My Thoughts About My Princess Alaska Cruise

 

I’ve done a CI Living TV segment, three stories, and nine blogs on my Princess cruise and there are a few more articles to come, but I wanted to put together a summary for all of those thinking about going on a cruise to Alaska.


Here’s a breakdown of my opinions:

The Ship

I have always preferred small ships and my previous two cruises on American Cruise Lines and Seabourn were just that. Alaska didn’t work out with those, and I was anxious to give Princess a try. A mega ship was out of the question, but the Royal Princess, a mid-sized ship with about 3,500 guests, seemed doable.

It turned out to be just that. The ship was spread out enough that I never felt crowded, and we didn’t really wait for much (except at the Gelato Shop where there was always a big line). The only times I wished I was on a smaller boat was when we were waiting a long time for an elevator.

The embarkation and debarkation went better than any of the other large ships I have been on.


The Cabin

We had cabin D302, and it was an accessible balcony cabin. It was much bigger than I expected, with plenty of room for me to get around it my scooter. The bathroom was also fully accessible. I did not get to tour any of the other cabins so I can’t compare.

My only complaint is a common one: a huge shortage of outlets. There is nothing to use in the bathroom and only two outlets (one European) by the desk. There are no outlets by the beds. I had brought a power strip (without surge protection) so that helped. (See more of my tips on what to bring here.)


The Food

We only went to the buffet once and found the cold food warm and the warm food cold. In my opinion, they had way too many options to keep up with all the food. We didn’t go back and there was no need to because food in every other dining option was great.

Most of our meals were in the main dining room, though we loved the International Café for a quick morning breakfast. We ate at Sabatini’s once and everything was absolutely fantastic. We also loved Alfredo’s and ate there twice. We were lucky enough to be invited to the Chef’s Table and that is an experience you must do if you can get in.

The Nightlife

I can’t tell you much about the nightlife because we didn’t get to experience much. This cruise had us up very early in the mornings and we were just too worn out to go to any shows.


The Itinerary

If you are going to Alaska for the first time, I highly recommend the Inside Passage itinerary. It gave us a nice sampling of the state. The biggest draw for me was the day sailing around Glacier Bay National Park.

My only issue with the itinerary was that we didn’t get into Victoria, Canada, until 9:00 pm and were only there until just before midnight. I know there was an issue with slowing down after Ketchikan because of the whales, but I hope Princess is able to adjust the cruise for more time in this beautiful British Columbia city.

Wheelchair accessibility

I did not have any issues with accessibility on the Royal Princess. They could use some more automatic doors—the ones they had worked well---but opening some doors was the only issue. I loved the Medallion app to use the bracelet to open my cabin door and to be able to order room service anywhere on the ship.

There was an area in the main dining room to put scooters and wheelchairs if you wanted to sit in a chair (I was able to at the time), and tables were accommodated for those who pulled their chairs in. I saw a good selection of handicapped bathrooms. There were also accessible tours at every port.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Would I do this cruise again? Probably not for a few years, but I would certainly do another itinerary on the Royal Princess.

 

Blogs on my trip on the Royal Princess to Alaska

(from first day to last)

 

Visiting Seattle Before Going Aboard My First Princess Cruise

 

All Aboard the Royal Princess to Alaska

 

A Day on the Pacific Ocean with Royal Princess

 

Finally in Alaska: A Day in Juneau

 

Discovering Skagway with Princess Cruises

 

Royal Princess Sails Through Glacier Bay National Park

 

Exploring Ketchikan, Alaska

 

Victoria is the Last Stop on the Royal Princess

 

Leaving Our Princess Cruise and Back in Seattle

 

A big thank you to Princess Cruises for hosting us on this adventure.

Brittany and I had an unforgettable time.

Leaving Our Princess Cruise and Back in Seattle

After a week on the Royal Princess, it was time to leave. Sometimes I am anxious to get off a ship—especially in hot weather when my only escape is a too cold ship. This was not the case during our voyage to Alaska.

