Just Back from Alaska, Discovery Princess, my 2 cents

[rp23g7]

HI, Just off the Discovery Princess, May 11 to May 18th Inside Passage cruise, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchican, Victoria, my little review.

 

We are from Seattle, never done Alaska before, but when we talk to people on a Carribean cruise or Mexican Riviera who have been on 50 or so cruises, everyone says Alaska was their favorite.  so it was time to try, NO AIRFARE, YIPPEEE.  Had not been on a cruise for 7 yrs due to other pursuits.

 

I have been a avid hiker, boy scout so i have been all over the Cascades and Olympics, my dad flew his whole life so i have flown over the mountains too, and skied my whole life so there is that.

 

First, we have been to most of the Florida departure ports, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Port Canaveral, been to Galvaston, LA, and San Fransisco.

Pier 91 Smith Cove was the most unorganized Embarkation ever, no one knew anything, not sure where to go, etc, oh well, not a big deal.

 

Discovery Princess was awsome, unfortunatly we book a inside cabin, A431, not a bad cabin, i like the reverse layout it had, the door opened into the room itself rather than the little hallway on older Princess Ships.

 

i also liked that they have quit pushing drinks all the time, nobody ever asked if i wanted a drink in any theater etc.

 

Seattle Departure, 80 degrees in Seattle, saw Killer Whales right off the stern as we were leaving, Never seen that perspective of Seattle before.

 

Day at sea, just regular stuff going on

 

Juneau, raining in the morning, 40 degrees brrrr.  neat little town, seems so isolated though, having to fly or sail somewhere just to fly or sail somewhere.  We walked around went to the Red Dog Saloon, big line, so i went around the corner and had a shot at the Quack Shack Shot Bar.

 

I had made a reservation with Shore Excursions.com, to go to the Mendenhall glacier, $134 for 2 people.  We took their tour bus up to the visitor center and walked around, it had stopped raining so it was pretty nice.  

 

Skagway.   Woke up and went outside, WOW, What a neat little place.  It was cloudy, but not raining, i looked up and there was a killer view of a snowy mountain peak showing through the opening in the clouds.  I had also made a reservation with Shore Exursions.com, for the White Pass Summit, also about $134 for 2 people.  I thought it was for the train ride, but it turned out it was the city tour/summit on the tour bus.  Which turned out ok, since i dont think the train made all the cool stops for pictures.

 

White Pass Summit, what a beautiful place, got some great shots.

 

Glacier Bay, What can i say, never seen anything like that anywhere in my life.  Speechless.  Saw Otters and Bald Eagles, but no whales or glacier calving.

 

Ketchikan, another neat little town, we didnt have anything planned, so we walked around, found the Elliott St steps and climbed up and got some great shots.  

 

Victoria, Been there a few times, but getting there at 9pm at night?  What the heck, feel sorry for people that have never been there and wanted to see more.

 

Disembarking, gotta say, that was the fastest i had ever gone from Deck 7 to the baggage area and into a Lyft and home on any cruise ever.  Ship to shore in 20 to 30 min.  

 

What do alaskan people do in the Winter?  Those cruise ships must support the October to May economy.  

 

next cruise, Europe in 2026, YAY

 

 

 

[wallyworld583]

14 minutes ago, rp23g7 said:

HI, Just off the Discovery Princess, May 11 to May 18th Inside Passage cruise, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchican, Victoria, my little review.

 

We are from Seattle, never done Alaska before, but when we talk to people on a Carribean cruise or Mexican Riviera who have been on 50 or so cruises, everyone says Alaska was their favorite.  so it was time to try, NO AIRFARE, YIPPEEE.  Had not been on a cruise for 7 yrs due to other pursuits.

 

I have been a avid hiker, boy scout so i have been all over the Cascades and Olympics, my dad flew his whole life so i have flown over the mountains too, and skied my whole life so there is that.

 

First, we have been to most of the Florida departure ports, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Port Canaveral, been to Galvaston, LA, and San Fransisco.

Pier 91 Smith Cove was the most unorganized Embarkation ever, no one knew anything, not sure where to go, etc, oh well, not a big deal.

 

Discovery Princess was awsome, unfortunatly we book a inside cabin, A431, not a bad cabin, i like the reverse layout it had, the door opened into the room itself rather than the little hallway on older Princess Ships.

