Coral 5/21 = excellent. Princess Denali Lodge = heinous

I'll post a short review on our wonderful 5/21 Coral cruise shortly.

But first, I would like to warn anyone considering Princess Denali Wilderness Lodge. Look at other options available to you, if at all possible!

In a word, it's a ripoff. Yes, it is a wilderness area and all hotels, cabins, etc will command a higher price. But this place was ridiculous!

As for the room itself: There was a 1/4 inch gap between the door jamb, all the way around. Wind blew in as if we were camping. The room was not cleaned in our 3 days there. Sure they made the beds and replaced towels, but the floor was never vacuumed. We had proof. The toilet float did not operate properly. You had to jiggle the handle to get it to function. Our shower did not operate as a shower, but was the equivalent of a garden hose. It came out as a single stream of water. We asked that it be corrected, and maintenance appeared and seemed quite puzzled as to what to do. Finally they put on a new shower head. While it did not function as the garden hose version, it simply dribbled out water in a lame (very lame) spray. You could get the same effect by pouring water out of a watering can. There was no way to turn off the heat on warm days. There was only a knob indicating HI or LO. To get any air circulating you had to open the window, which was fine...but if you left the room for any period of time on a warm day (and we had those) you returned to suffocating heat. We had a laptop with us and we did not want to risk it being stolen.

The front desk: We rented a car and drove from Anchorage to Denali, and as we pulled up at the lobby entrance, we were immediately shooed away, and told to park a distance away. The parking lot was a rocky/muddy unpaved ground. Not a problem, as I thought we were just being placed there until we got our room keys and would be parking elsewhere. No. That was it. That was the parking lot for the lodge. Once inside and checked in, there was no assistance available to us to get our bags to our room, which was quite some distance away. We had to schlep our luggage down a steep hill and maneuver our way through the maze of many buildings before finding our own (they had labeled our map of the property incorrectly). Then up the stairs as there was no elevator. We are fit and healthy, so it was not a physical problem for us to do this. But I cannot imagine how an elderly person could have done it on their own. Yes, there were little carts available (normally) to shuttle people from the primitive parking lot to their rooms. But we only discovered this later. No one at check-in informed us of this. They simply said, "Sorry, you can't park anywhere near your room. Here's a map."

Food: Our first experience was at the coffee bar in the lodge. We had driven from 10am that morning til around 3:30pm that afternoon and only had some chips. We were famished. Neither dining room (Bistro and Summit Restaurant) were open. Having been told that the coffee bar had sandwiches, we went there.

I had a chicken sandwich that certainly MUST have been made DAYS before. The mustard was stuck to the dry styrofoam bread in such a way that I had to twist it to separate the sandwich (I was curious as to what exactly was inside). While it did not taste BAD, it simply did not taste at all. And I paid 7 bucks for it! Simply pathetic. We tried the Bistro the next day, and I must say that it was reasonably priced, and our food and service was on an acceptable level. But I think we were just lucky, because people were complaining all around us. Still...for us...it was the only good thing I can say about Princess Denali Lodge. The ONLY thing. We had reservations at the Summit Restaurant at 8pm on our final night. When we arrived, the hostess could not find our reservation. When asked why, she said, "Well...sometimes the reservations don't carry over from one day to the next." This made no sense to us at all. What is the point of reservations if they "don't carry over?" We politely asked if we could be seated as soon as possible and she said, "Well, there's an hour and a half wait. Why don't you go in there?" And she pointed at the Bistro (which adjoins the Summit). Inside the Bistro was a packed house of surly looking people with no food in front of them. We declined, and she then said, "Well don't get mad. We weren't prepared for the onslaught of folks we had come in tonight because of all the rain we've been having." Firstly, what does rain have to do with anything? And secondly, when does it NOT rain in Alaska? Totally weird. I said, "I'm sorry, but this is not adding up." At which point, she became very huffy and shouted, "Do you want to speak to my manager?" I was so taken aback I couldn't speak, but one of my friends said as politely as he could, "Well, yes...thanks...that would be wonderful." She stomped off, and a few minutes later the manager appeared. We still didn't get seated any time soon, but she was much more reasonable to deal with. When we were seated, our server was very good, and did her best to make our last night in Denali worth the trouble. The food was also good, once it came. However...the table next to us was absolutely furious and had a different server. They were seated before us, and were served long after we had finished our dinner.

