Thoughts on my first Princess cruise 😎

[Utahbelle]

Hello-

So my husband and I just got off the Emerald Princess 7 night sailing to Alaska. First time on Princess and first time to Alaska.

 

EMBARKATION

we decided to fly into Seattle the day of the cruise. I learned this is a no-no, but it was a short flight in the middle of summer so we took our chances there wouldn’t be any delays. We were lucky we were on time and we took an Uber to the port ($65) we arrived around 1:30 and waited in line for a bit but we were on board quickly. Our room was ready and we explored the ship. We thought it was much nicer than the royal Caribbean ship we were on last. We pre ordered the water package and a coffee card. The water was Crystal Geyser brand which was great....I don’t care for arrowhead water and worried it might have been that. The coffee card was loaded onto my husbands sea card instead of a punch card. The only annoying thing about that was trying to figure out how many he had left. After they swiped it he always asked them how many he still had. He enjoyed the international cafe drinks and got me some hot chocolates also. I think when I preordered it online it was more than what it was on the boat. I think i payed $34.99 online and it was $31 on the boat. I noticed that also for the specialty dinning. Share was listed as 39.99 and crown grill 29.99 but on the boat they were both 29.99 *shrugs*

 

We went to the spa and signed up for their 1-2-3 deal. You sign up for 3 treatments and you get 10% off the first, 20% off the second, and 30% off the third.

All of our treatments were great and while they did try to upsale, we made it clear we were not interested in purchasing anything extra and they were quick to back down and not bother us. We didn’t pay extra for the thermolsuite and instead used the free sauna in the locker rooms.

 

Ketchikan was our first port and it was pouring rain from the moment we pulled in until we pulled out 😂 got to love Alaska! We had an excursion I booked privately through Shore excursion group. A van took us to see things all over the small town and he filled us in on the history of the place and we saw eagles, totem polls, picked salmon berries, saw waterfalls, looked for bears, saw creek street, the salmon ladder, etc.. it was a nice tour but pretty miserable being so wet and cold. We stopped at the New York hotel cafe for some warm tea and coffee and enjoyed looking out at the port.

This day was also my birthday and I was surprised to see Princess left a sign at my door with some balloons and also a $25 gift card to any of the shops onboard! I wasn’t expecting them to do anything extra so that was very nice!

 

Juneau was next and we scheduled another tour through shore excursion group. They picked us up and took us to the heliport. We took a helicopter to a musher camp up in the snow and got to meet the dogs and have a sled ride. It was such a neat experience but I have such a soft heart for dogs and It tore at me a little bit. The way they live in a box on the snow and the way they get treated....I just had to keep saying that they don’t know any different, they have never been coddled so they just know they want to work and please their musher. My husband and I were all about the dogs and puppies on this trip 😂 we mugged all over them. Then on the way down the pilot stopped on Sawyer glacier and we got out and walked around. It was very surreal and felt like we were in another world. A total bucket list moment for sure!

 

The next stop was Skagway and we went up to the musher summer camp! I told you we were obsessed with the dogs and puppies! This was a ship excursion and it was fabulous and had the most beautiful views ever. It was also a sunny warm day and it was our favorite port. After our excursion we walked around town and ate at the red onion saloon and took the brothel tour 😂 it was really silly.

 

Last stop was Victoria. We didn’t plan an excursion since we were in port for such a short time. We walked downtown and through the fisherman’s wharf and let me tell you we were so impressed with the beauty and cleanliness of this city. I loved the hanging baskets, the architecture, the weather was perfect. It was such a memorable night for us :)

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

We really enjoyed the onboard naturalist Shelly Gill. We went to all of her talks and really got interested in the Iditarod race. Libby riddles was also onboard talking about her Iditarod win. We loved all of the “North to Alaska” entertainment. The comedian on board was the funniest guy we have heard in a long time. We really enjoyed him! They also had the Voice of the Ocean and we followed that and were really impressed with how much work they put into that show! The finals were really cool!

 

FOOD

 

We went into this cruise determined not to eat at the buffet and to keep to the main dining room but that didn’t last long. We consider ourselves foodies and like to eat healthy and nice meals. We did hit the buffet here and there and it was actually pretty decent. In the dining room we had anytime dining and preferred a table for two and would only have to wait a minute or two for this. The food was pretty good! The best food of all is when we went to Share...a small 6 corse meal that was so delish. The restaurant is decorated beautiful and the service was top notch.

We never did room service or eat the pizza bar or any other place. We did occasionally grab something at the international cafe but we are not big eaters.

 

I knew the ship took pictures on formal nights that they would put out for you to View and purchase if wanted. I was surprised to see them take pictures of us leaving the ship at all the ports and all kinds of other pictures you could buy. They know how to make more money this way! I will say by the end of the week there were so many pictures up it was so hard to try to find yourselves!

