REVIEW: Grand Princess to Alaska

[cr8tiv1]

Those were amazing photos! Thanks for sharing.

 

Okay...I can't find the photos. Couldn't find your signature.

[Vacay2Somewhere]

Wonderful review. Great photos! Thanks for sharing.

[gdisney]

Thanks so much for posting your review. Did they have you tender in Juneau because there were too many ships?

 

Presumably, yes, though I think there was only 2 other ships with us while we were there. Not really sure how that came to be, though it had been listed on the Princess site a long time ago, so we did know in advance.

[gdisney]

Okay...I can't find the photos. Couldn't find your signature.

 

Here's a direct link to the photos

[Yehootu]

We were also on that sailing.

Ketchikan= Mom had a PICC line in and it had to be removed on the day we arrived in port. If a visit to an Emergency room can be a great experience, this one was. I had called and set it up and it worked out great. After that a stop at the Sourdough Bar at the end of the Large shopping place.

 

Juneau= I have 35 years a commercial airline pilot and have always wanted to fly in a helicopter. My wife, the former Flight Attendant, said NO way as God didn't make anything that flys like that. I asked what she wanted to do and she said Dog Sled on the Glacier, but it was in a D*mn helicopter. I booked outside the ship with Coastal Helicopters, cheaper-better times- wife couldn't see it in our personalizer. Was incredible. Both the ride and the dog mushing. I now have the go ahead to take an intro ride into flying her hated aircraft.

 

Skagway= Last time here we did the Dog mushing camp. This time we went in search of Moms jewelry. Found the alaskan Black Gold. Lunch and beers at Skagway Brewery.

 

Victoria= Moms 94th Bday. Asked her what she wanted to do and since we've been there several times, she stated "Go to a Bar". Found the Breakway restaurant and bar with in walking distance of the ship. to back early and beat the rush.

 

Last sea day we took the "Behind the Scenes Tour". Very good and informative. $150.00pp and need min of 5 people to do tour. We had 7, and it moved along quickly.

 

Second Alaska cruise on Grand from SFO. We used Exucar( a division of Super Shuttle) and the service was excellent. 3 of us, 3 large bags, and a transport chair. Brand new SUV, driver on call. Can't say enough, $70.00 plus tip. Highly recommend. Have used UBER and Princess transfers before.

 

Everyone rants about how Glacier Bay is Soooo much better. Think the Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier are just as equal. Cant Smith took us ALL the way in. What I missed the most was the Reindeer Chili and bullion on the deck as we had in Glacier Bay.

 

Excellent staff as we've had before on the Grand. Old, but still a nice ship and crew.

Aloha.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your review.

[boltnut55]

Question for the OP or any other CC member who has cruised through Victoria:

 

I will be meeting friends in downtown Victoria for lunch. How do I get there (I don't like to walk)?

 

I know there will be taxis. Will they accept credit cards? US $?

 

I've read there is a Princess shuttle that runs every 20 minutes for a fee. Is it still available this year? How???

 

I also understand there are pedicabs (not excited about this option).

 

Any other information would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

You can take a taxi from the dock and pay with credit card. I don't know exactly where you're going, but it was $9 (without tips) to Empress Hotel. For anyone who wants to walk, I'll say it's a good 20+ minute walk. When you walk to the port area, there are many "ambassadors" who will provide you with map and instructions, but I know you said you didn't want to walk. There were definitely pedicabs, but we also didn't use one.

[boltnut55]

Okay...I can't find the photos. Couldn't find your signature.

 

Go back to the OP's original thread, and at the bottom, it'll say Expand Signature. Click that; it's the last one at the bottom.

[Gimer]

Displaced Local Girl, It's called the Ogden Point Cruise Shuttle. Go straight to the buses on the Ogden Pier and they will sell you a ticket for $13 USD and print out a Return Ticket. This service only stops at two location. First one is by the Empress Hotel on Government Street and the second stop is on Government and Fort Streets. It's a 25 to 30 minutes round trip cycle.

[gdisney]

Everyone rants about how Glacier Bay is Soooo much better. Think the Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier are just as equal. Cant Smith took us ALL the way in. What I missed the most was the Reindeer Chili and bullion on the deck as we had in Glacier Bay.

.

 

I would tend to agree - Tracy Arm is quite nice. IF you can get that close to Sawyer of course ;)

[CruisinMinnie]

I would tend to agree - Tracy Arm is quite nice. IF you can get that close to Sawyer of course ;)

 

This was the first time we even came close to Sawyer glacier....after three previous cruises with Tracy Arm in the itinerary. It was great to see it up close.

[azbirdmom]

You can take a taxi from the dock and pay with credit card. I don't know exactly where you're going, but it was $9 (without tips) to Empress Hotel. For anyone who wants to walk, I'll say it's a good 20+ minute walk. When you walk to the port area, there are many "ambassadors" who will provide you with map and instructions, but I know you said you didn't want to walk. There were definitely pedicabs, but we also didn't use one.

 

We walked downtown last week. Took a right as we came out of the port and then a left at Oswego where we walked until we got to the waterfront which took us roughly 20 minutes. Then we headed past the Empress and on to the shops on Government street, heading back when we got to Chinatown. We walked back along the water, stopping at Fisherman's Wharf to see the colorful house boats and to have yummy halibut fish and chips before we headed back to the ship.

 

It's a nice walk and I'm guessing we walked more than 4 miles total. There's lots of benches along the waterfront for rest stops and gorgeous scenery and historic plaques and statues along the way. Well worth it if you're healthy and able to walk.