Back from Alaska-The Golden Princess (6/20-6/27)

[kimchee1212]

How scary is the suspension bridge? Does it swing a lot when folks are walking on it? I'm not too comfortable with heights, even though I did the zipline in Ketchikan last time.

 

I had the same fears, and with 30 people on it, even with thirty people on it ,with children jumping, it didn't even move an inch. I am sure that the zipline is much more intense than the bridge.

[Solstice23]

Thanks for a wonderful information

[kikithe1c]

Thank you for all the information on the teen/kid activities. I think my son and daughter will have an amazing time. My son is looking forward to eating. I am glad to hear that there are a lot of activities for them. I am guessing that they have a different schedule than the normal daily paper so they'll know what's going on.

[Jack(not my real name)]

Thanks -- that was a lot of information in a small space. Looking forward to more.

[kimchee1212]

Thank you for all the information on the teen/kid activities. I think my son and daughter will have an amazing time. My son is looking forward to eating. I am glad to hear that there are a lot of activities for them. I am guessing that they have a different schedule than the normal daily paper so they'll know what's going on.

 

 

Yes they do. They get a letter with a schedule for all seven days when you enter your room for the first time :)

[Rocky Mtn Mustang]

Thanks for all the great information. I'll be leaving on the Golden Princess on July 11th. Which will be my second cruise. You are really making me excited now.:) Glad to hear that there is plenty of Alaskan seafood served on this cruise. What are the gals and guys wearing on the formal nights? Since this is Alaska is it less formal? Should my husband being a suit jacket? I hope we don't run into fog at the Tracey Arm Fjord. I've heard it's to die for.

[TracieABD]

Thanks for all the great information. I'll be leaving on the Golden Princess on July 11th. Which will be my second cruise. You are really making me excited now.:) Glad to hear that there is plenty of Alaskan seafood served on this cruise. What are the gals and guys wearing on the formal nights? Since this is Alaska is it less formal? Should my husband being a suit jacket? I hope we don't run into fog at the Tracey Arm Fjord. I've heard it's to die for.

 

Hi-

There is a "roll-call" for this cruise posted under Princess roll-calls. We will have a CC meet and greet at 2pm on Sunday. Please, sign on to the roll call if you are interested.

See you there!

TL

[kimchee1212]

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

 

Today was Tracy Arm. I didn't want to miss this at all, as I expected it to be the highlight of our cruise. Set my alarm nice and early for either 6 or 7 AM, don't recall. When I woke up, we were treated to islands and icebergs outside of our balcony. However, I knew that our ship was not yet in the Fjord. Soon after, our ship was COMPLETELY blanketed in fog, and our fog horn was blowing nice and loud every minute. I, personally, love hearing that sound, but I wasn't happy that our fjord would be missed by fog. It then disappeared, and I heard the three tones, meaning an announcement was coming. As soon as I heard the word, "safety", I knew what was coming. We were going to skip Tracy and visit Endicott, which the Captain soon announced. I was slightly disappointed, but I was still looking forward to it. The Endicott Arm Fjord is one of the most beautiful places I've even seen. Granite walls surround and tower the ship, and seem so close to the rails that you can almost touch the cliffs. Icebergs, some HUGE, surround the ship, and the movie Titanic comes into mind. I was surprised that we could just run right over them without a problem. We passed the Star Princess while entering, nearing the Dawes Glacier. They were SO loud and we were quiet, but passengers on the Star say the opposite. View the Star here:

 

 

That was a very interesting experience! We then got unbelievably close to the Dawes Glacier, as close as we can go, and I praise Captain Foster for his commitment toward giving his passengers the best scenery. We even went out of our way on our way to Ketchikan to visit an Island filled with bears, and to go to a different route to view whales. Captain Foster was great! The fjords are truly magnificent. Hundreds of seals lie on the icebergs. Pictures could not, absolutely could not, capture what we saw. We spent a good 4-5 hours in the fjord. After we left, we were still treated with scenery. GREAT day, highlight of the cruise by far. After exiting the fjord, we had a sea day-like schedule of activities. Before our wonderful dinner, we went to a magic show, featuring the magic of a name that slips me, Gaeteno or something like that. It was great! David Cole participated in a disappearance scene at the end, quite a surprise! Definitely see this. Dinner was the Chef's Dinner, something never before experienced on Princess. It was great, I had Alaskan King Crab Legs, Yum. They were nice and fat too :). After dinner, at 10:45, we went to the International Crew Show--the absolute highlight show of the cruise. The crew is so, so talented. Four singers, all better than the lounge singers. The band was fantastic. They really were great, like record-recording quality. I can't praise them enough :p. Comedy acts were good, final act was goofy--great show. Headed to bed, and set a very early wake up alarm for Ketchikan the next day.

[kimchee1212]

Thanks for all the great information. I'll be leaving on the Golden Princess on July 11th. Which will be my second cruise. You are really making me excited now.:) Glad to hear that there is plenty of Alaskan seafood served on this cruise. What are the gals and guys wearing on the formal nights? Since this is Alaska is it less formal? Should my husband being a suit jacket? I hope we don't run into fog at the Tracey Arm Fjord. I've heard it's to die for.

