Apexgal

Thanks for reading....appreciate all the comments. We like to travel and I hope I'm teaching my kids to love to experience new places. I get a lot out of these reviews and I'm usually searching for any kid information I can glean so anytime I can give back kid info I'm happy to.

Happy to answer any questions!

Also - if you are thinking about Europe - I did a similar in-depth review on Celebrity for our med cruise here 2 years ago (very kid centric): https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2392798

Seward - our last day

To tell you how fast the weather can change in Alaska - we went from wearing our heavy coats and long underwear every day since Vancouver to actually wearing short sleeves on this day! Ok - it was by the afternoon and I had a fleece on until about noon but it was downright warm!

This was my birthday and I had a day packed of activities for our last full day. First up Turning Head Kennels for their 9 am summer dogsled tour (they were a top 10 finisher). In Seward, the big outfit is Seavey's dog sled - they are everywhere and that's where the cruise ships go with the big tour busses. Thanks to TripAdvisor, we opted for a more personalized experience and it could not have been better. Highly recommend!!! There was just 1 other family when we arrived and its a pretty laid back operation.

We played with the big dogs, snuggled the puppies, asked lots of questions about the race, saw all the equipment and then saddled up the team. What I think made the difference is it wasn't like you have 5 minutes here, then 5 minutes here, then we have to go here. It was more like someone had invited you over for dinner and you were there to learn and chat. The kids wanted more time with the puppies and were more interested in that than learning about the race, so they snuggled puppies while we gained information. The ride was fun and fast and while I was initially trying to keep the kids quiet, the musher said nope - let them scream and giggle all they want. They are purposely training the dogs to block out noise.

Now - let's be clear - its a working dog sled kennel. There is poop (though they do a good job of keeping it clean). Dogs have muddy paws. They do jump. You will get dirty. They are on chains around their houses but those were the happiest dogs and all with distinct personalities.

After this we made a quick stop at Safeway to pick up picnic supplies. Are you keeping track - pretty sure this was grocery store trip #4 for this vacation (EEK!). But it was significantly cheaper and more fun to eat fried chicken and peaches overlooking a glacier than sitting down for a long lunch.

Exit Glacier is quite close to Seward (about 15 minutes or so) so we headed up there to do a little "easy" hike. They had said it was a little over a 2 mile round trip easy hike. Let's just start by saying - they have a different version of "easy" where I live. This apparently was "easy" by Alaska standards. I'd say more moderate as it wasn't flat trail the whole way - it required some scampering over rocks. Not for someone with mobility issues. My kids however are part mountain goat.

Lots of rangers everywhere working along the way to give stories and point out interesting facts (which make for excellent rest breaks for those of you who aren't part mountain goat). The trail was also marked with the years so you could see how far the glacier had receded. Where we stood was close to where it was when my eldest was born and that really hit home for him.

The hike is part through the forest but then opens up to more like walking on the moon with no greenery anywhere. We had hiking boots and I'm glad we did. And for this - we wore short sleeves!

After our hike it was time to head back to Anchorage. This time we made it in about 3 hours rather than the 8 it took us to get there. We stopped a few times along the way but nothing crazy. Highly recommend an ice cream stop at the turn off for Girdwood.

Back in Anchorage, we made a quick stop at the Ulu factory for me to pick up a little gift to myself. I had wanted to pick up a knife in Juneau but didn't want the hassle of checking a knife on board. If you have kids that you are still cutting up their meat for them - an Ulu will change your life!

We checked into the Courtyard Marriott next to the airport (fantastic and recently renovated) and showered and had reservations at the Glacier Brewhouse downtown. It was more touristy than I expected but honestly we were tired and I didn't have a fancy birthday dinner in me. The place was huge but packed and I was glad we had made reservations. The food was good and the kids liked that their dinner came with dessert.

Back to the hotel for an early wake up call for our 6 am uneventful flight.

Overall - it was a great vacation but I do feel like I've seen Alaska and maybe will go back there one day but there are too many other places to explore. I'm definitely glad we stayed and got to experience Alaska outside of just the cruise as I feel that was really the best part of the trip and added so much to it.

The kids impression - they really liked Alaska - but they like to travel just about anywhere. I asked if they preferred this or a trip to Disneyworld. They said they would prefer something like this as long as I kept the kid friendly activities (like the dog sledding) in the mix and they would prefer not to go on Princess again (they were really not a fan of the kids club). My son however is now angling for the Norwegian Bliss with the go cart track...

Seward

Up today was a 6 hour cruise with Major Marine out of Seward. Of all the things we did in Alaska, this ranks at or near the top for all of us. It was pricey and worth every single penny.

We spent a leisurely morning around the hotel and then packed up and headed over to board (we could have gone to the Sea Life center that was in walking distance to kill time but we live near an aquarium and go frequently). When you board, you are assigned a table and chairs (It reminded me of a nice European train in its layout ) inside the vessel which is where you can stash your stuff. You have no choice in where you sit. Then there are open decks in the front, back, sides and up top where you will likely spend most of your time and there are chairs and covered areas there.

We were incredibly fortunate and had a blue sky, warm (tho I was still in my coat and long johns) day. They said it was the first trip in more than 2 weeks that it hadn't been raining for. The captain was determined for us to see wildlife so as we were going out, anytime he saw anything he would motor over to it and we would watch for a while. We saw whales, otters, puffins, bears, sea lions, eagles and so many other things. The goal of the trip seemed to be the experience and not the destination which was most appreciated.

We had been warned that it does go into open ocean for a bit - I'd estimate around 20-30 min and it gets rough. This was apparently a rare flat day and the boat was still rocking. I'd say if you have any issues at all with motion sickness, be prepared. We were all fine (we live near the water and are on boats frequently) but even in flat water some folks were having a time of it.

When you book, you have the option to prepay and buy a salmon/prime rib lunch with salad, rice and dessert. Do it. The food was some of the best we had and honestly, it was easy. You think its pricey when you are at home and buying it ahead but once you get there you realize that $24 for lunch is about average. They also sell "hot dogs" which had been my original plan but those are reindeer dogs and my youngest would like you to know (from an earlier lunch) it does not taste anything like an Oscar Meyer hotdog.

They also had chips, candy, beer, soda etc for sale but I still had some of that in my bag from an earlier grocery store trip.

Now we have seen a lot of glaciers on this trip and my oldest just really wanted to touch one. He was in luck! After we had been at the glacier for a bit - they scooped up a chunk of glacial ice to make margaritas with and one for the kids to touch and play with. He was in heaven.

As we were leaving the glacier it was time for $4 margaritas with glacier ice (yes please) and they were kind enough to pour two sprites using glacier ice (free because we had bought the lunch). I won mom of the year here for bringing back those sprites. According to them, glacier ice tastes more dense than regular ice. Tastes the same with tequila to me!

There was also a ranger on board giving various presentations and she had a couple of activities up her sleeve for the kids at various time and was always happy to answer any random question they may have. She was also encouraging them to do their ranger books and at one point, came and sat with my oldest and they chatted for a bit.

My kids loved it. It was an extremely long day and there were only about 7 to 10 other kids on board (out of about 150) so use your best judgement. They spaced out lunch and dessert so that ate up some of the "boring" motoring time where we weren't seeing anything.

