Celebrity lovers try Princess...again!/Star Princess 6/14-21 review w/ pics!

[scb1959]

My husband and I were on this cruise and didn't have any problems with embarkation or debarkation. We arrived at Pier 91 around 12:45pm and were on the ship within a half hour. In fact, I thought the embarkation process was quite efficient. The only problem we experienced was when we debarked; people who were arriving early for the next cruise were coming 'at us' with their luggage, while mobs of people were debarking as instructed by Princess and were trying to make their way to taxis, limos, private pick-ups, etc. I observed some people getting frustrated by the arriving guests, but security was good and traffic was being controlled and managed well. Since we were among the first group off the ship at 8:00am, I was really surprised that people were arriving that early for the next cruise. But even with the traffic jams and "people jams", we were on our way within 30 minutes of leaving the ship. It sounds like TIMING can be significant in the embarkation and debarkation process.

[scb1959]

I just finished reading everything so far! Can't wait to read and see more. I came home with over 650 pics, and finally just got them edited and uploaded to shutterfly so I can share them. It's so EASY to take pics of such gorgeous places! I hope all the readers who are heading out on the Star have a wonderful time!

Susan

[Infi]

My relatives and I had breakfast in the Horizon Court, where a bunch of folks had camped out to watch the glacier and still had not moved. It was difficult to find a table to use for its actual purpose – eating. If you’re planning to watch the glacier from up here, you’re in good company, though the patter requests that people not do this.

 

This morning there was a fruit and vegetable carving demonstration. Here are some of the creations in progress:

 

Finished creations:

 

This was also the day they had the Alaskan buffet by the pool area, shortly before lunch. Lots of seafood, nothing any more Alaskan than the DR (IMHO), but delicious nonetheless. They served sockeye salmon filets, lox, crab cakes, shrimp skewers, chili (no, not reindeer, just chili), and a crab salad.

 

Lox and crab salad:

 

The mysterious chili

 

Salmon

 

Shrimp and crabcakes

[Infi]

We tried to have a light lunch in DR, knowing we had a Sabatini’s dinner planned this evening. The DR was very crowded, and we docked in Juneau a little after 1pm. We had a lot of jockeying to get into the port, as we were the last ship in for the day and docked at the last pier (furthest from the town). The Veendam, Westerdam, and Sea Princess were in port, with the Sea tendering.

Gyro pork sandwich:

 

Fruit sundae cup...refreshing and a lovely light dessert.

 

We booked the Whale watching and Wildlife Quest through Princess as our Juneau excursion. (You can't book it privately.) We’ve done this excursion on our two previous Alaska visits, and I have to tell you, every time we go we enjoy it more. I think this was the best trip of all, we just saw so much wildlife. The company guarantees you’ll see whales or you get your money back, and they always deliver. Don’t expect your money back! The tour is 4 hours, with about an hour for transportation between downtown Juneau and Auke bay, where the whale watching boats dock. (It takes about 20minutes to get out there.) Don’t blanch at the tour length – it may seem long, but honestly, time just flies when you’re out on the water.

 

 

The day was a bit overcast, but don’t mind that – this is actually the best weather for wildlife watching. Waterway on the way to Auke bay, at low tide – a comparison photo comes later

 

On the way to Auke bay, you’ll catch glimpses of Mendenhall glacier and one of Juneau’s lakes (the name escapes me at the moment, sorry), so have your camera ready. The highway scenery is gorgeous, with lots of snow covered mountains and landscapes. When you reach Auke bay, the busses drive down onto the large dock where all of the company’s boats are kept. These boats are big, with two floors, all enclosed and very comfortable. The bottom floor has a snack bar (they served complimentary donuts and salmon snacks during our trip) and restrooms. They also keep a map at the back of the boat that shows where you’ve been in the area, and what you’ve seen at each spot. There’s also a large outside area on the upper deck for the more adventurously inclined. If you’ve ever been on a nice ferry, it’s very similar to that.

A photo of one of the boats at the dock

 

We had an excellent naturalist, Dan, on our boat, and he did most of the sightings and explanations. He also constantly walked around the boat taking questions and talking with the passengers. He was really great. As we headed out, he explained some of the history of the area and Auke Bay’s significance. This is one of the main areas where the whales return each summer after a winter in Hawaii. These whales are mostly mothers and their young traveling in groups, and their summers in Alaska are like a teaching period – how to swim, how to fish, etc. Whale “kids” are just like human ones – they’re constantly playing and learning and are the most active ones. Sometimes the mothers will join in and play, too. The whales are generally indifferent to the tour boats: they know they’re around, but they ignore them and just do their own thing. For their part, the tour boats don’t use sonar or anything that would interfere with the whales. The boats don’t push in too close (unless the whale chooses to come close to them!) They stop and linger just long enough so everyone can get their view, which I found to be pretty respectful of the animals.

 

The crew explains the rules of the boat – not to block others’ views, and to feel free to shout out any animal sightings by using the boat as a “clock” system (whales at 1 o’clock, etc.). It’s best to keep your eyes peeled for the breath skimming along the top of the water and a whale sighting/surfacing is usually forthcoming. Actually, come to think of it, this is good advice for spotting whales from the ship, as well.

We weren’t very far out before we saw it - breath on the water:

 

Soon followed by a humpback’s tail!

[Cruisex234]

We tried to have a light lunch in DR, knowing we had a Sabatini’s dinner planned this evening. The DR was very crowded, and we docked in Juneau a little after 1pm. We had a lot of jockeying to get into the port, as we were the last ship in for the day and docked at the last pier (furthest from the town).

 

Did you notice if they had the free shuttles working to bring you up closer to the tram area? I figure that the Star would dock at the last spot everytime.

 

How was Sabatini's? Did you have to plan that and book it the first day you were onboard? I was hoping to do that again with my wife. We went to Sabatini's on the Crown Princess and it was great!

 

Great photos, That tour looks worth it!

 

Thanks!

Larry

[Pachutabelle]

Thanks so much for your wonderful review and beautiful pictures. We will be on the Star in Sept. I feel as if I am experiencing it now. Very exciting.:)

[magictam]

Hey Infi,

Where are you??? We're waiting for the more. I check every day, some times a few times a day for more.

Please come baaaaaaacccccccckkkk.

[justkidding4]

Hey Infi,

Where are you??? We're waiting for the more. I check every day, some times a few times a day for more.

 

Please come baaaaaaacccccccckkkk.

Infi just posted yesterday! All good things require patience!! :)

[Clutterlady]

Love your pictures! Thank you for taking the time to be so thorough with your review. Can't wait for more:)

[Infi]

Hey Infi. Pictures are just awesome, awesome, awesome! I can't wait for our Alaska cruise. Yes....I did book a balcony cabin. Jim will be up front like Christina, I will be on the balcony. Will the ice be blue if the sky is overcast? I want to see that blue ice.:)

 

Sounds like you and Jim have a similar arrangement! I'm sure he will get some great pics being on the front while you enjoy the comfort of the balcony. ;) Yes, you'll be able to see the blue ice even if it is overcast...it doesn't depend on the sun, it's just REALLY blue. It's gorgeous!

 

I thought the youtube video was excellent. It showed exactly what the rooms look like. So much better than anything that I've seen. I really liked the way you pointed out the difference in the covered, partially covered and uncovered balconies. We are on the Star in April on the Caribe deck. I know that all I have to do is stand back a little ways for a little privacy.

 

Thank you so much for your wonderful postings and pictures. I've enjoyed it tremendously.

 

Helen

 

Helen, thank you. I'm glad the video was helpful! I hope you enjoy your cruise - the Caribe balconies looked very nice from above!

 

Thanks for all the detailed info. You have been a lot of help!!!:)

 

Thank you! I'm really happy this review has been helpful.

[Infi]

Can you let me know which night Italian night is, i just need to know because we want to go to Crown Grill and Sabatini's. i know we are going to Crown Grill on the first formal night and thought we would go to sabatini's on italian night. thanks for letting me know.

 

Meghan

 

Italian night is Ketchikan night, or Tuesday night.

 

A TERRIFIC review among the best I've ever seen posted and I thank you so much for taking the time to provide such pleasure.

 

We sail on the Star in August and after seeing your fabulous pictures, I am all the more excited.

 

Thank you so much! I love reading the picture reviews myself, so I'm really happy to finally try one. Glad you're enjoying it!

 

I just finished reading everything so far! Can't wait to read and see more. I came home with over 650 pics, and finally just got them edited and uploaded to shutterfly so I can share them. It's so EASY to take pics of such gorgeous places! I hope all the readers who are heading out on the Star have a wonderful time!

Susan

 

Thank you! Alaska is really so pretty, it's easy to come home with a LOT of photos - I know this very well because we have the exact same problem in our house right now! ;) Please post your photos when you get a chance!

[Infi]

Did you notice if they had the free shuttles working to bring you up closer to the tram area? I figure that the Star would dock at the last spot everytime.

 

How was Sabatini's? Did you have to plan that and book it the first day you were onboard? I was hoping to do that again with my wife. We went to Sabatini's on the Crown Princess and it was great!

 

Great photos, That tour looks worth it!

 

Thanks!

Larry

 

I'm sorry, but I didn't notice the shuttles in Juneau. We debarked early, and all I saw were many tour buses and shuttles for the organized excursions. I did notice the free pier golf carts (and their crazy drivers!) in Skagway, they'll take you from the end of the dock to the beginning, right where the (pay) shuttle to town lets you off.

 

Sabatini's was absolutely fantastic. I'm about to write about it and post some pictures soon, but it was really a dining highlight for all of us. I booked it shortly after we boarded by calling the DINE line. I would book it early just to be on the safe side; I'm sure it fills up pretty quickly as the cruise gets going and word gets around.

 

Thanks so much for your wonderful review and beautiful pictures. We will be on the Star in Sept. I feel as if I am experiencing it now. Very exciting.:)

 

Thank you for your kind words. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Hey Infi,

Where are you??? We're waiting for the more. I check every day, some times a few times a day for more.

 

Please come baaaaaaacccccccckkkk.

 

I'm back! I'm so sorry for the wait. I know I'm one of those terribly slow authors of those picture reviews :eek: They always keep you hanging just when it's getting good! Another installment is next!

[Infi]

The landscape of Auke Bay is gorgeous as well. This is a lighthouse, currently computer-controlled, but quaint nonetheless. Can you just imagine living here?

 

Our next sighting on our whale watching tour was a large pod of killer whales. They were very active, slapping their tails on the surface of the water and constantly surfacing. Everyone was very enthralled watching them until Dan, our naturalist, announced that two of the whales were actually mating right in front of us! You should have the hoots and laughter on the boat after THAT revelation! Even the boat’s crew was watching the whales. One of the girls told DD that she’d been working on the tour for four years, and this was only the second time she’d seen this happen. We felt really lucky to have seen this…and a little voyeuristic, too, lol.

Killer whale pod:

 

Tail slapping…part of whale courtship, apparently:

 

As you can see, the whales were very close to the boat…these photos aren’t zoomed in much.

 

Synchronized diving?

 

For other potential whale photographers out there…you have to be very quick on the trigger on the camera to catch these guys. These killer whales especially were constantly diving and playing and surfacing. You never know what they’ll do next, really. But that’s part of the fun! You may get a lot of “bad” photos (heaven knows we’ve got a few!) but every so often there’s that one special one that’s really great.

 

It almost seems like a shame to leave the whales when they’re practically putting on a show (in more ways than one) for you, but we left them and headed out to meet some stellar sea lions. The sea lions are large, LOUD, and smelly. Thankfully we weren’t close enough to experience the last one. They mainly hang out on the buoys because it provides them protection from the killer whales and a rest from swimming.

[Infi]

Not letting another friend join the buoy party:

 

After leaving the sea lions, we met another small pod of whales. First, we only saw two calves swimming along and hopping out of the water – a rare sight, considering they usually stick close with their mothers. The mom did show up eventually, but it was the calves that really were so playful and fun to watch.

A little baby breach:

 

So big, and yet graceful:

 

I could probably show you another hundred whale photos and videos, but I’ll spare you all. Suffice it to say the whales are just THAT amazing. If you’re thinking of doing a whale watching tour, do it! Even if you aren’t thinking of doing one – seriously consider it! It’s a fantastic way to spend an afternoon.

We could hardly believe that the hours had flown by and that we’d seen so many animals. Before we returned to shore, the boat took us by a small island where the eagles usually hang out. They were a bit far away and obscured a bit by the trees, but it was nice to see them. There were binoculars provided for every two seats on the boat, so don’t worry about bringing your own. We didn’t really need them for any of the sightings other than the eagles, though.

Eagle photo…more like a softball in the trees...another reminder of the importance of camera zoom in Alaska!

 

We also got some nice glimpses of Mendenhall glacier from the water.

 

Our wonderful tour over, we disembarked our boat and headed for the bus to take us back to the Star.

One of Juneau’s lakes along the highway:

[Infi]

Mendenhall glacier, as viewed from the road:

 

The previously mentioned channel now filled with water:

 

We passed the Alaska governor’s mansion, which is right next to downtown. Sadly, we did not see Russia from the house.

I later spoke to another passenger who said the governor’s mansion was completely unguarded, and you could easily take photos, or even walk right up to the front porch. Whether or not you should attempt to walk around the property is another matter, of course!

A slightly blurry photo of the mansion…apparently it’s hard to take pictures from a moving bus (or so I am told):

 

Town was pretty busy as we passed it by. It’s a pretty long walk from the furthest dock to town, FYI – I don’t know if the Star was just “lucky” to be docked there that day, but I think HAL is pretty much king in Alaska, and gets priority everywhere.

In town

 

Red Dog saloon

 

Mt. Roberts Tramway…going up!

 

 

Next up, our day’s not over yet! (when does it end...I know, I know)…our dinner in Sabatini’s, one of the dining highlights of our cruise.

[magictam]

Infi, I can't thank you enough for sharing your trip with us. The details and pictures are wonderful. Though this will be my 2nd time to Alaska, I'm just as excited as the first time. Your review is hyping up my excitment.

Thank you!!!!!

[bragstarr]

Infi, thanks for continuing. I leave in a week--how fast can you finish? Whale pics are amazing--I've done whale watching in Bar Harbor, ME but your pics are wonderful. I got a laugh out of the last picture of the Mt. Roberts Tram. I was wondering why they would have a banner hanging off the side of the tram and covering the windows--and it took me a minute to realize the banner was off the street light--the timing on that was pretty funny! PS Loved the crack about Alaska and Governor's Mansion!:rolleyes:

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I am really enjoying your review. It keeps on giving and giving. Thank you for all the time and detail that you have put into it.:)

[Clutterlady]

Keep those wonderful pictures coming!! Going to hate to see this thread come to an end:)

[Cruisex234]

Infi, thanks for continuing. I leave in a week--how fast can you finish? Whale pics are amazing--I've done whale watching in Bar Harbor, ME but your pics are wonderful. I got a laugh out of the last picture of the Mt. Roberts Tram. I was wondering why they would have a banner hanging off the side of the tram and covering the windows--and it took me a minute to realize the banner was off the street light--the timing on that was pretty funny! PS Loved the crack about Alaska and Governor's Mansion!:rolleyes:

 

LOL, I was thinking the samething as we too leave out in about week on the Star. :)

Any chance we can ask you again about the menus. I am trying to decide the nights to skip and book the speciality dining. When you have a moment of course. I think I read you said Italian night is Ketchikan.

Did they have crab legs on one of the formal nights? Which one?

Which nights did you skip? I think you are right in saying that we should probably dial DINE as soon as possible and book those dinners. Your insight would be very helpful.

 

Thanks!

[h3rjp]

You know what, Alaska has never been on my things to do. It think it just became one of them!

 

Wonder when they painted the logos on the bottom of the pools?

[traceye]

LOL, I was thinking the samething as we too leave out in about week on the Star. :)

Any chance we can ask you again about the menus. I am trying to decide the nights to skip and book the speciality dining. When you have a moment of course. I think I read you said Italian night is Ketchikan.

Did they have crab legs on one of the formal nights? Which one?

Which nights did you skip? I think you are right in saying that we should probably dial DINE as soon as possible and book those dinners. Your insight would be very helpful.

 

Thanks!

 

Crab Legs were on I believe Juneau night. Then I think they had them in HC lunchtime I think it was...maybe dinner, on Friday or Saturday. I had them in the dining room and they were delicious. The second formal night, the main dish was Lobster and Prawns....served together.

 

If you are not big fish eaters, there was one dinner night that almost everything on it was fish. I can't remember which night it was though. I think it was the night in Skagway...It all blends together.

 

Tracey

[Cyberhwk]

Thank you so much for the review. I'm going to be taking a ton of pictures when we hit the British Isles on the Crown next week. I may have to pass it on and do my own review even though this will be our first cruise on Princess.

 

Sounding like we better pick a night to hit Sabbatinis too. We've been hearing rave reviews from everywhere.

[Shifra]

:D Standing Ovation :D

 

I am looking forward to more.

[Pachutabelle]

Wonderful,wonderful whale pics! You really had a fantastic tour. Thanks for sharing.