 

i also liked that they have quit pushing drinks all the time, nobody ever asked if i wanted a drink in any theater etc.

 

Seattle Departure, 80 degrees in Seattle, saw Killer Whales right off the stern as we were leaving, Never seen that perspective of Seattle before.

 

Day at sea, just regular stuff going on

 

Juneau, raining in the morning, 40 degrees brrrr.  neat little town, seems so isolated though, having to fly or sail somewhere just to fly or sail somewhere.  We walked around went to the Red Dog Saloon, big line, so i went around the corner and had a shot at the Quack Shack Shot Bar.

 

I had made a reservation with Shore Excursions.com, to go to the Mendenhall glacier, $134 for 2 people.  We took their tour bus up to the visitor center and walked around, it had stopped raining so it was pretty nice.  

 

Skagway.   Woke up and went outside, WOW, What a neat little place.  It was cloudy, but not raining, i looked up and there was a killer view of a snowy mountain peak showing through the opening in the clouds.  I had also made a reservation with Shore Exursions.com, for the White Pass Summit, also about $134 for 2 people.  I thought it was for the train ride, but it turned out it was the city tour/summit on the tour bus.  Which turned out ok, since i dont think the train made all the cool stops for pictures.

 

White Pass Summit, what a beautiful place, got some great shots.

 

Glacier Bay, What can i say, never seen anything like that anywhere in my life.  Speechless.  Saw Otters and Bald Eagles, but no whales or glacier calving.

 

Ketchikan, another neat little town, we didnt have anything planned, so we walked around, found the Elliott St steps and climbed up and got some great shots.  

 

Victoria, Been there a few times, but getting there at 9pm at night?  What the heck, feel sorry for people that have never been there and wanted to see more.

 

Disembarking, gotta say, that was the fastest i had ever gone from Deck 7 to the baggage area and into a Lyft and home on any cruise ever.  Ship to shore in 20 to 30 min.  

 

What do alaskan people do in the Winter?  Those cruise ships must support the October to May economy.  

 

next cruise, Europe in 2026, YAY

 

 

 

Alaska has been a favorite place for us.  Glacier Bay is special.  Talked to some locals in Skagway about winter and basically they drink at the bar (got the impression it was THE bar) and go south to the lower 48. What was the pier like in Skagway?  I understand part of the cliff behind the pier collapsed a while back and took our part of the pier.

Getting ready for our 5th TA and Europe/ Med.  You will love it.

 

[rp23g7]

the pier was still being fixed, so they did a tender ride to the dock 50 feet away.  

 

we are doing Enchanted Princess in May 2026

 

Civitavecchia

Naples

Santorini

Kusadasi

Katakolon

Civitavecchia

 

 

 

[Kay S]

45 minutes ago, rp23g7 said:

 

 

 

 

What do alaskan people do in the Winter?  Those cruise ships must support the October to May economy.  

 

 

 

 

 

They live off the money they make during the cruise season.  There are also people who live there who have "normal" jobs, like teachers and nurses and postmen, etc. who get paid by their employers.  Many (maybe most?) of the people you will find doing "tourist" jobs are seasonal workers and go back to their home states during the off season.

 

The pandemic was brutal for the Alaskan tourist economy, but they pulled through somehow.

[jeromep]

Skagway is in a National Park.  Part of that National Park is in a building in Pioneer Square in Seattle, the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, the rest surrounds Skagway.  I believe it is the only park in the NPS where it operates in multiple locations.  As for the people of Skagway, the permanent population is quite small.  Most of the folks you encountered there, either as tour guides, or restaurant and retail workers, are all seasonal workers.  They love the place, they love the subject matter, they like interacting with the public and tourists, they like working part of the year and then not working and living off savings the rest of the year.

 

I suspect a number of the folks you met are winter sports nuts, making all their money during the spring/summer/fall, and then turning around, leaving Skagway, and going someplace to couch surf or #vanlife and spending every day on the slopes.  I had a friend from high school that became a heavy equipment operator and skilled construction worker and that is exactly how he lived life.  Made a ton of money for about 6 months of the year, then meandered around for a few months, settled down for a month or so or meandered around a cold state from ski resort to ski resort spending the days on the slopes and the evenings involved in extracurricular activities.  It's not my idea of a good life, but it worked for him.  He easily afforded his lifestyle and was not a burden on anyone.

