LIVE: Island Princess to Alaska and Back, June 19-July 3

[geoherb]

Escargots are on the menu for tonight’s second formal night. I’ve read there have been some cruises this spring without them on the menu. The main courses include a lemon-scented ravioli, rockfish, beef Wellington, guinea fowl, lobster, and short ribs.
 

[Colo Cruiser]

10 hours ago, Alaska0799 said:

So enjoying your detailed posts!  Hope you're having a fabulous day in Glacier Bay.  Love watching for marine mammals around the mouth of the Bay--the waters always seem to be teeming with life!

 

Quick question re: laundry.  A few cruises ago the ship's laundry service shrunk a couple of our shirts (polo-type) so we've been hesitant to use them again.  We'd take fewer clothes if we could rely on the laundry service to not shrink any items.  Are there special instructions you can suggest that may help prevent that problem?

After having quite a few items ruined over the years we rarely use it now.

I don't sent out anything that is delicate or expensive.

If I do I always write low heat on the ticket. Not sure if it does any good or not. It is the excessive heat that ruins clothing.

[aprilsp88]

Geoherb,

 

Thanks for the review, nice pictures and patters. I actually enjoy reading patters, no matter if on cruise or not, as I enjoy those activities and it bring back good memory.

 

I saw phoenix rising is on this cruise, usually play during the night in wheelhouse. I met them once, love their music. I didn't think of asking how to follow them. Later I googled but can't find any info of them. If you happen to listen their music, would you please ask them how to follow them? If I knew they're on this cruise, I probably will also book.

 

Thanks, enjoy your cruise.

 

April

[geoherb]

The numbers from tonight’s Captain Circle party:

2,257 total passengers

1,768 first-time Princess passengers

250 Gold level

83 Ruby Level

107 Platinum

49 Elite

The 3rd place couple had 388 days. Second place had 462 days. First place had 696 days.

[geoherb]

4 minutes ago, aprilsp88 said:

Geoherb,

 

Thanks for the review, nice pictures and patters. I actually enjoy reading patters, no matter if on cruise or not, as I enjoy those activities and it bring back good memory.

 

I saw phoenix rising is on this cruise, usually play during the night in wheelhouse. I met them once, love their music. I didn't think of asking how to follow them. Later I googled but can't find any info of them. If you happen to listen their music, would you please ask them how to follow them? If I knew they're on this cruise, I probably will also book.

 

Thanks, enjoy your cruise.

 

April

 

I think Phoenix Rising isn’t one particular band but a generic name that Princess uses over and over for the house band on ships.

[aprilsp88]

3 minutes ago, geoherb said:

 

I think Phoenix Rising isn’t one particular band but a generic name that Princess uses over and over for the house band on ships.

I don't think Princess calls the house band Phoenix Rising. Actually, the house band never has a name, they're always referred to as Princess house band. At least on all the cruises we've taken.

 

Phoenix Rising is a great band. I think they have one singer/keyboard, one guitar, and one drummer. Really enjoy their music. A lot of people dance to their music.

[KG2019]

12 hours ago, geoherb said:

What a wonderful day in Glacier Bay! The onboard naturalist said that he gets just three out of 20 days during a season as beautifully sunny as it was. The ship picked up two National Park rangers and a third person near Bartlett Cove this morning. They came on a small boat and boarded our ship right beneath my cabin’s window. 

 

What side of the ship was your cabin that you were able to see him board the ship?  Do the rangers normally board the same side of the ship?  Also is there an announcement of some kind so that you can get to your window or balcony to watch him board?   Thanks for the wonderful posts!!!

[geoherb]

At the Captain's Circle party, the drinks already made included beer, red wine, white wine, champagne, rum punch, cosmopolitans, and a nonalcoholic fruit punch. They had waiters circulating with hot and cold hors d’ouevres. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of red wine and got a third one to take with me to dinner. I did not see anyone around me ordering something not already prepared, but I sat near the back to make a quick exit to dinner.

