Laura Quilty

Let me first start off by saying this was our honeymoon cruise and it was fantastic. This was my husband’s first cruise and he loved it too.

We set off from Seattle. If you’ve never been to the Pacific Northwest, it’s a magnificent scene. The mountains meeting the sea are quite a view. The embarkation was not that bad. We waited for about 10 minutes. Our eagerness to board made the ten minutes feel like hours.

Once we got onto the ship we found our cabin. Our cabin was on deck 10 with a balcony. I would recommend bumping up and getting the private balcony, well worth the investment. It was so peaceful to be out on the balcony in the morning with a cup of coffee taking in the ocean air. The air in Alaska is a pure as pure comes.

Our first order of business was to locate the buffet. The buffet had awesome fresh fruit. A treat to have it all cut up and ready to eat. The selection at the buffet was always great. My husband enjoyed the large plates and selection. Not being soda drinkers we enjoyed the unlimited coffee, water, and iced tea. To my surprise and happiness, the coffee was really good. We were both highly impressed with the use of hand sanitizer at the buffet. No illnesses on our cruise.

We had anytime dining which we enjoyed. It was nice to have the option to either meet new people or sit alone. We never had an issue with getting a table for 2. But we usually got to the dining room sometime in the 8 o’clock hour so that could be why we never had any issues.

We did try both the steakhouse and Italian restaurant. LOVED the Steakhouse, HATED the Italian. Truly, our only negative experience on the trip was at the Italian restaurant. The waiter at the Italian seemed annoyed and the food was not impressive. However, the steak was excellent.

On board entertainment was good. The comedian was funny. The shows were all good. What I expected from a cruise ship. I did win $160 on the slots after investing only $5. We did have a great naturalist on board, Michael Modzelewski. He was highly informative on Alaska and a great speaker.

We lucked out and had the most spectacular day while doing our scenic cruising down the Tracy Arm Fjord, sunny skies. Pictures can’t even do it justice. I think even in the rain the grandeur of the fjord would be amazing.

Our excursions ranged from amazing to pretty good. Our first port was Juneau. Here we did the taste of Juneau. This three part tour started with the Mendenhall Glacier (interesting), a whale watch (we saw lots of Humpbacks and Sea Lions – No killers though), and a traditional salmon bake. All in all, this excursion was fun and well structured. We next went to Skagway. We did the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. What a trip. This was worth every penny. We took a high speed catamaran out to this isolated beach, and then took canoes to the glacier. Breathtaking and amazing. A bear was spotted but again I was to slow to see it. 

Our next port was Ketchikan. Here we did the Eagles and Lighthouse tour. Another neat trip. We saw so many eagles and seals it was spectacular.

The final stop was Victoria. Here we did the night tour of Butchart Gardens. A lovely and romantic place. We toured the gardens at night so it made for some memorable pictures.

All in all this was one amazing vacation. The ship was beautiful, well kept and the service was all accommodating. The ages of our fellow cruisers ranged from young families to folks celebrating their 47th wedding anniversary. We met several other honeymooners on the ship. All the teenagers seem to be having a grand old time too.

If you appreciate the beauty of our country then you will love this trip. Alaska was amazing and I look forward to someday doing further exploration into Denali. If you can get a balcony, it’s worth every penny and don’t forget the binoculars. You’ll be amazed with all the wildlife spotting.

Alaska is awesome and cruising is the way to go.
We recommend Princess 100%.