[Teechur]

Lots of snowbirds from Alaska winter in Hawaii. Many also go to Cuba or other Carribean Islands.

[Anastas617]

I'll be on the Discovery for the June 1st sailing. I'm on a casino comp and have been kicking myself that I didn't upgrade to a balcony room. As an interior room dweller, did you find it fairly easy to do some viewing from the decks on Sea Days without being stuck to a spot from the crack of dawn?

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, Anastas617 said:

I'll be on the Discovery for the June 1st sailing. I'm on a casino comp and have been kicking myself that I didn't upgrade to a balcony room. As an interior room dweller, did you find it fairly easy to do some viewing from the decks on Sea Days without being stuck to a spot from the crack of dawn?

Yes.

[wcook]

Don’t downplay yourself. That was at least four cents worth. Thanks. 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your comments.  When will you go back to Alaska?

[Bedruthen]

You forgot to mention the midnight wake up call to see the Northern lights! Yes Victoria was a shambles. We queued for half an hour before deciding that by the time we got off, we would had to start queuing to get back on. I mean what is the point of arriving at 9 pm and having to be back on board by 11.30pm. That is not a port call, it’s a restroom stop!

 

We had cabin R732, which we wouldn’t take again. We were in D732 last cruise and it is a much superior location. R732 has a large balcony but no shelter and because it’s higher there was light from the navigation lights and deck 16 above, plus the odd slap from a wet flag when it was raised. The cabin above R732 has its entire balcony above the sleeping area and it felt that the people occupying it were dragging the deck furniture around all day and flushing the loo all night. Have never had intrusive noise before like it.

 

We loved Alaska, but with four or five ships in every port, it felt too over whelmed. We will go back, but independently.

 Finally a shout out to the onboard guest speaker Michael, he was an awesome speaker, both informative and entertaining.

[TheMichael]

Nice writeup. I've been both to Alaska and on the Discovery, although not both at the same time, and loved them both.

 

The reason Victoria seems like an afterthought is that it kind of is - a cruise on a vessel under a foreign flag (the Discovery is Bermudan-flagged) that starts and ends in a US port must by law stop in a foreign port. So Victoria is basically an obligation.

 

It's one of those nonsensical modern laws passed in (checks notes) 1886.

[Benh]

Thanks for your review. If you're willing, I'd be interested to read your review of the food on the ship. Thanks in advance.

[caseymarie15]

I am doing this cruise the end of July. I'm wondering if you can answer 2 questions for me!

1. What is the all-aboard time in the ports? The itinerary lists "departure time", but I'm assuming we must be on board before that?

2. Do you feel that Mendenhall glacier was redundant with the Glacier Bay cruise? Or is it a completely different experience? I'm trying to decide if I should add the Mendenhall Glacier to whale watching or not! Don't want to spend the extra money if Glacier Bay is a very similar experience. 

Thanks for the info!!!

[Kay S]

Glacier Bay is spectacular.  Mendenhall, not so much. Mendenhall just sits there while Glacier Bay "moves" with ice sheets falling off and the ship doing a 360 degree turn.

[dahling8]

Just got off the Royal Princess, 22 day repositioning from Yokohama, Japan to Vancouver, Canada.  I live in Vancouver so we thought it was a neat way of going home without a longish haul flight.

 

I've done 2 x 7 day return Alaskan cruises before with RCL and Celebrity.  The Alaskan portion of the Royal itinerary was outstanding, IMO.  Weather wise, raining miserably in Whittier, overcast day/showery day in College Fjords  & Glacier Bay (cruising only though), overcast day in Sitka, showery day in Juneau.  These were all new ports to me!  For a port town, we thoroughly enjoyed walking through Sitka, very walkable and pretty without feeling too commercialized.  They even closed off a main street for us when the ship docked.

 

I asked the Glacier Bay Park Ranger if Glacier Bay is new to cruising itineraries since I enjoyed it more than Hubbard Glacier (also very nice) and was told only 3 cruise lines are registered to cruise into Glacier Bay.  Princess, HAL and NCL.  

