Crown Princess Alaska Tracy Arm Day by Day 7/4 thru 7/11

[Molly Cooper]

Crab Shack is on several nights - I think 4? $20pp and worth every penny!

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Crab Shack is on several nights - I think 4? $20pp and worth every penny!

 

 

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I agree for sure. :)

[msmoger]

Crab Shack is on several nights - I think 4? $20pp and worth every penny!

 

I hope so since we get back late from our Juneau excursion and we definitely want to be able to go.

 

I agree for sure. :)

 

Me Too!! :D

[Molly Cooper]

We actually thought it was better than Crown Grill!

 

 

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[Molly Cooper]

Sorry to serial post, I just got home and looked at my Patters from the trip. Crab Shack is open Monday - Thursday 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm, Cafe Caribe. Reservations via the Dine Line. 

 

 

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[hotlipss]

Sorry to serial post, I just got home and looked at my Patters from the trip. Crab Shack is open Monday - Thursday 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm, Cafe Caribe. Reservations via the Dine Line. 

 

 

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Can you post the patters please would love to see them..we sail on her in Oct..our first time on princess in almost 10 years :)

[msmoger]

Sorry to serial post, I just got home and looked at my Patters from the trip. Crab Shack is open Monday - Thursday 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm, Cafe Caribe. Reservations via the Dine Line. 

 

 

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Thanks so much for the info!! :)

[RetiredNTraveling]

Really enjoy reading your posts! I am reliving our two cruises to Alaska through your review. :p

We will be boarding the Crown, Oct 17 for a Hawaii & South Seas cruise. Glad to hear the Crown is clean and the crew is amiable as we have always found them to be on our previous cruises.

Just Mike

[GweninTX]

Day 4 -Skagway

 

We woke up about 6:45 and went to breakfast in the formal dining room. I had the special - scrambled eggs, asparagus and Swiss cheese. It was ok. We left the ship and went into town. You can jump on a shuttle at the end of the ship that will take you into town for $2 each way or $5 for the entire day - hop in and off at will. If you walk it is about a ten minute walk. We went to the ranger station at 2nd & Broadway to pick up the free downtown Skagway historic tour tickets. We got 2 for the 9:00 tour and watched a 30 minute movie about Skagway. It was great and the 30 minute walking tour led by Susanna, the National park ranger was very informative. Well worth the 30 minute walk. After the tour I wanted to shop. If you want souvenirs and t-shirts there are bargains galore in downtown. I also scored a special Alaska charm for my Pandora bracelet - pretty northern lights colors with Alaska inscribed on it. I was happy! We headed back to the ship about 11:30 to have lunch before our 1:30 tour. The weather was glorious. About 75 degrees and sunny. We decided to go to the buffet and it was not crowded. When we finished we gathered our things for our trip to Haines to go 4-wheeling.

 

We found our princess rep out by the end of the ship and she efficiently gathered the group to board the high speed ferry for the Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4X4 to Haines at 1:30 pm. The 45 minute ride was gorgeous with waterfalls and snow capped mountains on either side. It went by quickly and once we got to the dock in Haines we were greeted by our guide for the afternoon. This was a family run business and very efficient. We were briefed on safety as he drove the bus up the mountain where our Kawasaki mules were waiting. There were 2 person and 4 person mules. We were given a brief lecture on how to drive them and then we were off and up the mountain. The first mile was steep and full of switchbacks. The views were breathtaking. We were in a rain forest that was lush and green the road was well taken care of and they had a man who worked daily with a small Caterpillar to keep the berms even and few ruts. We stopped at the log cabin on the way up and the woman who owns the operation had hot cookies ready for us. yum! We all used their clean restrooms, had cider or coffee and a warm chocolate chip cookie. Then we were off to the top of the mountain with the most beautiful vistas you could imagine. We stayed up there and took pics and then went down the mountain to have our home cooked dinner. Beer battered halibut, barbecued chicken, roasted potatoes and salad. It was all very good and all you could eat. After dinner we went down the mountain and boarded the bus to go to the dock to catch the ferry back. We got a tour of downtown Haines and a history lesson on when it was a fort. All in all this was a great time and I would highly recommend it if you have done the train like we had on a former Alaskan cruise. Haines is like a picture post card and the cleanest air you will ever breathe!

 

We got back 15 minutes late, but they were waiting on us. The pier is right by where the Crown was docked and they could see us pull in. After we got on board the Crown Princess set sail about 8:00. We were dusty from the 4-wheeling so we took a shower and watched a movie from our room. Life or Something like it -good movie!

