Jump to content

lucywestie

Members
  • Posts

    464
  • Joined

About Me

  • Location
    Alberta

lucywestie's Achievements

Cool Cruiser

Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  • Great Review Rare

Recent Badges

  1. We were on Sapphire Princess back in September. Did same Glaciers. I know on the morning as they were sailing into Hubbard they had a naturalist right at the bow of the ship. I walked by around 10am and there were maybe 15-20 people there while she tried to spot wildlife. Lots of space. Later in the day plus for Glacier bay people were just out on deck at all levels and moving from side to side. Once at the actual Glaciers like Hubbard or Harvard the captain will usually rotate the ship. On Sapphire the promenade deck was 7 and the only issue I could see with that is there are pillars/life boats etc. in the way which could ruin a photo. Maybe better to be at the top of the shop where there are less obstructions
  2. Just got off the Sapphire Princess after a 14 day cruise to Whittier and back from Vancouver. We hit Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan twice. Ketchikan first and second time were both overcast but warmish. Juneau was raining both times. Skagway was reasonably clear and sunny both times. Whittier on change around day it was pouring down. For our two trips into the Hubbard Glacier the ship got in close both times even though there was lots of mist and cloud cover. Glacier Bay NP was beautiful sunshine all day long. College Fjord was overcast but still got in close to the main glaciers. I have been 3 times in September. First trip in 2007 we had sunny weather in all the ports. 2nd cruise in 2010 it rained and rained.
  3. We just got off the Voyage of the Glaciers on the Sapphire Princess (returned Sept 20). Our turn around day was in Whittier which is where I am assuming you will be boarding the ship. We did the Phillips 26 Glacier cruise out of Whittier. I think it was about $200 per person. We had a very wet and rainy day with a lot of cloud cover. They don't promise to see wildlife but you hope you do. The problem is on the way out of Whittier we passed a raft of sea Otters and the boat just flew by them without commenting or stopping. There were probably a good 150 people on board. Why I mention this is that we shared a table with a couple who were doing Alaska their own way. They were staying at a hotel in Anchorage called the Alyeska or something similar. They loved it. They had rented a car and were doing their own thing their own way. The husband was also renting a bicycle the following day to get out and about to have a look. They were really happy about their decision though they weren't actually doing a cruise. We also met a lot of people fresh off the Princess land tour portion and quite a few of them seemed to be moaning that they hadn't seen any wildlife and that they would have had to pay for extra excursions to get deeper into the parks etc. This was our third trip to Alaska and probably our last. The big think for Alaska is the ports and what you can do while in port. So whale watching out of Juneau etc. The towns themselves like Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan are pretty much just gateways to the interior. Lots of souvenir shops in all the towns which got a bit tiring on this trip as they all sell the same crap. You really have to book excursions to get outside. Skagway has the White Pass Railway etc.
  4. I meant the "traditional" dining rooms. So Santa Fe, Pacific moon etc.
  5. Well didn't I start a storm in a teacup here! I'm the OP for this thread. Glad to see that others on the cruise enjoyed their food, like I said, its all subjective/relative or whatever. What I did not mention though is that the crew on board were excellent. We only wanted the cabin serviced once a day and I'm sure that made our room attendant very happy! The staff in Crooners were great and by the second week I was getting a fist bump greeting from the wait staff in there so I must have been doing something right. We did have some rough weather but I believe they either sped up or slowed down so we only caught the tail end. I think the night we left Whittier it was rough and there were a few green faces and unsteady feet on the morning after from looking around the ship. We aren't the type of people to stick to one particular cruiseline. Princess is our third line and we would like to try Holland America or Celebrity. My brother has cruised Viking a lot which is a totally different world of cruising if what he tells me is correct and maybe thats something to aspire to! Glad to see others enjoyed the food part of the cruise. I could probably have lived off the fresh and crispy bread rolls if it came down to it as that's one of the great joys of cruising, fresh bread! We also like a smaller ship as others have mentioned and the 2500 approx. passenger total appeals to us. We did Royal's Navigator at 4600 and that was just to many people for us. I believe on the day we were in Juneau the Ovation of the Seas docked as it was sailing past us into port. What a massive ship. I think I counted 8 decks of balconies alone. Yikes. Happy cruising to all those who responded
