Alaska on Crown Princess June 2, 2023

[PurpleTraveller]

Friday June 2 - Embarkation Day Part 2

 

Our cabin was ready so we watched the muster video and checked in to our muster station. We then headed up to the Lido deck and got lunch at the Salty Dog Grill. We had a good view of Canada Place and the harbour.

 

 

 

 

We hadn't been on Crown Princess since our Baltic cruise in 2017 so we walked around the ship to check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our bags were at our cabin when we returned at 1.30pm so we unpacked. 

 

I checked our excursion tickets and was surprised to see that the meeting time for our 8.30am Whale Watching tour at Icy Strait Point was 10.45am. Thinking that there had been a mistake I went down to the the Shore Excursion desk only to be told that they had combined the four Whale Watching tours into one at 11.00am but not notified us of the change. This was after Princess had changed the tour previously from 9.30am to 8.30 am without notifying us and I only discovered the time change when checking my Travel Information. The new time did not suit us as the reason we had booked the first morning Whale Watching tour was so that we could walk into Hoonah and possibly go up the Cable Car if the weather was good. I asked if there was an afternoon whale tour that we could go on instead (and enable us to still do the other things we wanted to do in the morning) but was told that the 11.00am tour was the only whale watching tour.

 

When in Ketchikan we met a couple who had done a Princess whale watching tour in Icy Point Strait at 2.00pm and their friends had done one at 2.30pm so I don't know why I was told there weren't any afternoon whale watching tours that even if they were sold out I could have waitlisted for. I thought the communication from the shore excursion department was very poor as we received no notification at all about the changes to our shore excursion (yet I can still receive marketing emails from Princess each week).

 

After returning to our cabin and discussing the situation with DH we decided to cancel the tour and book the Remote Wildlife and Brown Bear Search at 9.30 to 12.00pm instead. So back to the Shore Excursion desk I went to organise this.

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

21 minutes ago, Coral said:

I was in E721 (I think) in May and my mattress was horrible.

 

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like the Emerald deck mattress need to be replaced.

[PurpleTraveller]

19 minutes ago, Teechur said:

We went around South America on the Crown in 2017. The mattresses probably haven't been changed since then.

 

After experiencing ours I wouldn't be surprised. When we on Crown in 2017 our mattress was very comfortable.

[PurpleTraveller]

11 minutes ago, SuzieQ521 said:

That's too bad...it seems like the Emerald Deck mattresses have not been replaced. We are on the Emerald Deck on the Crown in November so not looking forward to sleeping on those...😐

 

I really hope you get a better mattress than ours. Hope you have a great cruise in November!

[PurpleTraveller]

19 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Crown on Caribe deck balcony.  One side was worn down.  I don’t know why I didn’t ask for a topper or a replacement mattress.  Crazy 😳

 

Not good to hear. When we mentioned the saggy state of our mattresses to our steward he said there was nothing that he could do as there was already a mattress topper on the bed. We didn't think to ask for new mattresses. Sounds like there is an issue with the state of some mattresses on the Crown. 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[dockman]

6 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Not good to hear. When we mentioned the saggy state of our mattresses to our steward he said there was nothing that could be done as there was already a mattress topper on the bed. Sounds like there is an issue with the state of some mattresses on the Crown. 

I was on same cruise emerald deck 730 and my mattress was just fine

[Amy G]

42 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

Friday June 2 - Embarkation Day Part 2

 

 

After returning to our cabin and discussing the situation with DH we decided to cancel the tour and book the Remote Wildlife and Brown Bear Search at 9.30 to 12.00pm instead. So back to the Shore Excursion desk I went to organise this.

 

I look forward to hearing about this excursion as we have it booked for our cruise this month!

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Amy G

[Thrak]

Boarding in Vancouver is a joke. They are horribly "organized" if that word can even be applied. It's the worst I've ever encountered.

[CynCyn]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

Boarding in Vancouver is a joke. They are horribly "organized" if that word can even be applied. It's the worst I've ever encountered.

Horribly organized is EXACTLY right and all of the port volunteers and workers are very concerned with their illogical system.