Everything had gone pretty much according to plan and Princess Cruises had treated us very well.

We had to get up very early to have breakfast and get the last of our carry-on packed up and ready to be off by about 9:00 am. We had decided, instead of rushing to the airport, we’d take an 11:30 pm flight home and explore more of Seattle.

The Hilton Motif had generously agreed to let us spend the day and have dinner before heading to the airport. I had taken advantage of Seattle’s excellent Port Valet program, so we didn’t have to worry about our luggage.

 

Brittany and I went to the dining room for our final breakfast. The food and service were as good as usual, even though it was clear the staff needed to get everything turned around quickly for the arriving passengers on the next cruise.

I also pre-arranged an accessible van to pick us up and take us to the hotel. It was running late so we did have to wait outside for a while, but there was no rush. The Hilton Motif was only a few minutes away from the pier.

The hotel had a modern feel, and we were welcomed and invited to breakfast at their Frolik restaurant. By this time, it had been about four hours since our light meal on the ship, so we gladly accepted. We both had the pancakes with banana puree, and they were delicious.

Hilton Motif is just a couple of blocks from Pike Place Market, and then a short walk from there to the Seattle Aquarium, harbor cruises, the Great Wheel, and Miner’s Landing, a popular spot for restaurants and shops. We decided to start at the market.

We left our carry-on luggage at the hotel and Brittany walked aside me as I rode my scooter. It was a Saturday and it got quite crowded as we approached the market, especially where the original Starbucks was located. It didn’t seem to make sense to wait an hour to get the same cup of coffee we could get at home, so we headed across the pedestrian street to the actual market.

If you’ve never been to Pike Place Market (this was my third time), it can be overwhelming, especially on a crowded day. There is so much to see, and it goes off in various directions. We had more planned for our day, so we just went through the basics.

We purchased some souvenirs and watched them toss the fish at one of the vendors where you can see the freshest seafood you ever imagined. There are also vegetables that look just picked, flowers, arts and crafts, and small businesses selling just about anything you could imagine.

We still had more attractions left on our Seattle CityPass and decided to go to the Seattle Aquarium. It’s actually one of the smaller aquariums I’ve been to, but we saw exhibits on marine life that call Seattle home, including salmon. I was impressed with how many hands-on experiences they had for kids—and adults—to participate in.

After the aquarium, we decided to have lunch a block away at Miner’s Landing. To be honest, we were so hungry and ready to get out of the heat, we didn’t pay much attention to where we ate, but Wing Dome turned out to be very good. It was nice to be on the water with the breeze too.

We did some more shopping for gifts before heading back to the hotel. We were both really tired and I thought I might be coming up with a flare from a long week of activity. There was time to rest before our dinner.

Frolik Kitchen at Hilton Motif is on the rooftop. It is indoor and outdoor. We started with cocktails inside and then went outside to have dinner.

The menu was impressive, and we had plenty of time to enjoy it because our 11:30 pm flight had already been delayed until 12:30 am. We started with one of the biggest hot soft pretzels I’d ever seen. The Tavern Pretzel also came with a beer cheese fondue. I decided I’d better take most of it to go if I was going to eat any dinner.

 

I had a cranberry brie sandwich with homemade chips and Brittany went with the seafood pasta. We both loved our dishes. The dessert menu sounded great, but we weren’t hungry for more. We knew we had a long night and took a bread pudding and warm chocolate chip cookie sundae to go. Mine only made it about 15 minutes before I decided I couldn’t wait to eat it!

We got changed into comfortable clothes for our red-eye flight and waited for the accessible van to pick us up. We were understandably exhausted, but we also didn’t feel great. By the time we got to the airport, sick was a more accurate term.*

We managed to rest on the plane and get out of the airport for our two-hour ride home. As exhausted as I was, it was well worth the experience Brittany and I had over the previous nine days. She was hooked on cruising after her first time.

I want to thank Princess for all of their hospitality. I hope to be back on board with them in the near future.

 

 

I was hosted on this trip, but opinions are my own. 

