S
Soprrrano
Guest
Wow! My first cruise.
If anyone has any questions, fire away!
High lights: Ketchikan was breathtakingly beautiful. All the excursions in all of the cities were fantastic.
WARNING: I met 2 couples who booked their excursions outside of Princess who had major problems. One excursions' bus broke down and left them stranded at the top of the pass. They actually had to hitchhike back and were late getting back to the ship. Another couple was left stranded at the dock because the tour group from whom they bought their excursion online... didn't exist. It was a scam.
The ship was beautiful. Don't miss the champagne waterfall on the last formal night. It's like New Years Eve. I didn't attend too many events because they started too late. Their version of American Idol didn't start until 11:15pm, and I really would have liked to see that. Also if you're not a smoker, forget about the casino, because I couldn't stay in there for more than 10 minutes because my eyes were stinging.
The crew is fantastic. They are funny and they are more like party directors that waiters that are usually part of the wall paper. They are mostly Romanian, and Philipino with a few from Mexico. The higher positions are given to the Brits, Aussies, and Italians.
Dissapointments: Desserts were mediocre. Entertainment was mediocre. Spa workers were snobby - but fortunately they were the only workers on the ship who were.
The biggest dissapointment was ME: No control at the buffet - I ate at least 4X the amount I would normally eat when I went to the buffet. Next time, I will avoid it completely. I advise you to do the same. TRUST ME.
Boarding was a pain. We got there at noon and moved slowly for an hour and 20 minutes in line. Get there an hour before and the most you'll wait is 20 minutes.
Crusing was so relaxing. Normally I need a vacation after our vacation because of all of the driving, packing and unpacking, deciding where to have dinner, going to art galleries and museums. One day my husband slept on the balcony all day to the sound of the waves hitting the boat. It was so wonderful. And I wasn't stuck waiting for him to wake up! I went to a movie then a fruit carving demonstration - those guys are amazing- then to the gym for an hour to lessen my guilt, then to a fun quiz event, then to the art auction, which is fun to watch.
Our room was excellent. We were level C in the middle, which apparently is less rocking and movement. The movement will surprise you the first day, but just say to yourself, "So what!" and get on with your day. The next day it won't phase you at all. The closer to the middle is best for the least amound of rocking. And we didn't hear one peep out of any of the rooms on either side! I couldn't believe it. The only really scary sound is the sound of the toilets flushing. It flushes and then does and extra sound that will surprise you and frighten you at first until you're ready for it. Apparently the comedian Kevin Hughes does a perfect impression of this.
I planned out all of the restaurants we wanted to eat in before we got there, and as soon as we arrived, called the concierge to book them. Santa Fe was OK, Pacific Moon was OK, Vivaldi was our favorite, The Sterling Steak House was lovely inside and a big hit. Sabatinis had great food and costs $20 extra, but it was uncomforable because there are 16 courses. They give you the menu with all these choices in appetizers, and you are suprised that you only choose the entree. You get everything on the menu! When they serve you, tell them to give you just a little bit, and only eat half of what they give you. It's a 2 1/2 hour dining experience and you will be full well before the entree even if you eat only half. One person in our group weighs 290, and he was stuffed before the entree. Don't eat anything for 6 hours before and remember to only eat 1/2 of what they are offering.
All our excursions were wonderful and well worth the $$$ Our ship lost an engine from the week's previous storm and we missed Victoria BC completely, but apparently everyone told us -had we went- not to miss Buchart gardens.
I was also warned that the photos in the brochure were from that "one sunny day" in Alaska because it's raining most of the time, so I picked the excurisions with this in mind. However our weather was excellent everyday! We were very lucky.
Ketchikan - Misty Fjords Seaplane Exploration
Juneau - Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest, Mendenhall Lake Canoe Adventure
Skagway - Best of Skagway.
For all you dessert freaks out there like me here is a list of desserts that were worth your time: NY Cheesecake B+, Apple Tarte Tatin B+ , Berrie Coulis A, Chocolate Mousse A(-ONLY when it comes as a chocolate/white chocolate mouse combo. It was offered the last night by itself in the shape of a heart but was more like pudding. Order it when it is offered in the chocolate/white chocolate combination. It is perfect, but the portion is about the size of your small finger. Don't eat the white chocolate mousse part of the combo as it is tasteless.) the chocolate cake at high tea A, actually every dessert at high tea was excellent, especially this petite chocolate cake. Sometimes they put left overs at the Horizon Court Buffet but they go quickly. They put the high tea cookies on room service, but I found them to be too hard to eat by that time and the Chocolatey cake offered for room service was plastic tasting and a dissapointment. The canoli offered at Vivaldi's was good B. If I remember correctly, all the deserts at Sabotinis were good. Mostly avoid any cake that is white looking as there is no sugar or butter involved in the frosting and you will be dissapointed in the bland whipped light cream. This includes The Bavarian Cream cake, the Black Forrest Cake, the Carrot Cake, etc. They do a cooking demonstration and a galley tour toward the end of the trip. The executive chef demonstrates and he is covered in medals from awards like the olympics. Then the pastry chef comes on with no medals. We thought that was quite poignant. And the really funny thing is that he made Black Forrest Cake for us, which we thought was the biggest dissapointment out of all of the desserts.
