Back from Star Princess - Alaska 6/1-6/8

[broncoboaz]

Greetings everyone,

 

My wife and I just returned from our 7 day cruise aboard the Star Princess to Alaska from June 1-June 8. Instead of giving you a full review, I'll give you some important tips.

 

1) Plan on getting to the Pier between 11 AM and 11:30 AM. If you cannot do this then don't show up until 2 or 3 PM. We got there at 11:10AM and getting checked in was a breeze. We had to wait in line to board the ship for only about 10 minutes. We basically boarded the ship at 11:30 AM.

 

2) DO NOT BOOK ANY SPA TREATMENTS UNTIL LATER IN THE WEEK! They deeply discount most of their services later on in the cruise. Don't believe them when they tell you that they already are totally booked later in the week. It is a lie. My wife did a seaweed massage for $175 on the first sea day when on the last day they were selling it for $145 or so.

 

3) There are many important things to make sure you bring, but I'll just name a few essentials here.

Binoculars - A MUST!

Camera - SAME

Cash - (for the Casino if you plan on gambling...you can room charge in the casino, but there's an extra 3% fee)

Power Strip

Downey Wrinkle Release - works great

Travel Alarm clock - there is no clock in your stateroom

Passport - of course!

 

4) The food was great! We were not a big fan of the buffet, but it was fine. The food in the dining room (we did Anytime dining) was great! We basically ate there for every meal. All of the ice cream is great! If you are planning on drinking soft drinks, buy the sticker for roughly $34 unlimited soft drinks (this includes a 15% gratuity). As a couple, we bought one and basically split the times when one of us would just drink water or a soft drink.

 

5) Get an EGG CRATE for your bed. Tell your room steward first thing that you would like an egg crate for your bed (it makes a huge difference in the comfort of your bed). Also request robes to use. This is nice for when you want to go out on your balcony even if you are not totally dressed. Just throw on the robe.

 

6) Go see the entertainment options. The music/dancing was great and the comedians were hilarious.

 

7) Excursions:

Go zip lining in Ketchikan. We did and loved it! We did the high adventure one (not the bear creek one or the ropes course). 7 lines and 3 suspension bridges. Book this through Princess. It is actually $6 cheaper to book this through Princess than it is to book it directly through Adventure Tours (depending on what time you book it...we got it for $159 each).

Go whale watching in Juneau with Harv and Marv. We did and loved it and got lots of pictures of whales and bears. The great thing about this is that you are in a little boat that holds only 6 people. Harv (or Marv) basically takes you where you want to go. You are in control of what you want to see. Awesome! You must book this independently from the ship.

Do the Train Expedition in Skagway with Chilkoot Charter. Do the 7 hour tour that takes you to the Husky Puppy Camp. Again, this is a small tour, only 15-20 people on the bus and you are in control of what you want to see. The BBQ chicken lunch is amazing! The dog camp was also wonderful to see. Again, you must book this independently from the ship.

 

8) Disembarkation:

You have the option of taking your own luggage off of the ship. This is espcially helpful is you have an early flight. You are one of the first ones to leave the ship and can take a cab right away to the airport. Barring any complications, you could have a 9:30 AM flight and make it in time if you did an express check out. I'm not totally sure, but it may be cheaper to take a cab to the airport than it would be to book a transfer to the airport through Princess.

 

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!

[BabySis]

Bronco, how do we reach Harv & Marv??? Did you book the Husky Puppy through Chilkoot???

 

Thanks for all the info

[Coconet]

Hi There!

 

Thanks for the great review and tips! Can you tell me how rough the waters were? I have heard mixed reviews as this inside passage is suppossed to be a bit rocky. Thanks so much!

 

Kathy

[curry767]

1) Plan on getting to the Pier between 11 AM and 11:30 AM. If you cannot do this then don't show up until 2 or 3 PM. We got there at 11:10AM and getting checked in was a breeze. We had to wait in line to board the ship for only about 10 minutes. We basically boarded the ship at 11:30 AM.

 

Which port did you depart from?

[scarcrow 2159]

Website for Harv & Marv

 

http://www.harvandmarvs.com/

[RSWBADGER]

Thanks for the review, we were on the same cruise, very nice time.

