Ocean Princess Review

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WHY ALASKA?

Review for Alaska Cruise on Ocean Princess
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thesavvyoldlady
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jul 2008

The Savvy Old Lady and The Crabby Old Guy's Great Alaskan Cruise Adventure

First let me be honest and say that Alaska has never been on one of my top five wish places to cruise. But this year, my husband The Crabby Old Guy, (an affectionate title) insisted that we join the millions that have escaped over the years in search of adventure in our forty-ninth state. Once I agreed "Crabby" went on his very own seek-and destroy mission to find the perfect cruise while I just sat there muttering under my breath that I thought he knew I wanted to go to South America and cruise the Amazon or see the pyramids in Egypt or visit the exotic islands of Tahiti and Bali or even see the fjords in Scandinavia. Dang, he knows I'm definitely a warm climate person and the mere fact that we would now have to go and find scarves, gloves and hats in the middle of a heat wave in Nashville, TN in July was definitely not a welcoming prospect. Surprisingly, finding the perfect cruise for us wasn't as easy a task as it sounds. There are endless cruises with all sorts of itineraries, from land and sea packages to strictly sea and then there is always the length of stay. After spending hours of surfing the web "Crabby" announced that he had found our perfect cruise. The Tahitian Princess was sailing the inside passage of Alaska stopping at eight ports in fourteen days. Aha, he did remember I wanted to see Tahiti he just got the locations mixed up. Packing turned into a bit of a chore. Exactly what should we bring? I knew the interior of the ship would be nice and toasty warm but sitting on our balcony each day would be a bit of a challenge. Trying to cover all the bases we decided layering would be the answer to this little dilemma. If it turned out to be a bit warmer than we expected we could always work our way down to our T-shirts. Okay, I didn't say I'm not a dreamer and what are the odds of wearing just a T-shirt and jeans in Glacier Bay...nil to none? As usual with any of our cruises, "Crabby" scheduled us to arrive in our destination city, Vancouver, the day before our cruise was set to sail and therefore not have to worry about missing our cruise due to flight problems, airplanes that is since "Crabby" was a tad bit worried that I would take flight and wind up some place on this planet with a warmer climate. He booked us in at the Pan-Pacific hotel in Vancouver and it turned out to be a brilliant choice. Not only is the Pan-Pacific a beautiful hotel but it just happens to be directly over the port. After a good night's sleep and a leisurely breakfast we returned to our room and called for a bellman. Our luggage was picked up and immediately delivered to the terminal. This saved us the price of a cab fare and most importantly the hassle of dragging our entire luggage to the terminal ourselves. It was really quite pleasant to be able to take the hotel elevator directly down to the embarkation area. I'll take "no fuss no muss" any day especially when I'm on vacation. We boarded the Tahitian Princess at 11:30am in a quick and efficient manner. It was not long before I realized that there was something completely different about the Tahitian Princess. The frenetic pace that you usually see and feel is not there. There were no long lines at the reception area and purser's desk and everything was moving quite smoothly. We were immediately directed to our cabins and within a reasonable period of time our luggage appeared at our door. You quickly realize that efficiency and service are key to the success of the Tahitian Princess. Although it is a much smaller ship and accommodates up to 730 passengers its charm and ambience allows passengers to refer to her as a "floating Victorian mansion" and believe me when I say "That, she is." The use of beautiful rich woods and cozy sitting areas bring back memories of an era in the early twentieth century when cruising was a life style enjoyed only by the aristocracy. Beautiful flower arrangements are displayed throughout the ship.

However it's not just the dEcor that makes this beautiful lady so pleasing but the hard work of the crew, officers and Captain. The passenger to crew ratio is 2-1 which allows the crew more time to interact with the passengers. Captain Stefano Ravera is probably the most unique of cruise Captains I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He is extremely hands on and approachable to all of the passengers and crew while still running a tight ship. He welcomes us with a smile to our new home away from home for the next fourteen days and it is not hard to see that he is greatly appreciated by the passengers and crew. Captain Ravera sincerely makes each and every passenger feel like they're part of his extended family and that is no easy task it just seems to be the nature of this man. When the Captain is not on the bridge he can be seen all over the ship interacting with passengers and setting an example for his crew on the importance of being good will ambassadors for the Tahitian Princess. "Crabby" and I were extremely fortunate to be invited onto the bridge (and yes, we did have a security check before entering) when we were leaving the port of Vancouver. Believe me when I say The Savvy Old Lady and The Crabby Old Guy were as thrilled as any child at Christmas. This wonderful opportunity cleared up many misconceptions about cruise ship piloting that I have had in the past. I always thought that when the pilots came onboard they had full reign over the ship and they were the ones that piloted the boat away from the port and out into clear waters. Well, not true. It is truly a concerted team effort between the captain and in this case two pilots. Still the Captain remains at the helm and takes full responsibility for his ship leaving the port. One of the pilots on board told me that there are only two places in the world where the pilots take full control of the ship and they are the Suez and the Panama Canals. The pilot was also quick to say that he can never take his job mundanely since each and every time he helps to pilot a ship out of port there is usually some little twist of fate that happens that can endanger the ship and its passengers. As we started to pull out, we quickly stopped as a container ship was barreling along full speed directly behind us. Day 2 on the cruise was a sea day and believe it or not it was the day that Alaska became Number 1 on my wish list. Ann Carroll Burgess, a naturalist and wonderful speaker is onboard the ship for the entire cruise and is a fabulous asset to all the passengers. She is part of Princess' Scholarship @Sea™ program. Ann taught all of us how to recognize the different whales and orcas. She also stands on the bridge and advises us of all the whale, Orca, sea otters, seals, etc. sightings over the PA and whether they can be seen on the port or starboard side of the ship. I guess you might say she is our Indian scout. Having a naturalist on board brings all of the wonderful sights to life and just the right bit of science to our seagoing safari. After spotting my first Orca and Humpback whales from my balcony I became totally hooked. Truth be told "Crabby" was literally dragging me off the balcony to go and eat. It was as if we were on a seagoing safari and I didn't want to miss one of these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat. Whales, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises and sharks all swam beside our ship and put on a show that was unforgettable for all the Tahitian Princess' passengers.

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