Live From Majestic Princess JB5 Denali Explorer Alaska Cruise Tour 6-2022

[memoak]

Is the cruise portion of this trip a southbound Whittier to. Vancouver cruise ?  If so what are the masking mandates for MDR, casino and bars ?  Are the bars open for seating at the bar ?  We will be on b2b cruises on the Royal in August and are trying to figure out what mandates will be enforced 

[Steelers0854]

It’s not looking promising today. 


 

 

1 hour ago, clueless2 said:

Make sure to try to get a wake view leaving Glacier Bay. We had a great sunset leaving.  This was in late May.

 

unfortunately I don’t think we are going to get that view today. 😔

 

30 minutes ago, memoak said:

Is the cruise portion of this trip a southbound Whittier to. Vancouver cruise ?  If so what are the masking mandates for MDR, casino and bars ?  Are the bars open for seating at the bar ?  We will be on b2b cruises on the Royal in August and are trying to figure out what mandates will be enforced 

Yes it is. masks are required at all times when in doors unless you are eating or drinking. People generally are wearing masks while walking around indoors. I only see a couple of people not. However once you’re sitting down, even if not actively eating or drinking, it seems the masks are optional (against the policy but this seems to be the going trend).  Sorry smoke doesn’t do well with my allergies so I steer clear of the casino so can’t report about that. But you can sit at any bar and freely drink. They did not do the Captains Champaign toast/waterfall. That’s about the only change I have seen. 

[memoak]

1 minute ago, Steelers0854 said:

It’s not looking promising today. 


 

 

 

unfortunately I don’t think we are going to get that view today. 😔

 

Yes it is. masks are required at all times when in doors unless you are eating or drinking. People generally are wearing masks while walking around indoors. I only see a couple of people not. However once you’re sitting down, even if not actively eating or drinking, it seems the masks are optional (against the policy but this seems to be the going trend).  Sorry smoke doesn’t do well with my allergies so I steer clear of the casino so can’t report about that. But you can sit at any bar and freely drink. They did not do the Captains Champaign toast/waterfall. That’s about the only change I have seen. 

I can live with those rules. It is pretty much how we handled a coastal cruise earlier this year

[elcydcruiser]

Thank you very much….. loving your review.  Question about laundry along the Denali and on board… Along Denali, how are the machines paid….coin or dollar bills?  On board, are the machines paid using the Medallion App or coin/dollar bills? Appreciate your information.

We are on Royal Connoisseur/Southbound Aug 5th.

Edited June 13, 2022 by elcydcruiser
Additional info

[Thrak]

29 minutes ago, elcydcruiser said:

On board, are the machines paid using the Medallion App or coin/dollar bills?

 

On the ships you now use your Medallion to purchase tokens in the laundry room. (Assuming the machines are working.) I believe it's $3 to wash and $3 to dry.

[curlybelle2]

On 6/9/2022 at 1:03 PM, Steelers0854 said:

It’s first come first served for the bus. You basically just jump on any bus to the train depot that you would like. It’s a very short 10 minute trip.

 

The train is absolutely amazing. There were separately branded cars for HAL and Princess.

 

The top level is a dome and that’s where your assigned seats are. The bottom level is the dining section that you can go to as needed.

 

 

The seats are incredibly comfortable and spacious. But keep in mind there is obviously no overhead storage. So anything you bring with you will take up your legroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, I am following along. We are considering an Alaska land cruise tour and cruise next year. I noticed prices on the menus on your pictures during the land tour and on the menu on the train. I assumed the food was included in the price, like the cruise. Do you have to pay for your own food during the land tour and train portion?

thanks Kaye

[arizonaperson]

41 minutes ago, curlybelle2 said:

Hi, I am following along. We are considering an Alaska land cruise tour and cruise next year. I noticed prices on the menus on your pictures during the land tour and on the menu on the train. I assumed the food was included in the price, like the cruise. Do you have to pay for your own food during the land tour and train portion?

thanks Kaye

 I’m pretty sure on the land portion you pay for your own food unless it’s a connoisseur tour and/or escorted tour.

 We went on an Alaska cruise several ,several years ago and all the food on the land tour  & train we paid for. But I highly recommend the land tour  and then a cruise after. 

