Cahroozer

We haven't been on Princess since 2009. We will be doing the Alaska cruise tour in August. Hope to not have any problems with disembarking. For many years we have done the self-disembark on other cruise lines and have not had any problems. Hopefully, we won't encounter any problems doing this with Princess in Vancouver.

Self-embark seems smart. However, in my experience the problem was not getting off the ship or locating luggage, but what happened after that. You may want to be prepared to opt for a taxi to the airport so that you'll have more control over the transportation. If you're among the first to leave the Princess ship you might avoid the large crowds. But the lines for the shuttle also included HAL passengers, and they may already be in line when you get there.

Think that they meant going "back out" of their Cabin

Thanks for clearing up my slip ... yes, we went back out of the cabin for muster, which was held inside.

Just returned from from a wonderful Alaskan cruise that followed a Princess land tour. This was our first Princess experience and we found a lot to like about it.

However, getting on the ship in Whittier and off in Vancouver were dreadful experiences. We arrived at Whittier on the very, very slow Princess train late in the day, having started our bus/train journey at 10:30 a.m. at the McKinley Lodge. By 7 p.m. we were among hundreds of people still in line waiting for security clearance, although the ship was to sail at 8. Once we got aboard about 7:25, we had to then go back out and participate in the safety drill from 7:45 to 8:10. Then we could start to unpack and eat.

The mess at the Vancouver port almost made me miss my plane. Perhaps i was expecting too much, but I was surprised it took two hours and 15 minutes from the time we walked off the ship at 8 a.m., the earliest possible disembarkation time, until we could enter the airport in town. Getting off the ship and finding the luggage was smooth. But getting people on shuttle buses and to the airport was disorganized. Those managing the crowd acted as if they had never done this before, and were confused, although I admit that we actually benefited from their lack of skill and our line was moved ahead faster. If not, I would have missed the plane without a doubt since I was initially denied check-in. Good grief, don't these people do this several times a week?

It also took the woman in charge of loading our bus 15 or 20 minutes to board the people waiting to get on. She was overwhelmed and upset, worried that too many people might get on, so she only let a few at a time board. She was literally shouting at people to back up and wait.

I would recommend that travelers disembarking in Vancouver take a look at the lines and consider a taxi rather than the Princess shuttle if you have any doubts.

However, we found the rest of the cruise delightful for the most part. We both remarked that the food was excellent and the staff was wonderful. We were surprised at how speedy room service was ... we joked that they were probably already standing in the hallway when we called for coffee in the morning. The dining room staff was great until the last night, when inexplicably the service just completely fell apart. It didn't help that the table next to us was populated with drunken people whose uproarious dinner was being egged on by a waiter doing an off-color dance with a napkin and a spoon at his waist. Very strange.

We really liked the live music in the atrium and we liked the way the ship was decorated. Waitresses in the lounges were warm and welcoming. I sought out one of them and made sure I gave her an extra tip and a hug on the last night. Our steward was also one of the best we've ever had.

We found the minisuite to be much smaller than the junior suites on RC, which we're used to. Having two TVs in such a small room that could use more shelf space is odd. They put a full sofa in the room, which also seemed to take up extra space. The Horizon buffet was smaller than we have seen before. The breakfast menu for room service was also more limited. The Island Princess is somewhat smaller - 1,900 passengers I believe - and so it seemed a bit scaled down in several ways. The entertainment wasn't terribly good, but a ship that size may also have a reduced budget for such things.

Nevertheless, this ship gave us a very good experience in many ways and we especially appreciated the staff and the food.