Back from Alaska - Sea Princess

[Poppy01]

Arrived back yesterday in the UK from our cruise to Alaska on the Sea Princess. Overall we had a great vacation. The staterooms are smaller than the Coral but it wasn't really a problem. As usual too much food was consumed. We were on anytime dining and after a few days or so were able to reservce the same table, waiters and time. We were really happy with the dining experience and the waiters Nelson and Leo. Both were friendly and professional!

 

We had a issue on the ship but I am glad to say that Princess eventually resolved this but it did result in us writing a letter to the Captain and we believe they were generous in their compensation.

 

The Sea Princess is a bit worn in areas but is going into dry dock in San Francisco in September for a 2 week makeover.

 

Our best port of call was Juneau. We bought our a privately organised tour doing Whale Watching and Maindenhall Glacier for $100. The Whale Watching was a company called ORCA Enterprises and is a fantastic experience. We seen many Orca whales with calves! The whales were very curious and came right up to the boat. We also seen around 16 hump back whales doing and bubble net fishing which was an amazing experience.

 

In Juneau we also got a glimpse of a black bear as we were going up the cable car and after a further hike we seen a brown bear in the distance. In Ketchikan we seen salmoning spawning and a large number of eagles.

 

This trip has certainly given me life memories especially our luck with the wildlife!

 

Any questions about the trip then let me know :-):)

[mj5580]

Hello Poppy01, we're going on the Star Princess Alaska cruise embarking Sept 13th from Seattle. Probably the same itinerary as yours, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway then a run down to Victoria, BC. I'm glad to here of your positive experience with Princess including complaint resolution. This will be my wife and kid's first cruise and my first since 1987. We're really looking forward to the ship and the scenery. It may seem like a silly question but did you hear of anyone taking the fishing excursion and how they did? We are taking the Duck Boat tour as a family in the afternoon and I am going on the fishing excursion in the morning. Scheduling might be tight but I'll check with the staff to see if its feasible. Thanks for any input.

[Shogun]

Hi Poppy1,

 

Thanks for posting, my best and worest cruises were on the Sea Princess,

 

hope she looks good after her make over.

 

yours Shogun

[usandthekidz]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We depart on the Sea Princess on August 22. I hope we are as fortunate as you to view the wildlife of Alaska up close. How was the weather?? Did it rain a lot?? We are bringing our 4 year old and 8 year old. Did you see lots of kids?? Thanks for any other details you can offer.

[noj]

Poppy1, thanks for the report of your adventures while on the Sea Princess. Seeing a bear while riding the tram in Juneau was really a great bonus to that trip. We cruised on the Sea Princess though it has been awhile back! My wife usually gets to check people onto her from the San Francisco Port. We may see usandthekids or at least the ship. We are saling from Seattle on Aug 20th on the Sea Princess and will see many of the same ports of call.

Noj

[Cruisers from WA]

Thanks for sharing about your cruise!

 

Orca Enterprises is the BEST....we went about 5 years ago with Captain Larry, and when in Juneau in May of this year (on the Coral) we booked and paid for our Orca whale watching tour for September (cruise will be on the Golden).....I can't wait!:D

 

They told me at ORCA enterprises, Captain Larry was going to be filmed in June for the Travel Channel

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing!

[Poppy01]

Hello Poppy01, we're going on the Star Princess Alaska cruise embarking Sept 13th from Seattle. Probably the same itinerary as yours, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway then a run down to Victoria, BC. I'm glad to here of your positive experience with Princess including complaint resolution. This will be my wife and kid's first cruise and my first since 1987. We're really looking forward to the ship and the scenery. It may seem like a silly question but did you hear of anyone taking the fishing excursion and how they did? We are taking the Duck Boat tour as a family in the afternoon and I am going on the fishing excursion in the morning. Scheduling might be tight but I'll check with the staff to see if its feasible. Thanks for any input.

 

Yes there were quite a few children from babies to teenagers. There were clubs etc on for them. I didn't hear on anyone doing the fishing excursion but I know that if you do this via Princess you can bring your fish back with you and they will cook it. If there is an excursion that you really want to do then book via Princess but with the exception of Skagway there were huts outside the ship with tours and cheaper.

[Poppy01]

Thanks for sharing about your cruise!

 

Orca Enterprises is the BEST....we went about 5 years ago with Captain Larry, and when in Juneau in May of this year (on the Coral) we booked and paid for our Orca whale watching tour for September (cruise will be on the Golden).....I can't wait!:D

 

They told me at ORCA enterprises, Captain Larry was going to be filmed in June for the Travel Channel

 

It was Captain Larry who took us out with his fuzzy beard :D

They read Cruise Critic and asked if anyone is a member to write about them. We had an amazing experience with them and they were also really excited about the morning we had had saying it is the best they had seen. The good thing about our tour was that there wasn't that many people on the boat so you could move around easy either on the top deck or the back of the boat. Another great thing was when they put the mic in the water so we could hear the humpback whales communicating about when they should come up from the water to catch the fish in the bubble net. Amazing!

[Poppy01]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We depart on the Sea Princess on August 22. I hope we are as fortunate as you to view the wildlife of Alaska up close. How was the weather?? Did it rain a lot?? We are bringing our 4 year old and 8 year old. Did you see lots of kids?? Thanks for any other details you can offer.

 

It did rain quite a lot and was no warmer than 18 degrees celcius. Make sure you take a rain jacket. Victoria was warm though. Plus for viewing Tracy Arm from the deck take a hat and scarf as it will be cold and you will want to be outside at the front to view it. You will be amazed how blue it is. Take binoculars if you can to view the wildlife and to spot whales blowing from the ship.

[TracieABD]

Glad that you had a good trip.

[timetravler]

My husband and I will be on the sea Princess on 8-12 and can't wait. Thanks so much for your review.