bigpuma

My wife and I did the same excursion as the video that cmmaxwell03 posted. We have actually done this twice once in 2016 where the service seemed much faster and we got more crab to eat. We did it again in 2022 and we found the service was a bit slower so we were only able to order 1 refill of crab. It was very good both times but I suspect they slowed down the service to save money on crab.  

Interesting, I am booked for May 2022 on Ruby and it used to have Share on my cruise personalizer and it now shows Sabatini's. We were definitely planning to try Share but will definitely go to Sabatini's again. 

My August cruise to Alaska was cancelled on Tuesday so we rebooked for next year and then got the email last night. My TA was able to add it to the booking. Now I have $300 extra to spend on our cruise in 2021. 

A few from our 2 Alaska Cruises

I have a tendency to get sea sick on smaller boats but the 2 times I went Whale Watching in Juneau I never had a problem. The inside passage is well protected so you don't get real bad seas, unless there is bad weather. I agree with others recommending Bonine if you are worried about it.  

We were on Grand last May and they took room cards in exchange for a token at that time.

My wife and I sailed on the Grand this past May to Alaska and did Anytime Dining. We never made a reservation and usually went to dinner between 6-7. We never had to wait for a shared table and they usually had a 20 minute wait for a table for 2. Of course I don't know what would have happened if we showed up with 7 in our party but we were very happy with ATD.

There is a Cuban Consulate in New York that may be able to help you. That said, as someone who worked and lived in South America, you are likely better off paying the $75 and having the cruise line do it for you.

https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of-cuba-in-united-states

Wondering if anyone has used this company and their thoughts.

 

The have excursions on their website that sound good for PV and Mazatlan

 

But wanted some input from others

My wife and I did a small boat whale watch in Juneau last May booked through Shore Excursions group. It was a great tour. Obviously thy book through third parties but it worked out great for us.

Got off the Grand in May and our experience with ATD was if you wanted a table for 2 you might have to wait a few minutes but could walk right in if you wanted to share. About half the nights you could walk in and get a table for 2 without waiting. We never bothered to make a reservation and generally arrived between 5:30 and 7:00.

There is a loading and unloading zone where we grabbed a porter and quickly unloaded our large luggage then jumped back in the car to go to the parking lot. There were a lot of people disembarking so it might have been easier closer to 11 but we didn't have much trouble.

We arrived about 10:15am and there were a lot of people still coming out of the terminal heading home. We easily flagged down a porter to take our bags then headed to the parking garage. It all went very smooth.

Our excursion tickets were delivered to our room when we pre-booked and pre-paid.

The Naturalist works for Princess and gives talks about the various animals and Glaciers on Sea Days in the Theatre. She also did commentary from the bridge that could be heard on deck, in the horizon buffet or on your stateroom TV channel 43. She only did this to point out wildlife coming in to Juneau, after we departed glacier bay (where we saw a bunch of whales), and leaving Victoria.

What you are referring to is the Park Rangers in Glacier Bay National Park. We also had them get on board early and one of them gave commentary as we were in the Bay. I don't know if our Ranger was just better at it but she kept her commentary limited, explaining the history of the Bay, which Glaciers we were seeing, and some info about them. She also was good about being quiet and letting people enjoy the scenery. Other than some of her commentary being a little cheesy I thought she did a real nice job giving info without talking too much.

I started an album on google photo of some of our best photos. I will be adding more in the next few days.

https://goo.gl/photos/6i67G86Bv8Lx7kKq8

Let me try this google animation of several photos of the Margerie Glacier Calving.

https://goo.gl/photos/Kz2Z9bqxheHS4E7m6

Thank you for this! We leave in a few days and are so excited! We would also love to see patters or menus if you have them. Also when were the formal nights? We were hoping to do the ultimate balcony dinner on the first formal night.

 

Can't wait to see the rest of your reviews!

Sorry I didn't keep any patters. I only have the menu for the Chef's table which I will try to post later.

