Island Princess May 15,'06

[janica]

Have a "hold" on a starboard cabin for the northbound sailing out of Vancouver. Is starboard the "best" side of the ship to be on for scenery? This is our first Alaskan cruise and we have wanted to do it for years. We will be celebrating our 35th anniversary! Just a little nervous about making the right decisions concerning the cruise line, ship, cabin, etc. We have cruised twice on the Grand and loved it! Has anyone else done this cruise on the Island? Please advise.

[seitseman]

Janica,

We did the May 14th NB cruise last year on the Coral Princess (sister ship to the Island.) We had a balcony cabin on the Starboard side B539. We chose the Starboard side because we felt it would be the best side for scenery. Bottom line, I still believe the Starboard side has an edge of the Port side, but both sides have incredible scenery throughout the trip. We were luck, our weather was FANTASTIC! Sunny and 70 most of the two weeks we were in Alaska! Be sure to really research where your room is, to make sure there are no obstructions. We were in the middle of one of the "set-backs" so we didn't really have any view obstructions. Also, We were under the an overhang from above that stuck out the furthest. Good for shielding us from weather on the rare times it rained, but also good for us that we were two decks down from the actual overhang because it didn't interfere with our photographs. I am envious and excited for you! This time last year I was literally counting down the number of days on my calendar already! Our Alaskan vacation was the best vacation I've ever done and I still think of our trip and look at our photos often! ENJOY! And if you have ANY questions, let me know!! :-)

Beth seitseman@aol.com

[Budget Queen]

However, if you only want to view your glaciers from your balcony, port is the side as going into Glacier Bay and College Fjords all the views are on the port side. They do "turn" the ship, but you are still only getting a fraction of the views. On the way out, there usually isn't any commentary nor the extended stops. But the best views are from the front open decks, far more extensive than any side viewing.

[seitseman]

We got great views from our balcony on the Starboard side of the Glaciers and we got to watch them for quite a while.

 

Also, on the Island and Coral Princess, remember at the rear of each deck Baja, Caribe, Dophin and Emerald there are additional public decks which are often overlooked and uncrowded. Another excellent alternative to the crowded top deck (or your balcony if you want to make sure you are getting the best photos.)

 

:)

[cwestbrook]

However, if you only want to view your glaciers from your balcony, port is the side as going into Glacier Bay and College Fjords all the views are on the port side. They do "turn" the ship, but you are still only getting a fraction of the views. On the way out, there usually isn't any commentary nor the extended stops. But the best views are from the front open decks, far more extensive than any side viewing.

 

Would that be the same on a southbound cruise?

 

 

 

"Also, on the Island and Coral Princess, remember at the rear of each deck Baja, Caribe, Dophin and Emerald there are additional public decks which are often overlooked and uncrowded. Another excellent alternative to the crowded top deck (or your balcony if you want to make sure you are getting the best photos.)"

 

You can see the glaciers from the aft as well as the bow?

[seitseman]

Yes, you can see the Glaciers from the aft of the boat :-) On the Island and Coral ships, the bow of the Baja, Caribe, Dophin and Emerald decks are actually reserved for crew/staff of the ship. I've read on this message board before that if you ask to go out, they may say OK, but we didn't see a need to do so while we cruised.

[janica]

Can you tell me which balconies are open or partially covered on the Island Princess? We are looking at Dolpin Deck and Emerald Deck.

[seitseman]

There are many different answers depending on where the cabin/balcony is located. Unfortunately, there is not one quick answer without knowing the specifics of the cabin location.

 

I will say, after staying on the Baja deck, we could look right down on the balconies of the Caribe and Dolphin decks, as they "step out" closer to the side of the ship. http://community.webshots.com/photo/362936455/362938209YGEwzX

This link shows an example of what I mean. I think the Emerald Deck seems to be protected from this.

 

I hope this helps some.

[janica]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer and send the pic! Your first reply to this thread was much apppreciated, too. I am fairly new to this board and am just learning my way around. Still a little confused, as I had another reply on another board that Dolphin was covered. Ah, well... we will take what we get and love it!