Star Princess sails out of Seattle roundtrip. The seas were good going north, had one rough sea day coming back.

 

We were not able to go into Tracy Arm due to floating ice, went into Endicott Arm instead. The weather for most of the week was much colder than the week before, high 40's and low 50's, cloudy with rain.

[steponup]

Do the Train Expedition in Skagway with Chilkoot Charter. Do the 7 hour tour that takes you to the Husky Puppy Camp. Again, this is a small tour, only 15-20 people on the bus and you are in control of what you want to see. The BBQ chicken lunch is amazing! The dog camp was also wonderful to see. Again, you must book this independently from the ship.

 

How is the best way to get in contact with chilkoot Charter? I sent them a reservation request but haven't heard back from them. We are going on the Sapphire Princess in August and booked the Ketchikan zip line and Harv and Marv. So glad to hear you liked them.

[symo]

My wife and I just returned from our 7 day cruise aboard the Star Princess to Alaska from June 1-June 8. Instead of giving you a full review, I'll give you some important tips.

Thank you for the excellent post. My wife and I are leaving the 22nd on the Star (for our first cruise ever).

 

Between your information and all the wonderful information I have read on this board in the last two months, I believe that I have all "my ducks in a row" and that we ready for a great experience.

 

Again, thank you and thank all of the others that have me already feeling like "I know the ropes" and am prepared for any of the "gottchas" :D

 

I've even gone out an bought a brand new pair of Levi 501's for formal night :eek:

 

symo

[TrnrMom]

Hi - we were also on this cruise and had a great time. Thanks to Rosie and the other poster who arranged the meet and greet on Monday. It was nice to put faces with the names. Thanks also to Rosie for providing name tags and cookies. We met some great people.

 

We loved the Princess Theater shows, the Princess musicians, especially Ron, the pianist, the ball room dance lessons & the naturalist's talks. If you are going northbound like we were, it is better to have a starboard cabin for most of the sights. (Of course, my husband said it wouldn't have mattered - the wildlife would be on the side opposite where we were).

 

Didn't care much for all the merchandising (including in the spa) but if you know it's going to happen, you can just choose to ignore it and not buy.

 

Excursions - we did all of excursions independently. Ketchikan - Northern Light Fishing - no salmon, but did catch rockfish. Just OK - but that's because we were doing it for the experience, and the weather was drizzly.

Juneau - whale watching with Capt. Jack & the Scania - we saw this crazy whale doing acrobatics for almost 10 minutes and lots of other wildlife.

 

Harv & Marv were booked, but many of the charters share their "overflow". Capt. Jack has a medium sized boat and will only take 8 people (10 max, if in the same family). Orca Adventures boats are bigger than the Scania, but smaller than the Princess boats.

 

Skagway - we rented a car and drove to Caribou Crossing (they have a website), and contacted the dog sled camp through them and made a reservation for 10:30AM and had a very private session before all the tour buses (between 11-1, it's really busy there). Cost about the same as the other tours (you'll save with more than 2 in the car), but we were able to stop & go as we pleased - Emerald Lake, Carcross, many stops in between and Jewell Gardens (recommend - local artisans).

 

We recommend doing the excursions yourself - you have a chance to meet real Alaskans that way. We learned from Capt. Jack & the people at Caribou Crossing that many of the local businesses expect to be out of business in a few years. It's the jewelry stores coming into town & offering huge amounts of rent or $$ for store fronts and driving the locals out. We tried to seek out local businesses and support them.

 

Embarkation wasn't that bad showing up at 12:45 - we were on by 1:30....the dock looked to be empty by 2PM. Disembarkation was another story - getting off with your color group was fine. Finding your suitcases was another story - they were scattered everywhere. Best bet if you're going to need help - grab a porter right away and ask him to help you. They will wait while you fetch all your bags. If you wait till you get everything together, you won't find one! At the airport, only certain airlines have the checkin right where the buses leave you. For Southwest we had to go up a level & hike about 2/3 of the way in - try the sidewalk check in. It might be faster.

 

Getting off/on the ship at the different stops was also a bit slow as Princess only runs one line of cruise card scanners. We heard from the dock workers, that Princess is the slowest to load their passengers on & off.