Back at the dock around 5:30 and after such a big lunch we didn't want much for dinner. We went to Woody's (a Thai restaurant favored by locals) and grabbed two dishes which were more than enough to feed the family and ended up being one of our cheaper meals of the trip.

Up next: Our last day....

Post Cruise (DIY Tour)

Many folks were surprised when I said we opted not to go to Denali. In my research, I felt like there was only so far you could go into the park without getting on an 8 hour bus and we are not an 8 hour bus family. We are water people so off we went to Seward.

We rented a car in Anchorage (not a subcompact - make sure you have room for luggage) and started our 130 mile trek south. We arrived at the airport around 10:30 and then plugged in a grocery store into the GPS. This is critical. This is not your usual interstate. You will go MILES without a convenience store much less a restaurant. We picked up some sandwiches, some snacks, fruit, a couple gallons of water for our water bottles and set off south with the intent that we would meander and stop where we wanted to stop.

This is a beautiful drive. It's not on the side of a mountain and there are no weather issues. Just a beautiful 2-lane road through the outdoors. You pass lakes, glaciers, mountains, wildlife etc. We had printed out a Seward Scenic Highway guide from this web site and it was great (http://www.seward.com/visit-seward/scenic-byway/) - at mile 41.3 look to your left and you may see mountain goats and sure enough there were mountain goats! There is a scenic overlook at mile xx.x and is great for picnics and guess where we ate lunch....

I wanted to see Girdwood which was down a long road off the highway so we headed in that direction. I knew I didn't want to do the Alyeska tram (what's the point if its foggy and you can't see anything) but there was a fantastic playground off the side of the road right as you come into Girdwood which allowed for some much needed energy burn. There was also a cell signal here which allowed the parents to do some quick recon....

What we found was Crow Creek Mine - which is one of the largest gold deposits in Alaska and the most authentic gold panning. We were given a baggie that had guaranteed gold, some instructions and a pan and got to work practicing. Once we had the hang of it, they pointed us to some buckets, shovels and pointed the way to the creek. This wasn't your average waterwheel pan - this was an actual creek that you just dug in. The kids LOVED it. We however did not strike it rich. A little tip - we just paid full price for the kids and then as adults we were half price spectators. Honestly we had to help the kids so much that there was no way we needed to be working on our own.

We start our trek further south and decide to skip the Alaska Wildlife center after we saw dozens of tour busses coming in and out and honestly by now, it was closing in on 3 pm and we had driven about 50 of those 130 miles. We had also lost all radio signal so we were now reliant on music from our iphones (plan ahead as we only had a 2 hour loop my husband uses for running and I thought if I heard those songs again, I'd go nuts).

We saw a opportunity for a short hike but as we were going in two girls came running out swatting mosquitos (these were the first we had seen of the bugs and didn't believe them). OH MY GOODNESS.....we had mosquitos in our shirts, down our backs, in the car - everywhere. And we came out running and cut our hike very very short.

We finally arrived in Seward about 8 hours after we had started on the 2 hour journey and it is a very quaint town without the "in your face" tourist feel that Ketchikan or Skagway has. We had opted to stay at the south end of town about 2 miles away from the cruise ship terminal at the Best Western. The Harbor 360 would have been my first choice but it was more than $100 more per night and the Best Western had good reviews and free breakfast. We had the cheapest room (an inside double) at $250 a night with nearly a 1 year out reservation. Not a room for the claustrophobic. There is no "outside window" - it overlooks the lobby and our luggage nearly filled up the room. Think cruise ship size. But it was clean, comfy and we weren't there very much.

We walked to dinner, walked around town - its about a block from the water and then we ended up at the town park for some after dinner energy burn. A quick stop at the Safeway grocery store to pick up more snacks and water and we were off to bed as we had a big day the next morning. The Kenai Fjords tour!

Debarkation

Saturday morning and its time to get off the ship. I was worried that I would hear anchors drop in the middle of the night since we were up at the front of the ship but I have to admit, the room was one of the quietest we've ever had.

First - one of the main perks of a suite is debarkation day room service. We saw on their app that you couldn't order it through their app - it said to call room service. Our steward left the door hanger on the bed as usual and on a whim, I went ahead and filled it out though we were planning to just call. Glad we did that. The grandparents were up early and tried to order coffee. When they called room service they literally screamed into the phone - No Room Service Today and hung up on them. Thankfully we had put the card out and were saved by a knock at the door.

On any other cruise, we typically just wait in our room until we are called and are always off the ship before 8 am. You cannot do this on Princess - you have to go to one of their lounges. Ugh. So we schlep all our things about 10 minutes before our "time" to one of the lounges. They come tell us its time to go and have a dedicated elevator waiting for us. Ok - this suite thing may not be so bad.

But when we get out of the elevator and are directed over to the line, we are told to go to the back of the long long line emptying out of the dining room. Seriously? What's the point of the "special lounge" if you send me to the back of the line?"

We get off the ship and when they say in Whittier to have transportation arranged they mean it. There are about 10 stores in the whole town and they all use one parking lot. And by stores - they are mainly fishing and bait stores. There is one condo for the whole town to live in. Do not expect to "grab a taxi" that day.

We had arranged to use Anchorage Tours and Transfers (highly recommend) - its a smaller bus not one of the large busses because the parents like a smaller feel and a lot of the larger busses indicated that you may have to load your own luggage - not an option for the grandparents. They also had a special before Christmas with a percentage off for booking early. I think it was about $150 for all of us.

Driver was entertaining, gave a great narrative and was almost like a personalized tour. They dropped us off at the airport first (we were renting a car). You don't rent a car in Whittier unless you want the price to triple for a one way drop off though their is an Avis in a rusty old trailer. Then took the parents to an Anchorage Hotel for the night.

Our part wasn't over yet - I mean, I'm in Alaska. I want to see it. The cruise however was and for the first time ever, I was happy to get off the ship. As you can tell, I wasn't impressed with Princess and most of it was around customer service. We've tried a lot of other lines and never had the issues we did and general "not caring" attitude that we had on Princess. I won't be back. Each line has their strengths in my opinion. Celebrity shines on quality of food and the kids club. Carnival has a variety of entertainment options and Royal is great for bells and whistles for the kids on the ships (ice skating, rock wall etc) and production shows. We haven't done NCL with kids so I can't compare. But if you asked me what Princess shines on, I couldn't give an answer. I thought it was because they "owned Alaska" but there was nothing other than the entrance to Glacier Bay that I didn't feel like another line would have done just as well or had something to substitute with.

That's just my two cents - a lot of folks love Princess. That's great. But they won't get my money any more.

Up next: Seward! (told you we weren't done)…..

College Fjord

Finally had some free time so I'm trying to catch up....College Fjord was to me the most under advertised and most impressive part of the trip. All that it mentioned was "scenic cruising" which I thought I had been doing for a week but this was jaw dropping beauty that I really didn't feel like most people had mentioned before.

The day was spent mostly with Trivia or in Skywalkers trying to finish up our books and at guest services filling out paperwork for missing pants., getting the right disembarking info (we were 1 group, traveling together and despite filling it all out together they gave us separate numbers) Scenic cruising was set for 6-9 pm.

