Celebrity lovers try Princess...again!/Star Princess 6/14-21 review w/ pics!

[Cruise Junky]

Tracy Arm is by far the most scenic trip there is. On my trip I saw unbelievable calving glaciers, bears, humpback whales, killer whales, beautiful waterfalls and much more. I definitely recommend going to Tracy Arm. In fact, there is a movie on Tracy Arm called "Alaska, The Tracy Arm Experience". The film captures the beauty of this incredible place. You can buy the film here from Film Baby:

 

http://www.filmbaby.com/films/4148

 

I highly recommend Tracy Arm. If you get a chance, experience it yourself. And don't forget to buy the film too!

 

Really? we just did both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay in perfect sunny weather and while we loved Tracy Arm, Glacier Bay absolutely took our breath away.

[Infi]

Infi, I can't thank you enough for sharing your trip with us. The details and pictures are wonderful. Though this will be my 2nd time to Alaska, I'm just as excited as the first time. Your review is hyping up my excitment.

 

Thank you!!!!!

 

Thank you so much! Alaska is really such a great destination, I feel like each time we go we see more and enjoy it more. It's just too beautiful.

 

Infi, thanks for continuing. I leave in a week--how fast can you finish? Whale pics are amazing--I've done whale watching in Bar Harbor, ME but your pics are wonderful. I got a laugh out of the last picture of the Mt. Roberts Tram. I was wondering why they would have a banner hanging off the side of the tram and covering the windows--and it took me a minute to realize the banner was off the street light--the timing on that was pretty funny! PS Loved the crack about Alaska and Governor's Mansion!:rolleyes:

 

Thanks! I will try to up the pace and post more parts each day. I didn't anticipate how long it would take when I started this to piece together the words and photos, so I'm really sorry that it's taking this long.

I had to laugh at the picture of the tram too - the first time I saw it I thought the same thing - what the heck is that banner doing there? LOL.

 

I am really enjoying your review. It keeps on giving and giving. Thank you for all the time and detail that you have put into it.:)

 

Thank you! I really appreciate everyones' feedback, you're all too kind to this delinquent author. ;)

[Infi]

Keep those wonderful pictures coming!! Going to hate to see this thread come to an end:)

 

Thanks!

 

LOL, I was thinking the samething as we too leave out in about week on the Star. :)

Any chance we can ask you again about the menus. I am trying to decide the nights to skip and book the speciality dining. When you have a moment of course. I think I read you said Italian night is Ketchikan.

Did they have crab legs on one of the formal nights? Which one?

Which nights did you skip? I think you are right in saying that we should probably dial DINE as soon as possible and book those dinners. Your insight would be very helpful.

 

Thanks!

 

Crab legs are on the Chef's dinner night (Skagway/Thursday) and they were pretty good. I'm not a big fan of the Italian or the Chef's dinner nights, so I would book the specialty restaurants for then. Juneau (Wednesday) was Alaskan night, and I was sorry we missed that one - I'm sure they had a lot of delicious seafood on the menu that night! I don't have a menu of that night, unfortunately.

 

You know what, Alaska has never been on my things to do. It think it just became one of them!

 

Wonder when they painted the logos on the bottom of the pools?

 

Everyone should visit Alaska at least once if they can. Hopefully it'll make it onto your future destination list!

[Infi]

Thank you so much for the review. I'm going to be taking a ton of pictures when we hit the British Isles on the Crown next week. I may have to pass it on and do my own review even though this will be our first cruise on Princess.

 

Sounding like we better pick a night to hit Sabbatinis too. We've been hearing rave reviews from everywhere.

 

Thanks! Please do a British Isles review if you get a chance - I'd love to read it! And pictures are always great, hint hint. ;)

The next part of my review is all Sabatini's, so hopefully it'll sway you over :)

 

:D Standing Ovation :D

 

I am looking forward to more.

 

You're making me blush! Thank you.

 

Wonderful,wonderful whale pics! You really had a fantastic tour. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you. Our tour was really great, and I'm glad I could share the pics here - and hopefully others will have tours as great as ours, too.

[Infi]

Before I forget, when we got back to the dock, we met Libby Riddles, the first female winner of the Iditarod. She lives in Juneau and Princess invites her aboard the Star to give a talk on her experiences during that evening. Prior to her talk, she hangs out on the dock with some of her racing dogs (they’re not allowed to come aboard the ship). She was very sweet, and her talk (which is later replayed in the cabin TV if you miss it) was very interesting.

