Island Princess(long diary like review)

[RhondaPerr]

This was our 5th time on Princess and 14th cruise overall, so I had a lot to compare it to...At the end of this review will be a series of things that we found out that you might not know...

 

6/29/04

 

We got up at 3am left for Newark airport in NJ. The Alaska Airlines terminal was not even open yet. We spent $100 each and upgraded to first class. It was $200 well spent! Our plane had no entertainment but being in Frist class we wer given a portable entertainment center. It was a great time buster. The food was actually palatable.

 

We changed planes in Seattle and arrived in Fairbanks at 3:45pm Alaska time. As we were landing the pilot told us not to be alarmed that our plane was not on fire, but we would see and smell smoke as a result of the wildfires.

When we got to the Princess desk they could not find our packet which contained our room key, but eventually they found ours and some others that had strayed from the pile.

 

(to date there has been almost a million acres lost from the fires)

 

We boarded the bus to the Wedgewood Suites. The suite had a kitchen, livingroom, diningroom and bedroom. There was only air conditioning in the bedroom, but there was a fan available in the closet. We went to dinner at the Bear Lodge-across the lt- they have golf carts to take you anywhere on the property. The food was good and fairly reasonable. The only confusion was over the luggage at this stop and that was soon figured out.

 

6/20/04

 

We were up by 6am and waiting to board the buses to go to the train depot to Denali. Warning the train was bey ond freezing! The smoke was bad this morning our eyes were burning and watering. There are 18 of us together on this trip, one couple arrived from Ohio last night but had no luggage as of this morning.

 

The breakfast on the train was wonderful. FYI they might start at table 23.. and work their way down, so it could be an hour or more before you eat. The train was relaxing, but with smoke we didn't see much of anything. 2 moose. The ride was 4 hours and about a half hour before the end of the ride a Princess rep boarded and gave us our keys and information for the Denali Princess lodge.

 

Our room is small, clean and quiet. There is no air conditioner but at least we can open our windows tonight. There is smoke but not as bad as fairbanks. The grounds are compact and charming. The staff is so helpful and everyone we have met on the tour has been so much fun. There are shops across the street with good prices. We had pizza at the lodge for lunch which was good and tonight we have tickets to the Denali Dinner theatre. Tomorrow morning we are going on a horsebackride.(2 hours guided) *On the train there was a tour rep who told us this and other tours were sold out- but when we went to the hotel's tour desk we had not problem getting what we wanted.

 

The dinner theatre was good. Dinner is served family style so all 18 of us sat together in a long picnic table. The food consisted of ribs, salmon. cole slaw, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, biscuits and strawberry cake. The waiters are also the performers. The show was informative and done well with a lot of audience participation.

 

Sunset is at 12:18am and Sunrise is at 3:40 am. Its odd to have so much light, but sleeping was not a problem. The curtains are all lined and it was dark enough without the eye shades.

 

7/1/04

 

The two hour guided horseback tour was not the best. The horses lost their footing several times, there were hairpin turns and other dangerous conditions. I don't suggest this tour for anyone who had never been on a horse. We saw no wildlife, it was swampy, buggy and there were bramble and bushes to deal with constantly.

 

I did not go on the nature/historical tour in Denali Park, but I was told I didn't miss much. There was no wildlife, but people in my group said it was informative and the guide did a nice job.

 

We boarded the bus for Mt Mckinley. Our driver entertained us with stories and information. The lodge is nice, the rooms are a little bigger than Denali..Oh before I forget I am very impressed with the land Princess staff. A woman asked of there was any way the gym could be opened before she left in the morning and they arranged to open it an hour earlier. A little girl apparently had left her stuffed moose on the train and they tracked her down and got it to her. Every Princess person we have met so far has been friendly and wonderful.

 

Tomorrow its off to Anchorage via the train and Sat. the ship. We haven't met an unpleasant traveller, and have talked to so many people from all over the world.

 

Smoke and weather has not allowed is to see Mt. Mckinley. The smoke does not feel as bad up here, but you can still smell it. As of today Fairbanks is in big trouble with the smoke and air travel into there has become a definite problem.

 

7/2/04

 

We had breakfast in the lodge. The food was okay but the service was slow. We took the 11:30 shuttle to Talekeetna. Ots a nice town, but after an hour we had seen everything twice. At 4:40 we boarded the train for Anchorage. The dinner on the train was incredible.

 

The Captain Cook hotel is huge. There are 3 towers and this is the first time that our group was not together. There is no time to look around anchorage. Our luggage has to be ready by 8am and our bus picks us up at 9:30 am. We head to the Native Cultural Center, then a short tour of Anchorage and then a Wildlife Rehab. (These are all stall tactics because they don't want us on the docks too early) We actually saw some ski today and sun but now it is raining. We have a corner room with an incredible view. Although we have not seen much, the land tour has been enjoyable. We could have allowed the smoke to dampen our spirits but that would not have changed anything.

 

7/3/04

 

We left Capt Cook hotel via bus en route to the ship. We had an hour and half stop at the Native Cultural center. The center was fine but we were really anxious to get to the ship. On The way out of the Center we saw a Moose...It was right off the road, and then as we rounded the next corner, we saw a moose and her two calves. The rehab was kind of sad..we saw different animals that clearly had battled to live. The ride to Whittier was spectacular with the Fjords and glaciers. We got to the ship at 3pm. We had to wait a long time to unload. When we got inside the line was wrapped around and wround but we were processed in probably a half hour.

 

Our mini-suite D-505 is nice with a full bathtub, balcony and sitting area. Right now it is raining and very cloudy. We have mustering in a few minutes. We have 2nd seating but tonight its open seating. We are supposed to depart at 9:30 pm. Tonight there is a comedian Stu Moss- We have seen before and he will make us chuckle. Dinner was good and we enjoyed sitting with other people. The show was a combo of welcome aboard and the comedian. The casino was very smokey, I played the 21 machine and thought I had won 200 quarters...I had actually won $200 dollars. I didn't find the slots too friendly.

 

7/4/04

 

Today we went through our first glacial inlet. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side,. Its cold and rainy and a little choppy. breakfast and lunch were open seating in the diningroom. Lunch the service was extremely slow and the food was okay. We found out last night that our cappucino, expresso and hot chocolate cost money..The other thing that struck me was in the theatre when they wanted to "biggie size" my drink, and didn't give up the first time I said no.

 

We went to the shopping talk and then went to the Naturalist talk. Rachel did an excellent presentation. Tonight is formal night anf the Captain's Cocktail Party is in the atrium floorrs, 5,6,7, and 8. Members of our group are at a scholarship at sea program on digital photography. There is a nice library, the internet cafe is small. Tonight the entertainment is Jeff Peterson, who is funny and some Rock and Roll production which is supposed to be repeated tomorrow night.

 

Formal night- contrary to what we thought people were dressed to the nines. I would say a good number of men were in tuxedos and women in long gowns. The first night at our assigned table in the Provence diningroom. The food was okay, but the service has definitely suffered with the tips included policy. We talked to our Captain Waiter and he tod us he does not agree with some of the changed such as $ for hot chocolate that have come about since Carnival bought Princess.

Part 2 coming up

[shortland]

What do you mean by "tips included policy"?

[AmyinGA]

Shortland: On Princess there is tip that is automatically added to your account that covers tips for the wait staff and your cabin steward. It's a per person/per day fee. You do have the option to take it off your account if you want to handle tips on your own. There is some discussion about whether service levels have declined since the start of this policy. I haven't seen a difference in service and I leave the auto tip on my account, and I also pay extra cash tips at the end of the cruise.

[lazylady]

Rhonda...thanks for the info about the trip. we are scheduled to do the same

land/cruise in late Aug. I am looking forward to reading part 2 of your experience.

[diego]

Rhonda-

 

Great review, thanks.

Was the balcony of your mini-suite completely exposed or was there partial coverage? How many chairs could fit?

I love an uncovered balcony, but wondering if covered is better in Alaska because of how often it rains.

Thanks again.

[shortland]

Thanks AmyinGa.

[StellaRN]

Amy sounds like you had a good trip. I'm really intrested in how you liked the mini-suite we are in C504 next July and would like to know how big the balcony is and if it is covered. We are taking the 6 day land tour glad to here that you enjoyed that also. Did your bags follow you all the way through the land portion. I heard you had to send some ahead to the ship and only keep a carry on. Can't wait to read part 2.

 

:) StellaRN

[RhondaPerr]

Our balcony was uncovered. It fit a table and 2 chairs...but we didn't mind standing out in the rain :)

[StellaRN]

Was it on the mid-ship bumpout? I thought they were partially covered at least.

Stella RN

[RhondaPerr]

your luggage follows you to Fairbanks. Then in Fairbanks you can send pieces to the ship....or to the Mt McKinley lodge...You can only have your 9x14x22 with you on the train..So you have to pack your overnight things etc in that case. You won't get any of your luggage in Denali.. Kind of a pain but not enough to gripe about :)

[RhondaPerr]

no bumpout...but yes it was midship....to be honest I never looked up :)

[StellaRN]

We are in C504 It's the corner of the bumpout so I think its at least partially covered. You are right why should I be looking up. The overnight bag just for the one night at Denali. Did you do the 11s tour that's the one we are doing. So you think we are better doing the Princess excursions. So many people here say they do their own.

Stella:)

[RhondaPerr]

yes, just for the train to Denali..... I liked the way Princess did everything on the land tours....We didn't compare prices or anything, just a personal preference.

[StellaRN]

My hubby thinks we should just let them do everything that way they are responsible I guess it works out okay. We are going into Fairbanks 2 days early so the men can fish I'm sure we ladies will find something to do. I'm not sure if we should arrange these nights or let Princess do that also. Do all the people on the land tour stay in the same hotel? Two couples will be coming on the day the tour starts the rest of us will all ready be there. Any ideas.

[Lorabelle]

We'll be on the Coral in August, so I really enjoyed your review.

 

Is there a fee for hot chocolate when you order it through room service as well? We've all been looking forward to hot chocolate on the balcony as we view the glaciers.

 

Thanks,

Lori

[demilyric]

Nice review. I have a question about the balcony on the mini-suite. What type of chairs were on your balcony? The diagrams show recliners but others have said they are just plastic resin upright chairs.

[saxygirl]

Lorabelle -- I was on the Island Princess in June. We could get hot chocolate (with breakfast) delivered to our room at no charge and could order it with breakfast in the dining room at no additional charge. One day I went to the bar in the Horizon Court to get hot chocolate, and it cost $1.50. I don't drink coffee and am practically addicted to hot chocolate, so next time I'll bring my own packets. Hot water is always available in the Horizon Court.

[Lorabelle]

Lorabelle -- I was on the Island Princess in June. We could get hot chocolate (with breakfast) delivered to our room at no charge and could order it with breakfast in the dining room at no additional charge. One day I went to the bar in the Horizon Court to get hot chocolate, and it cost $1.50. I don't drink coffee and am practically addicted to hot chocolate, so next time I'll bring my own packets. Hot water is always available in the Horizon Court.

 

 

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll throw some packets in my suitcase. Luckily they don't take up up much room!

[RhondaPerr]

I never had hot chocolate in the room so I couldn't tell you.

[RhondaPerr]

the chairs were the plastic kind.. the head part reclined a little bit but not at your feet.

[RhondaPerr]

If you go through Princess and tell them you are with other people they will put you in the same hotel...If everyone does it on their own there are a number of hotels that you can end up on the land tour.

[jdl2]

Stella,

I was in B 504. Yes it is covered, I should just say there is a balcony above you (us). If there is rain you will get wet. The balcony is just big enough for a small table and two chairs. The cabin is nice as you have a little better view because you extend out, the disadvantage is the the entire side of the side looks directly at you because you are what they see when they look forward.

Joe in Colorado

[StellaRN]

Thanks Joe. We liked the location of the cabin. As their are 4 couples going we will not fit on anyones deck. So as long as it is big enough for the 2 of us it is okay. It's so hard to decide which cabin. Bigger balcony, which deck etc. but I really wanted to be midship. I don't really care if people look at us. I'll just wave!! I'll be looking for whales!! So I thought if you were covered you wouln't get as wet. Guess it doesn't matter if covered or not if you still get wet. Was this your first cruise? It is for us and my husband is not used to a structured vacation. We usually do 2 weeks in a resort and come at go as the mood stricks us. This he is looking forward to. I hope he will get hooked and want to go more.

 

Stella

[jdl2]

Stella......Don't worry he WILL BE HOOKED!

 

A cruise can be as structured as you like. If you just want to chill, sleep late and never leave the ship. If you like adventure, be the first one off in the morning. There is as much or as little to do as you like.

 

I went on my first cruise (Princess) in the late eighties and I booked it because I had been working 80+ hours a week for three months and I thought it would FORCE me to just lay by the pool. WAS I WRONG! I was on the go from morning to ......well morning! Worked out at 7:00am, ate, drank, ate, went to shows, ate, gambled, ate, danced and left the disco at 3:00am. Unfortunately for me, I usually come home to rest from my vacations. I like to pack as much as I possiblely can.

 

Joe

[cindim]

We are just back from the Island (southbound alaska) and has room C316. Great spot! Loved having the balcony! It was partially covered and gave us cover from the little rain we had. Another thing is that about 2 floor above is "bumped out" so there was actually a bit more coverage on the balcony! The couples below us and to the sides of them were together and they had the doors open between the balconies. They did 4 chairs on 2 balconies so they could be closer together and that seemed to work fine.

 

We also got hot chocolate delivered to our room the day we went thru Glacier Bay. What a nice treat! No extra charge!

 

Cindi