Princess Cruise Line
(PCL) – Alaska Vacation
General
My wife & I recently completed a Princess cruise to Alaska which included a land tour (done first). We live in a Northern Virginia suburb just outside Washington DC (high cost of living area), and we are occasional cruise ship travelers (her doing). She did a commendable amount of research, consulting friends who have made the journey or who regularly travel to AK and plowing through acres of internet websites. All in all, “she done good” with the result being an incredible trip. Now, to MY observations. You will get the straight story about our experience from my perspective, without all the PCL marketing sewage. Hopefully it will help you make an informed decision, should you be considering such a vacation (or, as our Canadian tablemates Sharon and Thelma say, “Holiday”).
Our trip included a land tour with Remain Overnight (RON) stays at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage (night prior to the start of the land tour), McKinley Lodge & Denali Lodge (during the tour). We then railed to Whittier for the sea voyage. The sea voyage went from Whittier to Skagway to Juneau to Ketchikan ending in Vancouver (Canada).
The first thing to keep in mind is that PCL is a money making operation, a classic example of American free enterprise, which is fine as long as you realize you will pay for everything and pay a premium price. Yes, Virginia there IS a Santa Clause, but there are no free lunches, especially at Princess (with one limited exception). Also Alaska is expensive, as you might imagine.
In effect, you are a willing captive subject to the control of PCL. The only location on the land tour that allowed access to anything outside of the PCL web without (w/o) taking PCL transportation (on their schedule) was initially in Anchorage and later in Denali at the Denali Lodge. One could walk to the town and buy various items, to include food. However, the prices were high.
We had planned a side trip thru Seattle, WA at the beginning of our odyssey, which was not directly part of the PCL cruise/land tour, although it was included in the overall package, since Seattle was one of the points of origin for a PCL AK cruise (we did not depart on PCL from Seattle, though).
Land Tour
Alaska is an interesting state. It does have some pretty amazing scenery, both available to the land tour and visible on the sea cruise. Keep in mind that Alaska is a VAST place and everything worth seeing is far away from everything else worth seeing. During the land tour, starting with (w/) arrival in Anchorage, we spent more than half our waking hours in some form of travel mode (bus/train), either going from one location to another or moving about within one locale. This does not include the outbound trip from IAD – JFK – SEA and SEA – ANC, nor the homebound trip from SEA – LGB – IAD (each of which occupied an entire day).
The Alaska between highlight locations is a rather plain, rural and unappealing smorgasbord of rusting pickup trucks and RVs (picture Cousin Eddie’s from the movie Christmas Vacation), discarded debris and small houses, the majority of which are ramshackle. Even the city of Anchorage was reminiscent of 1950s industrial towns, although it did have some newer, more attractive parts within view of the Alaska Railroad line in places. Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan are tarnished monuments to the former and now expired greatness of the Alaska gold rush of the late 1800s/early 1900s, and the 1970s discovery of the vast arctic oil fields.
Accommodations at the PLC lodges were modest as was the food. The Captain Cook Hotel, where we spent the night before starting the land tour was nice – decently sized room w/ king bed, complimentary internet and refrigerator. The PCL lodges were adequate; rooms comparable to Motel 6 - small & no refrigerator, but w/ complimentary internet in the lobby. They even “leave the light on” for you, as during the summer, there is no dark – just dusk.
The food was fair; certainly not comparable to the 5-star prices being charged. However, it was either eat at a PLC facility or go hungry, since one had no other choice except in Anchorage and Denali. The one exception was the dinner theater at Denali, which actually had all- you- could-eat decent food, as well as a fine musical production.
The big attraction of the land tour was Mt. McKinley, known locally & by the indigenous populace as Denali (Athabascan Indian word for Tall One). If you are taking the land tour for the express purpose of seeing McKinley, keep in mind your odds are1 in 3 (33%) that you will see it. In the summer (May – September), McKinley is generally hidden from view by clouds, rain or fog (apparently during the remaining months, it is ALWAYS hidden). We were unbelievably fortunate, in that we saw it FIVE times during our trip. One way to look at it, if your primary purpose is to view McKinley, is to consider the cost of the land tour as a gambling bet; you are betting that amount at odds of 2-1 against, that you will see the mountain. Would you take those odds in Vegas?
