Review: 5/22 and 6/1/2015 Golden Alaska

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Introduction

 

This was our 5th and 6th time in Alaska (2001, 2006 and 2012), as we are also doing the 6/1/15 as a B2B. The main difference is that the 5/22/2015 cruise goes to Haines and Tracy Fjord, while the 6/1/2015 cruise goes to Skagway and Glacier Bay.

 

This was also quite a different cruise for us. We had Ally (Allyson) our granddaughter with us whom had just graduated from high school before we left Colorado and intends on embarking on a Tourism Management career this fall in college – she wants to be a Cruise Director – after hearing so much about our cruises and the cruise staff that we meet. So we thought we’d give her a taste of all the different roles and job opportunities there are out there. Alaska was convenient for this time of year and there is a variety of things she could see that are related to her chosen field – from Billy London, the CD on this cruise, to the cruise staff, to the shore excursion people, to the guides on the various excursions, to the MC at the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan – and all the variety of positions in between.

 

It also gave us a chance to relive our teenage years with her – or at a minimum get reduced 20 years in age as we became ‘mom and dad’. And we successfully embarrassed her daily, and exhausted her nightly. We showed her the shows from 3rd row center, comedians from the front row, dance class, Zumba, lectures, a whole lot of excursions, the beauty of Alaska and the wonders of cruising. There’s a lot of opportunities in the world and we wanted to give her a little incentive to work hard.

 

We’re Charles and Judy from Colorado. We do a lot of cruising – and we love it. We typically have started doing DIY excursions, but with Ally with us, I wanted her to experience as much as possible, so we river boated, whale watched, cheered the lumberjacks and walked around Victoria. On the ship we danced our food off, saw the shows, walked around San Fran, then got back on the ship and did it all over again.

 

Summary Ramblings of the Cruise:

 

Very successful cruise. We had fun and were able to introduce Ally to the industry she wants to be a part of. And we got to have a lot fun with her. And the staff was really accommodating and tolerant as well. (Ally can be a bit of a prima donna – whoda thunk it!) I got to watch the look on her face as she saw the first production vignette during the welcome aboard show and then watched her jaw drop during Motor City. She was so enthralled by it all she forgot to clap. She was absolutely amazed about the entire experience.

 

And it wasn’t just the food or the service or the ship itself, it was the people she met and interacted with. From Menando’s little hearts he made using the straw paper wrapper on her virgin strawberry daiquiris, to Bernardo’s remembering what she had last cruise and just bringing her more of it. Imam making sure everything was spotless in the cabin and not trying to wake her in the morning. Yi, her ‘regular’ bar steward in Skywalkers. Her excitement over talking to some of the dancers in the elevator. Her practicing of her British accent to throw off Billy and then forgetting it all when she finally met him. Her impatient waiting to find out when Megan and she were going to lunch to her squeal of delight when we picked up Siobhan for lunch in Juneau. Her interaction with Michael, the comedian-impressionist, trading improv rejoinders back and forth. And Dave, the platinum artist, getting the absolute most out of her photo shoot, and then picking on her the rest of the cruise.

 

A lot of us forget our first couple of cruises and the absolute wonder of it all. And yes, a lot of us have become spoiled and have rather high expectations that when not met, we get a little cranky. So it was good for us to walk a cruise or two in her shoes. Seeing things through her eyes. Hearing her words describing what she was experiencing.

 

Her interaction with the cruise staff, like ours, was the most rewarding part of the experience. For us seeing Sam and Jamie again, making our total cruise time with them 71 days, was really great. Too bad there would not be a crew show to throw panties and boxer/briefs around! (Long story.) We all developed new relationships with the staff. We won’t soon forget Walter’s ‘harem’ semi-zumba’ing in the elevator lobby during the Klondike party, or Kim and Sam entertaining us during a lull in ‘So you wanna be a rockstar’. Getting to know Natalie and Lots of Fun, and having lots of fun with them dancing the night away. Watching Megan and Tomami dancing with Ally. It was like seeing old friends again. They all made us feel welcome and special.

 

A big deal is made here on Cruise Critic about the Cruise Directors. IMHO the number one impact a cruise director has is the schedule of, and sequencing of events. But a CD also has to be personable, likeable and have a big personality (you know - like Ally!). A lot of our favorite CDs are getting close to retirement. Over the past dozen cruises, we’ve seen a lot of up and coming deputies that will be fresh blood. Colin transferred to Princess fleet safety, but Kes, Kelly, Angie and Matias – all deputies from the last several cruises – really have the potential to be that next generation of Cruise Directors. And the second tier of ‘senior’ ACDs, Jamie, Sam, Dave (Angie’s better half), Veronica, are the glue that will hold it all together and keep us entertained. I’m hoping they all have a bright future in Princess – for purely selfish reasons – we love to cruise with them.

 

I’ve also seen the debate here on Cruise Critic about gifts for the crew as opposed to cash. So the results of my totally unscientific survey over the past 12 cruises in the past 20 months is that the crew LOVES CANDY! We got a little salt water taffy in Ketchikan on the first cruise and about 10# in San Francisco during turnaround, and handed it out to various bar, server and cleaning staff, along with the cruise staff, the security staff, the maintenance guys, anyone with a uniform. And they love it. Period. They talk about other passengers bringing on candy and how much they love any kind of candy they can’t get on the ship. (So far taffy seems to be the favorite over hard candy.) For those of you traveling on the Golden this summer, stop by the Candy Baron store on Fisherman’s Wharf and pick up some taffy. Hand it out to your favorite bar staff and you will not have to wait for service ever again. And the smile you get back just brightens your day.

 

Then we had to say our goodbyes. The Cruise Staff gave Ally a present she will treasure the rest of her life and brought tears to all of our eyes. They gave her something that could not be more perfect to provide her the motivation to achieve her dreams. And Judy and I thank them all from the bottom of our hearts. So to Sam, Jamie, Matias, Kim, Walter, Megan, Tomomi, and Billy – thank you so much for making this a once in a lifetime experience for Ally.

 

As I’ve told her, there are a lot of people invested in her success now and she needs to just get it done.

 

Ally had started getting everyone to sign her map of the Golden Princess and to top it off Siobhan gave Ally the starting of a scrapbook for her cruise that was really, really well done. Now Ally has a place for everyone’s facebook and emails so she can stay in touch.

 

It’s always hard to say goodbye to everyone, but especially Sam and Jamie for us – after so many days at sea together. Megan, Kim, Siobhan and Ally had grown close to each other as well. It’s amazing how close you can get to people in so short amount of time – and quite frankly, it’s those relationships that keep us coming back to Princess. Even if we get on a ship where we know no one, we leave the ship with new found friends that are just like family.

 

Forget the “Come Back New”

 

It’s more like ‘get on as guests, leave as family’…not as exciting for cruising, but for us, it’s what keeps us coming back.

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The Ship

 

 

Unlike our first time in the Star back in 2004, I must say, the basic Grand Class remains one of our favorite, all things considered. (Although we do miss Club Fusion in the super grands and Diamond/Sapphire.) We’ve been on all the ships except the Pacific/Ocean and once we figured out how to avoid the crowds we’ve been enjoying the amenities in the Grand Class – although the Coral and pre-drydock Island still remain our number one choice.

 

The Golden has just been refurbed, but not in a major way. Basic hull painting, reconfiguration of the external Horizon Court, new carpets and lots of new furniture. She has had the Gem Class upgrade with the IC, Vines, and Piazza in prior drydocks. She retains Vista, Explorers, and the shopping cart handle Skywalkers. Three Main Dining Rooms, the hard to find traditional aft dining room on Deck 6 (Canaletto), the midships Deck 6 dining room (Donatello) and the midships deck 5 dining room (Bernini). Unlike the Grand, she does have the central staircase from 5 to 14.

 

During the recent drydock, the HC area was completely redone with new dessert/alternative bars set up the outboard side of each HC. Desserts, noodles, special entrees, are set up on this bar to relieve congestion in the HC itself. The interior stations of the HC were not significantly changed – just redone with a lighter tile work along with new flooring. New carpet, chairs, lots of tile and lighter colors are everywhere.

 

For entertainment venues there is the theater up front, casino just behind it on Deck 7, the Promenade Bar, Explorer’s Lounge and Vista Lounge. The disco/nightclub is Skywalkers up on Deck 17.