Day 9 Victoria:

We were only in Victoria from 8:00 - 1:30 so we had a somewhat early excursion leaving at 9am for Butchardt and Butterfly gardens. My wife is a pretty good amateur photographer and I also own a camera so we were excited to get to the gardens and check them out. Last time we were in Victoria we didn't do the gardens and regretted it so this time we were on our way. Our driver was very nice and gave us a brief city tour as we headed to the gardens. We first went to the Butterfly garden and saw all of the amazing butterflies plus a couple of turtles and iguanas. After spending about 45 minutes there we headed to Butchardt. These gardens really are quite amazing. We only had 90 minutes but we managed to see every garden and get a lot of photos in that time but it required a pretty good pace. After exploring the gardens we got back on the bus and made it back to the ship around 1:15, just in time to get on board before we left to head back to San Francisco. The rest of our day was spent in our usual way of relaxing, having some drinks, and eating well in the dining room.

Day 10 At Sea:

This was our day of depression as we realized our cruise would soon end :( , but we managed to have fun and relax anyway. We spent the day eating in the dining room, trying our hand at trivia (badly), and enjoying that sip n sail promotion. :D, Eventually the day ended with us packing our bags and putting them out and getting one last drink in the bar before heading to bed and back to reality the next morning.

Disembarkation:

Not much to say here really other than everything went smooth for the most part. We woke up on the early side packed up our carry ons and headed to the dining room around 7:30a for breakfast. After breakfast we headed to the Explorers lounge for our color and number to be called. It was called a little ahead of schedule around 9:25am and we grabbed our stuff and headed off the ship. After a short wait in line we got through customs, found our bags, and headed to the pick up area where I left my wife with our ridiculous amount of luggage. Grabbed the car and headed back to pick her up. Other than some annoying individuals who don't seem to get the concept of a pick up area and loitered in there cars slowing me down, we got out of there by 10:30 and were headed home.

Overall:

The cruise was just amazing. We only had a minor hiccup with our Sip n Sail issue but that was all worked out in time. Everyone gave really good service including our state room attendant who took care of all of our needs throughout the cruise. We got to know a couple of the bartenders who also took good care of us.

Entertainment:

Not much caught our eye on the patter as far as entertainment. We did catch a couple of the comedians during the cruise, one was funny the other was just ok. We really did just enjoy a relaxing vacation either hanging out in a lounge, enjoying a drink, or sitting on our balcony looking for wildlife. We also tried to hit up the trivia sessions whenever possible as well.

Naturalist:

Another great feature on Princess, especially in Alaska, was their naturalist guide. We had Gloeta who gave talks on various Sea Days about Whales, Orcas, Bears, and Glaciers. We tried to attend her talks whenever we could although a couple times we missed them. They were always replayed on the TV in the stateroom so we could catch up on them then.

I will find a way to share our numerous photos from the trip and post them in the meantime if you have any questions I will do my best to answer.

ETA: oops I mis numbered my days starting with Ketchikan and it is too late to edit.

Day 6 Ketchikan:

Ketchikan was another full day for us. The weather turned bad and it was cold and raining pretty good most of the day. We scheduled the Wilderness Cruise and Crab Feed through Princess for the afternoon. In the morning we decided to head into the town and look around the shops and ended up at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center so we checked it out. After getting rained on pretty good we headed back on the ship for lunch and to get ready for our excursion. We also ended up changing clothes after getting soaked waiting to get back on the ship while getting rained on.

After a quick break on the ship to get dry we headed back out into the weather to find out bus. The excursion was quite simply excellent. We boarded our bus and headed about 30 minutes south to the George Inlet Lodge. When we arrived we were directed to our boat that was covered and protected. The only problem with the boat was that due to weather it was very difficult to see out. The boat took us on a short cruise where our tour guide explained what was around and a little history of Salmon fishing in Alaska. They had 2 TV screens where she showed pictures and a couple short videos. Then we headed to where they had placed some Dungeness crab pots and demonstrated how they pull in the pots and we got to see the dozen crabs that were caught. After each person took a picture holding a crab the tour guide released all of the crabs and re set the pot and we headed back to the lodge.

At the lodge we were treated to an all you can eat dungeness crab feast. The staff was really nice and they made sure we always had crabs on our plates. I had to tell them to stop after eating my weight in crab dipped in butter. Then it was back to the ship and on our way to Victoria. Once again we changed our wet clothes got ready for dinner then continued our tradition of eating well and hitting various bars/lounges for drinks.

