Review: Sun Princess Alaska 8/27 - 9/3/06 LONG

[wspatton]

1. General Information

A. Sun Princess: Roundtrip Seattle to Alaska Inside Passage

B. August 27, 2006 – September 3, 2006

C. Balcony Stateroom Category BA

D. Level 12 (Riviera) Starboard, # R333

E. Customer Profile

Married Couple, early 50’s. Two prior cruises: Golden Princess 7 day Southern Caribbean 2004, Carnival Inspiration 5 day Western Caribbean 2004. Generally we are more interested in the ports and excursions than in shipboard activities.

2. Arrival at Departure Port

We flew into Seattle a day early, arriving Saturday morning. We caught the Gray Line Downtown Hotel Shuttle, which was around $20.00 total for both of us. We were booked at the Westin downtown, which was about the 4th or 5th stop, but the whole trip was only about 45 minutes.

 

We had booked the Westin using the “Name your own Price” feature on Priceline.com. This worked out very well for us, but I suggest that you check out the website “Biddingfortravel.com” before attempting to use Priceline’s bidding feature.

The Westin was very nice, 4 star, and was within easy walking distance to the Pike market area and only a block from the monorail to the Space Needle. Taxis were readily available if you needed one. My only gripe about the hotel was the exorbitant cost at the breakfast café. ($28 for 2 bowls of fruit, 1 oatmeal, 1 muffin, and 1 coffee)

3. Seattle Activities

We thoroughly enjoyed the Pike Market, and had lunch at one of the restaurants there (Lowell’s), where we enjoyed our first of many seafood meals. We had wanted to check out the Space Needle, but we liked the area near the waterfront so much that we wound up skipping the Needle.

 

We had dinner on one of the piers (Pier 54, I think) and a place called the Crab Pot. This was a good place, and I think we would have enjoyed it more, but we were in the middle of dealing with a family crisis back in Georgia, and we were very distracted. I really can’t give a more thorough opinion on the place because, frankly, it was a blur.

 

(Side Note: I recommend that you take your laptop, or at least a recent copy of your address book that contains most every number or Email address you think you may need. Mine came in very handy that night.)

 

On Sunday morning we walked from the Westin about 6 blocks to an REI outdoor store to pick up a few last minute items (rain hat, gloves, etc.). Remember this as a great source for that kind of stuff.

 

4. Embarkation

We caught a cab from the Westin to the Princess pier (Pier 30), which cost about $15 plus tip. We arrived at the pier at 11:00, and the whole process went VERY smoothly, and we were in our stateroom by 11:30. All land staff were polite and enthusiastic.

 

5. The Ship

A. Overall Condition

We were very impressed with the Sun Princess. We liked its size, ease of finding our way around and, importantly, the condition of the ship. It was very clean and well maintained, and it looked to us that the crew took pride in her.

 

B. Stateroom

Our stateroom was fine for us. I think it was a bit smaller than I remember the one on the Golden Princess, but it was not too small for two people. I don’t think it would have been good for more than two, though. The bed was very comfortable – firm mattress and good pillows, and the comforter was just right. There was plenty of room under the bed for all our suitcases, and there was adequate space in the bathroom for out toiletries. Although the shower was small, the water pressure and temperature were very good.

 

Ask your steward for the “egg crate” mattress pad and a pair of robes as soon as you can. Both are nice touches. Definitely take a Power strip. We plugged ours in at the outlet by the TV, and put our cell phone and camera battery chargers there. The refrigerator is sufficient for ice and a couple of bottles of beverages, plus room for some cheese slices from the buffet.

 

There has been a lot of discussion of the adequacy of the Sun’s balconies. They ARE small: as wide as the room and about 36” deep, and they are not “open”. In other words, they have a “cut out” hole which is your open window to the outside. You can seat two people comfortably out there, and there is a small table. But this is not a balcony where you will sit to “catch some rays.” On the other hand, for Alaska it is perfect. It shields the wind, so you can leave your sliding glass door partially open at night and listen to the ocean.

 

On the TV, there is a channel (35, I think) that shows the ship’s bow camera. That channel usually also plays a good selection of classical music. But the main reason I mention it is because when the Naturalist give his narrations over the PA, they are also carried on that channel so you can hear him while observing from your balcony. More on the naturalist later.

 

C. Common Areas

The style of the Sun Princess is understated elegance. Lots of light colored wood and warm lighting. This is a very comfortable ship to be on.

 

1) Lounges

We enjoyed the Atrium Bar on Level 5. David the bartender (U.K.) was very friendly and made a great Mojito and Manhattan. The Wheelhouse bar on Deck 7 forward is also comfortable, but there were several smokers in there the first time we went in, so we didn’t return. We walked through the disco when we first boarded, but it reeked of stale smoke, so we never checked it out at night. Same with the casino.

 

2) Theaters

We did not attend any of the entertainment so the only times we saw the Princess Theater was for muster and the Naturalist talks; and the Vista Lounge for the Captain’s Circle Party. Both looked nice, and seemed large. We have heard reports that the Theater fills up quickly for the evening shows.

 

3) Little Known “Secrets”

Decks 10 and 11 (Baja and Aloha) have open areas at the bow through the forward-most doors. These are usually vacant. There is a very quiet reading room on Promenade Deck 7 Port side Aft. The Atrium Bar on Level 5 is quieter than the one on Deck 7. The Pizza place on Deck 8 serves excellent pizza, it’s just a shame you can’t pick it up and take it with you outside or to your stateroom. The Promenade Deck 7 goes all the way around the ship so you can truly “promenade,” or just enjoy the old fashioned wooden deck chairs.

D. Dining

 

1) Buffet / Horizon Court

We were prepared for the worst, having read numerous critical comments in the message boards about the layout, traffic flow, and cuisine at the Horizon Court. Again, we were pleasantly surprised. The only time we noticed the Buffet line being too crowded was on the first lunch on Sunday of Sail-away. I do think the traffic flow could be improved, because after going through one side (hot dishes, meats, veggies) you have to double back against the flow to go through the other side (breads, fruits, drinks, cold meats and cheeses). Also, the salad bar is between those two lines, so it adds to the confused flow. I am not sure if there is a solution, and I must emphasize that this was not a major issue to me and did not dampen my cruise.

 

The Horizon Court Dining area was really cool. It has a panoramic view off the bow, and is a great place to go and get a cup of coffee and enjoy the scenery. Speaking of coffee, I found the coffee on board to be completely drinkable. It’s not “gourmet” but it is every bit as good as the stuff they pour in my office or at many restaurants. I heard coffee comments on board ranging from “very good” to “could not drink it.”

 

2) Dining Room

We had selected Personal Choice Dining, and once again were pleased with our choice. I recommend that when you arrive at the Dining Room, you tell the Maitre-D that you prefer seating with others. Not only will you get seated immediately, you will get to enjoy meeting new people and hearing their thoughts on the Cruise. Each night we met new and interesting people that we would recognize and visit with later in the cruise. We did not perceive any diminished service resulting from the servers considering us as “one-time” guests.

 

Formal Nights:

The overwhelming majority of people that we saw were dressed according to the Princess guidelines. Since this cruise seemed to average about 60 years old, I think there were more tuxes than I remember on the Golden a couple of years ago. Probably about 40% Tuxes and 60% Dark suits. I really did not notice folks “under-dressed” but that could be more because I wasn’t looking for them than that they weren’t around. I did observe that after dinner, some people must have changed into something more casual for later in the evening. Still, many stayed in their fancy duds.

 

3) Specialty Restaurants

We did not check out the Sterling Steakhouse, not did we hear any comments from others. I will comment that it is not a separate Dining Room, but rather a roped off section of the Horizon Court Dining Area. Kind of seemed like an afterthought.

 

We did have lunch once at Verdi’s Pizzeria on the 8th level Atrium, and loved their Pizza. The outdoor Grille on Lido Deck 14 was open for lunch and served very tasty hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, knockwurst, and, one day, a delicious rockfish chowder and reindeer chili!

 

E. Food Quality

I have heard and read a whole range of comments about Princess’ food of late. It is my opinion that many folks who come off cruises complaining about the food probably had started their cruise with unrealistic expectations. I suspect they had heard others raving about the food on cruises and did not realize that some people equate quantity and variety with quality.

 

The food on the Sun Princess slightly exceeded my expectations. I expected it to be about as good as banquet food you might get at a convention or wedding, and it generally was, with a few items falling on either side of that benchmark. The steak and beef Wellington I had were both very good and cooked to my specifications (ordered medium rare – got medium rare). The lobster tails were not the best I ever had, but they were still lobster and very tasty. We tried a couple of the salmon and halibut entrees and liked them all.

 

The Horizon Court food ranged from bland to mediocre to good to very good. And I suspect that something I did not like might have been just perfect to somebody else. I particularly enjoyed the smoked fish choices available at breakfast (something I never get at home). Also, at breakfast there is an Egg Station where you can get your eggs over light if that is what you want. I think it is fun to try things that are very different that what I normally have (i.e. rice or baked beans at breakfast, or strange meats). However, my wife got hot cereal and fruit every day and was very happy with it. As an aside, my wife thinks the donuts on Princess are outstanding! Plump and sugary!

 

F. On Board Activities

We did not really participate in many of these so I can’t offer much insight here. We enjoyed the trivia contests, and made it a point to attend the Naturalist talks whenever we could. The naturalist Alan Cortash was very good, and very informative on a wide range of topics from wildlife to native cultures to history. He definitely enhanced my trip, and I made it a point to tell him so.

 

We did do a wine tasting that was fun, and I wish we had time to do the galley tour. Try not to miss the champagne waterfall around 11:30 on the second formal night. We also thought they did a good job with the Captain’s Circle Cocktail party on second formal night.

 

Sitting in a hot tub late at night as you cruise through Alaska is very neat, and we were glad that in late August this was still very doable.

G. Personnel / Service

A+. No complaints at all. Everyone was friendly and eager to help. And I noticed that they did not seem to be pushing to sell drinks every time you turned around, as can be the case on the Caribbean cruises. I have always found that the service people seem to really appreciate a sincere, “Hello, how are you today?” It makes me feel better too.

6. Ports / Excursions

 

A. Sea Day

This was a good day to get knee-deep in that book you had been meaning to read. We also did trivia and the wine tasting. This is also a good day to have breakfast and/or lunch in the Dining Room rather than the Horizon Court.

 

B. Ketchikan

Arrived in port around 6:30 a.m., and did not have an excursion until 10:00. By the time we ate breakfast and got off the ship, it was about 7:30 so we had about two hours to kill. That was plenty of time to walk over to Creek Street, and browse through a couple of shops and enjoy the salmon that were still very much swimming upstream. For a Georgia boy, that was one of my favorite sites. We also walked over to the city park, and back by the salmon hatchery and arrived back in town in time to meet our tour guide.

 

At the end of the cruise dock there is a large store, the Tongass Trading Post. In addition to all the tourist stuff, this store has EVERYTHING. So anything you might have forgotten is available there.

 

Our excursion selection for Ketchikan was the Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast. Had an informative bus ride out to where we caught the boat, then a very scenic boat ride to where we checked the crab pots and learned about the local flora and fauna. Then a boat ride back to the lodge where we had a very tasty, fun feast on Dungeness Crab. Plenty to eat, so go hungry. This was a fun excursion with plenty of photo ops.

 

After returning to town, we still had enough time to check out a Fish & Chips place I had read about, “Burger Queen”. Great Halibut! And we were able to pick up a couple of tree ornaments and souvenirs. The town is not so big that, by the time we left at 4:30, we felt like we had gotten a real good flavor for Ketchikan. I would also add that the folks in town were very friendly. I guess about half the ones I talked to were locals, and the other half were seasonal.

 

C. Tracy Arm Fjord

We were in Tracy Arm for about 4 hours, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. I had been worried about this one because a couple of the Sun cruises early in the summer were prevented from entering the fjord due to weather/visibility concerns. We were very lucky, and got up to within about 2 miles, 23 miles in, of the glacier and could see it clearly. There were plenty of the colorful blue icebergs, and the scenery was stunning. My wife stayed mostly on our balcony, observing from there, and I spent about half my time on the upper decks.

 

As we were leaving the fjord, we rounded a corner and saw ourselves in the mirror! Actually, it was our sister ship the Dawn Princess, and that provided some neat reference to the immense scale of this place.

 

D. Juneau

Three hours after leaving Tracy Arm, we arrived in Juneau. There was apparently a fairly serious mishap as the ship was being tied up, and one of the dock workers was injured. They worked on him on the scene for probably 45 minutes before they transported him to the hospital. We never heard how he was, but hope he was OK.

 

We were delayed in leaving the ship until they could get that situation stabilized, but once off the ship, our tour van was ready to drive us off to what I think was the highlight of our cruise: “Whale Watching with Harv & Marv”. There have been several threads in the Cruise Critic message boards about the various providers of Whale Watching excursions, and a few of these have given glowing reviews of Harv & Marv.

http://www.alaskawhalewatch.com/

 

All I can say is that they were definitely the right choice for us. Besides our Boat Captain Marv (a.k.a. Pete Nelson) there were only four of us on the boat (the other couple was another Cruise Critic couple we had met through our Roll Call thread). We spent about 2.5 hours out near Shelter Island, and saw probably 50 humpbacks. HINT: take a Digital Camera with LOTS of memory, and set the shutter to do continuous shooting. That way you can capture the entire sequence of the whale’s breach.

 

With such a small group, Pete was happy and able to do whatever we wanted, whether it was keep looking for whales, or go find eagles or something else. This small, family run operation aims to please. After the whale watch was over, instead of just running us back to the ship, Sandy (the van driver and father of “Mrs. Harv”) offered to swing by Mendenhall Glacier so we could get out and see that. This was completely unsolicited, and “above and beyond,” if you ask me. Then, he was willing to drop us wherever we wanted in Juneau. I can’t say enough kind things about this great small business.

 

We took Sandy up on his offer, and he dropped us off at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake. Again, a super choice for Great local cuisine and lots of it. These folks were also very friendly and proud of their product. The Salmon was very good, but you should be sure you specify some that is more undercooked than overcooked. The sides were good, and the Alaska Wild Blueberry cake was exceptional.

 

Even after this full itinerary, we still found time to catch the free shuttle back to downtown Juneau and pick up an ornament and grab a whiskey at the Red Dog Saloon. There were quite a few cruisers in the Saloon from each of the four ships in port at the time.

 

Tracy Arm and Juneau made for a most memorable, if long, day in the middle of our cruise. I hope the injured dock worker recovered.

 

E. Skagway

The “must-see” excursion for first time visitors to Skagway seems to be the White Pass Railroad. This is a well-deserved accolade. We took the expanded version of this excursion, Princess’ “Yukon Expedition and White Pass Railroad”. In this version, half of your trip up into the mountains is on the famous narrow-gauge railroad, and the other half is on a tour bus, which travels beyond the rail stop another 50 miles into the Yukon.

 

Both parts of the trip were memorable, despite the light steady rain (I can’t complain however, since this was the only mentionable adverse weather the entire week!) And, my wife got to use that rain hat she bought in Seattle! If you ride the train UP, sit on the left; and if you ride the train DOWN, sit on the right. Also, if you are a photo buff, step out onto the platform between the cars for some memorable shots.

 

The bus ride into the Yukon and into the town of Carcross was definitely a worthwhile addition. We were lucky enough to have an exceptional driver, a Skagway local named Bruce Schindler. Several Skagway Art Galleries carry Bruce’s carved fossil ivory creations. He was a colorful guide, full of lore and poetry of the Klondike Gold Rush and the natural history of the area. The scenery was breathtaking, including mountains, lakes, arctic tundra, and the sparse Yukon town of Carcross, which is a good place to get your Passport stamped.

 

Upon return to Skagway, we had about 45 minutes, which again was enough time to grab some souvenirs and ornaments, and have an Alaskan lager at the Red Onion Saloon. As you can guess, we are not real big on shopping, and frankly I wish there were less of the “International House of Gold, Diamonds and Tanzanite” stores. I guess you can’t criticize someone for selling what people apparently want to buy, but I am glad that by looking around a bit, I could find folks with a local flair who wanted to share a part of their life and their stories.

 

Here I should mention that our departure from Skagway was delayed by about 45 minutes due to a ship-wide power failure. Since we had a balcony stateroom it was not an issue for us at all. But I suspect that it could have been somewhat un-nerving to folks in Interior staterooms that were many feet from the exits. I also learned that the ships toilets cannot function without electricity. The engineering staff worked diligently however, and we were soon on our way.

F. Sea Day

This was the only rough day at sea the whole trip. I think just about everybody on the whole ship was content to spend the better portion of the day in their state room. This was a good day to finish a book or catch up on unread “Princess Patters”.

 

G. Victoria

We had not booked any excursions for Victoria because of the short time in port (only about 6 hours scheduled.) When we left the ship, we found ready availability of a variety of buses, pedal cabs, Limos, and private drivers for hire. We caught the Gray line double-decker bus ($5 per person round trip) to the inner harbor area, and from there walked quite a number of blocks just checking things out. Victoria is a very pretty and clean small city with a distinctly British charm and feel. We enjoyed a drink in the lounge at the Empress Hotel, and found a great unique dinner at Sauce Restaurant.

 

Be sure and see the Government Building lit up at night and, according to many we talked to, try to see Butchart Gardens. Six hours is actually longer than you think, and we had a full evening in town and were back on board within 4.5 hours.

7. Disembarkation

Again we thought that Princess handled this well. We were scheduled to leave the boat at 8:05 and were actually called 10 minutes earlier. By 8:30 we had our luggage and were getting ready to board the shuttle to the airport.

 

The only negative I have on this portion of the trip is that the disembarkation doorway on deck 7 is right by the main stairway / elevator lobby, so we found that area to be very crowded with people who could not seem to wait until their time was called to stand near the exit. I don’t know how any cruise line can avoid those bottlenecks though, because it seems like by the end of the cruise there are a bunch of folks who just want to “get off.”

 

8. Packing Advice / Other Tips

We found that Delta was enforcing the 50 pound per bag limit, AND the 2 checked bags per customer limit. Given the change in carry-on rules, they need to re-think this, unless they just consider those $50 excess charges as a good revenue source.

 

For August, you need to prepare for a wide range of temperatures and humidity. My wife said she wishes she had brought more long sleeve t-shirts. My clothing selection worked out well, although I could have brought one less pair of jeans and one less pair of khakis.

 

9. General Comments

The passengers on this cruise were definitely an older crowd than we found in the Caribbean. I would say the average age was 60+, with some being quite a bit older. That is not to say that there weren’t ANY younger people – there certainly were, including some kids. But this group was definitely older. However, I must add that cruisers, by their very nature, generally seem to be more active and upbeat, and are fun at any age.

 

We loved this Cruise and can’t wait to cruise again. We really like the product supplied by Princess. Would like to maybe give Norwegian a try, too.

[mii]

Thank you for that well thought out review. It is nice to finally read a review that are not so full of problems, bad food, awful coffee, etc. You told some good and not so good and it ended up being a very well thought out review.

 

Marilyn

[arabrab]

Lovely review -- and the interspersed headings and spaces made it really easy on my eyes.

 

How much did you notice announcements on board ship (art auction, bingo,...)?

 

We really enjoyed our trip on Sun Princess to Alaska a few years ago.

 

Thanks for posting the review.

[wspatton]

Lovely review -- and the interspersed headings and spaces made it really easy on my eyes.

 

How much did you notice announcements on board ship (art auction, bingo,...)?

 

We really enjoyed our trip on Sun Princess to Alaska a few years ago.

 

Thanks for posting the review.

 

It seems to me that you had to make it a point to hear the intercom announcements. Except for those very important "This is the Captain" announcements, none of the announcements came into the Stateroom intercom. You either had to be in the common areas, or have your TV on and turned to the Ship Channel.

 

I do remember hearing the announcements when I was out and about the ship, and they included a listing of the day's shipboard activities. I did not pay much attention to them, because they were a repeat of what had been listed in the "Patters".

[Psee]

Great review Bill! Sounds like a very nice cruise with no major complaints.

 

Those forward bow areas you mentioned, are they open all of the time or only in port? (On some of the Princess ships they close some of the forward open areas due to high winds while underway.)

 

Thanks :)

[wspatton]

Great review Bill! Sounds like a very nice cruise with no major complaints.

 

Those forward bow areas you mentioned, are they open all of the time or only in port? (On some of the Princess ships they close some of the forward open areas due to high winds while underway.)

 

Thanks :)

 

They are open all the time, but the ARE windy when the ship is going full steam. In Tracy Arm the ship was going slow enough to where wind was not an issue.

[kftw]

Thank you for your review.

[zebra]

Thanks Bill for the lovely, constructive review. We will be sailing on her in 2 weeks and are looking forward to also having a great experience.

[LFM]

That was a great review. We cruised on the Sun Princess last August (2005) when she was sailing northbound from Vancouver and just loved it. I was a little concerned when Princess made the change to a RT from Seattle, but it sounds as if is worked. You did miss Glacier Bay which was a real highlight for us.

[SailAways]

We loved this Cruise and can’t wait to cruise again. We really like the product supplied by Princess. Would like to maybe give Norwegian a try, too.[/indent][/indent]

 

Absolutely wonderful review.

Your format is perfect, and very easy to read. Much better than those that run a one paragraph dialog that is so very difficult to read. Thanks so much.

 

This should be used as an example of "How to write a cruise review".

 

We are cruising in the reverse order - Having already cruised on NCL Spirit to Alaska, we will next be on the Sun Princess through the Panama Canal next April. We loved the Spirit, and the overall relaxed feeling of Freestyle on NCL.

 

Thanks for a wonderful, concise, very readable review.

 

Happy Cruising To You!:)

[elsje]

What a wonderful review Bill! It is wonderful that you took the time to post a positive review as so many times we only read about the negative things. So glad that you and your wife had wonderful weather.

We are sailing on the Sun in two weeks and had a bit doubt about the food and coffee :eek:, but you have put us at ease :). this will be our first Princess cruise. Have a great weekend ~ Els

[LonghornKJK]

We were on the sister ship, the Dawn Princess, the week before your cruise. When we passed the Sun in Tracy Arm, they blew their horns at one another. Pretty cool!

 

We also had a "sister experience" in many ways. I wish we had gone with Harv and Marv instead of Orca -- sounds like you had a better excursion. We rented a car in Skagway and drove into the Yukon but we traveled alongside the train and the buses much of the way.

 

I won't bore you with the rest of the similarities in our trips but I enjoyed reading your review. Thanks! :)

[RevSmith]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review...that was very nice of you.

[cruzy-sue]

Regarding the White Pass RR in Skagway:

 

Is this a ships's excursion or is it better to do it on your own??

 

ALSO - I have read here that people take a bus from the top to go into Yukon other places. Is this part of a ships excursion??? Or do you need to book the bus portion oin your own?

 

THank you.

[wspatton]

Regarding the White Pass RR in Skagway:

 

Is this a ships's excursion or is it better to do it on your own??

 

ALSO - I have read here that people take a bus from the top to go into Yukon other places. Is this part of a ships excursion??? Or do you need to book the bus portion oin your own?

 

THank you.

 

We booked our Rail/Bus Trip through Princess. I have done excursions on all my cruises, including this one, that were booked both through the Cruise line and through the independent excursion operators. On this cruise, my Juneau Whale Watch was booked independently (Harv & Marv highly recommended).

 

You'll pay a bit more if you use the cruise line, BUT you won't get left if your excursion runs late, which CAN happen. I would do this if the timing looked tight.

 

If you like to research you can probably find excursions that are not available through the Cruise lines. Also, Independent Cruise operators might be a little less crowded and more flexible.

 

On THIS excursion, the Bus ride was part of the excursion. It was billed as "Bus Up / Train Down." But ours was "Train Up / Bus Down." I don't know what the difference might be.

 

I have seen some posts on these boards that suggest that if you are on a cruise, you must book the rail trip through your cruise operator. Suggest you contact the Railroad for the definitive answer:

 

http://www.whitepassrailroad.com/index.html

 

Have a great time!