 

 

We did sadly run into fog, but Endicott is said to be more beautiful by the captain and naturalist. Both are wodnderful, I'm sure!

 

Dress code was definitely lacking. I was somewhat disappointed, but I didn't let it bother me too much. I saw shorts, t-shirts, the works.

 

On formals, people were actually doing well. MOstly suits, few tuxes for men, women had dresses for the most part.

 

On another note, my picture album was deleted. All 800+ will be up tomorrow, I'm sure.

[kimchee1212]

Thursday, June 25, 2009

 

Today was Ketchikan. We set our alarm for 7, and we were off the ship at 7:30. We were only in port until Noon today, and all aboard was at 11:45, so we had to get a nice and early start. We got off the boat, and went to the visitor's center, where we decided to purchase a tour for $35 pp that took us to creeks and waterfalls, it was short and adequate, but I was expecting a bit more. We saw tens of bald eagles in flight, including the nest. I thought that the totem pole visit was a waste of time, as they have been touched by modern man for touch-ups, major touch ups. We walked around town, and it was a nice little town, my favorite that we visited. We had some fish and chips by the pier and it was the best that I've ever had, without a doubt. Crispy, without being greasy, it was just perfect. We then entered a looong line to get back on board, but we didn't mind too much. We went on board, but we didn't sail until 12:30 because of the long lines to get back. We enjoyed the rest of they day at sea, and we had a nice and scenic sailaway as well. We had lunch in the dining room and the rest of the day flew by, and before I knew it, it was time for a second formal and our last night with our wonderful servers in the dining room. Dinner was great. Beef wellington was much improved then from when it was last had on Princess, and the lobster was good as always. Tomorrow was Victoria--er, was supposed to be.

[kimchee1212]

Friday, June 26, 2009

 

Today was our last day of the cruise :(. It went by oh so fast. It was a sea-day like of activities until we were schedule to reach Victoria around 7 PM. We would be having the Crown Grill at 6 PM. During the day, we watched movies like Gran Torino,at 3 PM, which was very good-- as well as having our final dining room lunch, going to the Culinary Show and Galley Tour, as well as taking a nice visit to the dessert buffet which was open from 11:30 AM-2 PM. The fruit tart was great! :D. After those activities, it was already 5:30 and we had our scheduled dinner at 6. We got dressed in normal smart casual attire, and we went to the Crown Grill, and we enjoyed our almost free dinner, because of the Twitter Contest that I won. I must add that getting this recognized was difficult. I had to spend $12 at the internet cafe just to print out and prove that we had actually won something, and several visits to the Purser's Desk later, they finally contacted corporate and our OBC was added. The Crown Grill was very good. I had a 4 oz. lobster tail and a filet mignon, which was perfectly cooked and very tender. During dinner, I noticed that the ship had stopped right outside of Victoria. I could see the buildings of the town quite well, even the Empress Hotel. But right after I finished my steak, I heard the three tones, and I heard the word "safety" again, and I had a strong hunch that we'd be skipping Victoria. The Captain said winds were much too high, approaching 25 knots, and that the ship couldn't handle it. I went outside to the deck shortly after the announcement and felt no wind at all, but oh well, I trust the Captain's judgement. We were looking forward to this port though. They sent a tender with a few passengers ashore to comply with law, and then we set sail quite early. Dessert at the Crown Grill was very good. My molten chocolate lava cake was pure batter, and our waiter insisted that he had to report it to the Executive Chef, so he did, but everyone else's souffle was delicious! DH went up to the room, full and uncomfortable, and called it a night really early. DS and I went to the dining room, as he loves the Princess souffle on the last night with that warm vanilla sauce, so we said that we'd go just for dessert and to see our wonderful dining team again. We had our souffles and our waiter ended up talking to us for a good hour and a half. The other tables in our area were getting ignored :p. The Head Waiter came in and joined the conversation for thirty minutes as well, haha.We had a very funny conversation. We thought we'd be there for ten minutes, but we stayed longer that passengers that had the full dinner :). We gave our servers a big hug at the end, and took a picture, and then we left :(. I headed to bed after this but DS went to watch Princess Pop Star Finale in the Princess Theater. Then DS went to bed, and we had to disembark the next day.

[kimchee1212]

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Disembarkation day. Blech! We woke up at 7 AM, and we vacated our stateroom as requested around 8. We then had a nice breakfast in the dining room ( a first for me again), and we headed to.....our meeting place. We had silver 6 tags, and we had to meet in the Vista Lounge at 9 AM. We went into the lounge at exactly 9 AM, and they called our tags at 9:01. I've never had that happen before; it's usually 30 minutes of a delay for each tag, but that was surprising. We were off the ship quickly, and we headed to the luggage area. They should have more signage in this area, but the collection was typical---chaotic. After about 20 minutes, we found all of our bags, and we headed past customs, out of the port, and into a taxi. There was barely a line for this, actually there wasn't a line, even at a peak time like 9:30 AM. We had wanted to go into town, but we had luggage and it was $50 in and out of SEATAC, something we didn't want to pay, so we tried to get on an earlier flight. OUr flight was scheduled for 3:35, but we arrived at 10:40, and they put us on standby for the 11:50 flight out of Seattle to LAX. We were called up at the gate, and they told us that they had 2 seats for us, so we didn't take it--one extra. The next man had a wife and a young child with him, and he completely left his wife and child there to wait. After he got on the plane, his wife was quite mad! We waited the four hours, and I started this review :).