 

The comedian had 2 shows and I am sure he was great, we were just pooped. There was plenty of dancing going on in all the bars. Trivia and a sail away with commentary as we cruised down the Lynn Canal. We had seen all of the scenery as we went to Haines, but I am sure Michael did a great commentary. It was Rock n Roll night in Explorers. Yes/No gameshow, princess pop star heat #1.

 

We are getting up early again tomorrow as we will be cruising into Tracy Arm fjord in the morning starting at 7:00 am. This cruise is not for wimps or the weak! More later!

[Kenosha Cruiser]

Just started following along. We did the same itinerary on the Crown in May. We loved our Alaskan cruise. Thanks for doing this live review and have a blast on your Alaskan adventure.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Kenosha Cruiser

[2cruizinfools]

Just book the same tour for our stop in Skagway next month, glad to hear you enjoyed it.

 

Question, you said they have 2 and 4 person mules, did all parties of 2 get their own vehicle or did they pair up for quads? it's just me and hubby and he will be so upset if he can't drive himself.

[2cruizinfools]

Can't wait to hear about Tracy Arm, are you by chance taking the smaller boat tour? We are trying to decide if it is worth the extra money. We did this same itinerary a few years ago in May and only made it about a quarter way in before large icebergs turned us around.

[Marge885]

1925USA

We will also be on the Crown 9/12. Can't wait. we love sailing with Princess. This will be our third time on the Crown.

[1925USA]

1925USA

We will also be on the Crown 9/12. Can't wait. we love sailing with Princess. This will be our third time on the Crown.

 

 

That's great! We are getting more excited with every day. This thread is a blessing too. It will help give us focus & not become overwhelmed with decisions. It's going to be a wonderful experience.

[GweninTX]

Just book the same tour for our stop in Skagway next month, glad to hear you enjoyed it.

 

Question, you said they have 2 and 4 person mules, did all parties of 2 get their own vehicle or did they pair up for quads? it's just me and hubby and he will be so upset if he can't drive himself.

 

 

Yes - they have plenty of mules and everyone got exactly what they wanted. He will be able to drive - they have loads of 2 person mules. You all will love this tour. The scenery is amazing.

[GweninTX]

Day 5 - scenic cruising in Tracy Arm Fjord

 

Thank goodness we went to bed early as we got up very early this morning. We went out on deck at 6:45 and you MUST go out this early if you are on this cruise. We have done Hubbard glacier on a previous cruise and this is very different. You sail a long ways in to get to the glacier on this cruise and the scenery is breathtaking. We did not get to the actual glacier till about 9:30, but it is so picturesque, you do not want to miss a moment. We saw mountain goats on the sides of the mountains. Being bird watchers, we have very good high power binoculars and one of the things we enjoyed most was helping others see them out of our binocs. Even if you just have a cheap pair of binocs, be sure and bring them to see the goats and also the hundreds (and that is not a typo) of seal pups floating on the ice! What a delight it was to see a Momma Goat and her triplets frolicking on the mountain side. It was amazing that the 3 kids could just run at will on the sheer granite face of the mountain. The naturalist explained that their feet have sticky pads on them that allow them to do this and not fall. We were so very fortunate to get all the way into the face of the glacier. The small boat may have gotten a tiny bit closer, but in my opinion it was a waste of money as close as we got. But you MUST get up early to stake your spot if you want good viewing. I would recommend the most forward area on deck 7 or out on the wings. It fills up fast, so take a nap that afternoon and get yourself out there! It was REALLY cold, so you will need a good coat with a hood. This was the only day we needed our coats, but you will be sorry without one. I even put on my gloves and scarf. We stayed up on deck till 11:00 and really enjoyed it. We saw a small amount of calving, not as much as when we were in Hubbard, but I am sure as it warms up there will be more and more. One really good thunder boom with one, so I felt like those that had never been before got their money's worth! We also had 2 absolutely gorgeous windex blue icebergs. I got some really pretty photos. Our captain did a wonderful job of getting us in very close and Michael said that this was the best trip so far. IF he can get in as far as he did today, you would not need to spend the money on the small ship excursion as it was VERY expensive. But if this will be your only trip to Alaska and you have it in your budget, you would not be disappointed in It either. I am sure you have much more elbow room also as it was VERY crowded on deck.