 

A couple of notes for new cruisers. The carpet in the cabin hallways is color coded. The Port side carpet, even cabin numbers, has an orange/red pattern in it. The Starboard side carpet, odd numbers, does not. The only way to the Deck 6 dining room (Canaletto) is via the aft stairs or the Aft outboard elevators. You can’t get there from the central area at all. You also can’t get from the Canaletto to the Piazza via deck 6. You must go up to deck 7, go forward, then down.

 

The aft outboard elevators (the two on the outside) are also the only elevators to Skywalkers. On the Golden, they are independently controlled. Pushing the up or down button on the outboard elevators calls only them. Pushing the button for the two central elevators calls only them.

 

Similarly, the 6 central elevators go from Deck 5 to Deck 14. But only the four main elevators (not the two Piazza elevators, go to deck 5). And they are independent. You must call the two Piazza elevators separately from the four mains.

 

Also on the Golden, the Youth area is forward, not aft, on Deck 15. It is a bit cramped and 14+ teens will find themselves a bit bored, unless they are big into video games. There are no 3rd gen consoles (PS 4, Xbox One). Ally went to the teen center only a few times and left to go find other things to do.

 

The covered aft Emerald deck mini’s are just a perfect choice for us in location and comfort for three people. Ally slept on the sleeper sofa, not the fold down bunk. There is plenty of “stuff” room and the ease in getting to deck 7 and back is very convenient. Even the infamously friendly shower curtain behaved on this cruise. We normally book a normal balcony for just the two of us, but there was plenty of room for the three of us.

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Our first time to Alaska was the 7 day southbound Voyage of the Glaciers on the Ocean (Sun Class). The 2nd and 3rd time, a B2B 7 day north and southbound Voyage of the Glaciers from Vancouver on the Island. We’ve not done the 7 day out of Seattle. This sailing out of San Francisco is really a relaxing way to do Alaska – there are some sea days to recover. A port intensive cruise is not very relaxing. The only downside for this 10 day itinerary is the missing day of the inside passage south of Ketchikan. You do get a flavor for the inside passage going in and out of the various ports, but I do miss that day of sailing watching the various villages go by and the feeling you are on a river, not on an ocean.

 

For those of you reading this review and contemplating a first time Alaskan trip, my recommendation would be to do Alaska on your own, then go Southbound on a 7 day voyage of the glaciers. With a rental car and a couple of days in Anchorage and Fairbanks, you can get a real feel of Alaska, and if you have a few extra days, head to Valdez or the Kenai, or both. It’s very easily doable in a rental car, and far, far cheaper than a Cruise Tour. Pick up a copy of Milepost Magazine – more like an encyclopedia – of all the things to do, places to stay and things to see in Alaska. BTW, you can book passage on the trains on your own. Princess, Holland America, etc., have their own train cars, not their own trains, so you can book on the Alaska railroad cars. The train is nice only on a clear day. On a rainy day, the train is pretty boring with only trees and clouds to see. You can see much more from a car.

 

Weather was a huge factor in the 6/1/2015 second cruise. Most of the excursions I had originally planned would have been cancelled or greatly impacted (read miserable) by the rain and/or wind. There was good availability on shore for non-Princess excursions in all ports except for Haines. Something to think about.

 

In cancelling the Princess excursions it gave me a lot of flexibility in case of bad weather but remember you must cancel Princess flightseeing excursions by the first full day at sea for the 10 day voyages out of San Francisco. We had a Taku lodge flightseeing trip scheduled out of Juneau on the second cruise and I cancelled that on embarkation day. Good thing as rain and cloud cover in Juneau would have meant a less than optimal trip unless they cancelled it. I never found out. (We took Siobhan to lunch, walked the town and went shopping instead.)

 

The long port times on the second cruise would have made for an easy time getting back to the ship. Had it not been for the weather, we would have DIYed Juneau (the second time around) to the top of the tram and out to Nugget falls. The rain and wind in Ketchikan would have made for a miserable boat ride, and the wind in Skagway would have made the ferry ride miserable for Judy. I probably should have booked a last minute train ride. In fact the 98 show in Skagway had a deal on a bus ride to the border and back, but we did not bring our passports ashore with us and the driver was unsure if we needed them or not. (Lesson here – take your passports off with you in Skagway in case you end up with a chance to go to Canada!)

 

Every one of the ports is an excellent DIY candidate. From renting a car to booking a last minute flight seeing on the dock on your own. Juneau is probably the best and cheapest DIY as you can go out to the Glacier center, and later in the season, see spawning salmon running up stream. Hike out to Nugget Falls, or ride the trams to the top and take some awesome photos. There is also a lot to see and do in the town itself. The Red Dog Saloon is worth a walk through at least.

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So Tracey Arm or Glacier Bay? Hands down, Glacier Bay if you want to see glaciers and have the best chance to see wildlife. But I have to say that the trip in along the Fjord in Tracy Arm was one of the most scenic I’ve ever been on with all the waterfalls and rock cliffs close to ship. Later in the year, those waterfalls won’t be as spectacular.

 

The trip up was actually more exciting that the glacier itself. We couldn’t get very close, too many bergy bits and a narrow approach, probably about 3-4 miles, but the solid granite rock scoured smooth by ice was a sight to see. Only at the very tip tops of the peaks, where the jagged edges appeared were free from scouring. Considering that the sea level was much lower back then as well, that meant the glaciers had to be several thousand feet thick.

 

No wildlife during the approach, although Judy saw a whale early in the morning. And while they were having lunch, someone shouted “iceberg” and everyone rushed to that side of the ship.

 

After watching Ice Cold Gold this season, I was noticing the mineralized zones of rock along the various cliffs. Wish I could pan some of those seams. Bet there is gold in some of them. I think I was a geologist in a previous life.

 

Glacier Bay

 

The Glacier Bay Schedule from the Patter was, and they pretty much held to it:

 

Ranger Pickup at 0600, 0800 is Queen Inlet, 0920 arrive Margerie, 1045 depart Margerie, 1130 arrive Lamplugh, 1200 depart Lamplugh, 1300 Ranger Presentation, 1500 rangers depart.

 

Not a lot of wildlife. A couple of otters and seals, but no whales or seal pups like the last couple of times we’ve been here. Several mountain goats on the way end on the cliffs.

 

The Glaciers (Margerie and Lamplugh) were pretty much like the last time we saw it, under cloudy/rainy skies. Not a lot of calving either – or white thunder. It looked like several large sections had recently calved before we arrived. The captain held the ship in hover for about 30 minutes, then rotated 180D for another 30 minutes. Some Captains will make 2 or even 3 full rotations during the stay to give everyone a chance to catch a calving. We found a nice wind free place of the back deck near outriggers for most of the trip in, but then the wind shifted and we retreated to the balcony. The wind just cut right through you.

 

The ranger presentation has remained about the same since we first came up here in 2001. Quite frankly, it’s boring and geared to a low education audience. Most of us on this cruise are pretty well educated, and I would like a lot more detailed commentary on the way in. Like water depths and cliff heights, so that we could judge the depth of the glacier as we went up the fjord. More of the history of the area, like was it always that glaciated as when Vancouver found it, or was it just because of the cold spell in the 1400’s? There are also several really interesting rock formations on the way end that would have been neat to get a live explanation on so we could see the entire scene rather than just a single photograph on a projector.

 

Arctic Scale

 

One of the really unique things about the arctic regions is scale. I’ve been to Greenland and looked down at a fjord with three glaciers and thought, the shoreline’s about ½ mile away – only to find out the shoreline is over 3 miles away. We’ve been to Antarctica and looked UP at an iceberg going by the ship and wondering why are we so close to it, only to find out it was over a mile away! Glacier Bay is no exception. The air is so clear and there are no common size references on a lot of the granite cliffs along the fjord, that it is hard to judge distance and scale. For example, we were tooling up the fjord with the granite cliffs to the starboard side, looking like maybe ½ mile away, and the ranger points out some Mountain Goats. So I’m looking, looking, looking, and see these little bitty white dots. Yep, those are the goats. They stand about 4 foot high. And they had to be close to 2 miles away. Just barely discernable in 10x binoculars as goats, much less with the bare Mark I eyeball! So keep in mind scale when traveling to Alaska and bring your largest telephoto lenses and binoculars!