[Thrak]

47 minutes ago, curlybelle2 said:

Hi, I am following along. We are considering an Alaska land cruise tour and cruise next year. I noticed prices on the menus on your pictures during the land tour and on the menu on the train. I assumed the food was included in the price, like the cruise. Do you have to pay for your own food during the land tour and train portion?

thanks Kaye

 

We have done 2 connoisseur cruise tours to Alaska. One 13 day and one 15 day. With the connoisseur cruise tour most food is included. There are a few exceptions. We had excellent meals and the connoisseur tour took very good care of us. It was worth the extra cost to us.

 

At the Denali lodge my wife ordered the $55 crab dinner. It was included. Not so strangely, she ordered it again on the second tour.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Thrak

[CathySun]

Thank you for your report, I am enjoying following along.  If you get a chance I would love to see the cocktail/beer menu with prices.

[Steelers0854]

6 hours ago, elcydcruiser said:

Thank you very much….. loving your review.  Question about laundry along the Denali and on board… Along Denali, how are the machines paid….coin or dollar bills?  On board, are the machines paid using the Medallion App or coin/dollar bills? Appreciate your information.

We are on Royal Connoisseur/Southbound Aug 5th.

unfortunately we only saw they had the laundry rooms we didn’t actually go in. The other posters are right and Thrak was spot on with the prices. 

 

5 hours ago, curlybelle2 said:

Hi, I am following along. We are considering an Alaska land cruise tour and cruise next year. I noticed prices on the menus on your pictures during the land tour and on the menu on the train. I assumed the food was included in the price, like the cruise. Do you have to pay for your own food during the land tour and train portion?

thanks Kaye

other posters were correct as well. We paid for everything until we hit the cruise ship. 

 

2 hours ago, CathySun said:

Thank you for your report, I am enjoying following along.  If you get a chance I would love to see the cocktail/beer menu with prices.

 
I grabbed this photo at the bar in the Hollywood pool deck. I’ll try and get some more detailed info for you. 
 

[Steelers0854]

It was a beautiful trip into the glacier. The rain started to head out leaving a cloudy day behind just as we arrived. While it wasn’t perfectly clear it was much clearer than it was when we were here 10 years ago.

 

 

We basically stayed in the Conservatory all day with small trips to the cabin to get better pictures when we hit the glacier and to deck 18 to get some wild life photos. We saw multiple whales, bears, eagles and otters.

 

The weather was pretty mild. If it weren’t for the breeze it wouldn’t even be that cold outside.

 

I grabbed lunch at the buffet. The entire buffet has not been opened any of the days. My guess there is not enough guests nor crew on board to support every station being open. The food in the buffet was very good, no complaints. They serve you and hand you a napkin and silverware. There are salt and sugar shakers on all the tables. There are also plenty of staff around taking drink orders etc.

 

 

DW got miso ramen soup from the noodle bar. They can make it with rice noodles. It was a spicy delicious broth and I would recommend it. They have 3 options with 2 consistent every day and the third rotates each day.

 

 

We simply watched the beautiful scenery and enjoyed the day until dinner. Tonight is Italian night.

 

 

DW got her usual salad. I got the melon and prosciutto appetizer and it was what you would expect a solid choice.

 

 

DW wasn’t sure what she was getting for dinner. She asked if they could do some kind of pasta and they said they would check and put something together for her. They ended up using tofu and corn tortillas to make a lasagna type meal that she said was delicious. The rest of the table got the shrimp and scallop entree. It was very good but be warned it’s a smaller portion.

 

 

 

For dessert they made DW a strawberry shortcake which she loved. I got the tiramisu and it was one of the better ones I’ve had on a Princess ship.

 

 

 

[milogurd]

14 hours ago, CathySun said:

Thank you for your report, I am enjoying following along.  If you get a chance I would love to see the cocktail/beer menu with prices.

https://profcruise.com/princess-bar-and-drink-menus-2022/

[Steelers0854]

A crowded morning in Skagway. 
 

 

followed by a later breakfast today. Our excursion leaves at 11:15AM and returns at 5:45PM. So we waited to get breakfast to tie us over til dinner. DW found a tofu scramble at the buffet which she said was good but very spicy. 

 

 

 

[Steelers0854]

4 total ships in port with us, the others are the Crown Princess, Celebrity Solstice, and the HAL Koningdam. 

[curlybelle2]

23 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

 I’m pretty sure on the land portion you pay for your own food unless it’s a connoisseur tour and/or escorted tour.

 We went on an Alaska cruise several ,several years ago and all the food on the land tour  & train we paid for. But I highly recommend the land tour  and then a cruise after. 