Since the ship is brand new, it is very clean and sparkly. Our friends were surprised that the night club wasn't very busy as they love dancing. Perhaps it was because it was a cruise to Alaska and not the Carribean which means less of the party atmosphere. We were told by someone that the people who sell drinks - who only get paid by the tips - don't like the Alaskan cruises because the guests don't drink as much as the other cruises. I went to the night club one night because a tour host on our friend's excurision in Skagway told them that the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) would be happening that night because the sky would be unusually clear. We were very excited and stayed up until 11:30 pm to see it! I was really surprised that this was not mentioned in the Princess Patter. We kept going back into the empty nightclub to bring out more people to see the lights. Everyone was thrilled to to see it.
You must get to the comedians/shows/events at least 20 minutes early to get a good seat. Toward the end of the cruise, it's not as crowded, but in the beginning, if you come later, you won't get in.
Since the Norovirus, there is now a machine that dispenses alcohol on your hands before you go to the buffet as a precaution. When we were in Juneau, we were getting back on the ship when someone from the Sun Princess which we were docked right next told us that they had many people on board who were sick. Luckily, I didn't hear of anyone who became ill on our ship, possibly because it is new and apparently the Sun Princess had been infected before. But they had a machine dispensing alcohol at the gangplank to board the Saphire incase anyone had any contact with anyone from the Sun who might have been infected. No one minded the alcohol sprits and were quite greatful that they were so precautious.
In guide books I read, it said that the internet cafe (the only place to get espresso drinks during the day besides a waiter) costs $1 / min with a 30 minute minimum so we avoided it completely. Towards the end of our trip my husband walked in just to check it out and found out that it was only $.35/ minute with no minimum so he checked his email and printed our boarding passes for the return flight.
I mentioned this before, but the casino was too smokey for me and so was the explorer's lounge, where they have the art auction. They have a smoking section and a non smoking section, which of course is a joke. If someone is right behind you smoking, you're in the smoking section, no matter what the card says. The art auction isn't really an auction at all. They offer something for say, $500, one person puts their hand up and either wins or if someone else puts their hand up, the bidding goes up to say, $520, but they usually have another one in the back, and both people go home with the same numbered print for $520 each. So, really, they set it up like an auction and make it exciting like an auction, but it's really just a way to sell things. Their isn't real bidding, just an offered price that only goes up one increment. I didn't go to the first one, but apparently prints started at $10. They had real paintings, but of of course the price started in the thousands for that. They had a real Chagall and Picasso, and the bigging bid was around $35,000. No one bought those.
The Princess theatre is huge and clean. Again, I found the shows to be mediocre. The talent was a little less than average when compared to a professional broadway show, and the concepts we found to be weak. We left "undercover" after 30 minutes and didn't bother to see Billy Joel's "Piano Man". The costumes and lighting were fantactic, but the singing average and writing way less than average. However, people who aren't used to professional shows liked it very much. So, if you've never seen anything on broadway, you'll probably love it. And "Piano Man" is probably good, because Princess didn't write it and it has been on broadway (with a different cast, I'm sure.)
Several people bought the soda cards, but we didn't because we are Diet Pepsi fans and they only offer Coke products. Unfortunately, they weren't given "soda cards" but rather large metalic red & white beverage containers which said "Coca cola" on them to carry with them, even into the lovely dining areas, which I found to be tacky. They had to carry them everywhere if they wanted soda.
The jacuzzi's were nice. I enjoyed working out and getting in the jacuzzi right afterwards (after a quick shower of course.) Toward the end of the trip we discovered a very quiet jacuzzi area at the back of the ship. We were told that is where the crew can hang out. It was always empty and the only place from which to sit in a jacuzzi and see the water at the same time. It's right off of the Horizon Buffet. We stayed in there 4 hours on the last day. I volunteered at one point to get out, put on my husbands shirt, sweats, and sandels and walked dripping wet into the buffet to get reinforcements. I also grabbed a few slices of pizza for my hungry group. The pizza is very good, but we never had a chance to try the hamburgers or hotdogs. We were RARELY hungry because we never had a change to recover from meal to meal.
