Booked Pacific Princess-Alaska-Looking for Comments

[SteelMagnolia9]

I'm booked with a friend on the Pacific Princess in July to Alaska, Whittier to Vancouver. We are both new to Princess. We selected the Pacific Princess as we felt a small ship experience would be ideal for Alaska. We are booked in a premium oceanview cabin.

 

I would be interested in hearing about your experience in Alaska aboard this ship as well as any recommendations, ideas, reviews of shore excursions, etc. This will be my first time (and maybe only time) in Alaska and I want to make the most of it.

 

We're booked on a Princess land tour before the cruise and Victoria extension after the tour.

 

Thank you!

[kcarrots1]

Make sure if going to Denali that you do the long trip into the Park - I think it is about 6-8 hours by park bus. We saw so much wildlife when we did this back in 2009. We are planning on going to Alaska again next year, we loved it so much.

[nukesubsailor]

Skagway = visit the Red Onion Saloon.

Juneau = a whale watching excursion and visiting the Red Dog Saloon. Ketchikan = walking the Creek Street area.

[partybarbie]

I've been to Alaska a few times and will be happy to share my recommendations with you.

 

In Skagway, I would highly recommend the zipline and the dog sled camp. We booked these tours through the ship and had plenty of time for both of them in the same day.

 

In Juneau, don't bother with the whale watch tour. In our case we saw more whales from the cruise ship than from our tour. I would use this day to take the bus to Mendenhall Glacier. Then, if it's a nice day and you have time, take the Mount Robert's Tram to the top on the mountain. You can do these two activities on your own without booking a tour through the ship.

 

In Ketchikan, my favorite ship's tour of all time was the sea float plane to the salmon hatchery to see the brown bears catch salmon in the river. We saw about 14 bears, up close, including a mother with two cubs.

 

I hope this helps you maximize your time in Alaska. Have a wonderful cruise.

[southpawsdakota]

We will be doing our 4th cruise to Alaska in August/Sept and in Juneau I would suggest Orca Enteprise (google it), will also take you to Mendenhall Glacier if you want to go there. Absolutely the best thing we did. We had done the whale watching previously but this one was a smaller group. It is obviously hit or miss seeing the whales no matter when you go. In Skagway we did the train and Red Saloon is ok to stop into but go all the way down the street and on the right you will find a brewery/restaurant, we have stopped there to eat on all our Alaska cruises. The train was also fun, we did the shorter version. Make sure you bring your binoculars with you!

[towhee]

I'm booked with a friend on the Pacific Princess in July to Alaska, Whittier to Vancouver. We are both new to Princess. We selected the Pacific Princess as we felt a small ship experience would be ideal for Alaska. We are booked in a premium oceanview cabin.

 

I would be interested in hearing about your experience in Alaska aboard this ship as well as any recommendations, ideas, reviews of shore excursions, etc. This will be my first time (and maybe only time) in Alaska and I want to make the most of it.

 

We're booked on a Princess land tour before the cruise and Victoria extension after the tour.

 

Thank you!

 

We've sailed on Pacific Princess several times. It's a lovely ship and we love the smallness of it.

Be sure to link up with your roll call. You'll meet some of your future co-passengers and get all kinds of tips about what to do, what to bring, etc.

[Kinkacruiser]

It will be a nice change to spend a month on the Pacific Princess...roughly 1/5 of the passengers we experienced on the Emerald. Very much enjoyed our time on the Ocean (Tahitian).

I hope you enjoy your Alaskan cruise on her. :)

[shepp]

Hi, OP…

 

As usual in these cases, could you give us a hint of what you're interested in? Capable of? Budget? How you usually travel?

 

For instance, if you're into hiking, I could give you some good recommendations, including one very strenuous trail (West Mendenhall) that was literally one of the three most amazing hikes I've ever taken. That sound interesting, or not?

 

In Skagway, instead of being stuck in the White Pass train, we were comfortable renting a car and driving into the Yukon (so very cool we did it on two different cruises), while going to the Red Onion Saloon held no appeal for us. I love zip lines, but the one in Skagway seemed ludicrously expensive, twice to four times what we've paid elsewhere. Maybe you don't like zip lines at all? Maybe you do and price is no object? Every time we're in Ketchikan, we take public transit out to one of the really great totem parks. Not only much cheaper than the ship's tours, but we can easily avoid the crowds and stay as long as we want to. In Victoria, we were perfectly happy just going on the tourist bureau's walking tours, eating poutine, and hanging out at the really wonderful Royal BC Museum. Did Butchart Gardens once - pretty, but seemed overpriced. Others think it would be worth twice as much. Different strokes.

