just off Grand to Alaska

[ddled]

Sailed on Grand July 27- Aug 6 from San Francisco. Had a great time and very few problems or complaints. Even the weather cooperated-no rain and warm the entire time-pretty rare. Overall the ship is in fine shape, service is very good, food was fine, entertainment was great.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly. The guides in the terminal and on the pier were very helpful, wait lines small and lots of help getting where you needed to be. No problems here

 

The ship has lots to do-especially at night. Gemstone Quartet in the Wheelhouse were very good each night and easy to dance to. We asked the drummer if she knew Wipeout. She said no, but in 4 days had learned and performed it for us-and did a great job with it. Pretty neat. The other bands on board were very good, music is one of the strengths of Princess and I hope they keep it. Wooden dance floors are rare but much appreciated. Theater shows were fine-the dancers seemed about average, the headliners better than average. The singers and comedians were really good. We watched Voice and there were some really good amateur talents in the finals. Lots to do in the evening.

 

Ports: Glacier Bay is not to be missed!! We saw whales, otters, a bear, porpoise, dolphins, killer whales, eagles right from the ship. The star of the show were the glaciers. When they calve off the noise is really remarkable. Easily the highlight of the cruise.

Haines was really neat. If you want a laid back port this is your place. We took a ships tour and saw the eagle place, a salmon cannery, and some great scenery.

Juneau we went to the Mendenhall glacier. Do not go on ships tour-all they do is take you up and come get you. Get a private tour off the pier and save some money. The presentations by the park service rangers is top notch. They do a great job and that is the fun part of the glacier. Take a cab.

Ketchikan we went up the trolley car to a hotel on the bluff. Tremendous view of the town and the ships. You get it at Creek Street.

Victoria we went on a ships tour and had a nice time. Great narrator and we saw about all of Victorea-including a stop at Tim Hortons. Had been to Buchart Gardens previous trip. Great city but huge drought on and smoke in the air from all the fires was pretty bad.

 

All in all I would not hesitate to recommend this ship and this cruise to anyone-it just was too short! 10 days and I was not ready to leave. Ship is in good shape-they need to remodel the buffet and make it bigger, but we always found a seat for breakfast anyway. Room service was prompt and food was fine. Main dining room was good, most people dressed up, even on formal nights. Kids were well entertained and filled the pools but were not much problem.

 

Princess does a good job in Alaska. The stop in Glacier Bay was the real attraction and did not disappoint. Other than some of the refurbishing that they did to Caribbean I cannot think of much that could be improved. Go and enjoy!

[Alessandrina]

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a great time!

 

Cheers.

[easyboy]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. The calving pf the glacier was also an experience for us.

 

 

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[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks.

 

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[srpilo]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your Grand cruise

 

Srpilo

[Thrak]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Looks like you visited Haines instead of Skagway. We've hit Skagway both times we sailed Alaska with Princess. I wonder why the change. I'll have to snag another Alaska cruise that visits Haines instead. A new port would be welcome. :cool:

[partybarbie]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Looks like you visited Haines instead of Skagway. We've hit Skagway both times we sailed Alaska with Princess. I wonder why the change. I'll have to snag another Alaska cruise that visits Haines instead. A new port would be welcome. :cool:

 

Princess offers tours from Skagway over to Haines. Or, you can take a ferry or high-speed catamaran over and do things on your own. Like you, we've been to Skagway a few times, so we will probably take a tour to Haines the next time we go to Alaska.

[Thrak]

Princess offers tours from Skagway over to Haines. Or, you can take a ferry or high-speed catamaran over and do things on your own. Like you, we've been to Skagway a few times, so we will probably take a tour to Haines the next time we go to Alaska.

 

I actually checked the Haines cruise ship schedule and see that Grand Princess ported there several times this summer. Looks like they actually did skip Skagway and port in Haines instead.

[sassyredhat]

Thanks for all the info. We sail on Sept 5th. First time on the Grand but 3rd time to Alaska.

 

We took a ships tour in Skagway to Haines. I can't remember the exact name of the excursion, but it was a visit to an animal preserve, built and maintained by 2 guys who used to work for National Geographic.

All the animal enclosures were made exactly how they would be in the wild. Amazing.

 

I fed apples to a moose, saw a bear named Kitty eat oatmeal from a spoon.

I loved it.