 

Cafe Caribe had a special Alaskan seafood buffet for lunch today - do not miss. There were pretty ice sculptures set up too, so bring a camera. On deck 15 was reindeer chili and seafood chowder outside. They also had hot broth all morning to warm you up. This lunch buffet in Cafe Caribe was the best we had. The salmon and halibut were outstanding. They also had great shrimp. You can skip breakfast and gorge here for lunch for sure today!

 

Jerry went to the casino and tried his hand at a blackjack tournament. We both agreed that this a huge rip-off by Princess. They allow as many as want to play and also re- buy as many times at $20 as want to and they pay a measly $500 for ONLY first place. One of our dinner table mates came in second and got a cheap hat and t-shirt. Years ago Jerry came in second and got $350 and a really nice heavy embroidered sweatshirt and ball cap. The cost cutting is really evident and sad as they took in thousands on this tournament! Come on Princess, you can do better!

 

We spent the afternoon in the Princess theatre again! Do not miss the book review of "A wolf called Romeo" with Nick Janes It was so interesting - I plan to download it and read it. After that was Michael with a other really interesting lecture. I find it very interesting that people either love him or hate him. We were in the "love him" camp, but be prepared for strong feelings by others. Go and try him out, I hope you enjoy all of his lectures as much as we did.

 

There were lots of activities this afternoon. I would say a good 70% involve Princess making money from them. Being a stockholder, this is a good thing. Being a guest, maybe not so much. But if you read all of them, you cannot be bored! There really have been lots geared to the families on board and I love seeing all the kids having fun. Passenger feud sounded fun as did carpet bowling for the families. I question anyone bringing a child under 3 on this cruise,but there were lots of them. The pools have always had kids swimming in the heated water.

 

We have had amazing weather on this cruise and we have worn shorts more than long pants. Be sure and bring both and sunscreen. A visor or hat is also good out on the water to cut the glare. I bought a new hat at Costco that has a huge brim and ties that keep it cinched on. It is made of a sunscreen fabric also and I really like it. I decided to try it out before our Galapagos cruise next May and it is a keeper!

 

We ate in the dining room. It was Italian night and the table side penne pasta was my favorite. The veal scallopini was really good also. Jerry had a scallops dish that he liked. I am not a tiramisu fan, but those that had it adored it. I had zabaglione gelato - yum!

 

In the Princess theatre was Ben Seidman, sleight of hand and winner of the 4th annual Princess guest entertainer of the year. He was slick and worth going to see. Our table mates scurried out for MUTS - tonight was Avengers - Age of Ultron. The wheelhouse bar had a Jazz Cafe that was well attended. Runway at sea was in the Piazza. Liars club in Explorers - always so funny! I really like Kelvin as the CD. I do not see him out and about on the ship, but he is funny and personable. We went to bed as our candle has been well burned on both ends. The age on this ship is much younger than other Princess cruises we have been on. There are always lots of people dancing and having a good time when we toddle off to bed about 11:00. Another early morning tomorrow - salmon fishing in Ketchikan!

[GweninTX]

Day 6 - Ketchikan

 

Another early morning! We are going fishing this morning on a private charter. I studied Trip Adviser and ask a lot of questions before booking with Avid Angler Tours - Larry Wiseman is the owner and a great guy! He answered all my questions and even called me before we booked. He promptly returned all emails and phone calls (888-625-2843). I appreciated that he allowed us to book even though we could not confirm him a group of 4-5 for the trip. He was waiting at the end of the pier with our name on a small whiteboard. He also called me as were lined up to get off. We were supposed to disembark at 6:00, but they did not start till 6:30 - be warned if you have early plans as we did. I really think Princess should stay in this port till 3:00 or 4:00. Noon is just not enough time to see this delightful port. We had been before, so it was Ok, but I felt bad for first timers. Again, bright sunshine and really warm today. Started with a jacket and quickly tied it around my waist. Larry had one couple from the Holland Westerdam and one single guy from the Crown. The couple was about our age and fro. Arlington, TX (75 miles from our house). The other guy was from Norman, OK - so we quickly made friends. We started catching fish about 20 minutes out. I caught the first one, a nice pink salmon. We were trolling with downriggers and took turns when a fish came on. The pinks have soft mouths and were easy to lose on the way to the boat. We lost 6 or 7 nice ones. We ended up with 14 - 10 pinks and 4 silvers. I caught the first fish and the biggest fish also. I caught a really nice Silver that was about 30 inches long. We had all the fish sent to our home and will share them with our new friend from Norman as he was the o my one that wanted any filets. We had sent home 50 pounds of silvers from our last fishing trip in Seward and knew they were well worth the cost. The most delicious salmon we had ever eaten before. $85 to process and $2 a pound. Not sure what Fedex will be, but I know it will be so worth it when we cook those on the grill this winter! I was disappointed that we did not catch a nice King salmon, but that just means we will have to return to try again! If you like to fish, I highly recommend Larry!