Edited February 13, 2015 by shepp

[SteelMagnolia9]

Thank you for all of your comments. I certainly would welcome more.

 

There is not an active Roll Call for this cruise. I am the only one on the Roll Call currently.

[SteelMagnolia9]

Hi, OP…

 

As usual in these cases, could you give us a hint of what you're interested in? Capable of? Budget? How you usually travel?

 

For instance, if you're into hiking, I could give you some good recommendations, including one very strenuous trail (West Mendenhall) that was literally one of the three most amazing hikes I've ever taken. That sound interesting, or not?

 

In Skagway, instead of being stuck in the White Pass train, we were comfortable renting a car and driving into the Yukon (so very cool we did it on two different cruises), while going to the Red Onion Saloon held no appeal for us. I love zip lines, but the one in Skagway seemed ludicrously expensive, twice to four times what we've paid elsewhere. Maybe you don't like zip lines at all? Maybe you do and price is no object? Every time we're in Ketchikan, we take public transit out to one of the really great totem parks. Not only much cheaper than the ship's tours, but we can easily avoid the crowds and stay as long as we want to. In Victoria, we were perfectly happy just going on the tourist bureau's walking tours, eating poutine, and hanging out at the really wonderful Royal BC Museum. Did Butchart Gardens once - pretty, but seemed overpriced. Others think it would be worth twice as much. Different strokes.

 

I am fit and middle-aged. I do enjoy hiking and I would welcome recommendations. The very strenuous trail may not be appropriate for my friend, and I don't hike alone.

 

I'm mostly going on this trip to experience the natural beauty of Alaska. I went to Iceland in 2013 and spent 12 days there (not on a cruise) and loved the country. It was a scenic trip and I am similarly looking forward to Alaska.

 

Zip lines don't have any appeal to me.

 

I am planning on the White Pass train.

 

I've been to Vancouver, but not to Victoria and want to see Butchart Gardens.

 

We all have a budget, but as I expect I will not return to Alaska, I want to maximize my time there and I am willing to spend extra $$$ to ensure I don't say, "I'll do it next time".

 

My friend and I are both independent travelers. I'm not opposed to taking a shore excursion, but I enjoy the independent DIY vs. a guided experience.

 

I basically know zero about Alaska, so any input is very helpful.

[Bimmer09]

I am planning on the White Pass train.

 

I've been to Vancouver, but not to Victoria and want to see Butchart Gardens.

 

 

I am glad to see you have these two in your plans. I assume you plan on staying a day in Vancouver once you dock? It takes some time to get over to Victoria unless you use a float plane (very expensive ) and Butchart is a long ride from Victoria. We used a taxi and had him wait for 90 mins or so at a cost of $100.

If you have time on your hands a bus will save a lot of $$$. We bought some seeds from Butchart and they prospered in our garden.

 

I have 2 Alaska reviews in my signature below and each has at least 3 different excursions in photos and videos if you have time to look. Butchart is featured at the end of the Coral Princess one- the gardens are worth the trip.

 

Alaska is a destination like no other!

 

I love your choice of ship- a little beauty!

 

Norris

[TucsonRick]

In Juneau, don't bother with the whale watch tour. In our case we saw more whales from the cruise ship than from our tour.

You must have had a very unique experience! We have been to Alaska twice and did not seen any whales from the ships. Ships do not traverse the whale feeding areas and are not allowed to get close to whales. Your tour must have been very poor indeed! Others on this board would agree with me.

 

We took a tour with Harv and Marv and saw many, many whales including one that breached very close to our boat. Harv and Marv's boats carry only six people, so there are not a bunch of people blocking your view. They are a bit pricey but well worth it. Their bus will also make a stop at Mendenhall Glacier on the way back to the ship.

 

For more info and recommendations, go to the Alaska board here under Ports of Call. Look for posts by "Budget Queen". She has been to Alaska many, many times and really knows what she is talking about.

