Golden Alaska 5/24/14 Review

We're just back from our Golden Princess Alaska cruise, round trip from Seattle. This was our 4th Princess cruise and our first time to Alaska. We flew in the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Aiport (free on points with IHG club) and they picked us up at the airport. We used Seattle Shuttle to take us to the pier Saturday morning, and they picked us up promptly and we were happy with the service for $12 each.

The room: Mini-suite on Emerald deck, port side. We were very happy with this room, with its fully covered balcony, extended balcony back towards the aft, living area, and large bathroom. This was our first time in a mini-suite, we usually get a balcony on Caribe, so the extra room was well-used on this trip. Most scenic days we moved the couch around so it faced the sliding doors, and placed the coffee table in front of it. We ate many meals here (room service breakfast every day) and enjoyed the scenery so much. We spent a LOT of time on the balcony and looking out at the scenic views. We saw an abundance of wildlife too (more on that later).

The ship: In general I think the ship is in good shape. At most ports we saw them painting or doing other maintenance. From our room's vantage point we watched the docking procedures, which is quite interesting, as well as the loading/unloading process on embarkation and turn-around days. They have it down to a science! We enjoyed the music venues mostly, such as the Wheelhouse, Explorers, and Vista lounges. We never made it to any production shows or the comedian show on this trip. The only time we heard any noise from the Vista lounge was the night they did the Motown show, and we could hear the music very loudly (for three shows!). But we didn't really hear anything else the rest of the trip from Vista. We enjoyed a great band all week, Sol Play, who had an amazing lead singer. They performed a huge range of genres and seemed to be a crowd pleaser all week.

Food: We didn't eat any meals in the MDR. We ate at the Crown Grill twice, on both formal nights. It was wonderful both times. We had the same waiter and table, as well as for the pub lunch also held in the Crown Grill. On three later port evenings we ate a quick bite in the buffet, which had many of the same things offered as the MDR (I looked at the daily menu postings). One night we had pizza too, and it was really good. We ate at the Trident Grill for lunch (burgers/dogs, all freshly cooked) had room service lunch a couple times (club sandwhiches, also fresh and good), and stopped at the International Cafe after a long evening in Victoria for some sandwhiches. We had breakfast delivered every morning from room service which we enjoyed with our wonderful views. Only once did we use the buffet for breakfast, and DH ran up and brought us back a plate to share. We didn't try the Crab Shack or Sabatini's on this trip. We usually buy the coke card, but this time we carried on some bottles of pepsi and had no issues.

Promotional items: We booked under the 'free wine - 8x10 framed picture - $100 OBC' promo. We called room service and were offered the following trade for our $30 wine credit: 9 cans of soda or 10 bottles of water. We chose the water option. The 8x10 picture credit doesn't come in a card voucher like the wine, they simply have a list at the photo counter and you go select your picture and they mark you off the list. It looked like many people hadn't picked up their freebies, and I wonder how many people didn't even realize they had it coming. Also the $100 OBC was supposed to be for excursions, but we only used $20 in excursion booking for the Victoria shuttle and they simply credited our account for the $100 and we used it up in other ways. Also, we had a bunch of other OBC from Visa and our TA, and it all posted the first day with no problems.

Boarding: The boarding process was very quick compared to what we are used to. We've only cruised from Galveston before, and this seemed more organized and quick to us. We never had to sit and wait, and the line kept moving. We arrived at the pier around 11:15, and were in our room by 12:30. Just a side note, when we disembarked, the customs agent didn't even look at our passports. He simply took our declaration and said 'have a nice day'. In Galveston they scrutinize your passport and ask a bunch of questions. No wonder the process takes so long there.

Weather and sea conditions: We were so lucky to have beautiful weather the entire trip. We had no rain the entire time and most days were partly cloudy with some sun. The evening in Victoria was simply wonderful, and the day we disembarked in Seattle was downright warm. Most days we layered and just needed a light jacket. The only day we really needed any cold weather gear was in Glacier Bay, and we spent most of the day outside. The seas were very calm the whole trip as well. Maybe because we've only cruised from Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico we are used to rougher conditions, but we thought this cruise was extremely calm.

