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by Dick
Williams
Kansas City
MO
I'll
offer up a few comments on the various choices one makes about an
Alaska
trip. I'm no
expert - one cruise under our belts (literally)
but that's one more than we had two weeks ago and the experience
is fresh in my mind.
Cruise
Line
I
can only speak of Princess Lines. I truly can't fault them on anything.
I have no negative comments and any I heard from others would
be simply "quibbles". Princess is a major player in
Alaska
, probably
the major player. They have a fleet of buses, an army of employees,
their own lodges and they run a well-oiled machine. They've
got the logistics down pat as far as moving and entertaining people
and luggage. Their goal is to keep their lodges, buses and railroad
coaches full during the season, May to September and they've pretty
much mastered that as far as I can tell.
They
offer a bewildering number of ground packages - so any one person
you encounter while on land between Fairbanks and Seward probably
isn't duplicating your trip. I found that odd at first. We traveled
Fairbanks
to Talkeetna
by train, others did it by bus. We did
McKinley lodge to Seward by bus - others traveled by train. It's sort
of beyond your knowing and you needn't expend too much time in fine
tuning the ground portion - if you have time to do a ground portion.
Try to hit
Denali
and a bit of
Fairbanks
- so you'll
have sampled
inland
Alaska
.
Everyone
agrees that it'd be nice to have a free day before and after your
Princess formalities take place. We did that in
Vancouver
post- trip
but not in
Fairbanks
. The
southbound cruise worked out good for us
-having the land tours done ahead of the cruise I think is desirable.
The
rail portion was good - personally I wasn't as taken with the
"private coach" thing as most. The format is tables of four in a high
level observation car. Nice view with bar tender and narrator always
at hand. Almost overkill and I'd have been as happy in a regular
observation car, facing forward for the entire trip, with Alaskan
Railroad.
Land
accommodations
We
had 2 nights at the Princess Riverside in
Fairbanks
, one night
at Denali
Princess and one night at Mt. McKinley Princess lodge. All similar
units at room level - different exteriors and all very comfortable.
No complaints and again, Princess does make the logistics
pretty easy.
Want
a quibble? Try this one for petty - the shampoo comes in "paper" containers
and they're hard to open once your hands are wet. Twist the
little head off before you get in the shower and have to bite it off.
And make sure your partner leaves you some shampoo or ask for an extra
if she's a shampoo hog. On ship they always left two containers but
in the lodges it was just one. "One if by land and two if by sea" was
the Princess formula for shampoo.
You
could free lance the entire land travel - but it'd take more time to
arrange and the transfers from hotel to train to hotel back to train
etc would be pain. Renting and driving - another option - but in
the end doing it "their way" is expedient and probably pretty cost effective.
Cruise
Cabin
choices. This is one area where you can save a few bucks or decide
to splurge as prices vary by deck and inside versus outside cabin.
We went somewhat middle ground, outside cabin on Deck 11, the Aloha
Deck but not a balcony cabin. We had a one deck upgrade somewhere
in the process which got us to the Aloha deck.
I
would recommend outside but if the finances say inside then you'll still
have the run of the ship and all services so except for the fun and
convenience of watching
Alaska
glide past
your window or balcony you'll
still be cruising in style. I'm not sure deck or distance from the
waterline makes a big difference. To me outside versus inside would
be the bigger consideration.
Balcony
or window? Sure go for a balcony if you can but we didn't and enjoyed
our picture window view just fine. In fact there is a trade off
- the balcony space comes out of cabin floor space so we had more
floor space in our window cabin than the balcony cabins just two doors
away. We were at the forward end of Deck 11. We were close to the
small open observation deck which for us was almost a private deck.
It doesn't open onto the public spaces so it's lightly populated
but a great view and just below the bridge. We could see the
officers on the bridge and watch the Captain out on the Bridge Wing
during docking maneuvers.
Personal
Choice Dining vs. Fixed seating.
Here
again if you want a little more formality and enjoy getting to know
your dining room service personnel then you'll probably tilt toward
tradition. For us Personal Choice was great. You can choose where
to eat with each meal - and if you do go "formal" in the Marquis
room for dinner you'll sit at tables of eight - four couples who
differ each night. That turned out to be fun. We'd meet three other
couples and then later both on the ship and ashore we'd run into
them and could exchange a hello, compare notes, etc. If we'd eaten
all our evening meals in the Regency room at an assigned time and
table we'd have encountered the same folks each evening.
For
us Personal Choice was good. Food was great - and no prices on the
menu. It's all paid for! Just eat and enjoy. We ended up
"closing" the Marquis room most nights we where there - good food,
service, company and conversation.
Tipping
Princess
has taken it out of your hands. Your shipboard account will be
assessed $10.00 per day per person - $3.50 for cabin attendant and $6.50
for food service. I loved it. You could literally put all your cash
in the safe and leave it there. I thought I'd see some eager beavers
leaving additional money at the table but it wasn't done. I understand
the staff gets every bit of the assessed gratuity and you eat,
you thank 'em then you walk. Very simple.
You
can opt out of the auto tipping but I'd not see a reason to do so.
The tab comes to seven days times twenty bucks per couple or $140.
Not bad and elegantly simple. We did provide a bit extra for our
cabin steward and I have no idea if that's commonly done or not. They'd
like to lead you to believe it is. I'd assume that under fixed dining
where you do have the same serving staff for the entire cruise you
might feel more inclined to embellish that tip -- under Personal Choice
you see different staff nightly so there's less "bonding"
Extras
onboard
Your
food's paid for. All of it - pizza, dinners, snacks, buffet, fruit
- all of it. Wine, booze, beer and soft drinks go on your shipboard
account - the running tab of all extras and add ons you accumulate.