If anyone has any questions, fire away!
High lights: Ketchikan was breathtakingly beautiful. All the excursions in all of the cities were fantastic.
WARNING: I met 2 couples who booked their excursions outside of Princess who had major problems. One excursions' bus broke down and left them stranded at the top of the pass. They actually had to hitchhike back and were late getting back to the ship. Another couple was left stranded at the dock because the tour group from whom they bought their excursion online... didn't exist. It was a scam.
The ship was beautiful. Don't miss the champagne waterfall on the last formal night. It's like New Years Eve. I didn't attend too many events because they started too late. Their version of American Idol didn't start until 11:15pm, and I really would have liked to see that. Also if you're not a smoker, forget about the casino, because I couldn't stay in there for more than 10 minutes because my eyes were stinging.
The crew is fantastic. They are funny and they are more like party directors that waiters that are usually part of the wall paper. They are mostly Romanian, and Philipino with a few from Mexico. The higher positions are given to the Brits, Aussies, and Italians.
Dissapointments: Desserts were mediocre. Entertainment was mediocre. Spa workers were snobby - but fortunately they were the only workers on the ship who were.
The biggest dissapointment was ME: No control at the buffet - I ate at least 4X the amount I would normally eat when I went to the buffet. Next time, I will avoid it completely. I advise you to do the same. TRUST ME.
Boarding was a pain. We got there at noon and moved slowly for an hour and 20 minutes in line. Get there an hour before and the most you'll wait is 20 minutes.
Crusing was so relaxing. Normally I need a vacation after our vacation because of all of the driving, packing and unpacking, deciding where to have dinner, going to art galleries and museums. One day my husband slept on the balcony all day to the sound of the waves hitting the boat. It was so wonderful. And I wasn't stuck waiting for him to wake up! I went to a movie then a fruit carving demonstration - those guys are amazing- then to the gym for an hour to lessen my guilt, then to a fun quiz event, then to the art auction, which is fun to watch.
Our room was excellent. We were level C in the middle, which apparently is less rocking and movement. The movement will surprise you the first day, but just say to yourself, "So what!" and get on with your day. The next day it won't phase you at all. The closer to the middle is best for the least amound of rocking. And we didn't hear one peep out of any of the rooms on either side! I couldn't believe it. The only really scary sound is the sound of the toilets flushing. It flushes and then does and extra sound that will surprise you and frighten you at first until you're ready for it. Apparently the comedian Kevin Hughes does a perfect impression of this.
I planned out all of the restaurants we wanted to eat in before we got there, and as soon as we arrived, called the concierge to book them. Santa Fe was OK, Pacific Moon was OK, Vivaldi was our favorite, The Sterling Steak House was lovely inside and a big hit. Sabatinis had great food and costs $20 extra, but it was uncomforable because there are 16 courses. They give you the menu with all these choices in appetizers, and you are suprised that you only choose the entree. You get everything on the menu! When they serve you, tell them to give you just a little bit, and only eat half of what they give you. It's a 2 1/2 hour dining experience and you will be full well before the entree even if you eat only half. One person in our group weighs 290, and he was stuffed before the entree. Don't eat anything for 6 hours before and remember to only eat 1/2 of what they are offering.
All our excursions were wonderful and well worth the $$$ Our ship lost an engine from the week's previous storm and we missed Victoria BC completely, but apparently everyone told us -had we went- not to miss Buchart gardens.
I was also warned that the photos in the brochure were from that "one sunny day" in Alaska because it's raining most of the time, so I picked the excurisions with this in mind. However our weather was excellent everyday! We were very lucky.
Ketchikan - Misty Fjords Seaplane Exploration
Juneau - Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest, Mendenhall Lake Canoe Adventure
Skagway - Best of Skagway.
For all you dessert freaks out there like me here is a list of desserts that were worth your time: NY Cheesecake B+, Apple Tarte Tatin B+ , Berrie Coulis A, Chocolate Mousse A(-ONLY when it comes as a chocolate/white chocolate mouse combo. It was offered the last night by itself in the shape of a heart but was more like pudding. Order it when it is offered in the chocolate/white chocolate combination. It is perfect, but the portion is about the size of your small finger. Don't eat the white chocolate mousse part of the combo as it is tasteless.) the chocolate cake at high tea A, actually every dessert at high tea was excellent, especially this petite chocolate cake. Sometimes they put left overs at the Horizon Court Buffet but they go quickly. They put the high tea cookies on room service, but I found them to be too hard to eat by that time and the Chocolatey cake offered for room service was plastic tasting and a dissapointment. The canoli offered at Vivaldi's was good B. If I remember correctly, all the deserts at Sabotinis were good. Mostly avoid any cake that is white looking as there is no sugar or butter involved in the frosting and you will be dissapointed in the bland whipped light cream. This includes The Bavarian Cream cake, the Black Forrest Cake, the Carrot Cake, etc. They do a cooking demonstration and a galley tour toward the end of the trip. The executive chef demonstrates and he is covered in medals from awards like the olympics. Then the pastry chef comes on with no medals. We thought that was quite poignant. And the really funny thing is that he made Black Forrest Cake for us, which we thought was the biggest dissapointment out of all of the desserts.
