Booked our first Princess cruise!!

[jac1976]

My husband gets back from Afghanistan in the next few months, so to help us reconnect as a family, we are cruising to Alaska! This is our dream vacation and we are so excited. We will be going with my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter.

 

We're doing the Inside Passage trip on the Sapphire Princess in August. Does anyone have any experience with the ship? Also, does anyone have any suggestions about excursions- be it ones that or must-dos or ones to avoid? We are limited because of my daughter's age, but I'm sure we will find plenty of fun things to do as a family.

 

I can't wait!

[Pam in CA]

Thank you and your husband for his service to our country. Be sure to request the military OBC for him.

[gymjunkie]

My husband gets back from Afghanistan in the next few months, so to help us reconnect as a family, we are cruising to Alaska! This is our dream vacation and we are so excited. We will be going with my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter.

 

We're doing the Inside Passage trip on the Sapphire Princess in August. Does anyone have any experience with the ship? Also, does anyone have any suggestions about excursions- be it ones that or must-dos or ones to avoid? We are limited because of my daughter's age, but I'm sure we will find plenty of fun things to do as a family.

 

I can't wait!

First, and foremost, make sure you tell your husband that we are thankful for him and his copatriots and we are proud for the service they have done for us. We get to go on cruises while they are serving our country...

In Juneau, if you can afford the helicopter to the glacier, it will be well worth it....bring the camera. Juneau has a tram that the kids would probably like to the top of Mt. Charles... Horseback riding and sled dogging were a hoot...!!! Plug them into any kid program during the days of the glacier...you will want to see that. August is the best time to do Alaska...hope the best for you and your family....Thanks to him (and you) again for your serice...

[Astro Flyer]

My husband gets back from Afghanistan in the next few months, so to help us reconnect as a family, we are cruising to Alaska! This is our dream vacation and we are so excited. We will be going with my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter.

 

We're doing the Inside Passage trip on the Sapphire Princess in August. Does anyone have any experience with the ship? Also, does anyone have any suggestions about excursions- be it ones that or must-dos or ones to avoid? We are limited because of my daughter's age, but I'm sure we will find plenty of fun things to do as a family.

 

I can't wait!

Make sure to submit the info for the generous Princess Military onboard credit program. It's an easy process & here's a link to the latest info about it:

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/additional_faq/military_program.jsp

 

Thank your husband for protecting our freedoms & I know full well that also includes his loving family who also make tremendous sacrifices also! :)

[Treven]

Yes, ditto on our thanks for his and your sacrifice. This is certainly a big difference from when I returned from VietNam. I'm also going to Alaska for my first time, in September.

[Psychedout]

My husband gets back from Afghanistan in the next few months, so to help us reconnect as a family, we are cruising to Alaska! This is our dream vacation and we are so excited. We will be going with my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter.

 

We're doing the Inside Passage trip on the Sapphire Princess in August. Does anyone have any experience with the ship? Also, does anyone have any suggestions about excursions- be it ones that or must-dos or ones to avoid? We are limited because of my daughter's age, but I'm sure we will find plenty of fun things to do as a family.

 

I can't wait!

 

As a Viet Nam Vet let me first thank your husband and you for his service to our country. Our first cruise was to Alaska and we loved it and never stopped cruising:D

 

Take the White Pass tarin ride on Skagway

[r&rlovescruising]

Have a wonderful time! It should be a great time to re-connect and enjoy each other and the wonderful scenery. The excursions in Alaska are pretty pricey. We rented a car in Skagway and drove up to the Yukon with my parents and it was beautiful. Stopped to see the sled dog puppies which was really fun and the kids might enjoy. :) In Juneau we went to a garden (can't remember the name) and out to the glacier. It was nice but not sure how much the kids would get out it. I would just keep in mind their attention span because alot of the excursions are pretty long.My kids used to love anything with animals. If you have a balcony order breakfast the day you sail through the scenic pass. It is a great experience even if it's cold. :D

[Potstech]

I rarely see this mentioned but the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan is great for the kids. It is a competition but also a comedy show of sorts. Watch closely as they make a rabbit out of a log. The results are unique to say the least. It is only a short walk from the pier. The dog sled excurision in Skagway is also good for kids but it is a long bus ride to get there. Enjoy your self and tell your husband thank you from a retired Sailor. Give him a big hug from all of us.

[chirpy007]

Just wanted to say have a fantastic time, my son has done a tour of Afghan and is due to go back again in October. Thank you to all the service men and women.

 

xx

[YaddaBest]

I was on the Sapphire princess in September/October on a 33 day cruise across the Pacific to Sydney Australia. it is a wonderful ship although built by Mitsubishi at the same time it is a bit different at the back of the ship between the elevators and the night club called Club Fusion.