They
have a Coke Club - you can buy an ugly plastic drink container early
on for about $20 and after that you can get soft drinks for no extra
charges. Otherwise soft drinks are $1.50 each. Fortunately you don't
have to carry the big blue thing around all the time. There's a sticker
that goes on your cruise card to verify your elite status and you
can get Coke in glasses at dinner or performances. Do it early or
it's not worth the money.
I
did buy a plastic coffee mug so I could take coffee back to our cabin
- that was handy. No "In Room" coffee, there is a hair dryer and
of course room service if you want to get morning coffee in your cabin
by that means.
I
was pleasantly surprised at the cost of beer, wine and liquor. Domestic
beer $2.95 per bottle, imports $3.50. Drinks in the same realm,
wine 4.50 to 6.00 per glass. Very reasonable I thought. They will
add an automatic 15% onto drinks - again you sign for all that on
your cruise card and it goes on whatever credit card you've chosen for
the final settlement. Get a printout from the purser or Information
counter anytime you wish - good to take a look at mid cruise
just so you'll know how it's going.
Shore
Excursions
Do
it their way or do it your way. Partly a matter of comfort level. We
did it our way - didn't sign up for any shore excursions ahead of time
or on the ship. Simply walked off the ship at the 3 port calls, located
the town's "Excursion Booth" and signed up. I'd say that in each
port there are activities paralleling those you'll see in the Princess
brochures.
If
you go with the Princess tours you will find a couple of things more
convenient. First it's already done when you reach port so
there's
no time spent searching and making arrangements. Secondly you'll
be in the loving hands of the Princess Lines from start to finish
- they'll have someone with a clipboard pointing you to a bus and
you'll be on you way to watch whales, fly planes or hike trails while
we free lancers are still walking into town. Same coming back - you'll
be dropped off at the ship when the day's done if you wish.
The
other side of it - by free lancing and making your own deal you might
save $20 per activity. You might not - the local operators know what
Princess charges and while they will go a bit under the cruise ship
prices they're not going to be very far under. You may be able to
strike a minor deal but I'd not count on a huge price savings. You will
likely be in a smaller group if that's a consideration - smaller boat,
smaller raft, etc.
We
enjoyed it "our way" but either way works. And it's ok to do just one
event per port call. Or none. Kind of nice having time simply to walk
the streets, have lunch, and if the mood hits you can still freelance
one of the shorter/cheaper/quieter events.
We
only did one pricey flying tour - a Misty Fjords flightseeing trip
with Southeast Aviation in Ketchikan. They're one of eight outfits
doing flights in Ketchikan so you won't be left out of a float
plane trip if you haven't made arrangements through Princess.
Entertainment
Gosh,
we missed more than we attended. The one musical we attended in the
Princess Theater was a tribute to Broadway composers and I thought
pretty well done. Get there early or don't bother. Showing up
at show time means you'll miss the show. I'd guess you'll need to be
there 30 or 40 minutes ahead of the stated show time. A magician/comedian
who boarded at our Juneau port call I thought was pretty
l-a-m-e. Bad magic, not very funny and overall he was a disappointment.
Much better time at the Amateur Talent show - that was
fun.
We
bypassed or and never got around to the daytime goings on during the
3 "at sea" days. I was enthralled by the passing scenery and the
vastness
of Alaskan wilderness plus we were able to indulge ourselves in
mid afternoon naps if the mood struck. Took several books - don't think
either of us opened them.
Pools
yes, pool water at 82 degrees so very swimmable. So do take swimming
gear for at least the hot tubs. At least you'll have the option
that way.
On
Board Naturalist
Our guy was Tom - well versed in the things we wanted
to know. In fact I wish he'd narrated more. The narration is piped
to the outside decks and is on the ship's television channel. Only
problem is that when you're in your cabin you won't know he's speaking
unless you keep the TV on and tuned to the right channel. We also
took on Park Rangers for the passage through Glacier Bay - they did
live narration and set up a book sales table in the Horizon court for
our Glacier Bay day. Nice touch.
Three
random tips:
Tip
1: - if your book of cruise tickets and vouchers includes toward the
back a voucher for ship to airport transfer and if you're staying over
in Vancouver you won't need that voucher and can trade it in for
credit
of $18.00 each on your shipboard account. See the Purser - aka the
Information Counter.
Tip
2: - the Cruise Companion book ($20 and sold onboard) comes with an
annotated map you'll need if you like to keep track of where you are
and where you're going. I wish I'd gotten an Alaska road map from AAA
or by writing to the state of Alaska DOT prior to leaving home - helpful
reference even though I wasn't driving.
Tip
3: Binoculars - I'd consider them a must. We took two pairs - one fairly
good pair, a Nikon 8x40, and the second pair a mini version. Both
were very useful and it was often easier to carry the small ones around.
Sometimes nice to have both pair.
Tip
3.5 Cameras - I had an early version digital. For any "real" photography
I needed (but didn't have) a better camera with telephoto capability.
Most wildlife you'll only see with binoculars and only photograph
with better equipment than I had.
Summary
Enough
for now - there's more but I think I've hit my main points. Cabin
-worry more about view than deck number. Excursions - do whatever
you're comfortable with and for anyone going anywhere I'd encourage
you to do some homework - learn as much as you can ahead of time
and it'll enhance the experience when you get there "for real".
I've
put up a couple of Ophoto albums (links on the top right of this page) - a general one an "Alaska
Geek" album
- more photos of ships, ferries,
planes and trains that most could stand. If you're a ship or train
or plane geek then you might like to see the Geek also. I think these
links will get you to each album but if you've not already registered
with Ofoto you'll still need to hit the "Join Now" button
and
sign in with your email address and then choose a password.
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