My sister picked us up and drove us home, and we relaxed. Didn't get home until 7ish, so it was a long day. We slept long and hard.

 

 

 

This was a fantastic cruise--my second favorite that I've completed. Alaska is so beautiful, and is a must-see. I would absolutely do it again. The Golden was beautiful and Vines, MUTS, and the International Cafe were icing on the cake. The food was wonderful--the best I've had on Princess, as was the service. Embarkation and disembarkation was simple, plenty of time to relax and to explore. Grade A cruise. Thank you Princess for a wonderful vacation.

 

My uploader says that 540 of the 821 pictures are processed, so I hope to have my full album up tomorrow. I'll let you know. Feel free to ask any questions.

[Dezheaven]

What is the cover charge for the Crown Grill?

[TracieABD]

Thank you so much for all of your posts. We leave in 10 days, and your log makes the wait almost unbearable!:o

I am glad that you had such a great cruise.

One quick question, and I am sure that you posted it earlier, how old is your son?

We have a 16 yo, and wondered if he would enjoy a cruise on Princess...

[Colo Cruiser]

What is the cover charge for the Crown Grill?

 

$25pp which includes the smaller lobster tail.

There is a $9 up charge the gives the option of a large Brazillian lobster tail/live Maine lobster.

You can order as many items on the entire menu as you wish. :D

 

It was a fantastic meal when we were on the Golden 3 weeks ago. ;)

[kimchee1212]

Thank you so much for all of your posts. We leave in 10 days, and your log makes the wait almost unbearable!:o

I am glad that you had such a great cruise.

One quick question, and I am sure that you posted it earlier, how old is your son?

We have a 16 yo, and wondered if he would enjoy a cruise on Princess...

 

Almost the same age--15 :)

[kimchee1212]

$25pp which includes the smaller lobster tail.

There is a $9 up charge the gives the option of a large Brazillian lobster tail/live Maine lobster.

You can order as many items on the entire menu as you wish. :D

 

It was a fantastic meal when we were on the Golden 3 weeks ago. ;)

 

 

Yep, it really is a fantastic meal. Unlimited orders really makes it tempting. If you only order an App,Soup or Salad, and a Steak, the server keeps waiting for more. We weren't sure if we could order unlimited things there, so we waited to watch the table next to us order, and they ordered the Large Brazillian lobster trail, a small lobster tail, the 22 oz steak, a soup, and an app--so after that, we knew that we could :D

[skogler]

Thank you for all the great information. Did they offer EZcheck? I read that you can check your baggage and get your boarding passes ahead of time. We have a 12:30 flight and plan to do that if they have it.

 

Scott

[kimchee1212]

Thank you for all the great information. Did they offer EZcheck? I read that you can check your baggage and get your boarding passes ahead of time. We have a 12:30 flight and plan to do that if they have it.

 

Scott

 

Yes, they did offer it.

[Jack(not my real name)]

This is great! I hope the buffet stewards keep up the good work, at least for a couple more weeks.

[kimchee1212]

I'm sorry, but after leaving my computer on for three days trying to get my pictures loaded up, it says it failed after being one picture away from completion, so for the time being, I have to give up :(

[Kylira]

I'm sorry, but after leaving my computer on for three days trying to get my pictures loaded up, it says it failed after being one picture away from completion, so for the time being, I have to give up :(

 

Thanks kimchee. Your review was perfect. It's made DH, Michael, and I even more excited for our trip. :)

[CrusinAgain]

I'm sorry, but after leaving my computer on for three days trying to get my pictures loaded up, it says it failed after being one picture away from completion, so for the time being, I have to give up :(

 

Just take a break. Its so much work to come home from vacation and get unpacked and get your personal life back to normal. I just got things back in order and I've been home for a week. Then you can try again. I pushed myself to write a huge review in the RCI forum before doing any of my personal stuff and not sure if that paid off but I think next time I'll take care of my own things first and then the review. Thanks so much for all the info you have provided. I'm so happy the Golden will be going to Glacier Bay next year.

[drmerwoman]

I was just wondering how you pre arranged for the shuttle to mendenhall. My husband and I would like to just do it on our own. Should we reserve this or bus it or cab there? thanks:D

[kimchee1212]

Just take a break. Its so much work to come home from vacation and get unpacked and get your personal life back to normal. I just got things back in order and I've been home for a week. Then you can try again. I pushed myself to write a huge review in the RCI forum before doing any of my personal stuff and not sure if that paid off but I think next time I'll take care of my own things first and then the review. Thanks so much for all the info you have provided. I'm so happy the Golden will be going to Glacier Bay next year.

 

I'll try again later :p

 

And, I can't believe that they are going to Glacier Bay--makes me feel like I went a little too early