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

[aprilsp88]

geoherb,

 

If you happen to get a chance, would you please ask Phoenix Rising their future schedule with Princess or any other cruise lines?

 

They usually play in wheelhouse during the night, so if you pass wheelhouse you will hear them. Their schedule is also in the patter. If you don't feel like stay for the whole set (but you might also like them, both Bruce and I think they're the best), I would wait for their current song to finish, then ask them, bands like to interact with their audience.

 

Thank you very much! Enjoy your cruise.

 

April

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, geoherb said:

I received the invitation to the top 40 this afternoon, a couple of hours after writing my last response. It’s going to be a cocktail party on Monday evening. The Captain’s Circle hostess said she likes to alternate between doing a luncheon and a cocktail party because some people prefer one over the other. I guess it’s good for those doing back-to-back cruises to always get at least one of their preferred events. Once again, she said there were between 45 and 50 Elites on this cruise. I’ll get the exact number on Sunday night at the Captain’s Circle party.

If the cocktail party is anything like in the past on the Royal it's much better than the ones on other Princess ships.

Don't eat dinner before you go.

[geoherb]

Another beautiful day in Skagway. I rented a bike and rode on Dyea Road toward the Chilkoot Trail. I did not make it all the way before deciding to turn around. The guys at the bike shop were really great. I rented it for two hours and decided to turn around after Nahku Bay when the road starting going uphill again. The first quarter of the road is paved. It turns to a packed gravel road about a half a mile after the overlook. I had beautiful scenery along the way. 

 

The $21 to rent the bike sure beats paying $119.95 for the least expensive cycling excursion through Princess. I saved enough to splurge on lunch at Olivia’s after my ride. One of the guys at the bike shop recommended it for local seafood. I had halibut cakes. They came with a cup of seafood chowder and a salad of greens grown in the restaurant’s garden. The halibut cakes were a bit disappointing, both in size and taste. The seafood chowder was wonderful. They dust the top of it with garam masala right before serving it. There were four Japanese tourists on the Asuka II ship at the table beside mine. They split a piece of the gold rush chocolate cake but did not finish it. I told my waiter it was tempting to eat part of the edge that they left behind. I didn’t, though. I would have ordered a serving of lavender ice cream, but they were out of it.

 

I walked through a few of the shops on my way back. I stopped by the National Park headquarters and noticed a tour leaving in just a few minutes. It was to Jeff Smith’s house, better known as Soapy Smith. It was very interesting. After walking back to the ship, I decided to go for a swim for the first time on these cruises. The water was cool in the Lotus Pool. I managed to get in and swim a few laps before heading to the hot tub. 

 

Tonight is open seating in the dining rooms. I’ll probably go early.
 

[tothemall&beyond]

On 6/29/2019 at 1:05 AM, aprilsp88 said:

Usually Princess Orchestra will stay onboard longer, right? I wonder why they always play Jazz, any particular reason?

I believe the orchestra members have either 4 or 6 month contracts.

 

[CruzinNoony]

Where is the National Park Headquarters located?  That sounds like a fun thing to do.

[WisCruiser2]

2 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

Where is the National Park Headquarters located?  That sounds like a fun thing to do.

 

It's right as you get off the ship, if you're at the Broadway dock. You can't miss it, reddish building just past the train 🙂

[geoherb]

I did go to dinner early in the Bordeaux Dining Room. I had the crab legs for an appetizer and the halibut for my main course. The waiter brought me the same size serving of the crab legs as the people who ordered them for their main course. The surf and turf of jumbo prawns and filet mignon also looked good. 

 

After dinner, I went to the Klondike Night in the Explorers’ Lounge. It’s not a good venue for that. I kept worrying that the dancers would hit the lights or speakers. Two of the lead singers performed a couple of numbers with the dancers. Then the guitar player sang a few songs. The last thing was a silly sketch with the cruise director’s staff and a few passengers. They acted out the last days of Soapy Smith. The show ended in time for me to make it to the comedian’s show in the theater. He was not that funny. A lot of his jokes were old ones and not original.

 

We docked early this morning in Juneau. The weather was cooler but still sunny. I walked to the Alaska State Museum. It’s in a new building since we were here last. I enjoyed the exhibits. Afterward, I walked around the town, up to the governor’s mansion, capital, and then down along the main streets for a little bit of shopping. I ate salmon chowder at one of the little food kiosks (The Salmon Shack) and a king crab leg taco at another. Both were tasty, but the chowder was not as good as the seafood chowder I ate yesterday in Skagway at Olivia’s. 

