Just back from Crown Princess 5/17 Alaska sailing

[camarodrivenrs]

Here's a quick review of our Crown Princess Alaska southbound sailing. We drove down from Fairbanks the night before and stayed at the Anchorage Hilton. The hotel was fine especially if you get it online for a decent rate. We did see lots of wildlife on the drive down and Denali was not hiding behind clouds so it was a nice drive. Saturday morning, we drove to Whittier with various stops along the way. The weather was fantastic: blue skies and well into the 60's. The first two days were glacier cruising, the first was Hubbard and the second Glacier Bay. The captain, pilot, and staff did an outstanding job getting the Crown Princess so close considering how early in the season this cruise was. It was overcast both days, but lots of glacier activity and wildlife. In fact it seemed wildlife was in an abundance during the entire trip. We saw many whales, including a group of orcas, seals, and eagles.

 

The ports were Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. I'm no fan of Skagway, but it was a nice day and we did some hiking. Juneau was a fantastic day so we took the tram up Mt. Roberts for the views and hiking and returned to the ship early to lay out on the decks. Ketchikan, well lets say the town showed us why its a rain forest. I heard someone say they got 10 inches of rain that day.

 

We found very few flaws with the Crown Princess. The cruise was not at capacity, I think the captain said 2700 or 2800 passengers, so the ship seemed quite deserted and I don't recall waiting in a single line. In my opinion, the major drawback with sailing the Crown Princess in Alaska is the lack of an enclosed pool. I was very envious the two times I saw the Golden in port with her solarium. I knew this going in though, and picked the Crown because it worked best with our schedule. If I had a choice I would definitely make sure a covered pool was available. We thought the crew and food were both very good. The entertainment was very blah and there wasn't a great deal of passenger participation. Embarkation and Disembarkation were flawless. We arrived at Whittier about 12:30 pm and were onboard no later than 1:00.

 

We spent two days in Vancouver after, staying at the Sylvia Hotel. It is very old, but it is very unique and has a fantastic location. We caught the Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle yesterday and stayed at the Marriott Waterfront. We are doing the light rail to the airport this morning so I'll report on that if anyone is interested.

[DentoAlaska]

We are booked on the Pacific Princess for the Southbound cruise in July, 2015. I am curious about what you didn't like in Skagway. Could you also tell me what excursions you did and your thoughts on those? Thanks! We are very excited about our trip and appreciate reading travelers opinions and impressions. Thanks!

[camarodrivenrs]

We had a really long day in Skagway, if I remember correctly we were docked from 6:00 am till 8:00 pm or something along those lines. My opinion is that there's the railroad and after that there's not much happening there. Personally, I'd much rather have an extended stop in Juneau. There is so much to do there and doing Mendenhall Glacier properly takes more time than they give. Skagway would be great if you've never done the White Pass Railroad or you forgot to do your shopping on your last Caribbean cruise.

[ggprincess2004]

We are booked on the Pacific Princess for the Southbound cruise in July, 2015. I am curious about what you didn't like in Skagway. Could you also tell me what excursions you did and your thoughts on those? Thanks! We are very excited about our trip and appreciate reading travelers opinions and impressions. Thanks!

 

When in Skagway, you can take the fast ferry over to Haines, check out the excursions Princess offers from Skagway that involve the nature preserves and wildlife tours out of Haines. There is a lot to choose from - but it is about getting out of town rather than just hanging around in Skagway.

[DentoAlaska]

Thank you so much for mentioning Haines ggprincess. I had no idea about that. Responses like yours are the reason I enjoy these forums. So much information from those who know! This our first Alaska experience and the amount of information is at times overwhelming.

Edited May 27, 2014 by DentoAlaska

[caribill]

Also in Skagway:

 

Historic District Walking Tours

1 hour Ranger-led walking tours of the Skagway Historic District

WHEN: Early May - Late September

TIMES: Daily 9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM and 3 PM

WHERE: Free tickets available at the Visitor Center (housed in the historic 1901 White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad Depot), 2nd Avenue and Broadway. Walks are limited to 30 participants. Tours are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Visitor Center hours: Monday-Friday: 7:30 AM - 7 PM Weekends: 8 AM- 6 PM

[ggprincess2004]

