Island Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,228 reviews

Alaska South Passage aboard the Island Princess

Review for Alaska Cruise on Island Princess
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QMC(SW)
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2016
Cabin: Oceanview (obstructed view)

This cruise aboard the Island Princess was a "bucket list" cruise for us.

We chose the cruise date because the sailing dates coincided with flights we could arrange using our air miles. We flew into Anchorage 4 days before we sailed and rented a vehicle and toured the area on our own, using the Hotel Alyeska as our base of operations. Off-season rates were excellent.

This cruise was somewhat more expensive at $529 each (ocean view room) than what we usually pay for cruises. For example, to compare with 7 night cruises we generally take in the Caribbean, we usually pay around $300 each for an ocean-view room. We have taken a trans-Altlantic re-positioning cruise in the past 2 years for $449 each, for a room with a balcony. We had an ocean view cabin that allowed us to peer between lifeboats to see the water. The cabin was clean and well set up, and the cabin steward did a fine job of keeping our room neat.

Cabin Review

Oceanview (obstructed view)

Cabin OW

The cabin was clean and well thought out. There was a round table that seemed to be in the way no matter where we moved it, until we placed it in the clothes closet. Everything was functional and we had no issues, except for a plugged toilet that was quickly fixed.

Port Reviews

Whittier

We arrived at Whittier from Anchorage via a transport bus. We were taken directly to the embarkation point, turned our bags over to the handlers and boarded quickly and efficiently.

Skagway

Skagway was very picturesque. We took public transportation to the furthest point of interest, a mine, and decided not to participate when we learned the price. We walked from there to the Jewell Gardens, which was very pretty and worth the price of admission. We returned to the center of town and browsed the shops, and purchased a whale watching tour for the following day in Juneau at a substantial savings over the shipboard price.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan was the least scenic of the three towns we visited, but as the weather was the best of the three port days, we walked more than in the other ports. Because of the recent crash of a cruise ship into the dock we had been assigned, we had to anchor out and tender into port. The ship was moved to a pierside position during the afternoon when pier space was made available. We checked out the local souvenir emporiums and had a cool drink in a saloon while we caught up on our emails using the free wi-fi provided.

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