Just off the Sea Princess......

[laura1960]

....and had a fabulous time! She is a beautiful ship with a wonderful staff and we were sorry to leave her. We just got off Monday on a 10-day cruise to Alaska.

I have always gotten a ton of information from Cruise Critic, and I'd be happy to answer any questions about the ship or the ports. Here are a few thoughts, and feel free to ask away. I have some good things to say, and a few not-so-good, but really, it was a great cruise.

 

THE SHIP itself: As I said, a gorgeous, albeit older and smaller ship. There's not a thing wrong with her. Sure, I've seen some horrible reviews about her, as I've seen on pretty much every ship I've ever sailed, but this did not deter us. I did see a worn tablecloth or two, and a food stain on one of the walls in the dining room (horrors!), and our shower had a piece of chipped paint on the floor. Does this mean the ship is old, shoddy and ready for retirement? Hardly. She has many, many more years of sailing in her. Staff was always cleaning keeping her in tip-top shape.

 

THE CREWMEMBERS: They get an A! Friendly but not overzealous, lots of fun, and incredibly helpful and polite.

 

THE ACTIVITIES: Lots to keep us occupied. We really enjoyed the Morning and Afternoon trivia, the live music, the shows (especially the British Invasion and Piano Man), the magician, etc. I really enjoyed the lectures by the naturalist, Alan Cortash --- very informative. We traveled with our 3 kids, ages 17, 13 and 11, and they all had a good time on the cruise. They said they thought maybe the kids activities were slightly better on Carnival, which we have sailed in the past, but they were younger then...now they're older and more cynical and more inclined to think of stuff as "lame," especially if their unhip parents suggest it. But they all ended up making lots of friends and hanging around with them.

 

The FOOD. Hmmm, this is where it gets mixed reviews. I thought some dishes in the main dining room were quite bland, indeed, while others were good, and a few were really outstanding. Just depended on what you ordered and your personal preferences. I thought some of the vegetarian dishes were very creatively prepared and delicious. I learned something about the meat: they tend to overcook it. So if you like your meat, say, medium rare, order it rare....and it will be perfect. Most of the desserts were lovely!

As for the buffet, meh. Just so-so. Heard horror stories about it, but it really wasn't THAT bad. Just not very impressive. We did a few breakfasts in here. Hash browns were weird, hockey-puck shaped mush. Waffle station was good. Burgers at the Riviera Grill were yummy.

I liked the pizza at Cafe Corniche, DH hated it.

The one thing that was consistently bad was the coffee. Tastes like Sanka (granted, if Sanka is your thing, knock yourself out. You'll be very happy here). We bought a coffee card and were much happier.

 

ANYTIME DINING: Again, we heard horror stories of AD on this ship, long waits, et al. Did not see this at all. Sometimes we dined early, like before 6, other times around 7-7:30. No problem. It could have been that we were a party of 5, and the people who had to wait were parties of 2. We always enjoy sharing a table when we can, and met some lovely people. We were seated one night at a larger table, and they sat another couple with us. Well, she took one look at the kids, who were sitting there nicely eating their rolls, and demanded to be seated elsewhere. Worked well for us, as then they seated us with a GREAT couple who we really enjoyed talking with, and they chatted amiably with the kids. They also complimented us on how nicely behaved they were.

 

THE DREADED NOROVIRUS: For the people who have been following the cases of norovirus on this ship and have come to the conclusion that Princess is being lax in cleaning and disinfecting the ship, rest assured: that is NOT the case. They are always cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and there are hand sanitizers everywhere, and I saw most people using them. They are SO serious about the spread of norovirus, that they quarantined our daughter for 24 hours.

We rented a car in Skagway, and drove up to Carcross and Emerald Lake for the day. Had a late lunch at a cafe, where daughter had a greasy burger. We got dressed for dinner, and Hannah informs us as we had a late lunch, she wasn't ready for dinner yet, so she wanted to hang out in the cabin, and would eat later that evening. Fine with us. Then the greasy burger sort of disagreed with her, and the cabin steward came in to clean the room. "Aren't you going to dinner?" he asked. "No, I'm feeling kind of under the weather right now, and I'll go to dinner later."

Was there diarrhea, he inquired, and she embarrassingly admitted yes, a little. But she really felt fine in the long run. No fever, no nausea, no cramps, no vomiting.

Well, from then on, it was like she announced she was carrying typhoid. Cabin steward called the medical center, who then called Hannah, and sent someone with a long questionnaire. Then, several men came with masks and protective gear and completely disinfected the cabin. Medical center called her several times to follow her progress.

Quarantine stayed in place for 24 hours, even though an hour or two after she admitted to diarrhea to the cabin steward, she felt good and was hungry, raring to go, even. Ordered some food from room service and did just great.

She was upset, because she missed seeing Tracy Arm and the glacier, but I told her they were just doing their jobs, and they were taking the threat of norovirus seriously. It was unfortunate, but necessary. We don't bear any ill will to Princess.

 

THE PASSENGERS: Really, a mixed lot. Families, elderly people, 20-somethings, folks (like us in their 40s or 50s), multigenerational family reunions, etc. A HUGE portion of the passengers on this sailing were from California, especially Northern California. Active people who went glacier trekking during the day, dancing at night, elderly people who would just sit by a window and enjoy the lovely views. And there was one couple....maybe in their 70s or 80s who were just non-stop dancers. They were delightful to watch.

 

THE CABINS: On the small side. Granted, we had two CICs (Cheapskate Inside Cabins) because we wanted to spend the money on the excursions, rather than a room. However, despite their tiny size, they were well-appointed. Lots of closet and cabinet space, and the mini-fridge was really nice to store the diet Cokes we brought along with us.