Ports:

Juneau - Rented a car from Avis in the Goldbelt Hotel, a quick 10 minute walk from the pier. With our coporate account it was only $48 total, and about $20 in gas for the day. We went first to Mendenhall Glacier to beat the crowds (we were the first of 4 ships in port that day, plus it was Memorial Day holiday). We spent about 3 hours here enjoying the wonderful weather and hiking trails. We then drove the coastal highway out past Auke Bay, Eagle Rec area, and Shrine of St Therese. We made several stops for pictures and to just enjoy the beautiful day. On the way back we stopped at Walmart for some pepsi and other toiletry items. We planned to return the rental car and go up the tram. But we were so tired after a long day of site seeing, we decided to sit on the balcony and enjoy the evening. We had a great view of the tram from our balcony, and as I watched it I saw something moving up the mountain. Got the binoculars out and found a herd of 6 mountain goats in a meadow. We spent the next hour watching them graze. What a nice end to the day. Weather was 60s and sunny. At Mendenhall Glacier there were kids in swimsuits and floaties enjoying the water. Also on the way to Juneau in the morning, we saw a large group of humpback whales. We spent an hour or so on the balcony watching them spout, slap tails, and dive around the water. Great experience.

Skagway - Rented a jeep from Alaska Green Jeeps and spent the day driving up to the Yukon and Emerald Lake. Another beautiful day and scenic drive. We took a boxed picnic lunch and made many stops both up and back. Managed to see the train at several stops too. We didn't see a bear, although when we gassed up the jeep we talked to a fellow renter who said they said a mother and cub at Bove Island about an hour after we'd been there. Bad timing. But we did see some more mountain goats, and harbor seals in the tidal flats on our way out to Dyea. We also stopped at the slide cemetary and gold rush cemetary, and made the short but lovely hike to Lower Reid Falls. Another wonderful day of nice weather and beautiful sites. We are independent travelers and I highly recommend the jeep rental for those who want to get away from the crowds and do your own thing.

Glacier Bay - What can I say but 'wow'. This place is simply stunning. We had another beautiful day, with a few clouds and sun. We saw a grizzly bear on the shore after the National Park Service ranger announced the spotting over the PA. We kept the bridge cam channel on the whole day and enjoyed the narration by the rangers. Throughout the day we saw sea lions, sea otters, and many birds. When we stopped by the large glaciers we stayed on the balcony and could hear the cracking, groaning, and popping of the glaciers and surrounding ice flows. As the captian turned the ship for the other side to enjoy, we went up to the open decks. Although it was also a great view from the open decks, we couldn't hear any of the same sounds we had heard from our balcony due to the people talking and ship's noises. So for all the people who say you need to be on the open decks to enjoy, I say compare for yourself. I would say we enjoyed the experience much more from the quiet solitude of our balcony, where the sensory experience was completely different.

Ketchikan - We had originally planned to take the Coastal Wildlife Cruise here, but since we had seen so much already from our balcony, we decided to save the $358 and cancel. So instead we used our NPS pass to visit the SE Alaska Discovery Center, which was very nice. Then we took the funicular up to Cape Fox Lodge and viewed the totems. Afterwards we walked down the Married Man's Trail to Creek Street, enjoying the rustic views. Again, we had a beautiful day - no rain, comfortable temps, and overcast sky. We did a bit of shopping for everyone back home, then had lunch at a waterfront fish restaurant. We had salmon and halibut tacos, and fresh cod fish and chips. Wonderfully fresh and delicious. It's a good thing we ate lunch on shore, as there was a mishap with the dock's forklift and re-boarding was delayed by an hour or so. The line was HUGE to get back onboard, and we were an hour late leaving port. Good thing it wasn't raining. The captain came down and was working the crowd, explaining everything and why there was a delay, which was a nice touch. He also announced it over the PA when we were leaving port. That night was the Captian's Circle party, and he joked about it there as well. I would love to spend more time in Ketchikan as this was only a half day stop.

Victoria - Booked ship's shuttle for $10 each, which takes you into town and the driver does a narration of the city and surrounding area. Another beautiful evening, with only a light jacket needed. We walked around town, watched the sunset over the harbor, and enjoyed some street performers. What a lovely and clean city. On the way into port today we saw orca whales. We think they were female as we had read about them the day before at the SE Alaska Center and the primary way to tell them apart is females have 4 foot fins and males 6 foot fins.