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, dockman said:

I was on same cruise emerald deck 730 and my mattress was just fine

 

I'm really glad to hear this. It must just be random cabins which is better than all mattresses being bad.

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, Amy G said:

I look forward to hearing about this excursion as we have it booked for our cruise this month!

 

 

We enjoyed this excursion and it was lovely to get into nature. Hope you have a great cruise and thanks for reading the review.

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

Boarding in Vancouver is a joke. They are horribly "organized" if that word can even be applied. It's the worst I've ever encountered.

 

I totally agree and it was definitely the worst embarkation we have experienced anywhere in the world by a long way. We won't be rushing back to do a cruise out of Vancouver.

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, CynCyn said:

Horribly organized is EXACTLY right and all of the port volunteers and workers are very concerned with their illogical system.

 

The whole system of processing embarking passengers needs to be reorganised within the boundaries of the restrictions of the building to make it easier and more logical for everyone - workers, volunteers and passengers. I feel sorry for the people working there having to deal with the disorganisation every day.

[PurpleTraveller]

Friday June 2 - Embarkation Day Part 3

 

We were supposed to depart at 4.30pm but we didn't sail on time. As I wanted to be on deck for the sail away to watch the scenery at 5.00pm I dashed down to Deck 6 to cancel our reservation at Botticelli Dining Room for 6.00pm. At 5.30pm we sailed away and we made our way through the harbour and under the Lions Gate Bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Just after we sailed under the bridge the captain made an announcement at 6.10pm, that there was a medical emergency and we would be stopping in the harbour so that a medical evacuation could take place by boat. 

 

While we were waiting we had pizza on the Sun Deck and chatted to a couple that we met. The view was great on a lovely evening.

 

 

 

The medical evacuation took place at 7.10pm but then the captain made another announcement that a medical crew member had gone with the patient and we would have to wait for their return. At 7.50pm the medical crew member was returned to the ship by boat and at 8.00pm we finally sailed away from Vancouver. The scenery was lovely and we even saw an Orca.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Itinerary

 

I probably should have put this at the beginning of the review but here it is now.

 

When I started looking at Alaska itineraries I was looking for a cruise that went to more than the big three of Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan and I didn't really want to do a B2B which visited the same ports both ways. This 11 day itinerary was just what I was looking for with six different ports, a full port day in Victoria, scenic cruising, returning to the same port and on a ship with a full Promenade.

 

 

 

 

 

[Coral]

10 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like the Emerald deck mattress need to be replaced.

Our Deck 8 wasn't full so I remember walking up and down the hallway to get to my room and I noticed 3-4 different styles of carpets in the rooms. Your room had the same carpet mine did but others had far more stylish carpet. They mentioned if carpet is ruined by stains they can't get out, they replace it with nicer looking carpet. 

[Coral]

10 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

Friday June 2 - Embarkation Day Part 2

 

Our cabin was ready so we watched the muster video and checked in to our muster station. We then headed up to the Lido deck and got lunch at the Salty Dog Grill. We had a good view of Canada Place and the harbour.

 

 

 

 

We hadn't been on Crown Princess since our Baltic cruise in 2017 so we walked around the ship to check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our bags were at our cabin when we returned at 1.30pm so we unpacked. 

 

I checked our excursion tickets and was surprised to see that the meeting time for our 8.30am Whale Watching tour at Icy Strait Point was 10.45am. Thinking that there had been a mistake I went down to the the Shore Excursion desk only to be told that they had combined the four Whale Watching tours into one at 11.00am but not notified us of the change. This was after Princess had changed the tour previously from 9.30am to 8.30 am without notifying us and I only discovered the time change when checking my Travel Information.

I wish you had gone with Glacier Wind for whale watching. They are in Hoonah, a small family run organization and their whale watching trips are great. And their tours are in the morning.

[dockman]

That medical emergency delay while sad for the passenger really was quite pleasant as the ship just sat there on far side of lions gate bridge at anchor for couple of hours and the scenery was spectacular in the late afternoon....lots of people out on the decks enjoying the views.