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*It turned out we both had Covid. I got right on Paxlovid since I am immunocompromised and recovered in a few weeks, without major complications.

All Aboard the Royal Princess to Alaska

It had been lots of fun exploring Seattle all morning and into the early afternoon with the City Pass. It was time for us to do what Brittany and I came to the Emerald City for—to get on our Princess cruise to Alaska.

 

Brittany hopped on one of the e-bikes and kept up with my mobility scooter on the way back to the Homewood Downtown. We picked up our luggage and waited for the van to take us to Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91. Since there are so many (mostly Alaska) cruises going out of Seattle there are two different piers in the city.

The van wasn’t set up for wheelchairs, but the driver was able to lift my lightweight scooter. into the back and then help me into the van. There were two other women in there who were as excited as we were about the upcoming cruise.

It was the first time I went on a cruise when you were allowed to embark whenever you wanted during a five-hour window. We were about in the middle and it wasn’t at all crowded. We checked in and made it on the ship in about 20 minutes.

It would have been even sooner if I hadn’t accidentally checked the bag I put our Princess Medallion bracelets in at the last minute. The bracelets are used for everything from check-in to opening your room and ordering food. We had to wait until we got our IDs checked and room keys before we were allowed on the Royal Princess. It still wasn’t very long.

I’m not usually a such a specific planner when I’m getting on a ship. This trip was so special to me as my bucket list journey and Brittany’s first cruise. I decided before we got to the pier that we would have lunch on the ship at Alfredo’s. I had heard nothing but good things about it.

The one thing I didn’t calculate was that we would be starving after an early breakfast and a later than expected boarding. We decided to forego dropping off our carry-ons and checking out our room and went straight to the restaurant.

I still wasn’t going to skip was a glass of bubbly to toast our trip. I ordered a prosecco and Brittany got a beer, and we devoured some bread as we ordered our lunch.

We chose the Antipasto and the Caprese for appetizers. Along with the fresh, warm bread, we quickly warded off hunger.

For a main course, I had the eggplant, rolled and stuffed with ricotta, then topped with sauce and more cheese. It was very good. Brittany decided to just go for the pizza. It was listed as something for one person, but it was quite big. It looked fantastic and I needed to taste it. As a New Yorker—with an Italian background—I am picky. I was quite impressed with this one.

We decided not to go for anything on the Alfredo’s dessert menu. Ever since we booked the cruise with Princess and found out we had the Princess Plus Package, we were curious about the Premier Desserts. These concoctions looked delicious. We were entitled to two free ones poor day. That seemed impossible, but we were each ready to try one.

 

We were not the only ones who were anxious to check out these massive desserts. There was quite a line at the Gelato Shop. We weren’t in a hurry to go anywhere so we ordered and found a table to relax at. We could see the Piazza from there and the music was playing as people were settling into the ship.

It was tough to make a choice on the Premium Dessert Menu, but we figured we had a week to try them all. I went with The Godfather, vanilla gelato topped with chocolate sauce and a fudge brownie. Brittany did The Michelangelo, a chocolate chip muffin with vanilla gelato and a topping of raspberry and chocolate sauces. It was finished with a big twister lollipop. Yes, they were both as good as they sound.

After we finished our sundaes, we went to our cabin. Our luggage hadn’t quite come yet. The room was bigger than I expected. There was plenty of room for my scooter to get around and for us to spread out. I had been prepared with lots of ideas to make use of the space.

Since we had an accessible bathroom with a shower seat, it was bigger than most. Our luggage arrived and I started unpacking in there.  I had brought an inexpensive door shoe organizer and unpacked cosmetics, hair products, sunblocks, makeup, and more so we didn’t have to fill up our tiny sink top.

I continued to unpack, and Brittany did some exploring around the ship. I was resting with my feet up when she returned. We decided to go to dinner a little early. I had made arrangements originally for 7:00 pm in the Concerto Main Dining Room. All the restaurants on the ship went by reservations, which could be made for whatever time you wanted.