Day 7 at Sea

Another lazy day at Sea where we slept in and hung out around the ship and participated in trivia and other lazy activities. That night we also had the Chef's Table so we made sure only to eat a late breakfast/early lunch and nothing else all day.

Chef's Table:

4 years ago when we cruised from Seattle to Alaska on Royal Caribbean we also did the Chef's table and really enjoyed it so we were looking forward to Princess' version. We all met on Deck 5 by the International Cafe and were guided to the Galley for a short tour and a series of incredible Hors D'oeuvres including questions and answers with the Head Chef. The Hors D'oeuvres included a fish/avacado ceviche with lobster, steak tartar and Foi Gras served in what I can only describe as Ice Cream Cone looking pastry, quiche, and caviar served on mashed potato and sour cream. My descriptions don't really do it justice but everything was just fantastic and looked amazing. After the series of Hors D'oeuvres, served with champagne of course, we headed down to the Michelangelo Dining Room where they had a section set up for us. Again the maitre'd Hotel, Head Chef, and other waiters took excellent care of us. We then had sea food risotto with langostino, and a trio of Veal Shank, Lobster tail, and london broil. Finally we had a wonderful dessert. I will add the menu later when I get a chance.

By the time dinner was over it was getting late and we decided to knock off early since we had scheduled an excursion the next morning.

We leave on this cruise June 10. Could someone who was on this voyage please tell us what nights were formal?

 

Was it first or second sea day going and first sea day (glacier day) or second day (before Victoria) returning?

Formal nights were the 2nd Sea Day and Victoria. We left Victoria around 2pm so it was a good night for it.

On with the review. After shopping in Juneau we headed back on to the ship and our usual routine of eating in the dining room and hanging out and having drinks. We really didn't take part in much of the entertainment other than going to the various trivia sessions on board. Also as someone had mentioned Juneau was very warm. Probably 75 degrees so we were wearing t-shirts on our Whale Watching and enjoyed the sun.

Day 5: Skagway

We could never decide what to do in Skagway so we ended up just walking around the town and doing a bit of shopping. Once again it was unseasonably warm although not as warm as Juneau. We took the train 4 years ago which I would highly recommend but since we had done it already we didn't bother this time. The town is nice and we ended up heading back to the ship for lunch and a lazy afternoon. That evening we made an impromptu decision to try the Crown Grill for dinner. Since we were in port until 8pm we didn't need a reservation when we stopped by at 6. The food at the Crown Grill was exceptional but I filled up on the soup and appetizers and couldn't finish my steak. :D oh well everything was awesome. After dinner we again slipped into our routine of hanging out at different bars.

Day 6: Glacier Bay National Park

This was definitely one of the reasons we booked this itinerary. Last time we cruised to Alaska we did the Tracy Arm so I was very excited to see Glacier Bay. We woke up early and ordered breakfast in the room with the plan of looking for wildlife. Didn't see much from my balcony that morning so I headed up to the deck to check out the views. Got up there just as we were passing Reid Glacier and a little bit later we got to Margerie Glacier where we spent about an hour. The ship moved slowly toward the Glacier with it on the Port side and stopped for probably 30 minutes. I got a lot of good photos of the glacier from the deck then sat at the bar on deck while taking in the beauty. As the ship started rotating to put the glacier on the starboard side we decided to head down to our room and check it out from the balcony so we wouldn't have to compete for deck space. Got a bunch more photos before we started heading out to see another glacier. After leaving the last glacier we headed for lunch. Most of the afternoon we spend hanging out on our balcony looking for wildlife. We were rewarded as we passed near Hoonah and saw a bunch of Humback Whales. In fact one such Whale came up for a breath within what seemed like 15 feet of the cruise ship. I heard a loud noise as it blew near the front of the ship so I looked down to see the Humpback float past the ship just below my balcony. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera ready at the time. After that we went back to our normal routine of hanging out and getting dinner.