 

Since our objective was a leisurely cruise back home, viewing wildlife, glaciers were not a priority but we were kicking ourselves for not booking a port side balcony for the southbound Alaskan portion of the cruise and docking in Vancouver.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, caseymarie15 said:

I am doing this cruise the end of July. I'm wondering if you can answer 2 questions for me!

1. What is the all-aboard time in the ports? The itinerary lists "departure time", but I'm assuming we must be on board before that?

2. Do you feel that Mendenhall glacier was redundant with the Glacier Bay cruise? Or is it a completely different experience? I'm trying to decide if I should add the Mendenhall Glacier to whale watching or not! Don't want to spend the extra money if Glacier Bay is a very similar experience. 

Thanks for the info!!!

All aboard time for passengers is generally 1/2 hour before departure time

[[Big Z]]

13 hours ago, Benh said:

Thanks for your review. If you're willing, I'd be interested to read your review of the food on the ship. Thanks in advance.

I was on Discovery the week before (LA - Vancouver) and I honestly expected the food to be better. Some nights, it was excellent, however, there were a couple nights that were just disappointing and some of the things that I really enjoyed on previous cruises, fell way short. 

 

For example, on previous cruises, I've really enjoyed the Hot Smoked Salmon with potato and sour cream - on one cruise, it was my favourite appy. This time, it was mostly potato salad and I would've needed a microscope to find the smoked salmon. 

 

That same night, I was looking forward to the pork loin only to end up getting lukewarm ham - and also the same night consisted of an overbaked crab and artichoke dip. 

 

I enjoyed the pot roast, I also had some delicious salmon at the first day lunch and a delicious salmon cake (w/a poached egg and hollandaise sauce) appy was so good, I could've made a meal out of them. The prime rib was excellent, the steak and lobster was very tender and tasty and the chicken and waffles in the MDR at lunchtime were fantastic. The Catch at Rudi's was quite excellent as well - two things that really stood out to me were the smoked salmon (smoked under a cloche at the table), the berry souffle - the souffle was big and delicious. 

 

However, if you're going to get calamari for an appy at lunch time in the MDR, be prepared to order perhaps a triple order minimum. When I ordered the calamari appy, I got 3.5, maybe 4 rings of calamari. My table mate got 4 or 5. I attached a pic, so you can see for yourselves. 

 

The buffet was immense and impressive - so many things to choose from (perhaps too many). International Cafe was always excellent (although, you'll have to ask for the cookies since they have them out on display when I was on board). 

 

Edited May 21 by [Big Z]
added image

[caseymarie15]

On 5/18/2024 at 3:06 PM, rp23g7 said:

HI, Just off the Discovery Princess, May 11 to May 18th Inside Passage cruise, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchican, Victoria, my little review.

 

We are from Seattle, never done Alaska before, but when we talk to people on a Carribean cruise or Mexican Riviera who have been on 50 or so cruises, everyone says Alaska was their favorite.  so it was time to try, NO AIRFARE, YIPPEEE.  Had not been on a cruise for 7 yrs due to other pursuits.

 

I have been a avid hiker, boy scout so i have been all over the Cascades and Olympics, my dad flew his whole life so i have flown over the mountains too, and skied my whole life so there is that.

 

First, we have been to most of the Florida departure ports, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Port Canaveral, been to Galvaston, LA, and San Fransisco.

Pier 91 Smith Cove was the most unorganized Embarkation ever, no one knew anything, not sure where to go, etc, oh well, not a big deal.

 

Discovery Princess was awsome, unfortunatly we book a inside cabin, A431, not a bad cabin, i like the reverse layout it had, the door opened into the room itself rather than the little hallway on older Princess Ships.

 

i also liked that they have quit pushing drinks all the time, nobody ever asked if i wanted a drink in any theater etc.

 

Seattle Departure, 80 degrees in Seattle, saw Killer Whales right off the stern as we were leaving, Never seen that perspective of Seattle before.

 

Day at sea, just regular stuff going on

 

Juneau, raining in the morning, 40 degrees brrrr.  neat little town, seems so isolated though, having to fly or sail somewhere just to fly or sail somewhere.  We walked around went to the Red Dog Saloon, big line, so i went around the corner and had a shot at the Quack Shack Shot Bar.

