Review Cruisetour Alaska Diamond 6/26-7/7 Cruise portion

[cgrn]

Cruise portion

 

By this time you really don't want to see another "coach". Just a short ride to the Princess Rail. Loved, loved the train ride! What a great way to travel. Don't know how it happened but we were the first car "Goldstar". Nice surprise. No time to rest before the cruise to much beautiful views. Had a great Host named Dillon. The time flew. Wonderful dining car and good food. Overall the best experience.

 

Diamond Yeah bags beat us to ur balcony cabin. As a family of 3 we had 3 twin beds. 2 (stationary) on the floor and 1 that tucked away from the ceiling. Enjoyed the balcony room especially on the Glacier Crusing Days.

We were so happy to be able to sleep in these first two days (remember the part about getting up early to put out our luggage on land portion).

Glaciers were breath taking.

Skagway explored this town with no excursions. It was a chilly and gray day. Had lunch at the Red Onion Saloon. Interesting place and history food was fair.

Juneau Harv and Marv Whale Watching so glad we did this. Enjoyed the special attention as there is only 6 people total on the boat. Sailed with Captain Steve- a great guy , very personable and knowledgeable. So lots of whales and other sea life.

Ketchikan Rainforest Zipline booked through Princess. Family enjoyed this especially daughter (me I was a little nervous). The guides were friendly and well trained. Even saw a moma bear and baby bear from the treetop post! Alaska Seaplane Tours booked independently. Great views and nice adventure. However, the pilot was not very personalable - hardly spoke. For the money I was disappointed.

Sea Day Happy we had a day of rest for the last day of the cruise.

Disembarkment well orgainzed, lots of choices. After going through customs we were able to hop in cab/van to take us into town. They had people there to help you get to were you where you needed to go.

 

Other info: Had traditional dining at 8pm. Worked well as you never had to hurry back from port to shower/dress for dinner. Plus you never went hungry. Also was able to go to shows prior to dinner.

BE warned that the first night of the cruise they try to sell you on all the cards/plans- soda, wine, coffee etc.

Afternoon Tea very nice and very popular (be on time). Enjoyed this treat lots to eat - scones, tea sandwiches, fancy cookies and little cakes. My daughter and I went each day we could

Teen Club/Remix daughter truly enjoyed this. She met teens from all over the world. The schedule is more of a suggestion. She participated in many activities and could not wait to get back to the club. Tip: there is a teen dinner she did not find out about until it was to late to sign up.

Entertainment fair (my other cruise experience was with Disney) Was not thrilled with the Princess dance show. Thought the ventriloqust was talented but need better material. Went to the comedianand magian/comedian shows - sorry Disney Cruise was much better

Coffee (sereved at buffet)yuck, yuck Did enjoy a mocha carmel late from one of the bars.

Shower never opened the dollar store shower organizer. Had plenty of room in bathroom for our items.

 

Hope I can help others. Sorry forgot to mention that we spent one night in Vancouver.

[ttnc4me]

Thanks for the review. A few questions please...

Were there very many other teens on the ship?

Which Ketchikan zipline company did you use and could you have booked them independently instead?

Did you think the shows were age appropriate for your daughter?

[vivavegas]

Great review! Thanks for sharing!:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review, glad you enjoyed your trip.

[cgrn]

ttnc4me,

I was pleasantly surprised with the number of teens on the ship. There were probably about 20 that were at Remix at any given time and then there were teens that my daughter had meet on the cruisetour and did not go even to the club.

Ziplining was with Alaska Canopy booked through Princess. I did not look into booking this on my own. It was just what we wanted

The shows were age approriate I don't remember any "red face" moments. I felt the shows were geared toward the retired crowd.

Hope this answers your questions. We certainly enjoyed the trip. There was something for everyone!

[Ankie3467]

Did you use the self serve laundry? How was the food. We have the early traditional dining, and I am thinking that is going to be a problem.