Seattle - Always sad to get off the ship, but they made the process easy. We did self disembark and carried off our own luggage. Met our group at 8:10 and were off the ship by 8:30. Took a shuttle to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza downtown (again free on IHG points) and were there by 9:15. We left our luggage and walked to the waterfront, only to get a call that our room was ready already. So back up the hill we went and got checked in. Very nice room with a great view of the Space Needle. We've been to Seattle before, so no Space Needle visit this time. We decided to take the Argosy Ballard Locks cruise for the afternoon. We'd also done that before but in the evening, and it was a beautiful sunny day so we thought it would be nice. Always fun to go thru the locks, and there were so many people and boats out enjoying the day. We stopped at the Fisherman at the pier for early supper (darn time difference from home) and as we enjoyed fresh seafood on the outside deck, we watched the Golden sail away for her next voyage. Great end to the trip.

General comments: Overall we had a wonderful time. I'm sure we'll go back someday, but it will be hard to top the weather we had this trip. We met some nice people on the cruise and all the staff was very pleasant. One drawback was the screaming/crying toddler in the room next to us. That wasn't a very nice treat every morning and evening, but we just turned the tv up and I slept with earplugs. I still don't get why people bring young children that small on a cruise (I'm a mother and grandmother myself), and it did impact our enjoyment of our room. We've never had an issue before, but this was our first mini suite and I'm sure there are more families booked there due to the 3rd/4th passenger area.

I plan to post the Patters when I get back to work where I have access to PDF scanner.

We're just back from our Golden Princess Alaska cruise, round trip from Seattle. This was our 4th Princess cruise and our first time to Alaska. We flew in the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Aiport (free on points with IHG club) and they picked us up at the airport. We used Seattle Shuttle to take us to the pier Saturday morning, and they picked us up promptly and we were happy with the service for $12 each.

 

The room: Mini-suite on Emerald deck, port side. We were very happy with this room, with its fully covered balcony, extended balcony back towards the aft, living area, and large bathroom. This was our first time in a mini-suite, we usually get a balcony on Caribe, so the extra room was well-used on this trip. Most scenic days we moved the couch around so it faced the sliding doors, and placed the coffee table in front of it. We ate many meals here (room service breakfast every day) and enjoyed the scenery so much. We spent a LOT of time on the balcony and looking out at the scenic views. We saw an abundance of wildlife too (more on that later).

 

The ship: In general I think the ship is in good shape. At most ports we saw them painting or doing other maintenance. From our room's vantage point we watched the docking procedures, which is quite interesting, as well as the loading/unloading process on embarkation and turn-around days. They have it down to a science! We enjoyed the music venues mostly, such as the Wheelhouse, Explorers, and Vista lounges. We never made it to any production shows or the comedian show on this trip. The only time we heard any noise from the Vista lounge was the night they did the Motown show, and we could hear the music very loudly (for three shows!). But we didn't really hear anything else the rest of the trip from Vista. We enjoyed a great band all week, Sol Play, who had an amazing lead singer. They performed a huge range of genres and seemed to be a crowd pleaser all week.

 

Food: We didn't eat any meals in the MDR. We ate at the Crown Grill twice, on both formal nights. It was wonderful both times. We had the same waiter and table, as well as for the pub lunch also held in the Crown Grill. On three later port evenings we ate a quick bite in the buffet, which had many of the same things offered as the MDR (I looked at the daily menu postings). One night we had pizza too, and it was really good. We ate at the Trident Grill for lunch (burgers/dogs, all freshly cooked) had room service lunch a couple times (club sandwhiches, also fresh and good), and stopped at the International Cafe after a long evening in Victoria for some sandwhiches. We had breakfast delivered every morning from room service which we enjoyed with our wonderful views. Only once did we use the buffet for breakfast, and DH ran up and brought us back a plate to share. We didn't try the Crab Shack or Sabatini's on this trip. We usually buy the coke card, but this time we carried on some bottles of pepsi and had no issues.

