Island Princess Alaska 6/8-6/15

[Richard]

We were on the Island Princess Northbound from Vancouver. I will start of by saying this was the best of 8 Princess cruises and 14 overall cruises we have taken. In 2000 we did Alsaka on the Ocean Princess and then 6 nights inland. We enjoyed that trip but found the Island cruise that much better. That's not to say we did find a few minor problems with the ship. The Island is in need of some touch ups. Many of the wooden railings need to be varnished. There is some rust and peeling paint here and there. As an example the light fixture on my balcony had rust and a gret deal of pealing paint. The carpet in our cabin needed a good cleaning or replacement. I know these are minor issues but they need to be addressed. I heard that the ship is due for dry dock next year and it's really about time as it was launched in 2003.

 

That said, the overall experience was almost perfect. The food was the best we have had on any Princess ship and we have been on the Ocean, Grand, Golden, Crown [2X], Carribean, and the Ruby. The service by our Cabin Steward and Dining Staff was attentive and professional. We were very lucky to have almost perfect weather with the exception of the last day in when it was a little cloudy and drizzely. Most days it was sunny and in the low 70's. Pretty good for Alaska.

 

We started with 3 nights in Vancouver staying at the Pan Pacific a most impressive hotel. Did some sightseeing and a whale watching tour to Victoria. Sorry to say no whales sighted but enjoyed the trip anyway. Embarcation went as smoothly as possible. On board and in our Cabin within 20 minutes. In Ketchikan we did the Duck tour, in Juneau we went to a dog sleding camp and in Skagway we took a 4x4 Jeep tour. All were worth the cost and enjoyable. On our last trip we helicoptered to the Mendenhal Glacier, took a raft trip, White Pass Railawy and the Skagway Streetcar. Enjoyed those too. Not really enough time to do all the things we wanted to do. Of course Glacier Bay was a spectacular sight. I have another cruise booked in October on the Carribean Princess and only hope it is as good as this cruise was. A special hello to new friends Peter and Laura, we enjoyed your company.

 

Richard

[Colo Cruiser]

Love the Island and love the Pan Pacific.

Thanks for the comments. :)

[sunsetbeachgal]

We are booking the Island for Panama Canal in Jan 2010...have sailed the Coral and loved her...sorry to hear that minor maintenance is needed...sounds like it will be after we sail!

[chachi]

How was the duck tour? I was thinking about adding this excursion.

[jmhlaw]

I was on the same cruise. I agree with Richard. It was fantastic except for the small maintenance items. We also did the duck tour. It hit most of the highlights of the town and harbor. Our 4 year old loved it. Hopefully you weren't the couple in front of us that had to listen to her "quacker"

[Richard]

How was the duck tour? I was thinking about adding this excursion.

 

It was different and a good overview of Ketchikan. We did the 10:00 AM and the ship sailed at 2 PM so there really wasn't much time for an extended tour. We did a different tour 9 years ago when we were in Ketchikan.

[Richard]

I was on the same cruise. I agree with Richard. It was fantastic except for the small maintenance items. We also did the duck tour. It hit most of the highlights of the town and harbor. Our 4 year old loved it. Hopefully you weren't the couple in front of us that had to listen to her "quacker"

 

No not us.

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing!

[Shewuf]

We were on the same cruise. Even the same dog sledding event in Juneau. We had a great time, and you couldn't have ordered more perfect weather!

[LEtue]

We did the same trip in May 2006 and the Island is a wonderful ship!

 

I'm glad you enjoyed her too :D

[Cruisematic]

We too were on this cruise and found the Island experience delightful. I did the pottery throwing for the first time and loved it (most ships only have ceramic glazing). Most of all the people treated us like family, especially our dining room supervisor who never failed to greet us and our son with particular friendliness. One of the best points of the Island was the overall open spaces and venues that made the ship never seem to be crowded. Elevators were most times empty and decks were often free of anyone. Rarely had to jockey for a position on the rail to see the vistas. Never had that feeling on larger ships. As was often the case the cruise was most excellent.