Now - earlier in the week we had received a card indicating that our travel agent had gifted us with a specialty dinner and she had premade reservations for my parent's anniversary, but only 5 of 6 people in our group got this and you had to have it to no pay. So we went to guest services and they said because it was from a travel agent, they couldn't help us. So when we got to Ketchikan and she was getting us a bed for my son, I also had her look into this issue. It was a mistake on Princess' part and we had the voucher by that afternoon (day 3) but by then had already missed the anniversary dinner reservations and Sabatini's was full up for the rest of the cruise (so much for VIP suite reservations). However - the Sabatini's staff after hearing out plight - said - come on the last night at 5 and we will take care of you.

So we pack up everything before 6 (except for 1 bag that can be out at 9 pm)- which I've never had a cruise line ask me to do - usually its by 11 pm and we go to dinner. We went very casual and pretty much wore our traveling clothes for the next day as did most people.

Dinner was excellent but we could see that we were entering some beautiful scenery which we really weren't anticipating. We asked the servers to speed up service and we popped in and out of the restaurant between courses. Not what I would usually do but realizing where we were, they were happy to accommodate. We sped through dinner in about 1.5 hours and some of us left before dessert (so many nuts) and the food had been so incredible that we were full. To me, the menu descriptions did not do the taste justice.

Then we hustled outside where we had the place mostly to ourselves. I think most people had gone out early and then gone to dinner. We spent the evening just walking around in awe. It was glacier after glacier and just stunning. Better than Glacier Bay in my opinion.

The kids had gone to the kids club where as I mentioned before they dyed my youngest's son's hair green (thanks now he needs another shower) and went to bed.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay and College Fjord are two days are when that balcony pays for itself. We tried to go out on deck but anywhere we went there was always a "yapper" talking loudly about who knows what and you were elbow to elbow. A huge part of glacier viewing that I think people don't talk about enough is the sounds. Not just the giant calving but the cracks and thunder-like sounds you hear. And that could only be heard on a balcony.

We also couldn't hear the commentary (because of the yappers) so being able to pop in and out of the room while listening to the commentary was excellent.

I really should have gotten up early. I mistakenly thought that it would be excellent scenery all day but by the time we left Marjorie I felt like the day was pretty much over.

I also thought the kids club would have more enhanced activities for this day. The kids went to the JR Ranger program which even the 7 year old thought was too juvenile and they got their JR ranger books but apparently didn't have to do anything to get sworn in and get their badges. The let them go out onto their private viewing area for a couple of minutes but basically they saw really nothing of the day. Then it was just the same activities as usual.

Hubs and I did go to the ranger talk and very much enjoyed that but it started at the exact same time as they opened the kids club for their ranger program so he had to go sign the youngest in. I did the unthinkable and saved him a single seat for our ranger presentation (we usually don't do this but the programs started at the exact same time). You would have thought I was holding the boat hostage. Such rude passengers.

Formal night was that night and we went to see the production show which was entertaining but more of a history of Broadway with elements of dance incorporated into it. Kids went with us as they usually enjoy the show but this one didn't capture their attention. It was more a retrospective on Broadway with personal video narratives of important people on Broadway and if you weren't familiar with the musicals then it wasn't too interesting.

Up next: College Fjord

Sorry for all the delays - life got in the way.

As to why we took so long - yes, we were "lucky" in that we were the first train out in that group and instead of swapping sides, we got to go an extra 7 miles each way (so 14 miles round trip) which at the pace you are traveling, takes a bit of time. Why it took even longer - no idea....maybe they were going slow that day. We were late leaving Skagway that night because now the last train was running late.

Skagway

I'll try to make this one quick - the train. That's about what 70 percent of the passengers seemed to do. I loved reading how people would hang back and try to get the last car or try to sit on a side....it was a long line and then it was wherever your party could fit. We did manage to get seats on either side of the train. They will ask you to change sides on the way down. It's basically like bus seats. No tables. And there is a small bathroom in each car.

Food - for $10 they will sell you a snack box with Wheat thins, cheese spread, a slim jim and 2 oreos. We had packed our own granola bars, chips and pretzels etc and had a late large breakfast Some folks ignored the "do not take food off the ship" and took deli meat in a plastic cup wrapped in a napkin and I saw lots of apples and bananas as well. Seriously. They also provided complimentary bottled water on the train cars.

The way up was pretty. Informative - the workers were full of energy and gave good information. But honestly, it was boring even for me on the way down. The kids fell asleep. We had just seen everything and now you were seeing it again. I do wish I had just taken it one way and done the bus back or something else. I thought - my kids love trains. They will love this. And they did - for the first few hours. It was long - we didn't get back until after 5 (it was an 11:30 departure).

I also thought I read where they would drop you back in town but they don't. It was straight back to the ship. We opted to walk back into town just to look around and it was about a 15-20 minute walk or a shuttle for $5 a piece - that seemed steep for what we wanted. It was a lovely walk - just a little longer than expected.

Town was cute and we went in a few shops but by that point we were tired and hungry.

We went straight to dinner that night - hiking boots, fleece and all (gasp!) And no - they didn't turn us away. In fact, we were in the majority that night. Though I did see them turn away two people who had backpacks (we had dropped ours in the room). Backpacks were apparently too much.

What we wore - this was the coldest of our days with a high of 48 and up in the mountain was even colder on the platforms. Fleece, long sleeve and heavy coats and thermals kept me warm. Just used the heavy jacket on the platforms.

Nothing was really memorable about that evening's entertainment.

Weather/Packing

A brief interlude to talk weather/packing. One of the locals referred to June as Juneuary. It could be summer or it could be winter. I've read a lot on these boards about "layers" and all you need is a lightweight waterproof jacket to go over your fleece. I'm here to debunk those myths. A lot likely depends on where you are from.

We are from the south. It's going to be a 100 today with nearly the same humidity. So "winter" to us is 40s. Alaska was winter to us.

Friends had gone the week before and said they had to shop for shorts it was so hot. The week after us hit record highs. But our week was cold. Highs were in the upper 40s/low 50s. If it was cloudy and windy, it felt colder. If it was sunny, it felt hotter. We were supremely lucky and didn't have much rain.

Myth 1: It's only cold on the Glacier Bay day.

Not true - I wore my lightweight thermal bottoms under my jeans nearly every day we were off the ship. Hubby didnt but kids and parents also did.

Myth 2: Layer short sleeves under a fleece and pair with a lightweight waterproof jacket.

Not true - Our base layer was long sleeves. Why? Because when we got back on the ship or if we stripped off our fleece (rare) we needed those sleeves. I wore short sleeves twice (after the cruise).

Myth 3: Don't take a heavy jacket.

Not true: We carried on our jackets and stuffed them in the overhead bins. As I left it was in the upper 90s and just carrying it made me sweat but starting on day 3 I wore it every day except for the last two of our land days at the end. What do I consider heavy? I have a Lands end parka (Warmer) that is heavy enough for me to ski in. Kids and hubby have the Lands End 3 in one combos that they had zipped together. If all of your excursions were in busses or sightseeing, you might could have gotten away with just a light outer layer and just been cold on Glacier Bay day. Actually one of the warmer nights was college fjord - because the sun was out and there was no wind.

