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RetiredAF
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| Joined: | Sun Feb 18th, 2007 |
| Location: | Northern VA |
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Posted: Tue Jun 10th, 2008 12:56 am | 1st Post |
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We just got back last night and had a tremendous time on this vacation! We did take the offered upsell and landed in a beautiful AC penthouse at the front of the ship. Thanks to all who recommended we go for it!
We flew in to Seattle a day early and had some time to explore the city. We really enjoyed Seattle.
We had read positive reviews on the Shuttle Express from the airport but our experience was very different. We made advance roundtrip reservations and the service was so bad, I cancelled the second leg of that trip. We waited about 40 minutes to load a shuttle and felt very bad for some of our "shuttle mates" as they were going straight to the pier and had waited 45 minutes and were starting to get nervous about getting to the port on time. We finally loaded but the driver was not sure of the route and missed the exit for the pier the Princess cruisers were going to...needless to say, they were not happy at all. We spoke with someone else who had arrived the day before us and they had the same bad experience with this service.
As I mentioned, we really enjoyed Seattle and it is now a destination on the vacation list. We stayed at the Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel and were happy with that. The rooms were basic but very clean, the staff was great and the location was very convenient. We really enjoyed Pikes Market and had wanted to do the underground city tour buy the wait was long and time was short.. next time..
We arrived at the pier about 11:15 and they began processing everyone by 11:30. It went remarkably fast and we were on the ship with champagne in had in about 20 minutes or so.
As others have said, the Pearl is a gorgeous ship although I must admit I thought the Bliss was a bit much. We enjoyed our meals and appreciated the perk of being able to eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's as part of the penthouse package and enjoyed some very good meals there. We did have dinner in various places on the ship and the food was fine. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable. The service was always very good. The staff continued to smile even when some guests were rude or demanding. They really did an outstanding job. We thought one of the best dinners we had was in LaCucina.
DH did the beer tasting and I enjoyed the mojito clinic.. Very fun..
The ports were great. We did a whale watch with Harv and Marv in Juneau and it was fantastic! We saw a number of whales and looking at the pictures, we got better shots then I realized. Our guide Jay was very personable and knowledgeable and really made it a great experience. Jay's FIL drove the shuttle back and forth and he bought us all to Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watch so we had the opportunity to get out and take pictures there as well. That was very nice of them in our opinion.
In Skagway we did the heli-hike and train with Packer Expeditions and that was fantastic as well. Our guides were Cory and Craig and they made the experience very memorable and rewarding. I would do this excursion again in a heart beat.
In Ketchikan we did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour and really enjoyed that as well. The primary hosts on that were "Kiwi" and Derek and they kept it interesting and fun. We saw a large number of eagles on both the whale watching and fisherman's tour.
In Victoria, we walked around on our own, had a nice meal and enjoyed the beautiful city.
Glacier Bay was a phenomenal experience. Pictures do not do it justice in my mind! We woke to rain and wind that morning but as we entered Glacier Bay, the sky cleared and we had a beautiful day!
We had every intention of doing a spa package on Glacier Bay day but it was too beautiful to leave the balcony. We saw a few of the shows and enjoyed the comedian Bud Anderson very much. Going to the "Overview" show the first night gave us an idea of what we wanted to focus on throughout the week. Paul was the cruise director and he sure has a lot of energy!  He did a great job. I believe he was covering for Simon who will be back either this week or next.
Lots of folks used the pool and hot tubs throughout the week. One women told me the water temp in the pool was a balmy 91 degrees.. There is a marked running/walking track on deck 7 and it got a far amount of use from what I saw.
We hoped a cab when we left the ship on Sunday and were at the airport about 8:10. It was perfect and the price was about $3 more then the shuttle express.
We had considered this a once in a life time vacation but now know we will do it again! It was a great trip!!
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goldmom
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Posted: Tue Jun 10th, 2008 12:39 pm | 2nd Post |
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Thanks for the great review. Sounds like you had a great trip. Were you able to use the balcony all the time ( or most of the time)? Glad you enjoyed the "upsell", now you'll be spoiled!
Sharon
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RetiredAF
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| Joined: | Sun Feb 18th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Jun 10th, 2008 02:16 pm | 3rd Post |
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| Being "spoiled" was the only downside of this for sure! We could use the balcony most of the time. The sign on the door had me a bit nervous so we checked and were told we could use it when it was not to windy. There were times it was a bit too windy but for much of the trip, we were able to use it.
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whatawonderfulworld
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| Joined: | Sat Feb 10th, 2007 |
| Location: | Vanuatu |
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Posted: Wed Jun 11th, 2008 01:54 am | 4th Post |
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What a lovely review - thanks for taking the time to share with all of us. We will eventually do an Alaska cruise as well.
Now...I wonder why I am NOT surprised that you loved the AC? We were out on that balcony for our cruise as much as possible. Of course the best part was leaving NY and feeling as if we were steering the ship ourselves!
The Pearl is really quite lovely (spent 15 nights on her last Fall) and I too agree, the Bliss Lounge is a bit much.
I don't recall...have you been on other cruises? If so, how did this one compare? Also...who was your butler?
Thanks again for posting the review!
Ciao,
WaWW
____________________
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain
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