Island Princess, Vancouver to Whittier, June 6.

[indigosails]

We arrived the day before embarkation and stayed at the Pan Pacific, which could not have been more convenient. We walked to Gastown and found a wine merchant who had a nice selection and the prices were reasonable. Sorry I don’t remember the name but it was near the steam clock. We ate dinner at an Indian restaurant that was pretty decent.

 

The embarkation process was smooth. There were two ships embarking that day.

 

We were a group of four: Two women who had never cruised before and us, a married couple who has cruised several times. We are all in our 60s. The Island Princess is a indeed a lovely ship, well maintained, not too large, and easy to find your way around. Perfect for a first-time cruiser. Our mini suite on Baja deck was great. No complaints about the ship itself. But we all felt that everything was a come-on to sell stuff, and more than once we felt nickled and dimed to death.

 

 

The ship has a golf-simulator, which I thought was great, and I went up to check it out on a get-acquainted promotion. Of course there was a fee. I was allowed to hit two balls (no more) to decide if it was something I wanted to do. The attendant, who was reading a book, couldn’t tell me how much it would cost. It depends on how many holes you play. How much for a round of 18? “A lot, heh heh” was the answer. I would have enjoyed playing, but the fact that the fee was a mysterious secret turned me off.

 

One of the gals in our party got her teeth whitened. She said she was happy with the initial results, but it only lasted a couple days. Then she couldn’t get the gel stuff to work and tried to get her money back for the gel. They fought hard, but eventually relented and reimbursed her for the gel. (Our friend is an attorney.)

 

The Island has two specialty-dining venues, Bayou Café and Sabatini’s. Among our group the Bayou got mixed reviews. The jazz band was good, and it was a fun atmosphere, although there was a mix-up on our reservation. They took us anyway (the place was nearly empty). Sabatini’s was so bad that the maitre d chased us down to comp the cover charge. He invited us to return but we didn’t. The main problem was not the food, it was the waiter, who was new and clearly in over his head. He got everything wrong. He brought the wrong bottle of wine (a much more expensive one), the wrong appetizers—which didn’t matter because they were all good. It took forever to get our food and when we did it was not only overcooked, it was cold. The lobster was rubbery and tough, and there was confusion as to whether there was crabmeat in the lobster dish. When I asked, the waiter said there was a crab claw on my plate. I told him I am allergic to crab and he picked up the crab claw (with his bare hands) and said it was fine to eat now. I said I couldn’t eat the dish simply because he removed the crab, and he argued with me. So I gave the lobster to my mate. We never went back to either place, although I would have liked to dine at Bayou again. We felt that the food in the Horizon was mediocre, although the omelets were super. The place was kept so warm it was like a sauna in there. The pizza is top-notch! The food in the MDR was pretty bad at first—everybody was complaining and the joke was that we wouldn’t have to worry about putting on weight—but as the week went by it got much better. The waitstaff in the MDR was delightful.

 

We had decent weather, albeit cold, and everyone (on shore) we talked to said it was a cold spring, colder than in many years. I did not need my hiking boots, but I was glad I brought silk longjohns. Dressing in layers is key—if you’re not freezing, you’re overheating. Everybody wore jeans during the day. There were two formal nights—we saw tuxes and lots of sparkles. There were a few who didn’t participate, we only saw them in the elevators, however many people came to the late show in casual clothes. We only watched the entertainment one night and it was very good.

 

They sell jackets and sweatshirts on the ship. They have a good selection and reasonable prices. My husband bought a reversible jacket.

 

In Ketchikan we took the Misty Fjords floatplane tour with Island Wings and it was terrific.

 

In Juneau my friend and I went on the heli-mushing tour. We enjoyed the dogsledding and the dogs, but the helicopter ride was the absolute bomb—breathtaking! The weather was clearing and the sailaway out of Juneau was incredibly beautiful. We ate dinner on shore at The Hanger where we had eaten 15 years ago and it was still great.

 

In Skagway we took the White Pass Railroad. Here’s a hint—sit on the left side of the train going up, and sit near the back so you can get to the platform for picture taking (or the front, but back is better) when they announce it’s open. I didn’t and people hogged the platform and ignored our pleas to give us a turn. Our friends, who were on a different excursion and thus rode in a different railcar, had the same experience. We went to the Salmon Bake and Red Onion Saloon. It was kinda hokey (in a good way), and the food at the salmon bake was very good. We were told we’d be taken back to the ship by a different bus, but no bus came and we walked. Not a big deal, but it was cold and rainy. I didn’t love Skagway. Maybe the weather had something to do with it. Skagway has one post office, one doctor, and 26 jewelry stores. By the way, as an aside, the [way too many] foreign-operated jewelry stores close up in winter and follow the cruise ships to the Caribbean.

 

The scenic glacier cruising was great. We had a balcony and our cabin was near the “secret” deck so we didn’t have to jockey for viewing space. We were at the Margerie Glacier. The Hubbard is more impressive, IMO.

 

Having been to Alaska before and taken the Denali train (which I highly recommend), we rented a car in Whittier and went off on our own. We visited the Wildlife Conservation Center, we went salmon fishing on the Kenai River with Troutfitters (an excellent company), and we spent a day in Homer.

 

All in all we had a great cruise, but we both caught colds.

[TXFrank]

Thanks for the review. Re the Pan Pacific - can you walk to the check in area or is it some distance? I will be with my Mom (who is in her 80's) and has some mobility issues and uses a walker. We are staying at the Pan Pacific because I thought it would be the closest to the pier itself. Thanks for a reply ....

[indigosails]

The elevator goes down to the cruise ship level and it is only a few hundred feet from there. Your mother should have no problem.

[treinke]

Thanks for the review. I leave on her in two days and am looking forward to it.

[highheel girl]

Thanks for the review. Re the Pan Pacific - can you walk to the check in area or is it some distance? I will be with my Mom (who is in her 80's) and has some mobility issues and uses a walker. We are staying at the Pan Pacific because I thought it would be the closest to the pier itself. Thanks for a reply ....

 

We love it. Don't think you can stay in a place much more convienent then the Pan Pacific. ;)

[logan25]

We also enjoyed our time on the Island Princess.

 

I will, however, offer a different opinion of the pizza on Island. I thought the sauce was horrid, like a bad version of Totino's. Hubby thinks the cheese blend is not necessarily 100% cheese. And they do not offer sausage as a topping, his preferred sole topping.

 

We were able to get most excellent pizza at Northern Lights Pizzeria in Skagway.