Aug 30 - Sep 6, 2003
by Tim Larison, CLIA Master Cruise
Counsellor (MCC)
In the late summer of 2003 I had the opportunity to take the trip I had been
dreaming about for years - a 7 night Alaska Cruise. I had been to the interior
of Alaska in 2002; my 2002 trip made me want to take a Alaska cruise even
more.
I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this cruise - it exceeded my
already high expectations. The ship, the itinerary, the shore excursions, the
food, and other parts of the cruise were all wonderful. In this report I will
describe the different aspects of the cruise that I enjoyed so much. I will
include some suggestions (preceded by the word TIP) that perhaps
will help you in planning your Alaska cruise.
Itinerary
I took this cruise as part of a travel agent training group - sailing with
other agents from around the country. Though it cost more in airfare I really
wanted to do a one way northbound (Vancouver to Seward) or southbound (Seward
to Vancouver) cruise because there were some areas to the north that the
roundtrip Seattle or Vancouver cruises just don't get to. The 7 night
itinerary of my southbound cruise was as follows:
Saturday - fly into Anchorage, bus to Seward, depart 10 pm
Sunday - College Fjord cruising
Monday - Glacier Bay cruising
Tuesday - Skagway
Wednesday - Juneau
Thursday - Ketchikan
Friday - Inside passage cruising
Saturday - disembark in Vancouver (am)
I did something different on this trip - for the first time I booked all my
shore excursions with independent, local operators rather than take the cruise
line excursions. I had spent quite a bit of time researching the different
shore excursion options before the trip, and I was to discover these
independent shore excursions were just as good if not better than the ones
offered by the cruise line. Often the independent excursions were cheaper in
price, too!
Saturday (Anchorage, depart from Seward):
I awoke at 2 am Denver time for the long day of travel to Anchorage. My Alaska
Air flight would leave Denver at 7 am, I made a connecting stop in Seattle,
and arrived in Anchorage at noon. The Alaska Air flights were on time and
efficient.
The Princess cruise terminal in Seward is a 3 hour bus ride from Anchorage.
Upon my arrival in Anchorage I found the Princess representatives waiting for
me in the baggage claim area. Before leaving home I had tagged my bags with
the "Island Princess" tags provided by Princess, and Alaska Air automatically
transferred my bags to Princess without me having to claim them at the baggage
terminal. TIP: Princess will provide baggage tags with your trip documents.
Put these on your bags before you leave home and you will not have to claim
your bags in Anchorage. After checking your bags at the airport the next time
you will see them is in your stateroom on the ship!
The bus ride to Seward was long but pleasant. We traveled along the Kenai
Fjord where I got my first taste of Alaska scenery. The mountains towered out
of the sea next to the roadway. We made one stop at a nature preserve about 45
minutes from Seward - this stop gave us a break from the long bus ride and
allowed us to see some Alaska wildlife in captivity (a grizzly bear,
bison, native birds, etc)
Starting in 2004 Princess will depart from Whittier instead of Seward. This
will make the bus trip shorter as Whitter is only 1 1/2 hours from Anchorage.
TIP: If you are planning a 2004 or later Princess Alaska cruise, consider a
pre-night stay or two in Princess' Copper River Lodge. This is one of the most
beautiful Princess Alaska Lodges according to one Princess representative I
talked to, and it is fairly close to Whittier.
Once we arrived in Seward, embarkation was quick and efficient. The Island
Princess would depart at 10 pm this night and it opened for boarding at noon.
Passengers arrived throughout the day and night for boarding so the lines at
any one time were minimal.
Sunday (College Fjord cruising)
I awoke early to see our first glaciers of the trip - the spectacular glaciers
of the College Fjord. We were to cruise this area from 6:30 to 8:30 am - I
made sure I was on deck right at 6:30 am to enjoy the sights. The College
Fjord is a series of glaciers named after several Ivy League
colleges. We sailed quite close to the glaciers and the wall of ice descending
from the mountains was impressive. TIP: It really doesn't matter which side of
the ship you are on to see the College Fjords - our ship cruised into the
Fjord at 6:30 am, turned around after about an hour
and cruised back, giving both sides of the boat a chance to see the glaciers
close up. If you can't get up right at 6:30 am for the entry into the fjord,
you can see the same glaciers on the other side of the boat as your ship sails
out of the fjord later.
Monday (Glacier Bay cruising)
I was impressed with the glaciers in College Fjord, but I was to see bigger
and even more impressive glaciers this day in Glacier Bay. We sailed into
Glacier Bay in the morning and we experienced the coldest temperatures on the
trip - it was very cold and rainy outside so I watched the scenery from the
inside of one of the upper decks.