Libby and her dogs on the dock

 

One last look at Juneau before we re-board:

 

After a quick change of clothes, we were ready for our dinner in Sabatini’s. We chose this night partially due to timing (we got back from our excursion at 7:30pm, two hours after early traditional seating) and because we had heard such rave reviews about Sabatini’s here on CC. This was our first experience with Princess specialty restaurants (we are huge fans of the specialty restaurants on Celebrity) and I must say we were very impressed. First of all, if you’re planning to eat here, go VERY hungry. We had at least 6 courses of food, and you’ll probably want to try it all. As others have mentioned, you only choose your entrée and your dessert here – all of the appetizers etc. are all brought to you. You can refuse whatever you don’t wish to eat, but I would say it’s all worth a try. How do I know? My extremely picky teenager ate anchovies and mussels – things she swore she’d never touch with a ten foot pole. Yes folks, Sabatini’s is THAT magical.

 

The service in Sabatini’s reminded me of the “old” days of cruising (Sitmar, anyone?), when dishes were not pre-plated, but served tableside. The servers explained each dish before they served it. If you liked something, the servers were always more than happy to bring you more of it. Try not to fill up too much on the appetizers, though – there are a lot of courses in this meal! Our waiter, Claudio, was professional and very attentive. My uncle and DD couldn’t decide between their respective entrees and the shrimp dish, so Claudio brought them both entrees on the same plate with perfect presentation. If you’re interested in a taste of something, be sure to ask – the staff is very accommodating.

 

Since the menu is online at Princess’ site, I won’t bother posting it here. Instead, I’ll post the courses of our wonderful meal. Excuse me here as I post a TON of pictures – I’ve seen plenty of Sabatini’s reviews, but never any pictures of the food, so hopefully others may find this helpful (or hunger inducing!)

Place settings to start the meal off…

 

.

Breadsticks and focaccia

 

Serving from large plates, tableside…this is prosciutto and melon.

 

Cold antipasti (clockwise from top: shrimp and artichoke, prosciutto and melon, beef carpaccio, anchovies, grilled vegetables, sundried tomatoes, porcini mushrooms.)

[Infi]

Caviar course (Sevruga caviar with latke and potato)

 

Hot antipasti (deviled crabcake with salmon roe, steamed mussels with garlic, and breaded camembert with olive tapenade)

 

Pizza course…there are four different pizzas (salmon, Hawaiian, margherita, and vegetable), though you only choose one. This is margherita with proscuitto.

 

Next course, you choose either soup (minestrone or seafood) or mixed green salad. This is the seafood soup, which is a touch spicy according to DD.

 

Pasta course (spaghetti with mussels and clams, gnocchi with fontina cheese, cannelloni with sirloin and ricotta.)

 

Main entrees: veal chop with shallots and marsala

[Infi]

Lobster tails with butter, with garlic glazed tiger prawns (aforementioned combined entrees)

 

Scallops with tiger prawns (ditto)

 

Tiramisu:

 

Fruit tart:

 

Apricot pie with caramel:

 

Favorite dishes at our table? My uncle said the scallops were the best he ever had, and my lobster was excellent as well. Among the appetizers, we loved the cannelloni, gnocchi, crabcake, the grilled veggies, and the breaded camembert (DD is a cheese fiend). As for the desserts, my uncle praised his tiramisu and DD loved the apricot pie. The desserts seemed quite flexible…they had a menu, but our waiter offered to bring us anything we wanted, from the DR menu or otherwise. He also brought a great sugar-free dish for my aunt.

 

If I had to compare this to Celebrity’s specialty restaurants, I’m not sure I could, honestly. They are both wonderful, but completely different experiences. Celebrity’s specialty restaurants are their continental cuisine on an elevated level. Sabatini’s takes Princess’ Italian specialties and improves upon them (if that’s possible) and gives them a more authentic feel. (Example: we love the gnocchi in the DR, but Sabatini’s gnocchi with fontina cheese was to die for.) The food was excellent in both restaurants, and seeing the food made either tableside or nearby is a visual treat. While I had no complaints about Sabatini’s service, Celebrity’s service just felt more polished. (Example: our wait team made sure each of the plates touched the table at the exact same time…where could you find service like that?) However, I did enjoy how Sabatini’s served each item tableside and how the waiter explained everything. It’s a completely different dining experience from anything on land - and IMHO, it must be tried at least once.

