We had a great time and recommend this cruise. The Glaciers are receding so it was good to see them now. Island Princess is a nice, smaller ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
My husband has a problem with walking distances. The embarkation procedure was spread out over a large area. We had Princess arrange everything, so we were one of the first people to embark. The system worked pretty well but there was an awful lot of walking from place to place and then sitting for quite a while before getting on.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The main dining room (Bordeaux) was good and the specialty restaurants were really good - we went to both of them. The waiters in the specialty restaurants were exceptional, very efficient, friendly and fun. The buffet was also good - nice variety each day. It was sometimes difficult to find seats for 4, but the staff was very helpful and friendly.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
This is a smaller ship, and we didn't do any of the daytime activities. On Port days we were ashore (my husband uses a motorized scooter on board and he was able to take it off at each port) and on sea days the scenery was so spectacular that we spent the time either on our veranda or on deck
Entertainment
5 out of 5
For a smaller ship, the entertainment was good. The musicians in the various lounges were mostly really good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The personnel on this ship were excellent. Everyone we came in contact with was friendly and helpful. Our room steward, Marius, was great.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship's design is good. Since it is smaller it's easy to navigate. It was very clean and they provided plenty of hand washing stations and hand sanitizer units all over the ship. It was nice to see most people utilizing them.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a "handicapped" room to accommodate the electric scooter. As such, it was large and the bathroom was very big. The shower was huge by ship standards and had excellent safety features. Our friends, and other people we talked too, all mentioned how small their showers were. It was a running joke with them not to "drop the soap" or you'd have to get out of the shower to pick it up.
Ship tip
Since this is a smaller ship, the shopping options on board are limited and the casino is small. The great thing about this cruise, for us, was that we could take the motorized scooter off the ship at every port and there were many excursions that could accommodate the scooter.
Icy Strait Point is small and very commercial. Took the bus ($5 round trip) the short distance into Hoonah. We wanted to see that town since we'd seen it featured so much on Alaskan reality TV shows. There was really nothing there. It's a small, uncommercial village.
Nice City. We took the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts ( the scooter could go in the tram). The ride up was fun and the view from the top was great. There are shops and restaurants and a nice video about the Tlingit Indians.
Really enjoyed this city. We took the White Pass & Yukon Railway tour - they had a lift and a special car for people with scooters, wheelchairs and walkers. The ride was spectacular.
Glacier Bay is beautiful. Rangers come on board and give lots of information while you sail through the Bay. We had fantastic weather all week, so everyone was on deck to see the scenery.
Glacier Bay was beautiful, but College Fjord was spectacular! There were quite a few tidewater Glaciers and the Harvard Glacier was incredible. The onboard Naturalist gave a running commentary as we cruised through. It was broadcast on all the outside decks, so again we all spent the day outside. We loved the explanation of how College Fjord got its name!
Small town pretty much dedicated to the cruise ship terminal. We took the Princess Bus to Anchorage and before we went through the tunnel the bus driver gave us a tour of the town and it's history.
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