Don't feel you need it- ok roll the dice....I get it. As soon as you step off the boat in Ketchican - within 20 yards there is a store with every color of the rainbow for 19.99 and yes, they were open at 6:30 and made quite a few sales then too. Fleece are $16.99. Had there just been two of us, maybe I would have done that. But that would have set me back $80 for jackets.

So what did I pack and what did I actually wear? I'm a light packer - kids pull their own carry on suitcases and backpacks and we had 1 extra med bag and 1 duffel - more than usual but shoes and bulkiness of fleece got me this time.

For 13 days, each person in our group had about 4 long sleeve, 5 short sleeve, 4 fleece-like over shirts, 2 jeans and 1 hiking/wind pants, 2 dress pants and 4 dress/dinner shirts, thermals, and the kids had a couple extra short sleeve shirts (because they are kids and they are messy) and we all had a pair of shorts just in case. When we left, the weather predicted highs in the 60s - not true, 40s and 50s were more likely. I wish I had had more long sleeve and less short sleeve. Though I wore short sleeve on the ship at night and was fine.

Shoes - each person had hiking boots (though a pair of basketball shoes subbed for my youngest), sneakers, dress shoes and flip flops. Flip flops were a waste of space. And it never rained so we really only needed either hiking boots or sneakers not both but I was terrified of wet shoes.And for as long as he had them on, the brown hiking boots would have been fine for my son in the dining room with his dress pants. What I wish I had was a pair of slip ons that weren't sneakers or dress flats for walking around the ship.

Socks - before we left, we added to our REI hiking sock collection thanks to a mid year sale and were well pleased with the smartwool socks. My feet were always dry, warm and not hot. Not cheap but so worth it. Waiting for that sale again!!!

We had hats and gloves but never really used them. Though we did use the hoods on our jackets.

We did have laundry since we were in a suite. Undies and socks were sent off nearly every night and I had them do some of our long sleeves because they were getting ripe. As I said before, I sent it out at night before turndown and had it back at turndown the next night. So Glacier Bay was the last night I could do laundry.

However on day 3 they lost my sons hiking pants that I had washed because they had fish guts on them. They were hand me downs from a friend but they were great, comfy pants. They however sent us someone's yoga pants in return. We immediately called to the laundry and they sent someone up to retrieve them. But by the last day, my son's pants were no where to be found and we had been in contact with the officer in the laundry and our steward. That morning our steward apologized and sent us to guest services to file a missing item report.

Guest services first tells me I have to wait for them to look. I politely tell them that they have been looking for 3 days. After some back and forth, I tell him I'm not leaving until I fill out a report. They get it approved and credit my account the cost of the missing pants. I had claimed $30 - because that would be the cost to replace them. That night the pants appeared on the bed. I think what happened is they shove the laundry into the closet randomly when it comes back. Someone must have not checked their laundry until they went to pack for the cruise and then turned them in. Other than that, we had no issues with laundry. I didn't send out anything fragile. Just cotton shirts and jeans.

Up next: Skagway

Juneau

Second stop was Juneau. It was a rainy, cold morning so we opted to stay on the ship this morning since our excursion wasn't until after 11. We had decided to do the 5-glacier seaplane excursion. Hubby wanted to helicopter but I wasn't excited about that or the price so we compromised on a float plane. Grandparents were headed off on the Best of Juneau - whale watching, salmon bake and Mendenhall (which they absolutely raved about).

We took the bus to the float plane dock but walked back at the end. The float plane was worth every dime and nickel. And yes, we even took the kids. As we were loading the captain said - sit anywhere you want but just don't sit in my seat. My smart alek older son asked - can I sit in the co-pilot seat. And the captain said yes - someone has to. He was over the moon! The scenery was stunning but it was cold up there. I kept my heavy jacket on the whole time. When we got back to Juneau we had a quick lunch at the dock and walked around town. We had talked about hiking Mendenhall but were scheduled to hike a glacier at the end of the trip and it was now spitting cold rain and the day had been so perfect, I didn't want anything to spoil it. So back to the ship for a lazy afternoon (after all, we are on vacation).

Funny story - 2 groups from the ship took an excursion on a helicopter to a glacier. Weather came in and one of the flights got out but the other was stuck for 6 hours. The ship waited for them.

A few overall observations:

I haven't talked much about evening entertainment because I wasn't too impressed and like food, its highly subjective. The North to Alaska series seemed hokey. There was a guy who told stories and was a one-man band that appealed to no one in our group. The speakers were ok - we didn't make it to Libby Riddles but she brought a dog that she had outside the theater that the kids got to pet. Another was giving a speech on photography.

The cruise directors staff kept dressing up and dancing and weren't that good at all - and should have left that to the production group. There were 2-3 production shows - we made 1 which was good, another we were at guest services and I can't remember if there was a 3rd. The house band seemed like they were playing off key and aside from the lead singer had no personality.

Two nights was "Tea-cake" performing soul music and I popped in for a second but it appeared to be just a 1-woman concert. And there was a Michael Bublé concert - again a one man concert. The comedian was excellent and I wish he had been on there more that once.

You will probably say I'm picky, and maybe I am but I've never not found things to do on a ship so in my opinion it was just "meh". Most nights we just stayed on the balcony watching the scenery or out on deck enjoying the light.

Also - despite reports from earlier this season, there was no escape room, no planetarium, and just lots of Trivia, Bingo and Zumba, during the day. There was a galley tour on the last day.

Next up: Weather/packing

Kids Club

A quick detour to talk about the kids club as a whole....there were a little over 200 kids on this trip with about 16-24 in each age breakout (3-7/8-10/ etc) split pretty evenly between girls and boys. There was a mix of scheduled activities and free play. The 3-7 had very little in the way of options for "cool toys". They had some video games but the 8 and up had Skeeball and foosball. For the 3-7 there were a LOT of art projects. A few games and they always came back to the room with a stuffed animal, ribbon for winning a game, hat they had colored, face paint etc. We had so much stuff from just the kids club - 4 new small stuffed animals! They were least happy at night when all they really did was put on a movie about 8:30 - this was true across the ages. By the time they finished dinner, and got there it was close to 8 and there was little play time. No other line has stopped "playing" so early. Usually movies are reserved for the 10 pm group.

One small gripe by me. The last night - when all the luggage was out of the room the kids had a PJ party, which was fine. BUT they colored the kids hair. UGH! We had already taken our evening showers and are disembarking the next morning and now my kid needs a shower at 10 pm because he had green hair. Any other day, that would have been fine.

The 11 year old was less enthused. He thought his room was chaotic. Nothing ever started on time (according to him) and there was little control over the kids (according to him). One night, he was so excited about the schedule (competition games) that he asked to eat room service so he could be there right at 7. We happily agreed and he trotted off. He came back so frustrated because they had started so late and hadn't done half of what was promised. He enjoyed some of the free play time on the PS4s (about 8 of them) but the scheduled activities seemed a bit juvenile for that age. And their "Discovery at Sea" and other branded programs were not impressive at all.

For the junior ranger program in Glacier bay, they lumped all of the kids together from 3-12 and did one 1 hour presentation. It was too juvenile for even my 7 year old. They were so disappointed and wished he had gone to the one we went to.

