Princess
Sapphire
Alaska

Barbara L

Age: 50
Occupation: attorney
Number of Cruises: 7

We traveled to Seattle the day before. We took a Grayline bus from the airport directly to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza, for $10.50 each. The only problem is the bus drops you across the street from the hotel with your luggage on a busy street.

Embarkation. We took a cab from our hotel for $12.00 and arrived at the cruise terminal around 10:30 a.m. There was no line for checking in. We had to wait awhile for boarding, but made it to our stateroom before noon.

The ship is beautiful and quite large. We took a tour of the ship at 2:00 p.m. which was a good orientation. This tour is also available the next morning.

We opted to stay on the top Lido deck in an inside room. We had several cool and windy days in Alaska and would sit in the covered pool area. Our room steward was very friendly and eager to please. You have to ask for robes, which you will need for coming back from the hottub. The beds are hard, but you can get mattress foam if asked for. All rooms have a safe and a small refrigerator.

Activities. It seems to me that besides too many game shows, most of the daytime activities cost money (bingo, art auction, casino, ceramics, computer classes). On the first and last sea day, they sail outside of the inside passage, so much of the area is not scenic. I found this to be true on another Princess sailing and have second thoughts about sailing with them in the future. There is an afternoon movie daily. Right now they feature Sahara, Wedding Date, The Aviator, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Congeniality. The two production shows were Piano Man and Curtain Up. Both were entertaining. They also had Brandi Chapman, who was a fabulous singer. There were also several comedians who were so-so.

The food was generally very good. The afternoon tea and the desserts were a little flat. We were on anytime dining and tried the four themed (included in the fare) dining rooms and enjoyed the variety. The service is spotty, especially in the International dining room which has open seating for lunch and breakfast, with very limited hours. The Horizon Court was bad about having one side closed. This happened at noon just before our arrival in Skagway, causing a long line. I opted for the pizza that day, which was delicious. The only problem with the pizza and grill is that most drinks and dessert in still in the Horizon Court. We heard comments from other passengers that they enjoyed the older Princess ships more because of the crowding in the food court and theater.

Ketchikan. We have traveled to Alaska before. We walked around on our own. You can catch a cable car up the hill to Cape Fox Lodge for $2.00 for a scenic view. We found better prices on Creek Street than near the dock.

Tracy Arm. We were up early. There was not that many waterfalls, but we did see alot of small icebergs. We sailed up to an island and you could see Sawyer Glacier in the distance. We passed the Diamond Princess on our way out. We went back to bed, and the late sleepers saw some humpback whales.

Juneau. We arrived at 2:00 p.m. This was an hour later than the published intinerary and no explanation was given. We apparently waited for an NCL ship to leave and took their space. It is a long walk to town. You can catch a bus for $2.00 roundtrip that takes you to the terminal by Mt. Roberts tram.

There are nice souvenir shops closeby. We booked the Whale and Wildlife tour. The bus stopped for a lookout at Mendenhall Glacier. We left on a comfortable boat from Auke Bay up to the Saginaw and Favorite Channels. We saw several humpback whales, bald eagles, and a colony of stellar sea lions. We also saw two lighthouses and two more glaciers. It has been my experience that these tours are your best chance for seeing wildlife and they pull in close for viewing.

Skagway. We had aleady booked a rental car with Avis. The only problem was that it was raining in the morning and we had to walk about a mile into town. They are at the Westmark Hotel and seemed to have plenty of cars available. Their staff was very friendly. Including gas over $3.00 per gallon, the rental cost was less than one train ticket. The train only goes to the pass, which was foggy and rainy. The weather cleared up after the pass, so we drove into the Yukon to Carcress. It is about 65 miles. There is not there besides a general store, but it is a beautiful drive. We kept the car to drive past the jewelry stores and expensive shops in Skagway to the end of the strip on Broadway. We went to the Skagway Outlet Store which had a large selection of discounted souvenirs. The ladies at Avis gave us a ride back to the ship.

Victoria. The shipped changed to sailing at 11:30 p.m., again wih no explanation. We wanted to go to the Buchart Gardens. The tour from the ship departed at 5:30 p.m. and you would miss the fireworks show. It is a good distance into town. There is a grayline bus for $5.00 round trip that takes you in front of the Empress Hotel. They have a tour to Buchart Gardens that departs at 7:00 p.m. and they tell you that they cannot guarantee your return to the ship for the 11:00 p.m. deadline. When I tried to ask if anyone had ever missed the ship, the girl became unglued and told me that we were not getting on any buses. We as well as several other parties walked away from that rudeness.

We walked around the town on our own. The hanging baskets and totem poles add alot of charm. However, the city is unspectacularly urban. There were alot of street people and panhandlers, so Victoria was a disappointment to us. We went back to the ship for dinner. We went out on the deck to view the full moon and skyline after dark.

Disembarkation. We arranged transfers thru Princess, but booked our own air.

They had us at the bottom of the list, it seems that they disembark by floor ahead of you if you made "other arrangements". They were behind almost an hour, so we did not have "plenty of time" to get to the airport. We had to argue with the pursers desk to move up to an earlier slot. This was my experience and I avoided them when possible. They use Grayline who takes you to a covered tent next to the airport terminal. Alaska, United, and Continental airlines have their own check in booths down there. All others had to walk uphill to the terminal with their bags.

Final thoughts. The Inside Passage is unique and beautiful to sail. The Sapphire is new and the public rooms are gorgeous. Due to the lackluster service and daytime activities, I will probably sail with NCL or RCI next. I would not recommend Grayline except for their monopoly on the shuttles to town.

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