Since the ship is brand new, it is very clean and sparkly. Our friends were surprised that the night club wasn't very busy as they love dancing. Perhaps it was because it was a cruise to Alaska and not the Carribean which means less of the party atmosphere. We were told by someone that the people who sell drinks - who only get paid by the tips - don't like the Alaskan cruises because the guests don't drink as much as the other cruises. I went to the night club one night because a tour host on our friend's excurision in Skagway told them that the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) would be happening that night because the sky would be unusually clear. We were very excited and stayed up until 11:30 pm to see it! I was really surprised that this was not mentioned in the Princess Patter. We kept going back into the empty nightclub to bring out more people to see the lights. Everyone was thrilled to to see it.
You must get to the comedians/shows/events at least 20 minutes early to get a good seat. Toward the end of the cruise, it's not as crowded, but in the beginning, if you come later, you won't get in.
Since the Norovirus, there is now a machine that dispenses alcohol on your hands before you go to the buffet as a precaution. When we were in Juneau, we were getting back on the ship when someone from the Sun Princess which we were docked right next told us that they had many people on board who were sick. Luckily, I didn't hear of anyone who became ill on our ship, possibly because it is new and apparently the Sun Princess had been infected before. But they had a machine dispensing alcohol at the gangplank to board the Saphire incase anyone had any contact with anyone from the Sun who might have been infected. No one minded the alcohol sprits and were quite greatful that they were so precautious.
In guide books I read, it said that the internet cafe (the only place to get espresso drinks during the day besides a waiter) costs $1 / min with a 30 minute minimum so we avoided it completely. Towards the end of our trip my husband walked in just to check it out and found out that it was only $.35/ minute with no minimum so he checked his email and printed our boarding passes for the return flight.
I mentioned this before, but the casino was too smokey for me and so was the explorer's lounge, where they have the art auction. They have a smoking section and a non smoking section, which of course is a joke. If someone is right behind you smoking, you're in the smoking section, no matter what the card says. The art auction isn't really an auction at all. They offer something for say, $500, one person puts their hand up and either wins or if someone else puts their hand up, the bidding goes up to say, $520, but they usually have another one in the back, and both people go home with the same numbered print for $520 each. So, really, they set it up like an auction and make it exciting like an auction, but it's really just a way to sell things. Their isn't real bidding, just an offered price that only goes up one increment. I didn't go to the first one, but apparently prints started at $10. They had real paintings, but of of course the price started in the thousands for that. They had a real Chagall and Picasso, and the bigging bid was around $35,000. No one bought those.
The Princess theatre is huge and clean. Again, I found the shows to be mediocre. The talent was a little less than average when compared to a professional broadway show, and the concepts we found to be weak. We left "undercover" after 30 minutes and didn't bother to see Billy Joel's "Piano Man". The costumes and lighting were fantactic, but the singing average and writing way less than average. However, people who aren't used to professional shows liked it very much. So, if you've never seen anything on broadway, you'll probably love it. And "Piano Man" is probably good, because Princess didn't write it and it has been on broadway (with a different cast, I'm sure.)
Several people bought the soda cards, but we didn't because we are Diet Pepsi fans and they only offer Coke products. Unfortunately, they weren't given "soda cards" but rather large metalic red & white beverage containers which said "Coca cola" on them to carry with them, even into the lovely dining areas, which I found to be tacky. They had to carry them everywhere if they wanted soda.
The jacuzzi's were nice. I enjoyed working out and getting in the jacuzzi right afterwards (after a quick shower of course.) Toward the end of the trip we discovered a very quiet jacuzzi area at the back of the ship. We were told that is where the crew can hang out. It was always empty and the only place from which to sit in a jacuzzi and see the water at the same time. It's right off of the Horizon Buffet. We stayed in there 4 hours on the last day. I volunteered at one point to get out, put on my husbands shirt, sweats, and sandels and walked dripping wet into the buffet to get reinforcements. I also grabbed a few slices of pizza for my hungry group. The pizza is very good, but we never had a chance to try the hamburgers or hotdogs. We were RARELY hungry because we never had a change to recover from meal to meal.