 

As far as weather went we had to pack for everything. We knew it could be wet, warm, windy, and knew we would be up in the snow on the glacier. It was really hard to keep our suitcases under 50 pounds with the heavy coats, rain jackets, boots, beanies, gloves, etc. at the airport my suitcase was 50 pounds exactly and my husbands was 49 ;) So we decided to take advantage of the port valet service on the last day because with our new purchases we knew we would be over 50 pounds going back home. It was really nice to leave our luggage out and not see it again until we arrived back home. No over weight fees and we get free checked bags with our American Express card.

 

DISEMBARKMENT

 

We had an excursion scheduled through the ship for Seattle. We met at 7:40 and were taken off the ship by 8am. We didn’t have to grab our suitcases so it was nice to just walk off and meet at the bus. Our driver was awesome and really knowledgeable about the area. We went to the space needle and went up it and took pictures. We went next door to the chihuly garden and glass exhibit which was so incredible. Then he took us to Pike Street Market and we got to spend time there and had an amazing blackened salmon sandwich and bought some berries. Then he dropped us off at the airport. It is a great excursion if you have a later flight and don’t want to sit at SeaTac all day!

 

As my husband does not care for cruises I doubt we will cruise again but if I ever talk him into it, it will defiantly be with Princess. The one cruise we sailed before this one was on royal Caribbean and we had such a better experience with Princess. We had a balcony room on deck 10 (caribe) and it was perfect. I defiantly recommend getting a balcony for Alaska.

 

It was such a nice week and We really enjoyed ourselves. It was a great way to turn 41 ☺️

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Except for the rain it sounds wonderful!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[Debbdo]

Thanks for your review. Sounds like you had a great cruise. We'll be doing this same cruise in September and look forward to enjoying some of the same activities. We did an Alaskan cruise many years ago and are prepared for the ever changing weather. Happy belated birthday!

[geocruiser]

Happy to hear that you enjoyed your first Princess cruise. Happy 41 birthday.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I echo geocruiser.... thanks for the report, glad you enjoyed your cruise and Happy Birthday!

[JF - retired RRT]

Victoria. We didn’t plan an excursion since we were in port for such a short time. We walked downtown and through the fisherman’s wharf :)

How long is the walk from the port to Fisherman's Wharf? and the downtown area?

TIA

[GoldieJ]

Good to hear you enjoyed your Alaskan cruise. Happy Birthday to you!

Thanks for your review.

[MPicchioldi]

Thank you for the trip report.

[caribill]

The coffee card was loaded onto my husbands sea card instead of a punch card. I think i payed $34.99 online and it was $31 on the boat. Princess web site currently says $35.65 which is $31 + 15% gratuity. The $31 on the boat would have the 15% gratuity added to it.

 

 

This day was also my birthday and I was surprised to see Princess left a sign at my door with some balloons and also a $25 gift card to any of the shops onboard! I wasn’t expecting them to do anything extra so that was very nice! The gift card is something new, or at least it is to me.

 

The comedian on board was the funniest guy we have heard in a long time. We really enjoyed him! Do you remember his name?

 

 

 

Thanks for a great report.

 

 

Please see my comments in red above.

[skynight]

"I think i payed $34.99 online and it was $31 on the boat."

Price of the coffee package is $31+ 15% gratuity = $35.65. Same pre-purchased or on board. The menu posted by the International Cafe shows the $31 so you may have thought that was the total price.

Crown Grill has been $29/pp including gratuity for a long time. SHARE has been $39, but the price now being shown on my upcoming Emerald cruise is $29.

[Utahbelle]

How long is the walk from the port to Fisherman's Wharf? and the downtown area?

TIA

 

They do have a lot of options to get you downtown but we wanted to walk. It took about 12 minutes to get to the Wharf, and then another 10-12 minutes to reach downtown. It’s all flat and a nice walk ☺️

[Utahbelle]

Thanks for a great report.

 

 

Please see my comments in red above.

 

-that makes so much sense about the coffee card lol. Sorry I didn’t even think about the gratuity added to it! We didn’t end up using all 15 drinks and as you all know that it ends with the cruise.

 

-the gift card for my birthday was such a nice surprise. I ended up using it for the 2 for $20 port T-shirt’s lol. I like to use them to sleep in 😉

 

-I wish I would have kept the Patter that had the name of the comedian because I have forgotten. I know he is Puerto Rican and he won the best comedy for the princess line in 2011. Not sure if you could look into that. He performed two shows.

[Utahbelle]

"I think i payed $34.99 online and it was $31 on the boat."

Price of the coffee package is $31+ 15% gratuity = $35.65. Same pre-purchased or on board. The menu posted by the International Cafe shows the $31 so you may have thought that was the total price.

Crown Grill has been $29/pp including gratuity for a long time. SHARE has been $39, but the price now being shown on my upcoming Emerald cruise is $29.

 

-silly me didn’t think about the added gratuity! That makes sense now!

-I’m glad the website updated the price for Share. All before my cruise they had it at 39.99 🙂

[JF - retired RRT]

Crown Grill has been $29/pp including gratuity for a long time. SHARE has been $39, but the price now being shown on my upcoming Emerald cruise is $29.

Personal Opinion: because they aren't getting enough business at the higher price point.