[Party Teacher]

We were on this cruise too! So sorry we didn't get to meet all you people. What a fabulous trip we had. Everything was much more than we expected. Our favorite excursion was the Yukon Jeep tour in Skagway. We ended up having a private tour with Hutch, a great tour guide who made us laugh the entire 4 hours. But the best part was meeting new friends Norm and Karen who we had so much in common with it was scary! Can't wait to book the next cruise!!!

 

PT

[Cozzette2]

Does anyone know when the Island is scheduled for dry dock. we sail in feb. and wondered if it was after we sail.

Kris

[krennen]

Just back from a wonderful trip to AK—a 7 day cruise from Vancouver to Whittier and a 6 day land tour on our own. Flew into Seattle on Sat morning and caught Quick Shuttle to Vancouver. Nice bus, friendly driver and the time went fast. Arrived at the Grand Residence at Sutton Place. A great hotel in the heart of downtown, close to everything with a very helpful and friendly staff. Our one bedroom condo was very nice but we could hear a lot of hall noise as people got off the elevator. (This might have been because of our location.) Got some dinner at the IGA one short block away. They have a eating area right inside or carryout if wanted. Walked down to China Market and on the way back stopped at the Christ Church Cathedral when we saw someone walk in about 9pm. We were able to catch the last half of a Joyful Noise Choir concert. Very good and a great way to end the day.

Sunday we rented bikes at Spokes for 6 hours and biked in and around Stanley Park. . Beautiful sunny weather. A great green space in the city with separate bike and pedestrian paths around the perimeter. The north and east shores of the park where the water level was low, it was kind of stinky. The rhododendrons were blooming and very lovely. We continued to English Bay (nicer beaches) and down to Granville Island. Ate lunch at Granville Island at the food court--quick and easy as time was short. Took the $3.00 Aquabus back across to return the bikes. Back at the hotel we swam in the nice indoor pool at the hotel and then went to the service of Compline at the Christ Church Cathedral at 9:30 pm.--a very nice and peaceful service with women singing.

Monday morning we walked to the Chinese garden park (free part)-- cute but very small. We walked back to our hotel via the east end of English bay. Now it was off to the ship. We walked with our luggage 8 blocks to the Canada Place docks. It wasn’t bad as the trip was all downhill J.

We arrived about 12:30 and check in was a breeze. It was the fastest check-in of any of our 6 cruises. We were in our rooms immediately and up to the buffet by about 1pm.

The Island Princess is a nice, (could use a few paint and railing touchups) and very easy to navigate. It is more subdued in décor than the ships of the Carnival line. At 3 pm we went to the Wheelhouse Bar and met up with 2 fellow cruise critic members. I was hoping to see more but we did enjoy our visit with those that showed up and ran into them many times that week. We ended up being friends with one couple, Sue and Pat, in particular and had dinner with them several times. Set sail on time with sunny weather.

Dinner with 4 other nice couples and then the comedian show and off to bed.

Tues. Sea day and occupied myself with dance classes and trivia games and of course eating. Never had lines to wait at the buffet or our anytime dining. If there were people waiting at night at the “anytime” Bordeaux, the maitre d’ from the Provence dining room took us up there for dinner. Good food the entire trip and always nice servers. It was formal night and I would say a lot of people dressed up. Adrian Zmed was the show—pretty good for his age, as I remember him from his younger days.

Wed. A glorious sunny day in Ketchikan! Walked around town for an hour and then sea kayaking with Southeast (Toursaver coupon). Guides Carly and Lauren were great and took us to Snow Island. Both girls were very sharing with their knowledge and would recommend them. We saw starfish, sea cucumbers, jellyfish and an eagle. Paddling across the Tongass Narrows was as smooth as glass. I know we were very lucky with the weather. Walked around town more and then back to the ship for departure. Tea at 4pm with my CC friend, Sue, and then dinner with her and her husband.

Thurs. Juneau. Cooler temps than yesterday and a little cloudy but it turned sunny soon. Went whale watching with Harv and Marv (Jay). Had 6 on our boat so not crowded at all. Two outside areas to photograph from and an enclosed inside with big windows if you didn’t want to be outside. He had blankets if you were cold and drinks and some snacks for the passengers. We saw 2 bald eagles and sea lions frolicking in the water. Then it was off to hunt for whales. We saw several but they didn’t do much deep diving so not much big tail action. No breaching either—boo hoo!. Pete’s boat later had a calf breach right next to his boat so it is definitely a luck kind of trip. Jay tried very hard to make our trip as nice as possible. Would certainly recommend them.