If you sign up for the land tour at Denali National Park, you WILL see other remarkable scenery and have other opportunities to explore the wilderness depending on how far you travel into the parks/preserves, so not seeing McKinley would not make it a total loss. If one wants to see wildlife one must take the longer trips that go deeper into the area. Since they are not on PCL’s payroll, the animals feel no obligation to appear for travelers as part of the show. I’m sure if PCL could arrange it they would – for a fee (Wilderness Tour: $1000; Wilderness Tour w/ Wildlife: $2000).
Rail travel was on the privately owned Princess car affixed to the Alaskan Railroad train. When I hear the word train I think of a bus type arrangement running on rails. All my limited rail experience up to this time was confined to such an arrangement: all seats facing forward, one behind the other, in two rows separated by a walkway. My rail experience would soon expand.
The Princess car on which we travelled was double decked, with the lower level accommodating a dining room and rest rooms, and the upper level the passenger compartment, including a bar/serving station. Movement between levels involved negotiating a circular staircase designed for the Seven Dwarfs w/o Cinderella or the Ewoks. Folk w/ limited mobility could manage w/ grimaces and pain. There was an “elevator” for wheelchairs.
Seating consisted of a Silver Diner type booth arrangement with two bench seats facing each other separated by a common table, fitting four people. The only things missing were the jukebox console to select the records and Fonzie. The tolerability of the trip depends on tablemates.
Sea Cruise
The sea cruise, aboard the Island Princess, was a CLASSIC sea cruise – sailing from A to B to C to D while eating and deciding which of the activities fabricated to fill sailing time was interesting enough to merit attendance – many were not. However, this is a function of your personal interests. If you enjoy bidding on PCL art, for which you must find a hanging place in your home, and paying money for the privilege, or if you gamble, then you’re in luck. Many of the activities were lead-ins to spending more money. During our first meal onboard, we were solicited to attend the following day’s wine tasting – at $25 per.
That said, some of the lectures WERE informative and interesting, and prepared us for the worthwhile parts of the trip, when we visited the scenic sites. The musical productions too, were worth the time - done professionally & entertaining, to include the celebrity show by Adrian Zmed (formerly of the play Grease, the movie Grease 2, and the TV series T.J. Hooker and Dance Fever). The shows Do You Wanna Dance & Motor City were both good, and running about 1 hr 15 min. each. The presentation by the Head Chef & Matre’d’Hotel was entertaining and informative if you are: a) interested in cooking or b) interested in how they prepare the ~ 15K daily meals aboard ship, Following the show, there was a quick tour thru the galley (also noteworthy if you wonder how cooking is done on board ship). Be ready for the $ gimmick, however; as you exit the galley there is a PCL cookbook for sale ($28) which the chef and m’d will autograph. To their credit though, PCL did host a Veteran’s appreciation at which they had complimentary champagne (they also offered a $100 onboard tab credit for veterans; a most gracious and appreciated gesture).
Once you sail outside the proximity to civilization (the towns), do not plan on having any communication to the outside world, unless money is no object. While there is an internet connection (satellite based) available on the ship, it is exorbitantly pricey; per-minute usage was $.75, although one could get a better rate by buying in bulk. If you have cell phone service you may be able to do voice calls and text, but our provider (Verizon) charged a premium for that capability. There is mention in the PCL literature of an international capability your provider must have for you to enjoy the cell-phone-at-sea experience. This is something to check in advance, if you really care. Getting used to the few days of non-connectivity was actually not that difficult for us fossils, even though we are accustomed to being connected in our regular lives.
Due to my wife’s exceptional foresight, we had an upgraded cabin suite which WAS very nice; comfortable king bed, fridge, sitting area and a somewhat private balcony; worth the added cost of an upgrade.
All the AK towns at which the ship docks are tourist traps, The cruise boats are the current day cash cows to these towns whose economic heydays are long passed; and, their wares are priced accordingly (there was even a rumor that some of the jewelry stores were owned by Princess).
