Our room was a basic balcony stateroom, A215, on the Aloha deck. It is small, however, well laid out for the space. It consists of a compact three-piece washroom on the left with a tiny (and we do mean tiny) shower stall (dark when the curtain was drawn). Just outside is a closet housing shelves and the room safe, and opposite is a large open closet with top shelf. The bed was configured to queen and was OK, but not particularly comfortable; apparently it will be a few years before this ship receives the new Princess Luxury Bed. There are bedside tables with fixed lamps, a desk/drawer unit and mirror with two 110-v outlets and a hair dryer, a corner unit with a flat screen TV on top, an open shelf area below, and a mini-fridge in an enclosed cabinet. The fridge never did cool very well and the top of the cabinet became very warm – don’t place anything on top that you do not want to get warm, like Godiva chocolates! There is a sliding door onto a small balcony equipped with two lounge chairs and a small table. The balcony overlooks all the other balconies below. Environmental control was very good and easy to use. Numerous light switches are located throughout the room.

we opted to just explore the city on our own but did take the Mount Roberts tramway. The tram takes visitors from the dock area near the piers up 1800 feet to Mount Roberts. There is gift shop, restaurant, theatre, and a raptor exhibit, in addition to several walking and hiking trails. Unfortunately, this was a typically rainy gloomy day and we could not see much from Mt. Roberts due to the heavy fog.

we did the Yukon Suspension Bridge tour which also involves travel through British Columbia into the Yukon Territory. This is an all-day tour and a passport is required as you are entering Canada (or re-entering, as was the case for us). We were taken by coach by Charlie, our excellent driver, up the Klondike Highway, who provided a very entertaining narration all day. We stopped at the Canada Border Services Agency station before entering British Columbia then proceeded to the Suspension Bridge for an hour. It was a breathtaking sight and we really enjoyed our time, crossing the bridge and taking a lot of video and photos. We were then on our way into the Yukon. Our first stop was the desert at Carcross (yes there is a desert composed of glacial silt), arriving at our lunch stop, the Caribou Crossing Trading Post, just north of Carcross. We enjoyed a great chicken BBQ, toured the various shops and petting zoo and also visited with two of our nieces who live in Whitehorse and had driven to Caribou Crossing to meet us for a short visit. We then stopped at Emerald Lake, a favourite beach for locals, and then drove back to Carcross for an hour’s visit, just touring the town, again with our nieces. After 45 minutes, we bid our nieces farewell and were on the road again, stopping only at the Welcome to Yukon and Welcome to Alaska signs (this is a narrow highway so we could only stop when safe to do so). We had an enjoyable ride back to the pier, arriving about 4:30 p.m. Highly recommended.

we did the “Lighthouse, Totems & Eagles” excursion and totem pole tour by small boat. This was a highly rated tour so it was an easy decision for us. We were taken by coach to Air Marine Harbour, north of Ketchikan and boarded the “Totem Princess.” The captain and crew got us settled and we were quickly on our way and at our first eagle viewing stop, with many more to come. We then approached the Totem Bight State Park and viewed several totem poles. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see much without a zoom lens or binoculars (provided), and the bobbing of the ship just made things worse to locate the wildlife. Our last visit was to the Guard Island Lighthouse and more wildlife and eagle viewing. An excellent buffet of salmon spread (recipe provided), vegetables, cookies, and beverages was available in the inside cabin; there are two washrooms onboard as well. There are souvenirs for sale. After about three hours, we returned to shore and returned to the pier. It was almost time to go leave port so we just did some quick shopping and then boarded ship. Highly recommended.

The cruise itself was smooth, the ship was in generally good condition, amenities were easy to find and enjoyable (except as noted) and my spouse even earned her Platinum status with this cruise.Travel to Embarkation Port

We pre-booked Shuttle Express, a Seattle-based operator, to get us from SEA-TAC airport to our pre-cruise hotel as well as from the hotel to the pier.

Crown Princess Review

An interesting but satisfactory cruise to celebrate our anniversary

Rating by category

Additional details

Cabin Review

Balcony

Find a Crown Princess Cruise from $128