We were then dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier. We walked around the viewing area and then off to the waterfall next to the glacier. It was a pretty good trail but the last bit was over many large boulders—not for the disabled!! There were men working with heavy equipment that looked like they were going to eventually make the last part easier.

Took the bus back (just paid the driver our $7.00 one way) and up the Mt Roberts tram. Great views and we hiked some of the trails up at the top-- one section still had snow. A nice trip up and worth it with the Toursaver coupon!

Fri Skagway. It was Dyea Dave day! He met us at the end of the docks and off we went to rather cloudy skies. Part of the group of 10 went on the train on the way up. The rest of us saw the national park movie--very good and gives the history of the town and the goldrush time. We then went in his little bus with big windows for great viewing and off on our journey. Never felt crowded and easy to get on and off. Dave is quite a character and very entertaining. The weather up the pass was rainy but on the other side it cleared. We picked up our passengers at Frazier and continued on. In Carcross we got our passports stamped. Stopped at the smallest desert and then on the Emerald Lake. Climbed part way up the hill to take pics with Dave leading the way. He is such a nice and accommodating man. On the way back we saw a juvenile bear along side the road eating dandelion heads. Dave got up right next to him to get great pics through the windows. The bear didn’t seem to mind the bus. We also stopped at the Cinnamon Cache for a snack. Nice lady who owns the place. Stopped again for some good waterfalls and then Dave dropped us off in town to catch the 4pm free ranger led talk around town. Dave was never concerned about rushing us and his sister leaves at 3pm each day if he is not back to make sure passengers would not miss their boat. He is a great host for Skagway. We walked some more around town and then back to the boat.

Sat Glacier Bay. Up early to a very cloudy and cool day out on the Baja front deck. We were in a inside cabin but this deck was only about 30 feet from our room. It was never crowded and just below the bridge. Could see some otters and porpoises from the ship. Our friends even saw a whale dive right outside their cabin balcony. As the day progressed it cleared and the glaciers were neat. Marjorie calved for all to see—a couple of small and one larger chunk broke off.

It was formal night again so we met up with our CC Friends for dinner and then to the Motown show which was good and then to the juggling comic.

Sun Crusing and College Fjord. Rested a lot today as it has been a busy week. Weather was the worst of the trip, cloudy and slight drizzle. Couldn’t complain as overall it has been wonderful. Took some film and pictures and then off for our last dinner. Had a great time with our friends again and another couple we met on the ship. It was time to pack up for tomorrow. BOO!

Overall this was the smoothest cruise we have ever been on. The seas were so still you would hardly know you were on a ship. The inside passage is the way to go. Only crossing toward College Fjord was there ever any movement. The staff was wonderful all the way around and were amazed how un-crowded the ship seemed. Passengers seemed especially friendly, maybe because of the ages--little older crowd not busy with small children. The entertainment was pretty good and certainly enough to keep passengers busy. Many lounges had hardly any people in them at night. A covered pool and hot tubs were good as the temps are not tropic in AK.

[partsman_ba]

That's a great review - would you mind very much also posting it in the reviews section of cruisecritic? Just cut-and-paste this post. I think it should be there for people thinking of taking this cruise!

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Nice reviews. Thanks for posting them.

[can786]

I was on this cruise as well and did a land tour to Denali and the McKinley lodges afterward. We enjoyed the trip very much and I have to say that I have a new favorite ship in the Princess fleet (My old favorite was the former Royal Princess, now sailing for P&O).

 

We found the staff to be very friendly and helpful and loved that the ship did not seem crowded at all. I have sailed on the Grand class ships and have felt that they seem quite crowded at times, but never felt this way on the Island, even on a day at sea. My brother and SIL joined us for the cruise portion of the trip (this was their first time on Princess, they have been on RCCL) and they were very impressed with Princess and the ship as well. We found the food to be very good overall and the Horizon court somehow seemed either to be a better layout or else a lot less crowded than on the Grand class ships. A nice addition since I have last sailed is the English Pub lunch that they offer in the Cafe Bayou. I found the fish and chips to be quite good and much better than the fish and chips I have had for lunch in the dining room on previous cruises.