We've done the clubs on Royal and Celebrity and hands down my kids prefer the ones on Celebrity. There were no scavenger hunts like celebrity, no talent show, no pool parties or soccer shoot outs for the older kids. Those had been hits for us on Celebrity.

Still unpacking - I'm a slow unpacker - but will post the bulletins when I find them.

Ketchican

First port day! Unless we are trying to burn OBC, we almost never take a ship excursion. I like to experience where we are and eat local and I like the flexibility of a DIY excursion - especially with kids and usually they are significantly cheaper. In Alaska, well that just wasn't the case. The cruise lines own Alaska. Yes, there are things you can DIY but most of the time they were MORE expensive than what the ship was offering or the price difference was so small, you might as well just do it through the cruise line. Actually in ALL things Alaska, it felt like they were trying to make all their income in the year in 4 months. The MOST expensive place I've ever been.

However - in Ketchican - we wanted to go fishing. We are from the coast and are used to boats and 5 of the 6 wanted to fish. We convinced my youngest to go (I don't leave kids on the ship while I'm on an excursion). I found

Avid Anglers charter that left right from the dock (many wanted you to take a 20 min cab ride). He offered a cruise ship special (3 hours at $130 a person plus $40 per adult for king stamp and license which we got from him). Most wanted a longer time and more money. With the kids, I thought this would be perfect. AND we were back on ship at 1:30 so there wasn't much time anyway. Really wish I hadn't had to pay for the kids since they really did nothing but whatever. You had to pay for kids with all of them.

The first breakfast timeslot is only available in the room starting at 6:30-7 and we had to be off the ship at 6:40. We could have just called in our order but doing that for 4 people would get complicated. Parents were up early so they just called in their order at 5:30. So hubby took one for the team and went to battle the buffet to bring back a small breakfast for us. It was mobbed.

We met our captain right as we walked off the ship and hustled to his very conveniently docked boat. We had lines in the water in 20 minutes. Unfortunately it was a slow day for king salmon (that's all that was running this time of year). He hustled. He changed up lines, and lures and depth and we went to other places. I will say that all of the boats out were working in tandem to give the customer the best day. Whenever someone caught something, they would radio out where they were and what they were using. He also had fruit, cookies and water/soda on board.

After a couple of hours watching wildlife and listening to bald eagles play which was amazing, we caught 2 kings at the exact same time. This was incredibly exciting for the 11 year old and completely freaked out the 7 year old. All the moving to get the lines out of the water and then hook 2 fish had the boat rocking a bit (and he's very much used to boats) and there was a lot of confusion. Mom and I had to reel in extra lines and dad and hubs had to reel in fish so I couldn't get to him to comfort him despite this being a very small boat. Big brother stepped in and calmed him. On the way back in, a humpback breached about 10 feet from the boat and swam with us for a while. It was stunning.

We had the option of processing the fish and sending it home. Of course! The captain would handle it and said it would be $88 for processing plus just over $2 a pound. I specifically asked if there would be extra shipping. No, he said, the $88 covered it. This was so incorrect. We specified a day to ship and it was over $200 by the time we got the fish (about 20 lbs) and they weren't in 1 lb filets as promised, it was random and a lot of large packs. Also - the fish were frozen and shipped in Styrofoam with no ice. They were cold but partly thawed when we received them in the hot south. After a few calls to the local fish markets to see if these had gone bad, we refroze them but weren't happy with our "surprise".

What we wore - the high in Ketchican was 54 that day but we were out really early and it was cold though happily not raining - a beautiful blue sky. We had on hiking/wind pants, long underwear, long sleeves, fleece, and a ski jacket and hats. I had to pop into the cabin every now and then to warm up.

He dropped us off next to creek street at our request - there is a nice visitor center with bathroom facilities (Though there was a head on the boat) about 2 blocks away. We walked down creek street and headed for the married man's trail. At the end of that - a very easy walk, was the salmon ladder. Nothing was running yet so we headed back to the ship and grabbed lunch.

The afternoon was showers, resting and off to dinner. We went to the best comedy show I've seen in a long time and was by far the best entertainment all week on the ship. And I cannot remember his name. After the show, we walked past crooners where the pianist had a lively bunch but apparently he was so good they gave him his own michal buble show later in the week - I'm not as much a fan. This to me was the best entertainment night.

The kids went to the kids club where everyone came home early. The oldest is allowed to check himself out. He also had his cell phone and would message us through the princess app if he left. The app doesn't ding so we checked it every 15 min or so. Since the youngest was in the 3-7 group, you are given a pager in case they need you. They never paged us but if the oldest ever left, he would always check in with his brother to see how things were going. On this night, the youngest was ready to come back but didn't want to tell the counselor so the oldest sent us a note to come get the youngest.

Back to the room and the laundry I put out before breakfast on the sea day, was back! whew! pickings were getting slim. And we had a couch for youngest! AND dad's free dinner finally showed up!

(my apologies if I've gotten some of the events out of order like the comedy show - relying on my memory only).

Up next: Juneau!

Sea Day!

First stop on our Sea Day was Sabatini's for breakfast. This was by far our favorite suite perk. It was just such a peaceful way to start the morning.

Sabatini's breakfast menu is not necessarily a list of what they have but suggestions for what they can offer. If you are looking for elaborate menu descriptions to inspire your choices like spinach and feta quiche … this isn't your place. The menu is more like "eggs any way" and they really mean it. However if you ask for it, and its on the ship, you will get it. For example, pancakes weren't on their menu but my youngest loves a pancake on vacation - so each morning, they would get him a pancake. We were able to have a bowl of berries each day for the kids at breakfast and I know berries are hard to come by on a ship. I asked for toast, avocado and eggs to make my own avocado toast - no problem. And the cappuccinos, mimosa's and real milk hot chocolate were all bottomless and complimentary. However they couldn't do a flavored cappuccino - but would get you one from the IC if that was your desire.

A small side note about chai tea - which is my go to drink. The IC uses a Torani syrup for the tea and its like drinking flavored milk. Bring your own tea bags (I do) and asked for steamed milk and make it yourself. Sabatini's would take my tea and steep it in a pot while they were steaming my milk. Also - this is the ONLY free hot chocolate on the ship. No packets in the horizon court.

The kids went to the kids club in the morning and we headed to Skywalkers to read. Skywalkers was one of the reason's I booked the ship. I wanted an indoor quiet place to have great views in the event of bad weather and it did not disappoint. We spent many days up there reading and watching the scenery.

Pub lunch for lunch for me and hubby. It took 30 minutes start to finish. They were rushing you through the crown grill. Definitely not leisurely but good and honestly we were still full from breakfast. Grandparents had taken the kids to the buffet and we got our first try of the buffet. Food is subjective but I will say, the buffet is the smallest I've ever seen on a ship and the choices I felt were limited. Hubby loves a hot lunch and usually any meat will do but there were few days that he could find something he could eat. We did enjoy the pizza place.

Kids went to the indoor pool in the afternoon. It was warm enough to enjoy and several folks enjoyed the outdoor pool all week.