Thanks for the review. Our roll call only has 9 members. We are slow. Question we are coming from Los Banos and will come down the 101. I want to beat rush hour, but I also want to get on early so we can book the chefs table. What time did you leave your house to get to the pier? Did you hit rush hour? Also did you prepay parking? We also got the sip and sail promo. Hope we don't have problems.

Thanks.

We live in Morgan Hill so we left our house around 8:30 and took 85 to 280. Just hit a bit of traffic on the 85/280 exchange otherwise it moved pretty well. We pre-paid parking at 55 Francisco and it was a good thing we did. The garage was full and they weren't letting anyone without a pre-paid reservation park.

Day 4: Juneau 1:30 - 10pm

Juneau started out as another lazy morning having breakfast in our room and looking for wildlife as we sailed through the inside passage. Once we got to Juneau we got off the ship around 2:15 and headed to our Whale Watching excursion. We booked a small boat Whale Watching through our travel agent and we ended up on a boat with 6 people including ourselves. The trip was awesome with about 2.5 hours on the water. We saw Humpbacks, Eagles, Dall's Porpoises, Sea Lions, and the best was we got to see a pod of Orcas. I will try to post photos later and I figure out how.

After Whale Watching we got back to the port around 6:30 and decided to do a little shopping before heading back to the ship.

Not sure why my photos are not showing, I am trying to post from google photos.

Anyway I shall continue and try to fix the photos later.

After sail away we headed to the dining room for dinner. We had anytime dining and after reading here we were concerned about getting a table. However we never had a problem getting a table any time we walked into the dining room as long as we were willing to share a table of 6 or 8. We enjoyed getting to know our fellow passengers and the food in the dining room was always very good.

After dinner we hung out in a few of the bars and headed to bed early.

Day 2: At Sea

The first Sea day we got up and headed to the buffet for some breakfast. Unfortunately we found the food in the buffet to be lacking so we only ended up eating there 1 more time the entire cruise. After breakfast we headed up to the One5 lounge where jigger_b had organized a meet and greet for us cruise critic folks. We must have had 50 of us at the meet and greet and we were even treated to a visit and Q&A session with the Captain and other officers. Thanks again jigger_b for setting all that up.

After the meet and greet we had a leisurely lunch and again met up with our cruise critic friends for a Cabin Crawl and Poker Run. It was great seeing all of the different cabin types from ocean view to the Penthouse suite. I thought I had a great hand for the poker run with a 7 high to win the lowball prize but I was beaten by several others. :D

After the cabin crawl we relaxed most of the day at Crooners or wheel house or Vista either having a drink, eating, or trying our hand at trivia.

Day 3: At Sea

Not much to add here we again spent the day eating, having drinks, and relaxing watching the waves go by. What was remarkable was how calm the water was with 1-2 foot waves the first 2 sea days. It was like sailing on the Caribbean. That evening they had the Crab Shack so we signed up and enjoyed an incredible amount of King Crabs and other Sea Food. I highly recommend the Crab Shack if you haven't done it. It was a blast and the food was very good.

more to come

Overview:

My wife and I got married last June on a Carnival cruise with my 2 kids and some of my family. We decided we wanted to return to Alaska and do another cruise for our Honeymoon. We picked this cruise because it leaves from San Francisco and we live in the Bay Area. This was our first Princess Cruise and I was looking forward to trying Princess, especially in Alaska. We had previously sailed on Royal Caribbean out of Seattle to Alaska 4 years ago.

Embarkation:

Leaving from San Francisco Pier 27 was was easy and convenient for us. We drove up in the morning and I dropped off my wife and our luggage at the pier a little after 10am. I then drove to the parking lot at 55 Francisco dropped off the car and walked back. It is a fairly short walk and very easy. After checking in we waited for the ship to board.

Around noon they called our boarding number so we headed to our room to drop off our carry ons and headed to the dining room for lunch. We had booked last summer during the Sip and Sail Promotion but our sticker was not on our cards so we headed to guest services to get it fixed. Unfortunately this took several days to rectify so we had to purchase the AIBP package but eventually this was fixed and we were refunded. This was the only hiccup on the cruise so no big deal.

Shortly after we headed to the muster drill and a little after 5 we set sail for Alaska.

Passing Alcatraz

Sailing by the Golden Gate:

More to come: