Just back Island Princess Alaska 5/14 to 5/21

[Michele M]

We just got back from a great cruise on Island princess northbound from Vancouver to Whittier. The ship was in great shape and we had a balcony cabin midship Baja deck starboard with my sister and her husband next door. The cabin steward was able to open the balcony door so we had one large balcony.

 

Deck viewing. We found the front of the ship viewing areas on decks 10 and 11 that I read about here. While the view was good and my bf liked it, my sister and I found it too windy and cold. We preferred the aft viewing decks on decks 8,9,10,and 11. They were not very crowded. We also viewed a lot from our balcony as the captain does turn the ship so both sides have a view in Glacier Bay and College Fjords.

 

Food was very good. None of us had any complaints. We mostly ate in the buffet for breakfast, the grill or pizza on deck for lunch, and had anytime dining for dinner. We love the anytime dining and always choose this option. Wait staff were all friendly and accomodating. One night I did order the spaghetti and meatballs which is not on the menu. I read about it here and I really liked it. It's available every night in the dining room. We bought 3 soda cards and my boyfriend just drank the water, which he says tastes fine. We got our money's worth out of the soda stickers and used them often. For all you soda drinkers you can get soda for breakfast at least in the buffet. We also brought some hot chocolate packets and travel mugs for when we wanted something warm on deck. Did not have any wine or mixed drinks.

 

Weather was beautiful almost every day. A few showers in Ketchikan and rain only in the morning in Juneau. Other than that we only had bright sunshine. Sunrise was about 4:30am and sunset was about 10:40pm. Temps varried depending on whether we were in the sun, wind, or rain. We took all kinds of clothing and wore almost all of it. By the way I am usually cold. The guys only brought their fleece jackets and were fine. In Ketchikan I was so cold I had 5 layers on. In Juneau I also loaded up on layers to keep warm but when the sun came out I was only in a light sweatshirt. I took a hat, scarf, gloves(a must), fleece, and winter jacket as well as lighter clothes. We have a travel scale, which I highly recommend and all of our suitcases weighed in at around 49lbs. I'm sure it will be warmer later in season.

 

Activities were fun. We did passenger feud, scavenger hunt, jeapordy, shuffleboard, mini golf (I won the tournament) and bingo one time. Would have done more but the scenery was too beautiful. My sister and I played the penny slots in the casino and the guys were hooked on the 4/8 texas hold um poker table that opened around 8:30pm each night. There were also tournaments.

 

Did not see many shows. We only saw the first, last, and I think two comedians in between. I like the comedians but I always think the production type shows are not that great.

 

Excursions. We reserved the jeep/canoe trip in Ketchikan but it was cancelled due to snow on the backroads so we had to choose something else. We chose the flightseeing to Misty Fjords ($239pp)which was awesome. If I would have known about the cancellation earlier I would have booked independently through Island Wings (I think that is the name of the company) where you can get out of the plane on land for a while and I think it's less expensive. In Juneau we did the wales and rainforest trails($169 or $189pp, I cant remember) through princess which we thought was very good. There were only 5 people on this tour and our guide was great. My sister and her husband did Ziplining through an independent company(i think it was around $115pp) and she said it was great. We also saw bald eagles right off the dock. In Skagway we rented a car($65) and drove to Emerald Lake. We loved this trip and were glad we did not go on the train because we could stop whenever we wanted. The scenery was beautiful and we stopped many times along the way. We saw bears and dall sheep from the road. We also stopped at Carcross to get our passports stamped at the post office. We went to Caribou Crossing where I had reserved the dog cart ride. Fun and informative. My sister and her husband panned for gold there.

 

None of us had ever been to Alaska before and we could not believe how beautiful the scenery was. Everywhere we looked we saw snow covered mountains. From the ship, we saw bears, whales, sea lions, porpoise. No picture or tv show does the scenery any justice. I would be back on board in a second if I could. Any questions, I will try to answer.

[Michele M]

Just to add another thing to my review. Although we are not really shoppers we thought the $19.99 jackets that are available all over Ketchikan and some in Juneau were a great value. In Juneau they might be a little higher priced but we got them for the $19.99 price with a coupon we picked up from a book in the Vancouver port. In Ketchikan they were already advertised for that price. There are some that are waterproof and they are a little lighter and there are some that are water resistant that have a thicker lining. Don't know where else you can get a jacket like that for such a cheap price. The guys also liked the $2.99 and some $1.99 ball caps that were everywhere.

