Princess is pricey. We did a 7 day on the Dawn back in 1999 and this time included a 6 day land package (2 Mt. McKinley Lodge, 2 Denali Lodge & 2 in Fairbanks). Princess service ends when we left the ship in Whittier. The train seating was cramped and uncomfortable although the car attendant was very good as a guide and story teller. Bus transportation was also cramped, probably like the airlines new “basic” with no leg room. The drivers though were all very good.
Rooms at McKinley (the lodge was beautiful) and Denali (more asphalt than grass) were 2* “Best Western” at best. McKinley had nice dining venues, Denali, not so much. While we enjoyed the excursions very much, I don’t give Princess credit since they’re available to anyone. The Denali Park tour which we upgraded from the included 5 hour tour to the more extensive 8 hour was wonderful (the bus sucked) and the Fairbanks riverboat excursion was excellent. No tour was included at McKinley so we bought a very nice flight tour (the glacier landing was canceled).
None of the Princess hotel rooms had air conditioning and the weather was quite warm (just plain cheap). In Fairbanks we stayed at the non-Princess Bear Lodge which did have (noisey) air conditioning. The facility was nice as was the limited menu but for 3 or our 4 days (we extended our stay) the room maids failed to lock the door to our room when done and our daily complaint to the front desk didn’t correct the problem. In all our years of travel this has never happened before. The hotel shop was closed for our last 3 days which was inconvenient since the hotel is isolated.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The embarkation process was relatively painless. We cleared CBP processing before boarding but were unable to use our Global Pass status to speed up the process. Our room was ready on boarding and we headed to the dining room for lunch before walking the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
I don’t understand why all cruise lines seem opposed to traditional dining. We were told no tables were available but when we arrived at 5:15 nightly we had no trouble being seated with strangers. Traditional makes the seating process quicker since you can avoid the maitre d and escort process by going direct to your table and you never got to know your evening waiters. That said, we enjoyed the many people we dined with over the next 7 days. Most surprising, but nice, were the number of passengers from Australia & New Zealand.
Overall food experience was excellent. The buffet gets a “C” while the dining room gets an “B+”. Both grades would be higher if the venues were adequately staffed. Shortage of staff was apparent throughout the ship, which puts pressure on those working and did impact overall service. Do not like being interrupted during dinner for photos and other sales attempts, ie. pressured to buy a shot-glass every night.
The Bayou Cafe was a disappointing specialty restaurant. The food wasn’t special and the service was spotty. A valuable window view had been taken up by a serving station. People we met were not able to get reservations although the restaurant was only 40% full. 3 servers weren’t enough. The bars associated to the specialty restaurants didn’t open until the restaurant did which meant you had to wait in the corridor until 5:30.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We found the ship to be beautiful and well maintained but the layout was a bit confusing. The forward elevators stopped descending at deck 7 although there were shops, restaurants, etc. on decks 5 & 6. Since our cabin was forward we had to go to mid-ship to go down to the dining room, shops, etc. All theatre presentations on Alaska ended with someone spending to much time hyping Diamond International, like Alaska is a Diamond mecca, or other Princess shopping/spending venues. I still have the ad for free sheets if I were to have bought a mattress. Who would do that?
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Overall entertainment was so-so with average presentations for the most part. The theatre and stern lounge were under utilized. On our first Princess cruise they had full shows at each venue every night, not on this cruise though. They even used the stern lounge to show a movie one night.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The initial ship’s captain was very outgoing and could be heard over the PA system several times a day. A new captain boarded in Juneau and we never heard a word from the bridge again. Very strange. Cabin service was very good. Bar & restaurant service was spotty because of the shortage of staff. We did become regulars at 2 locations so 2 specific servers provided excellent service. Drink service was virtually non-existent before the nightly theatre performance.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
We enjoyed our sea days very much but found to many venues closed during the day. Specialty restaurants should be open for lunch, several bars were closed until late afternoon and of course there were the lounge chair “pigs” who leave towels and disappear. The card & game room were not adequately promoted and could have used puzzle tables.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Our balcony cabin, far forward on Dolphin deck 9, was small but comfortable and included a large closet. The only negative was the size of the shower.
Ship tip
We prefer forward cabins because we enjoy the wave action.
The salmon/gold pan excursion in Skagway was 1*. The salmon was full of bones (Costco salmon is better and bone free), $8 for a beer (really?), an 8” gold pan and a hand full of dirt. Oh, I forgot about the show. I wish I could forget about the show.
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