 

Promotional items: We booked under the 'free wine - 8x10 framed picture - $100 OBC' promo. We called room service and were offered the following trade for our $30 wine credit: 9 cans of soda or 10 bottles of water. We chose the water option. The 8x10 picture credit doesn't come in a card voucher like the wine, they simply have a list at the photo counter and you go select your picture and they mark you off the list. It looked like many people hadn't picked up their freebies, and I wonder how many people didn't even realize they had it coming. Also the $100 OBC was supposed to be for excursions, but we only used $20 in excursion booking for the Victoria shuttle and they simply credited our account for the $100 and we used it up in other ways. Also, we had a bunch of other OBC from Visa and our TA, and it all posted the first day with no problems.

 

Boarding: The boarding process was very quick compared to what we are used to. We've only cruised from Galveston before, and this seemed more organized and quick to us. We never had to sit and wait, and the line kept moving. We arrived at the pier around 11:15, and were in our room by 12:30. Just a side note, when we disembarked, the customs agent didn't even look at our passports. He simply took our declaration and said 'have a nice day'. In Galveston they scrutinize your passport and ask a bunch of questions. No wonder the process takes so long there.

 

Weather and sea conditions: We were so lucky to have beautiful weather the entire trip. We had no rain the entire time and most days were partly cloudy with some sun. The evening in Victoria was simply wonderful, and the day we disembarked in Seattle was downright warm. Most days we layered and just needed a light jacket. The only day we really needed any cold weather gear was in Glacier Bay, and we spent most of the day outside. The seas were very calm the whole trip as well. Maybe because we've only cruised from Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico we are used to rougher conditions, but we thought this cruise was extremely calm.

 

Ports:

 

Juneau - Rented a car from Avis in the Goldbelt Hotel, a quick 10 minute walk from the pier. With our coporate account it was only $48 total, and about $20 in gas for the day. We went first to Mendenhall Glacier to beat the crowds (we were the first of 4 ships in port that day, plus it was Memorial Day holiday). We spent about 3 hours here enjoying the wonderful weather and hiking trails. We then drove the coastal highway out past Auke Bay, Eagle Rec area, and Shrine of St Therese. We made several stops for pictures and to just enjoy the beautiful day. On the way back we stopped at Walmart for some pepsi and other toiletry items. We planned to return the rental car and go up the tram. But we were so tired after a long day of site seeing, we decided to sit on the balcony and enjoy the evening. We had a great view of the tram from our balcony, and as I watched it I saw something moving up the mountain. Got the binoculars out and found a herd of 6 mountain goats in a meadow. We spent the next hour watching them graze. What a nice end to the day. Weather was 60s and sunny. At Mendenhall Glacier there were kids in swimsuits and floaties enjoying the water. Also on the way to Juneau in the morning, we saw a large group of humpback whales. We spent an hour or so on the balcony watching them spout, slap tails, and dive around the water. Great experience.

 

Skagway - Rented a jeep from Alaska Green Jeeps and spent the day driving up to the Yukon and Emerald Lake. Another beautiful day and scenic drive. We took a boxed picnic lunch and made many stops both up and back. Managed to see the train at several stops too. We didn't see a bear, although when we gassed up the jeep we talked to a fellow renter who said they said a mother and cub at Bove Island about an hour after we'd been there. Bad timing. But we did see some more mountain goats, and harbor seals in the tidal flats on our way out to Dyea. We also stopped at the slide cemetary and gold rush cemetary, and made the short but lovely hike to Lower Reid Falls. Another wonderful day of nice weather and beautiful sites. We are independent travelers and I highly recommend the jeep rental for those who want to get away from the crowds and do your own thing.

 

Glacier Bay - What can I say but 'wow'. This place is simply stunning. We had another beautiful day, with a few clouds and sun. We saw a grizzly bear on the shore after the National Park Service ranger announced the spotting over the PA. We kept the bridge cam channel on the whole day and enjoyed the narration by the rangers. Throughout the day we saw sea lions, sea otters, and many birds. When we stopped by the large glaciers we stayed on the balcony and could hear the cracking, groaning, and popping of the glaciers and surrounding ice flows. As the captian turned the ship for the other side to enjoy, we went up to the open decks. Although it was also a great view from the open decks, we couldn't hear any of the same sounds we had heard from our balcony due to the people talking and ship's noises. So for all the people who say you need to be on the open decks to enjoy, I say compare for yourself. I would say we enjoyed the experience much more from the quiet solitude of our balcony, where the sensory experience was completely different.

