Princess Cruises
Sun Princess Cruise Review
Alaska

Sally Higgins
Age: 53
Occupation: Homemaker
Number of Cruises: 6
Sailing Date: June 4th, 2006

Eight of us met in Seattle for a cruise to Alaska. I like the convenience of Seattle but Princess' facility is pretty sparse. Try to get a porter and give him a few bucks and he will relieve you of your luggage so you can avoid that long line to check in your bags. The check in procedure didn't take too long - we got there about 11:40.
My husband and I had a mini suite on the Baja deck and it was arranged so nicely - two separate rooms divided by a curtain. We had a very long balcony area with two sets of chairs and a table. Our bathroom was marble with a separate shower with a shower door, a full Jacuzzi bath and a separate area with the toilet and sink. The storage was a bit sparse in there - could have used one more shelf. We were on the starboard side and except for Juneau and Skagway, we were along side the port everywhere. The views in Juneau and Skagway were better off the starboard side when we were docked. Overall, the storage in the room was great - we had a walk in closet and plenty of drawers in the bedside tables and under the TV in the bedroom area. The others in our group were in balcony cabins also on the Baja deck and while they had adequate storage space, overall the cabin size is smaller than that on the Diamond or Sapphire.
We had ordered some appetizers to be brought to our cabin for all of us to get together - our travel agent arranged that and there was enough for at least 15 people - the guacamole was great and the cheese platter huge so if you want to do something for a group get together, I would highly recommend either of those trays.
We elected the anytime dining which worked out great for us because we never knew when we would be getting back on the ship. We ate breakfast in the main dining room every morning except the morning we were on the glacier. The buffet has good food but I like a sit down breakfast better. I never had a problem with any of the food - I heard some people say it was sort of bland but those same people would complain if it was too spicy. The thin crust pizzas in Verdi are very tasty. We did not think it was worth the money for the steak place because it was the window side of the Horizon Buffet. Paying $15 extra to sit to one side of the buffet just doesn't seem like a special place to eat although we heard that the food was good.
The water was totally calm our entire trip and we had gorgeous weather everywhere except Ketchikan where it rained when we first got there but cleared up by 8:30. Ketchikan was our first stop and some of us had booked some tours off the ship - my sister and I went to the visitor's center right by where the ship was docked and booked a tour on the Duck which was a fun trip through town then onto the water. We had been to Ketchikan two times before so we didn't do much in the way of shopping but we did get our delicious halibut and chips at Burger Queen and it still lives up to Tom Ogg's recommendation. The Tracy Arm of a glacier was our next destination and we are 0-2 for getting into this glacier. We made it about 90% of the way in before too much ice in the water turned us back but the scenery along the way was breathtaking and the waterfalls were in full force. It was very cold out on deck so do take gloves and layer up so that you can stand out there and get some good pictures. We made it to Juneau early and had booked a whale watch trip with Orca Enterprises. We called when we got there and we were picked up at the dock -the Sun docks at the farthest dock from town. This time we chartered a small boat for the eight of us and had Capt Sean who was a great captain -he seemed to have the knack for knowing where the whales would be and we were rewarded with several sightings along with one whale that came up about 10 yards from the back of the boat. Spectacular. Our next stop was Skagway and we walked to M&M Tours and booked a Yukoner Tour which went up to Canada - saw two black bear along with lots of eagles and tons of waterfalls. Our guide told us that June is the best time to see bear, snow on the mountaintops and waterfalls. We stopped at the Skagway Fish Company on the way back to the ship and had a good lunch. Our last stop was Victoria and we walked into town which took about 25 minutes. It is a very pleasant walk through some lovely neighborhoods. We saw some things along t!
he wharf
and did a bit of shopping.
We did not see any of the theatrical productions but did catch some acts in the Vista Lounge- one comedian who was very funny and a lame comedian/magician. There were fairly new movies shown every day in the main theater. Some of like to play the games and we won at trivia quite a few times - got to have those luggage tags!
My sister and I are former Princess cruisers and were invited to a nice cocktail party the second formal evening. It's a nice touch to recognize the people who have taken several Princess cruises.
Overall, I liked the experience on the Sun. We had great waiters and our room steward always kept our cabin in perfect order and always had a smile and a greeting when we would see him in the hall.
 

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