Saphirre Alaska 5/26 through 6/2 Trip Report

[ANNIEPG]

We were first time cruisers and did this cruise along with a 3 day prior interior package. We had used Princess air for our flights and had a stressful time getting to Fairbanks. We encountered everthing from bad weather, missed connections, and mixed messages from Princess as to how to proceed. In the end, it worked out but we had only 3 hours sleep before starting our grueling 3 day pre-cruise tour.

 

I have to say the 3 day land package was my favorite part. The Denali and McKinley Princess Hotels were wonderful, the helicopter glacier landing was spectacular, Mt. McKinley was out in full glory, and the train trips were amazingly relaxing! It was perfect. I was concerned about taking only the Natural History tour in Denali but we saw all kinds of wildlife and our tour guide had just the perfect, almost reverent, attitude.

 

As to the cruise itself, we loved it. We like buffets but were disappointed in this one as it was a circus...crowded, unorganized and no place to sit. Anytime dining worked great with no waits for a table for two. The food was good but not great. Afternoon tea was something we looked forward to. I had breakfast in bed every morning.

 

We found the ship to be beautiful and service was excellent. Entertainment was good and we were never bored. The casino was a rip off with very poor payouts on many of the machines. Of course I found myself there too often and too long :mad:

 

Hate to disagree with another poster but we found Skagway the most disappointing part of the vacation. The train was wonderful and filled much of our day. The town itself was awful with 4 big cruise ships in port, shoulder to shoulder tourists, ridiculous prices and lines, and just too "touristy" and fake for our taste. If we hadn't planned on the train ride we would have just gotten back on the ship for the day.

 

Of course, Glacier Bay was worth the price of the cruise and the best part of the cruise part of the vacation. A balcony in Alaska is a must.

 

DH and I were concerned about formal night and the snobbery I thought I detected on this site but have to say it worked out great! It really was not hard to dress for and the ship did take on a different, "special" look and feel those nights. When I'm wrong, I'll admit it!

 

Trip home was another mess of late flights and just barely made connections. However, I have come to expect this of flying these days.

 

Thanks all for your wonderful advice. If I can answer any questions, please ask them.

[tequilasunrise]

Glad you had an over good time! Thanks for posting.

[lthomas]

Thanks for the post!! We leave on the Sapphire in a couple of weeks. How quickly were you able to disembark and get to the Vancouver airport? We have an 11:30 flight.

[genmasjoy]

Disembarkation was a mess! We barely made our flight, at 11:30 a.m. They called our designated color (everyone is assigned a color which is also applied to your luggage and you have to show the tag at the gangway to exit) at 9 a.m. instead of 8 as we'd been promised. When we got off, there was a long line for Canadian immigration. Then there was another long line for the busses. After arriving at the airport, we had to get in another line to get our luggage, which had been delivered separately and was at one end of the terminal. After that, another line to check in for the flight. We got our baggage tags for the flight but couldn't check in our bags because we had to go through Canadian Customs and US immigration and customs. This seems really crazy to me since we weren't in Canada on the whole trip except to exit the ship and take a bus to the airport. After that, checked in the bags and then had to go through airport security, then run down the corridor to our gate. We just got on in time and didn't even have a chance to buy any food or drink in the terminal for the almost five hour flight. It was a real hassle and not a fun way to end the trip. If I ever do that itinerary again I am going to look for a cruise that ends in Seattle, to avoid the customs/immigration issues.

[lthomas]

Thanks for the disembarkation information. This is the only part of my trip that is making me nervous. We were originally scheduled for 1:15 but Delta changed us. Princess told me that anything after 11 should be fine but it doesn't sound very smooth from reviews. Can I ask you if there was an opportunity for walk off earlier with your own bags? I am hearing mixed things about this. I think my family could handle all our bags and I could possibly arrange for a service to get us?? or do you think I am better off to keep the Princess transfer? thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[West Coast]

If I ever do that itinerary again I am going to look for a cruise that ends in Seattle, to avoid the customs/immigration issues.

 

FYI ~ On most Alaska cruises that end in Seattle you will have to clear US Immigration and Customs as you will be (re)entering the USA.

[watersprite]

hope Princess pays attention to all the comments about the buffets not being organized and so many bad dishes.

 

thanks for the rest of your comments, cheers me up for our Feb. trip

[jadejay2]

Thanks for the disembarkation information. This is the only part of my trip that is making me nervous. We were originally scheduled for 1:15 but Delta changed us. Princess told me that anything after 11 should be fine but it doesn't sound very smooth from reviews. Can I ask you if there was an opportunity for walk off earlier with your own bags? I am hearing mixed things about this. I think my family could handle all our bags and I could possibly arrange for a service to get us?? or do you think I am better off to keep the Princess transfer? thanks

 

We were on the same cruise. I was told by the Princess people that Vancouver does not allow walking off with our own bags. And yes, there was a guy checking your color tag at then gangway. But once our color was called, we found our luggages and went through immigration and custom and in to our rental car in 15 minutes! Best disembarkation ever for us!

