Grand Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The grandparents offered to watch the kids so my husband and I could go on a vacation this summer. We've been on several cruises, and my husband has never been to Alaska, so we figured it was time. We flew into the Anchorage airport the morning before the cruise. It's a small but lovely airport. Friends who were visiting Anchorage for several weeks picked us up from the airport later in the morning and we had a wonderful drive, where we stopped to see Dall sheep up in the mountains, got photos of Turnagain Arm, and visited Potter Marsh. As we drew closer to Whittier, one of our friends' children pointed out a glacier, which was actually Portage Glacier. We stopped and walked on a wonderful trail, saw a beautiful creek, and got closer to the glacier. Finally, we arrived at the Whittier Tunnel. It's $12 to get through and we waited about 20 minutes. It was a non-cruise day, so it was pretty quiet.
We had booked a room at the Inn at Whittier because we were a bit nervous about any airplane connection issues. We arrived into the town around 12:00, so we enjoyed a lunch with our friends in the Inn. The views from the restaurant are lovely and the food was plentiful and very good. All of the restaurants in town cost more than what you'll find in most towns in the lower 48. We walked around town with our friends and visited the little museum over by the Anchor Inn. In addition, we found a really lovely waterfall and rushing creek, up past the Begich Towers. Our friends left after a while, and we checked into the hotel. It's a lovely exterior, with excellent views of the mountains and the Prince William Sound. The price was very reasonable compared to Anchorage hotels. The rooms are average, but very clean, and the bathroom was nice. It's a very quiet hotel, and the town is incredibly quiet. You might get bored, but we enjoyed sleeping, watching the trains come in and walking around the tiny town. They have free wi-fi for guests, and we were able to go back in after checking out to check our internet.
The cruise terminal is right next to the hotel, just past the creek. You can walk to the ship from the hotel, pulling your bags. We were actually the second people to check in, around 12:15 was when they let us check-in. You do not drop off luggage like at Miami or Ft. Lauderdale; rather you walk it to a "drop" or just take it right onto the ship, which we did (maybe because there was really nobody in front of us). They had a nice lunch buffet ready when we got on to the ship. It was surprisingly quiet during the embarkation time. For the first day, we were being pushed to buy wine packages, drink packages and other things. It died down by the end of the second day. I had heard it was really bad, but honestly, once you got through the first day, it was better. All rooms are ready for guests by the time they start check-in. We were able to get off of the ship after checking in. The ship didn't leave until around 8 pm.
Cabin Review
Oceanview (obstructed view)
We really enjoyed our cabin. A lot of people insist on getting a balcony cabin on an Alaskan cruise. However, we didn’t feel like spending that much money, and we like to walk a lot. So, we originally booked a comparably cheap inside cabin. Then, the prices dropped on outside cabins; specially “obstructed view” cabins. We had the choice of two, and upon selecting one, discovered, based on the ship diagram, it was between two lifeboats. The diagram was true to the ship itself, so E231 had a nice view, actually. I definitely recommend at least getting a room with some type of view. As I was getting ready one evening, I saw a whale outside the window. The bed was a queen sized bed. The room was very clean and comfy. Bed had a duvet, four fluffy sturdy pillows. There were 2 nightstands with 2 drawers and a shelf on each. A lamp was on each, but not a “reading light.” There was only one closet, with no door. It had space on the floor for shoes. There was a narrow closet with six shelves and a safe. So, not quite as much storage space as some ships I’ve been on, but it worked fine for us, because we brought a limited amount of stuff and did two loads of laundry. There is a vanity by the bed, with a phone and hairdrier and three small drawers. There are only 2 plugs . There was a chair at the desk and a cushioned chair by the window. The bathroom was nice, and tiled. It wasn’t super fancy. The shower was small, like a typical cruise room shower. Carpeting was in good, clean condition. The room seemed a tiny bit dated to me. There is a flat screen television with movies and shows; of course, “The Love Boat.” The room has a frig, a small glass table and heavy curtains. Water in the shower was either too cool or a bit too hot, and there was good pressure. There’s a small sink with three glass shelves. As far as the view, there was a boat a few feet to the right of the window and another about 6 feet to the left. There were a couple of thin metal posts and cables, but you could still see a lot. It was a very quiet room, with the exception of some of the time when we were in port and they were doing work around the lifeboats. Really be sure to check the diagram and look at the ship pictures before booking an “OW” cabin. Some of them are actually just above the walkway. This one was not, but a couple of times, workers were outside of it on the scaffolding.