 

Ketchikan - We had originally planned to take the Coastal Wildlife Cruise here, but since we had seen so much already from our balcony, we decided to save the $358 and cancel. So instead we used our NPS pass to visit the SE Alaska Discovery Center, which was very nice. Then we took the funicular up to Cape Fox Lodge and viewed the totems. Afterwards we walked down the Married Man's Trail to Creek Street, enjoying the rustic views. Again, we had a beautiful day - no rain, comfortable temps, and overcast sky. We did a bit of shopping for everyone back home, then had lunch at a waterfront fish restaurant. We had salmon and halibut tacos, and fresh cod fish and chips. Wonderfully fresh and delicious. It's a good thing we ate lunch on shore, as there was a mishap with the dock's forklift and re-boarding was delayed by an hour or so. The line was HUGE to get back onboard, and we were an hour late leaving port. Good thing it wasn't raining. The captain came down and was working the crowd, explaining everything and why there was a delay, which was a nice touch. He also announced it over the PA when we were leaving port. That night was the Captian's Circle party, and he joked about it there as well. I would love to spend more time in Ketchikan as this was only a half day stop.

 

Victoria - Booked ship's shuttle for $10 each, which takes you into town and the driver does a narration of the city and surrounding area. Another beautiful evening, with only a light jacket needed. We walked around town, watched the sunset over the harbor, and enjoyed some street performers. What a lovely and clean city. On the way into port today we saw orca whales. We think they were female as we had read about them the day before at the SE Alaska Center and the primary way to tell them apart is females have 4 foot fins and males 6 foot fins.

 

Seattle - Always sad to get off the ship, but they made the process easy. We did self disembark and carried off our own luggage. Met our group at 8:10 and were off the ship by 8:30. Took a shuttle to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza downtown (again free on IHG points) and were there by 9:15. We left our luggage and walked to the waterfront, only to get a call that our room was ready already. So back up the hill we went and got checked in. Very nice room with a great view of the Space Needle. We've been to Seattle before, so no Space Needle visit this time. We decided to take the Argosy Ballard Locks cruise for the afternoon. We'd also done that before but in the evening, and it was a beautiful sunny day so we thought it would be nice. Always fun to go thru the locks, and there were so many people and boats out enjoying the day. We stopped at the Fisherman at the pier for early supper (darn time difference from home) and as we enjoyed fresh seafood on the outside deck, we watched the Golden sail away for her next voyage. Great end to the trip.

 

General comments: Overall we had a wonderful time. I'm sure we'll go back someday, but it will be hard to top the weather we had this trip. We met some nice people on the cruise and all the staff was very pleasant. One drawback was the screaming/crying toddler in the room next to us. That wasn't a very nice treat every morning and evening, but we just turned the tv up and I slept with earplugs. I still don't get why people bring young children that small on a cruise (I'm a mother and grandmother myself), and it did impact our enjoyment of our room. We've never had an issue before, but this was our first mini suite and I'm sure there are more families booked there due to the 3rd/4th passenger area.

Thanks, great review. Our first cruise ever was on the Golden to Alaska, we loved it, and last September went back on the Diamond adding a week on land.

Hugh

Thank you for that thorough review. We'll be on the Golden at the end of June (also in a mini-suite, but on Dolphin deck). I appreciate the thoroughness of your review. Would you mind a few questions....

Embarking in Seattle - I'm relieved to hear it went smoothly (I've heard some horror stories from last year). Our group of 14 plan to get to the port around 10:45 to drop off luggage and park the car. Our boarding time is around 12noon. Any suggestions of making the process smoother? I'm the circus leader for our group, so I want to make sure we're all prepared.

Do you recall if they had any regional beers (Alaskan for example)?

We are also booked under the 3-for-free promotion (wine, photo and $100obc). Did I understand correctly that the wine voucher is in your room & the photo "voucher" is really just a list at the photo gallery? Do you happen to know if they allow the wine voucher to be added to your obc or do you have to redeem it for a beverage (wine, soda or water)?