 

The food was okay - better in the dining rooms than the buffet. The specialty restaurants were good, but Sabatini's 17 courses was overkill - few people can probably finish that amount of food. If you are on a special diet or are particular about eating healthy, you might have a hard time. Those on special diets are requested to meet with the maitre'd the day before & choose from the next day's menus. The grill, pizzeria, tea & ice cream (buffet - around 3:30 PM) were also nice. We don't drink that much soda & didn't buy the sticker - to pay for drinks was a pain, so we tended to have water, or iced tea. Had a commuter mug which I filled and took with me around the ship.

 

We had a balcony room and enjoyed that, but next time might not choose Aloha deck - it's right under Horizon Court buffet and you can hear chairs scraping at odd times. The extra room was nice. Requested the robes, but didn't need the eggcrate mattress topper - just depends how you like your bed.

 

All in all - a great trip, spectacular scenery, met some great people. If you want more info, e-mail me at jhchong2002@yahoo.com

[broncoboaz]

Do the Train Expedition in Skagway with Chilkoot Charter. Do the 7 hour tour that takes you to the Husky Puppy Camp. Again, this is a small tour, only 15-20 people on the bus and you are in control of what you want to see. The BBQ chicken lunch is amazing! The dog camp was also wonderful to see. Again, you must book this independently from the ship.

 

How is the best way to get in contact with chilkoot Charter? I sent them a reservation request but haven't heard back from them. We are going on the Sapphire Princess in August and booked the Ketchikan zip line and Harv and Marv. So glad to hear you liked them.

 

 

Chilkoot should be getting back to you shortly. It takes them a few days/week to get back to you with the reservation confirmation.

[amaxs469]

Great reviews all, thanks for all of the information and glad you had a good cruise.

 

Does anyone happen to have the Patters? And are willing/able to post them?

 

Thank you

[dorijo]

I have booked Best of Juneau for July 26 cruise on Golden princess. Has anyone done this tour? We definitely want to do whale watching and now am afraid that tour with Princess the boats are too big and we won't get close enough..Can anyone enlighten me? Can always cancel but thought doing whale,mendenhall and salmon bake all in one tour would cover a lot and in the morning can walk the town and shop or do Mt Roberts. I am travelling with 2 grandchildren 11 and 16. Should I book separately?

[PennyAgain]

The local businesses are being pushed out. Many of the new stores are owned by the cruise lines. They bring in employees for the season who are not Alaskans.

[zhangf]

We're going with Star Princess from 20 to 27 July. How is the weather in Alaska during that time? What cloth should we bring with us? Should we prepare any winter coat on the Glacier (we are going to Dog Sledding).

 

Thanks in advance for your information

[dorijo]

Hi

Just realized we won't be there in the morning to shop Juneau, but maybe we will have time after the tour like 1 hour..

If anyone has pictures of the Best in Juneau tour from GP could you please post the whale part..we can't do all 3 things in Juneau if we don't take this tour as Orca has an 11:30 or 3:30 whale watch. We arrive at 12 and probably can't get off ship til 1:00 or so. I just want to be sure we will see whales as close as possible.

[RSWBADGER]

Nice review, we were also on the Star Princess last week, I concur on how cold and windy it was in Victoria. Even though the weather was colder than the prior week's cruise we enjoyed all of our ports and our viewing of Endicott Arm.

 

We kayaked in Ketchikan, rented cars in Juneau and Skayway, hiked the E. Glacier trail at Mendenhall and drove to Emerald Lake in Skagway. We also participated in the Chef's Table which was held on Thursday Night (Smart Casual), there were 10 of us, none of us were disappointed. :D

[BillyMetz]

broncoboaz, I noticed you said you went with Anytime dinning instead of traditional. Talk a little bit about that. We have been on many cruises with different cruise lines and have always reserved 2nd seating traditional. This time on the Star to Alaska, coming soon, we are seriously thinking about switching to Anytime. For you what was good and what was not so good doing anytime. Were you expected to dress up on formal nights just as in traditional. Were you with other couples and if so did you have any trouble getting a table for your group? Let me know all your opinions if you don't mind.