We are booked on the Pacific Princess for the Southbound cruise in July, 2015. I am curious about what you didn't like in Skagway. Could you also tell me what excursions you did and your thoughts on those? Thanks! We are very excited about our trip and appreciate reading travelers opinions and impressions. Thanks!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

This is the link to the Alaska destinations forum. I notice you haven't posted often, so if I might make a few suggestions for you to maximize your Alaska cruise experience - you are already interested in other's experiences and recommendations, there is a whole lot of info on these boards, so do explore and ask questions. The link I have here is just one place. On the Princess website you can find examples of the excursions. Go to plan a cruise, drill down to the cruise you are going on (not your booking) and you will find a tab for excursions. Start reading....and go on the Princess board to ask questions of one v. the other, etc, etc. The price of a lot of the excursions means you really will want to do some serious research - enjoy. It's part of the fun!

[Keith1010]

Thanks for the review.

 

Keith

[DougH]

Glad to hear you had a good time. I board the Crown in about 10 days for a B2B, I've never sailed on her before. Have sailed Alaska numerous times but a new ship (for me) is always fun.

[pameshalaska]

Hi, we are sailing on the island June 11 can you tell me what the movies under the stars were?, thanks

[Cruiserkenn]

When in Skagway, you can take the fast ferry over to Haines, check out the excursions Princess offers from Skagway that involve the nature preserves and wildlife tours out of Haines. There is a lot to choose from - but it is about getting out of town rather than just hanging around in Skagway.

 

I agree about Haines! The fast ferry from Skagway is a wonderful trip, in and of itself. The wildlife tours from Haines are wonderful! I have seen brown bears with youngins', eagles, and even a wolf, on the tours from Haines. The wolf was almost totally black in color, and he/she was a breathtaking sight.

 

Try one of the Haines tours!

Edited May 27, 2014 by Cruisin'Rabbit

[etoilefj]

Hi

Thanks for the review - I had a quick question since you mentioned the open pool - can it still be used or do they have it closed? We'll be on the Crown at the end of June southbound and I have a 5 year old who is going to want to swim no matter what the weather!

[paddingtonbear]

Glad to hear you had a good time. I board the Crown in about 10 days for a B2B, I've never sailed on her before. Have sailed Alaska numerous times but a new ship (for me) is always fun.

 

Your signature says you have!

[Cruiserkenn]

Your signature says you have!

 

I believe the signature refers to the original Crown Princess, in the 1990s.

She was a nice ship, and big for her time, but not nearly as big as the current Crown Princess.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. Great point about trying to sail a ship with a Solarium.

[sunrise2]

Here's a quick review of our Crown Princess Alaska southbound sailing. We drove down from Fairbanks the night before and stayed at the Anchorage Hilton. The hotel was fine especially if you get it online for a decent rate. We did see lots of wildlife on the drive down and Denali was not hiding behind clouds so it was a nice drive. Saturday morning, we drove to Whittier with various stops along the way. The weather was fantastic: blue skies and well into the 60's. The first two days were glacier cruising, the first was Hubbard and the second Glacier Bay. The captain, pilot, and staff did an outstanding job getting the Crown Princess so close considering how early in the season this cruise was. It was overcast both days, but lots of glacier activity and wildlife. In fact it seemed wildlife was in an abundance during the entire trip. We saw many whales, including a group of orcas, seals, and eagles.

 

The ports were Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. I'm no fan of Skagway, but it was a nice day and we did some hiking. Juneau was a fantastic day so we took the tram up Mt. Roberts for the views and hiking and returned to the ship early to lay out on the decks. Ketchikan, well lets say the town showed us why its a rain forest. I heard someone say they got 10 inches of rain that day.

 

We found very few flaws with the Crown Princess. The cruise was not at capacity, I think the captain said 2700 or 2800 passengers, so the ship seemed quite deserted and I don't recall waiting in a single line. In my opinion, the major drawback with sailing the Crown Princess in Alaska is the lack of an enclosed pool. I was very envious the two times I saw the Golden in port with her solarium. I knew this going in though, and picked the Crown because it worked best with our schedule. If I had a choice I would definitely make sure a covered pool was available. We thought the crew and food were both very good. The entertainment was very blah and there wasn't a great deal of passenger participation. Embarkation and Disembarkation were flawless. We arrived at Whittier about 12:30 pm and were onboard no later than 1:00.

