Cruise Review--Island Princess Alaska--southbound Whittier to Vancouver

[grandmaLUU]

Hello cruisers! We are on our last day of our Alaskan Cruise --this is our 2nd cruise to Alaska but our 1st Princess. Overall it has been a wonderful experience! I will review with pros & cons--and you can ask questions or make comments if you choose. ***these are additions after we returned home

PROS:

*Extremely organized check in process in all aspects--we did a land tour & train before. All the paperwork--welcome packets, luggage tags, explanations were all easy to understand and follow--timing of all transport was spot on. ***Disembarkation was just as easy & very quick--no complaints here.

*All the lodges as well as the ship stateroom were very clean and maintained as well as can be expected for older hotels and the ship being older. The dining rooms and public restrooms were very clean at all times.

*The grounds at all the lodges were very nice with plenty of walking paths and scenery to enjoy. We really enjoyed all 3 places--they each had their own special aspects that made them perfect. I really liked the McKinley Princess Lodge in the Denali State Park--we had great weather the days we were there and were able to see the Mountain peak. Denali Princess Lodge had multiple little shops on the property plus shopping across the street.

*Considering some of the negatives I read about the Island Princess, I was wondering how we would react to it. It is a beautiful ship--we did miss being able to walk totally around the ship but overall it didn't spoil our experience. We chose a mini-suite and it was perfect. We had a balcony stateroom last time on NCL and it was nice--but I would definitely do the mini suite again as it has plenty or closet and storage space plus an ample size bathroom. We loved it!!

*Every staff member at all the Princess facilities as well as the ship were polite-professional & accommodating in every way. I can't say enough how wonderful the Princess staff are!

*The Specialty restaurant Sabatini's was fabulous!! and both dining rooms were very good--in every way we enjoyed our meals and the service. We are not foodies and don't feel the need for having 3 large meals daily- but all were delicious. We are going to the Bayou tonite and expect that specialty dining to be as good as Sabatini's. ***We all REALLY enjoyed the Bayou--it was fine dining bit the ambience was more relaxed--food was outstanding and they had live music. We loved it!

*The Casino is fun--it is small, but I did better than the local places at home.

*Nice variety of shops--with quality items! They were even having end of season sales--I purchased a very nice quality T shirt for $6.99 among many other items.

*we enjoyed having the coffee card--we put it to good use and the coffee at the Patisserie was excellent so we definitely got our monies worth. My hubby had the unlimited soft drink card and used it-- we are not big drinkers of Alcohol so just purchased a cocktail when we wanted one.

*I love live music & entertainment so for me the production shows were great! Lots of fun. The comedian they had was also very funny.

Callie the Cruise Director along with his staff were very nice & lots of fun.

 

There were not a lot of negatives for us but I will list things those that were not so great or just everyday average.

CONS:

*the land tour was great as far as seeing the sites--but the the 2 day stays at hotels --packing -unpacking-on the bus with luggage out early is kind of difficult--and tiring. Not really Princess' fault, but we would not do again.

*although it is not a Princess establishment, we ate at Pikes Landing restaurant next to the Fairbanks Princess Lodge and had a very slow & rude server. The food was super good-- but bad service puts a damper on everything--again this was not a Princess establishment.

*the Horizon Court buffet was just OK--mediocre at best--ok for a quick and easy bite--I did not like their hot breakfasts--so if we wanted a hot breakfast we went to the Bordeaux Dining room--service however is very good.

*The Princess Theatre shows were awesome but the theatre itself cannot accommodate their demand. If you want a seat for the show you better head down about 30 minutes prior to the start or you won't get in--again, there are more people--less public space.

*We did go to a couple of the lounges--didn't spend a lot of time in them--service was very timely despite the crowds--the negative is the loud boisterous folks who maybe have had a little too much to drink & because these places are so crowded sometimes it's hard to escape from those folks & so we just leave--again you can't control others behavior all we can do is control how we respond.

*the train ride from McKinley Lodge to the pier in Whittier I was so looking forward to---It is supposed to be a great scenic ride but the weather was absolutely horrible that day--pouring rain--if we had a better day, I might be able to overlook the train ride itself--they were club car seating--not enough room-My husband & I felt very cramped and were seated on an angle feeling like we were going to slip off--we happened to be seated near the door at the end of our car--and the constant flow of people traffic made it miserable with cold air blowing in on us. We were glad to get off.

 

I know people are always asking about the dinner dress code. Well, as someone on this board mentioned--we really should not worry about how others choose to dress. And I do believe most travelers didn't care about how the other travelers dressed. But, we did adhere to the Princess code. We opted not to do the Formal nites. It is just not our style. Been there before & done it once--We saw very few men in tuxedos-mostly they wore suit coats & ties--again a handful of women in evening wear --but most in black dresses--skirts or pants and sparkly tops--even at our smart casual nights we saw many men in jeans & pullover shirts--women in very casual pants--No one was turned away. It is my opinion that the formal requirements for most cruises will be on the wayside in the next few years--at least on the average cruise lines that people vacation on---I may be wrong but I say this based on what I see---after all it is a vacation & who wants to dress up formally on a vacation--it is just my opinion. I do realize that there are many of you who enjoy formal night, and there will always be those cruises that will offer that option.

 

The only really sad thing is we had more bad weather than good. 5 sunny days and 9 cold rainy cloudy day so--of course that is not Princess' fault-- and we tried not to let that discourage us. I guess if I want sunshine I should of went to the Caribbean right???

 

I definitely would cruise with Princess again and try a new ship and location. I hope you all enjoy your upcoming cruise. I hope we get to do this again over the next few years! We did see a lot and probably will not be back to Alaska again--will probably opt for warmer climates!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. It seems you had a really good cruise. :)

[easyboy]

Glad you had a wonderful experience on your first Princess cruise!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.