kayaker35

We did a 15-day Alaska Connoisseur Cruisetour with Princess in August of last year. Eight days on land and the 7-night cruise. Started in Fairbanks and cruised out of Whittier to Vancouver. Denali was awesome! We were able to clearly see the mountain, which is often shrouded in clouds, and lots and lots of wildlife. With the Connoisseur option there were several excursions included in the package, and most meals. The meals at the Princess lodges were outstanding, as were the accommodations, We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, which was made all the more fun by our tour guide, Matt. I would highly recommend Princess for Alaska, and also highly recommend the Connoisseur option. They really took care of everything, making it stress-free travel.

Karen

I agree.

 

It's a shame after the Wonder dry docks she will resemble the Magic more.

 

ex techie

My thoughts exactly! Will be sailing on her for the third time in March. I hope we won't be disappointed in the "reimagination." Sometimes leaving well enough alone is the better option. Nice to know that Cadillac Lounge remains, but hope it won't be too glitzy now.

This was an excellent review. So comprehensive. I've got it printed out to read again between now and when we sail on the Star for our 15-day Connoiseur Cruisetour in August. We'll be doing the same itinerary as you.... land first followed by the cruise.... so your review was particularly appropriate.

We've done two Alaska cruises, but this will be our first one with the land portion. We'll be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in November, and thought an Alaska cruise would be a great way to do it. We'll be traveling with two other couples. It should be a great time.

Thanks again! Now I'm even more excited about our trip.... if that was even possible!

Karen

We were on the same sailing, his name is Gustaaf Verhulst.:)

Captain Guus took over for Captain Fabian (who was on bereavement leave) on our Panama Canal Cruise September 2014. He was fantastic.... so personable, and made himself available for photos and autographs on a regular basis, even though we had quite a memorable cruise.... dodging both Hurricane Odile and Tropical Storm Pollo, as well as another unnamed tropical depression. I would be happy to sail with Captain Guus again!

We watched The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything on the Caribbean Princess on our March 7-14 cruise. Also playing: The Giver, The Best of Me, The Hunger Games Mockingjay-Part 1, and The Grand Seduction. There were also Billy Joel and Paul McCartney concerts on MUTS as well.

Karen in Maine

Well that sounds very reasonable then - patience is a virtue!! :)

 

I am also very interested if anyone has any 'thoughts' on the Alaska cruises through Princess - like a preferred Princess Ship to see this part of the world? - we are looking at early May 2016. Hubby and I are arriving into Vancouver on 6th May 2016 - arriving by Celebrity Solstice from Sydney. I am keen to do Alaska by Princess as I have heard they offer the better itineraries. Thanks again for all your help :) Vicki.

My husband I, along with another couple, are planning to take a Princess Alaska Cruisetour in 2016. We're eagerly awaiting the release of the Alaska schedule. We're hoping Sitka will be on one or more itineraries.

We took a 7-night Alaska cruise on the Sapphire Princess in August 2013. The only other Princess ship we've been on is the Ruby. While both ships were lovely, the Ruby did not have full-length loungers on the Promenade deck as the Sapphire had. Since We enjoy relaxing on the Promenade, we were disappointed. for that reason, the Sapphire is my favorite of those two ships. We'll be sailing on the Caribbean Princess in March. Looking forward to seeing that ship.

Alaska is so spectacular, It probably doesn't matter which ship you're on. We also did a Disney Alaska cruise right after the Princess one. Both were wonderful experiences...... And the Disney Wonder had full-length loungers :)

Karen

This is exactly what my husband and I need to do in March when we take a Princess cruise out of Port Everglades. We plan to rent a car after the cruise, and having a shuttle to the car pick-up point will make it that much easier. We need to be in Port Canaveral the next day for a Disney cruise with the family. There are several rental car companies that will shuttle us from their drop-off points to Port Canaveral the next day. It's all coming together :)

Karen in Maine

Being disconnected from the "real world" is the best thing of all! Strolling the Promenade with my honey, browsing the Horizon Court buffet (yum), warm cookies and cold milk in the Piazza, fabulous International Cafe, line dancing classes...such a hoot, trivia, sitting out on our balcony with a glass of wine in the afternoon.