Other incidents: Through no fault of Princess Denali Lodge, we had no electricity for over 4 hours on Sunday. However, Princess Denali Lodge has no generator on site to provide any kind of backup power. Therefore, there was no pump available for water. We had no water and neither could any toilet be flushed. And of course, no lights either. It was as if we were camping. And while I love camping, I do not pay $160 per night to camp. When I asked the front desk what was being done about the situation, the clerk's response was, "Well, this IS a wilderness area. We are just waiting for the electricity to come back on. It's not our fault." Thankfully...it DID come back on, as I said, after a little over 4 hours. Still, this kind of response is less than I would expect from the cheapest fleabag hotel.

In short...AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!

Sorry to hear of your bad experience - we stayed there as part of a cruise/tour Princess package and had a wonderful time - room was clean (it is supposed to be rustic), everything worked - never had to carry our bags except to the room door for pickup - food was great - albeit it expensive. Either things have gone downhill or you stayed at a different Denali lodge.

NCL PRIDE OF ALOHA Oct. 2004

SUN PRINCESS 2004 Caribbean

REGAL PRINCESS 2003 Europe

GOLDEN PRINCESS 2002 Canada New England

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Panama Canal

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Mexico

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

SEA PRINCESS 2001 Alaska

REGAL PRINCESS 2000 Mexico

REGAL PRINCESS 1999 Panama Canal

PACIFIC PRINCESS 1999 Europe

SUN PRINCESS 1998 Caribbean

ROYAL PRINCESS 1996 Panama Canal

Rustic is fine. I'm a camper, and living in Colorado, if I am not able to camp...I stay in rustic cabins and love it.

But for the price paid, this place is utterly ridiculous. I also forgot to mention that the excursions desk in the lobby consistently gave us wrong information. For example, we could have boarded for our bus tour right outside the front doors. Instead, the excursions clerk insisted we board our bus tour at the Mercantile stop in Denali Park. Even suggested taking a shuttle bus to get to the Mercantile (to board for a tour that boards from the entrance to the lobby)! We drove there instead, but the amount of misinformation and rudeness...in addition to the uncleaned rooms...is just inexcusable for the amount paid.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. We were there last August and had a wonderful time. Yes, it was a bit of a hike between our room (on the 2nd floor) and the lodge, but the weather was beautiful and the scenery magnificent. We had no problems with our rooms, water, electricity, etc. and the only luggage we had to schlep to the room was our carry-on. I thought the food was excellent and the service very good.

The difference could have been that we were on a Princess land tour and they handled all of the luggage.

Song of Norway & Song of America, 1986-88; Royal Princess 2/99; Sun Princess 1/00; Ocean Princess 12/00; Royal Princess 4/01; Grand Princess 12/23/01; Sea Princess 2/9/02; Explorer of the Seas 12/21/02; Coral Princess 8/9/03; Nordic Empress 12/27/03; Regal Princess (4/20/04)

-- Caribbean Princess (12/26/04) -- Roll Call

-- Royal Princess (4/21/05) -- Roll Call

It sounds like the Denali Lodge doesn't handle non-tour guests very well. My suggestion is to send your comments about the lodge to Princess Customer Relations. I am quite sure that they would be interested to hear your comments.

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

Thanks Spongerob. We are definitely planning on doing this. There were 8 of us. We all had roughly the same experience, and we heard complaints from many of the other guests, as well...who were booked through a tour and were transported there by train or bus.

It was funny, as each new bus unloaded, if you were anywhere near the lobby, the same chorus was repeating itself. I overheard one lady say, "Well...now I see how Princess funds the good fares they have on their cruises. They rip off the unsuspecting ones who wander up HERE."

Hi - We stayed there the third week in May and did not experience any of this. We were a part of a cruise/tour and had a very enjoyable time. The seperation of the buildings was a little inconvenient but not a big deal. The staff was great and helpful and even greeted us out front as the bus drove up.

Do you think there is a new property manager? Or maybe because we were there the second week of its operation, for the spring season, and they are just not with the program yet? I am not making this stuff up or exaggerating.

The distance between buildings did not bother us. The non-information, carelessness, rude behavior and run-down, uncleaned rooms were the problem.

We stayed there May 26 and 27 and the property is in need of an overhaul. The room, though clean, was sparse and "Holiday Inn-like" and they were working on sewer lines that gave the area a you-know-what odor. The staff (except for the gift shop ) operated under the mantra " what we don't know, we make up ". The food was good but our waiter was a space cadet who kept combing his hair and looking in the mirror.We didn't mind the distance to the rooms; you just had to hold your nose!

We are staying there one night in late August. I hope they have their act together by then.

Squid

coral Princess 8-04

Disney Cruises 3 + Sept 14th 4 day

RCCL in Jan '93

We stayed at the McKinley Lodge and loved it. There is a bit of a culture shock for some who don't quite realize that Alaska is still frontier country in a lot of respects. Still, this does not excuse poor service.