Dinner was great starting with the first night. The Asparagus Risotto sounded great, but I was feeling a need for meat. I asked if I could have the risotto as an appetizer and was told it was no problem. Brittany got in the ocean mood with a prawn appetizer and fish main course.

For dessert, it was Vanilla Mascarpone Blueberry Cremieux for Brittany and Hazelnut Souffle for me. Brittany also tried out a hot chocolate cocktail. We were definitely going to enjoy the sweets on this trip.

We were both exhausted from the previous 24 hours and didn’t feel like doing much after dinner. I decided to take the elevator up to the pool deck. I had seen videos online of the light show over the pool each night. It was even more beautiful in person and the music matched perfectly.

 

I went up to the cabin soon after that. We would have the entire next day to see, do, relax, and eat around the Royal Princess.

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I was hosted on this trip, but opinions are my own. 

Visiting Seattle Before Going Aboard My First Princess Cruise

Brittany and I had traveled to a lot of places, but we were getting ready for our most exciting adventure ever. We were heading on a cruise to Alaska.

This was to be Brittany’s first cruise and my first trip to the 49^th state – which actually was the 50^th state I would be visiting, therefore completing the United States. It was the most planned trip I ever took. I put a lot of time into every detail. The fact that I was traveling in a mobility scooter made it a little more challenging, but everyone I spoke to in advance was very helpful.

The cruise we had chosen was roundtrip from Seattle, Washington. I had been to Seattle three times before and it was a city I really loved. I didn’t want to just have it be a jumping point to get on the ship, especially since Brittany had never been there.

I worked with the Visit Seattle team to plan out a trip that would have us see a lot, without a lot of transportation, both before and after the cruise.

I usually fly out of Champaign, but we needed a late evening flight, so we had to go to Chicago O’Hare, about two and a half hours away. We had a friend drive us and everything went smoothly to get on our American Airlines flight. I was even able to get us an upgrade to Main Cabin Extra. I hadn’t flown in that in a while and it was really nice to have the extra room on an almost five-hour flight.

It was nearly midnight by the time we arrived at the Homewood Suites Downtown and we were both exhausted. We dropped our bags and went right to sleep.

Since there was a two-hour time difference from the Midwest, we ended up waking up early. We enjoyed the hot breakfast at the hotel and decided to head out for sightseeing. CityPASS had given us a code for the pass that would give us tickets to five popular Seattle spots.

I divided the places we wanted to go to between the ones that were easier to get to from the Homewood and the ones that would be closer to the place we would be after the cruise, the Hilton Motif. It was an easy walk (for Brittany, and scooter for me) to our first stop, Chihuly Museum and Gardens. 

Even though it was a Saturday, we had gotten an early start, and nothing seemed crowded. We showed our pass and went right into the museum.

I didn’t know a lot about Dale Chihuly beyond the beautiful art he created with glass before this. I had just seen a few pieces among the museums around the world that had them. I knew the Chihuly Museum and Gardens featured a selection of only the Washington artist’s works.

Everything there could only be described as breathtaking. As we went from room to room, my mouth was constantly saying “wow” and Brittany, who dabbles in art herself, was wide-eyed at every creation. I am not sure if I was more impressed with how the glass pieces were created, or how perfect the color combinations were.

The gardens were just as spectacular, especially with the view of the Space Needle in the background. That would be our next stop.

I’m not sure how, in all my trips to Seattle, I had never made it to the Space Needle. It was easy to take the elevator to the top in the wheelchair. It was just a separate elevator that we needed to get on going down.

The view of the city, ocean, mountains was certainly different from the Chicago observation deck.

We could even see our cruise ship from there. Many people were taking selfies in different positions. It certainly helped that it has the world’s first revolving glass floor.

The top of the Space Needle also has a wine bar and a coffee bar. The latter sounded really good, but we were running tight on time and really wanted to go to the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). I’m glad we did because it quickly became one of my favorite museums in the country.

MoPOP is focused on entertainment, especially music. The place is huge, and you could easily spend more than a day here, especially since it’s filled with videos to watch and music to listen to. 