 

I had made a reservation with Shore Excursions.com, to go to the Mendenhall glacier, $134 for 2 people.  We took their tour bus up to the visitor center and walked around, it had stopped raining so it was pretty nice.  

 

Skagway.   Woke up and went outside, WOW, What a neat little place.  It was cloudy, but not raining, i looked up and there was a killer view of a snowy mountain peak showing through the opening in the clouds.  I had also made a reservation with Shore Exursions.com, for the White Pass Summit, also about $134 for 2 people.  I thought it was for the train ride, but it turned out it was the city tour/summit on the tour bus.  Which turned out ok, since i dont think the train made all the cool stops for pictures.

 

White Pass Summit, what a beautiful place, got some great shots.

 

Glacier Bay, What can i say, never seen anything like that anywhere in my life.  Speechless.  Saw Otters and Bald Eagles, but no whales or glacier calving.

 

Ketchikan, another neat little town, we didnt have anything planned, so we walked around, found the Elliott St steps and climbed up and got some great shots.  

 

Victoria, Been there a few times, but getting there at 9pm at night?  What the heck, feel sorry for people that have never been there and wanted to see more.

 

Disembarking, gotta say, that was the fastest i had ever gone from Deck 7 to the baggage area and into a Lyft and home on any cruise ever.  Ship to shore in 20 to 30 min.  

 

What do alaskan people do in the Winter?  Those cruise ships must support the October to May economy.  

 

next cruise, Europe in 2026, YAY

 

 

 

Not sure if you would see my post without me quoting you, so I'm posting my questions one more time!

 

I am doing this cruise the end of July. I'm wondering if you can answer 2 questions for me!

1. What is the all-aboard time in the ports? The itinerary lists "departure time", but I'm assuming we must be on board before that?

2. Do you feel that Mendenhall glacier was redundant with the Glacier Bay cruise? Or is it a completely different experience? I'm trying to decide if I should add the Mendenhall Glacier to whale watching or not! Don't want to spend the extra money if Glacier Bay is a very similar experience. 

Thanks for the info!!!

[rp23g7]

Hmm, let's see,

Juneau was 7:30 pm.

Skagway was 8:30 I believe 

Ketchikan was 12:45 pm

Victoria was 12:00am.

 

We are firm believer's of being on board a few hrs before leaving.  On Grand Princess a few yrs ago, we had to disembark in Puerto Vallarta due to medical issues, and was a citizen of Mexico for 3 days, green card and all, could have stayed 6 months.  Never been a pier runner, but know what it's like standing there, watching your home sail away, while you stand there thinking "now what"?

 

Once you see a glacier, you've seen them all IMHO.  Unless you take the helicopter and go stand on it, it's a bunch of ice, hundreds of yrs old, slowly moving downhill.

 

Your about as close to Mendenhall at the viewpoint, as you are in Glacier bay, unless you hike to the waterfall but then I don't think you could see the glacier around the corner.  

 

Better view probably in Glacier Bay, in retrospect, whale watching would be a better experience.

 

 

 

[memoak]

You must be on board 1/2 hour before sailing

[Bedruthen]

1 hour ago, caseymarie15 said:

Not sure if you would see my post without me quoting you, so I'm posting my questions one more time!

 

I am doing this cruise the end of July. I'm wondering if you can answer 2 questions for me!

1. What is the all-aboard time in the ports? The itinerary lists "departure time", but I'm assuming we must be on board before that?

2. Do you feel that Mendenhall glacier was redundant with the Glacier Bay cruise? Or is it a completely different experience? I'm trying to decide if I should add the Mendenhall Glacier to whale watching or not! Don't want to spend the extra money if Glacier Bay is a very similar experience. 

Thanks for the info!!!

 

 

We did the whale watching independtly in Juneau. There were people on our coach who had also booked the Mendenhall Glacier as part of the same trip. After 2 hours whale watching in the cold and rain, 15 of them were begging to be allowed back on the coach rather than endure another hour at a glacier! 

[Teechur]

1 hour ago, rp23g7 said:

Hmm, let's see,

Once you see a glacier, you've seen them all IMHO.  

 

 

 

 

LOL, I agree completely with this statement. ⚓

[jarrodhoggan]

We were on the same cruise.  The Embarkation was Hot Garbage, but it was the first one out of Seattle since Sept/October.