 

Which Side of the Ship? A question that gets asked time and time again. And the answer is BOTH! You really need to be mobile or find a 180/360D viewpoint on the trip in and out. Bears showed up last cruise in Glacier Bay on the Port Side, while on this cruise the mountain goats were on the starboard side. Seals on the Port Side, Birds on the starboard side and the Glaciers can calve on either side at any minute. Now it was more difficult on this cruise because of the rain. Can’t stay mobile and dry for sure, but it’s worth a little wet and a hot shower is only steps away.

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On the day before embarkation, we met my godmother, Aldena, for dinner at John’s Grill. My godmother has finally retired after a long and successful career in San Francisco real estate, but I wanted to introduce Ally to a successful business woman as well. I’ve introduced her to the women in my office, but I also want her to meet and talk to others that I know from all over the country – both in-laws and outlaws!

 

John’s Grill was easy walking distance from the Hilton hotel in Union Square where we stayed. It’s a very old establishment. To start Ally’s culinary adventure I ordered the Escargot, and Feta Cheese appetizers. She did not care for the Escargot, but liked the Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olives. I thought the escargot was pretty good, especially to dip San Francisco sourdough in. No other sourdough in the world tastes quite like this.

 

I had Chicken Jerusalem, Ally had the Fisherman’s Seafood, Judy had Calves Liver and Aldena had the Seafood Cannelloni. The dishes were all very good, not spectacular WOW, but very good and different, service was prompt and efficient. I think the main detraction was the table spacing and the uncomfortable chairs. Diners are sitting practically on top of each other. Although the acoustics were good enough to be able to carry on a decent conversation without shouting, they really need to remove one 4 top and space the others so that you’re not bumping heads with the person sitting at the table behind you…

 

San Francisco sure has changed in the past couple of years since we stayed downtown. You can’t walk 10 feet without someone asking for money, help, or a scam. It was constant and worse than any city we’ve been to in the past several years. It just detracts from the whole ‘enjoy the city’ experience. We had one drunk, high, ???, individual come up to our table in Subway talking about spiders/monsters/sandwiches – not in a frightening manner, but completely unexpected and the owner/manager had to ask him to leave. Not exactly a great tourist advertisement for San Francisco. While we do like sailing out of the Golden Gate, we probably will stay in the burbs around the airport next time and avoid the downtown area completely.

 

Now of course Ally just literally is soaking this all in. From a two story Walgreen’s, with security guards, to the variety of panhandling techniques, although one guy was really tempting as he was singing about the change I was about to give him…it was pretty unique and inventive…

 

Ally’s never been to the ‘big city’ before. (Unless Denver counts.) She liked the food, really enjoyed meeting my godmother and I hope liked the family stories we told about Aldena’s Dad and my grandfather, who immigrated from Italy and Switzerland to the US in the 20’s with nothing but their clothes on their backs. Aldena’s dad went on to become a very successful rancher and dairy farmer in the Salinas Valley near Monterey, CA. My grandfather worked as a construction laborer most of his life, saving money for retirement, then passed 6 months after he retired. But both formed the amalgamation of cultures and people that would spawn the Greatest Generation. It’s a very interesting history.

 

Our second time in San Francisco was turn around day on the 1st of June, and it started out rainy, wet, cold, but turned into a sunny day after all – enough to notice I got some sun when I looked in the mirror the next morning. We were supposed to meet in Crown Grill at 1030 to do turnaround, but we left a bit earlier and went out to see the sights. Our cards didn’t change. Ally’s card did, and it was still blue. She’s not a Gold card until after her 18th birthday. Go Figure…

 

The new cruise terminal is a bit more of a walk to fisherman’s wharf, but not bad. We had three goals in mind for the day. Candy, water and lunch at a unique and interesting place. We found all three. There is a great candy store at the end of fisherman’s wharf with every candy known to mankind. The Candy Baron. We had bought some taffy in Ketchikan that Ally was handing out to the crew – and they love it. So we bought about 10# more of the stuff. There had to be several dozen different flavors of taffy, with barrels of different hard candies as well. We even found some scorpions and tequila worms in lollypops. Something unique and sweet always makes them smile.

 

For lunch we went to Mango’s Mexican restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf. There were several fish and Italian style restaurants, and they are good, but we wanted something different and Mango’s was really, really good. Fresh ingredients into elevated Mexican cuisine. We had their nachos platter and their queso. But the real highlight was their fresh and unique margaritas. I had their Cucumber and Jalapeno margarita, actually two which made it very difficult to walk back to the ship, while Judy had their watermelon and jalapeno margarita – and not with watermelon flavor, but whole chunks of fresh watermelon. The nachos were great, as was the two fresh salsas, the fresh guacamole and the finely diced steak and asiago cheese. The real highlight was the queso. Not really a dip of orange cheese sauce, which I cannot stand, but fresh cheese and peppers baked in a shallow cast iron skillet, until it crusts on the top and the bottom. You had to fork it over onto the chips, scraping it off the cast iron, but it was good soft and crunchy cheesey goodness. Wow, it was good!

 

After lunch we went to the local Safeway, which is about 5 blocks from the ship, stocked up on water and wandered back. We got back to the ship around 1345, but the lines were still backed up, so we sat for a while, checking email until about 1400. Then, except for security, we just breezed through. Had we waited another 30 minutes we would have had no lines whatsoever.

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We really enjoyed Haines. I do wish Princess would consider making Haines a regular stop. Yes I know there is no Diamonds International, no additional advertising revenue stream, but Haines is a gateway to great excursions and a much less crowded and quaint alternative to Skagway. For Haines, there are just a few excursions you can book on the dock, so it’s best to stick with Princess for variety and there isn’t a lot of car rental opportunities either. You can get on a ferry and go to Skagway as well. There isn’t a lot of shopping or eating opportunities, but the people are really happy to see you and treat you well.

 

We wandered around Haines, got some water at the market, went to the park and visitors centers, took pictures of local sites, basically killed time waiting for the excursion to start.

 

The bus ride with Mark to the launching site of the excursion was a lot of fun and had 91 curves in the road. He really personalized the trip as we drove by people’s houses including the Schnabel’s construction yard (Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush) on the highway out of Haines. Grandpa just had his 94th birthday, so apparently his cancer is under control and he survived chemotherapy. Mark’s stories and descriptions of various buildings and landmarks as we drove up the road really brought home that small town feel. A graduating class of 20, with 14 going on to college, a friend of his has been building a house alongside the road for 5 years now, milk at over $6 per gallon, gas at over $4 per gallon (and they are happy about that compared to a year ago). Everyone loading up their vehicles and trailers, then heading to Juneau on the Alaskan Maritime Highway System for an overnight foraging trip to Costco! 6 months worth of supplies in two trips a year. The personalization made it feel special, like we were just swapping stories.

 

Javier was our boat captain. 2-150 horsepower outboard jet drives on a flat bottomed, aluminum boat that probably seats around 20 passengers. Once up on plane this thing probably will go through inches of water, and we did hit several sticks, logs and the motors hit stuff as well as we went upstream through the various river channels. We saw two sitting female bald eagles on their nests, a mother moose and calf, and a yearling moose. A bunch of trumpeter swans, some ducks, but no bears – which seeing as how they are nocturnal and no salmon were running, I did not expect anyway.

 

The entire ecosystem is just absolutely gorgeous. From the overflowing river to the green of the bush, to the flowering wild roses, to the green tips of the Sitka Spruce, everything was vibrant and alive. Hard to believe that only 3 weeks ago there wasn’t hardly any water in the river and no green on the trees.

 

The eagle nest were pretty cool. Some were larger, older, than others, some were abandoned. The Murches were back this year after two eaglets last year, but Lucy and Ricky had not come back after their failed attempts two years ago. (Yes, they name all their eagles.) The mother moose and calf posed long enough for us all to get some great pictures. The Calf was about 3 weeks old. The yearling was a bit more camera shy, disappearing into the bush quickly as we slid past.

 

It was a really good and fun excursion. Ally had a blast. She’d never done or seen anything like this before. Never seen an eagle in the wild, or a moose, or rode on a jet boat.

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Our first stop in Juneau we had to tender. Juneau was misty, cloudy and occasional light rain – but a perfect day for whale watching. Things started out very slow, and wet, but picked up later in the morning after the whales had their morning coffee. This was tour 610A. Always wanted to whale watch, but we always did other things and Ally gave us the perfect excuse to just do it. Large catamaran whale watching boat with enclosed lower deck, half enclosed, half open upper deck. We went north to start out and cruised by a Stellar Sea Lion ‘haul out’ location on the rocks. Not a rookery, but a place they haul out to purge their systems of nitrogen before heading to the rookery. Probably several hundred sea lions draped all over 300-400 yards of rocky shore line. Several bald eagles in the area as well.