 

As for the food onboard, we like it very much. Living in the Bay Area, we are pretty spoiled by the nice restaurants around here. But we thought the Sapphire chefs did a good job cooking for 2600+ people. Only the desserts were a bit disappointing. It's a matter of personal taste, of course. We also found most people congregate around the buffet stations and there were plenty of available seating toward the aft of the ship. We (party of 5) went to the Horizon Court for breakfast everyday and never had to wait for a table, even during peak hours.

[Mike A]

When my wife and I were on the Diamond in September, we were given the option for $15 pp to have expidited disembarkation in Vancouver. We met in the Wheelhouse Lounge where we were given our boarding passes then placed in special buses to take us to the airport. Our passports were checked on the bus and when we got to the terminal we went in a special entrance that took us right right to the security line and into the airport gate area. It was the best $30 I ever spent.

[lthomas]

Mike A............was the part of US Direct? I had planned on doing that but they say Delta is not participating this year. I can't image why they wouldn't if other airlines are but sounds like they are not.

[Mike A]

I was on Delta returning to JFK in NY in September using US direct. I have no idea why Delta would not particpate this year.

[donna5]

We were on this cruise and the buffets were very good. I remember the days when they buffets were mostly pasta salads and such. Almost everyday at lunch was a diff. fried seafood. They had several special buffets set up outside the main buffet near the indoor pool. I like the way Princess has the stations so you can just get what you want without having to wait in a long line while your food gets cold. We mostly ate in the diningrooms, but did get a few things from the buffet.

 

Yes the line to get to the busses were long. Apparently with all the construction going on around the pier, there are problems.

 

We liked Skagway, since it looks neat and was nice to walk around.

[Host Caroline]

Disembarkation in Vancouver is just a nightmare and with the Gray Line folks on strike they cancelled our tour that ended at airport and it was too late to use "Easy Check" (aka US Direct). AND we missed our "connection" with friends in Vancouver so didn't even get to see them:( .

 

All I can say is we loved the Sapphire last week and I will do a review but I would advise everyone to allow more time than you think you will need to disembark if you are using PRincess transfers.. it is NOT the cruise line's fault (can I stress that enough???). IMHO it is just Vancouver being a huge international airport, 3 big ships come in and you get long line after long line for customs etc. They collect luggage for you to pick up at airport but then it's a line to do that (and they go strictly strictly by color) and then the lines to check in.. Our US Airways VISA Signature Card is worth its weight in gold bec. we can always use first class check in.. it took 3.5 hours to get from ship to being finished with all the lines.. had our 12:40 flight not been cancelled earlier by airline we would have been sweating it big time.

 

Been a while since flown out of VAncouver and we are probably going back next year but will cruise out of Seattle.. with 12 No-rain days in a row on this trip (I never get rained on for some reason in Alaska) and a great scenery experience in Whittier and Glacier Bay my new DH wants to see some of Seattle and the airfare will be cheaper as well. And the airport no hassle:rolleyes:

[marlong]

Is food included in Denali, Mt Kinley Lodges? If not what is the price range?

[ANNIEPG]

No, the food was not included in the land portion. Truthfully we were so busy, there wasn't a lot of time to eat! One day we ate lunch in downtown Fairbanks. Another lunchtime found us on a bus in Denali park eating protein bars. We missed one dinner altogether because we scheduled an activity. I think we ate a couple meals on the train. The train meals were fine, perhaps a little pricey ($10 or $12 for a bowl of soup). Overall, we did not spend much money on food.

 

Interesting that some others on the same cruise had no problems with the buffet. It may have been the luck of when we visited. We had one dinner in the buffet and could find no seats and we were aware of the connecting rooms. DH always had breakfast at the buffet and said sometimes he could find a table, other times not. Oh, well. We never had to wait for a table in the Dining Room for anytime dining but I'm sure others had a different experience.

 

As far as tight time frames in getting to the airport, delays, problems making connections, and sprinting through the terminals....unfortunately that is becoming all too common in flying. I am old enough to remember when flying was fun, or at least a treat. I have come to hate that part of travel.

 

Overall, even those things I wasn't thrilled with were really no problem. We loved our first cruise!

[llachance]

Vancouver airport/then cruise terminal once and I swore I would never do it again. We got off our late plane to hit passport control just as 3 or more 747s landed from the far east. We were in line for passport control for over an hour. We knew the ship was going to wait for us because the musicians for the cruise were in the same line :) Caught a taxi to the port, dumped our bags with the porters, went through american customs - to get on the ship and were aboard 20 minutes later. Way too much stress for a long weekend (we were on a repositioning cruise last fall). There are different embarkation ports that are much more friendly. BTW - we had a canadian couple at dinner with us. They talked about the time they were driving across the border and within a minute or so they closed the border (the canadians) and they waited about 5 hours to cross (they live in vancouver) and when the border reopened there was no explanation...