[cgrn]

Op here- just realized I posted my crusie review in "Princess" and my land portion in "Alaska". So sorry:o

[cgrn]

Ankie3467,

Yes, I used the self service laundry on my hall. I tried out the new "pods" by Purex. I just packed them in a little Glad container. I had a roll of quarters saved just for laundry. This room also had an iron and board.

 

We enjoyed the food. On the left side of the menu there was a variety items that they offer each night, such as shrimp cocktail. My daughter ordered this each night. On the right side of the menu was the items for the evening (themed). We ate dinner each night in the dining room and snacked on ice cream, pizza, burgers before dinner. I also enjoyed the Afternon Tea. We are currently working off the added pounds from vacation.

 

Don't worry yourself about the dinner time. If you find that it does not work for you then see if you could get it changed. We ate at 8pm and sometimes we did not leave the dining room til after 10PM.

 

If there is anything else I could comment on please let me know.

[cgrn]

Hello a big thank you to all who were very helpful to me in preparing for this wonderful vacation. I'm hoping this will help some of you.

 

We did the crusietour South bound on the Diamond. It was me and hubby with 13 y/o daughter.

 

Hotel Captain Cook/Anchorage Nice hotel in the heart of Anchorage. We had a nice view of the Cook Inlet. Ate a late lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse. We had no wait as it was inbetween lunch and dinner. Great way to start our vacation. Good food. Heard others had a very long wait for dinner. We explored the town and got some nice ice cream in Bear Square.

Tips: bring a few clothes pins for the curtains (the curtains were blackout and heavy just wanted to make sure no light came in).

Be prepared to be without your luggage on land mornings! This we found very annoying. Luggage needs to be put out early 6ish and you don't leave until 9am. So this ment getting up and showering etc very early. This happens on each transfer morning.

Had a nice and inexpensive breakfast at a little place a block away from Cook. Nothing fancy the price was right compared to Hotel Cook.

 

McKinley Mckinley Princess Lodge was nice- very spread out. It felt warm and cozy like a ski lodge. Enjoyed the huge deck at the main building. Our afternoon was spent "hiking" the property. Felt the trails were fair. They had several on property and were pretty easy. Ate all meals 20320 Alaskan Grill. Good food and decient service. No Mt Mckinley views ... still hopeful.

It was wild that it was 11:30PM and still light out.

 

Denali Princess Lodge No longer getting that warm and cozy feeling as the lodge is populated tourist area. The room was comfortable no great view for us.

First evening did an ATV tour with Denali ATV Adventures. This was hands down the hight of our land portion. Booked this independently as it was the ONLY ATV tour we could do with our 13 y/o. We were in side by sides so she was a passenger with Dad. Did the Stampede tour. Loved it a great deal of fun. I was glad there was laundry service in our building.

Second day - upgraded to Tundra Wilderness Tour. Glad we did. A long day but saw beautiful scenery and wildlife. I was not going all the way to Alaska and not experience Denali National Park to it's fullest.

[kaykay51]

Cruise portion

 

By this time you really don't want to see another "coach". Just a short ride to the Princess Rail. Loved, loved the train ride! What a great way to travel. Don't know how it happened but we were the first car "Goldstar". Nice surprise. No time to rest before the cruise to much beautiful views. Had a great Host named Dillon. The time flew. Wonderful dining car and good food. Overall the best experience.

 

Diamond Yeah bags beat us to ur balcony cabin. As a family of 3 we had 3 twin beds. 2 (stationary) on the floor and 1 that tucked away from the ceiling. Enjoyed the balcony room especially on the Glacier Crusing Days.

We were so happy to be able to sleep in these first two days (remember the part about getting up early to put out our luggage on land portion).

Glaciers were breath taking.

Skagway explored this town with no excursions. It was a chilly and gray day. Had lunch at the Red Onion Saloon. Interesting place and history food was fair.

Juneau Harv and Marv Whale Watching so glad we did this. Enjoyed the special attention as there is only 6 people total on the boat. Sailed with Captain Steve- a great guy , very personable and knowledgeable. So lots of whales and other sea life.

