Just back from Island Princess SB 6/3-6/11

[cruiserjanet]

FloridaTourist. I am enjoying reading your review and look forward to reading it again more thoroughly. We were on the Island Princess to Alaska in 2003 in D407 and again to Hawaii in D401. Our waiters were Jamrat from Thailand and Daniel from Romania. I believe our Maitre'D was Marco from Italy. The Captain was Andrea Poggi. I agree that the ship is beautiful and we would sail on her again in the future if the opportunity ever presents itself. We look forward to trying out a much larger ship (the Caribbean Princess) next year. Hopefully it won't be too much of a shock to be with that many passengers. :rolleyes:

[DarkOne]

FT - Thanks for posting the detailed review! We're dong the Coral P. in July, and this is a great pre-cruise read.

 

How would you compare the Skagway and Juneau dogsled trips? We're booked in Juneau already (Glacier hike and whale watching), but we're deciding if we want to add on the Skagway tour (otherwise, we will just hike on some of the trails near down).

 

Did you get to drive the sled in Skagway? Did you at least get to ride for a decent amount of time? Did you like one much more than the other?

 

Thanks for the help! It'll help me decide if the wife and I should spend another $800 on this tour :D

 

Steve in Philly

[FloridaTourist]

Darkone - We only did the dog sled in skagway so I can't compare with Jeanu. We chose skagway because it was our first port. TEMSCO told us that if the weather caused them to cancel in Skagway they could "probably" rebook us in Jeanu since they fly in both ports. Dog sledding is the most canceld of all Alaska tours. I got to drive the rear sled. The musher drives the front one. Believe me...that was enough driving. As far as Hiking, I heard of people doing conoe trips, bike rides etc in skagway but did not hear of anyone doing any near by hiking but I am sure there are trails near by. I owuld suggest you get a guide there. In Jeanu you can hike around Mt. Roberts without a guide since it is more of a park. Also in Anchorage you should hike Flat Top Mountain.

 

In Ketchikan we also did the Lumberjack show. It was a funny skit run type of show based on skills used in the Gret Outdoors Games. It was fun, not expensive and worth the time..unless of course you are from a logging state then you might find it dull. Since I'm from florida we were amazed at the large heaters in the stands.....its all relative. Did you know that logging is a college sport? Many of the loggers in the show are collegiate champions. Very cute and fun show. It is wlaking distance from the port. ONly about 2 blocks.

[travelingator]

FT, You are doing a good job remembering all the details of a Super Trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[FloridaTourist]

Day 9 of our trip was the last full day at sea :( . This was a day to sleep in and rest from all the running around we had done. It was also the day we had to pack 12 bags for the 4 of us:rolleyes: . There didn't seem to be many activities during the day on the ship. In the morning there was a a galley tour but i think 1800 of the 2100 passengers were in line for it, so we gave up. If you have never seen a ships galley get in line early. Everyone should do it once. After that, don't wait in line. At lunch time they had the pastry display. They had some cool looking things but i cna't say the desserts, mainly cakes, were that good. It was held in the HOrizan Court. Overall, I can't say the desserts in the Horizan Court were ever that good. The cookies here were great but everything else was fair. The desserts in the main dinning room and speciality dinning rooms were very good though. For dessert at dinner we had Baked Alaska. I have to say, it was a very good baked alaska. We were lucky, out dinning room staff had one empty large table this night so were were offered big slices. I would not miss this night in the main room if you have not done it before. The crew does a nice job with the show of the baked alaska. We had a great entertainment night as well. Lovina Fox performed a about 3 numbers this night with the ships orchcestra. Again a great performance, but this time the music was less familiar. The hilight of the show was the new comedian that performed. Our kids had seen his earlier show that night and told us we had to see him. They were correct. His name was Serge. He did a little skit about the ship's cabins and a song about Skagway as well as several other things. He is one of the funniest comedians i have ever seen. We even bought his CD. Most things on the ship closed around 10:45 - 11 this night. I guess they wanted to make sure you got off the ship early.

[Coolmama_1]

Great review! Thanks for sharing!

[tapia]

Wow, what a great review. I'm so happy I found it--and with a lot entered already. Those sound like great excurions. I'm glad you had a great time.

 

I saw Serge perform (2 different nights) on the Golden last Feb. He was great! The second night so many people were standing!

 

I can't wait to see your pictures? (would you mind posting?)

 

Do you know where the animal refuge is? We're cruising out of Seward, but I'd still love to see it.......

[TravelnAl]

Was on this trip last year and had a comedian by the name of Sarge. This is probably the same one. He was excellent.

[Emerald22]

Florida Tourist

 

Your review is great. You should post it in the Review Section. Then it would be lined up with all the other reviews. I almost miss yours. Thanks for posting.:)

[travelingator]

His correct name is SARGE. He has a web site http://www.IAMSARGE.com. I agree with Emerald22, FT should post in the review section.

[dean8844]

that $17 for the ice cream card got me thinking :rolleyes: would it cost the same for a 10-day cruise? sometimes i think to much lol :D

 

Dean

[FloridaTourist]

Sorry everyone I will get to finish it on Friday, I promise.

 

From one Dean to another.......the ice cream card was for a number of turns so i don't think the length of cruise would matter.