[gambit57]

Interesting that some others on the same cruise had no problems with the buffet. It may have been the luck of when we visited. We had one dinner in the buffet and could find no seats and we were aware of the connecting rooms. DH always had breakfast at the buffet and said sometimes he could find a table, other times not. Oh, well. We never had to wait for a table in the Dining Room for anytime dining but I'm sure others had a different experience.

 

Oddly, the buffet can be hit or miss. I normally ate with my party, however, one day (think it was a sea day), we separated for lunch. They got into line for the buffet while I hit up the grill. By the time I got back from the grill and went to go get some more food from the buffet, the food quality had gone down compared to what was on the plates of the others in my party. Dunno what happened, but my stuff wasn't cooked as well.

 

If you do find massive lines at a meal time, I do recommend going to a dining room now that I think about it. It's never busy for breakfast or lunch, but we just tended to avoid it since it takes so long to finish. However, when there are massive lines to get to the food and no tables available in the buffet or grill area, enjoying a leisurely meal at the dining room is a much better option.

[West Coast]

We were on the same cruise. I was told by the Princess people that Vancouver does not allow walking off with our own bags.

 

Interesting... we were on the Island in May and did self disembarkation at Canada Place. We were off the ship, in a cab and home before 8am! It couldn't have been easier/smoother.

[ggprincess2004]

We were on the Sapphire May 26 - June 2 as the third of our 3 b2b's. Our disembarkation was organized and timely. We used the Princess transfers to SeaTac airport. I was somewhat hesitant to try this, because I HATE busses. I was pleasantly surprised. The bus was comfortable, at about 50% capacity which left room to spread out a bit, and the driver was great.

By doing this, we didn't have to deal with customs at all when disembarking. Our checked baggage was tagged and put on the bus without us having to find it and schlepp it to the bus in the morning. We just took our 2 carryon pieces each. The larger carryons were stored in the buses luggage section as well when we got to the bus ( a few steps outside the terminal).

We had a short stop at the border to clear US customs, but all of the passengers were well behaved, and all they did was a passport/ID check while we remained on the bus.

The drop off area at Sea Tac was pretty well organized with porters and Smart carts (your choice). We took a few smart carts and wheeled our bags on over to the appropriate curbside check-in.

So, with flights out of Sea-Tac generally cheaper than flights from Vancouver, and the well-coordinated plan to transport bags and people to SeaTac, I would recommend this as a positive alternative to dealing with Vancouver and the airport there.

[jadejay2]

Interesting... we were on the Island in May and did self disembarkation at Canada Place. We were off the ship, in a cab and home before 8am! It couldn't have been easier/smoother.

 

Well, I specifically asked if we could carry our own luggages and "self-disembark" or "express disembark." Two different Princess representatives answered, "No." One of them even went on to explain that it was a "Vancouver thing" and the policy varies from port to port. I don't know if he was just full of BS . . . maybe somebody here can clarify that? Anyway, we were in the first "self arrangement" group and it was the smoothest disembarkation for us.

[Host Caroline]

As of last week at least you cannot carry off your own luggage like you can in Caribbean... there is the "Easy Check" option for those going direct to airport and US but no express disembark. If you have your own arrangements you get a color coded tag just like everyone else so keeping your luggage with you would not really save any time or get you off sooner

[trudzie]

Can anyone explain the difference between US Direct and Easy Check? Also, are taxis to the airport an option? (that's how we usually get to airports from other cruises). Wouldn't a taxi be the fastest way to airport? We have 11:15am flight, so I'm concerned with what I'm reading here. Thanks for any light you can shed on this. We leave 6/26!

[jadejay2]

Can anyone explain the difference between US Direct and Easy Check? Also, are taxis to the airport an option? (that's how we usually get to airports from other cruises). Wouldn't a taxi be the fastest way to airport? We have 11:15am flight, so I'm concerned with what I'm reading here. Thanks for any light you can shed on this. We leave 6/26!

 

The problem is, especially at Canada Place where many ships dock, the demand of taxi far exceeds the supply. Disembarking in the "self-arrangement" group and trying to catch a 11:15 am flight (you need to be at the airport by 9:45 or so?) will be tight . . . in my opinion. Not impossible, of course.

[genmasjoy]

Our flight was on Delta and we weren't offered the Easy Check option. I would have gladly paid for it as it would have saved us a big hassle. If you have that option, it would be well worth it, considering your early flight. Ours was at 11:30 and we just made it.