 

Our one bad experience was dinner in the Cafe Bayou. We received a complimentary dinner in a specialty restaurant as a booking bonus from our TA, so at least we didn't have to pay for it. It started out on the wrong note when the manager, Jose, came over to our table to explain about the restaurant. He spoke so fast and with such a heavy accent that we could not understand what he was saying. When we tried to ask him a question he told us not to interrupt him but did not ask us if we had any questions when he finished. All in all, he was extremely arrogant and rude. I made note of his attitude on the evaluation form at the end of the cruise. Three of us had the crawfish gumbo as an appetizer and that was fine. My mother ordered the prawns for dinner and enjoyed them, but my brother had the T-bone steak, I had the NY strip steak and my SIL had the filet and all three were horribly tough and very difficult to eat. It was so bad that I wrote a note to the food and beverage manager to alert them to the poor quality of the steaks so they could hopefully rectify it in the future for other guests. I didn't hear anything back from the food and beverage manager though.

 

My mother is an elite past passenger with 211 days with Princess prior to this cruise and I am platinum with 113 days (11 previous cruises). One thing that was very apparent to us was the lack of past passengers with lots of days on this cruise. My mother has occasionally gotten invitations to the most travelled passenger cocktail party with the officers in the past (and I have gone with her to those) but on this cruise we both got the invitations. Considering I haven't even made elite yet I was very surprised to get the invitation. And to our great surprise, my mom ended up being the third most travelled passenger at the Captain's Circle party, so got a bottle of champagne there.

 

As others have said, the weather was great when we were in port. We did the Bering Sea Fisherman's tour in Ketchikan and greatly enjoyed it. Did whale watching in Juneau with Orca enterprises and it was good as well. I had done whale watching excursions through the cruiseline in the past and feel they are pretty comparable.

 

Saw most of "the mountain", Denali, from the train on our way up to the Denali lodge. Also saw bald eagles and moose from the train. We took the Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali (booked on our own as our package included the shorter Natural History tour) and really lucked out with the wildlife sightings. Had a wolf run 15 feet in front of the bus and a mama grizzly and her two cubs within 6 feet of the bus. Also Dall's sheep only 40-50 feet from the road as well as a caribou crossing the road about 30' ahead of the bus. No moose, but we really couldn't complain with all that we did see. The rooms at the Denali lodge were fine, not super large but adequate. We were very glad to have two nights there so we had time to do the longer tour in Denali.

 

We also had two nights at the McKinley lodge. While this lodge is truly in the middle of nowhere, we were very impressed with this lodge. They had lots of interesting programs and lectures available, many of them free and the scenery was stunning. We could only see a small portion of the middle of the mountain when we were there though. We thought the rooms were slightly larger and more comfortable than the Denali lodge. They also seemed less worn.

 

All in all, we had a great time on this cruise. We absolutely loved the Island Princess and are sorry that she does such limited itineraries (Alaska and Panama canal) as we would love to sail on her in Europe. My mom has been undergoing cancer treatments for three years now (thank heavens she is still doing well) so this was kind of a trip of a lifetime that we were able to have the four of us go together. We are already trying to talk my brother and SIL into joining us again next year for a Holy land cruise.

[psyfi]

I'm so glad to hear you all enjoyed your Island Princess Alaskan cruise as we just booked her for June 2010! Hopefully she goes into drydock before then if she is looking worn now, I imagine it will be pretty bad in another year!

[can786]

I'm so glad to hear you all enjoyed your Island Princess Alaskan cruise as we just booked her for June 2010! Hopefully she goes into drydock before then if she is looking worn now, I imagine it will be pretty bad in another year!

 

I would not say she is looking "worn". If you look hard enough you can find small areas of wear and tear on any ship. She certainly did not strike me as being in imminent need of a major facelift.

[psyfi]

excellent! thanks for the opinion.