 

Bill

[live2skide]

Hi Bill and Mary ~

 

Thanks for the great review! It brings back wonderful memories!

 

I have to repeat to everyone what a great experience our whale watching was with Harv & Marv ( www.alaskawhalewatch.com) . This was truly personalized service. They patiently waited for us to disembark and stood by shoreside while the emergency on the dock was being resolved.

 

When we were out on their small boat; we saw whales in every direction. We had a couple surface near enough to the boat that you could hear them breach the water. It was an incredible sound.

 

We did hear some "professional" advice as we were coming back into the harbor, and that was "don't waste your money on an evening whale watching trip". That advice came from our boat captain!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing some of Bill's photo's. I took about 150 during the whale watching with my little tiny digital; and they turned out well. Bill had a massive lens on his camera, so those have to be awesome.

 

My only packing advice is to pack for the cooler climates; and bring your layers. I was really glad for the fleece and rain jacket; wishing I had left the shorts and tank tops at home. Gloves and a hat were a good thing too.

 

We did the White Pass Yukon trip in the opposite direction; bussed up to the Yukon, and train back. It was a beautiful ride, although the clouds were a little low. This narrow guage railroad, stuck to the side of the mountain is quite an engineering feat, considering the time it was built.

 

It was a pleasure to meet both Bill and Mary, and share the day in Juneau with them.

 

My only disappointment on the Sun Princess was the lack of an indoor pool. I knew this before booking, and the itinerary is what sold me on the trip. I personnally would not do a northern climate again with out the indoor pool area. It was difficult to find a place "out of the weather" to spend a dreary day where you could sit and read a book, but still take in the sites.

 

Mary & Bill, Delaware

[EggDropErin]

:) Thanks for the great review!

[wspatton]

I'm looking forward to seeing some of Bill's photo's. I took about 150 during the whale watching with my little tiny digital; and they turned out well. Bill had a massive lens on his camera, so those have to be awesome.

 

Mary & Bill, Delaware

 

Hope this Link Works:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554225904DCHVAT

 

 

Sorry there are so many pictures....

[oklahomagran]

RE: White Pass

If you ride the train UP, sit on the left; and if you ride the train DOWN, sit on the right. Also, if you are a photo buff, step out onto the platform between the cars for some memorable shots.

 

 

Bill, when you say "sit on the left," is that the left as you are facing forward on the train? Thanks for all the info. . . I am taking this same cruise this August on the Sun, my very FIRST cruise! And I've booked the Chilkoot Tours White Pass Rail/Bus Trip (up on the train, down on the bus)

 

thanks, Val

[wspatton]

RE: White Pass

Bill, when you say "sit on the left," is that the left as you are facing forward on the train? Thanks for all the info. . . I am taking this same cruise this August on the Sun, my very FIRST cruise! And I've booked the Chilkoot Tours White Pass Rail/Bus Trip (up on the train, down on the bus)

 

thanks, Val

 

Val,

 

You are correct. "Sit on the left," is on the left as you are facing forward on the train.

 

You will really enjoy this cruise. My wife and I are looking forward to our next cruise. Probably the Eastern Caribbean next time.

 

Feel free to ask any other questions.

 

Bill

[oklahomagran]

Val,

 

You are correct. "Sit on the left," is on the left as you are facing forward on the train.

 

You will really enjoy this cruise. My wife and I are looking forward to our next cruise. Probably the Eastern Caribbean next time.

 

Feel free to ask any other questions.

 

Bill

 

 

Bill, thanks so much for your reply. I am SO excited about this cruise and can hardly wait to leave! Have enjoyed all the wonderful contributions on these boards . . what a wealth of information and a fabulous way for a 'newbie' like me to be prepared for a first cruise. How in the world did we manage before we had the internet? :)

[Desert Cruizers]

Bill & Mary enjoyed your review of the Sun Princess. My husband & I took her on the 17 Day Panama April 2006 out of Ft Lauderdale. I was a bit hesitant as she was 10 years old, but as you said, she was beautifully maintained, lovely Atrium. We have gotten used to the Horizon Court so it doesn't bother us now. We enjoyed our mid ship room on the Caribe Deck.

 

Gay -So calif