The best thing of all is not having to do a thing if you don't want to! "Escape Completely" and "Come Back New." Says it all.

Karen

We were on a B2B Caribbean cruise on the Ruby in March. The bed was very comfortable. It had a pillow top on it. Pillows were also very squishy and comfortable. Our stateroom was A636.

We like a firm mattress, so perhaps what would seem comfortable to us would be "concrete" to someone else. Nonetheless, we slept like babies. Loved the beds.

Karen

Just another idea--there is always hot water in the horizon buffett. I take several kinds of starbicjs via etc and my own travel mug and go from there. Now yes I will treat myself to the IC every now and then but I LOVE coffee and the costs even with a coffee card could be alot.

Excellent suggestion! I love the IC coffee, and would purchase the Cafe Selects card reglardless, but for the dining room, the Via coffee would be preferable to the concentrate. I'll have to buy a selection before the next cruise. We always bring our mugs on cruises. Nice to have an insulated mug to carry when strolling the promenade.

Karen

We were on the Ruby in March for a B2B Caribbean cruise. She's a gorgeous ship! We loved every moment of our time on her. So much so that we'll be sailing on her again in November 2015 to Hawaii.... can't wait! I loved the Piazza. Beautiful, and fun to sit there with a cup of specialty coffee from the IC, or the warm cookies and milk distributed in the afternoon.... or a glass of wine.... and enjoy the fun entertainment there.

Our stateroom was aft, and we were just two decks down from the Horizon Court, also aft, which was my second favorite place on the ship :).

I can't think of anything to dislike about the Ruby. The crew was super, the beds comfortable, the food delicious. Can't forget the scrumptious pizza and the soft-serve ice cream.

I can't think of a thing I didn't like about the Ruby.

Karen

Bedding is like food (very subjective). We were on a Ruby B2B in February (minis E731 and E729) and both had the 'new' pillow top mattress and comfortable pillows. We'll be on E731 again in October and are looking forward to it!

We were on a B2B on the Ruby in March and also found the bed and pillows very comfy. We like a firm mattress, so perhaps that's why. The pillow top gave it just enough "give" to make us feel we were sleeping on a cloud. Of course, the gentle movement of the ship didn't hurt :). Slept like a baby!

If I could, I'd LIVE on a cruise ship... preferably the Sapphire, but the Ruby would be second choice.... only because on the Sapphire we had full-length loungers on the Promenade, but on the Ruby on lounge chairs... no place to put our feet up.

Karen

We use the coffee card but we also drink the reg coffee in the DR, its fine for us.

I loved the specialty coffees, and my hubby got a fresh-brewed whenever I got mine when we were sitting in the Piazza. It was heaven. We also drank the DR coffee with no problems. I take my coffee with cream, so maybe that makes what others find objectionable more drinkable. While it would be nice to have fresh-brewed coffee everywhere on the ship, I can see the problem of having to keep it available. Using the concentrate is a lot less labor-intensive.

Highly recommend the coffee card, though. I didn't use all my punches on our last cruise, so I'll be using them up, plus purchasing a new one on our next one :)

Karen

Hello,

Please could someone tell me what the Expresso Card is. It appears you can buy 14 or so beverages with it for 29.99 dollars. Any more info would be appreciated. Just three weeks to go before our Caribbean Cruise on Caribbean Princess.

Thank You Susan

:)

I bought the card on our Caribbean cruise on the Ruby in March. You save over buying the coffees individually, and as has been said the unused punches can be used on a future cruise. I thoroughly enjoyed the specialty coffee drinks I had, and each time got a brewed regular coffee for free for my hubby, who doesn't care for the specialty coffees. Sitting in the Piazza sipping a latte or cappuccino is my idea of living :) We're taking a Hawaii cruise November of 2015. I'll use the rest of my punches then.