 

Well, this is getting far too long...I will get to the ports later. If you have any questions about the ship, fire away. I'd be more than happy to answer.

[aussie57]

Thanks for the great review Laura - looking forward to Sea Princess to NZ out of Sydney in Nov & glad to hear you had a wonderful cruise.

[nycruiser80]

Great review! I enjoyed reading it. I was on the sailing before yours. Did you guys get to leave on time from SF because we were an hour an 1/2 late coming in the day you left which was 7/29?

 

So true about the reviews of Sea Princess. I read negative reviews in the review section before I left about how the Sea Princess was in such horrible conditions! As I said in my review, she is not a new ship but she is not run down! A little wear and tear is normal the ship does carry thousands of passengers each cruise. In any case Sea Princess is a nicely sized ship.

[laura1960]

Well, more or less on time. First they told us to come to the pier at 1. Then, when the engine troubles happened, they said 4:30 for our cabin group. Then they said 2:30. I think everyone was on board and we set sail around 4ish or 5ish. (I don't know, I lose all sense of time on a cruise, and that's as it should be!)

I enjoyed your review too, nycruiser!

[nycruiser80]

Well, more or less on time. First they told us to come to the pier at 1. Then, when the engine troubles happened, they said 4:30 for our cabin group. Then they said 2:30. I think everyone was on board and we set sail around 4ish or 5ish. (I don't know, I lose all sense of time on a cruise, and that's as it should be!)

I enjoyed your review too, nycruiser!

 

Thank you! I know what you mean I loose sense of days. If it wasn't for the ship's news letter I would forget what day it is. I'm glad your sailing wasn't affected much with the engine issue. It seems the Sea Princess is running late to their 1st port on the current sailing (according to a poster), they are saying it is sea related so hopefully it isn't an engine issue.

[Kelmart]

Thanks "Laura1960" for your review. It was very helpful. We are going out of S.F. to Alaska this Sunday (8/28). So you were able to bring soda with you and it was okay? Do you or anyone know how we can check to see if our cruise is going to be ontime?

[laura1960]

Thanks, so glad you liked it! We really enjoyed the Sea Princess.

We brought a 12-pack of Diet Coke on board, no one batted an eye. Seems like a lot of folks were doing the same.

As far as whether your ship will be on time (I'm assuming you mean embarkation) Princess will let you know, via email.

[artnak]

Thanks for the great review. We were thinking of this cruise in 2012.

What pier does the Sea Princess sail from in SF?

[sassyredhat]

We leave in 9 days. Our personalizer says pier 27.

Pat

[artnak]

Thanks Pat :)

[shepp]

You might want to double-check on the pier. We set sail from and just disembarked today at 35. Not far from one to the other though. And by 2012...that's America's Cup time. All bets are off.

[BuzzBuzzen]

A great read , thanks for that . I like the comment regarding the CIC's gave me a laff .

[Cruzman]

We sailed on the Sea Princess in early June 2010 to Alaska. For those who live within driving distance, it is a wonderful option. Since we live 2400 miles away, we thought the 2 sea days at the beginning and end were kind of a downer. The standard cabins that are all around 150 sq ft (insides, outsides and balcony cabins) were also problematic for us. Other than the extra sea days, we loved the itinerary. This year however, we were able to sail on the Amsterdam for 14 days from Seattle for the same price; much larger cabin too! I might also mention that there were 2400 passengers on the SP compared to only 1271 on the Amsterdam.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.....;):):)

 

Bob

[Shmoo here]

We sailed on the Sea Princess in early June 2010 to Alaska. For those who live within driving distance, it is a wonderful option. Since we live 2400 miles away, we thought the 2 sea days at the beginning and end were kind of a downer. The standard cabins that are all around 150 sq ft (insides, outsides and balcony cabins) were also problematic for us. Other than the extra sea days, we loved the itinerary. This year however, we were able to sail on the Amsterdam for 14 days from Seattle for the same price; much larger cabin too! I might also mention that there were 2400 passengers on the SP compared to only 1271 on the Amsterdam.

 

 

I think the Sea Princess accommodates 1990 passengers? That's what the website/brochures both say.

 

:)

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for the review and happy to hear you enjoyed your sailing on the Sea Princess. She was the first Princess ship I sailed back in 97 or 98 when she was new. They've remodeled her since then but I remember back then I thought she was beautiful. Colors then were in the peachy tones and I remember all the sparkling lights in the ceiling all over the ship. Not sure if those sparkly lights are still there but I loved them then.:):)

[aaerobear]

There are usually 2200 passengers on sailings out of San Francisco. ALL cruises have been berthed at pier 35 until after the Americas cup. (those with turn arounds) Cruises with just day stops can be at several piers along the embarkadero pier 35/27/30-32.

[aaerobear]

There has been a change in pier assignments for the rest of the Princess season.

 

Instead of pier 35 only, there will be a change to pier 27.

 

Following is the new schedule

 

Sea Princess 9/7 and 9/17 pier 27

Sapphire Princess 9/22 9/27 and 10/04 Pier 27

Coral Princess 9/26 Pier 35

[BalconyGal]

Thank you so much for your lovely review. It's very interesting to hear how they handled the possibility of a Noro outbreak. I'm glad you had a great time and kept a good atitude.

[Cruzman]

I think the Sea Princess accommodates 1990 passengers? That's what the website/brochures both say.

 

:)

 

That is double occupency. Add triples and quads and 'ya get a much larger capacity.

[laura1960]

Thanks for your kind words! Enjoy your upcoming cruise on the Sea Princess!