Lucky cruisers! The weeks prior to our cruise showed rain, wind and cold weather in Alaska. We were ready for it, but got a great surprise all week long. One of the first days had clouds and wind, so we didn't get much deck time. The rest of the week offered either great sunny deck time or sunny excursions. The crew was gracious, polite and helpful, and they did all they could to make our trip as memorable as possible. Entertainment was fun, food was delicious -- pizza, burgers, tacos, hot and cold beverages on deck -- and the bartenders made us feel like family. What more can a person ask for on vacation?
Embarkation
5 out of 5
First time I embarked through the Seattle area. Staff was helpful
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Every area was as good as we had expected. We read reviews from previous travelers, some saying that the food and drinks were boring and lacked flavor or excitement. Maybe a little, but if it didn't fit our needs we just moved on. Lots of other choices, and we would always find something to work for us
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
we took part in a few of the quiz programs run by the assistant cruise director Judy. We also watched their version of two lies and a truth, and that was VERY entertaining!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We went to all of the shows and the only one that annoyed me was the opera-singing showcase. Not my cup of tea.... The best one was the last-minute arrival of REBEL (3 members of Tenors of Rock). They were amazing and had a great stage show.
Children's Programs
no kids or grandkids with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is always the best part of a Princess cruise, and we had great service with the workers we met. The dining room steward would check in with us each evening, and our servers would ask us about our highlights of the day. And of course, he encouraged us to try new foods. "you're on vacation, time to splurge"
Our room steward was very polite and attentive. He also helped out a few times with little changes to our room
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We already knew the basic layout, so it was very easy to navigate. The staff and crew kept the entire ship spotless
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had 2 twins pushed together for a queen. It was comfortable, but the beds were curved with a ridge in the middle, exactly like the mattress we have at our house. lol
Ship tip
Be adventurous and don't hesitate to try new things. If it doesn't fit what you are looking for, move on. There are so many great options, look for the best parts and enjoy the adventure.
Amazing weather. Lucky us. Too bad we didn't have more time in the port before our excursion. We took the Mendenhall Glacier/whale watching excursion. The glacier site was crowded, the glacier itself was meh, but the whale watching was beyond perfect! We had beautiful sunny weather, the ocean was smooth as glass, and one of the juvenile blue whales played around right next to our boat, so close that the captain had to kill the engine for 10 minutes before it swam away.
Another great day for an excursion. The weather was warm and sunny with almost no wind. We took the rainforest hike and totem park excursion, and the highlight was seeing a black bear beneath our boardwalk. He obviously didn't care about us humans since the salmon were waiting for him. The totem pole park was also pretty interesting. Our rainforest hike was easy on the legs, and our leader went slowly and explained a lot that the city slickers probably appreciated. ANNND, the best part of this port was that we got souvenirs for the grandkids at the end-of-season discount.
Ugh. We went straight from the ship to our transfer, ending up at the airport for waaaaay too long. This put a damper on the rest of our trip, but in retrospect it was only part of one day.
We paid for the transfer to the airport but didn't get our transfer tickets. The staff in the building helped get us on the shuttle bus without any challenges.
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