22-Day Cruise Around Central and North America Aboard the ISLAND PRINCESS

This was actually a cruisetour. Off the Beaten Path beginning in Fairbanks, AK ending in Vancouver. To sum it up in a few words: beyond what we imagined, planned, or expected! Interior Alaska is a beautiful vast wilderness and Princess is a well oiled machine. Worth every minute and dime we spent.

The lodges were all beautiful in their own way & getting there was half the fun. Train, buses, & catamaran were all enjoyable and journeys in their own right. Transportation by Princess was seamless. Guests coming and going from all different directions whether starting their cruisetour or ending their cruisetour.

The most frustrating was the Princess app on land. On land, the app makes you feel like the red-headed step-child. Provides no help whatsoever! For the cruise, it's a fantastic tool and will keep you on schedule. Once the cruisetour starts, even if doing land first, the app will not allow you to do anything or change anything on your own. It locks you out and the land portion doesn't appear to record your booked excursions. If you tour late in the season, excursion vendors tend to reduce staff and offer fewer tours. Don't wait to book it! We learned the hard way since the lodges were not able to get in contact with the next lodge timely due to their busyness.

The Island was just the right size. Not too small and not too big. The size allowed us to get closer to Marjorie Glacier than most larger ships. Our room steward was very attentive and although it was nearing the end of the season, we were treated like it was the first week. We enjoyed every single meal in the main dining room. We did the Bourdeaux so we could change dining times based on our activities. We never waited longer than 5 minutes to be seated. The popular bar was the Wheelhouse which featured several bands each night. The comedian had 2 shows near the end of the cruise which was fabulous. The shows in the main theatre were enjoyable but not over the top or of Disney/Broadway caliber. That is one area where Princess could improve a bit. But this tour was Alaska and glacier focused so maybe this or the size of the ship were a factor. It's only our second cruise with Princess. They offered several naturalist talks and a focused theme, "North to Alaska".

Overall, we were very satisfied & the entire trip was enjoyable. The staff at the lodges, the drivers, the cruise staff, etc. were all fabulous.

We had the best weather for the land portion and seeing Hubbard and Glacier Bay but after that it was normal Alaska drizzly chilly cloudy weather. We didn't book excursions for the ports since we had already been to those before and we wanted to play it by ear and stay in the port or on the ship. We enjoyed doing activities in the ports which were not popular excursions. We did a scavenger hunt from the Klondike Gold Rush Park in Skagway, walked to the Taku fountain and checked for tide pools in Juneau, and walked to the fish ladder and hatchery in Ketchikan. We also focused on trying local foods like spruce ale & cookies, smoked salmon spread, sourdough, king crab, and salmon donuts. We saw plenty of wildlife both on land and from our cruise balcony. And Glacier Bay is a must! Be flexible, dress for anything, and let the journey happen!

We sailed on the Island Princess for 7 nights, LA to Vancouver. This was our 14th cruise on Princess. We bid to upgrade and got a mini suite. We booked transportation from the ship to Seattle airport. We purchased the Princess Plus package.

We found the Island Princess very charming. It seems every cruise line and every individual ship has it’s own identity and personality. Yes it’s old and probably in need of refurbishment but the positives for us greatly outweigh the negatives.

The positives for us start with the fact it is smaller and has far less passengers. We did not have any problems getting around the ship or nor did we have any problems getting good seating and any venue on the ship. The ships number of elevators are about the same as the larger Princess ships. We hardly ever had to wait for an elevator.

The ship’s crew were some of the best we ever cruised with. We had the same table, dining time and wait staff. Our wait staff knew us well after the first two days. When they saw us come in, they already had our drink orders ready.

Dining on the Island Princess was very nice but we only used the main dining room. The food was good to excellent. Some of their standard options are pretty good and I had the French Onion soup every day. With the Princess Plus package the specialty restaurants are not included so on a few nights I ordered steak and lobster in the main dining room for a surcharge for $25 and it was well worth the price. I was able to use my onboard credits. We were very pleased with the food overall including the buffet. The pizza is better than an excellent rating and I highly recommend the pizza, that in itself is worth five stars. The WORST food is the room service food. (We found this to be true on all 9 Princess ships we have sailed on).

Mentioning the on board credits, Princess is very generous. We each get the booking credit and I get the veteran and stock holder credits. This is a great credit for us and by purchasing a package we usually have ZERO dollars to pay after the cruise minus any shopping purchases.

Our cabin steward was also outstanding. We did not see much of him but everything was always done. He knew his job well.

We traveled with our Service Dog. The ship’s crew that has this responsibility were also very good. They had a relief area set up for us and it was always clean and sanitary. Kudos to the ship. We had a lot of very positive experiences.

Now the negative, the thermostat did not work properly. We asked to have it fixed and the maintenance crew arrived quickly and took care of the problem. The thermostat failed again after a few days and we asked to have it repaired. They arrived quickly and fixed it and it was fine for the rest of the cruise.

We chose Princess for a 13-day Alaska land-and-sea vacation because of its reputation and spent over $9,000 for two people, including upgrades for a balcony cabin, dining, internet, and photos. Unfortunately, the experience was defined by overselling and underdelivering.

We are not luxury travelers. We were not expecting the Ritz-Carlton or Ruth's Chris. We expected Hilton-level accommodations and reliable, fresh food similar to a casual chain restaurant. Instead, much of the experience felt closer to a cheap motel and a crowded buffet—at more than $700 per night.

The most disappointing part was that many upgrades delivered little value. The balcony view was obstructed when seated, making it difficult for my wife, who has physical limitations, to enjoy the scenery from our room. The upgraded dining package raised serious concerns when incorrect ingredient information was provided multiple times despite food allergies and dietary restrictions. The internet package was largely unusable, and many of the "professional" photos we were encouraged to purchase included closed eyes, hair standing up, and other obvious issues.

The train journey—the primary reason we chose Princess—was conducted facing backward, making most of the scenery inaccessible for my wife due to a cervical spine condition. This was never disclosed in advance.

Sanitation was also concerning. At the McKinley property we found clothing from a previous guest in the room and what appeared to be blood on the bathroom floor.

The bright spots were the Denali lodge, excursions, riverboat cruise, and presentations by the National Park Rangers, which were excellent. Alaska itself was unforgettable. Unfortunately,Princess sold us a premium Alaska experience, but too often delivered budget quality with premium pricing.