 

We headed south seeing occasional blows in the distance and then things picked up quite well. At one time we have two cow-calf pairs within 300 yards of the boat, with one pair surfacing and diving in tandem about 100 feet away – missed the twin fluke money shot! The best part was that the calf decided to entertain us and sort of played on the surface for about 10 minutes. Putting half its tail vertical out of the water, slapping the water with its forward fin, waving at us, giving us the eyeball. Pretty cool. After about 3 hours and several gigabytes of digital data, we headed back under clearing skies.

 

All of the restaurants were packed and Ally was ‘hungry’, so we opted to head over to Alaskan Fudge, buy a bunch of different fudges and head back to the ship.

 

We always try and stop by the Fudge company because the fudge is just so good, and its homemade and it’s a local business run by some very nice people.

 

We cancelled the flightseeing tour for the second time around in Juneau – and this time we docked. Good thing because of the weather. Instead we took one of the photographers to lunch. Siobhan (pronounced Sho’van), from the photo gallery, so that Ally could pick her brain about life aboard a cruise ship. Siobhan only had two hours off the ship, so we gave her a whirlwind tour of Juneau, pointing out the important sites of the Fudge Shop, the Fudge Shop and the Fudge Shop! And we got to treat her to tastes she’s never had before. We went to Twisted Fish, next to the Taku smoked fish house, and had their smoked salmon appetizer and their clams in amber ale. Siobhan also had, for the first time, fresh halibut, while Ally had the strip steak, Judy had the smoked salmon fettucine and I had the halibut burger with a berry chutney.

 

The food was really, really good. This is our favorite place to stop and have a bite before getting back of the ship. The smoked salmon appetizer consisted of cold smoked salmon, hot smoked salmon, salmon roe, capers, tomatoes, onions, herb creamed cheese and mini-bagels. It’s a good way to try smoked salmon, but none of us liked the salmon roe. Texture or taste. Too fishy. The clams were very, very good. They were cooked in an ale broth, not a white wine broth, and with a lot of seasoning. Far, far better than the last time we tried them here back in 2012 and even Judy liked them this time.

 

Siobhan loved her halibut main course. She’s never had it before and it is one of my favorite fishes along with swordfish, tuna and mahi-mahi. Ally must have loved her steak because she quit talking completely. (She will need to learn the fine art of actually carrying on a dinner conversation during dinner one of these days.) Judy really liked her smoked salmon fettucine. My halibut burger, with a halibut fillet, not a patty, was good. It was different, which is why I ordered it, but there was too much bread for the size of the fillet and the fish got lost in the chutney and the bread.

 

We had a great conversation along with the meal. Siobhan giving Ally pointers about working on a ship, talking about the food, the lack of sleep, the weird schedules. Then Siobhan had to run back to the ship. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t late on our account for sure. It was a wonderful lunch and we had a great time.

 

We had intended to go up the tram, but one look up showed fog and clouds around the first pylon and no sign of the terminal on the top. And it was pouring down rain. Not just a light shower, but a downpour. I looked around for an excursion booth, it was still only around 1600, but everyone had closed down. Even the Glacier Express busses were not running on a regular basis. In this kind of rain, we could not have walked out to Nugget falls anyway without getting very muddy and totally soaked. Today was the perfect day for Whale Watching, but we’d done that last time anyway, so we opted for an extended window and souvenir shopping trip into the various shops of Juneau. (Osterdam and Pacific Princess were in port with us.)

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Skagway has the best options for seeing a lot of stuff from a bus or train. I overheard several comments that the train ride was not as scenic as the bus rides. Nor could the train stop as often for pictures as the bus. You can also rent a car, or just book a taxi/van for the day and run all over the place. You can even get on the ferry and go to Haines. Skagway has a lot of helicopter adventures as well, and there are a lot of DIY hikes around town. Even a walk around town, photographing the various buildings and people watching, coupled with the show, is not a bad thing to do either.

 

But for us the wind howled all day long – definitely living up to Skagway’s Tlingit nome de plume –‘ rough seas in the Taiya Inlet, that are caused by strong north winds’. Probably a good day for a train ride, but for hiking it was miserable. We ended up taking in the Days of 98 show, shopping for some South African ‘jerky’, wandering around town and having lunch. There were 3 other ships in port, the Pacific Princess, us, NCL’s Sun and Carnival’s Legend. Lots of people in port, lots of crowds.

 

We searched for, and found, the ports of call shop with racks of specialty items for crew members around the world. South African, British, Indian, Philippines, Chinese, Eastern Europe – a really neat store, but way, way expensive as all of this stuff is imported to Skagway via air freight. But a nice touch of home, I’m sure for a lot of people. Based on Melissa, Megan and Siobhan’s recommendation we bought some Biltong and Wors – South African equivalent of jerky and Slim Jims. I was going to get some crème soda (a hangover cure I’m told), but at $2.50 a can, it was a bit steep.

 

The Wors, a dried sausage, was fantastic. The Biltong, a spicy salty version of jerky. We bought enough to get a package of each for Melissa and Megan – just a little something from home.

 

The Days of 98 show was actually quite quaint and fun – and out of the howling wind. Interesting presentation of a con man, re 1890’s version of a consummate ‘politician’, in both a damning yet sympathetic point of view. Very cheesy, over the top, irreverent, yet, thoroughly enjoyable. We all enjoyed it – especially Ally. She’s been in theater in High School and is going to double degree in acting and Tourism Management. She was actually very interested in the actors whom had apparently just graduated from college and this was their first gig.

 

Lunch was completely forgettable at Northern Lights Pizza. Its north of the main drag and it has a Mexican/Italian/American menu – so if you see a large menu, run. (All of the well known shops on main street were SRO, so we opted for something less crowded.) Should have went to the Thai place on 5th street as recommended, or the Indian curry place on 4th. The only good thing was the halibut fish and chips – which I surrendered to Judy as her taco platter was not even Taco Bell quality. Ally’s fettucine was pretty tasteless as well, but the garlic toast was pretty good. Oh well, you live and learn.

 

Skagway is an interesting town to wander around in off main street. It’s so Alaska. No two houses look alike, all are patched, repatched and patched again. Blue tarp roofing materials. Although there are a lot of new builds across the river since we were here last. Included one on the bluff that overlooks the town and really stands out. Lots of glass – must cost a fortune to heat.

 

The sun did eventually come out, and it was actually quite warm, if you were standing out of the wind, so wandering around town was not wet as we were in Juneau.

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In Ketchikan, the Lumberjack show is a don’t miss. You can walk to the hatchery, even take a 5 mile hike up into the woods if you want and there is a lot of water based and flight based stuff to do as well.

 

Our first stop in Ketchikan was fun, but with 4 other ships in port (Star and Crown) along with two of the ‘dams’, you can imagine how crowded it was. But the tendering process on the Golden was smooth and quick. They even set up an elite area in Crown Grill and took us down to the excursion tenders to get us on our way. On the other hand, the lumberjack show, while still a lot of fun, just paled in comparison to the last one we attended. But Ally, seeing it for the first time, really enjoyed it.

 

The second cruise the worst weather on any of our previous Alaska cruises, and the second visit to Ketchikan was no exception. It poured and the wind blew. And I mean POURED. But I had to get off the ship and get some walking in. Even when we knew we were going to get wet. We went out looking for some more Dayquil, while we turned Ally loose to go shopping and have lunch with Megan of the cruise staff. The ship was docked in slip #4, and by the time we got to Tongass, we were soaked. Needed rain pants as well. The wind gusted enough to destroy any cheap travel umbrella. People standing in line to get onto busses or DUKWs or even queing back on the ship were soaked to the bone. However, most of the shops had raingear on sale!

 

We stopped by Bar Harbor for lunch, and to dry off. It’s right off dock #4. Clam chowder, halibut fish and chips. Not bad. Service was good. The clam chowder needed a bit of seasoning, but not much. The halibut fish and chips were fantastic. Judy had shrimp and chips and we swapped out. Fresh shrimp, fresh halibut, French fries. A pint of Alaskan amber. Good stuff!

