Pleasant at sea, disappointing on land
Grand Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska
14 Night Voyage Of The Glaciers Grand Adventure (Vancouver Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 17, 2022
Ship: Grand Princess
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: B414
Traveled as: Family (young children)
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
The overall rating listed for the cruise is 3.5, but I would rate it as a 3.0 at best. The cruise itself was fine, but the 3-day land portion was, at its very best, disappointing. A domed-sightseeing train trip into Denali was interesting. The narration was informative, but 8 hours of train travel and nearly 8 hours of constant narration was grating. The whole of the Denali experience was that of a lightly-prodded, very comfortable cow. We were transported en masse to a Princess-owned "resort"/jumble of apartments+restaurant, allowed to check-in to the room and go to a lodge or go an excursion, and wake up the next day and do the very same thing. The schedule of Denali transports and Princess-shuttling to the next Princess motel were incompatible, and several of the more interesting excursions were simply not possible. In addition, the Princess lodge was not located near anything that could be accessed WITHOUT a Princess shuttle or excursion package. So, I couldn't actually go into Denali or hike anywhere, which is a tremendous waste of travelling into the Alaskan wilderness, not to mention money and time. A better arrangement of scheduling between the shuttles and the excursion providers would be appreciated. My family agreed that we will certainly return to Alaska, but not through anything resembling a Princess-administrated package. A shame, too, since the cruise was fairly nice and well-organized.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Lowered expectations will serve you well.
Ports of call
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
Disembarkation
7 Comments
dkantouth 2 years ago
romantikcruiser 2 years ago