Ketchikan Rainforest Zipline booked through Princess. Family enjoyed this especially daughter (me I was a little nervous). The guides were friendly and well trained. Even saw a moma bear and baby bear from the treetop post! Alaska Seaplane Tours booked independently. Great views and nice adventure. However, the pilot was not very personalable - hardly spoke. For the money I was disappointed.

Sea Day Happy we had a day of rest for the last day of the cruise.

Disembarkment well orgainzed, lots of choices. After going through customs we were able to hop in cab/van to take us into town. They had people there to help you get to were you where you needed to go.

 

Other info: Had traditional dining at 8pm. Worked well as you never had to hurry back from port to shower/dress for dinner. Plus you never went hungry. Also was able to go to shows prior to dinner.

BE warned that the first night of the cruise they try to sell you on all the cards/plans- soda, wine, coffee etc.

Afternoon Tea very nice and very popular (be on time). Enjoyed this treat lots to eat - scones, tea sandwiches, fancy cookies and little cakes. My daughter and I went each day we could

Teen Club/Remix daughter truly enjoyed this. She met teens from all over the world. The schedule is more of a suggestion. She participated in many activities and could not wait to get back to the club. Tip: there is a teen dinner she did not find out about until it was to late to sign up.

Entertainment fair (my other cruise experience was with Disney) Was not thrilled with the Princess dance show. Thought the ventriloqust was talented but need better material. Went to the comedianand magian/comedian shows - sorry Disney Cruise was much better

Coffee (sereved at buffet)yuck, yuck Did enjoy a mocha carmel late from one of the bars.

Shower never opened the dollar store shower organizer. Had plenty of room in bathroom for our items.

 

Hope I can help others. Sorry forgot to mention that we spent one night in Vancouver.

 

We also did this cruise last summer and, like you, were assigned the "Goldstar" car on the train. We loved it and when we return to Alaska we're going to make sure we're on that car again.

[cgrn]

Goldstar Car- not sure how we were fortunate enough to be assigned this car but glad we were!

[caribill]

We also did this cruise last summer and, like you, were assigned the "Goldstar" car on the train. We loved it and when we return to Alaska we're going to make sure we're on that car again.

 

What is so special about this car?

[gloriouscruise]

Thanks for the review, you had a good time, and that's what counts!

[oratheeexplorer]

How were the mosquitos?????

[cgrn]

Oratheexplorer: it just really depened where we were on how bad the mosquitos were. In Denali in the eveing near or in the woods they were plentiful. Skagway and Juneau I didn't notice them. Even in Ketchikan in the rainforest they were not a bother. We came prepared with a can of Off. Just take your can out of your day bag and Princess runs is through the scanner when you reboard. It was easier to put it in a plastic bin than be questioned about it.

[TracieABD]

Thank you for the review!

[oratheeexplorer]

Oratheexplorer: it just really depened where we were on how bad the mosquitos were. In Denali in the eveing near or in the woods they were plentiful. Skagway and Juneau I didn't notice them. Even in Ketchikan in the rainforest they were not a bother. We came prepared with a can of Off. Just take your can out of your day bag and Princess runs is through the scanner when you reboard. It was easier to put it in a plastic bin than be questioned about it.

 

 

Thanks for the reply.....I actually bought a pump bottle of Repel that has 40% deet.....thought the pump would be better than the spray can for traveling....I will keep it with us!

[caribill]

Thanks for the reply.....I actually bought a pump bottle of Repel that has 40% deet.....thought the pump would be better than the spray can for traveling....I will keep it with us!

 

We always bring a bottle with 98.1% deet.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

 

Where did you stay in Vancouver?

[oratheeexplorer]

We always bring a bottle with 98.1% deet.

 

 

Hmmm.....I think you got me on this one before!

[cgrn]

erewhon: We stayed at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center Hotel. Nice hotel only 20 minutes from the airport.