 

Ally went to Annabelles with Megan and liked it. Chicken nachos and the sampler king crab legs. Ally doesn't like fish, but liked the crab legs.

 

As expected the crowds were all in the stores. I was listening to one person selling tours talking about how it always rains more here in Ketchikan and it won't be raining as much wherever the tour she was selling was going. Sounded like trying to sell ice to an Eskimo...

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Production Shows

 

For those of you on later cruises this summer, you won’t be able to see the same Dance Troupe that made our shows so very special – as they are getting off the ship after the 6-11-2015 cruise. But two are still worth seeing even if you’ve seen them before. British Invasion and Motor City. Of the two, Motor City is the best. Sit down front. Experience the show up close and personal. You won’t regret it.

 

The key to production shows is to arrive early on a Grand Class ship to get the best seats. 30 minutes is our minimum to get the seats we like, and we bring our electronics to keep us company while we wait.

 

For theater shows we like rows 3-5 center. The dancers can see you and they interact with you and the entire show is much, much better from these seats. (We used to sit back in the middle tiers – not anymore.)

 

For Vista, you want to be in the chairs, unless you are in the front row, not the couches. The couches are too low when a person sits in the chairs in front of you. We like the central section, second row (chairs), anywhere right to left. In Motor City, you do see a much different perspective right as opposed to left, but I like it that way.

 

If they do Words and Music in Vista, that is a much better venue for that show than the theater. The dancing is much tighter, the personal nature of the show much better.

 

So here’s the deal. While we’ve been on the ships for about 14 years now, we’ve always enjoyed the shows. Some better than others. I’ve always wondered what a “professional” show looks like in comparison. That’s not meant as an insult. All of us have heard comments about ship’s entertainment being second rate, amateurish, etc., etc… So just this last April I took Judy and her BFF, Diana, to Vegas (and oh by the way, the next big birthday bash is on a cruise – it is so much CHEAPER!) for her birthday. I took them to see Cirque de Sole’s ONE and Mystere. We wanted to see professionally produced and world renowned shows.

 

Long story short, big disappointment. Especially with ONE. I expected, after seeing Cirque de Sole’s La Nouba in Orlando, so much more. Mystere was good, a lot like La Nouba, although on a smaller stage, but in the end ONE was just a downer for me. Especially after what I paid for OK seats for the three of us!

 

Now, fast forward to the performance of Motor City on this cruise. To say I have a new found appreciation for the ship shows is an understatement. This is one of the best dance troupes and set of vocalists I have seen on a ship – and this is after one of the best seasons of Dancing with the Stars IMHO. The girls are stunning, perfectly in sync and let me tell you, the ‘Heard it Through the Grapevine’ number with the girls in zoot suit jackets, and little else, would have excited a dead man. The strutting was synchronized and perfect across the stage. Everyone was giving it their all, and it showed. I was completely mesmerized by one of the dancers up front with one of the male vocalists. She worked it, and I mean worked it. In an intimate venue like the Vista, and up close like we were, it still sends chills up and down my spine. I love watching people completely committed to their craft and enjoying putting it all out there. Really, really good…

 

Ally was completely blown away. (She’s been in High School plays, and a fanciful and weird adaption/fusion of Alice in Wonderland with Sam Spade that was surprisingly good.) But she’s never seen anything like this and in such an intimate setting. So nice to be able to introduce her to something like this.

 

In British Invasion, this dance troupe is far better than most. Their timing and synchronization is spot on and very well done. The vocalists really get to stretch themselves in this show (especially Ashley’s very emoting solo) and the costume changes are numerous and quick. Ally was marveling at the fact that they were not only changing costumes, but wigs as well, and that, she explained, is not simple as she has done it herself in various plays and productions.

 

Entertainers, Entertainment and Dancing

 

Our favorite was Impressionist Michael Wilson. Not since Doug Funk on a previous cruise has an entertainer been so genuine and personable on and off the stage. His material is good, and he can impersonate a lot of people, but he’s just a very good person as well and will visit with you outside the show as well. Highly recommended. He will probably do one show in the theater, one in Vista. Don’t miss him if he’s on the ship.

 

Robert Ondras, guitarist, is also one to see. Whether one of this short vignettes in the Piazza, or a longer set in Vista, or up during the Midnight Sun get together, his music is great to listen to. A mix of country, ballads and folk, its all good.

 

We did go see the Hawley Magic show. It was a good magic show, with a few new twists on some old classics – look for the not one, but three girls coming out of the box – nicely done, but they were mainly old classic illusions, or in the case of the jaws of death, a variation on a classic. The also had a show in Vista. This show was up close magic, cards, ropes, boxes, coins. Most of the card tricks were standard, not too exciting. The rope in the box tricks were very good, very intriguing. The $20 bill in the lemon, not so interesting.

 

Music and Dancing

 

Lots of Fun is the R&R party band. Natalie is the lead singer – and she is very good. They got on when we got on and while we’ve never sailed with them before, they are a lot of fun. Their playlist mix is really, really good for dancing. In each set, we got to do at least one line dance – sometimes 2, a waltz, a rhumba, a couple of cha-cha’s, a foxtrot or two, a couple of swings and a hustle or two. They never played a tango, which is good since we don’t dance tangos.

 

Phoenix Rising was in the wheelhouse, but we never got there. We have sailed with them before, and we really liked them then.

 

Skywalkers starts at 2200 with an hour of BOGO drinks. A great way to start the night off. One of the cruise staffs DJ’s and does take requests, but most nights are theme nights, like Beatles, 60’s, Madonna, etc. And they do card for minors under 18. They have one of those handy dandy portable security scanners up there now.

 

Theme Nights

 

There were two major theme nights. Rock and Roll night and Country Western night. Rock and Roll is music of the 60’s and 70’s. Rock and Roll night will feature a hand jive, sometimes a hula hoop contest or a twist contest, live music and mainly swing/slow dancing. Country Western night has several line dances (Elvira or Electric Slide, Boot Scooting Boogie, Achy Breaky, Tush Push Challenge) and the bang-bang game.

 

Both are a lot of fun.

 

Game Shows

 

There are several game shows that are simply DO NOT MISS. Most of these are sea day or evening shows as well - Liar’s Club, Blankety-Blank, Rock the Room, Marriage Match Game, Majority Rules, Finish the Lyrics.

 

The game shows are run by the cruise staff, and with the cruise staff we had, they were hilarious. For example, we don’t go to Karaoke or Princess Pop Star – until this cruise. During the Princess Pop star finals, Sam would hold interviews in the “green room” backstage with each of the finalists. These were funny as all get out. She would wear a different hat each time, ask how the person liked her hat, asked a basic standard question, and then ask a totally off the wall question like “do penguins have knees”, “if I shaved off my eyebrows, could you tell how I was feeling”, “do pigeons get sore necks” as she demonstrated a pigeon’s tendency to walk with the head bobbing forward. It was, of course, the sponge bob hat, with the hands that went up in air, that brought the house down…

 

The other games shows, like liar’s club, blankety-blank, marriage match and others in the evening revolve around the antics and interactions with the cruise staff. The more you give, the more they give, and realize that in a room of adults it can head into the gutter quite quickly, so kids beware! But it is a hoot and simply not to be missed. You simply have not lived until you’ve seen Jamie demonstrate chubbling….

 

We went afternoon game show lurking as well. The absolute best was “Rock the Room”. This was hands down the best afternoon game show of the cruise. Vista is split into two teams – Sam’s and Kim’s. 20 ‘challenges’ come up on the screen worth 10 points each. The challenge could be –‘name that tune’, ‘name that tv show’, ‘name that movie’, ‘find a fruit in the room’, ‘find some makeup in the room’, ‘find an unshaven man’, etc. Or it could be a bonus round in which the loudest cheering side wins. It was frenzied and lots and lots of fun. You have to see and participate in this show.

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Horizon Court

 

They have really cut down on the selection in Horizon Court. Which is actually a good thing. For me the cold salads remain a favorite for both lunch and dinner. For Judy, Conge for breakfast is her favorite. There is always a salad bar for greens available.

 

For breakfast there is a mix of American and European breakfast, cereals, yogurts, waffles (on the outer dessert bar station), omelets to order, continental items and some Asian entrees. My two standards for breakfast are the French toast and scrambled eggs. In this case, they got them both right. The scrambled eggs especially were creamy, not mealy, not overcooked.