  6. Thanks for the responses. Back at work and nothing to do soooo can post back. Forevercrusing - We drove from Calgary to Vancouver via Washington State so we parked our car at ParkNFly at the airport and took a taxi in. Our boarding time said something like 12pm but we got in to Canada Place very easily via taxi. Dropped bags off straight away and then followed all the signs to check in. It was all very efficient though a bit of line queuing and waiting but nothing extravagant. I would say there were approximately 500 people already there when we arrived but they had plenty of agents handing out the medallions etc. Thats one thing I forgot to mention in my review. We did like the medallions. We bought a couple of the wrist watch type straps on board to mount them in. Loved the "compass" to locate my wife and vice versa and we used that a lot. We found we could order specialty dining times on the app but not traditional dining. Eventually a crew member showed us how to reserve traditional dining on one of the screens next to the elevators. Not exactly private but its not like we were tapping into state secrets!! Yup, food is very subjective. Here in Canada I call going to the Keg steakhouse a good night out with decent food. Thats about where my food expectations lie! We were just very disappointed this time around. Our last cruise was in 2017 on NCL Jade and RCI Rhapsody. I don't really remember much about those apart from the Asian dining on Jade was very good. The international cafe was excellent though. Good sandwiches on fresh bread rolls. Muffins were good in the morning plus breakfast style sandwiches and burritos. This was our go to place when we got fed up with the other dining venues and the food! Princess does seem to get it bread right! Lots of crusty rolls etc. Coral - We have never done Sabatini's in the past as there seemed to be to much sea food but gave it a shot this time. They give you Arancini to start plus I think soup and salad. I also ordered the Porcini risotto as my first dish and it was excellent. I have never had risotto before and this was very tasty and well presented. I think I had the chicken marsala or some version thereof for second dish and that was also excellent. My wife had the meatballs and was happy with that. Desserts were very decadent and pretty tasty. I think we got a free glass of what I might call Prosecco to begin with as well but I don't drink wine so couldnt say for sure. Service was excellent though. We were first in line and snagged a seat right by the window which means we got a great view of Hubbard Glacier as the ship rotated late in the afternoon!
  7. So we sailed from Vancouver on Sept. 6th and returned Sept. 20th. We have cruised Sapphire before back in 2010 on a similar back to back though the second week was down the west coast. This cruise we hit the usual ports twice plus cruised College Fjord, Glacier National Park and Hubbard Glacier. We have cruised other lines as well and tend to cruise for the ship rather than the ports, especially as this was our third Alaska cruise. My post may offend a few people but I was so mad about the quality of the cruise that I had to say something. (I know what my mum said about if you have nothing good to say...but still) The Sapphire is certainly showing her age. We had an inside cabin on Deck 11 Baja. Don't mind an inside for Alaska this time of year as the weather was terrible pretty much every day apart from Glacier Park day. The cabin was exceedingly dated. Old shower curtain and a peeling mirror were the most noticeable things. Mattress was very lumpy and pillows of very poor quality. Very thin and lumpy and just past their use by date. I must admit the tv viewing in the cabin has certainly picked up with lots of update films to watch plus tv series etc. and we spent a fair few evenings in our room catching up on films etc. Our biggest gripe on the cruise was the quality of the food. I never once had a hot meal, whether in the traditional dining (we ate in the Sante Fe dining room but gave up after a few nights) or in the buffet. Everything seemed luke warm to tepid at the best of times. My wife is Italian and on the Italian night I had the chicken parmigiana which consisted of an obviously "out of a box" breaded chicken cutlet and a very obvious slice of process cheese thrown on top. The pasta sauce was like water. I left most of on the plate and the wait staff never enquired as to why I had left so much. One night I had the 8oz Sirloin that is always on the menu in the dining room and I never knew you could make a piece of meat so flavourless. That was the overwhelming take of the food on the cruise that there was barely any flavour to anything whether the meat or the desserts. The desserts may look nice but when you have a fudge cake that tastes just of lard you really do have a problem. Maybe the accountants have told them to cut back on seasonings etc. who knows. Worst meal of the cruise was in the Sterling Steakhouse. Had a rib eye that was all fat, not cooked properly and again, no seasoning etc. My wifes filet had to be sent back as it was bleeding to death on her plate. Again staff just didn't seem to care. Best meal on the cruise was Sabatini's. We have never been before but the food was good (almost hot and tasty) and the service impeccable. Entertainment was all the usual with the standard shows plus comedians etc. Had a good comedian the first week on board but we didn't bother with the second week. You had to be in the theatre by 7pm if you wanted a half way decent seat for the 730pm show. Lots of seat holding