 

Whew! That's a lot of food photos and Sabatini's talk - thanks for bearing with me on that one! And if all of those delicious dishes don't make you want to try Sabatini's, well, I don't know what will! ;) That's all from me for now, tomorrow I'll describe our train trip in Skagway, so stay tuned.

[leavitt1]

Now I'm REALLY hungry. :D Good job on the photo review; I'm enjoying it all so much!

[Pachutabelle]

That food is absolutely gorgeous! I think I MUST do Sabatini's. Thanks:)

[PeggySand]

Those specialty food photos were unbelievable! Sabatini's will be on our list of things to do, without a doubt!! Please keep your photos and commentary going, it's one of the first things I look for when I come to the CC site.

 

Peggy

 

P.S. The video tour of the cabin done by your daughter was really fun to watch, thanks!!!

[kd1044]

What about the Lunch menu is it the same? The lunch menus are not on-line at the princess site. I may not be able to squeeze in a dinner at Sabatini's but I wanted to have at least one meal there. Also is the menu the same every day/night of the cruise?

[psyfi]

Sabatini's is only open for dinner and it is the same menu every night.

[sand piper]

Once again let me say thank you. I am loving this thread.

If I have a balcony would I want to use the Sanctuary in mid September and Why? Thanks,

Salley

[KLLund]

Let me add my thanks for this thread too. It is getting me soooo ready for Sept!!

Kudos on a fabulous job!!

[Infi]

The next morning we arrived in Skagway bright and early. Skagway’s name is some derivation of “wind off the water”, and boy do they mean it! When you debark the ship, you’ll experience the wind tunnel that is the Skagway pier. Tall ship next to rock wall = wind tunnel. There were two gangways, one on deck 6 and one on deck 7. The deck 7 one had stairs and was much steeper, so folks with mobility issues – always take the lower deck gangway.

There are actually two piers, both are about equidistant from town, but ours had the White Pass and Yukon railroad train right on it. There were three other ships in town: Island Princess, Veendam, and Norwegian Star, which made for crowded conditions in the afternoon. We booked the WPRR tour through Princess (you can’t book it on your own) and met our train on the dock. Once aboard, they collected our tickets and handed us a small booklet with information about where we’d be going. The train has bench seats and a heater inside, and is very comfortable. You’re allowed outside on the platforms at your own risk, and children under 14 shouldn’t go out without a parent. You can get some great photos/views if you hang out outside, so it’s worth a trip out there occasionally.

 

There are several tours, but ours was the four hour trip, up to the border of the Yukon. The guide narrates on the way up. If you’re taking this tour, be sure to sit on the LEFT side of the train when you board. Yes, you will see the sights as you go back down the mountain, but it’s best to see them and hear the narration at the same time (the guide doesn’t narrate as much on the way down). We had taken this tour before, and wanted to take it again so my relatives could see the sights, and, IMHO, it’s the excursion Skagway is known for, really. We were a little disappointed in the tour guide this time: we felt we had more narration on the gold rush and Skagway history before, and preferred that. Oh well, it’s luck of the draw. The tour is very scenic and low-key, so if that’s your thing, I think you’ll appreciate it. Younger kids might get bored, particularly if they don’t like sitting for long periods of time. The tour is so…relaxing I even saw quite a few adults taking catnaps on the way back down, lol.

 

Now, for some sights you’ll see along the way…

Skagway is actually a small town (only 800 year round residents), but the population explodes for the summer cruise season. There’s not enough housing for all of the college students and merchants who come in for the summer, so most of them have to rent a campground space for about $400/month. Yes, you rent to camp in cold temperatures – anyone interested?

 

White Pass & Yukon RR depot

 

Original train engine

 

Skagway is a gold rush era town, the jumping off point for prospectors on the White Pass or Chilkoot trails up into the mountains. With the gold rush, of course, came lawlessness and lots of wild west type legends. Skagway was run by a shady character named Soapy Smith, until he was killed in a duel on the docks by Frank Reid, the town hero. Supposedly the two shot each other at the same time: Smith died instantly, and Reid, twelve days later. Ouch. They’re both buried here in Skagway’s cemetery.

