This was our second Alaska Cruise with Princess, and both of them were excellent. We enjoyed the first one 10 years ago that we always wanted to come back. This was the year. We took the land portion of the Cruise and visited the McKinley Lodge, the Denali Lodge, and for the first time we went to the Copper River Lodge. The Copper River Lodge was well worth the trip. We took the ATV Adventure with Big John, and had an extremely entertaining time, and saw parts of Alaska that were beautiful. At the Copper River Lodge, we found that it was very organized and extremely clean. This appeared to be due to the manager who was always around and seemed eager to assist with any request. Could not say enough about the quality of care that everyone showed at Copper River. We did get some real assist from the Manager of the Gift Shop at McKinley Lodge. I had a brand new shirt in a wrapper that was mislabeled as to size. She was able to find me several tee shirts in a size that would fit me. I owe her for making a day that would have been miserable into one that I truly enjoyed. Thank You!! I would also like to mention Monica Membery from the Grizzly Bar and Grill. She had a Great attitude and was willing to go the extra mile to make her customers happy. She is a model employee, and when I was in business, I would have liked to have a full crew of employees like her.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was quick and efficient. No wait, and we could go right to our stateroom. Our luggage was already in our room.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
We had picked anytime dining. We were unable to make a reservation for dinner in the dining room, and we tried every day, and different times of the day from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm for the next day. One night the assistant maitre'd did not know where table 59 was and we took a circuitous route around the entire dining room. The food and wait staff were excellent and did a terrific job. I do want to comment on the chaos at the Wheelhouse bar. We waited over 20 minutes to place a drink order while the seven servers were all congregated at the front of the bar. During that 20 minutes only the small area directly in front of the bar received any attention, and the rest of the room was ignored. During the time I watched, at least seven groups got up and left. It might help if they were allowed to pour a double if you have purchased a drink plan, rather than having to keep trying to flag down a server (good luck) when you were finished your first drink. They really need to get a handle on this as it is the largest bar on the ship.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We attended some of the lectures, some of the contests and several of the special venues. All were interesting and we had a good time. The match game was a real hoot!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
While we did not attend any of the stage shows, we really enjoyed the wide variety of musical entertainment. I can say with no hesitation that you could find a musical genre that you would like. The groups and soloists were all of high quality, and we looked forward to discovering new acts every evening.
Children's Programs
c
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward Ruben was very nice and took great care of us. Our room was always impeccably clean and made up. Due to the way the dining worked we never had the same waiters twice, but they were always excellent, and took very good care of our wants and needs.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is well laid out, and easy to get around. The common areas were very clean and very well maintained. There are areas on the outside of the ship that you can see from the inside that look like they need some maintenance, but that would need to be done when the ship is ashore. ie around some of the windows, there are signs of significant rust. That does occur when you are in a salt water environment, and since all of the areas that can be reached have been well maintained, I see no reason to doubt that these areas will be addressed when it is time for routine maintenance.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was spic and span, and kept ship shape by our steward. It was very comfortable and more than adequate in size. We were traveling with another couple, and we were allowed to have the door between our balconies opened. This was terrific.
Ship tip
Use the covered adult swimming area with their very comfortable loungers. Very nice. If you enjoy getting to know your waiters, go with early or late seating dinner.
We had a great excursion up to the Mushers Camp on a bus and ATV's. We would highly recommend this excursion. It will open your eyes to a different world.
We went on a whale watching trip that was outstanding, We saw a lot of whales, Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals and other wildlife. It was not a ships tour. We went with an independent company because of their well know reputation, and small number of passengers per boat. It was also significantly less expensive.
Sounds like you had a great time we went to Alaska a few years ago always said we will be back booked for may 18 island princess back to Alaska countdown 😎
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