Thanks all who replied to me. I am so glad I asked. I thought all food was included on the land portion. We will plan accorded. Thanks again. 

[ghgeckos]

Do you know if they have the wine makers dinner? 

[Steelers0854]

The ferry to Haines was running a little late today so we ended up leaving about 15 minutes late. Our shop was docked in the closest possible location to the ferry dock, it was a very short walk.

 

 

45 minutes later we were on Haines where we boarded a converted school bus for our 45 minute drive to Steve Kroschel’s wildlife refuge.

 

 

He has about 60 animals on his 60 acre property and does 3 tours a day Tues-Thurs during the season. Steve is a real character but you can tell he has a deep love for all the animals on his property. This was an amazing excursion and I would highly recommend it. Who else can say they have petted a wolverine?

 

 

 

 

We did the reverse going back to the ship. They offered us a small bottle of water and some chips and cookies when we got aboard the bus to head back.  by the time we got on the ship it was time for dinner and we were all very ready for dinner.

 

 

 

We essentially got all the appetizers and the seafood soup. For entrees it was lasagna, prime rib, the steamed clams and shrimp and the curry fish. DW got her own special sauce with the prime rib. Everything was delicious but special shout-out to the crab and artichoke dip, the steelhead appetizer and the prime rib.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For dessert DW got the blueberry sorbet and they made her rice porridge which was absolutely delicious!

 

 

[Steelers0854]

it’s a beautiful, brisk morning in Juneau!

 

Toay we are headed to whale watching straightaway. 
 

[Steelers0854]

16 hours ago, ghgeckos said:

Do you know if they have the wine makers dinner? 

They do not. I believe it’s only the Royal and Regal that have it?

[partybarbie]

Thank you so much for your comments and pictures on Steve Kroschel's Wildlife Sanctuary. We booked it for our upcoming cruise.  If you have more photos, I would love to see them. 

[Thrak]

Just texted my wife's nephew on this cruise. Told him that, if they hit the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, to try the Duck Fart. (It's a multi-layered drink in a shot glass that you are supposed to shoot straight down.) I told him if they hit that venue to be sure to get his mom (wife's sister) to ask them how they make a Duck Fart. (Their usual answer is, "Squeeze it!")

Edited June 15, 2022 by Thrak

[Steelers0854]

It was an early 7:45am start for us today. We did a small boat science based whale watching excursion. It was a quick 30 minute drive to the dock and it was narrated by a local guide. It was a magnificent day. We boarded our boat with just 20 of us in total. This boat was amazing because the windows along the side open up and onto the boat, providing protection while in motion and beautiful viewing for everyone while watching whales.

 

 

 

 

 

We started by going and pulling a small crab pot. They are monitoring for invasive species of crab. We didn’t find any today which is great news but we did find plenty of other fish and sea creatures.

 

 

We had the best day out on the water. It took us about 25 minutes to ride out into position and we were surrounded by whales. They said they rarely never see a whale but there are days they never see the flute (tail). That want today. We saw tons of flutes, a mother with it’s baby and even 2 whales cruising together. Plus we saw some sea lions along the way. It was incredible and looking at some of the other boats out there we easily had the best overall experience.

 

Huge shout out to Captain Joe and Mila our guide.

 

We got dropped off just before the ship and headed right to Tracy’s Crab Shack. Call it what you will (tourist trap etc) I call it delicious. What you are looking at is a 3 pound bucket, small crab cake, chowder and ceviche. The chowder is amazing, best you’ll ever have. The crab was equally amazing and delicious. The cakes were great as well.  To me it’s not a stop in Juneau without a stop here. 
 

 

 

 

[Steelers0854]

1 hour ago, partybarbie said:

Thank you so much for your comments and pictures on Steve Kroschel's Wildlife Sanctuary. We booked it for our upcoming cruise.  If you have more photos, I would love to see them. 

I would love to but in typical cruise critic fashion they dont like photos from my DSLR so I can’t post them. These are all from my iPhone. 

 

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Just texted my wife's nephew on this cruise. Told him that, if they hit the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, to try the Duck Fart. (It's a multi-layered drink in a shot glass that you are supposed to shoot straight down.) I told him if they hit that venue to be sure to get his mom (wife's sister) to ask them how they make a Duck Fart. (Their usual answer is, "Squeeze it!")

haha we will try and swing in while we walk around the town. 

[partybarbie]

No worries. Can’t wait to go in person.

[Steelers0854]

Look who joined us In Port today.