That evening we went to club class dining for the first time. We never had a wait at all and pretty much had our same table. I was nervous about taking the kids because no one EVER mentions kids in club class. There was one other teen but ours were really the only ones in there. And it wasn't an issue. They eat off the main menu - usually with any sauces on the side and never really had an issue finding something to eat. There usually was 1-2 specials and they were always better than anything on the menu. Tableside is a joke - yes, somewhere near a table in club class it is prepared but definitely not at your table. And the most ridiculous was the evening special dessert flambé - they aren't allowed to use open flames so bananas foster was a warm limp banana in sauce with a scoop of ice cream. Don't get your hopes up.

After dinner it was back to guest services for my favorite screw up of the week. When my mom went to order a glass of wine at dinner, they swiped her card and said, they couldn't serve her because my son's picture was attached to HER card and it would appear that they were serving a minor. My son's photo was on my husband's and my mom had the same folio number as my son. It was a HOT MESS. My dad and I were able to order drinks for the table but he found out the soda package wasn't attached to his account.

When we got to guest services they said "We have fixed it and they will sort out the photos at security as you exit the ship in Ketchican". No. We had an early excursion and I was not going to try to explain this to security at 6:30 in the morning and I knew we needed photos to match names. An 70 year old woman wasn't going to pass for an 11 year old boy. They said there was nothing they could do at Guest Services. I know better. We refused to leave until they fixed it, swiped each card and showed us it was correct. Funny - when we refused to leave until it was fixed and asked to see a supervisor, things finally started happening. Then we showed them the paperwork that proved my dad had a soda package. They said despite me having the paperwork that proved it, they would have to start an inquiry into their system and they would get back to us. This also was unacceptable since I was holding the paperwork (Print off EVERYTHING before you leave) that showed he was entitled to it. We told them it needed to be fixed that night. When we went to order a soda the next day, it was fixed.

They were also working on the fact that our travel agent had gifted us with another specialty dinner but we had cards to prove it for 5 of us but not dad. There came a point that I was honestly surprised the man got on the ship - everything was wrong with him (but not my mom). They said there was nothing they could do since that was from my travel agent. Now this is where I got really frustrated. 5 people in a suite have a free card. 1 does not. Common sense says this is a mistake. It's $25. Good customer service would be to just handle it and give person 6 the $25. But no - I had to contact my travel agent in Ketchican and get that fixed too. These are all some of the "bigger fish".

Unfortunately guest services was really only good for printing off your charges. They were most unhelpful. Dad still didn't have a working room key after all this. And you couldn't be nice. You really had to be a witch and refuse to leave until they actually did something - they were skilled at telling you they had it under control and they never did.

By this point, all 6 of us at been at guest services for about an hour and were too tired for the kids club or anything else and had a very early morning ahead so off we went to bed. I got back to the room expecting my laundry because we had left the room at 8 that morning and I had left the laundry out. It arrived the next night at turndown.

And finally - what we wore - around the ship we were in long sleeves, kids were in short sleeves, and jeans this day. Outside you needed a jacket. At night every night, I wore pants or dress black jeans and a short sleeve dressy top and never got cold. This day was formal night. Dad wore a suit, hubby wore a shirt and tie and the kids had on slacks and a shirt/tie and we were all fine. Mom and I were also in slacks and a dressy top. Most men in club class wore a jacket - it was about 50/50 around the ship. Hubby didn't feel out of place in just his tie. And it was 50/50 women in dresses vs pants.

Up next: Ketchican

This was my first “suite” so I can’t compare. But we had all the main perks. You could not sell it as two rooms - there isn’t enough privacy because there really is a shared living space. We had a tub (the inside didn’t). But no jets. We could have opted for daily canapés but honestly preferred the afternoon tea more and it’s an opt in service. We asked him to remove the fruit basket after day 2/3 as we were getting our fill at meals. He did provide suite service - just poorly.

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One thing I forgot to mention - since we had 2 adults in each room we got two minibars for this suite. Grandparents swapped theirs for a bottle of wine but they wouldn’t leave a wine opener - told them to call room service to have them open it. Ha! I always travel with one.

We traded ours for 2 coffee cards which aren’t cards but they put it on our account. 1 card for me and 1 for my husband but it could have gone to anyone in the room. Each room was considered separate.

That also meant we had 4 mini bottles of champagne (which were generous at 2 glasses each) as we had sail away. And two plates of canapés and 2 plates of chocolate covered strawberries and 2 fruit bowls.

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No - for the inside it’s two twins that have bunks that come from the ceiling so it easily sleeps 2 adults and the bunks can stay in the ceiling but the beds don’t push together. And for the kids this worked well. Often in the afternoon, we would let the kids lay on the grandparents bed and rest with tv and we would close the door and have afternoon tea in the living area. The person getting the master definitely gets the better end of the deal and should buy the other a bottle of wine.

If you have another set of adults, you want to make sure they knock before they come into the main room. I know we couldn’t lock the door between rooms from our side.

As for the steward - the family suite is their only suite so perhaps they aren’t trained. I could have made a fuss but we had even bigger issues to deal with that I’ll detail later. I will say my TA has always been helpful but when things went south and I couldn’t get guest services to help she was invaluable.

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The Family Suite

That elusive room that few know about, even fewer have stayed in and nearly no one has ever written about. I'll give my best description but am happy to answer questions.

First off cost- as I've already said, cost wasn't an issue because it was the same as splitting 6 people into 2 balcony rooms (I'm not ready to put the kids across the hall in an inside yet and I'm certainly not putting them into their own balcony) so we usually cram into 1 when we cruise.

When you walk into the main bedroom the bathroom is on the right with a large closet (no doors) across from it and a floor to ceiling cabinet with shelves and safe. This was our changing area. It didn't have a door but as long as no one came past the master bed, then you had some privacy. The bathroom had an extended counter and tub and they had shampoo/conditioner and shower gel attached to the wall. We had 1 bar of soap for the bathroom which was our sink soap. No soap or toiletries were ever replaced.

Master had a room with two nightstands with two drawers each and a shelf and a lamp with a USB in it. These were bright lamps and not little reading lamps. I couldn't have a lamp on to read at night without illuminating the den where the kids were. We also had a vanity with 3 drawers. A makeup mirror and across from that was a TV (1 of 3) and shelf with the fridge under it.

Then it opened (not at all privately) to a living area that eventually had 2 couches that unfolded into sleepers (really just room for 1 kid each - maybe two small toddlers could fit on 1). Two very uncomfortable chairs and a small coffee table. There was also a nightstand next to one couch with a lamp with USB. To give you an idea on privacy - I could lay in my bed and see my son in his bed with a straight line of site. You can't really hang a sheet from the ceiling as the vanity extends out like a bar.

At the furthest end of the room there was a cabinet that extended the width of the room with two large cabinets with shelves and a TV on top. We had plenty of storage. And never even used one of these cabinets.

You then could open a locking door that entered the 2nd bedroom. But with that door open, the main TV was blocked. The grandparents took the second bedroom (for the privacy of it) and had everything that an inside room would have. And there were bunk beds in that room with a little nook with a reading light and small shelf for each bed. Two single closets and they also had their own entrance from the hallway. They also had plenty of room for storage and had way more luggage than we did.

The rooms were soundproof. They got up early, had room service and turned on a TV and hair dryer and we never heard them nor them us.