Edited February 16, 2015 by TucsonRick

[AKman2495]

If this is perhaps your only shot to go to Alaska, I would like to point out that the cruise only covers a small part of Alaska. I would look into doing a land tour before the cruise to see some more of the state (I've been here going on 39 years and although I have traveled around Alaska I haven't seen all of it yet!).

 

I'd advise you to check out the Alaska forum at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

There is a ton of info over there to help you.

[shredie]

Maybe my favorite cruise memory of all time was aboard the Pacific Princess. At anchor at Icy Strait Point, I saw four whales breach at the same time. Icy Strait is otherwise undistinguished, but Skagway is maybe my favorite city on most of the Alaskan cruises. I love to wander around the little shops, and there is a restaurant there with the most delicious halibut sandwich. The town is just so darned cute. The ship is wonderful. I would sail on her every time if I could.

[Jim Avery]

We sailed Pacific Princess in Alaska last May and loved it. We snagged one of the aft Owner's Suites which has a huge veranda that affords a 270 degree view. Wonderful for AK. The highlights for us was the helicopter to the dog sled camp on the glacier from Skagway and the float plane from Ketchikan. The food and service on Pacific was much better than what we had on Star Princess. Hard to beat the small ships for Alaska. Would do it again in an instant.

[caribill]

We took a tour with Harv and Marv and saw many, many whales including one that breached very close to our boat. Harv and Marv's boats carry only six people, so there are not a bunch of people blocking your view. They are a bit pricey but well worth it. Their bus will also make a stop at Mendenhall Glacier on the way back to the ship.

 

 

Agree 100% with using Harv and Marv in Juneau.

 

And this cost is about the same as a Princess whale watching excursion that will have many more passengers.

 

But book well in advance (see their web site). With 6 people per boat (they have several) and a number of cruise ships in port every day, availability is limited.

[SingerEsq]

We sailed the Coral (which we love) to Alaska, but we love the small ships, too. I think the Pacific to Alaska will be just about perfect.

 

We did the White Mountain Pass railroad in Skagway, which as our first stop. We had clear weather and we thought it was fantastic. Be sure to step out onto the platform between cars every now and again. After that, we just walked into town (and right past the Red Onion -- no desire to go in). I believe I have read that some people like taking the train up and then the bus back (or the reverse), as I believe it stops at some of the vistas.

 

I would highly recommend doing a float plane at one port. We did it in Juneau to the glacier and it was wonderful. I have friends who took the helicopter and actually landed and walked on the glacier. They were blown away. Pricey, but we will probably do this on our next trip to Alaska (you will want to go back). At least do a float plane.

 

After the float plane, we took the cable car up the mountainside. There are trails up there. We walked well back into the forest area and came upon a huge open meadow that was just an incredible view. We were back there by ourselves for quite a while, and only saw a few people on the trails. The trails were quite walkable, as we had not intended to do any hiking and just had on regular walking shoes.

 

Edit: By the way, I would feel perfectly comfortable walking these trails on my own. They are not treacherous. And, there are enough people around that it is safe. You can probably ask anyone if you could tag along with them for safety. Also, if memory serves me, there is a ranger or wildlife station up there. They have (had?) a captive bald eagle up there who can no longer fly due to an injury, and as a result can no longer fend for itself. You could check in, get directions and suggestions, and give them an approximate time for your return.

 

In Ketchikan, we opted for a Princess tour that was for kayaking, including some in the ocean. None of us have ever been kayaking, so we were all novices. The drive to the kayak place was very scenic and informative, and the kayaking itself was a lot of fun. Very enjoyable, and no one got wet!

 

Then we just walked through town. We did hear the crowds roar with applause from the lumberjack show in town. That might have been fun, too. Oh well, next time!

 

Have a great cruise. Alaska is amazing.

 

For Glacier Bay, not sure what a "premium oceanview cabin" means. If you have a balcony, I would order the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast for that morning (you may have to order that early, as I believe it is pretty popular for Glacier Bay). Then I would plan to bundle up (depending on the weather), maybe as your room steward for a couple of extra blankets and enjoy the views. There are plenty of viewing areas on deck, too.

Edited February 16, 2015 by SingerEsq
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