In the early afternoon the weather had improved (the rain had stopped) and I
went on an outside deck to view the glaciers we were sailing by close up. It
was amazing how close our ship got to these huge glaciers (you can see this in
my pictures - link at the bottom of this report)
A special treat we had today for the travel agent group I was traveling with
was a tour of the bridge. Our Princess rep said only one or two captains in
the fleet would allow this, so we were very fortunate to have this
opportunity. I saw the captain steering the ship from only a few feet away.
The Island Princess is a technical marvel - steering the ship seemed little
more than operating a joystick on a video game. I am sure the job is much more
difficult than that but the latest in satellite guidance and electronic
wizardry surely makes the job easier than the captains of long ago sailing
through these same waters.
Overall I was really glad to have cruised through College Fjord and Glacier
Bay as the sights there were awe inspiring. I think it is worth it to add this
part to your Alaska cruise itinerary.
Tuesday (Skagway)
After two days of cruising I was ready to visit a port! At Skagway I had
booked a independent "Photo Safari" van tour. I debated on whether to take the
famous "White Pass Railway" trip and many of my fellow passengers did take
that trip. Instead I decided on the Southeast tour Photo Safari. The Southeast
rep said "you go three times farther on our tour at half the
price when compared to the train". I found this to be true, as on the Photo
Safari we went much farther than the train - into the wilds of the Yukon in
Canada.
I really liked the Photo Safari. We were in a small van (7 people and the
driver). Our driver was very knowledgeable about the area and made frequent
stops for photo opportunities. As an amateur photographer I appreciated this
very much! She also made one or two unscheduled stops when someone in the van
asked if they could take a picture at a particular stop.
Overall the tour was a smaller, more personal one than the train. TIP: the
White Pass Railway is very popular and a fine tour in its own right, but
unless you are a train buff consider the Photo Safari as an alternative. You
take a similar route as the train, you go further into the wilderness,
and the price is much less!
Wednesday (Juneau)
At our second port I again opted for a small independent tour - a whale
watching tour with Captain Larry of Orca Enterprises. The Orca office was a
short walk away from the cruise ship dock. We were transported to Captain
Larry's boat by bus.
Captain Larry had a smaller whale watch boat than most of the other tour
operators I saw here. Like my experience with Southeast Tours in Skagway, I
found this smaller independent tour more personal where I could talk to a
local who really knew his craft well.
Captain Larry took us on a 2 hour whale watching expedition. At first we saw
very few whales. I have been on a whale watching tour before and I find them
to be a "hit or miss" affair - you just have to be lucky that the whales will
be surfacing that day in an area where you can see them. I was confident if
there were whales to be found, Captain Larry was the man to find them for us.
After about 45 minutes we experienced a rare treat - a pod of four or five
Killer Whales (or Orcas) surfaced not too far from our boat! For the next 30
to 45 minutes we watched the Orcas repeatedly come out of the water. To our
amazement one was even doing flips - like Shamu at Sea World! Though we could
not see the Orca's prey, Captain Larry reported that the Orcas were hunting a
seal. Those that chose to use the binoculars onboard could see this sight. I
chose instead to use my camera to get as many shots of the whales as I could.
It was fun to focus on the water with my camera and try to get a perfect shot
of a Orca surfacing - you never knew exactly when or where the whales would
appear next.
We saw other sights this day on our tour - including harbor seals, bald
eagles, and hump back whales. The Orcas were the highlight of the tour.
Captain Larry said they were a migratory pod of Orcas and that usually Orcas
are not seen in that area.
Thursday (Ketchikan)
After two exhilarating days of shore tours at Skagway and Juneau I wondered
"can the tours get any better?" The answer was a resounding YES! At Ketchikan
I experienced my best tour of the whole trip - a Misty Fjords flight seeing
tour on a float plane with Island Wings.
Again I found booking with a local independent operator a better experience
than taking the cruise line's tour. Island Wings owner and pilot Michelle was
very knowledgeable and they claimed to be the only tour that provided
headsets to the passengers so that they could ask questions in flight.
We took off from the water right next to the Island Princess - seeing our
cruise ship and the other ships in port that day from the air was an amazing
sight. Soon we were flying over the majestic peaks and valleys of the Misty
Fjords. The huge walls of granite towered out of the sea. On the top of some
of the peaks we could see white mountain goats.
The highlight of the float plane trip was a landing at a remote mountain lake
("Nooya Lake") in the heart of the Misty Fjords. While we saw two other float
planes in this lake from other companies before our arrival, Island Wings was
the only company that claimed to allow its passengers to exit the float plane
and go onshore at this spot. I later talked to a passenger on one of the other
planes and he did say they were allowed to stand outside of their plane on the
floats, but not exit the plane on the shore like we did.