 

The second formal night meal was tasty. I had the escargots, an appetizer portion of the ravioli, and the lobster tail with risotto. They gave us just one tiny lobster tail initially, but our waiter offered more to those who wanted them. I had the rum raisin ice cream for dessert in memory of my mother. It was one of her favorite flavors. On one of our cruises, Princess had messed up something for a passenger. They asked what he wanted for compensation. He said he wanted rum raisin ice cream every night for dessert. He got it. Three of my tablemates also had the lobster. One took a second serving and another ordered beef Wellington after finishing the lobster. I thought the ravioli was tasty, but the woman who ordered it as a main course did not like it. She ended up ordering the rock fish. I’ve never seen anyone order the guinea fowl. I wonder how many of those they prepare. There’s always next week, but I doubt I’ll be brave enough to try it. I ordered the pheasant on the Star Princess on our first cruise to Alaska and had to order another main course when I didn’t like it.

 

I skipped going to The Secret Silk last night. It will be interesting to hear what my tablemates thought. One sister was missing from dinner. She’s got a bad sore throat, possible strep. I hope she feels better and it’s not that. She went to see the ship’s doctor.
 

[geoherb]

5 minutes ago, KG2019 said:

What side of the ship was your cabin that you were able to see him board the ship?  Do the rangers normally board the same side of the ship?  Also is there an announcement of some kind so that you can get to your window or balcony to watch him board?   Thanks for the wonderful posts!!!

 

I'm on the port side in one of the ocean view cabins in the corridor beside the casino. It's a great location. I just happened to be sitting at the desk chair writing when the little boat pulled alongside the ship. It was around 6 a.m. They did not make an announcement.

[KG2019]

Thanks!

[geoherb]

The first photo is of Margerie Glacier. The second is Lamplugh. The ship stayed at Margerie for an hour. We just sailed past Lamplugh as well as by Reid Glacier. We could see Grand Pacific while at Margerie, but it has receded to where it is not a tidewater glacier anymore.

[chubbypiggy]

I am interested in taking a 14-day Alaska cruise roundtrip Vancouver. I am considering the Island Princess on 8/14/19 or Royal Princess on 8/17/19.  The itineraries are the same for both ships.  Which ship is a better choice?

 

Thank you in advance for any inputs!! 

[USCcruisecrazy]

Awesome live report...I greatly appreciate allowing others to enjoy your trip!  I lived four years in Alaska and am having flashbacks to those few days we had to produce our "Sunshine" ration card.  LOL!  I hope the weather holds out for you in the coming days.

[Keikidoc]

4 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

I am interested in taking a 14-day Alaska cruise roundtrip Vancouver. I am considering the Island Princess on 8/14/19 or Royal Princess on 8/17/19.  The itineraries are the same for both ships.  Which ship is a better choice?

 

Thank you in advance for any inputs!! 

Given the choice, I would opt for the Royal as it is a Medallion Ship with all the technological advancements they have to offer. I like walking up to my stateroom and the door unlocking. If you are traveling in a group tracking everyone down who has their phone on will be easy. Ordering drinks without looking for a server and having it delivered to you is a finger tap away. Even if you get "bored" with the scenery the TV inside your stateroom is on demand. The MedallionNet is the best part. WiFi just like home and speedy. I recommend the Royal.

[Keikidoc]

18 hours ago, geoherb said:

Keikidoc: I’ll ask the cruise director or entertainment director about show times on the Panama Canal cruises. I’m sure the answer, though, is subject to change.

