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Name: Kimberly Meyer
Email: kmeyer@hargray.com
Age: 32
Occupation: school teacher
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sun
SailingDate: May 16, 1998
Itinerary: Alaska
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 94
CabinComfort: 94
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 94
FoodLidoDeck: 89
DiningRoomService: 97
CabinQuietness: 93
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 88
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 98
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 92
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 99
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 94
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 93
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 93
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 93
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 99
DeckSpace: 97
Stabilization: 97
ShopsOnBoard: 92
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 May 1998
Time: 22:32:35
Remote Name: 206.74.230.177
Remote User:
Comments
What a treat it was to be on board the first Sun Princess Alaska Cruise of 1998! We were
pleasantly surprised to find that our cabin had been upgraded from
one with a window on the emerald deck to one with a balcony on the Aloha deck! It pays to
book early. Embarkation took all of 15 minutes. It was remarkably
pleasant. The Sun Princess is an elegant ship and very clean. The staff is friendly and
helpful. If you are expecting the neon lights and pulsating nightlife of a
Carnival ship, be forewarned: you are in for a much richer experience than you might be
expecting. I knew that the passenger list was a more mature
concoction when we got on board and a string quartet was playing Canon in D in the Grand
Atrium. The only place I saw any neon lights was in the casino. The
rest are warm, romantic lights that tend to bring out the best in people. I was a little
disappointed in the photography service on the Sun Princess only because I
love Port of Call Photographs and the only ones I bought were two formal night dinner
portraits, an embarkation photo, and the gold miner/showgirl photos. The
other photo opportunities require you to be in the right place at the right time (boo,
hiss....I like when a ship offers port of call portraits and follows passengers
along on shore excursions to get the really good photos at the best Kodak moments).
At first, I was worried that our tablemates may not feel like being seated
for dinner with our 9 and 11 year old children, but I needn't have worried. Both couples
were grandparents, and one couple were parents of SEVEN children.
They knew more about tolerance than I've learned just yet. And they did a great job
including our children in the table conversations. The food was not quite
what I'd expected, but that might have been because my expectations were too high. I'd had
friends tell me that if I enjoyed Carnival food, I'd really enjoy
Princess food a lot better. Honestly, the food was about the same. And it was not better
in the dining room than it was at Horizon. We never ordered room
service, because we enjoy being out and about on the ship. Somehow we feel that the
calories don't add up as much if there are other people in the room to
absorb some of them. One exquisite touch was the serving of afternoon tea in the dining
room. We met some wonderful people during tea, and the people - not
the tea- kept us going back for more. The 24 hour pizzeria, Verdi's, was good and provided
a nice lunch alternative. Sundae's Ice Cream Bar by the pool is
probably the hit of the Caribbean, but in Alaska I found that I preferred the hot drinks
served up from the bar to the ice cream.
When we boarded the ship, my
husband and I bought Princess drink souvenir mugs that could be refilled daily with the
drink of the day at a discount. These are available on deck when the ship
sets sail, and of course they make the Love Boat Theme during Bon Voyage even more
spectacular. One thing I hadn't realized was that there are four casual
nights for dining on this cruise. I'd packed dresses for 7 nights when all I needed was 2
formals and a semi-formal. What a welcome dress itenerary. The life boat
drill was relaxing - yes, relaxing. Not at all like on any other ship we've sailed. The
children's programs were the best. I might add that there were very few
children on this cruise, and at first I predicted that this could be a disadvantage. I was
wrong. The children LOVED the Fun Zone and Cyberspace and begged to
go there right on schedule each time. If I was running a little late getting them to their
program, they let me know it! The staff had more one-on-one time with the
kids and they kept them busy and always anticipating the next activity. I wish that the
television had been interactive, like on Carnival Imagination, for booking
tours and monitoring folio balances. Instead, we waited in the Vista Lounge for the better
part of Sunday morning to book our tours. If Princess utilized
interactive television, then passengers and crew would spend less time booking tours and
more time enjoying the ship. A great television feature was the live
broadcast of the ship's forward path from the bridge of the ship. We could always tune in
to see what was just ahead of us.
Having read the ship's reviews
before our cruise, I was perhaps a bit predisposed to certain expectations and found
myself happy that I was wrong about one of them: the evening
entertainment. I'd expected it to be ho-hum, but America's Music changed all that. It was
a musical salute to music from ragtime to rock-n-roll and culminated
with a salute to each state, during which the audience cheered when they heard their state
mentioned in a recognizable phrase. The ports of call were each
unique and all breathtaking. Ketchikan visitors should not miss a tour of Dolly Arthur's
house on Creek Street (former red light district) and be sure to ask about
the significance of Married Man's Trail. The Town and Totem tour was interesting, but I
wouldn't take this tour again. Instead, I'd get a great book on totem poles
and the legends they embody. Our excursion in Juneau was extremely enjoyable. We toured
the capitol, and Mendenhall Glacier and Gastineau Salmon
Hatchery. The salmon hatchery was interesting and educational. Be sure to pop into the Red
Dog Saloon - you just might find an empty table, though we did not.
Timberwolf is a reasonably priced store for souvenir shopping and offers a wide variety of
gifts. Also, be sure to take the Mount Roberts Tramway to the top of
the mountain....for hiking, eating, and for the bird's eye view of Juneau. Our favorite
town was Skagway. If I were recommending anything to visitors of Skagway
before a cruise, I'd advise reading about Soapy Smith, Frank Reid, the Chilkoot Pass and
White Pass, and some general history of Skagway before booking a
tour in this port. Perhaps some net searches might turn up some interesting information on
these topics. I wish I'd known more about the history so that I could
have appreciated more what I was experiencing.
We saw Skagway by Streetcar and loved it. In this port, my children panned for gold in
a place off the main
street and both struck it about as "rich" as any 9 and 11 year old can strike
it. Skagway Jewelers has a lovely selection of gold nuggets for moms (a hint for dads
who don't feel like panning for it), and each nugget is unique, as if it has its own
special story. They come with a certificate of authenticity from the assayer's
office. Be sure to pop into the Red Onion Saloon (again, no table for us..but we stood and
listened to the ragtime piano player in his tophat for a few minutes).
Also, be sure to photograph Camp Skagway No. 1, one of the most photographed buildings in
all of Alaska. You'll see why. Glacier Bay and College Fjord days
were both rainy for us, so I was glad I'd packed 2 mini umbrellas. The wind wasn't kind to
the umbrellas, but at least my camera stayed reasonably dry. You'll live
in a Gore-Tex waterproof windbreaker and plenty of layering underneath, gloves and a hat.
Watch for seals on the icebergs in these places. We saw 2 whales
and 3 puffins further down the route. A naturalist narrates all during these 2 inlet
excursions. Disembarkation was almost too good to be true, but unfortunately
it was true.....for here I sit, back in my home, far away from the Alaska I came to adore.
The week went entirely too fast. Now I know what a former Alaskan
meant when she told me that she had left part of her soul in Alaska. It's a place you'll
never forget......perhaps the 24 rolls of film I took will help us preserve
every memory of that magical week we spent on the Sun Princess. Enjoy your cruise!
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