 

Lunch is a mix of hot and cold entrees, sandwiches, soups (which are very good). Dinner usually has a theme, like Italian, German, Seafood, etc. with soups and salads. There is always a salad bar with enough salad fixings to satisfy anyone along with a fresh fruit selection – mainly watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and pineapple. There are apples and bananas available almost always.

 

We skipped the dining room one day and hit the buffet and found something really different. An Asian noodle station, outside the HC area at the dessert bar, reminiscent of Singapore shops in the Hawker Centers. Basically you selected various vegetables and meats that went into a bowel along with buckwheat noodles, and then steaming hot broth is poured over everything. In concept, when done right, it’s absolutely delicious. In this incarnation, forget it. Asian broths, beef, chicken, sea food, are fantastic, and even when clear, taste hearty and have plenty of seasoning. This broth tasted like watered down canned chicken broth, or chicken flavored hot water, with some noodles and veggies. Really disappointing. I’ve made chicken noodle soup with bullion cubes that had more flavor. And packaged Top Ramen beats this stuff hand down…

 

The HC for us was adequate, somewhat lacked spice, but that was easily fixable. Its buffet food. We’ve had worse, we’ve had better, but you won’t go hungry.

 

The HC does close between 0000 and 0500. Which is a good thing. A lot of food used to go to waste. You can always get something to eat in the IC.

 

Pizza and Grill

 

On the Alaska trips, Princess has special entrees at the Grill. Like crab boils, salmon, made with recipes from famous on-shore restaurants in the ports Princess visits. We just never got a chance to try it. Even in 20 days, there are some things you just can’t do. The Grill also does smokehouse BBQ items after 1800. Pulled pork, brisket are two of the things we’ve had on past cruises, different ships, but we never got to try the smokehouse on this trip either.

 

We did get to do lunch at the grill. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, brauts, dogs, fries – all the standard grill items. If you got there early, your burgers were cooked fresh from scratch. If later, they were reheated from earlier searing. Its not bad and we always do burgers and pizza for lunch several times during the cruise.

 

The Pizza is typical princess pizza. Not a thick crust, but not a thin artesian crust either. A Naples style pizza basically. On the Alaska cruises they are bringing back classic pizzas from the past every once in a while. But you have to check by each day to see what it is. Standard pizzas we tried were margarita, pepperoni and four cheese. Good enough that when we got off the ship, we did not go looking for Pizza.

 

International Café

 

The coffee menu has exploded to included tea infusions and special lattes as well. Keep in mind that the coffee card allows unlimited black brewed coffee, as well as their premium tea selection, all included with the card. Their premium iced and blended coffee can also be obtained for one punch on the card. If you drink coffee at all, it’s a bargain. And remember, Elite or Suite passengers can swap their mini-bar for two coffee cards.

 

The IC is my hangout for early morning blogging over coffee. The have a full bar and full coffee bar and serve bistro type items, soup, cold salads, sandwiches (panini style), desserts, from around 1700 to 0500 in the morning. Then they switch to breakfast items. Donuts, croissants, pastries, yogurt, muselix and an egg mcmuffin look alike.

 

At noon they switch to their lunch menu, soups, cold salads, sandwiches (panini style), desserts that are different from their dinner menu.

 

Service was great. You could get up and get stuff on your own or flag down one of the wait staff, like Renz, to get it for you. No problems either way.

 

Vines

 

Vines opens around 1100 and serves wines, sushi and tapas, free with purchase of a drink. Unlike other cruises, we did not get a chance to sample a white flight with sushi…mainly because Ally does not like sushi and can’t drink wine…

 

Sabatini’s And Crown

 

As much as I like Italian food, its time to retire Sabatini’s. The dining room Italian food is very good and Princess needs to move on. The Crown Grill is far more popular on all of the cruises we have been on in the past several years. I would like them to try either a Gastropub concept or an Asian Fusion restaurant.

 

But I really like the new lighter menu. Unfortunately, Ally tried new things that she really didn’t like and Judy’s choices were so-so. On the other hand, I really enjoyed my selections and the service. We had a coupon from our TA, so we had to at least use it since it was not exchangeable for credit.

 

The prosciutto appetizer was a real taste treat, everyone gets one. The bread and breadsticks, fantastic. I had the Burrata (creamy hand pulled mozzarella) with thin slices of tomato, olive oil, balsamic. Pretty good. I’ve had better, but at a very authentic and expensive Italian restaurant in DC run by a little old guy from Sicily. He adds prosciutto to the dish along with basil. But this was good. Ally had the artichoke soufflé, she was being adventurous, liked the flavor, but did not like the texture at all. Judy had the fried calamari, which was really good, nice and crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.

 

For the pasta course, Ally and I had the short rib penne, and it was the highlight of the meal. Ally was going to lick her bowel clean, but decided to use the bread instead to soak up every little drop of that stuff. Judy had the manicotti and while good, just didn’t compare to the short rib penne.

 

For the main course, I had the veal chop. I’d never had a veal chop before, and this was really good. The sauce was incredible. Judy had the shrimp, and although it was really good, the first bite into the first shrimp tasted fishy, so that was a downer on the rest of the dish. Ally bravely tried the lobster 3 ways. I know when I was a teenager, I did not like lobster and she doesn’t either. But at least she tried something different.

 

Judy had the cappuccino Crème Brule, which she really enjoyed as the best bite of the night. I had the chocolate journey dessert, which was absolutely gorgeous and tasty. Very nicely done.

 

We also went to Crown Grill. They do have specialty items for the Alaskan trip like salmon, steamer pots and venison. Because of the vouchers being given out, Crown Grill is booked early on – like fully booked all early times on embarkation day and all later times by the end of the first sea day. And in fact, for this cruise they actually booked our voucher at Sabatini’s automatically, so we had to cancel that one in favor of the one we made at the Crown Grill about an hour after we got on board during turn around day. (Yes, they book that fast.)

 

Anyway, I had the French Onion and Blue Cheese soup, the heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad and because I couldn’t make up my mind, she brought both lamp and veal chops. Judy had the tomato salad and the venison, Ally had the shrimp bisque and the 22 oz porterhouse steak. Service was exemplary, as usual. Even though the place filled to capacity by 1830. They had many, many more servers on staff than I’ve ever seen before.

 

The onion soup was fantastic. Really, really good. The heirloom tomato salad really good as well. For me the veal chop was the highlight. Better than the lamb. Ally loved her porterhouse steak and almost completely demolished it. Judy did not care for the venison. I tried it and it was a bit dry and needed seasoning. I cook wild game at home all the time. Venison and elk require a sauce, or they need to be flash chicken fried, or stir fried. I usually do a pepper encrusted elk a’pou with a mushroom cream sauce, and the elk done medium rare. So Judy was a little disappointed. But I gave her one of my lamb chops and that made her very happy. But I really liked the veal chop. The demi-glace was great. We had the usual sides served family style – garlic fries, asparagus, mushrooms, creamed spinach – all really good.

 

The dinner was so good we just skipped dessert. They did have a peanut butter chocolate bar on the menus as part of their chocolate presentations, but none of us could do another bite without making ourselves miserable.

 

Main Dining Room

 

We ate in the main dining room more times on this cruise than the last 10 cruises combined! Mainly cause Ally was along and Menando captured her heart with his little paper hearts on her drink straw. Bernardo and Menando were fantastic service staff. If we needed to get somewhere, they expedited and we were able to get their table every time we asked for it.

 

Probably the three best meals in the MDR, for us, were Italian night, the 50th anniversary dinner night (first formal night – Captain’s Welcome) and the landfall dinner night.

The theme dishes for the anniversary dinner night was actually a 5 course meal, each course from a different era of Princess. The appetizers were from the 60’s and 70’s, a Duck Terrine with Apricot Preserves and a very small tasting bowl of Porcini Mushroom Cappuccino Soup. This was a really tasty and complimentary to each other appetizer. The apricot preserves went great with the duck terrine (duck spam) and the soup is still popular today on the menu.

 

The 2nd course was from the 80’s and 90’s and you had the choice of Ossobuco Agnolotti or a “Panache” (salad). And a vinaigrette without any mayo in it, so Judy can eat it! The Ossobuco was easily the best dish of the evening – as both Ally and I can attest. Fresh pasta raviolis, or Agnolotti if you will, filled with a braised beef, in a very rich veal sauce from reduced veal stock. Just a delight.