The peacefulness and calm of this remote mountain lake is something I will
always remember. The scenery was breathtaking and our pilot Michelle was there
to answer any questions we had about the area. We learned that Michelle had
been running her own business for over 12 years. I felt I made a good choice
going with her company as the owner of the company herself is the one who
takes you on your flight, and she has the highest standards of maintenance on
her plane.
If a float plane trip sounds a bit adventurous for you, don't worry. I had
never been in a small plane in my life and I found the ride to be a very
smooth one. I sat in the co-pilot's seat for part of the flight and it was
very interesting watching all the flight gadgets and the pilot do her work.
A float plane trip is a bit costly (over $180) but I found it was worth every
penny. Michelle's Island Wings tour was less expensive than the similar tours
you could book through the cruise line.
TIP: If you are interested in the float plane tour, I recommend booking it in
advance.
Island Wings has a weather cancellation policy so that
you get a refund if the weather is bad that day. Michelle told me that they
cancelled less than 5% of their flights because of weather in the summer of
2003. Ketchikan is one of the rainiest spots in the U.S. (with over 150 inches
of rain each year) but often if it is rainy in town it is not raining where
the seaplanes fly over the Misty Fjords.
TIP: Should you book independent tours like I did or book tours through the
cruise line? While I had a very positive experience with independent tours, I
think it depends on your particular situation. The ship's tours are very well
organized and often all you have to do is show up at a theatre or a lounge
onboard and all the transportation is taken care of for you. For my tours I
had to walk into each town to where the tour operator was located - this
wasn't a problem for me but could be for guests with mobility issues
(wheelchairs, etc). Also I did some homework on each of the tours I took -
exchanging email and getting positive comments about
each tour from past passengers before I booked the tours. I would be more
hesitant to book a independent tour without doing some checking into the
operator beforehand. All my tours ended several hours before the ship was to
depart - I would not schedule an independent tour if it ended close to the
ship's departure time (the ship won't wait for you if you book an
independent tour - they will if you book a tour organized by the cruise
line). Overall I think Alaska independent tours take a little more work to
plan and schedule, but you can save some $$$ and have really good experiences
if you pick the right ones.
Friday (Inside passage cruising to Vancouver)
Today was a relaxing day at sea. After three thrilling days of shore
excursions, I was ready for a more laid back day at sea to get ready for the
trip home on Saturday. I found the scenery this day to not be as impressive as
our first two "at sea" days in College Fjord and Glacier Bay,
but still beautiful. We sailed the Inside Passage with mountains and lots of
greenery on the shoreline on both sides of the ship.
The ship seemed to sail at a slower speed today, and I could not feel any
movement of the ship at all. One person in our travel agent group reported
seeing a pod of Orca Whales swimming near the ship.
Saturday - disembark in Vancouver (am)
See my description of the disembarkation process further down in this
report.
The Ship (The Island Princess)
Our ship, the Island Princess, was a brand new ship that just started sailing
in the summer of 2003. I had sailed on the Star Princess on the Mexican
Riviera earlier this year. The Island Princess had many of the same
features as the Star Princess but was a slightly smaller ship. The Island was
built so it could sail through the Panama Canal and also through some of the
tight spaces of Glacier Bay and College Fjord.
Princess is one of my favorite cruise lines and I found this cruise to be just
as good if not better than the earlier Princess cruises I had taken. I had an
outside stateroom on deck 5. Despite being on a lower deck I thought this
location was great. I had good access to the restaurants,
library, shops, and other amenities in the center ship area.
The ride on this cruise was the smoothest I have ever experienced on a
cruise.90% of the time I barely could feel the ship moving. I was fortunate in
that we did not encounter any rough seas during this cruise but the smooth
ride was also partly due to the advanced engineering of the Island Princess.
The dining on the cruise was superb. One of my fellow travel agents commented
that eating dinner in the Princess dining room was like dining at a first
class restaurant. I found the food to be excellent all week. I particularly
liked the "cooked to order" breakfast I had at the Bordeaux dining room and
the dinners. The buffet on this Princess cruise was open 24 hours -a fact I
really appreciated as I had to eat at some odd times to accommodate my shore
excursions. On most days I had a light lunch in the buffet - I found the
salads here to be particularly good.
One feature I found different and enjoyable on this cruise was the number of
special talks, classes, and seminars offered. Princess had a Naturalist
onboard who would provide commentary on the natural wonders we saw (such as a
narrated commentary as we were sailing through Glacier Bay). In the ship's
theatres there were many other talks throughout the cruise, including a talk
by a Iditarod winner (Libby Riddles, the first woman who won the race),
a stroke survivor, a chef, National Park Service rangers, and a variety of
"Scholarship at Sea" classes. At one class I got some good tips on how to
better use Microsoft Word.
