Just Back - Long Review

[frostypenguin]

Diamond Princess (Seattle Round Trip)

 

Embarkment - We initially were not going to take the transfers from Princess from our hotel in downtown Seattle after reading all the comments here that said go early or expect long lines. We spoke with the Princess rep at the hotel and she assured us we wouldn't have too long of a wait if we went with the transfers at 12:30 p.m. and boy was she correct. The bus picked us up, took our luggage and we were onboard within 45 minutes of being picked up at the hotel. There was a medium line (about 150 people) but boy did it move fast.

 

Once onboard we met our room steward and then off to explore the ship. There was already plenty of food and drinks around. Everything was sparkling and the staff couldn't have been nicer. The first day at sea there were so many things to do on board (dancing class, pottery class, table tennis, wine tastings, etc.)

 

JUNEAU - Reminded me of Front Street in Bermuda, lots of shop right along the main drag. It was raining when we got there but by mid afternoon it stopped and was just overcast. The ship is about a 5 minute walk to the center of town and there are plenty of t-shirt shops, etc.

 

We did the Temsco helicopter tour and boy was it fantastic. The staff were very helpful and very accomodating (helping with the crimpons for your boots, etc.)

 

The Photo Safari was also worth doing - make sure to bring your mono or tripod. This is a must for any photo hobbist.

 

Skagway - Town was about a 5 minute shuttle bus ride ($1.50) from the pier and again plenty of salmon, t-shirt type shops. There was a cute shop called North to Alaska that had really interesting salmon caviar. We did the WP Railroad but found it to be a bit long even though the scenary was very nice.

 

Ketchikan - This was a cute little town that was still asleep when we arrived, but by 8:00 am it looked like most of the shops were open. Our group did the Mt. Point Snorkeling and the Canoe excursions, both of which got rave reviews. The Staff at Mt. Point Snorkel were excellent. They were extremely knowledgeable and patient with one of the newbies in our group. We saw lots of starfish, sea urchins and small herring. The water was a little chilly but you get used to it. They also supplied some type of magnified lenses for those who wore glasses, hot cocoa and tea when you got out. I would definetly do this again.

 

Tracey Arm - we did the champagne breakfast this morning. What a great way to start the day - there was more than enough food and certainly worth the $25 dollars.

 

Victoria - what a beautiful place, lots of artisans along the waterfront. Empress Hotel was fantastic - tea there is a must. Too short of time there though, would have liked to stay there a little longer as opposed to the full day in Skagway.

 

WIth over 2500 people onboard you never felt crowded or had to wait in lines.

 

The only down side to Princess is two things:

 

Photography - I think $21.95 for a 5 x7 or 8 x 10 is a little high and if you are ordering much more than one you should get some type of discount.

 

Ice Cream/Espresso/Cappucino - the fact that you have to pay for things like ice cream and espresso - I feel this is such a small thing in the "big" cost of things that it should be included.

 

Again overall it was fantastic. We would definetly take them again.

[M&M CRUZERS]

Hey frostypenguin, glad to see that there really was another CC'r on board the Diamond last week.:D We had a great time, too. Really enjoyed the ports, especially Juneau where we went whale watching with Capt. Larry (Orca Enterprises) [/url] and then did the float plane with Michelle from Island Wings in Ketchikan. Wasn't Tracey Arms fascinating. I really enjoyed being out on our deck most of the day just enjoying the scenery even though it did get alittle cold.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.