Denali is the oldest of Princess' four lodges. We really enjoyed the McKinley lodge - we were very lucky and got one of the two room suites with jacuzzi tub. what a great treat for a honeymoon .

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>There is a bit of a culture shock for some who don't quite realize that Alaska is still frontier country in a lot of respects. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well put! Just take a road trip to and around Alaska and I think you would find how true that statement is. It is a "totally different world". That is one of the things that makes Alaska so special.

For those that are expecting a different experience argosy's post is most beneficial to alert them should they not want that type of an experience.

Future cruises:

9/04 Star Princess-Med.x2 Venice to Barcelona/ Barcelona to Rome

11/04 Dawn Princess-Southern Caribbean

Jan. 05 Diamond Princess-Mexican Riviera

July 05 Star Princess-Baltics

Aug. 05 Star Princess-Baltics

Past cruises:

04 HAL-Amsterdam-Alaska

04 Dawn Princess- Southern Caribbean x2

03 Grand Princess-W.Caribbean

03 Sun Princess -Mexico

03-Tahitian Princess-Tahiti/ Cook Islands

03 Royal Princess-x2 British Isles & Norwegian Fjords/ Iceland

03 Island Princess-Panama Canal

01 HAL Ryndam x 2-S. America San Diego to Valpariso/ & around Cape Horn to Rio

00 Sky Princess-China/Orient

79 Sitmar's Fairwind- Caribbean/Panama Canal

PUH-LEEZE! My complaint is mostly directed at customer service, of which there was scant.

I am an outdoorsy person and a Coloradan. I'm used to the 'wilderness' aspect. I am just not used to having 'wilderness' used as an excuse for shoddy, impersonal, rude service.

I also understand that in remote areas prices will be higher. Once again, being in a remote area is no excuse for the rude and callous behavior we experienced, and being in a remote area is not an excuse to avoid vacuuming (as there WAS electricity with the exception of 4 hours).

And...spongerob was in an entirely different lodge, in a 2 room suite, with a jacuzzi. In Denali, we had a barely functioning toilet and a shower that alternately worked as a garden hose and then a watering pail.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>being in a remote area is no excuse for the rude and callous behavior we experienced <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I totally agree with that!

I also felt the rest of your post had some very good points for those that are not "an outdoorsy person ..used to the 'wilderness' aspect."

Future cruises:

9/04 Star Princess-Med.x2 Venice to Barcelona/ Barcelona to Rome

11/04 Dawn Princess-Southern Caribbean

Jan. 05 Diamond Princess-Mexican Riviera

July 05 Star Princess-Baltics

Aug. 05 Star Princess-Baltics

Past cruises:

04 HAL-Amsterdam-Alaska

04 Dawn Princess- Southern Caribbean x2

03 Grand Princess-W.Caribbean

03 Sun Princess -Mexico

03-Tahitian Princess-Tahiti/ Cook Islands

03 Royal Princess-x2 British Isles & Norwegian Fjords/ Iceland

03 Island Princess-Panama Canal

01 HAL Ryndam x 2-S. America San Diego to Valpariso/ & around Cape Horn to Rio

00 Sky Princess-China/Orient

79 Sitmar's Fairwind- Caribbean/Panama Canal

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>And...spongerob was in an entirely different lodge, in a 2 room suite, with a jacuzzi. In Denali, we had a barely functioning toilet and a shower that alternately worked as a garden hose and then a watering pail. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wasn't arguing with any of your assertions in your posts. Quite the opposite in fact. I thought it would be fair to note that there are alternatives. It's also fair to present a proper level of expectation for those who don't know quite what they are getting into. FWIW, we stopped at the Denali Lodge and I thought it looked kind of dumpy compared to McKinley.

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

Okay...understood. And you are right. Once you get off the ship (lap of luxury) it is a different world altogether, no matter where you disembark!

Ok, everyone. argosy had a nasty experience with staff, etc. and he told us about it. Let's not kill the messenger. spongerob has now told everyone of a much better alternative, so let us keep him alive also to post another day.

As far as I am concerned I'll take the McKinley if we ever decide to do an Alaska Cruise. Thanks to argosy for giving us a perspective on Denali, they certainly make it sound wonderful in the brochure. Hopefully, argosy, you have made your findings known to Princess.

This is what is great about the forum - give and take and one's own perspective of what they experience.

I loved the comment about making it up as they go along - I think we have all experienced that in our lives - especially with our kids

Grand Princess 4/4/04