Have a GREAT cruise!

Karen

 

.....Sorry you had a problem with dcl rebooking onboard. You may like to try RCCL or Celebrity' date=' or even the American River Cruise line with their stern wheeler, the American Queen! Please stay away from Carnival, there is still to many safely issues with many of their vessels.

 

What ever you do, enjoy your cruises!:D

 

 

AKK[/quote']

 

Yes, it was unfortunate, as well as surprising. I was flabbergasted that DCL would make a mistake and then refuse to correct it, lol. We had a wonderful Alaska cruise, however. I don't fault anything that happened on the cruise itself. It was the inattention to detail of the future cruise desk that caused the problem, and that wasn't discovered until after we returned home and found out the future cruise we booked had been entered incorrectly. Customer Service was of no help. As a result, the cruise was canceled by Disney, along with the OBB discount and OBC offered. We decided to cancel a Disney cruise we had already booked for March 2014 to the Caribbean, and booked with Princess instead. We took a Princess AK cruise just before the Disney one, and got nothing but positive vibes from them. We'll give DCL another chance in September 2014 when we cruise the Panama Canal on the Wonder. We'll probably try the OBB again as well, to book a cruise we'll be taking with the family in 2015. Hopefully they'll do a better job of it. If not, it may be the end of DCL for us!

 

Customer service can make or break a company. In our case, the lack of it caused DCL to lose a booked cruise. No skin off their nose, I'm sure, but it made us feel better, lol.

 

I can forgive a mistake, but not the unwillingness of the company to correct it. That's just plain dumb on their part!

 

I'm willing to pay a premium if I think I'm getting a premium product. Disney's success is due to the premium product they've always delivered. They need to pay attention to the little things, or they're going to lose in the end. I haven't given up on them yet, but a little bit of the Pixie Dust has been taken away.

......... If people decide they are not getting the *magic*' date=' Disney may as well just become a, cheap movie company, 6 flags park company or a UNI thrill park company or a Carnival Line, because people will not pay the extra anymore.[/color']

 

AKK

Absolutely right! My husband and I are a case in point. We went on a DCL Alaska cruise last month. Because of a less-than-magical experience with their on board booking of a future cruise, we are rethinking our loyalty to DCL.

That said, DCL does offer a quality product that makes cruising fun for the whole family. Their entertainment, especially, is outstanding. Our first Disney cruise, last November, was with our children and grandchildren, and we couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable experience. Our grandchildren, especially, were enchanted.

I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid DCL, but after our recent experience, unless we have our grandchildren with us, we'll be looking more to value in the future.

One more thing...

 

with the other lines, it always seems like the service is over on the last day, they are busy cleaning/preping for the next guests.

 

We didn't experience that with Disney. The service was just as good the moment we step on till the moment we stepped off.

 

It was great not feeling let down or rushed or like 'time's up'.

We didn't find any difference between DCL and Princess in that regard. The service level was the same level throughout the whole cruise. On DCL we did get those cute little character tags for our luggage, rather than generic colored tags. :) The last night on both was pretty much the same, with the instructions on getting your luggage out in the hall by a certain time so it could be off-loaded in the morning :(

The magic is pretty much gone when you go to bed on the night before disembarking. Breakfast the last day, whether at the buffet or in the dining room, is pretty much a downer!

We where on the Sapphire twice in 2011. At that time, the special item was not posted and all four were available. The special dish in Vivaldi was Osso Buco. They may have changed their practice last year, but that was our experience in 2011.

Were all four available in all four restaurants? Thye only told us about one in each restaurant we visited. We didn't go to Vivaldi as we ate earlier than Vivaldi opened to Anytime diners.