 

I returned to the ship around 2:30 and read a magazine a while on the Promenade Deck while watching the people come on board. I did not hear the announcement of missing passengers’ names from where I was. Others told me about it later. I saw a few stragglers just saunter up to the ship as if they had all the time in the world. One of the officers was down there to hurry them up—and hopefully issue them stern warnings. I had unexpected cell phone reception in Juneau. I talked with my brother and left a couple of messages for DH.

 

My afternoon trivia team consisted of the young parents, the wife’s parents, and the husband’s mother. We won with 20 out of 23 points. We had a good range of ages and backgrounds.

 

I asked the entertainment director how long Phoenix Rising will be on the ship. She said it was a month or two. She was not exactly sure. 
 

[geoherb]

I tried my hand at the slot machines. I gave up after about 10 minutes without hitting anything big. After that, it was time for the Captain’s Circle party. The captain spoke a little longer than anticipated, so I rushed to dinner, thinking everyone at my table would be waiting for me. No one was there. I’m not sure what happened to the two couples and single woman. I’ll be at the top 40 party tomorrow night, and I know the single woman will be missing the last night, going to Sabatini’s. I had the escargots, rice paper wrap, and rock fish. All were delicious, and the last two were not repeats from the northbound cruise. I did repeat the pistachio chocolate dome for dessert. The guy at the table next to mine was trying to set a record for lobster tails. He was up to four when I left.
 

[geoherb]

The numbers from last night’s Captain’s Circle party:

• 2,283 total passengers
• 1,729 first-time Princess cruisers
• 303 Gold
• 89 Ruby
• 115 Platinum
• 47 Elite

The third place most-traveled passengers had 414 days. The second place couple, who were first place last week, now have 703 days. The first place man has 1,136 days. He’s not happy about something, though, and decided not to attend the party. I saw him after dinner when I went to the show.

 

Last night’s show was not a repeat from the week before. It was Do You Wanna Dance. I enjoyed it, even though my favorite of the male singers was not in it. He sat in the row behind me. On some cruises, he performs a solo show instead of just being in the cast. I wish we had him perform his show rather than the comedian, but apparently Princess has decided that people in Alaska want comedians and magicians rather than solo singers. I found his website: https://www.singoutbabyjim.com/home.

 

Tonight we will lose the hour we gained to get back to Vancouver time. It’s great that we’ll have a relaxing day at sea tomorrow. I’m not planning on doing much in Ketchikan, just walking over to Creek Street and maybe the Totem Heritage Center. On our past three cruises to Alaska, we snorkeled in Ketchikan, kayaked, and took the public bus to Totem Bight. We always managed to find time for Creek Street. The ship arrives around 9:30 this morning and the all-aboard time is 5:15. I plan to be ashore from around 11 until 3 or 4. I have to make it back to the ship in time for afternoon trivia.
 

[CruzinNoony]

I'm not sure if you mentioned whether or not there was a barrel chair in your cabin.  We will really miss it if we're not able to get one.  The last couple of cruises we took, it wasn't there, but our steward was able to grab one. 

[TM]

I see you got a refund from Princess for the 26 Glacier cruise in Whittier.  Did you end up taking that excursion through Princess or booked directly through the vendor?  How did you receive the refund?

 

Thoroughly enjoying your daily postings.

[geoherb]

I spent two and a half hours in Ketchikan. I walked over to Creek Street then up past the Married Man’s Trail to the fish ladder and then the hatchery. It’s interesting to see all the small salmon in the large outdoor tanks. They had a few adults in one tank. Right next door is the Totem Heritage Center. It houses late 19th century Haida and Tligit totem poles that were saved in the 1970s. It also has baskets, masks, and other artifacts as well as examples of these items by current artists.

 

There were several large ships in port. I’m glad I waited until after lunch to go ashore. I ran into the wife of the 50th anniversary couple as well as the retired Marine and his wife at the Horizon Court. The husband of the 50th anniversary couple has the flu. They did not go to dinner last night because he was sick. He saw the ship’s doctor this morning and had his illness confirmed as the flu. The shore excursion desk would not refund their booked tour for illness without the note from the doctor. He’s now quarantined. I overheard another woman mention that her husband was also quarantined. 

 

My water and toilet are currently not working. They distributed a letter to all the cabins on my little corridor to let us know not to flush or use water between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Most of the people are probably off the ship during this time. I ran into one of the housekeeping supervisors. She said it also affected cabins on the Plaza Deck beneath us. 
 

[geoherb]

CruzinNoony: There's not a barrel chair in my cabin, just the desk chair. I sit in it sometimes while I'm writing this live thread, but a lot of times I'll sit on the bed, such as when I read my hometown paper on my computer.

