hurt her ankle so I was off in a taxi going to a drug store buying ace bandages & such. I asked the taxi driver to give us the tour along the way and it was fantastic.

Wildlife we saw from our balcony:

• Whales
  
• Porpoises
  
• Otters
  
• Seals
  
• Eagles
  
• Lots of birds
  

Sea Days & Ship Notes

I’ll use this section to talk about sea days (which we love) and the activities we enjoyed on the ship throughout the cruise. My notes about the Grand Princess as a ship will follow in a separate section below.

The entire family enjoyed our sea days and the various activities every day on the ship. This particular itinerary has the ship sailing west of Vancouver Island after departing Seattle, then again west of Queen Charlotte Islands on its return trip after the Skagway stop. The seas can get a bit rough, and certainly enough we enjoyed some fun swells that challenged our walking and made for adventurous sleeping. DW uses the patch, and DD10 used sea bands on her wrists. The rest of us seem to be born with sea legs and did just fine. Aside from one very smelly afternoon in the Piazza (someone got sea sick and let loose in there), it was just another day at sea.

The ship had tons of activities that kept us all very busy. My DD14 met some friends at the teen club, and sure enough we had to fight for her attention for the remainder of the cruise (that was a good thing as we were excited for her to have some friends to enjoy). DS18 also found himself having a great time with the 18-20 group. All of us loved karaoke, the shows and entertainment, and going from one eating location to the next!

We had an activity called “Highlights & Lowlights” that we played at meal time where we reviewed the previous day’s highlights and lowlights. Here is a summary of the consistent items from our group of six:

Highlights:

• Breakfast at Sabatini’s – this was probably the best suite benefit we enjoyed. Being pampered to start the day with an incredibly delicious breakfast – in a semi-private environment – was grand. This was the best service we received on the cruise.
  
• Crew Talent Show – best entertainment of the week
  
• Piano Entertainer Luke Yates – He was fantastic. On a short two week contract, I’d say we were lucky to have him on our cruise. DS16 and DD14 both sang with him on the last night, which is a highlight of their cruise.
  
• Karaoke Power Hour – this was fun. We didn’t care for the Princess Pop Stars as much, and found the good ‘ole anybody can do it Karaoke to be a blast.
  
• Dinner service – yep, the kids LOVED our head waitress Rohodora. She was so good to us, much more than just a server. She got to know us, our names, and our interests. Pretty amazing.
  
• Whales – we saw lots of them.
  
• Playing cards while watching the sea
  
• Lots more – too many to list (Alfredo’s pizza, Frozen sing-along, Movies under the stars, game shows, etc. etc.)
  

Lowlights:

• Walking between mom & dad’s room (B751) and kids room (F303). Yeah, it was far.
  
• Not being able to attend every activity! Seriously, we were so busy doing everything, we almost felt there was too much on the calendar (kids didn’t want to miss anything)
  
• Having to go home after a week of wonderful
  

Princess Cruises

As I mentioned above, this was our first cruise with Princess. I’m glad we joined the team because it was an incredible experience. Princess seems to have a bunch of special touches that make a big difference to us. Sabatini’s for breakfast was incredible. Our Crown Grill dinner was some incredible food – unexpected. China pots full of hot coco from room service, laundry service, etc. We’ll be back for sure.

The pace was slower than our previous Alaska cruises on Carnival. We missed the comedy club, but wouldn’t have taken the kids anyway so didn’t matter. Seems like the experience on Princess is classier and more relaxing. Everywhere we sat on the ship someone was there to take our drink order. It was like everyone wanted to wait on us. Even the pizza joint has table service!

Grand Princess Ship

I have mixed feelings about Grand Princess. On one hand, she was beautiful, both inside and out. I like having a theater at the rear (Vista Lounge). The ship seemed well maintained and the crew was busy keeping everything nice. On the other hand, there are some issues that I’m not sure how they can resolve easily. They were fixing leaking pipes in the ceiling in our hallway on three different days. The pipes behind the toilet in our suite broke and flooded the bathroom, causing us to run for the steward to shut off the water (they quickly repaired and sent us a bowl of cherries for our trouble).

Our group had two suites: B751 which is called an Owners Suite, and F303 which is a window suite.

B751: This room was huge. It has a dining table, couch, two chairs, long desk, bedroom area, and huge balcony. There is room for 17 people to sit in this suite without anyone sitting on the bed (4 around the table, 1 at the desk, 3 on the couch, 1 in each of the two easy chairs, 1 chair at the desk by the bed, and 6 chairs on the balcony). The bathroom has a single sink & toilet in one room, then a shower and jetted tub in the next. There is also a small walk in closet.

Tip: The strength of this room is the dining area. For a family of six we could easily fit around it and had the chairs to do so. Ordering suite breakfast (pre-breakfast before Sabatini’s) or lunch/dinner is so convenient for this suite.

Now, for the price they charge and for being called an “owners suite”, I was sorely disappointed with the décor of the room. It was pitiful, outdated, and really not that nice. In fact, I would have mixed feelings showing off this suite to my friends. On one hand I’d love to show off the big room and wonderful balcony. On the other, it’s almost embarrassing how old and outdated it was. Compared to the new updated décor of the window suite, I’m frustrated with the price.

