Star Princess Northbound Vancouver to Whittier June 3, 2017 - just back

[BoopTennis]

We just returned from our cruise -- it was great -- will do a more full review later and try to post the patters but short version here in case there are specific questions

 

We had a group of 12 family members from 3 different cities ranging in age from 11 to 65, Had 5 balcony cabins all in a row on Baja deck and one inside cabin.

 

Friday June 2 - Flew into Vancouver, arrived around 2 pm, immigration was a nightmare, lots and lots of people, took couple hours to get thru. Took Skytrain to our hotel downtown -- Delta Marriott. Once out of immigration everything worked great. Hotel was great.

 

Sat June 3 - walked to Stanley Park, very nice walk, and did the Aquarium which was interesting. Walked back, grabbed our luggage that we had stored at hotel. Stopped at BC Liquor Store nearby for wine and walked to ship around 2 pm, BREEZED thru immigration and onto the ship no lines anywhere.

 

Ship is in fine shape, we had no issues at all We asked the steward to open up our balconies so they joined together and that was fun. Used the Princess@Sea intranet app they have on the ship and it was great for leaving messages for each other and looking up events and locations (all the events from the patter can be accessed via your phone using this) There could be a lot of improvements to the app but it was very helpful.

 

We did traditional dining late seating every night. I loved everything I had.

 

Princess has self serve laundry rooms - you purchase tokens using your cruise card, very easy, $3 per token, Wash takes 1 token and Dryer takes 1 token.

 

Sunday June 4 - Sea Day - played some games, did some crafts, just enjoyed the ship. Pools are heated and one of them is also in a warm covered area. Sunday night was the first Formal Night

 

Monday June 5 - Ketchikan - chilly and rainy that day but we did an ATV excursion which was perfect in that weather -- they supplied rain coats and pants because you get muddy anyway. Was very fun.

 

Tues June 6 - Juneau - did whale Watch trip with H&M, we had our own private boat with 12 people, they did a fantastic job. Saw lots of whales and some otters etc. Was going to taxi over to Mendenhall glacier but worn out so just went back and enjoyed the ship

 

Weds June 7 - Skagway - Part of our group did Ziplining and loved it, a couple drove out to Emerald Lake and to see the puppies etc, my adult son and I did a Hike and Float which was awesome. Beautiful day out.

 

Thurs June 8 - Sea Day and Glacier Bay. FANTASTIC. So beautiful Just absolutely loved this day. This was the 2nd formal night.

 

Fri June 9 - Sea Day and cruised around College Fjord. Again, AWESOME. just beautiful, Pictures don't do it justice.

 

Shows we attended included twice a magician that did different shows and another night a comedian, all good.

 

Sat June 10 - disembarking was very easy and just took a few minutes, walk off ship, grab any bags you had them take the night before and you are ready to roll. We took a direct shuttle to Anchorage (driver does great job of narrating along the way but no stops, we saw a moose cross the road right in front of us). Got to Anchorage airport and got rental cars then drove them to Seward where we planned to stay a couple days. Stopped at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which was fun to walk around and see all the animals. In Seward we stayed at Hotel360.

 

Sun June 11 - We all did the 7.5 hour boat cruise with Major Marine, it was really good. Saw lots of whales, glaciers, otters, sea lions. We did have assigned seats which worked out good for our large group and we did have their buffet lunch which was very good.

 

Mon June 12 - Went to Sealife Center, not huge but fun. Started the drive back to Anchorage and stopped a couple times - went to Exit Glacier and did the 1 mile hike to the glacier and back. Nice day out so was fun. Glacier has retreated however so you don't get to touch it. Stopped a couple other places along the Seward Highway. Stopped for dinner in Anchorage then returned cars and got ready for the red-eye flights overnight.

 

One of the coolest things about Alaska this time of year is how it is so light out so late, hardly gets dark then the sun comes up again. Completely light out of midnight. Crazy.

 

Was a great trip

[thundercleese]

Thanks for the write-up! Looking forward to seeing the patters if you get them up, we'll be doing the same trip next week.

[BoopTennis]

patter one

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDVngwTHU1X29TVDg/view?usp=sharing

[RBAlbany]

Which dining room is open for breakfast?

[BoopTennis]

Portofino was open for breakfast (along with Horizons of course). Portofino's also had afternoon tea, although I didn't make it to that.

[BoopTennis]

Patter 2

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDaS1mZ2ZETWd1VWM/view?usp=sharing

[thundercleese]

Thanks!

[BoopTennis]

Patter 3

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDTGpfWEEtSjkyLTQ/view?usp=sharing

[BoopTennis]

Patter 4

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDejRpUVJSZkFmNzA/view?usp=sharing

[BoopTennis]

Patter 5

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDaGQtWWJ6SUpsVTQ/view?usp=sharing

[BoopTennis]

Patter 6

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDQmx1SnVENWN1aTg/view?usp=sharing

[BoopTennis]

Patter 7

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CDPxtTlkFDYUpPX3RUdGs2dEk/view?usp=sharing