An odd thing about this ship is that it was built by Mitsubishi at the same time as the Diamiond. The contract stated that the Diamond would be announced into the Princess fleet then the Sapphire. The Diamond caught fire during construction and to keep to terms of the contract with Princess. The Diamond became the Sapphire and the Sapphire became the first of the two ships to be pressed into service. My friends were on the maiden voyage on an art conniseurs cruise and on the way to Whittier the port pilot steered into the dock instead of away and they operated on creeper mode with one engine missing a port on the way back.

I am sure you will love Princess...my next cruise will be my 50th with Princess.

[ddcruisers93]

Thank You to your husband for his service. The sacrifices of our soldiers and their families can never be appreciated enough. We went to Alaska on that cruise in 09. Our favorite excursion was the orca whales and humpback whales in Juneau. There were a number of kids on the tour and they seemed to enjoy the whales and seals. The train in skagway seemed to be a hit with kids also. Enjoy

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was on the Sapphire princess in September/October on a 33 day cruise across the Pacific to Sydney Australia. it is a wonderful ship although built by Mitsubishi at the same time it is a bit different at the back of the ship between the elevators and the night club called Club Fusion.

An odd thing about this ship is that it was built by Mitsubishi at the same time as the Diamiond. The contract stated that the Diamond would be announced into the Princess fleet then the Sapphire. The Diamond caught fire during construction and to keep to terms of the contract with Princess. The Diamond became the Sapphire and the Sapphire became the first of the two ships to be pressed into service. My friends were on the maiden voyage on an art conniseurs cruise and on the way to Whittier the port pilot steered into the dock instead of away and they operated on creeper mode with one engine missing a port on the way back.

I am sure you will love Princess...my next cruise will be my 50th with Princess.

 

We were on the Sapphire in its third month of sailing. When we went on the cruise after that (on the Island), my hubby brought a photo of the ship to dinner one night and told the waitstaff about the ship switch.

[dfields1814]

As parents of a soldier that spent a year in Iraq I known first hand the sacrifices you and your family made at home in conduction with your husband's service overseas. So not only do we thank him but also you and your family who worried about him very day.

 

As for Alaska we are sailing with our 3 year old grandson, so the train in Skagway over the pass is a no brainer. My grandson loves trains. It is about a three hour trip.there is some room for movement in the cars for a toddler.

[jac1976]

Thank you very much for your responses, and your good wishes. I spoke with my travel agent about the onboard credit, and we did everything and the credit is already showing up on our documents.

 

I am just starting to research all of the ports/excursions and have found my way over to the Alaska ports of call section. I'll be sure to look up all of your suggestions. My son loves trains, so I am sure we will do the train ride. Everything else is up in the air. Princess seems like such a nice cruise line, and I am excited to finally be going to Alaska.

[love2bonboard]

You will have a great time. Princess has 24 hour buffet, the best pizza and trident grill, MUTS, fresh water pool, very good hand made ice cream, self-service laundry facilities, and is not a real PARTY ship, so you will fit in perfectly with your young children.

 

As far as Alaska goes...I second renting a car, from Avis, in Skagway and driving along the Klondike trail..cheap and fun. In Ketchican you can walk all around and go to the totem pole park. Juneau you can take the local bus up to Mendenhall Glacier and walk to the waterfall if you are so inclined; otherwise just hang out around the glacier (just gorgeous). These are all the "cheap" things to do that I think are fantastic.

 

Glad your hubby is coming back...I'm married to a military man and he was gone for only 4 months but it felt like forever.

[Astro Flyer]

My son loves trains, so I am sure we will do the train ride.

 

As far as Alaska goes...I second renting a car, from Avis, in Skagway and driving along the Klondike trail..cheap and fun.

We took a ship's tour by bus into Canada & returned by train but 10 years later it's very expensive. Last June we went roundtrip on the train which was also nice.

 

However maybe using the suggestion by 'love2bonboard' to rent a car & then having your train loving son go with you or your husband one-way on the train may work best for you & your family. It's just another option to consider & it has to be much, much less than a similar ship tour which was well over $200/pp. As I recall there were a few places to board the train in Canada to take back to Skagway...ours dropped us off next to our ship!

 

Here's a link for the train:

 

http://www.wpyr.com/

[sassyredhat]

I am 65 yrs old, and Im visiting the sled dogs and reindeer in Sept. All of us kids like these tours. :D

 

Yes, ditto on our thanks for his and your sacrifice. This is certainly a big difference from when I returned from VietNam. I'm also going to Alaska for my first time, in September.

 

 

Hey, we're going to have to get more chatty on our roll call. Mike is a Viet Nam vet too.

Pat

[rditton]

Maybe this isn't worth saying, but if you're booking independent, be sure and ask if they have a military discount. While many don't, there are still a few who do and the savings can be significant when you're talking about 4 people. :-)