 

I did crown back to back may 23 and then again june 2....may 23 was lots of rain and fog most every day...jun 2 was not a drop of rain and great weather with lots of sunshine...luck of the draw.

[nasa1974]

17 hours ago, Thrak said:

Boarding in Vancouver is a joke. They are horribly "organized" if that word can even be applied. It's the worst I've ever encountered.

I guess I will have the chance to experience this in October. Staying at the Pan Pacific so maybe a different experience? 😬

[dockman]

May 23 boarding of crown in yvr was the worst congestion i can remember and i have done a LOT of cruises out of yvr...the biggest hold up seemed to be the US immigration part which is now all machines.  Not sure why or what slowed it all down but it was a LONG wait in line to get through all that which was to check u out of Canada and soon enter into usa i guess.  Big deal but of course after the cruise when you reenter Canada no big deal at all.  I did have elite boarding so got to skip that part which also looked like long lines.

[Thrak]

Our biggest problem boarding in Vancouver was being lumped in with the passengers from another cruise line in a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong line that wound around and around. Why in the world can't they do it like every other port where passengers from multiple cruise lines aren't lumped into one idiotically long line. I don't care at all about people getting on some other ship. I was supposed to have a "boarding group" time and Elite boarding. Instead I spent a good 90 minutes winding my way through the stupid long line with a ton of other people who were on a different ship. Then I was finally passed through to the next session of scrutiny that was only for the Princess passengers. Stupid, Horrible, Idiotic.

[sunviking90]

1 hour ago, nasa1974 said:

I guess I will have the chance to experience this in October. Staying at the Pan Pacific so maybe a different experience? 😬

We boarded the crown June 23 (Friday) and were on board in 15 -20 minutes. We do have Nexus, so I don’t know how long it would have taken without. We arrived around 10:30 am. We’ve been lucky I guess that we’ve never had to wait “too” long in YVR. It will also depend on how many ships are in that day. We also avoid May cruises as there are always growing pains with new staff, equipment, etc.
The problem with Vancouver is that the facility was built in the 80’s as a convention centre/cruise terminal and the ships were half the size as well as fewer of them. There are a LOT of ships sailing to Alaska this year!

It was expanded about 20 years ago to handle more ships, but not much can be done with the interior set up. The areas they are now using to manage passenger check ins are some of the convention halls. It is also only a “seasonal” port with new seasonal staff every year. Add to that the need for most passengers to funnel through US customs, which is unique (I think) to Vancouver.

At least Vancouver has the advantage of being right downtown and the better scenery of the BC inside passage.

OP thank you for taking the time to do a trip report. It’s nice to relive the cruise through your eyes. We also had an obstructed OV (last minute booking) and I tried to pick the least obstructed I could, but your view was definitely better!

Edited July 13, 2023 by sunviking90

[latebuyer]

I found complaints about embarkation surprising. It only took me about 30 minutes to get through check in and customs for my june 25 sailing with rccl. There was a huge celebrity eclipse ship at the same time. I went at 11am. Customs i was lucky to get in a short line which for some reason a lot of people weren't using. It was a little confusing which line you were supposed to go into.

Edited July 13, 2023 by latebuyer

[PurpleTraveller]

10 hours ago, Coral said:

Our Deck 8 wasn't full so I remember walking up and down the hallway to get to my room and I noticed 3-4 different styles of carpets in the rooms. Your room had the same carpet mine did but others had far more stylish carpet. They mentioned if carpet is ruined by stains they can't get out, they replace it with nicer looking carpet. 

 

That's interesting. I didn't notice different carpet in cabins as I was so busy trying to see what their view was like from their windows.😊

[PurpleTraveller]

10 hours ago, Coral said:

I wish you had gone with Glacier Wind for whale watching. They are in Hoonah, a small family run organization and their whale watching trips are great. And their tours are in the morning.

 

If I go back again I definitely will! At the time I booked the excursion I was trying to use some of my OBC and then after cancelling the excursion I wanted to use the refunded OBC. We did end up having a good time on our Wilderness excursion as the countryside was lovely.