 

Entrepreneurs conceived the railroad to run parallel to the difficult White Pass trail. Looking at it now, their engineering and work along narrow mountainsides is pretty impressive. While blasting rock to build the railroad, two workers were crushed by a surprise avalanche. The rock that killed them was so large that it couldn’t be removed, so it became their memorial site. Here is Black Cross Rock.

 

Unfortunately, the railroad took awhile to actually build, and it was completed at the end of the gold rush. There are lots of remnants of boom towns along the railway, as merchants set up shops to cater to prospectors on their way into the Yukon and abandoned the towns shortly after.

Looking back at Skagway.

[Infi]

Across the valley is the Yukon highway. There’s a few shore excursions that take busses up into the Yukon, and this is the route they use. One of the stations along the highway has the sign “On to Alaska with Buchanan” to honor Buchanan, a man who took groups of young men on summer trips to Alaska as a reward for hard work.

 

Bridal veil falls…I’m sure you can guess why it got its name.

 

Our train going over a narrow gauge bridge…there are quite a few of these on the journey up, usually followed by long tunnels.

 

Inspiration Point…I’m sure you can guess this one, too.

 

Dead horse gulch, sadly named after all the pack animals who were mistreated by the prospectors on their way up into the mountains.

 

The old steel cantilever bridge…don’t worry, there’s a new one that the train actually goes over!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the continued review. :)

 

We walked the trail next to the tracks and past that nasty campground.

I won't describe what we saw but I pity the people if they are truely paying $400 @ month. :eek:

[Infi]

Trail of 98 sign, marking the biggest year of the gold rush

 

In June, there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground along the railroad, which was neat to see. It melts off more as summer continues. The patterns in the snow were interesting (to a Floridian at least…I’m sure Northerners may disagree!)

 

Lots of rivers with half-melted snow

 

We’ve reached the border!

 

At the summit

 

Since we were the first train trip up of the day, we did not turn around at the border like most of the other trips do. Instead, we went a bit further into the Yukon, about 10 miles in, which was a nice bonus. We did this in order to both turn ourselves around and allow the other trains behind us to do the same. (We weren’t even aware other trains were behind us, they don’t travel very close and we never even saw them.)

The area up here is the tundra. Almost like a desert, it’s difficult for much to grow. When plants do manage to survive, they last for many years – some of the tiny shrubs we saw were approaching 100 years old! Don’t let the photo fool you…most of the area is a lot more rocky and far less picturesque than this.

[Infi]

There used to be a national guard outpost up here, so there’s some telephone lines and abandoned shacks…they kind of stick out like a sore thumb.

 

Turning around.

 

More beautiful scenery on the way back

 

DD was in love with the train-over-bridge shots…I think you can see why.

 

Like I said…this tour is all about the scenery, so if this is your thing, it’s definitely worth it.

[JSWalk]

Infi,

Even though it's the Golden we will be on and not the Star. I am loving your pictures and review. We leave in about a month and this thread has me even more excited. Thanks again for sharing!

[StLouisCruisers]

Thanks for the review! I'm enjoying all the pictures!

 

 

Sandi

[Clutterlady]

Just beautiful.............many, many thanks!!!!

[bragstarr]

Infi--great as usual. Hurry up! :) I'm leaving for Seattle Thursday!

[bigjer]

Thank you so much for your posts and pics. Have enjoyed them so very much.

[Infi]

After a quick lunch onboard in the DR (which was VERY empty), we headed out again for our last chance for Alaskan shopping. (Read: we needed more souvenirs for everyone back home.) I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but there are free golf cart shuttles to take you to the end of the pier (it’s a long pier). At the end of the pier, you can either catch a shuttle ($2pp each way, $5 for an all day pass) or walk to town (it’s about a 10min walk).

Shuttle pickup area at end of dock:

 

To be honest, there’s not much to see/do in town other than shop. There’s a handful of museums, which we unfortunately didn’t have time for. There’s also some landmarks at the center of town commemorating the railroad’s history and the gold rush. All of the shopping is located on the main street, Broadway, and are in the style of the gold rush era. Oh, and don’t worry about getting lost here – the town is about 12 streets long and 4 streets wide!

One of the stores on Broadway

 

Small gardens and flowers on the streets

 

Skagway news…apparently published “semi-monthly”

 

 

Red Onion saloon…famous saloon/likely tourist trap

 

Train in the center of town