 

We spent two days in Vancouver after, staying at the Sylvia Hotel. It is very old, but it is very unique and has a fantastic location. We caught the Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle yesterday and stayed at the Marriott Waterfront. We are doing the light rail to the airport this morning so I'll report on that if anyone is interested.

 

I would be interested in the light rail since will be staying in Seattle after our cruise in June 2015. Any info regarding Seattle will be very helpful. Don't know what hotel we are staying at yet....Still researching. Thank you.

[camarodrivenrs]

Hi, we are sailing on the island June 11 can you tell me what the movies under the stars were?, thanks

 

I know there was Captain Phillips, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Saving Mr. Banks. I can't remember the others, but I believe there was a couple of nights the screen was just turned off cause no one was watching and it was too cold, wet, and windy.

[camarodrivenrs]

Hi

Thanks for the review - I had a quick question since you mentioned the open pool - can it still be used or do they have it closed? We'll be on the Crown at the end of June southbound and I have a 5 year old who is going to want to swim no matter what the weather!

 

I believe there was at least one pool and one hot tub open during the day at all times. I don't think there were a lot of children on this sailing as the children's programs were not running. I did see some parents with kids using the children's pool.

[camarodrivenrs]

I would be interested in the light rail since will be staying in Seattle after our cruise in June 2015. Any info regarding Seattle will be very helpful. Don't know what hotel we are staying at yet....Still researching. Thank you.

 

The light rail was really easy and cheap, though I'm no means an expert. We took a cab from the hotel to the downtown station and it was like $10-15. This could be accomplished using the bus system but the busses always looked crowded and we didn't feel like doing them with the luggage. Once at the station, you just purchase a ticket from the automated system for $2.75 cash or credit. It basically works on the honor system so hang on to your ticket, because if they catch you getting on the rail for free the fine is relatively high and I did see some transportation employees walk through the train, although I was never asked for my ticket. The stops are clearly marked and SeaTac is the terminus station, takes about 20 minutes or so. Pretty comfortable and there were many others with luggage so no one will look at you funny for bringing it.

[pusywillow]

I know there was Captain Phillips, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Saving Mr. Banks. I can't remember the others, but I believe there was a couple of nights the screen was just turned off cause no one was watching and it was too cold, wet, and windy.

 

Thanks for letting us know about the movie titles. MUTS is sometimes turned off because of noise ordinances in Alaska.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Also in Skagway:

 

Historic District Walking Tours

1 hour Ranger-led walking tours of the Skagway Historic District

WHEN: Early May - Late September

TIMES: Daily 9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM and 3 PM

WHERE: Free tickets available at the Visitor Center (housed in the historic 1901 White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad Depot), 2nd Avenue and Broadway. Walks are limited to 30 participants. Tours are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Visitor Center hours: Monday-Friday: 7:30 AM - 7 PM Weekends: 8 AM- 6 PM

We did this twice in two weeks and had a different guide each time, so the tours ended up being substantially different. Highly recommend doing tis if you're into the Gold Rush history.

[etoilefj]

I believe there was at least one pool and one hot tub open during the day at all times. I don't think there were a lot of children on this sailing as the children's programs were not running. I did see some parents with kids using the children's pool.

 

Thanks, that's great! Oh man though I hope the kid's programs are running, we were banking on those for a little free time! Plus they've been used as a selling point for the kid!

[sunrise2]

The light rail was really easy and cheap, though I'm no means an expert. We took a cab from the hotel to the downtown station and it was like $10-15. This could be accomplished using the bus system but the busses always looked crowded and we didn't feel like doing them with the luggage. Once at the station, you just purchase a ticket from the automated system for $2.75 cash or credit. It basically works on the honor system so hang on to your ticket, because if they catch you getting on the rail for free the fine is relatively high and I did see some transportation employees walk through the train, although I was never asked for my ticket. The stops are clearly marked and SeaTac is the terminus station, takes about 20 minutes or so. Pretty comfortable and there were many others with luggage so no one will look at you funny for bringing it.

 

Thank you very much have put this info with my travel folder.:)

[cdnguy]

Thanks for letting us know about the movie titles. MUTS is sometimes turned off because of noise ordinances in Alaska.

just be aware that different ships can have different movies. You were asking about the Island movies. The poster was on the Crown. :)

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.....:):):)

 

Bob