 

The third course was a blueberry mojito sorbet pallet cleanser. This bordered, but did not cross, the perfumey line. Very close though, but we all still finished it. It did suffer from the lack of vodka (ala Chef’s table) though.

 

The main course was from the 2000’s and was a filet of turbot, or a Malabar Beef Tournedos. Judy had the turbot, Ally and I had the beef. Well cooked, excellent sear, perfectly seasoned, tasty, well rested, and most importantly, a single tournedos, not the typical three, they serve on main courses. Thank goodness!

 

The dessert course was from the Chocolate Journeys collection, a beautiful presentation of a heart shaped raspberry mouse on a crunchy short bread. Beautiful to look at and very yummy to eat! Ally does not care for mousse or jello or jelly or pudding textures, except for ice cream, so she opted for ice cream.

 

This was a great meal, very tasty and most importantly, small portions. We were able to finish the entire meal without having to call for a wheelbarrow or wheelchair. I really like that.

 

Italian night was one of our favorite theme nights. And the Head Waiter’s Penne did not disappoint. Easily the best course of the night. Ally’s fettucine Alfredo was flavorless beside it. For about the 3rd night in a row, I had a braised dish, the beef brasato and Judy had the mahi-mahi. Both were really good. And like the shows, after the trip to Vegas, I have a new appreciation for the MDR food. Think about it for a minute. I went to Vegas and three of us had dinner on the stratotower. Cost was over $300 for the three of us. Great view, good company, great service, good food. Unique, once in a lifetime experience. Contrast that with sailing down the inside passage, watching snow capped peaks glide by, with the occasional Orca or whale siting, a fantastic view, good company, great service and good food. And we’re getting this entire experience for about the same price as a dinner in a fancy Las Vegas restaurant. Room and board included! With entertainment. So in the overall course of things, we’re definitely cruising for her birthdays from now on.

 

The Landfall Dinner was an appetizer frenzy for me. The special Alaska apps were beer batter fried razor clams with sweet potato fries, a wild game pate with an apple jello and a prickly pear fruit and pineapple plate. I had them all. All of them were really good, but my favorite was the wild game pate and the jello stuff. And then I topped that with the wild boar pasta, followed by the halibut main course. Really, really good. Best meal in the MDR of the whole cruise.

 

Judy had the beer batter clams and the Fettucine Alfredo, with the King Crab legs main course. Judy says they were some of the best crab legs she’s had on a ship. Ally had her shrimp cocktail, Fettucine Alfredo and surf and turf and liked all of them. Bernardo and Menando gave us a folded shirt map of the Golden with a thank you note. Although we didn’t eat a lot of meals in the MDR, they were very kind to Ally and she loved the little heart that Menando made of the straw wrapper when he delivered her drink.

 

Crab Shack

 

Crab shack is an alternative venue held on different nights, as announced in the patter, in a closed off area of the HC. Much like the old Sterling Steakhouse was done. It offers crab, clam and mussel boils of different variety. It’s an additional charge venue @ $20 a head.

 

This was the best prepared meal we’ve ever had at Crab Shack. Joe’s Crab Shack at home is such a disappointment because it’s under spiced and overcooked – pretty much always. This meal was perfectly prepared. Overcooked shrimp is simply ‘mealy’ – our shrimp was wonderful, plump and juicy. I had the mixed boil and Judy has the Alaskan King Crab pot. Way too much food, but oh so good. Best pot of mixed seafood boil I’ve ever had. Still would have preferred the larger Pacific Northwest clams and mussels, but that was just minor. I don’t think we got through half the pot. And they make a pretty good Moscow Mule, my new drink of choice alternative to Long Island Iced Teas. Still searching for a Mule like the one we had at Rick Moonen’s Seafood in Vegas last April. That was something special. Here on the ship, they use Ginger Ale as opposed to a ginger beer, but all things considered, it’s not bad.

 

On the other hand, dessert was just so so. The blueberry cake was good. Typical European style thin, multilayered cake with semi-sweet whipped cream frosting, but the cheesecake was anything but. The bottom layer was sort of cheesecake, but the upper half was a gelatinized semi-sweet something with a texture like rubbery jello. A little bit too rubbery for my taste. But it didn’t detract from that great pot of seafood.

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Ultimate Kids Drink Package

 

We also purchased Ally an Ultimate Kid’s Package sticker. This gave her unlimited sodas, mocktails and hot chocolates for the cruise. At a little over $8 a day, she only had to have two drinks to pay for it, and for most days she had three or four, so it was worth the price.

 

Platinum Studio

 

Because Ally was on the cruise, we decided to splurge on a Platinum Studio session. The Platinum Studio was fun and interesting. Made so by David, the artist on board, and make no mistake, what he does and what he attempts to capture by camera is not just simple photography. The angles, lighting, expressions, settings and moods he was able to capture in just the few raws that I saw were really, really impressive. This was not a simple walk down the gang plank, pose, snap, “next!”, process.

 

Dave narrowed it down to about 112 photos in the video presentation and we had to narrow it down to 32, then to 7. One group, one individual each and pairs. It was not easy as these photos are very special. Something about the black and white, the lighting, the mood David set, just set these apart. We’ve had family studio photos before, but in color, and with the dogs, and special valentine photos, and those were also very nicely done, but these seem more vibrant, more alive, more moment frozen in time, than any we’ve ever had done. Needless to say, there went the entire Christmas budget!

 

Captain’s Circle

 

Statistics

 

5/22/2015 Cruise: 2759 passengers on board. 185 elites, 348 platinum, 208 ruby, 563 gold and 1455 blue cards. The cutoff for the most traveled party was 320 days.

 

6/1/2015 Cruise: 2837 passengers, 262 under 21, 1694 Blue, 471 Gold, 199 Ruby, 333 Platinum, 140 Elite. Most traveled was 1164 days. Most traveled cutoff was 274 days.

 

The Captain’s Circle Hostess was Melissa Van Zyl. She was one of the most friendly and ever present hostesses we’ve come across. Every night, she went around the Elite Lounge talking to various passengers, getting feedback, and just socializing. Her most traveled luncheons were great and she was always glad to see us and made a point of stopping and saying hello whenever she ran into us.

 

Elite Lounge

 

The Elite lounge was held in Skywalkers each day except for the Captain’s Circle party day. From 1700 to 1900 there was a small buffet of snacks, featuring a main item like sushi, port marinated stilton cheese, chips and guacamole, along with a drink of the day for $5. There are always available cheeses and veggie snacks as well.

 

We made it up on several occasions. It wasn’t too crowded and service was prompt and very friendly.

 

Most Traveled Luncheon

 

We’ve only recently started making the cut for these additional perks. After 300+ days sailing. Better late than never I suppose!

 

The luncheon, for the top 40 most traveled passengers is very special and much more enjoyable than the cocktail party. There are 7 tables, each table is joined by a major officer or staff member. For example, the head table is the Captain’s table, then various department heads, the doctor, the Cruise Director, etc. We sat on the first cruise with the ship’s doctor and on the second cruise with the new Deputy CD, Kelly, whom we’ve sailed with before. It’s a much more intimate gathering, and it was held in Crown Grill, so there was not a lot of noise and you were able to carry on a conversation with your table mates.

 

There is assigned seating, with a little name tag and a personalized menu as well. Really elegantly set table.

 

The luncheon was fantastic with a lobster appetizer, or a Penne Pasta appetizer, a seafood or filet main course and a chocolate dessert, followed by coffee and peti-fors. It was the same menu both weeks, but we got to try all the various choices and combinations. The lobster appetizer was fantastic, the filet very well done. The chocolate dessert, plate licking good.

 

CC Party

 

The Captain’s Circle party was held in Vista, on a non-formal night, and was pretty much standard. We only attended one, but it was fun to bring Ally in on it. They even had virgin drink choices on every tray. The captain, the future cruise lady and Melissa had a few words, we all drank, and that was it.

 

Still a nice perk.

[ccrain]

I’ve saved the best for last. The cruise staff of CD, Deputy CD, Assistant CDs and Junior Assistant CDs are the number one contributing factor to a cruise for us.

 

Matias, Jamie, Sam, Megan, Tomami, Kim, Walter were the primary cruise staff – although on the first cruise Billy London, the CD, was off at a Princess CD retreat so Matias had to be the CD for the first cruise. On the second cruise Billy was back, so we got to see a bit more of Matias in his Deputy CD role.