 

We got on the ship about 11:45 and people were shopping in full force by the pier. It was a beautiful sunny day in the rainiest place In the U.S.! LOL. Twice we have been here and had a sunny day. Maybe our luck will change in the casino!

 

 

We were pooped, so I ordered room Service - 10 Princess cruises and we had never had room service for lunch or dinner! It was a 30 minute wait, but well worth it. I ordered club sandwiches, one with fries and one with chips in case the fries were cold. It came right at 30 minutes and it was a great lunch. The fries were really hot and the sandwiches were amazing. Real sliced turkey, no lunch meat like tiny pieces. Crispy bacon, lettuce and fresh sliced tomatoes. Mayo on The side and a small bowl of catsup for the fries. I was really impressed. This afternoon was a special sing along movie in the Princess theatre - The Sound of Music! What fun to sing with all our favorites! If you are a fan - do not miss 3 hours of fun! I was torn, as I also wanted to go to the "Moose racing", but sacrificed! This was done like the old horse races and you picked your moose and wagered. Good family fun! I also missed a wine tasting and Michael was on deck spotting wildlife, but I know I made the right choice! They followed up with afternoon trivia at 4:15 that was all Sounds of Music questions.

 

Tonight is the last formal night. We ate dinner in the dining room. My favorite, escargot and lobster! The shrimp were almost as big as the lobster tails. The Norman Love chocolate pistachio dome dessert was to die for! The richest chocolate mousse on a bed of chopped pistachio crust. It had white chocolate pieces that had been painted with pistachio green coloring. As pretty for the eye as it was tasty in the tummy! Do not miss!

 

Do not miss the comedy magician, Ben Seidman. He was in the theatre last night and tonight he is in the Explorers lounge for 2 shows. Get there quickly as it was packed and people standing all along the sides too. His sleight of hand will amaze you and he is a pretty good comedian also. We then rushed to the Princess theatre to catch our favorite show, "Disco-Blame it on the Boogie!" I love songs from the 70's and this one has some great ones. It is always fun to see it with a new cast of singers and Dancers. We went to the casino after the show. It was not crowded. A great band called Icon was playing in the piazza for the 50th anniversary gold balloon drop at 10:30. They said there was prizes in some balloons, but I did not see anyone win. Nice time though. We stayed up late for us tonight. We were sad to see we were losing an hour when we got to our cabin also. Card on our pillow to set our clocks forward.

[Kauai Kid]

Thanks for the post. I'm sure it is a lot of work but so many people appreciate it.

We sail 8/10, on the Golden ,SF, R/T Alaska.

[skedaddle43]

From one Texan to another, thank you so much for taking the time to do this review! Will be sailing on the Ruby in September, and even though it is a different ship, your tips and advice will be very useful! Thank you again

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review and live! :)

[goncruzn]

Thank you so much for this review. I have been waiting since May to see someone post a review on the Crown. I, too, am doing this itinerary on Sept 12 with hubby and brother and sister in law and we are so looking forward to it. I'm jotting down notes based upon your experiences so that I make sure we don't miss a thing! This will be my second trip to Alaska, first on Princess, and the first trip for the rest of my group.

 

Thanks again, your review has been wonderful to read!

[JoAnneNYI]

Thank you so much for this review. I have been waiting since May to see someone post a review on the Crown. I, too, am doing this itinerary on Sept 12 with hubby and brother and sister in law and we are so looking forward to it. I'm jotting down notes based upon your experiences so that I make sure we don't miss a thing! This will be my second trip to Alaska, first on Princess, and the first trip for the rest of my group.

 

Thanks again, your review has been wonderful to read!

 

goncruzin......we will be joining you too! There is a roll call but not too active. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2062749

 

Thanks for the review as I also took notes of your experience.

[MsVulcan]

Thanks so much for the detailed review of the Crown in Alaska, GweninTX! My son and I will also be on her September 12 and I am really enjoying reading about your experiences. I will be re-reading your adventures closer to the time we sail to make sure I haven't missed anything.