Thanks for your response. Enjoying your blog. h

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, Keikidoc said:

The MedallionNet is the best part. WiFi just like home and speedy

or not ... as many have posted having taken an Alaska cruise on the Royal

[Keikidoc]

chubbypiggy: I just checked the Princess web site and noted that the Island Princess advertise Medallion Net available for the 8/14 AK trip. If that is the case, it is a toss up. For me, it would depend on the $ and stateroom. It is fun having the updated tech but the most important upgrade is the MedallionNet WiFi. So the Royal a newer ship with all the "bells and whistles" or the Island with only great WiFi at this time. Cruising AK is always fun with beautiful scenery. h

[chubbypiggy]

Keikidoc:  Thank you for your responses.  I did Regal's Transatlantic 2 months ago and we had the MedallionNet; it was very nice.  I have been on Regal 3 times but never been on Island.  Since Island is a much older ship, I don't know if the ship's "condition" is okay. This morning when I checked, both ships have available balcony cabins.  I just checked, and Regal no longer have balcony cabins; only deluxe balcony for $500/person more.     

[SeaofStars]

9 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

I am interested in taking a 14-day Alaska cruise roundtrip Vancouver. I am considering the Island Princess on 8/14/19 or Royal Princess on 8/17/19.  The itineraries are the same for both ships.  Which ship is a better choice?

 

Thank you in advance for any inputs!! 

My understanding is that the Royal hasn’t been cleared to do the Inside Passage route due to its size and is actually going west of Vancouver Island, so if that portion of scenic passage sailing is important to you, you might want to consider the Island. I read on another thread that they’re trying to get it cleared for later this summer but whether that will happen or not is up in the air.

[brucedodge]

Hello Geoherb,

 

Enjoying your live.

 

Assuming Joey is leading Phoenix Rising, could you ask him if he knows his future schedule with Princess.  He and his group are the best!  

 

Bruce

[dianedebuda]

Have really enjoyed these posts.  Going to be one of the lowly Blue carders in Aug on the Coral...  😀

[geoherb]

Yesterday was jam packed. I had breakfast in the dining room with a family of five who are part of a larger family group traveling together. The patriarchs are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on this cruise. My regular teammates for trivia showed up. We placed third in a very crowded room. The team that won was made up of Australians, and they got three points on a question about Australia that we received just one point on. It was the Australian member of the cruise director’s staff conducting the trivia. She always has a question about Australia. The Mexican member always has a question about Mexico. The one named Trelawney always has a question that the answer is Trelawney. 

I checked out the outlet sale in the Provence Dining Room. On past cruises, I’ve found bargain priced port T-shirts. This time, I did not see any sizes other than small. I got to be a judge in the egg-drop challenge along with two other passengers. Most of the teams had been building their contraptions for several days. There were a couple of last minute entrants, though, that took about 5 minutes to build theirs. The best one looked like a space ship or a Moravian star. The egg in it survived. All three of us judges gave it a 10.

 

The luncheon for the top 40 was very nice. The Captain’s Circle hostess announced that all together the 40 of us had 8,005 days on Princess. That averages out to just over 200 per person. She would not tell me the actual cut off figure. When I asked if it was around 120 days, she said, “That’s about right.” We had a choice of artichoke and king crab soufflé or porcini mushroom risotto for an appetizer. I had the soufflé. It was very much like the twice-baked goat cheese soufflé. I could not taste the artichoke and crab that were supposed to be in it. The risotto was better. The woman beside me let me taste hers. Everyone received the pink grapefruit champagne sorbet. The choices for main course were a fennel, arugula, cherry tomato, and mushroom salad topped with slices of beef strip-loin or silver salmon with raspberry and hollandaise sauce over roasted vegetables. I had the steak salad. It was very good. The dessert was a limoncello flavored sponge cake with limoncello coating. They served red and white wines with the lunch.

 

The chief communications officer hosted my table. I was seated with a couple from Idaho and a couple from Texas. We had about the same number of days and cruises. Everyone had their photos taken with the captain as we entered. The Captain’s Circle hostess delivered them to us at the end of the meal. That was a nice touch. The two most-traveled couples dined with the captain. I found it nice that the most-traveled wife was taking photos of everything as if it was her first time. It’s nice that she still has enthusiasm about the experience. 

 

After lunch, I went to the afternoon trivia. It was in the Wheelhouse—a much too small space for the number of people who showed up. We had the regular five of us at the bar with two teammates sitting on tall stools and the other three of us standing. It was fine as long as the bartenders were not making drinks in the blender. We tied for first place but lost the tie-breaker question to the Aussie team.