 

As previously mentioned we sailed with Sam and Jamie on the Ruby in 2013 for 51 days, so we were so excited to see them again. We had sailed with Billy before, but none of the others.

 

The cruise staff is mainly responsible for entertaining the passengers between meals. Trivia’s, game shows, theme nights, parties, activities, you name it, they do it.

 

And on this cruise they did it very well.

 

Judy and I’s personal thanks to all of them for making this cruise so very special to Ally, and to us.

[ccrain]

I have posted a pdf review with photos here:

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEOFlBRk9QeXVXeFk/view?usp=sharing

[gertz]

WOW. Probably the longest review I've seem. And I haven't finished it yet, but will.

 

What caught my eye was taking your grand daughter. We did the same thing probably six years ago she was thirteen, on the Coral. Her aunt and uncle were also on the cruise. A great, great time. Her first and for us it still remains our very favorite cruise of all time. And like you we have done a few also all on Princess. We also took her on the Eagle preserve float trip in Haines. We have also done the jet boat there.

 

Must run thank you.

 

Jack and Nora

[crochetcruise]

The Ship

 

 

Unlike our first time in the Star back in 2004, I must say, the basic Grand Class remains one of our favorite, all things considered. (Although we do miss Club Fusion in the super grands and Diamond/Sapphire.) We’ve been on all the ships except the Pacific/Ocean and once we figured out how to avoid the crowds we’ve been enjoying the amenities in the Grand Class – although the Coral and pre-drydock Island still remain our number one choice.

 

The Golden has just been refurbed, but not in a major way. Basic hull painting, reconfiguration of the external Horizon Court, new carpets and lots of new furniture. She has had the Gem Class upgrade with the IC, Vines, and Piazza in prior drydocks. She retains Vista, Explorers, and the shopping cart handle Skywalkers. Three Main Dining Rooms, the hard to find traditional aft dining room on Deck 6 (Canaletto), the midships Deck 6 dining room (Donatello) and the midships deck 5 dining room (Bernini). Unlike the Grand, she does have the central staircase from 5 to 14.

 

During the recent drydock, the HC area was completely redone with new dessert/alternative bars set up the outboard side of each HC. Desserts, noodles, special entrees, are set up on this bar to relieve congestion in the HC itself. The interior stations of the HC were not significantly changed – just redone with a lighter tile work along with new flooring. New carpet, chairs, lots of tile and lighter colors are everywhere.

 

For entertainment venues there is the theater up front, casino just behind it on Deck 7, the Promenade Bar, Explorer’s Lounge and Vista Lounge. The disco/nightclub is Skywalkers up on Deck 17.

 

A couple of notes for new cruisers. The carpet in the cabin hallways is color coded. The Port side carpet, even cabin numbers, has an orange/red pattern in it. The Starboard side carpet, odd numbers, does not. The only way to the Deck 6 dining room (Canaletto) is via the aft stairs or the Aft outboard elevators. You can’t get there from the central area at all. You also can’t get from the Canaletto to the Piazza via deck 6. You must go up to deck 7, go forward, then down.

 

The aft outboard elevators (the two on the outside) are also the only elevators to Skywalkers. On the Golden, they are independently controlled. Pushing the up or down button on the outboard elevators calls only them. Pushing the button for the two central elevators calls only them.

 

Similarly, the 6 central elevators go from Deck 5 to Deck 14. But only the four main elevators (not the two Piazza elevators, go to deck 5). And they are independent. You must call the two Piazza elevators separately from the four mains.

 

Also on the Golden, the Youth area is forward, not aft, on Deck 15. It is a bit cramped and 14+ teens will find themselves a bit bored, unless they are big into video games. There are no 3rd gen consoles (PS 4, Xbox One). Ally went to the teen center only a few times and left to go find other things to do.

 

The covered aft Emerald deck mini’s are just a perfect choice for us in location and comfort for three people. Ally slept on the sleeper sofa, not the fold down bunk. There is plenty of “stuff” room and the ease in getting to deck 7 and back is very convenient. Even the infamously friendly shower curtain behaved on this cruise. We normally book a normal balcony for just the two of us, but there was plenty of room for the three of us.

 

THANK YOU! This newbie cruiser was bamboozled by the term "outboard" which you explained very simply in a way that is most relevant to me-outboard means the end elevators in a row of 4 or more.

 

Crochetcruise :cool:

[pennst8r]

The Landfall Dinner sounds amazing. Was that the last night of the cruise (as expected ;) ) or another night?

 

I will be on the Grand southbound in July with 11 other family members. We want to do Crown Grill and, maybe, Sabatini's as well. With a large group of 12, I know it will be important to schedule specialty dining early in the cruise. I don't want to miss a particularly good dinner in the MDR that would be preferred by the five kids and several adults who are very careful about what they eat.

 

It would be great if someone who has sailed southbound on the Grand reads this and can post MDR menus by day either here or in another thread.

 

Enjoying your review and also your posts on the other thread! Thanks!!

[ccrain]

The Landfall Dinner sounds amazing. Was that the last night of the cruise (as expected ;) ) or another night?

 

I will be on the Grand southbound in July with 11 other family members. We want to do Crown Grill and, maybe, Sabatini's as well. With a large group of 12, I know it will be important to schedule specialty dining early in the cruise. I don't want to miss a particularly good dinner in the MDR that would be preferred by the five kids and several adults who are very careful about what they eat.

 

It would be great if someone who has sailed southbound on the Grand reads this and can post MDR menus by day either here or in another thread.

 

Enjoying your review and also your posts on the other thread! Thanks!!

 

I would schedule Crown Grill as soon as you get on the ship. Call the dine line right away. The 50th anniversary dinner will probably be the first formal night. The second formal night is lobster night, not one of our favorite menus.

[skiladyldp]

ccrain- We are doing the exact same cruise on Golden July 1. This will be our first Princess cruise and only our third cruise, previous cruises were on Oceania. Can you tell me when to expect the formal nights? I want to go to the first one for the Anniversary dinner and I am undecided if I will go to the second one. I want to schedule dinners in the specialty restaurants as well and you said you need to do that asap by calling on the dining line. Is that a button I will see on the phone? Sorry for dumb question but I want to get that done first thing. How do you schedule Joe's crab shack?

 

Thank you for your help.

[caribill]

I want to schedule dinners in the specialty restaurants as well and you said you need to do that asap by calling on the dining line. Is that a button I will see on the phone? Sorry for dumb question but I want to get that done first thing. How do you schedule Joe's crab shack?

 

 

Your cabin phone will have a button marked DINE. The public phones do not have this button.

 

Schedule the crab shack (it is not Joe's) the same way.

[ccrain]

ccrain- We are doing the exact same cruise on Golden July 1. This will be our first Princess cruise and only our third cruise, previous cruises were on Oceania. Can you tell me when to expect the formal nights? I want to go to the first one for the Anniversary dinner and I am undecided if I will go to the second one. I want to schedule dinners in the specialty restaurants as well and you said you need to do that asap by calling on the dining line. Is that a button I will see on the phone? Sorry for dumb question but I want to get that done first thing. How do you schedule Joe's crab shack?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

That could change. When you get on board, the first embarkation patter will have the formal dress schedule for the entire cruise. Then call the dine line - 3463 - they will have the Crab Shack dates and if they are on their toes, will have the menu nights as well, but might not.

 

Make a point to schedule everything right away, as everything books up quite rapidly.

[ccrain]

Your cabin phone will have a button marked DINE. The public phones do not have this button.

 

Schedule the crab shack (it is not Joe's) the same way.

 

The only decent Joe's I've ever been in was in Norfolk, VA while TDY. Everyone here in the Springs just cooks everything to death and the seating is uncomfortable and they are noisy and the service is not too good.

 

You shouldn't have the same problem on the ship.

[lovevacadays]

What a wonderful and informative review. And, how nice that you took your granddaughter on such a wonderful trip.

[cma2008]

What is the "Platinum Studio" thing you talked about?

[caribill]

What is the "Platinum Studio" thing you talked about?

 

It is a photo studio where b&w photographs are by someone knowledgeable in lighting and posing.

 

Dozens of photos will be taken and the photographer will make an appointment for you to come back and look at the best of them and select which ones you might want.

 

The prints are made back on land with some touchup and on special photo paper. They are delivered several weeks after you return from the cruise.

 

It is not inexpensive. I think the least expensive print is $199 for an 8x10.

Edited June 20, 2015 by caribill