Port Reviews
Whittier
We flew into the Anchorage airport the morning before the cruise. It's a small but lovely airport. Friends who were visiting Anchorage for several weeks picked us up from the airport later in the morning and we had a wonderful drive, where we stopped to see Dall sheep up in the mountains, got photos of Turnagain Arm, and visited Potter Marsh. As we drew closer to Whittier, one of our friends' children pointed out a glacier, which was actually Portage Glacier. We stopped and walked on a wonderful trail, saw a beautiful creek, and got closer to the glacier. Finally, we arrived at the Whittier Tunnel. It's $12 to get through and we waited about 20 minutes. It was a non-cruise day, so it was pretty quiet.
We had booked a room at the Inn at Whittier because we were a bit nervous about any airplane connection issues. We arrived into the town around 12:00, so we enjoyed a lunch with our friends in the Inn. The views from the restaurant are lovely and the food was plentiful and very good. All of the restaurants in town cost more than what you'll find in most towns in the lower 48. We walked around town with our friends and visited the little museum over by the Anchor Inn. In addition, we found a really lovely waterfall and rushing creek, up past the Begich Towers. Our friends left after a while, and we checked into the hotel. It's a lovely exterior, with excellent views of the mountains and the Prince William Sound. The price was very reasonable compared to Anchorage hotels. The rooms are average, but very clean, and the bathroom was nice. It's a very quiet hotel, and the town is incredibly quiet. You might get bored, but we enjoyed sleeping, watching the trains come in and walking around the tiny town. They have free wi-fi for guests, and we were able to go back in after checking out to check our internet.
Skagway
Skagway was the first port we stopped in. There are some nice trails here that are easily accessible. In addition, there are lots and lots of lovely flowers and gardens. Be sure to go by the Naitonal Park Service Visitor Center for information. I actually printed out a map and walking tour online before leaving for our trip, which was helpful. It’s a nice town to walk through. A lot of people went on the train and raved about it. The people working in Skagway were very positive and nice.
Juneau
In Juneau, we were docked at the A&J Dock, which was the furthest from town, so it’s a good 15 minute walk into town. If you are not a strong walker, or get tired, I’d suggest the $3 all day shuttle. We just walked, but if we had our kids, we might have sprung for the shuttle. We saw several eagles, and gargantuan crows/ravens as we walked into town. I would highly recommend going to Mendenhall Glacier while in Juneau. It’s very lovely and quite impressive. You can get a shuttle, $10 per person each way, for about a 20 minute ride. Or, if you want to pinch pennies, get a city bus, $2 per person each way for about a 45 minutes ride. Only problem with that is you will walk 1.5 miles from the bus stop to the glacier visitors’ center. We did the city bus in and shuttle out. Some of the people of Juneau seemed sort of depressed or down on their luck.
Ketchikan
Ketchikan was our favorite town to visit. Our ship was right in town, at Berth 1. If you like walking a town, go to the Visitor Center at 131 Front Street. You’ll go through an area where they sell tours, and at the other end, find the desk where people work for the visitor center, and will give you a really nice walking tour map. They were happy to give us information. I really wanted to go to Totem Bight State Park ($2 all day city bus pass; 20 minute ride to the park) but we didn’t. I was there years ago and loved it. You can find a nice trail/totem guide for the park on their website. Anyhow, we did a lot of the local walking tour, and got SO much exercise. We walked up a 45 degree steep hill (not on the walking tour) WHEW! St. John’s Episcopal was part of the tour and has pretty stain glass and interesting history. The Waterfront promenade trail has really nice views. The city park is pretty and small, and used to be part of the salmon hatchery. Whale park is a small, very pretty park with cute benches and lovely flowers. There are lots of totem poles throughout the town. Grant Street trestle was a pretty interesting architectural marvel. The creek overlook and salmon ladder are both pretty and interesting. There is a “tunnel” (that’s what it’s called) that is worth seeing. Supposedly, it’s one of a kind. Houses appear to be on top of the tunnel. People working in the town are very friendly and very helpful. Prices at the stores were reasonable. We got our kids’ gifts here (hoodies for two and jewelry for one). Sockeye Sam’s had nice quality clothes with good prices. Talbot’s had some good deals; I think it said “Outlet” above the store. The Salmon Shop area had free wifi. The creek Street area was very busy; I was there years ago, and just walked along a little bit of it. Lots of interesting history in this town.