The balcony was bigger and all 6 of us could stand out there comfortably. A lot of people have complained that it was windy. It was windy but I didn't feel that it was substantially windier than any other balcony we've used. Now it was cold but we were in Alaska. You aren't going to sit out there and read a book like if you are in the Caribbean. There were two loungers that had padding and a table and 2 chairs (I think the photos show 4). I actually wish we didn't have the "enhanced loungers with padding" because when it rained, it took forever for the cushions to dry. Did we use the balcony - yes. It was excellent for Glacier Bay and College Fjord. Sailaway was also nice as well as many other times during the week. We went up to 15 to view a little but the railings were crammed with people and you could hardly hear any commentary. It was nice to turn on the commentary and pop in and out as the captain pointed out things along the way. Would I get a balcony again in Alaska - you bet! Did I lay out and read a book - once or twice for short periods of time under my blankets in my ski jacket.

One con to the room - when the sofa beds were extended in the living room, it was impossible for the people in the inside cabin to get to the balcony without going into the hallway and coming into the main door. Even then - it required quite a maneuver to slip through a 4 inch gap between the beds (they were perpendicular). A full size teenage boy would be fine on couch #1 but would have a hard time getting out of couch #2. A 7 year old was just fine on couch #2.

Another con was the room steward - this was his only suite and he had never been in that room before. So when we arrived and there was only 1 sofa bed and I brought it to his attention that there should be 2, he was totally confused. He didn't seem to understand why we needed it when there were 4 bunk beds in the inside room. I'm not sticking my parents with the kids all week. He eventually brought a rollaway which was a pain to have during the day. That's not why we booked the room. We also brought it to the attention of guest services who brushed us off with "we will look into it". That was their response to most things. Only after we reached Ketchikan and I called my travel agent and she used her contacts were we finally able to get a supervisor in the room who agreed that we were not getting what we paid for and he would get us a couch ASAP. So on day 3, we finally got what we paid for - a couch and bed for son #2.

Most of the big "suite perks" were a huge bonus but we didn't get a lot of the little ones. I'll detail the good parts later but what we didn't get was a pillow menu, there was no DVD player or on-demand movies (there was a movie channel that played G or PG kids movies during the day - Petter Rabbit - and PG13 movies at night - Black Panther, Justice League), enhanced turndown meant all lights out and 4 chocolates tossed somewhere and fresh towels, no daily bottled water but I had bought some prior to the cruise, no ice service, no umbrella and laundry service definitely wasn't "same day" though if I sent it out the night before, it came back the next night at turndown. Could I have made a fuss over these small things and probably gotten them all - yes. But we had bigger fish to fry and you sometimes just have to let the small things go to get the big things done (like a bed for my son).

We had 6 in this room set up. It could have slept 8. I think that would have been entirely too many unless they were small children.

Also - if you've ever stayed in the family suite on Celebrity - this doesn't even come close to that room. We have stayed in it and it was by far the best room we have ever had. So if you are thinking that Princess' version is going to be similar. It's not. But Princess does come with full suite perks and celebrity doesn't so you have to factor that in.

Next up: Sea Day #1

EMBARCATION

I've cruised a few times when a ship has been delayed and know that chaos typically ensues. Those delays have often resulted in me standing for hours in long lines. So I prepared everyone accordingly. We took snacks and bottled water. We were ready.

From the time we arrived at the pier to the time we were on the ship was 20 minutes. We actually felt rushed and could have used a moment to catch our breath. They told us at check in that our rooms were running a little late and would be ready at 3. It was 2:30. No problem.

They sent everyone up to Lido and since we had already had a great lunch, we found a spot at the back of the ship at the pool and parked ourselves at a table. We could have checked our carry on bags at the Vista Lounge but we only had backpacks. Every 30 minutes they came on to tell us that they weren't ready yet. Now I'd much rather be waiting on a ship at a table with chocolate chip cookies and a drink than waiting in a long line to board the ship but there was a lot of confusion as to what was open. Apparently the kids club WAS open for registration. We learned that just as they were closing. But no restaurants were open to secure reservations. And nothing else seemed to be happening. So we just stayed parked and let the kids play on ipods.

Finally around 5 - we were allowed to go to our rooms and muster was at 5:30 I think?

First things first - I knew we were entitled to a specialty dinner since we were in a suite and I'm glad I knew that. There was no card with a reservation. No phone call. And about 800 pieces of paper in our mailbox and scattered in the room. It took until day 2 to read through everything. We called the Dine line, they picked up immediately and we asked for 6:30 Crown Grill reservations for 6. No problem.

So muster, sail away (gorgeous) then on to dinner (still in our sneakers because we'd been in our rooms for about 30 minutes at this point).

The Crown Grill was excellent from my viewpoint and disappointing to the grandparents. The ribeye was melt in your mouth perfect. The filet was overcooked and the grandparents don't like to make a fuss and send things back and truth be told - this was a long dinner at the end of a long day. Another 10 minutes (seriously) might have done us all in.

All the sides were served family style except for the baked potatoes.

Here's what surprised me. I have a tree nut allergy. I had noted it on my cruise planner and when we sat down I made mention of it to the waiter. As he dropped off the bread, he said. You should be good. I don't think there are any nuts but I don't know. REALLY? I expected a little more knowledge.

Now, I've taken it upon myself to learn all the different ways restaurants incorporate nuts - I avoid anything gluten free since it often includes nut flour and knew that a plain roll would be fine. But when my husband surprised me with a special dessert for a birthday surprise and the waiter dropped it off - I asked if there was any nuts in it because often chocolate is combined with almonds or Nutella and he said - I don't know and walked away. Finally came back and said I was good. I've been on other ships where once I've said I have an allergy once, I never have to mention it again. Not so.

But overall, I was disappointed in all the princess desserts - Every night every single one of their featured chocolate desserts had nuts in it. And usually another of the desserts had nuts too. A girl can only eat so much mousse and flan and ice cream.

After dinner it was over to guest services to get some issues with our cards sorted out. And thus we found one of the BEST suite perks for us this week - the short line for suite guests. This would come in handy since we had to visit guest services at least 13 times over the course of the week and not for petty issues - we are pretty laid back people. In all my previous cruises I had only ever been to guest services twice.

Cards weren't sorted out. We were told they would all be fine by noon the next day as soon as the system reset. At 3 pm, we went back. It took until the end of day 3 for my dad to have a working room key. That's unacceptable.

Up next: The Family suite room!

Since you asked, I'll jump ahead....our 7 year old is 2 months shy of 8 and typically plays with older kids. When we walked into the room, it looked like a preschool and my 7 year old was like - no way - not for me. My husband very politely asked if he could be moved to the 8-10 group and explained the situation. Their response was, they typically don't like to do that BUT he could come on the first day to the 3-7 year olds and they would watch how he interacted and they would make the decision then. I thought this was completely fair.

For the first time ever at a kids club, he did NOT want to go and when and if they go is always up to our kids. We asked him to go for 30 minutes just to check it out and we would come and get him if he didn't like it. After 30 minutes we went back to check and he said to come back at the end of the session. Yeah for me!

At the end of the session, the leader said he was welcome to move up to the 8-10 year old group but funny enough, by that point he preferred to stay in the 3-7 group. Apparently since he was the most mature, they used him as the "example" when playing a game and he would often go first since he understood directions best. He thrived on this attention. And had already made a couple of friends. So he stayed in the younger group all week and had a pretty good time.

