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Wednesday, 06 April 2011

Don't Blink - you might miss an eagle or whale!

BACKGROUND:

We are “senior” travelers; traveling as a couple with no other family accompanying us on this voyage. This was our 57th cruise and our Seventh time to Alaska; our 16th Princess cruise (171 days) and second time on The Golden Princess.

THE GOLDEN/OUR CABIN:

Overall, I would give ship and cruise good marks. While the ship is 9 years old, it was refurbished last year and is being maintained very well. We found no fault with the cleanliness or upkeep of our cabin or the public rooms with the one exception that the beds’ mattress is a bit saggy – may be time for new beds. We had a problem along the way with our tv’s – both went to all-snow on all channels one morning. We called Passenger Services and the third call in about 5 hours (waiting for something to happen in between) they finally sent a repairman who got the problem repaired quickly. Point being, if you have a problem, keep calling. Otherwise, requests were promptly attended to and service was generally excellent.

Our cabin, an AB mini-suite on Dolphin deck was comfortable and sufficiently roomy with two flat-screen tv’s and a mini fridge. (The tv’s are almost back to back in the room so watching something different on one than the other is not really practical). There was more than ample storage space for putting everything away. The closet is open (which I don’t much like), but had plenty of room for all hanging items. The bathroom (with tub and good showerhead) was unexceptional but adequate and functional. The balconies on Dolphin have no “overhang”; the upper decks are more sheltered from the elements so may have been better for doing scenic cruising without getting rained on. Otherwise, our cabin location was excellent – quiet and out of traffic patterns. Our cabin was serviced well and promptly by our cabin steward and anything we asked for was promptly supplied. As for the location of the cabin; it should be noted that last time on the Golden Princess, we were on Dolphin Deck down the hall a ways (D522) – across from us were 5 quad-occupancy cabins all filled with 20-something college kids on Spring Break. They were partying into the wee hours and since the cabins were a bit small for four, they spilled into the hall outside our cabin. They were crude and rude when we asked them to settle down or take the party elsewhere. Fair warning to check the location of your cabin; always a good idea to check out what’s across the hall.

PRE-CRUISE/SEATTLE:

We traveled to Seattle on Thursday for a Saturday sailing. My niece lives just north of Seattle, so she met us in downtown and had a lovely day with her on Friday, visiting Pike Place Market, lunching there then going down to The Waterfront. It was such a lovely, sunny day that we decided to go on the Argosy Cruises Locks Cruise to see Seattle from the water. We were initially bussed to South Lake Union where we embarked the comfortable tour boat (clean bathrooms, bar/snack service, enclosed viewing available). This little sightseeing cruise took us through the Hiram Chittenden Locks connecting Lake Union with Puget Sound. Seattle sparkled in the late afternoon sun as we made our approach back to The Waterfront. For anyone who has already done the obligatory Pike Place Market and Space Needle, we can highly recommend this tour especially when the sun is shining on Seattle. Arriving back at the Waterfront, we walked up the hill and visited the Seattle Art Museum for a couple of hours (open 'til 9:00 PM on Fridays). It has what I would consider an interesting and a bit eclectic collection. We then walked back down for a lovely waterfront dinner. One caution in Seattle is that the driving is difficult - many one-way streets and dead ends and the parking is very expensive ($20.00 for the day at Pike Place Market) so public transportation is advised. We used the new light rail from Seattle Airport to the University Street Station ($2.50 per person one way) to get into town before meeting my niece downtown.

We were staying at the Holiday Inn Express in SeaTac and had purchased their "Cruise ship" package for the second night there. This included a 10:00 AM transfer to the cruise ship dock as well as a transfer when we got off the ship the following Saturday to either the Holiday Inn or Seattle Airport if we chose. Everything went smoothly with the transfer and we arrived at Pier 91 and the Golden Princess by about 11:00 AM.

