Connoisseur14 night Alaska

[emliss]

Hi,

Am looking for any info/input regarding the 14 night Connoisseur Alaska cruise. This looks like a great itinerary. It is similar to one offered by HAL, which I am considering. Would really like to hear from anyone who has taken or is considering this cruise. We are planning for late May or late August 2010 so I have time to book but need to compare before I commit. Will be traveling with 4-5 others ranging in age from 24-83.

Greatly appreciate any comments.

Later,

Emliss

[paul929207]

We took this cruise last summer on the Tahitian Princess and had a wonderful time. I have heard the itinerary is a little different this year.

 

The Tahitian is a great ship. It holds about 700 passengers. This year her sster, the Pacific Princess is doing the itinerary. I'm guessing that the third sister, the Royal will do it next year.

[DeepWaterMariner]

We also took this cruise last summer on the Tahitian and we loved it. I think they traded out Valdez for another port this year but otherwise its the same. We took this cruise because it included ports which haven't been transformed to take advantage of cruise passenger business and we weren't disappointed. It was wonderful being on a small ship and not having to deal with large crowds for embarkation, disembarkation, and tendering.

[Wormy53]

There is a live thread from the first cruise that just ended. You can access it HERE This is from 2 cruisers that just went on the cruise you are interested in. :)

[CruisenOne]

We just returned from the Pacific Princess on the 28th.

 

GREAT Cruise.

 

Weather was very good; mild, 50s.

Very little rain.

 

Two Tender Ports -- No problem at all.

Icy Straight Point is a high light.

 

Were in Kodiak during their Crab Festival

[towhee]

We did the 14 day Connaisseur trip both last year and this year. It's a lovely trip on a small (700 passenger) ship.

What do you want to know?

[emliss]

Towhee (and all others who responded)

Thank you so much for your helpful responses. I too wanted this cruise because of the somewhat "not cruise targeted" ports. I will be disapointed if 2010 itinerary does not include Valdez but I think it was dropped for next year too. Alaska is just so beautiful and looks so different every time, the lack of Valdez as a port is a bonus, not a deal breaker.

 

I am looking for cabins (preferabley balcony) somewhere mid ship but not directly under or over the tenders. I have looked at the deck plans and think I know which cabins but for this itinerary, which is best - Port or Starboard? How formal/casual is the cruise? What did you do in Kodiak? How was the naturalist?

 

As I mentioned, HAL has a similar cruise and it sails thru Cook Inlet, which is beautiful but the price is almost double. Have never sailed with either HAL or Princess so either would be a new experience for us. Seems everyone on this board who has taken it was pleased so any info you can provide will be appreciated.

Later

Em

[whale-watcher]

We also took this cruise last year on the Tahitian and would repeat it without hesitation. The itinerary is the perfect mix of ports and sea days, with plenty of wonderful scenery. The 14 day HAL itinerary also looks great, and we are considering this option for next year as we have never been to Homer or Hubbard glacier (although would love to visit ISP for whale watching :-)

[DeepWaterMariner]

I am looking for cabins (preferabley balcony) somewhere mid ship but not directly under or over the tenders. I have looked at the deck plans and think I know which cabins but for this itinerary, which is best - Port or Starboard? How formal/casual is the cruise? What did you do in Kodiak? How was the naturalist?

 

Our experience with the Tahitian was that the tenders normally were operated from the forward elevators/staircase. As far as port or starboard I'm not sure if there is an advantage of one over the other. We were on the port side which I think gave the best view when sailing into Glacier Bay but the starboard side gets the same view on the way out. Our cruise was no more formal than any other Princess cruise. I think we had three formal nights and all the rest were casual. We rented a car in Kodiak and enjoyed a drive around...there aren't that many roads. There was a naturalist onboard and, of coarse, a national park service guide on the PA in Glacier Bay. I only attended one of the naturalist's lectures since we have been to Alaska a few times before.

[towhee]

We got off of the Pacific on Thursday and had a wonderful cruise.

It really doesn't matter which side of the ship you are on. We were on port this year, but we've been on starboard in years past. In Glacier Bay the port side was presented to the glacier face first, but about half-way through the ship turned around so that the starboard side faced the glaciers. It was nice weather so we were up on deck 11 and it didn't matter which side our cabin was on. One of the advantages of a smaller ship is that there's room for just about everyone on the open decks.

In Kodiak we did the Ft. Abercrombie hike last year and the Best of Kodiak tour this year. Both are good tours. There's also the Russian influence tour (I forget the exact name) that got rave reviews last year.

Icy Strait Point was substituted for Sitka this year. ISP gives you a good feel for life in a small Tlingit villiage, while Sitka shows you the Russian influence. In my opinion Valdez is a disappointment (we've been there three times now), so loosing that port to the Hubbard Glacier is fine with us. Valdez was wiped out during the Good Friday earthquake in 1964 and the town was rebuilt about 3 miles away, so it's all pretty new. There really isn't too much for a cruiser to do and the terminus of the TransAlaska pipeline is just a tank farm and nothing to see (nor can you get tours to it).

We had three formal nights and the rest were "smart casual". Formal nights are less formal than they were 20 years ago when we started sailing. Most of the men wore business suits and women wore pantsuits or cocktail dresses (I wore the same dress all three nights). On smart casual nights they request that you not wear jeans (the first and last nights are exceptions). My husband wore Dockers and a sport shirt, I wore chinos and a blouse or nice wool pants and a shell. During the day anything that isn't ratty is appropriate. There were several days when the sun was out and the air warm enough that people took advantage of the hot tubs, but I don't remember anyone in the swimming pool.

I hope this answers your questions.

 

Margaret

[ggprincess2004]

We did this on the Tahitian last year, and loved it. The ports are great. We had scheduled a private tour - flight to the Katmai Penninsula to go bear watching, but the weather was bad and no one was flying. We were able to pick up another private tour, going to the bunkers from WWI which was quite interesting, and touring the coast guard station, seeing a salmon "farm" - not much to look at but still interesting.

Luckily, we saw (the) three bears in Haines.

 

The only drawback to this cruise for us was the lack of anytime dining on the small ships. More often than not, as a result of tablemates that just didn't click, and enjoyment of scenery, we went to the buffet for dinner.

 

I know most cruisers are fond of the smaller ships, but I must say, I prefer a larger ship. The small ships are elegant and wonderful in their own way, but for us, there is just more going on with a larger ship.

 

Naturalist - luck of the draw. Ours was good.

 

We would do this cruise again - and hope do in another few years.:)

[whale-watcher]

... In my opinion Valdez is a disappointment (we've been there three times now), so loosing that port to the Hubbard Glacier is fine with us. Valdez was wiped out during the Good Friday earthquake in 1964 and the town was rebuilt about 3 miles away, so it's all pretty new. There really isn't too much for a cruiser to do and the terminus of the TransAlaska pipeline is just a tank farm and nothing to see (nor can you get tours to it)....

Actually, I think that Tracy Arm will be the substitute for Valdez next year (Hubbard is on the HAL itinerary, I think). We really enjoyed Valdez (especially the wildlife and scenery-rich Columbia Glacier cruise); also enjoyed the scenery and calm water in the evening as we sailed from through Prince William Sound from Valdez to Seward (the new routing will probably eliminate an sailing in Prince William Sound). Would still consider the new itinerary, however :)

[DeepWaterMariner]

In my opinion Valdez is a disappointment (we've been there three times now), so loosing that port to the Hubbard Glacier is fine with us. Valdez was wiped out during the Good Friday earthquake in 1964 and the town was rebuilt about 3 miles away, so it's all pretty new. There really isn't too much for a cruiser to do and the terminus of the TransAlaska pipeline is just a tank farm and nothing to see (nor can you get tours to it).

 

Valdez was one of our favorite ports. I loved our tour to Worthington glacier which gave me a chance to hike up almost to the face of the glacier. Our guide grew up in Valdez and we got great stories about a town that reminded me of the one in the show Northern Exposure...especially the story of using a huge snow pile in town as the screen for the drive in movie.

[allentownahoy]

Which Worthington Glacier excursion did you do?I know there are 2 with one being more strenuous and actually involves putting crampons on and hiking on the glacier?

 

How long was the walk to and/or on the glacier?

[7seven7]

My husband and our friend did this hike last year with the crampons. The hike was about 1 1/2 hrs. They really enjoyed it as not many people were on the tour. I think only 6 people. Two people had to opt out at the last minute because they were smokers. They only made it to the base and couldn't go any higher. The people who did make it really enjoyed it.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Which Worthington Glacier excursion did you do?I know there are 2 with one being more strenuous and actually involves putting crampons on and hiking on the glacier?

 

How long was the walk to and/or on the glacier?

 

I have to admit that my hike to Worthington glacier was not part of the tour. Our tour stopped at the observation center for about a half hour and I noticed a trail leading off the viewing area so off I went. It was an adventure I took at my own risk with a goal of getting to the face of the glacier and back before the bus left me behind. I would have made the face but the outflow from the glacier left me with a stream to cross not that far from my goal. Rather than risk slipping on wet rocks and busting my rear end I gave up...but a real fun adventure none the less. BTW, I saw the hikers with the crampons climbing the face of the glacier...very cool.

[bjkTX]

We are booked on the cruise (Royal Princess) for 24 May 2010. Valdez is not on the itinerary. We have done the 7 day cruise out of Seattle and we're looking forward to the longer cruise on a smaller ship :-)