Some of the side trips once in port are worthwhile, again, depending on your interests. We took a helicopter flight to the Mead Glacier in Skagway which was a good experience (anything involving a helicopter is ALWAYS a good experience – I have a lot of blade time as a passenger, but my wife doesn’t and she really enjoys it). Amazing scenery enroute and walking about on the glacier seeing firsthand the moulins *and crevasses referenced in the travelogue films was cool.
The same applies to the whale watching trip (we saw a lot of activity) and Mendenhall glacier visit in Juneau, although we did not have nearly enough time at Mendenhall (US Forestry Service Park). The trip on the tramway cable car to/from Mt. Roberts was also impressive, not just for the scenery but also for the engineering involved in inserting the $17M facility into the side of a mountain over the busy seaport activity.
For Ketchikan, we (actually my wife is the scheduling officer) had on tap a float plane flight to Misty Fjord but it was cancelled due to weather at the fjord (alas & alack). Subsequently, we attended the scheduled Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show which was entertaining and enjoyable, even though it had the somewhat flavor of “professional” wrestling.
My wife set up the side trips through PCL in advance to insure availability. Although there is a markup for the service (as opposed to doing it directly with the trip provider), it is worth it since being tied to PCL adds the benefit of not being left behind if a problem occurs during the trip delaying your boarding. Also, any refund issues are easily resolved by the PCL staff.
Overall, the cruise food was generally good, especially in the scheduled dining room. One of the factors contributing to an enjoyable dining experience (outside the obvious quality of food) is the people with whom one shares the table. We were extremely fortunate in our case, in that we drew six lovely ladies (I was the lone X chromosome diner at the table); three from Florida and one from New Jersey (on vacation), and two from Canada (on holiday). We got a chance to share stories about the day’s activities, which included everything from massive shopping sprees, to fish hatchery exploration to attempted suicide via zip line to avoiding the omnipresent PCL paparazzi, especially when exposed to the persistent PCL “celebrity” bear photo op.
In a few cases when one of us, endeavoring to broaden our culinary horizons, made a selection that, upon tasting proved unpalatable, the wait staff was prompt to cheerfully substitute another menu item of choice. Sugar free desserts were also available.
One disconcerting aspect was the fact that the menu items were generally written in 5-Star restaurant menu-ese; e.g. Frangible Turbot a’la Benoit, with herb sautéed Pyrenees Mountain Oysters and Fennel Rubbed Tripe with Bordello Sauce. In that type of situation, whether onboard a cruise ship or at such an aforementioned restaurant, one has three choices: 1) ask the wait staff, 2) pretend one knows and order or 3)ask for a recommendation. The third alternative would be good in our situation since the staff was willing to substitute, should one make a bad/ignorant choice. Otherwise, you’re on your own.
Once the actual cruise was over, PCL did a good job of debarkation, baggage transfer and getting us to Seattle (4 hour bus, er coach ride). They also did a good job with transfer/baggage handling on the front end. There is a fee for the “seamless” transfer service (of course), but it is worth it, if for no other reason than they, rather than you, are on the hook for success.
The all day adventure of return flights through two airports was as expected: long & tedious, but we prefer Jet Blue, so had to accommodate their schedule & itinerary. As a side note, the Jet Blue gates at the Long Beach, CA airport are serviced by a mini-terminal. If one wishes to go to the main terminal, one has to leave the secured area and re-enter through airport security. We had a 3+ hour wait until our flight to IAD and had planned on having some dinner before boarding. It consisted of prefab sandwiches (actually pretty good considering) from the sandwich vendor kiosk. The room was jammed to capacity since there were at any given time two flights coming in and then leaving. For most of the time it was literally wall-to-wall people until we boarded. The actual flight to IAD took ~ 4.5 hrs and was tolerable.
In conclusion, a long vacation, which we would not likely repeat, having seen just about all there is to see in AK.
One final recommendation to put one in the proper frame of mind for a cruise; watch one of the following movies:
a. The Poseidon Adventure
b. Poseidon
c. Titanic
d. initial episode of Gilligan’s Island
e. Castaway
And speaking of Gilligan’s Island, here is a trivia question: What is the name of the vessel on which the cast sailed?
*Narrow, tubular chute or hole through which water enters a glacier from the surface. The term is derived from the French word for mill.