[seitseman]

Hi Janica,

No worries at all :-) I can say I am not a pro at this or at cruising. The Alaska cruise was my first. But I will say you have a fantastic start at having a great vacation. This board is where I learned many hints leading up to the cruise! Keep at it and you'll feel like a pro and have a good idea of what to expect.

 

I don't mind helping you at all with your questions. Though I was not the TA or coordinator, I was "leader" of a group of 21 for our trip. I made up binders with info, sent away for travel magazines from each port of call before our trip, etc. I really had fun and it prepared me, as well.

 

Are you guys doing a land tour after your cruise, too? You really should if you can!! You'll miss quite a bit of "Alaska" if you don't. We stayed in Vancouver for a day prior to our departure. Got up early to watch our ship come in! There was, however, an extremely long wait (3 hours) to get through security and immigration to get on the ship. I don't know if this has gotten better or not. It may have been because it was the first cruise of the season, 3 other ships in port as well, or new security rules that had been put into effect. You may or may not have to deal with this, but it is just a heads up. Princess got you on the ship within minutes after finally reaching them.

 

 

In Skagway, if you do the train out of Skagway, sit on the left. If you take a bus trip out of Skagway, sit on the right. If you take the bus out and do the train back to Skagway, sit on the right side of the train on the way back.

 

In Whittier going to Anchorage, sit on the left side of the bus/train.

 

A must if you go to Fairbanks. Rent a car and drive to North Pole Alaska!! It is about 13 miles SouthEast of Fairbanks and WELL WORTH it!! Santa Claus House is cool! The McDonalds pole is a Candy Cane. Elf's Den is a FANTASTIC place to eat.

 

I mean what I say. If you have any questions, let me know. I'll answer them the best I can and with an open mind.

:)

Beth

[Budget Queen]

Would that be the same on a southbound cruise?

 

 

 

"Also, on the Island and Coral Princess, remember at the rear of each deck Baja, Caribe, Dophin and Emerald there are additional public decks which are often overlooked and uncrowded. Another excellent alternative to the crowded top deck (or your balcony if you want to make sure you are getting the best photos.)"

 

You can see the glaciers from the aft as well as the bow?

 

 

Yes, but again my opinion only. You will have the most glacier viewing from the front of the ship. On the way into Glacier Bay and sailing College Fjords, for clairfication, you have NO views from the starboard side. In Glacier Bay the ship will nose into the Grand Pacific and Magerie, then do a slow 360 turn- BUT one sailing I have been on did not, it made a starboard turn and left.

 

As I mentioned, every cruise I have been on sailing these areas have had all the commentary on the way in, so the port side saw what they were talking about. On the way out, the ships don't even usually stop, just sail by, and if your first time, you won't know what glacier it is. (may not be of interest certainly)

[seitseman]

Here is the link to all of our Alaska Photos. Most of our Glacier Bay photos and College Fjord photos are taken from our balcony. A few from the back deck on Baja, too. We THOROUGHLY enjoyed the views from our starboard balcony on the entire cruise, including Glacier Bay and College Fjord. (The captain did well to let every side of the ship have great views for a prolonged amount of time. In fact, the photo of the glacier w/ the "cave" with the waterfall in it was on our side for a very long time.) We chose the starboard side because we felt the entire cruise overall would offer us the best views on that side since "the mainland" would be on that side. We could also see each town from that side as we approached port of call. We docked port side to Juneau, starboard side to Skagway and Whittier. Ketchikan was a tender, though I have seen on the webcam that the Island and Coral dock starboard. Vancouver was on the Port side.

 

All of this being said, I haven't been on other ships or other cruise lines. Budget Queen has been on several of them and I found her many of her posts last year helpful prior to our cruise. As for our cruise we were able to substantially view the glaciers from our starboard balcony.

[seitseman]

Opps!! Sorry, I forgot to post the link!! Here it is :-)

http://community.webshots.com/user/seitseman-reg