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Amazing Alaska
Reviewed By: graham, Croydon on 28th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises	Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: Golden Princess	Sailed: July, 2008
Destination: Alaska	Age: 56-65

I came back from a cruise on The Golden Princess to Alaska about 4 weeks ago. I have to say it was everything one could wish for. The frist night was spent in Seattle in an airport hotel which was very comfortable althought it was quite far out of town so we were not inclined to go into town for the evening. We were able to check in at the hotel which made boarding the ship the easiest ever. The coach stopped at a separate entrance and we just walked on. We had a BB balcony cabin which had a very large balcony with four lounger chairs and a table. It is well worth the extra cost if you spend time on the balcony. The ship was very comfortable and as we had been on it before we knew the layout. The food was very good, even better than I remembered. We chose free dining as we have decided that the fixed times do not suit us even though we enjoy getting to know our fellow travellers which is more likely to happen with fixed dining. The two main restuarants for free dining areas good as those for fixed dining. The entertainment was reasonably good although I have had better experiences in the past. Alaska was amazing and surpassed my expectations. The scenery was breathtaking. All the ports were interesting and the whale watching in Juneau was great. I saw my first whales in the wild. I have been all over the world and have never caught site of one before. They are so sure that you will see one that they promise a refund of 100 dollars if you do not. In Skagway we did the train journey wheich was superb and I would recommend it. We hoped to see a bear but were unlucky. Ketchikan was very nice. We did a round the town trip on a horse drawn trolley which I have to say was expensive for a 45 minute trip but was very enjoyable. We particularly enjoyed the cruise in Tracy Arm. It was very cold there and we were on our balcony for several hours with layers of clothing and a blanket very kindly supplied by Princess. The icebergs were beautiful and surprised us by being blue in colour. It was amazing to sail with so many icebergs in the sea. What a good thing they were small! We stopped off in Victoria on the way back to Seattle but as we only had four hours there and we did not dock until 7.00pm I felt we missed out. It seemed a lovely place but we only had time to visit the Gardens. I would recommend doing this trip as they are the best I have ever seen. If I booked another Alask cruise I would make sure I chose one that had longer in Victoria. We finished off with two days in Seattle in The Westin Hotel in the heart of the city. It was very well positioned both for shopping and getting to the sea. I was very impressed with Seattle and would recommend taking the ferry to Western Seattle which although part of the city is like a samll seaside town. I would also recommend taking a local bus to Madison Beach which is lovely and reminded me of a lake in Italy with the snow capped mountains in the distance. If I did this trip again I would definitely include a Rockies Tour as it is a long way to go and the chances of being there again in the near future is unlikely. I think we missed out by not including that, however, as we cruise twice or three times a year the cost is an important factor.
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