Sea Princess - June 22, 10 day Alaska

[bralli]

As posted in the member's reviews (I'll post individual port reviews later and add some pics). Feel free to ask me any questions. :)

 

 

 

 

This was our third cruise to Alaska and first time embarking from local San Francisco. I was a little apprehensive having read several negative reviews about this ship and tried to temper my expectations.

 

Overall the cruise far exceeded my expectations. Despite being a smaller ship, I felt that my overall experience more or less on par with previous cruises and if anything the service felt much more personal.

 

Items of note:

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Amazingly easy both ways.

 

The Ship: It's smallish for a modern cruise ship but it still felt pretty big to me with lots of areas to walk around and explore. A few complaints: The buffet was small and the seating could be a little dicey at some hours. The theater was also a little small and you had to get there about half an hour early to get a seat (late shows seemed much more open). I also felt the ship lacked a lot of open interior areas where you could enjoy the scenery; most of the windows had you looking into a rail or were slanted and not clear to see through. Otherwise I really don't understand people getting hung up on this ship "being old" or "desperately needing a dry dock". It really seemed fine to me other than a few design issues.

 

Cabins: As mentioned in the title I was traveling with my wife and 4 small children (ages 2-11). We ended up booking two inside cabins next to each other. 3 in an inside really isn't bad at all and I felt plenty comfortable and slept great. I actually enjoyed just sitting in my cabin and watching a movie while my toddler took a nap. Our cabin steward was absolutely outstanding too.

 

Food: The first few meals were a little hit or miss but as the cruise progressed we had some outstanding meals. My wife and I did the Chef's Table which was great but unfortunately due to Norovirus, they could not take us into the kitchen. The head chef and maitre'd were extremely courteous. We also took the whole family to Sterling's Steakhouse which was excellent and despite being set in the Horizon buffet was completely cordoned off and felt like it's own restaurant. The buffet itself was kind of pain with Norovirus scares necessitating the staff serve you every single item. The food itself was fine for buffet-fare; some things better than expected. I also highly recommend the Cafe Corniche pizzeria; very good. If you enjoy coffee, get the coffee card. The staff at the Explorer's Bar on deck 5 were great.

 

Entertainment: Unfortunately I didn't really see any of the big shows; but my wife said she enjoyed them. I really liked the rock group, Prime Tyme which performed a lot in the Wheelhouse Bar (the lead singer is gorgeous).

 

For kids: The pools were super heated at least into the 90's so the kids could swim in any weather. We loved the pools on this ship. The kids program itself was a little sparse and they seemed understaffed (I think that ship is used to a much older crowd). Since we were cruising in the heart of June, there were TONS of families on board. The Movies Under The Stars was more or less ignored except for a few die-hards or those willing to spend two hours in the pool.

 

The staff: Super friendly staff compared to previous cruises. Lots of people called me by name and knew my kids. I felt very welcome and pampered.

 

Laundry: Avoid the self-serve laundry if you can. It's absolutely brutal and will ruin your day dealing with rude passengers and waiting 2-3 hours for an open dryer. It's also closed half the time and no one on board seems to know the actual schedule.

 

Overall, if you have booked this trip have no fear. The ship is nice and you will have a great experience.

[bralli]

Victoria: We were supposed to have rain so I did not book the Burchart Gardens tour as planned. I'm actually glad it worked out that way. The weather ended up blue skies and we walked all over the place exploring the downtown and the city park. Really nice city and I'm glad I was able to explore it on my own. We also went to the museum; great time.

 

[bralli]

Ketchikan: Unfortunately it was pouring rain here and my hydrophobic wife and oldest daughter wouldn't even get off the ship. I ended up taking my two middle daughters out and we took the public bus to the Totem Pole park. Really nice place and I hope to visit it again during better conditions. The bus back home was a little crowded as no one wanted to get off the bus due to the rain and I had to stand with a four year old.

 

[bralli]

Juneau

 

The highlight of our trip by far. We book whale watching with Captain Larry (Orca Enterprises). I've been on this trip twice before and it was RIDICULOUS how much whale activity we saw. Tons of bubble feeding (that's when like 5 whales all blast their heads to the surface at one time), a jumping whale, tons of Orcas, you name it. Great company to deal with and a very kid friendly boat. Didn't take my photos unfortunately to post (lots of video).

 

Skagway

 

Also a great port for us. I did a first and rented a car (a minivan). We drove almost a hundred miles well into Canada. The mountain scenery was stunning and is something you need to see first hand. It a very nice highway to drive, little traffic and lots of turnouts and shoulders where you can stop. We had lunch in Carcross. I recommend the sandwich place ("The Authentic Sourdough Bakery"); the egg salad on homemade bread really hit the spot. We managed to see a bear too (he took off before I could get the photo, sorry).

 

[highheel girl]

Ah Emerald Lake, Yukon Territory!! Excellent!!

 

The amazingly vivid blue-green color of this lake is not caused by glacial silt, rather it is caused by sunlight reflecting off the white layer of "Marl" - Calcium Carbonate clay - which is on the bottom of the lake.

[windsor26]

Thanks for your input very interesting and glad you managed to have a great time with 3 children on board you did extremely well:):)

[improvman]

Thanks for the great review. I'm curious. Did you (or others) bring te kids to the shows or the bar for the music?

 

Can you recommend good spots for the scenic cruising?

[bralli]

Thanks for your input very interesting and glad you managed to have a great time with 3 children on board you did extremely well:):)

 

FOUR kids! (11, 8, 4, and 23 months)

 

 

Thanks for the great review. I'm curious. Did you (or others) bring te kids to the shows or the bar for the music?

 

Can you recommend good spots for the scenic cruising?

 

The Wheelhouse Bar and Razzmatazz were both great with the kids. Both have a dance floor the kids could run around if not crowded. The live band performs in the Wheelhouse.

 

Most of the time for scenic cruising I would hang out on deck 7 (Promenade). It's a little more sheltered and the lounge chairs are those nice wooden ones with the big padded seat. As I mentioned in my review, there aren't many great places for scenery other than going out on deck.

[cruzysuzy]

Prime Thyme is the best band I have ever heard on any cruise. The lead singer is insanely talented. DH and I heard them the first night of the cruise in walking by the Wheelhouse Bar, stopped to listen, and went back every night afterwards.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for a review of your cruise. Glad you had a good time, enjoyed your pictures.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review and sharing your photos.