The Entertainment on board was also very good. The Island Princess has two big
entertainment venues - the large Princess theatre and a smaller more intimate
Universe Lounge. The Princess dancers gave a variety of shows. The best show
in my opinion was the Tribute show in the Universe Lounge - a tribute to great
singers of the past. This show was a multimedia
extravaganza that took advantage of the high tech wizardry of the theatre. For
example there were film clips of the Beatles behind the singers as the dancers
and singers performed a medley of Beatles hits. Also featured were the Beach
Boys, the Rat Pack, Whitney Houston songs, and others. TIP: If you see one
show with the Princess dancers - don't miss the Tribute show.
There were several in our party who didn't care for the earlier shows with the
dancers but everyone I talked to loved the Tributes show. The music presented
is from different eras so there is something for everyone.
Princess also had a comedy show every night - the best comedian was Sarge (a
comic I had also seen on my Mexican Riviera Princess Cruise) and a comedy
magician.
There were a variety of activities offered. I enjoyed the onboard trivia
contests on Thursday and Friday. I was on two victorious trivia teams and won
a Princess pen and key chain. I did not do as well in my hour visit to the
casino one night, playing blackjack and video poker.
Other passengers on our cruise enjoyed the usual Bingo sessions, wooden horse
races, aerobics classes, ping pong tournaments, and art auctions. A well
stocked library on the ship was a favorite place of many (my roommate checked
out a book the first day, the DaVinci Code, and finished it by Friday).
You may be thinking, "OK, was there anything this guy didn't like about
the cruise?" Well there was one thing. A minor annoyance was that the internet
cafe on board frequently did not work. I was told the satellite signal was
blocked by the mountains at times making internet access impossible. But even
at times on the open seas the internet access was either not working
or was very slow. I like to use the internet to stay connected with my family
and clients back home so this was an inconvenience. Fortunately at each port
we stopped at I was able to find an internet cafe in town, at rates cheaper
than the ship's internet rates (the ship's rates were 35 cents a minute). TIP:
If you need to check the internet during your cruise, try
to save it for the port visits. In each town we visited the internet cafes
were easy to find and easy to use (I had never been in an internet cafe before
this trip)
Another part of the ship I didn't like as well as the Star Princess was the
Ping Pong area. On the Star Princess there is a large covered ping pong area
by one of the pools on deck 12. On the Island Princess the ping pong tables
are instead located in the aft of the ship, outside behind the aerobics
studio. With the rain and wind we experienced on this cruise it was not the
best setup for ping pong I have seen.
Kids Club
The Island Princess had a dedicated area for kids with a well run program for
kids of all ages. Like my cruise on the Star Princess, I found the Island
Princess had lots of activities for the kids. The kids clubs were closed for
two hours around lunch time and dinner time, and closed for the
night at 10 pm. After hours kids activities could be arranged for a fee (until
1 am) and on the port days it was possible to leave your children in the kids
club if you signed up for this option in advance.
Weather
Being from Colorado, the cold weather at times did not bother me. This was
more of a cruise for wearing jeans and sweaters rather than the shorts
and t-shirts of my past Caribbean cruises. Don't forget the raincoat!
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was a breeze - Princess is very organized in the way they get
people off the ship and onto the airport or other destinations. Passengers
were given baggage tags to secure to their luggage the night before - luggage
had to be outside the stateroom by 12 midnight. Passengers were free to eat
breakfast at one of the dining rooms or at the buffet anytime before their
estimated disembarkation time. Disembarkation time was based on the color and
number of your baggage tags.
Princess would announce on the ship's loudsystem when it was time for each
group to disembark. I found the groups to be small - maybe 10 to 15 people in
each group at most - so there were no crowds when it was time to depart the
ship.
Once off the ship the processing through Canadian customs was quick and
efficient. I was on the Princess bus in no time headed for the airport.
Our bus driver took us on a brief tour of Vancouver as we headed towards the
airport, providing commentary along the way.
Everything was smooth UNTIL we arrived at the airport. Here we checked in for
our flight, went in another line to pay the Vancouver airport fee ($7 US
Dollars) and went in another long line for US Customs. The whole process took
70 to 90 minutes - much longer than I expected. TIP: Be sure to arrive at the
Vancouver airport at least 3 hours before your flight in case you
encounter long lines at customs like I did.
Summary
I loved this cruise! I would not hesitate to recommend a Princess Alaska
cruise as they do an excellent job on their Alaska cruises and cruise tours.
The shore excursions were among the best I have ever experienced on any cruise
with breathtaking scenery and wildlife viewing.
Tim Larison