 

We also thought the shops in Ketchikan were mostly cheesy souveniers and lots of jewelery stores. In Juneau we liked the stores better as they had a lot of hand crafted Alaskan made items. I bought a one of a kind piece of pottery that I just love. I also considered a nice ulu knife from a knife shop there, but was afraid I would cut my finger off using it. They are available everywhere but are not all alaskan made.

 

There, now I think I covered everything.

 

Michele

[Bucky3]

Thanks for writing such a great review. Glad to know you liked the Island Princess. We were on her last cruise to Hawaii.

[envy4u]

Thanks for the review. She is our favorite Princess ship !

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the review... The Island/Coral ships are our favorites.

[JohnGaltny]

Michele

 

Thanks for the review. We did the SUN to Alaska last year and loved it.

[Alaska05]

Michele,

Thanks so much for posting your review. We will be on the Island in July and I have been anxiously awaiting reports from this year's early cruisers.

 

We too have a mid-ship balcny on Baja but the port side. Were you in the bumpout section? If so, how was the viewing?

 

Did you get into the ports on time? I'm especially interested if you got into Juneau on time.

 

How was the pizza? We've been spoiled by the fantastic pizza on the Sun. Is it made to order or already made (plain cheese and cheese/pepperoni) and they just serve up the slices? (That's the way it was on the Sapphire when we were on her).

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[jessinphilly]

Michelle, it was great reading your review. We leave in about 3 weeks on the Island! How were the men dressed on formal nights? Were there many in sports coats and ties? Thanks

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks for your review.

 

We were on the recent Coastal on the Island, and loved the ship.

 

We're also going to Alaska in September (on the Dawn) so I really appreciated your information on the shore activities.

 

thanks!

abby

[mii]

Hi there. We saw the Island in Juneau. I was on a Celebrity ship and you were right behind us. The Coral/Island ships are my favorite. In fact we will be on the Coral next year for a back to back. Glad you had a good time on her.

 

marilyn

[Michele M]

Michele,

Thanks so much for posting your review. We will be on the Island in July and I have been anxiously awaiting reports from this year's early cruisers.

 

We too have a mid-ship balcny on Baja but the port side. Were you in the bumpout section? If so, how was the viewing?

 

Did you get into the ports on time? I'm especially interested if you got into Juneau on time.

 

How was the pizza? We've been spoiled by the fantastic pizza on the Sun. Is it made to order or already made (plain cheese and cheese/pepperoni) and they just serve up the slices? (That's the way it was on the Sapphire when we were on her).

We were not on the bump out. We were the 3rd and 4th cabin behind the bumpout. I was really worried before we boarded that the bumpout would block our view but it really didn't bother us at all. If you are on the bumpout I'm sure that the view will be great.

 

We got to all ports on time and were off the ship each day with no problems.

 

Pizza is not made to order. We were on the Dawn a few years ago and I really loved the made to order inside pizza restaurant. The Pizza on the Island is on the deck outside near the pool. We all liked the pizza. It was thin crust with a few varieties, fresh and hot, but not like the Dawn/Sun.

 

I'm jealous. I wish I was going again in July. Have a great time.

 

Michele

[Michele M]

Michelle, it was great reading your review. We leave in about 3 weeks on the Island! How were the men dressed on formal nights? Were there many in sports coats and ties? Thanks

 

My sister's husband and my boyfriend wore dark suits. I really did not notice many tuxes. In fact, I saw a few men with just a shirt and tie or sweater. My sister and I both wore dresses but I noticed some women with pant suits. I thought everyone looked fine and doubt anyone felt out of place. Just three more weeks, you are lucky.

 

Michele

[Michele M]

Hi there. We saw the Island in Juneau. I was on a Celebrity ship and you were right behind us. The Coral/Island ships are my favorite. In fact we will be on the Coral next year for a back to back. Glad you had a good time on her.

 

marilyn

 

Your ship had a great parking spot. I think it was a Royal Caribbean ship behind us that really had a long walk or shuttle into town. I was very happy that the rain stopped and the afternoon was so nice.

 

Michele

[donna travels]

THANKS MICHELLE, We are on the Diamond June 2 southbound. I enjoyed your review, it gave some good ideas. Will pass this along.:D

[SHIPMEOUT]

Thanks for the review. Thinking of doing Alaska at some point. We loved the Island Princess, such a beautiful ship! We had a balcony on Caribe in the mid-ship bumpout, and views were great.

 

- Cindy