[FloridaTourist]

I know i typed this part but for some reason i don't see it, so I will retype it. The shipped arrived in Vancouver sometime around 7:30am. My DW and I and our youngest son decided to do breakfsat in the main dinning room. The oldest did his own thing upstairs at the buffet. Our scheduled exit time on the Patter was 9:00am but we were called around 8:30. Well we were still eating breakfast and we were not going to be rushed. But just so you know when they say the dininig room will close at 8:30 am that day they mean it. We could still get coffee but that was about it. Make sure you get what ever you want before then. Everything the waiters have out was taken back to the kitchen never to return. The Horizon Court stayed open till 9 i think. We made it back to our room at 9 and left the ship by 9:10. Going through Candian Customs was rather painless and the luggage pickup area was was fairly organized. Plenty of Princess people around to answer questions and help find lost bags. They even had people around to h elp get taxis. We only waited abut 10 minutes for a van taxi to take our stuff to the Hyatt downtown. The ride was short. Maybe 3/4 mile. Close enough to walk on this beautiful morning but not with 12 bags of luggage. Everyone takes american money by the way, but your change will be canadian. We had a really nice room at the Hyatt. Very Large and Modern. We had a rollaway, 12 pieces of luggage and we still and lots of room to walk around. My father inlaw and I walked 2 blocks to the Avis counter and picked up our rental van. WE picked up everyone and drove to Granville. Fun little area. A lot like Reading Market in Philly or Quincy in Boston. We then drove down Beach street. Very trendy area and made our way to Stanely Park. Stanely park was pretty and you can stop to see the Totum Polls. Jus tdon't miss the parking lot like we did. You have to drove the entire park again to see them if you do. We then made out way to Capilano and did the Suspension Bridge. I did it with just the boys. Everyone else went for a ride and later we met forlunch. The Suspension bridge was fun but not for those that are sensitive to motion. It's about $23 a person. You have to pay even if you just want to watch. ONce inside the park there are a few shops and skits, and places to eat. Below the bridge is rushing water. YOu are pretty high up. Once on the other side there are a few more smaller bridges across the tree tops...much easier to handle. There is also a fish fund stocked with trout and some wild life in the area. There is a guide if you can call him that. He was pretty lame. He needed a class on enthusiasm. The entire thing took us abut 45 minutes. If you take your time you might squeak 90 minutes out of it. Anymore time then that and you must be crawling. We all met for lunch at the Bridge HOuse Restaurant right across the street which i think is owned by the park. Lunch was very good. They have good wraps and sandwiches. We then drove back into Vancouver and found out way through China Town (not worth a stop) and Gas Town (touristy, and nothing great, the clock doesnt' make noise anymore)and the hotel. After a little rest we ere off again. This time to Beach Street for dinner. I believe the place we ate at was The Boathouse on Beach near were Davis intersects. Lots of places to eat here. The hotel conceirge recommanded it. It was very good and not too badly priced. The main dining room was on the second floor with all glass. Make sure to ask for a window table. WE then walked along the Beach. This area is populated with tons of pricey condo's and seemed very safe for a night time stroll. On the beach walk there were street performers. Some rather unusual like the 2 guys do acrobatics in underwear with the british flag on it. But all fun and entertaining. We then returned the car and called it a night. Vancouver was a very clean looking and nice city. We could have probably used another day here. I found it a little unusal though, there were no major highways through the city and yet traffic seemed to move just fine. It could be we just didn't pass them. Either way, its a beautiful place.

[FloridaTourist]

My youngest son just reminded me that the show i could not remember was the magician. Have to say though....he was not worth remembering......enough said.

[travelingator]

FT-----You Da man______________

[FloridaTourist]

We awoke this morning in time to have breakfast next door at Tom Horton's......kind of Canadian version of Duncan Dounuts with a few more baked goods instead of fried dounuts. They are all over town and at the airport. The danish were not bad but don't order a small coffee....it is REALLY small. Actually the coffee shop in the lobby of the hotel has good coffee. The hotel arranged for a taxi to drive us to the airport. The ride was about 30 minutes through a different part of the city. NIce area....reminded me of the olde Winter Park Section of Orlando. Our driver told us about the city as we drove through....seems to be a very expensive place to live.

Vancouver airport was a modern facility. There is a Fairmount Hotel right in the terminal if you need to stay there. We were flying Delta this time. They are a small carrier there so only a few agents but not much line. Because it was an international flight we were unable to print boarding passes in advance. WE did stand in line for a few minutes to clear US customs in Canada but the good thing was that once we did it there we did not have to do it in Atlanta where we changed planes. I know since 911, customs has become a very serious thing but some of those guys could crack a smile....i promise, a smile won't make or break the day.....geesh!!!!...don't try cracking any jokes with these guys as you go through the line. Once you go through customs you are technically in the US. Just a note - No one weighed our luggage leaving Canada. This was big for us since at least 2 maybe 3 bags were overweight. There are several restaurants and snack places in the international area of the airport. When we fly, espeicially with Delta. We carry a larger soft sided cooler. We picked up sandwiches for the 4 of us and ice. The food would be little, if any for Delta, and of course they didn't let us down. The good thing was the plane was not full and each boy had their own row and my wife and I had 3 seats for the 2 of us. Our flights were on time all the way through to MCO.

Thanks for letting me share our experience with you all. Hope our adventure will make yours that much better.

[Colo Cruiser]

Great info thanks.

[Leslieswiger]

[B]Enjoyed every moment reading your thread. Now hurry up and take another cruise please.:eek: Happy Sailings...Leslie Swiger:) [/B]

[FloridaTourist]

My youngest son said I should tell everyone this:

When we went dog sledding, we didn't know if we should tip the mushers....well we asked the person from TEMSCO that greeted us upon landing at the dog camp. Yes you tip the mushers.....guess the amount depends on your experience with that person.

[Lonny]

Thanks - you did a great job of taking us all along on your terrific cruise. Really enjoyed your informative review! Hope you have lots more fun cruise vacations with your family...and be sure to share them with us again!
Lonny:)

[FloridaTourist]

Thanks Lonny....we plan too...but first it's a trip with just the DW to Hawaii in 1/07