Next up was the Voice of the Ocean finale. I enjoyed the first singer a lot. I wanted to go to the wine tasting, though, and only heard him and the second singer. It turned out that he won, although the sister at my table said another singer was better. Unfortunately, she picked the same coach and did not make it to the final round since the coach could only have one singer.

 

The wine tasting was entertaining. The Princess prices per bottle ranged from $37 to $43. We had five to sample: two whites and three reds. My favorite was the Chianti. Of course it was at the high end of the price range.

 

After the wine tasting, it was time to go outside as the ship entered College Fjord. Once again, we had a beautiful day to enjoy the scenery. The terminal glaciers are Harvard and Yale. There were several others along the way, with the ones on the left named after women's colleges and the ones on the right named after men's. We did not get close enough to see them calve, but we could see lots of chunks of ice in the water. There were lots of seals and sea otters. People on the Deck 10 balcony at the front of the ship said there was a great sighting of a whale about 5 minutes before I got there. According to the naturalist, the whales don’t venture farther into the fjord because the glacial silt messes up their echolocation. 

 

The dinner menu last night included linguine with pesto and haricot verts, filet of kingklip in a curry sauce, mussels in white wine, New York strip steak, Moroccan-style meatballs, and Curtis Stone’s pork belly dish. I had the Alaskan seafood chowder, an appetizer-size portion of the pasta, and the steak. The steak was as chewy as I remember. I’ll order the kingklip next week. Four of us ordered the chocolate journeys pistachio dome for dessert. The sister had creme brulee. Her sister was still not feeling well, and I appreciate her staying away from the rest of us. I had enough trivia prizes to give one to each of my tablemates, including the absent sister.

 

I went to see the magician comedian after dinner. He’s funny, but I nodded a bit during his show. 

 

I can’t remember who asked about show times on the Panama Canal cruises. The entertainment director said it depended, but they sometimes go with a show before dinner for those with the second seating traditional.

 

Chubbypiggy: I’d choose the Island over the Royal for Alaska just because of the fewer passengers and more open deck space. It never felt crowded when we were at the glaciers yesterday or the day before. But if you like the newer ships, you’d probably still have a great time on the Royal.
 

[nematome]

Loved your recap of the day, my friend! We hosted DH for dinner last night and we enjoyed turkey tenderloin, roasted vegetables, and cranberry sauce, which was only eclipsed by the cocktails and the company! Keep on cruisin'! 

[CruzinNoony]

We have been to many MT luncheons and I still take photos of the food and people!!  If the numbers on our cruise are as low as yours, we will be dining with the captain!!  We also love Alaska and the B2B coming up will be #14 & 15.

[geoherb]

We received a printed log of the cruise last night. People have reported that they’ve stopped delivering these on some ships. I used up just 100 of my internet minutes on the first cruise, leaving me with 200 for the second. I ended up with $24.26 in refundable credit left on my onboard account. I spent a total of $42.48 on drinks during the cruise. I still have some of my first bottle of wine left and five of my eight mini bottles of liquor and my two beers. I’m planning on trading my second minibar setup for a bottle of wine this cruise. 

 

I have more onboard credit for the second cruise than the first since I haven’t booked any shore excursions on it. If the weather is pretty, I’ll rent a bike in Skagway to go over to the Chilkoot Trail. I’m planning on going to the State Museum in Juneau. I’ll just wander around Ketchikan, going over to Creek Street, the Married Man’s Trail, etc. The time in each port is shorter on the southbound cruise: 3.5 hours less in Juneau, 1 hour less in Skagway, and 1.75 less in Ketchikan than we had in Icy Strait Point. The good news is that we get to Glacier Bay later in the morning. We’ll also have a better time for viewing Hubbard Glacier than we did for College Fjord. I felt sorry for those with early seating traditional dining. They missed the best viewing last night.