Glacier Bay / views from port side mini-suite: We are also on the port side (5 Caribe balconies and 2 Dolphin mini-suites). I understand the narration as you enter Glacier Bay is focused on what one sees on the port side, is this correct? Of course, wildlife can show up anywhere, I understand. Besides the 2 primary glaciers (Marjorie and Lamplugh) did you view other glaciers or just "drive by"? Are there other viewpoints along the trip you suggest?

Mendenhall Glacier - about how long did it take you to go through the visitor center and hike to the falls?

Thanks for your help. We're all very excited.

Any suggestions of making the process smoother?

 

Do you recall if they had any regional beers (Alaskan for example)?

 

Did I understand correctly that the wine voucher is in your room & the photo "voucher" is really just a list at the photo gallery? Do you happen to know if they allow the wine voucher to be added to your obc or do you have to redeem it for a beverage (wine, soda or water)?

 

Glacier Bay / views from port side mini-suite: We are also on the port side (5 Caribe balconies and 2 Dolphin mini-suites). I understand the narration as you enter Glacier Bay is focused on what one sees on the port side, is this correct? Of course, wildlife can show up anywhere, I understand. Besides the 2 primary glaciers (Marjorie and Lamplugh) did you view other glaciers or just "drive by"? Are there other viewpoints along the trip you suggest?

 

Mendenhall Glacier - about how long did it take you to go through the visitor center and hike to the falls?

I don't have any tips on embarkation other than make sure you have all your documents ready. There was a group in front of us with no luggage tags. The staff person couldn't get them to understand what they were missing, and finally grabbed our luggage tags to show them. He looked as us, rolled his eyes, and said 'we send this stuff out months in advance'. Honestly I don't know how some people travel so unprepared.

We didn't partake of any regional beers, but I do remember seeing some onboard. Alaska Amber maybe? I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention, but they definitely did have some available in bottles.

Yes, the wine voucher is just that, a paper voucher that says specifically on the back you cannot convert it to OBC. So we just called room service and asked what the options were, and they were very pleasant about it. And quickly brought the switced out items. They just had us sign the voucher. The free 8x10 photo and frame is just a big list at the photo counter. When you redeem it they have you sign the sheet. There was a HUGE list of blank spaces and we picked ours up on the last day, so I'm guessing there were a bunch of people who didn't even realize they had it coming.

The narration is based from the port side, but you could enjoy it from anywhere. When they spotted something they made it clear where it was. We went by Reid Glacier which they pointed out, and spent an hour total at Margerie Glacier (had to get my map out to check that spelling:)) so half an hour on each side, and then you stop by Lamplugh Glacier for about 30 minutes total. We spent most of the day on our balcony and saw a huge amount of seals, sea lions, and birds. There really isn't a bad view in the place. We also stopped by the ranger desk and bought a USB drive from Alaska Geographic loaded with pictures from Glacier Bay.

It took us about an hour to tour the visitor center and walk to Nugget Falls. But keep in mind we were in the first wave of people there, and when we came back from the hike, the place was PACKED with people. There's no way we could have done it that quickly if we'd waited longer. We had originally booked a whale watch/Mendenhall Glacier combo tour, but we knew an hour wasn't going to be enough time for us, so that's why we switched to the car rental. For us, it was the right decision. We saw plenty of whales up close from the ship, and we talked to some people who took a tour and only saw one tail. Someday if we go back, we'll probably do the whale watch tour though.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Great review and info, Paula. We're taking this same trip on Saturday on the Golden (Dolphin mini-suite, port side) for our first cruise. Our weather forecast looks to be a bit more on the damp side though :-/ We may end up envious of the covered Emerald balconies :rolleyes: Nice to know about the wine voucher swap-out!

Jim

Great review and info, Paula. We're taking this same trip on Saturday on the Golden (Dolphin mini-suite, port side) for our first cruise. Our weather forecast looks to be a bit more on the damp side though :-/ We may end up envious of the covered Emerald balconies :rolleyes: Nice to know about the wine voucher swap-out!

 

Jim

I thought people would be interested in the wine voucher deal since so many have booked under that promo. I'm sure you will have a great cruise - don't worry about the weather. You can't do anything about it anyway, and the sites will still be magnificent!

