This was my favorite vacation in recent memory. I was so relaxed, and there were plenty of interesting things to do. I enjoyed the naturalist lectures, the sled dog talk, the shows, the Sudoku and Trivia challenges, the excursions, the stretch and abs classes, and the pools. The Island Princess is a glorious ship, with an alert, friendly, and helpful staff. The wait staff in the dining room was superb, and the menu choices and presentations were out of this world. Fabulous buffets too. The included excursions in Denali and Fairbanks were perfect and gave us thorough and fascinating introductions to the state and its history. Princess is expert at moving great numbers of people in a very organized way, without making us feel like sheep. I felt that we were all treated with respect and courtesy at all times.
Ship Experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It was actually more spacious than I had imagined. There was ample space to put clothes on shelves and store empty suitcases, and we never felt crowded.
Our steward was friendly, efficient and helpful.
Ship Tip
We put our life preservers on the bottom shelves and our clothes on the top ones, which created a cozy little "walk in closet" feeling just outside the bathroom door. We were issued a LOT of papers and invitations, which we kept on top of so that they didn't pile up. You'll love this cruise!
The Capilano Suspension Bridge was fascinating, and fun to explore the tree maze. Worth seeing.
We took an all-day bus trip to Vancouver Island, and toured the Parliament building and the lovely Butchard Gardens. The ferry ride was fun and festive!
BEST TIP: Get to Vancouver Place several hours early, and go to the FLY OVER CANADA show. An amazing experience! Buy tickets online the night before to save money and skip the long lines. We reserved a 10 am show, which got us to boarding in good time.
We did a walking tour of Ketchikan, on our own.
Saw the Salmon Ladder, lots of historic homes, and the Totem Pole museum, as well as many nice gift shops. Great place to view salmon in action!
We walked a short distance to the White Pass and Yukon Route RR station, and bought tickets for the round trip morning train. This was the MOST fun excursion. After lunch we shopped and went to a show called the Days of '98, which was very entertaining.
Go outside and listen to the naturalist and/or rangers. You will see plenty of sea life! Very cold outside. I wore a down jacket with a scarf and gloves!
AMAZING. Very cold to be out watching the glaciers. I took a compactable down jacket and wore it with a scarf and gloves! When they say you can see sea life from 5:30-6:30, they are not kidding.
I transferred here to the train to Talkeetna. We loved Talkeetna, especially the Spinach Bread food truck. A lovely town to explore on foot! In Fairbanks, the Nenana River White Water Rafting trip was an unforgettable ride.
We would like to have been warned to bring an extra zipped tote bag for sending formal clothes ahead to Fairbanks.
I was so relaxed and stress free on the island princess and even being back to NJ since August 11th and going back to work my stress is still at an all time low in the past 10 plus years. Their slogan come back new sure range true for me!
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