CHECK-IN/EMBARKATION:

Check in was fairly easy for us since we are "Elite" with Princess; the regular line was long but seemed to be moving well. By about 11:30 the ship was starting to allow boarding and a very long, disorganized line formed. (For you other Platinum and Elite members, there was no special waiting area or early-boarding call at this port.) We were on board by noon and went to our cabin, to be greeted by our steward with two welcome-aboard glasses of champagne…nice touch. We dropped our carry-on bags in our cabin, called the “Dine Line” to make reservations for the “Chef’s Table” (more about that later), checked the day’s Patter, and instead of going to the Horizon Court (the buffet) on Lido Deck, went down to the Donatello Restaurant for a lovely, sit-down lunch. I don’t think many folks knew that service was available here, as there were very few passengers there. I can highly recommend this as an alternative to the crowds at the buffet for your first on-board meal!

After our leisurely lunch, we went to meet the little Cruise Critic RollCall group that we had been chatting with the last few months. Shortly thereafter, it was time for the Safety drill. Muster stations with Princess are in public lounges rather than on the outer deck as with some other lines. The crew demonstrates proper wearing of a life jacket and general emergency procedures are explained before we are dismissed to the fun of the cruise.

DINING:

We had "Anytime" dining which is offered in the Bernini or Donatello dining rooms. The first night, we went to the Bernini about 7:30 and were issued a pager for about a 20 minute wait. The pager did not buzz in about a half-hour, so we went to the check-in podium; with our inquiry, we were immediately seated. In the future, I will make a dinner reservation as soon as I get on board for the first night's dinner and bypass the delay. It is also recommended that you make a reservation for nights when there is a ship-sponsored cocktail party, as folks will go to the cocktail party then want to go directly to dinner all at the same time.

We generally would try to go to the Donatello for breakfast in the morning – preferring to be seated and waited on. Since that venue was only open until 9:00AM for breakfast, we sometimes didn’t get moving quickly enough to make it and ended up in the Horizon Court buffet instead. The buffet selections were varied with several fresh fruit choices, eggs of many varieties, breakfast meats, cereals. I particularly enjoyed the variety and freshness of the breads and muffins.

Generally, we found the food on board to be quite good. Appetizers were interesting, salads were crisp, soups were varied and tasty. The entrees offered were varied and agreeable and we like that Princess has the “always available” items – Caesar Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Steak, Salmon, if you can’t find anything you like on the day’s menu. I only once had to return anything – a rack of lamb was a bit too rare (bloody) for my liking, but that was promptly replaced with a more “medium” and I thought it was one of the best I’d had.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE CRUISE – we, along with a few of our Cruise Critic RollCall friends had signed up for the “Chef’s Table” as soon as we boarded the ship on Saturday. This is a very special dinner hosted personally by Executive Chef Jeremy Snowden and Maitre d’hotel, Luigi Moretti (additional charge of $75.00 per person). There was only one offered on this cruise with only 11 diners being able to participate. It is the time for the Chef to show off his finest cuisine and he did a stunning job. Each spectacular course was paired with premium champagne or wines and all served with exceptional service and extra flair.

THE CRUISE/PORTS:

Our first day was a relaxed day at sea. We went to hear the Naturalist Lecturer Michael Modzelewski, who was excellent and went to the Grapevine Wine Tasting - always fun. The first formal night found most of the men in jackets and ties with a few Tuxedos but not as many as we've seen on longer cruises. The show Stardust was a production show and was energetic but we thought the music was very dated.

Because we have been to Alaska 7 times now, we did not sign up for any shore excursions; we just wanted to relax and play it by ear depending on what weather we got dealt. (In Alaska, you never know from one day to the next!)

We docked in Juneau a bit early (scheduled for 12:00 and arrived at 11:00). It was fairly clear and not raining so we went up the Mt. Roberts Tramway, something we had not done in past visits to Juneau. The view is truly exceptional from the top of the tram and they had a couple of presentations in the little theatre - a film about Alaska and a family group playing music and singing with a slide show backdrop of Alaska scenes; all were enjoyable. There are hiking trails at the top that are not too difficult, but it had started to rain, so we only went up to the nearest outlooks. For us, no visit to Juneau is complete without a pint of Alaskan Amber at the RedDog Saloon. Being full of other cruise passengers, it IS very touristy, but we always enjoy it. My husband had their "Yakobi Smoked Chowder" - clam chowder with smoked salmon and it was quite good; my "Hobart Bay Halibut Basket" was unmemorable.