going on. Embarkation at Vancouver was easy though a long of walking was involved to get from one location to another. We got there for 1050am and were on board by 12 which wasn't to bad. Disembarking started off well but our whole group "Gold 04" walked right past all our luggage before I asked an employee where our luggage was located. No signs and nobody pointing our group in the right direction. Pretty shabby, get off the ship and get the next load on board. It just appears that Princess and maybe most cruise lines are trying to make up for what they lost during Covid. The cruise itself was not that expensive but you do expect halfway decent, hot and flavourful food if thats what you are paying for and we certainly didnt get that. We are not food snobs by any means and our expectations are pretty low but this really was taking the mickey on the cruise. Funny thing is though that we also went to the Twisted Fish in Juneau which we had fond memories of from our first Alaska cruise in 2007. The food there was actually worse than the ship, appeared that the oil for frying hadn't been changed in a long time and everything was tasteless, but they managed to charge the big bucks for it. Maybe that is life now, big business trying to recoup their losses at the cost of the paying customer. This cruise really put us off cruising for a while and our next trip will probably be a land based trip to the UK or similar. Though I was in the UK in May and faced similar situations there, poor quality, high prices and poor selection. Thus is the way of the world right now I fear.
  8. The last time we were in Bonaire we actually just hired a golf cart from a company on the island and you can drive around the whole island by yourself. Great way to get around and probably way cheaper than someone driving you. The carts have a big range and the island isnt that big anyway. Very easy to drive and great if the weather is sunny.
  9. Its been a long time since we were at ISP but I remember that my wife and I walked the one mile or so into town, had coffee at a local cafe and talked with the wife of the Chief of Police! We saw Bald Eagles out on the docks etc. and you are quite close to the ocean so keep an eye out for whales etc. Sorry I can't be of more help. Very nice and easy stroll if I remember, all flat and paved though I think you can get down onto the shoreline easily enough, infact I believe we walked there and back.
  10. We have only done Alaska cruises in September. Went with Harv & Marv one time. 6 people only on the boat. Was a nice trip but the Captain of the vessel decided not to follow the other boats and wanted to go her own way. All fair and well but we were extremely late to the party when a pod of 3 Humpbacks started breaching and tail slapping, we only caught the tail end of it. We saw an eagle before that. So I wasnt totally impressed. But yes, we saw lots of whales, especially from the ship. I was on deck a lot keeping an eye out. We are heading back for a two week cruise this coming September with Princess.
  11. Following along on your blog and here. We are on the Sapphire for the Glacier cruisek, 14 nights in September. The last time we were on board (maybe 13 years ago) they had a special drinks menu just for Alaska, mostly sort of creamy alcoholic drinks like the Dirty Banana but also others. Lots of chocolate, cream etc. Just wondering if they are doing the same on your cruise?
  12. Have sailed two previous Alaska/West coast cruises in mid to late september. In Juneau both times we had good weather, Ketchikan one sunny visit one rainy visit. Skagway two sunny visits. Seas were never really that rough and glacier viewing days tended to be overcast and cloudy but no substantial weather to talk about. We are heading out on a 2 week cruise leaving September 6th this year so will just take it as it comes I guess. Dress in layers so its easy to stay warm and dry or cool and drunk..I mean..dry...lol
  13. I seem to remember on our last Sapphire Princess cruise (approx. 13 years ago) they showed movies in the theatre on sea days. Is this still a thing? I know about movies under the stars but I liked the afternoons showings inside.
  14. Only our second Princess cruise and first time using this medallion thing. 1. Not getting an internet package so do we switch on airplane mode but switch wi-fi on? Will that give us access to Medallion features on board the ship like, finding each other etc. through ships intranet? 2. Assuming you have to have some kind of app installed on our separate phones (me and my missus) so that we can both use functions like finding each other? Is the App the Princess app or is it something different The pinned topic at the top of the board seems to be all over the place and really didnt want to search through hundreds of posts
  15. Just wondering what the other options are for parking close to the Canada Place in Vancouver when the cruise port parking is sold out for our dates? We are driving in from Calgary and staying at the Pan Pacific for two nights prior to the cruise. My only options right now seem to be to drive out to the airport and park at one of their lots and then take the train back into the city and then check out of the hotel and get on the ship. Just wondering if anyone who is familiar with the area has any other ideas. We embark on the 6th and return on the 20th Sept. 2023
×
×
  • Create New...