F303: This is one of the new window suites (new being that they were added during the last renovation a few years ago). The room is large and beautiful inside. Two large windows accompany this room, along with a lush couch, high ceiling, and fancy bathroom. Lots of storage with three closets. This is the room where you get the suite perks for a great value. If you don’t have to have a balcony, I’d recommend this room. In fact, I’d say I’d rather have this room as a suite over any other non-suite balcony room.

Other negative comments on the ship would be the elevators. They’re slow, crowded, and generally a little sketchy. Many times the doors would not open or close all the way until after multiple attempts. One leaked water. We wished they were faster and had smarter software controlling them.

Debarkation

Having to go home was the worst part of our trip. DS18 said as we walked off, “this sucks dad.” I agreed. We had such a good time.

One of the suite benefits was the shared private (do those two words go together?) disembark lounge, which was in the Explorers lounge. It wasn’t crowded. We made our way down there at 8:00 AM, after having a full suite breakfast served in our stateroom.

Tip: If you have a full suite, you can order a full breakfast to your room on the last morning. That was nice!

Our number was called on time, and we walked leisurely off the ship. Once off the ship, we collected our luggage and gave it to a porter and we walked through customs. It was very simple and efficient. Our driver was waiting for us, and we were on our way home. 

We had paid for princess transfers from the ship to the airport, but realized that private service would be much more comfortable and cost effective. The passenger services desk was very friendly when we asked to return our tickets which they did no questions asked.

Here is the last photo I took from the balcony when we returned to Seattle.

Summary

You can see larger versions of the photos from this post including a few more here: http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-NSCLH

Sorry this was so long. And this is quite short compared to what is in my head. Here is the bottom line:

Would we sail Princess again? Yes, in a heartbeat. They won me over with their excellent service, friendly attitude, and attention to detail.

Would we sail Grand Princess again? Umm, probably, but we’d consider other ships first. Grand is grand, but didn’t knock my socks off.

Would we go to Alaska again, after three trips? Of course!

Best quote of the week came from DD10, who is known in our house for always being hungry: “Dad, you’re feeding me to death.” Mission accomplished.

Here is the non-painting version of the first picture I posted above.

Absolutely wonderful review!! Thanks for all the info.

The photos of Tracy Arm are stunning....both of them.

Cheers, Denise

Very nice review MileHighAko.................Alaska is an incredible experience and to have your kids along to enjoy that time was great.......enjoyed your pics also..........you'll have to try a longer cruise in the future but at those suite prices maybe not:rolleyes:............thanx

Thanks for the review. And yes, breakfast at Sabatini's is an awesome perk.

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Grand in September for our second cruise and second cruise to Alaska. We won't be in a suite this time, but I'm sure we will enjoy it just as much. I'm trying to learn as much about the Grand as I can before we sail.

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I don't imagine I will ever know what its like to be in a suite but I sure enjoyed your review of it. your pictures are incredible! I'm glad you could do this as a family trip, my family and I did Alaska together too. thanks for taking the time to do this review, I've enjoyed reading it!

Thank you so much for your great review! We will be going on the exact same cruise in 20 days and your info was priceless, Thanks again!:)

I am so glad that you had a wonderful cruise, too! I am pretty sure I know who you and your family are, as you were seated at the table for six in Sabatini's each morning. I was the woman in workout gear dining alone (except the last day, when my husband joined me).

Your children were remarkably well-behaved. I was especially touched when they offered their seats to some elderly gentlemen and ladies in the pre-cruise embarkation lounge. Nicely done!

Thank you for your review. I loved the photos!

Thanks for taking the time to write you review. Glad you and your family had a great time.

I and other people have reported about leaks in the ceiling in the passageways with buckets below on the Grand. You would think that they could have figured out the problems.

Excellent photos.

Tom:)

Thanks for your nice review, glad you had a good cruise. Beautiful photo's, thanks for sharing them with us.

Great review and thanks for the excellent photos!

No need to apologize for the length....longer would have been even better!

Norris

I too will be sailing in 20 days with my family, fourth trip to Alaska for me second on Princess so was very glad to read your review on the Grand. Thanks for taking your time to review it. Can hardly wait!

Thanks for the report!

Excellent report/review and enjoyed both the narrative and the photos.

Keith

Awesome review and pictures. Thanks for taking the time to give such a good review of the Grand. I'm trying to gather as much information as possible before our cruise next summer.

Great review! I'll get around to mine eventually, but I agree that it was a wonderful cruise!

One trick to get around the slow elevator issue is to not take them. ;) I'm pretty sure that none of my "kids" took the elevator even once all week, despite the fact that our rooms were on deck 5 and they spent most of their time on deck 14! I don't have nearly as much energy as them, but did try to take the stairs all the way up once a day.

My son (Rainier, with the long blonde hair) and his friend were thrilled that there were so many 18-20 year olds on board, and that there were so many activities planned for them. I wonder if your son was part of the group that my son hung out with all week. Some of them got together last night in downtown Seattle before the out of town ones headed home.