 

TM: I booked the excursion through Princess and then filled in the best price guarantee form and emailed it as directed. The way it worked was that Princess charged my account $199.95 for the excursion. I booked it before the cruise, so I had to prepay. I had $125 in onboard credit and then charged $74.95 to a credit card. The difference in price with tax included worked out to $21. Princess refunded that amount plus 10 percent of the difference ($2.10), for a total refund of $23.10. 

[aprilsp88]

20 hours ago, geoherb said:

I asked the entertainment director how long Phoenix Rising will be on the ship. She said it was a month or two. She was not exactly sure. 

 

geoherb,

 

Thanks for asking the CD. Wonder where will they play after Island. Such a great band. If you happen to see them, please help me to say hello.

 

Thanks,

April

[Colo Cruiser]

21 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

I asked the entertainment director how long Phoenix Rising will be on the ship. She said it was a month or two. She was not exactly sure. 
 

Thanks for asking.

Thats odd because the ED is in charge of the entertainer schedules onboard.

With a popular band like Phoenix Rising makes it even more strange. 

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Thanks for asking.

Thats odd because the ED is in charge of the entertainer schedules onboard.

With a popular band like Phoenix Rising makes it even more strange. 

 

She probably just did not want to say a firm date without double checking. 

[geoherb]

I joined the solo traveler and four people traveling together from Iowa for the afternoon trivia. He had some tough questions, but we won with 17 out of 21 points. The solo woman joined me and a woman at the morning trivia. There were only two teams competing against us then—both made up of two people. We won that trivia as well, but he gave everyone who played prizes. That was nice. I gave away the water bottle I won this afternoon to a family of four (parents with teenage boys) who came in late. I have enough prizes to give to my tablemates tomorrow night.

There’s currently a long line of people waiting to get back on board. One woman said that two people got left yesterday in Juneau. I’m not sure how she found out, but the security folks were verbally reminding everyone this morning as we left to be back on board by 5:15 this afternoon. They did not do that in previous ports.
 

[indygirl99]

geoherb

 

I am enjoying your trip report. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

 

If your DH doesn't want to or can't get away to go to Alaska in August you can join me as I will be doing the solo trek on the Golden Southbound.

 

I could use a good trivia partner.

Edited July 2, 2019 by indygirl99
spelling

[geoherb]

The top 40 cocktail party was very nice. There were waiters circulating with trays of food and drink. I had red wine, but encouraged the people with me to order whatever they wanted. They did. There were also officers circulating among the guests. The party was held in the library, which isn’t a great venue for it—long and narrow. Each couple or guest got a photo with the captain when entering. They had them printed for us by the end of the party. That’s a nice touch. This is the Captain David Galloway’s last cruise. I don’t remember who he said is taking over on the next cruise. It’s a Scandinavian name. He’ll get three months off before coming back.

 

It was Italian night in the dining room and Horizon Court. I noticed they were preparing shrimp Fra Diavalo in the buffet. It’s one of my favorites. So I ended up going there after the Canada Day celebration in Explorers’ Lounge and before the magician’s show. They also had flourless chocolate cake, another of my favorites. I did not need much after all the food at the top 40 cocktail party. The menu there included a small lobster cocktail, bacon-wrapped scallops, vegetarian quiche, pâté, fruit, smoked salmon, bruschetta, chicken wings, jumbo breaded shrimp on skewers, and miniature cheesecakes, crème brulee, tiramisu, and chocolate mousse. Here’s a photo of a couple of plates they fixed for the husband in the California couple who cannot eat shrimp.

[geoherb]

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, geoherb said:

The top 40 cocktail party was very nice. There were waiters circulating with trays of food and drink. I had red wine, but encouraged the people with me to order whatever they wanted. They did. There were also officers circulating among the guests. The party was held in the library, which isn’t a great venue for it—long and narrow.

The Library ! I'm surprised they could fit 40 + people in there.

That's a big change from Club 6 where they used to have it.

[wallyj]

MissP22, I think you are on the wrong ship, this live is on the Island Princess, not the Royal, I noticed in an earlier post you also refernced the cocktail party is so much nicer on Royal compared to other ships. I agree as I have attended a top 40 event on the Royal in Club 6,  but this thread is on the Island.

[voljeep]

11 hours ago, geoherb said:

I joined the solo traveler and four people traveling together from Iowa for the afternoon trivia. He had some tough questions, but we won with 17 out of 21 points.

have they repeated any of the trivia questions from the first part of your cruise to the 2nd part ?

[Colo Cruiser]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

The Library ! I'm surprised they could fit 40 + people in there.

That's a big change from Club 6 where they used to have it.

Huh?

[geoherb]

57 minutes ago, voljeep said:

have they repeated any of the trivia questions from the first part of your cruise to the 2nd part ?

 

There have been some questions repeated but not whole trivia quizzes repeated.