[Griller]

Glad you enjoyed the cruise, it seems Princess are doing most of the right things for encouraging new passengers to spend money on board while us old timers book our last minute inside cheap cabin and spend nothing much on board, then come home and whine about the butter or whatever.

I strongly resemble that remark...………….

[CruzinNoony]

-that makes so much sense about the coffee card lol. Sorry I didn’t even think about the gratuity added to it! We didn’t end up using all 15 drinks and as you all know that it ends with the cruise.

 

-the gift card for my birthday was such a nice surprise. I ended up using it for the 2 for $20 port T-shirt’s lol. I like to use them to sleep in 😉

 

-I wish I would have kept the Patter that had the name of the comedian because I have forgotten. I know he is Puerto Rican and he won the best comedy for the princess line in 2011. Not sure if you could look into that. He performed two shows.

 

I'm pretty sure your comedian was Carlos Oscar. He is fantastic! We have seen him several times and love him. :D

[Ferndale Girl]

Thanks for your review and I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on the Emerald on the 5th and I have a couple of questions. My husband usually takes a suit but we are limited on our luggage this time and I'm wondering if you saw any men with just a dress shirt and tie on Formal Night? I don't want him to feel out of place.

 

 

We are also signed up for this excursion:

 

 

DISEMBARKMENT

 

We had an excursion scheduled through the ship for Seattle. We met at 7:40 and were taken off the ship by 8am. We didn’t have to grab our suitcases so it was nice to just walk off and meet at the bus. Our driver was awesome and really knowledgeable about the area. We went to the space needle and went up it and took pictures. We went next door to the chihuly garden and glass exhibit which was so incredible. Then he took us to Pike Street Market and we got to spend time there and had an amazing blackened salmon sandwich and bought some berries. Then he dropped us off at the airport. It is a great excursion if you have a later flight and don’t want to sit at SeaTac all day!

 

 

Was the ride to the top of the Space Needle included in the tour?

 

 

 

Thank you..... Frances

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. I'd like to go back to Alaska next year. Which glacier did the ship go to?

[Utahbelle]

I'm pretty sure your comedian was Carlos Oscar. He is fantastic! We have seen him several times and love him. :D

 

Yes I am sure that was his name! He was a riot 😂

[Utahbelle]

Thanks for posting your review. I'd like to go back to Alaska next year. Which glacier did the ship go to?

 

So we went through Tracy Arm fjords. It was sooo beautiful but I have heard now that glacier bay is better. I didn’t do enough research before on this. I am so glad I got to see Tracy arm though

[Utahbelle]

Thanks for your review and I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on the Emerald on the 5th and I have a couple of questions. My husband usually takes a suit but we are limited on our luggage this time and I'm wondering if you saw any men with just a dress shirt and tie on Formal Night? I don't want him to feel out of place.

 

 

We are also signed up for this excursion:

 

 

DISEMBARKMENT

 

We had an excursion scheduled through the ship for Seattle. We met at 7:40 and were taken off the ship by 8am. We didn’t have to grab our suitcases so it was nice to just walk off and meet at the bus. Our driver was awesome and really knowledgeable about the area. We went to the space needle and went up it and took pictures. We went next door to the chihuly garden and glass exhibit which was so incredible. Then he took us to Pike Street Market and we got to spend time there and had an amazing blackened salmon sandwich and bought some berries. Then he dropped us off at the airport. It is a great excursion if you have a later flight and don’t want to sit at SeaTac all day!

 

 

Was the ride to the top of the Space Needle included in the tour?

 

 

 

Thank you..... Frances

 

-so yes, I saw many men with no jacket on. Some with just ties and some with polo shirts! It was a lot more casual. I never saw anyone get turned away!

 

-yes as you step off the bus at the space needle he hands out tickets to ride to the top. Just to clarify, the chihuly glass exhibit was not included in the excursion. We finished the space needle quickly and had some time before we met the bus so we walked over there. It was $29 a person for that.

[voljeep]

and a perfect reason to go back to Alaska for a second cruise ! ;p

[Ferndale Girl]

-so yes, I saw many men with no jacket on. Some with just ties and some with polo shirts! It was a lot more casual. I never saw anyone get turned away!

 

-yes as you step off the bus at the space needle he hands out tickets to ride to the top. Just to clarify, the chihuly glass exhibit was not included in the excursion. We finished the space needle quickly and had some time before we met the bus so we walked over there. It was $29 a person for that.

 

Thank you for the info about no jackets necessary. Also about the ticket to the top of the Space Needle. We went to the Chihuly exhibit a few years ago and loved it but no need to go again this time. It has been many, many years though since we went to the top of the Space Needle so I'm looking forward to that.

[Utahbelle]

Thank you for the info about no jackets necessary. Also about the ticket to the top of the Space Needle. We went to the Chihuly exhibit a few years ago and loved it but no need to go again this time. It has been many, many years though since we went to the top of the Space Needle so I'm looking forward to that.

 

-just a heads up that they are doing a renovation to the space needle so there is construction at the top and it isn’t open all the way around completly. It Isn’t a problem though, you can still see what has already been completed and it’s really neat. That added glass benches next to new glass walls and it will look so cool when it is finished.