[broncoboaz]

broncoboaz, I noticed you said you went with Anytime dinning instead of traditional. Talk a little bit about that. We have been on many cruises with different cruise lines and have always reserved 2nd seating traditional. This time on the Star to Alaska, coming soon, we are seriously thinking about switching to Anytime. For you what was good and what was not so good doing anytime. Were you expected to dress up on formal nights just as in traditional. Were you with other couples and if so did you have any trouble getting a table for your group? Let me know all your opinions if you don't mind.

 

In my opinion, Anytime dining is the only way to go. There was honestly nothing bad about anytime, except that if you showed up during the peak times (between 6:45ish and 7:30ish) you would have to wait till a table opens up, or you can be seated right away if you were willing to sit with others. We (just the two of us) never had to worry about that because we always ate between 5:30 and 6:30 every night. The food is the same in both places but you have the flexibility to eat when you want. The only down side that I see is that you don't get the same waiter/waitress every night unless you call for reservations ahead of time which totally counteracts the fact about flexibility. You are expected to dress up on formal nights in the main dining rooms. We did the first formal night but went to the buffet (no formal) the 2nd formal night (out of clothes). You can also enjoy all of the entertainment for the evening on formal nights in casual attire (jeans, etc). Let me know if you have any other questions.

[patsina55]

[8) Disembarkation:

You have the option of taking your own luggage off of the ship. This is espcially helpful is you have an early flight. You are one of the first ones to leave the ship and can take a cab right away to the airport. Barring any complications, you could have a 9:30 AM flight and make it in time if you did an express check out.

 

Broncoboaz, I'm glad you mentioned this, because the latest flight on our departure date leaves at 10:05 AM, and I was very worried about whether we would be able to make it. How did you arrange to have an express checkout - did you request it during embarkation? Thanks!

[broncoboaz]

[8) Disembarkation:

You have the option of taking your own luggage off of the ship. This is espcially helpful is you have an early flight. You are one of the first ones to leave the ship and can take a cab right away to the airport. Barring any complications, you could have a 9:30 AM flight and make it in time if you did an express check out.

 

Broncoboaz, I'm glad you mentioned this, because the latest flight on our departure date leaves at 10:05 AM, and I was very worried about whether we would be able to make it. How did you arrange to have an express checkout - did you request it during embarkation? Thanks!

 

Yes, you will request this on the 2nd or 3rd day of the cruise. You will get something about it delivered to your room.

[herewhen]

We're going with Star Princess from 20 to 27 July. How is the weather in Alaska during that time? What cloth should we bring with us? Should we prepare any winter coat on the Glacier (we are going to Dog Sledding).

 

Thanks in advance for your information

zhangf - my husband and I will also be on that cruise and I have been trying to find info on what clothing I should pack. Let me know if you get an responses please!

[broncoboaz]

zhangf - my husband and I will also be on that cruise and I have been trying to find info on what clothing I should pack. Let me know if you get an responses please!

 

 

When we were there the first week of June, it was very cool. Avg. temp was right around 50 degrees F. It may be up near 60 when you go, but should be very pleasant. Plan on it raining at a few ports. Bring a rain jacket.

[lttlfzrchck]

Greetings everyone,

 

7) Excursions:

Go zip lining in Ketchikan. We did and loved it! We did the high adventure one (not the bear creek one or the ropes course). 7 lines and 3 suspension bridges. Book this through Princess. It is actually $6 cheaper to book this through Princess than it is to book it directly through Adventure Tours (depending on what time you book it...we got it for $159 each).

Go whale watching in Juneau with Harv and Marv. We did and loved it and got lots of pictures of whales and bears. The great thing about this is that you are in a little boat that holds only 6 people. Harv (or Marv) basically takes you where you want to go. You are in control of what you want to see. Awesome! You must book this independently from the ship.

Do the Train Expedition in Skagway with Chilkoot Charter. Do the 7 hour tour that takes you to the Husky Puppy Camp. Again, this is a small tour, only 15-20 people on the bus and you are in control of what you want to see. The BBQ chicken lunch is amazing! The dog camp was also wonderful to see. Again, you must book this independently from the ship.

 

 

Thank you for all the great info. In August we are taking our first ever cruise and have chosen Alaska as our destination. We love the outdoors and adventure and have been looking into the zip excursions in Ketchikan. From what you said, you had a wonderful time on yours, was that the "Rainforest Canopy and Zip Experience"? Just wanted to make sure. Thanks again for the info!!!