Pleasant at sea, disappointing on land

Grand Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 41

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Grand Princess

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

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
The main dining rooms were good, though not as good as other Princess cruises that I have taken. The buffet food was fairly lifeless, though.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
The on-board activities were catered to a retired crowd, which I and my family are not. My fault for choosing a cruise on which mostly retirees are present, but a more diverse array of activities would have been nice.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Service is always top-tier.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
The layout was fine and navigable. The ship is starting to show its age: wall corners' paint is eroded, buckling of ceiling seams, scratches on cabin bathrooms, and, for our cabin, a loose towel rack that continually fell on the floor.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
The cabin was small, though comfortable and clean.

Ship tip

Lowered expectations will serve you well.

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

3 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

2 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

3 out of 5

Cruise Glacier Bay

5 out of 5

Cruise College Fjord, Alaska

5 out of 5

Whittier (Anchorage), Alaska

3 out of 5
Just disembarked.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 41

7 Comments

dkantouth    2 years ago

A little research could have made your trip more enjoyable. We had no issues getting around with the town being so small. We were going to do a do it yourself again this year but just stuck around Anchorage due to cost which would have been close to the Princess price for 2.

romantikcruiser    2 years ago

For those planning any cruise it is a good idea to do some research … a good TA would let you know that any cruise over ten days will bring an older crowd…younger people have $$$ concerns and trouble getting time off from work … and Denali controls access to preserve the beauty and to reduce the number of incidents from human animal contact … and as we approach rutting season that’s a real issue… and spotting wildlife on a tour is always catch-as-catch-can

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Sorry this trip didn’t meet your expectations.

kdlady    2 years ago

The Alaskan cruises are geared toward the retired/elderly set. None of them have the types of activities I've experienced on Caribbean cruises.

javawoody    2 years ago

Appreciate the update

RetiredRay    2 years ago

Never heard that about the Denali trip, interesting.