Island Princess Review

Land Portion Great but Disappointing Quality of Food on Cruise

Review for Alaska Cruise on Island Princess
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kkbiker
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Aug 2017
Cabin: Balcony

We started our trip with a five-day land tour staying at the Princess Lodges. Alaska was beautiful. The weather for the land portion was warmer (80s) than expected and the cruise portion was cooler than expected. I wish we had packed warmer clothes for the cruise. We were also told that Aug is usually the rainy season for Alaska something we didn't know. It rained alot during the cruise portion but it was never a rain out so it was OK. The land portion was was busy but we should have expected that since we changed hotel almost every night. The Princess Lodges were comfortable but not particularly fancy. The Lodge at McKinley was the plainest (no hangers in the room) and we felt isolated (Telneeka was an hour away by bus). The highlights of the land portion were the Princess included Riverboat Cruise and gold panning in Fairbanks, Jeff King's optional Husky Homestead Adventure in Denali was a highlight of the trip along with the Helicopter ride in Skagway up to walk on the glaciers. The optional river float in Telneeka was fun but we really didn't see any wildlife. The most overpriced tour ($189) was the optional Mendenhall Glacier/Whale watch.

The most disappointing part of the trip was the food on the cruise. We'll sailed on Princes before and this food was not up to par. The starters and appitizers was the best part of the menu but the entrees were disappointing. I didn't have a restaurant quality entree during the cruise in either the Main dining room or in Sabatini's (awful). My wife had two restaurant quality meals, one in the Main dining room and one in Sabatini's. Entertainment onboard was very good with the exception of John Bressler, the piano comic. I purchased the drink package and the mixed drinks were good but was disappointed in the wine selection. We also were disappointed that Princess charged $140 to use the steam room during the cruise when it always has been complimentary in the past. As with most cruises, the merchandising was non stop ($3 for a shot of Lemoncello at every meal). We attended the Capt.'s reception for repeat cruisers which turned out to be one free drink and a half-hour sales pitch. I would never fall for that again. Finally, our room was comfortable and well-maintained but it only had two useable outlets. I'm glad we brought portable chargers for our devises. Princess handled the land transfers, embarkation and disembarkation well. Would I recommend Princess for future Alaska Cruises, maybe, maybe not.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BF

Average cabin with balcony

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