[GweninTX]

Day 7 - Sea Day and Victoria, BC

 

A morning to sleep in, and of course I am up with the chickens. Jerry slept till 8:00. Our last day on board and will have to pack today also. We ate breakfast in the dining room and I had their special - huevos rancheros - again - being a Texan this lacked in the translation, but it was ok. Jerry wanted to play in the casino and I decided to go to the cooking show. It was good and I skipped the galley tour as I had already toured the Crown galley on our transatlantic. They also had a 3 hour sale in the Michelangelo dining room. Zumba was held every sea day morning at Club fusion. It is way too crowded in there, but fun. Trivia was held, scavenger hunt concluded and a huge crowd attended the snowball bingo.

 

We ate lunch in the dining room. Wonderful perch was served. The fish has been so fresh and good on this cruise. We have eaten it every chance we have. After lunch we attended the final talk by Michael titled, " Native People of the West coast". He is a great speaker and we enjoyed all of his presentations. We also stayed and watched the videographers screening of our day in Tracy Arm fjord. They go out in a zodiac and really take some fine footage up close. For all 5 DVd's it was only $49.95. I am sure they sold a bunch. There was arts and crafts and ice carving also. I quickly threw our clothes into the suitcases and put them outside. Almost everything was dirty so packing was just shoving it all in and weighing it to make sure it was under.

 

I went back downstairs and watched the egg drop which is always fun to see what people come up with. All but 3 survived the 2 deck drop. Afterwards we dressed for dinner as we were having Crown Grill tonight before we went into Victoria. They had the production show, Motor City in the Princess theater at 4:30 and it was a full house. I was reminded how much I love the live house band playing for the production. They have gone to tracks on the Royal and it is not quite as good IMHO. These dancers are especially good and be sure and attend all of their productions. After the show we watched the circus performer Krill in the Piazza till we went to the Crown Grill for our 5:30 reservation.

 

There were a lot of people with the same idea as ours, to have a nice dinner before we got to Victoria at 7:00 PM. We got a table right by a window and had a gorgeous view for dinner. Our service started off great, but as they got full it deteriorated. The menu is augmented by a special "North to Alaska" section and I tried several of them. I had the Copper River house cured salmon with citrus and spruce tips. It was garnished with pickled cucumber and salmon caviar. Jerry had the pan seared Pacific scallops, garnished with an onion slaw. I had my favorite black and blue onion soup and Jerry tried the Cacciucco of Alaskan seafood that included King crab, mussels, halibut and prawns in a spicy tomato broth with a toasted crostini. He loved it! We both had the lingonberry sorbet as the palate cleanser. Jerry ordered his favorite ribeye and a lobster tail. I ordered the King Crab legs off the Alaskan menu. They also offered a wild halibut steak and venison loin on the Alaskan menu. We waited a long time for our entrees and when they came Jerry's ribeye was medium well instead of medium, but it was very juicy and tender and he just ate it. My crab was heavenly. Huge pieces that were cut length wise so easy to eat. For dessert I ordered the special Norman Love Chocolate Journey dessert - Milk chocolate peanut butter bar. The description from the menu - "This dessert is a tribute to the love and marriage of peanut butter and chocolate. The base of this dessert, developed by Chef Love is a moist cake made from almond flour and brown butter topped with a silky, smooth peanut butter cream and topped with a layer of milk chocolate mousse". It was garnished with hand painted pieces of chocolate and long tendrils of chocolate rings. It was Devine! Jerry ordered his favorite molten Dutch chocolate fudge obsession. We waddled out and departed for Victoria!

 

We bought the round trip ticket into Victoria that dropped us off at the inner harbor and in front of the Empress hotel. We walked into the Empress and looked around. We would love to come back and spend a few days here. It is so quaint and pretty. There were flowers blooming everywhere. My favorites were the huge hydrangea. Beautiful pink, blue, white and purple. We walked around the harbor also, they had stalls with local vendors selling jewelry and other handmade items. We boarded the bus back at 9:30 and went straight to our room to bed. We do not fly out till 5:00 pm so we plan to sleep in and have my favorite breakfast in the dining room in the morning - the special French toast.

 

 

If you have any questions, please ask. I also saved all the patters and I will try to post them next week or I may just offer to mail them to someone who would love to have them! I hope you have enjoyed my daily missives. I always learn so much from others who do this, so I like to give back. We are platinum so I have plenty of Internet minutes to post these. I hope all of you who are doing this voyage have as much fun as we did!

[Colo Cruiser]

Its tough to get dinner and head out in a timely manor in Victoria arriving at 7:00pm. Everyone has the same idea. :(