It's been about 18 months since I was on the Sapphire & as I recall the nightly "special" was the same in each MDR & it would be listed on the menu shown outside of each dining room. It was fajitas, Asian noodles, pork chop & a 4th entree that I don't recall. :o

Hmmm. Here I thought they at least made the special fit the theme of the restaurant... guess not! It was just coincidental that I hit the fajitas in Santa Fe, the Asian noodles in Pacific Moon, and the pork chop in Savoy. I stand corrected. Seems odd they wouldn't simply put the things on the menus you get when you sit down if they're the same in each restaurant. One of life's little mysteries I guess :)

Based on what I've read that was how they originally operated before changing to the current system.

 

Each dining room has it's own specialty dish but have read they can also be ordered in the other MDRs.

In each dining room our server simply told us what the special dish was. I don't know how I would have known what the special dishes were in the other restaurants, unless he would have told us if asked. I'm not complaining, as we were more than satisfied with the menus. On DCL the menus are the same in all the restaurants. I suppose that's pretty standard. I can understand the logistic challenges of feeding that many people every day.

This is such a great thread! We were on a 7-night Alaska cruise last month, and I managed to only gain three pounds..... considered myself exceedingly lucky, since I ate my way through the cruise, lol.

Totally agree with the posters who loved the pizza.... magnificent on the Sapphire last month.... We had it on Lido deck..... soooo yummy with the thin crust. I could have eaten it morning, noon, and night, but there were so many other things to try!

The tiramisu and creme brulee were wonderful. It was "unfortunate" that creme brulee was one of the always-available options, because it kept me from trying some of the other desserts that I've seen mentioned and pictured here. Next time!

I didn't see anybody talk about the chicken fajitas at the Santa Fe dining room. That was a restaurant-specific dish, and they were great.

If I could change anything about the dining on the Sapphire I would wish that the dining rooms had menus that reflected their names.... Pacific Moon, Savoy, and Santa Fe. While the food was excellent, and they did each have an entree that was specific to them, I would have liked more dishes that reflected their suggested theme.

I'm taking notes on what to try when we sail on the Ruby Princess in March of next year. Can't WAIT!!

Thank you so much for your totally engaging review and spectacular photos! My husband and I sailed southbound on the Sapphire August 3-10. Seeing your pictures made me feel homesick for those gorgeous views :(

Your comments on the Alaska Transfer and Conservation Tour made me chuckle. We had the same trip in reverse, from Anchorage to Whittier. Our "tour guide" was a bit more informed and personable than yours, but still not quite what we had expected. Seeing the "wildlife" at the conservation center was a bit of a prelude to the real thing. When we stopped at Beluga Point it was raining and windy, so we only stayed there for about 5 minutes.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Sapphire, and would love to sail on her again. We definitely want to return to Alaska one day... perhaps we'll do a land tour to Denali before the cruise next time around.

Thanks again!

 

You do not need to have kids to go Disney cruising. In fact, it's quite fun to point them out in their ruffly sparkling princess outfits (is it sad that I wish they came in my size...) and then run along to the adults only areas.

 

It's a blast. No kiddies needed either.

 

Harumph.

I totally agree! We loved seeing the little ones dressed up.... and we enjoyed seeing them greeting the characters. Disney is for the young and the young at heart... no children required. While going with grandchildren did add to the fun. they weren't required :)

Adam Carolla was on your cruise? It looks like he made Admiral.

LOL... I KNEW he looked familiar :D. That was the Royal Palace dining room.... the servers dressed the part.

Forget the cutting up of the steak. Angel who was our server on the Dream (b2b) a couple of years ago actually fed our youngest dinner a couple of times.

 

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ANGEL!!!! She was one of our servers when we took a Bahamas cruise on the Dream last November. She lived up to her name! Here's a picture of our crew with our servers from that cruise:

She playfully fed my grandson when he didn't clean his plate. She would make a heart sign with her arms above her head. What a sweetheart! We all loved her!! If we sail on the dream again I will make sure to ask for her if she's still on the ship!

Karen