 

Patti

[Cruise Raider]

Good to hear you had a great time on the Grand. I was wondering how she fared after her last upgrade. Currently, have two bookings on her for next year so glad to hear she is in good shape. I absolutely love the staff / crew on the Grand ... they don't get much better than that.

[AF-1]

Thank you for your quick and precise review. Glad the weather was nice.

[Yosef42]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Looks like you visited Haines instead of Skagway. We've hit Skagway both times we sailed Alaska with Princess. I wonder why the change. I'll have to snag another Alaska cruise that visits Haines instead. A new port would be welcome. :cool:

I presume the reason is that there were four other ships in Skagway that day (Celebrity Solstice, Ruby and Coral Princess, and Nieuw Amsterdam), and Grand drew the short straw. Or, perhaps, the long one, depending on how you look at it.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[gdisney]

My parents were on this cruise; they go every year. They said it's the best weather they'd ever seen up there. It's always cloudy and threatening rain when I go...

[Thrak]

My parents were on this cruise; they go every year. They said it's the best weather they'd ever seen up there. It's always cloudy and threatening rain when I go...

 

We've cruised Alaska twice - September and June including a 6 day land tour with the June sailing - and both times had beautiful weather.

 

On the other hand, we just got home from a 7 week land trip that was mostly camping. It rained on us in Alaska (and Yukon, and British Columbia, and Alberta) something on the order of 3 out of every 5 days. :eek:

[Nrknits]

Thanks for all the info. We sail on Sept 5th. First time on the Grand but 3rd time to Alaska.

 

We took a ships tour in Skagway to Haines. I can't remember the exact name of the excursion, but it was a visit to an animal preserve, built and maintained by 2 guys who used to work for National Geographic.

All the animal enclosures were made exactly how they would be in the wild. Amazing.

 

I fed apples to a moose, saw a bear named Kitty eat oatmeal from a spoon.

I loved it.

 

Patti

 

We'll be there with you! 3 weeks and counting...

[Arizona-Cruising]

We were on the same cruise with you and I can not think to add anymore to what you said

Great Weather-Always entertainment day and night- new Production show was GREAT... Staff was amazing and the Cruise Director and his crew where the best we have had in awhile.

The amatuer talent on this cruise was amazing, Karaoke night was very entertaining.

I do agree I am not sure how 10 days went by so quickly......... till next year-

[CaptainKlutz]

Thanks for the review!

 

We're going up Sept 15 on the Grand with Icy Strait Point instead of Skagway. I wish it was instead of Ketchikan, but it's always Skagway that gets the boot.

 

Can I ask which nights were formal?

 

Thanks!

[Yosef42]

Thanks for the review!

 

We're going up Sept 15 on the Grand with Icy Strait Point instead of Skagway. I wish it was instead of Ketchikan, but it's always Skagway that gets the boot.

 

Can I ask which nights were formal?

 

Thanks!

Second Sea Day (two days after embarcation) and last Sea Day (between Victoria and SF).

[sassyredhat]

We'll be there with you! 3 weeks and counting...

 

Isn't it exciting?

No matter how many times I go, it's still an adventure.

 

Patti

[XBGuy]

Thank you for the report ddled.

 

Like CaptainKlutz we will be on the Sept. 15 sailing--the last one of the AK season. We are, actually, hoping for some weather. OK, one of us is "really hoping." The other one is happy when his wife is happy. If you look up "Foul Weather Sailor," you'll see a picture of Mrs. XBGuy. ;)

 

We've never been to Icy Point Strait. So, we're OK with that. The only "must do" on our list is to have lunch at Tracy's in Juneau. I assume they will still be open until the last cruise ship leaves town.

[cr8tiv1]

Thank you for the report ddled.

The only "must do" on our list is to have lunch at Tracy's in Juneau. I assume they will still be open until the last cruise ship leaves town.

 

You do know that Tracy's crab is not fresh from the ocean? Crab is caught in the winter months. That being said...it still beats the crab you get from Costco. Never tasted crab prepared so deliciously

.

[Yosef42]

Second Sea Day (two days after embarcation) and last Sea Day (between Victoria and SF).

Oops. Just realized I misremembered this. Checking the Patters, I can confirm that the formal nights were the second Sea Day and the third (between Ketchikan and Victoria).

[pascalburns]

enjoyed the review.thanks