Glaciers Are Magnificent!

Item: Star Princess
Rating: 3.3
Author: secretchef

Star Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

secretchef

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 22

Overall rating:

3.3 out of 5

7 Night Voyage Of The Glaciers Northbound (Vancouver To Anchorage)

Sail date: July 15, 2017

Ship: Star Princess

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: P307

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Cruising is the best way to see the inside passage. The people are the best part, the service is great. Having shopping shoved down my throat at every turn was enough to spoil what should have been a wonderful vacation. I will never cruise again, I will warn others about this.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Customs was well organized, but the lines were horrific. Took 4 hours to get through it all.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Food was good for the most part, service was outstanding.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

We enjoyed the shows.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

We enjoyed the shows. Also enjoyed the ranger presentation in Glacier Bay.

Children's Programs

No children.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Every staff member was knowledgeable and courteous. They are BOMBARDED with questions and, no matter how strange the question, they do their best to help.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The design and cleanliness was very good. I liked seeing maintenance being done every time we stopped.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The cabin was fine. Large enough, lots of storage, everything worked. The mattress was pretty bad! Ii was too thin and felt sort of like it was stuffed with straw. Those mattresses need to be UPGRADED!

Ship tip

Here's a valuable tip: Get ready for a Tsunami of shopping to be shoved down your throat! The constant, unrelenting pressure to buy more stuff, spend more money, is disgusting! I can not state this more strongly without swearing! I will never cruise again. A cruise should be about the destination and the experience; learning about the places, people, and culture. The focus of the cruise is about the people, places and culture...as represented by buying stuff at every turn. It made me very angry. Princess is clearly all about getting as much money as possible from every soul on board. I will NEVER CRUISE AGAIN.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

2 out of 5

Ports were interesting, but mostly just another shopping experience. Not interested. 5he M3ndenhall Glacier was amazing.

Thumbs Up 3

Ketchikan, Alaska

1 out of 5

Shopping, shopp8ng, shopping. Clearly, some shops are connected to Pr8Ness. Another disappointment.

Thumbs Up 2

Juneau, Alaska

2 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

2 out of 5

Whittier (Anchorage), Alaska

2 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Very easy. Transfers and transportation throughout the trip have been flawless.

4 Comments

cruisellama 5 years ago

Thanks

Thumbs Up 0

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BevDale 7 years ago

It's the way these small ports stay alive. If you don't like shopping then might I say, don't shop. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to partake. I would not blame it on the cruise ship though. All the shopping on the ship is on one floor. Don't go to that shore.

Thumbs Up 1

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GIL155 7 years ago

Crap! Sorry about the on board selling. I wish it was not so.

Thumbs Up 0

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chicpeach 7 years ago

I don't pay any attention to the plugs for the shops in port. shopping is not my thing, but there are people who literally go on cruises to shop, those are the people those seminars and TV ads are for.

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