On May 17, 2010 we took the Alaska cruise/tour aboard the Island Princess. It was superior. Because this is a long review and has a number of excursion suggestions, here's a brief review. The ship was clean with an efficient crew. Food was excellent, with more sweetness in the desserts than non-American chefs usually provide (which pleased us). Schedule was awkward in Ketchikan, because we departed in early afternoon. Princess lodges at Denali and McKinley were good, with large rooms. If you take the Denali land excursion, try to schedule extra days in the north and at Anchorage. Don't scrimp on excursions after spending so much on airfare and cabin to see this beautiful wilderness. You can save on the cost of excursions by buying the Great Alaska TourSaver coupon book for $100 via website.

Into Vancouver We flew in from San Francisco on departure day, arriving in Vancouver at 1:30 p.m., where getting through customs at the airport was fast and easy. Princess representatives were right there to assist with tagging our luggage and transferring it to the ship. After a short wait in line for our bus we were given a narrated tour of Vancouver on the way to the port. At 2:30 p.m. when we arrived at the ship, the line to board was not that long and soon we were in our spacious mini-suite. Our luggage arrived at our cabin before 6:00 p.m. One thing we have strong opinions on is the use of the hand sanitizers. While they are provided on the ship, I don't believe Princess places enough emphasis on preventing the spread of the dreaded norovirus. Sanitizing should be required when boarding and upon entering dining rooms. Other cruise lines have crew members handing wipes and distributing the lotion. I have never heard anyone complain or refuse. Noro and other communicable diseases can ruin a cruise for hundreds, as happened only days later on another Princess in Alaskan waters. Perhaps sanitary activism will have been felt by the time you board. Regardless, pack a few Clorox Wipes in a Baggie and polish the hardware in your cabin when you arrive. Although the staff is careful, slipups happen. Pick up a couple of pocket-size Purell or other hand sanitizers, too. The only other area for pre-departure improvement would be crowd control. It could also be better in ports of call. Once, for example, lines snaked more than 1 ½ shiplengths along the docks waiting to board. In another port, we asked crewmen on which deck to debark, and were misdirected. In another, passengers departed hundreds of feet farther down the dock than crewmembers, and we had to cross the brow to a mobile two-deck-high stairway while the crew strolled ashore from a lower deck and nearer town. Boarding in Alaska is complicated by enormous tides, rising and dropping 17 feet in 6 hours in Ketchikan and elsewhere. They know how to properly moor the ship; they should know how to treat the passengers.

Cabin I am glad we elected to upgrade to the mini-suite, which was about the size of a standard Disney cabin with veranda. The dEcor is generic but easy on the eyes. Not much color and no real artwork or decorations/style. (I won't count the faded French poster for the Cote d'Or, on which d'Or had faded away, leaving just pink and blue.) The cabin had plenty of room for our belongings and us. There was a substantial shelved cabinet beside the doorless, bed-length closet. Suitcases stored easily under the bed. A sofa bed, small chair, and desk chair provided plenty of seating, with a rigid glass-topped coffee table and desk with drawers providing work/eat space. The desk, on one wall, was opposite a cabinet with two TVs (one facing the bed, the other towards the sofa), shelf space and a shorty fridge. The bathroom, separated from the bed area by the closet, included a tub/shower combination. The temperature and water pressure were the best we have ever experienced on a cruise. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, bath gel and lotion where provided. Bring anything else you need, including shower caps. A small built-in hair dryer was on the wall between the suite's sofa and desk. Our veranda had four comfortable chairs and a table. While not as large as some it was plenty big. The verandas on the 10th and 11th decks above us were stepped back (were those passengers in smaller cabins?). If you are uncomfortable with people looking down at you, you might want to get a cabin on deck 10 or 11. On the other hand, Island Princess has no inside cabins on Deck 9, so passageways are half as crowded. There are few issues that could be improved. However, if you are looking for areas, one would be the bathrobes provided in the mini-suites. They did not provide one until the third day and then it would be better to not provide them than to deliver the rags they have become. Our room steward told us he chose the best he could find: humiliatingly short on the legs and a good six inches longer on one side then the other, thin enough to be obscene, and with sleeves as tight as Schwarzenegger's T-shirt. When we mentioned it to the front desk they were replaced with ones with fuller sleeves but no better in the other areas. Robes take up a lot of room in suitcases so when told they would be provided, we didn't bring one from home - mistake. As on any cruise, the steward works hard to meet your requests and routine needs. Let them know what they are when you board. Be sure to tip him or her, because base pay is minimal. Read more