I don't have any tips on embarkation other than make sure you have all your documents ready. There was a group in front of us with no luggage tags. The staff person couldn't get them to understand what they were missing, and finally grabbed our luggage tags to show them. He looked as us, rolled his eyes, and said 'we send this stuff out months in advance'.

Guess he does not know that Princess has not sent "this stuff" out for several years.

We were on this same cruise in a window suite. Loved it! We were so pleased that the weather was as great as it was. We had absolutely no complaints about anything the entire week. It was our first time to Alaska but will not be our last. It is beautiful!

Marianne & Tony

Reading PA

:):):)

Guess he does not know that Princess has not sent "this stuff" out for several years.

Not sure what you mean or maybe you misunderstood what I meant. The passengers didn't know they were supposed to have attached the luggage tags from the personalizer, which may be accessed months in advance of the cruise.

He wasn't implying they just started supplying them months ago.

Thanks for the review! Is always good to get a recent preview! 60 Days til our Golden Alaska Cruise.

Thank you for your review. Sounds like a great time despite the crying baby. Mini Suites are great. I wish I could sail in one every time I sail.:):):)

Do you recall if they had any regional beers (Alaskan for example)?

On my previous Princess Alaskan cruises, they have had Alaskan Amber and Alaskan Summer.

We were on this cruise as well in a Dolphin port-side mini-suite mid-ship. Perfect location. Our 3-for-Free included dinner at the Crown Grill. It was fabulous, best filet I've ever had, really. I agree that more time in Ketchikan would have been nice. We had taken the crab boat and crab feast excursion (fantastic, by the way...lots of wildlife) which left no time at all to wander the town. I was very impressed to see Captain Wilson walking the line of people waiting to board in Ketchikan. He has to be the most visible captain we've sailed with.

As a side note, we found the beds in the mini-suite to be very comfortable, more so than the ones we've had on other ships. No mattress topper needed.

Great cruise!

Thank you for your review. Sounds like a great time despite the crying baby. Mini Suites are great. I wish I could sail in one every time I sail.:):):)

Yes, I think we are spoiled going forward. Not sure how we could go back to a smaller room after this!

As a side note, we found the beds in the mini-suite to be very comfortable, more so than the ones we've had on other ships. No mattress topper needed.

Great cruise!

I agree, and I should have mentioned that in my review. Our bed was very comfortable, more so than in the regular balcony rooms we've had, and we didn't need the mattress topper either. Glad you enjoyed the cruise too!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading about your trip, Paula. You're a wonderful writer and storyteller.....very concise! I am taking my 17 year old son on this trip on 8/2 and am counting the minutes! Thank you for taking the time to share about your trip!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I thought people would be interested in the wine voucher deal since so many have booked under that promo. I'm sure you will have a great cruise - don't worry about the weather. You can't do anything about it anyway, and the sites will still be magnificent!

Oh, weather won't be an issue for us - we live in Gig Harbor here on Puget Sound, so we are used to handling rainy days :)

And while sunny days can give wonderful photo opportunities, so can stormy grey days - especially when you have the gear to go out and shoot in it!

Jim

We have to think positive.. the weather will be perfect.. a shower or two, mostly blue skies.. just like Gig Harbor.. Looks like there will be a few of us on the Golden next weekend..

Very nice review.

Keith

Not sure what you mean or maybe you misunderstood what I meant. The passengers didn't know they were supposed to have attached the luggage tags from the personalizer, which may be accessed months in advance of the cruise...

I believe caribill meant that Princess hasn't mailed out paper cruise docs, with tickets, luggage tags, etc. for years. It was always an event to receive them in the mail!

Thank you for posting such a wonderful review. Although we will be on the Grand next year I am soaking up all info I can on Alaska, and your review is very helpful with the planning process of our first Alaska trip. Thank you.:)

Thanks for the report?

great review....our turn on 30 August! This makes me more excited:D:D:D

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading about your trip, Paula. You're a wonderful writer and storyteller.....very concise! I am taking my 17 year old son on this trip on 8/2 and am counting the minutes! Thank you for taking the time to share about your trip!

 

 

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Thank you! I always keep a log on the cruise so I can remember all the little things we did and saw. Have a great time on your cruise in August!