Day Three - A beautiful, sunny, actually WARM day in Skagway. The ship was docked quite a ways from town, but since the weather was so nice, we walked in. Once in town we learned about a shuttle that circles town; the charge is $2.50 per person one-way or you can get an all day “pass” (a hand-stamp) for $5.00. The shuttle circles town center and visits the historic Gold Rush Cemetery (about a ½ mi. walk), The Klondike Gold Fields (where you can pan for gold), as well as the Jewell Gardens. We went to Jewell Gardens and found them to be quite lovely (on a sunny day!). They have a little restaurant in addition to a glass blowing studio. There was a young man blowing glass whom we watched for a bit, but the next show/demonstration was not convenient for us, so we didn't see it. The shuttle picks up right outside (coming about every 15 mins). The shuttle then circles back to the center of town where another shuttle transports to the close end of the cruise ship dock. The cruise lines offer a complimentary shuttle from here to the ship - a fairy long walk when there are two mega-ships docked end to end (the Golden was at the far end). Again, for anyone who has been here and already done the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, the Klondike trail, suspension bridge, salmon bake, and visited the towns museums, this was a relaxed alternative.

Our entrance into Tracy Arm was met with drizzle and chill. Our past trips had included scenic cruising of College Fjord and/or Glacier Bay but this was our first time to Tracy Arm. It is truly scenic with mountains very close by and hundreds of waterfalls trickling or rushing down the mountainsides. Because of icebergs that had calved off the glacier at the end of Tracy Army, we were not able to get very close to the glacier – not close enough to see or hear the glacier cracking or calving as one can sometimes in Glacier Bay. We both agreed that we prefer the visits to Glacier Bay.

Day 5 - an early arrival in Ketchikan and it’s pouring rain. Okay, yeah, it’s Ketchikan….it RAINS in Ketchikan! Port time here is short 6:00AM to Noon. Having been here many times before, and with the torrential downpour, we opt to stay on board the ship. Everyone we spoke to who went ashore complained about how WET and cold they got. It is a fun shore stop when the weather and port times are more agreeable.

The last day on the ship is essentially a sea day. We ran across some heavy seas on this leg of the journey – unusual for the Inside Passage cruises. The Golden rides very well and with the stabilizers out, it was fairly smooth sailing with just a bit of sway; nice introduction to first-timers to actually being on a ship at sea!

Our 7:30PM arrival in Victoria is later than scheduled. Again, having been to Beautiful Victoria many times before, we decide to stay on the ship rather than spending the time and money to go into town for a few brief hours (it was cold and windy, too).

Disembarkation at Seattle was easy and efficient. It is nice to note that the cruise lines have improved the disembarkation procedure considerably – that being even with the continued increase in the number of passengers and luggage that must be handled with these mega-ships. We were off the ship by 9:00AM and met quickly by our pre-arranged transfer (the back end of the Holiday Inn Express “cruise ship” package). The airport was busy but everything went smoothly getting checked in and through security.

SUMMARY:

In summary, we had an enjoyable cruise, but both agreed that the itinerary could use improving: port times are not the best. Particularly in Ketchikan and Victoria were the times less than desirable. We would look to going to Glacier Bay rather than Tracy Arm, but that may be just our personal preference. The Golden is a lovely ship and we enjoyed it very much. We both came down with colds early on in the cruise, so we were content to be quiet, enjoy the ship and watch the lovely Alaska scenery go by our picture window. Don’t blink you might miss a bald eagle flying by, a whale’s tale as he sounds or a group of dolphin frolicking in the ship’s wake. Keep your eyes open, you’ll see hanging glaciers in the hilltop canyons or azure-blue icebergs bobbing past the ship.