Vancouver

Original plans had us going to Granville Island and Stanley park but with the new late boarding we basically had an extra day so we put that off a day. The grandparents went on a 13 hour excursion to Victoria and the gardens which they reported back was excellent and they highly recommended (but we knew the kids would never go for that). A little bit of searching and we decided on Grouse Mountain. There is a free shuttle that runs from Canada Place starting at 9 and since we were on East Coast time, we had no problems getting there early for that. There is also a free shuttle from the Hampton to anywhere but you have to meet the driver at 7 am in the hotel lobby to get a spot in line to "schedule" your trip for the day. Oh well. Cab it is. But good to know for the cruise terminal the next day.

Grouse Mountain was a fantastic way to spend 1/2 a day. We went to most of the animal presentations. Thoroughly enjoyed the lumberjack show. And rested a bit in their theater. It was nearly empty when we arrived but packed with people when we left. The weather however caught us off guard. We had jeans, short sleeve shirts and hoodies and at times were freezing. It was low to mid 50s up there with heavy fog. There were still large patches of snow to explore which was mesmerizing to my kids. We opted not to take the ski lift to the top because you could barely see the ski lift.

Back down the mountain to Vancouver and we were tired. The thought crossed our minds just to see a movie. We knew the kids didn't have much left in them and neither did we but we misread the movie options and they weren't playing what we wanted to see. So we enjoyed a walk back to the hotel and some rest there. But first a trip to Costco.

I had it in my mind that with the Costco across the street from the hotel it would be an easy stop to pick up some wine for the cruise but they don't sell wine there!?!? No!!!!! So I'm off on an excursion to find wine. I head to a wine shop about 3 blocks from the hotel and am stunned at the prices. Even with the exchange rate I just can't make myself spend $35 on a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chard that I can get for $9.99 at home - and nothing there was under $25. If I'm going to spend $35 on wine, I decide I'd rather avoid the hassle of having to carry it on and just buy it on the ship for a few bucks more.

Dinner is a quick walk to Yaletown which is hopping to eat at a little greek place that was excellent. Restaurant prices were decent and wine by the glass is about average especially when you factor in the exchange rate.

The next morning we again wake early and repack and leave all our luggage with the hotel and go ahead and check out. We walk about 10 minutes for the ferry which is a trip in itself. Those were fun to ride! We hop over to Granville Island. The kids know that sometimes they must do "our" activities just as we do theirs. My hubby takes them over to the children's market as the rest of us wander through all the buildings. A GREAT way to spend a Saturday morning. We grab lunch at an overpriced but tasty restaurant on the water - though I would have been happy to grab and go from the market (less so from the GPs). There are a few hidden playgrounds we find and a really cool outdoor waterslide and splash park but its too cold. We are in jeans and short sleeves but have our light jackets close at hand and pop them off and on depending on the sun.

Back at the hotel at 1:15 for our 2 pm shuttle (check in doesn't start until 2) but he's early and tells us he's already been there with a load of people and they are checking people in and there is no line. So of course we jump on the bus!!!

One quick note: Yes, I could have walked to Canada place or taken the train but the one place I don't skimp with kids in tow is in transport so we took at cab from the airport and if we hadn't made the shuttle, we would have opted for a cab. My kids carry their own bags but that still would have been a nightmare. AND a long walk.

Next up: Embarkation!

I’ll go into more detail later but the price was cheaper than putting 4 people into 1 balcony and 2 people into another balcony. Granted I booked 15 months out so I didn’t get a good last minute sale or deal but I was trying to fly 6 people on airline points so booking early was crucial to getting low mileage awards. And it came with full suite benefits (or at least as many as I could get out of the room steward but more on that later).

My TA was also able to add the

Sip and sale promo to the fare about 6 months after booking. We opted for OBC (which I didn’t even know was an option) rather than the free beverages. This turned out to be a fantastic option!

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Just off the Star Princess (June 23-June 30) - yes the one right after the Noro scare - and ready to give a review of the good, the bad and a little ugly. I'll go day by day and answer any questions as best I can. These boards are incredibly helpful to me so my only goal is to be helpful to someone else - especially someone who has kids (since there isn't a lot of info about kids and princess). Warning - I don't post pictures - there are enough of those out there. I also don't have the patters or menus but I'm happy to answer questions. I did however save the kids club schedule which I will post once I unearth them from the luggage!

A bit about us - we are a family of 4 (early 40s and 2 boys - 11 and 7) and are well traveled and well cruised but this was our first Princess cruise. We've cruised on long and short itineraries with most of the major lines. We chose our cruise for itinerary, price and activities and aren't loyal to a line. For this trip, we also took my parents who are in their early 70s as a 50th anniversary celebration.

We booked about 15 months out and had all flights, hotels and rental cars booked 9 months out with no issues with availability. We took a chance and booked a family suite for this trip. I had read mixed reviews on this room category and knew I was taking a chance. I think it worked out beautifully but I'll go into more detail later on that.

Day 1 - Vancouver

After a long day of flying and several hours of delays we finally arrived in Vancouver - 2 nights before the cruise. I wanted to have a full day to enjoy Vancouver. We opted to stay at the Hampton Inn across from BC Place. We were using Hilton points and this was my best value for the money since Hampton Inns offer a free breakfast and Hilton properties do not. Hotel was great. Clean, friendly and I actually liked the location. We were a 15 min walk from Gastown and a 10 min walk to Yaletown and right next to all sorts of restaurants. And a 10 min walk to the ferries. We dropped all our luggage and decided we needed some fresh air and set off for Gastown.

Thanks to TripAdvisor, my husband had a few places in mind when we set out but when we arrived at the Local, it was packed at 5:30 and outside and in a prime people watching spot. That's where we opted on a whim to eat. The weather was glorious. The food and service was excellent and they had one of the best beer's I've ever tasted. Fried chicken ramen for the hubs and fish tacos for me. Not another kid in site but they didn't have a problem serving my kids - and we make sure ours are well behaved.

What we wore - I'll try to include this on my reviews as this seems to be the biggest question that anyone asks...We weren't fashionable - we were still in our travel clothes. Knit pants and a 3/4 length knit shirt for me. Shorts and short sleeves for the hubby and boys and a hoodie. Kids got a little chilly.

Normally I would end here but Princess had a surprise for us waiting when we got back to the hotel. There was NORO on the trip before ours so we now had delayed embarkation so they could thoroughly clean the ship. Oh Goodie! Though, I'd much rather be on a super clean ship and Vancouver isn't exactly the worst place in the world to be stuck for a few extra hours. But they only sent an email which I just happened to check because I was waiting to hear about something else back home. No text - even though I had given them my number. And we ran into others who had no clue about the delay.

After a quick trip to my parents room to calm any fears they might have, we started changing our next day's plans to take advantage of all the extra time we had.

Up next - Grouse Mountain!

We did an eastern end cruise with similar ages and it was our best trip yet! I did a review here that specifically focuses on kids:

Connie Review - 11 nite E.Med with 2 kids

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2392798

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I’ve got a family suite booked for

An upcoming cruise on the star. While I can’t comment on the accommodations the price was actually slightly cheaper than booking 2 balconies. (Advance purchase not one of the last minute sales)

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