The music is from everywhere, but there are exhibits highlighting local bands and performers, such as Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Foo Fighters. I also spent some time browsing the Hip Hop exhibit and looking at the pile of famous guitar.

The television and movies represented in the exhibits Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction, Roleplaying, Scared to Death, and Fantasy included artifacts from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Harry Potter, the Wizard of Oz, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller

We were hungry, but were saving lunch for the ship, so we just had a snack at the museum’s Culture Kitchen before we headed back to the Homewood Downtown. We packed up our carry ons for easy boarding. We were soon heading to Pier 91 to board the Royal Princess on a voyage to Alaska. 

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I was hosted on this trip, but opinions are my own. 

Eating Chocolate and Discovering Enoteca on Seattle Celebrity Stop

It had only been a month since I was last in Seattle yet I didn’t mind coming back. Aside from the weather – which was definitely not cooperating on this day – it’s a great city to explore wine, food and spirits in.  We were going to start with a mixture of all on the Chocolate Indulgence Tour, one of the offerings from Savor Seattle.

We met with Brett Affleck-Aring (yes, he is related to the Oscar-winning actor) at the Mayflower to start our tour at that hotel’s Oliver Bar. Brett shared our motto that chocolate is the fifth food group and he was prepared to show us all aspects of the treat, starting with the Seattle Flatliner ,a coffee and chocolate cocktail served by bartender Patrick. This yummy mixture of Café Umbria, Dark Crème de Cacao, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Demerara 151 Rum is shaken with ice (there’s no blender here). It’s the perfect drink to make you forget about the wet day, something Seattle gets about 200 days a year. While we were sitting at the bar, I also spotted an absinthe fountain and Patrick let me try some of Pacific Distillery’s Absinthe, a licorice spirit that’s not as thick as Sambuca.

We ventured out in the rain to Dahlia, a bakery that belongs within the chain owned by Tom Douglas. Everything here looked more than good enough to eat, but Brett had already set us up with rich and chewy Chocolate Crumble Cookies and mini Coconut Cream Pies with White Chocolate. I was feeling full already and glad we had to walk a bit to our next stop, Chocolate Box. This unique shop is a must visit for any chocolate lover coming to Seattle as they have items from more than 50 local, independent chocolatiers. You can also have wine here (with or without chocolate) at the Wine Bar next door. 

We skipped the wine (for now) and instead tasted some perfect Brownies from Chef Matt Carter and creamy Chocolate Dreams from Wink Cupcakes, washing it down with some Sorbet and Gelato from Gelatiamo! It was then time to head back in the rain and down toward the water. I had actually stopped at The Confectional on my last trip, but one never has to beg me to revisit cheesecake and I enjoyed a tiny taste with a short gulp of thick and spicy drinking chocolate. I also learned that The Confectional was building a larger location down at Capitol Hill.


We switched from the thick and rich to the chewy at KuKuRuZa, where the popcorn is flavored with just about everything, including chocolate. While it looked great, I took mine to go, enjoying them the next day (especially the Rocky Road Popcorn).   We then met with Soufi Farzanehpour at Fran’s Chocolates who told us about this small family owned company that is a favorite of President Obama’s (and now given out to White House guests). The basic blend of chocolate comes from Venezuela and Madagascar and their Chocolate Dates, Raspberry Truffle and Buttery Sea Salt Caramel definitely earns the phrase “chocolate to die for.”

We said goodbye to Brett from Savor Seattle and had a little while to get up an appetite for an absolutely delicious lunch at Art, the restaurant at Seattle’s Four Seasons Hotel.  I really loved this menu as Chef Kerry Sear brought the slightly unusual to the dishes without going over the top. Lynn had the Market Tray, a kind of gourmet TV dinner that brought together a meal on a plate – Mixed Baby Lettuce with White Asparagus, Capers and Egg in Morel Vinaigrette; Morel Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Tart; Grilled Chicken; and a Lemon Tart with Berries. She thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had some of the Minestrone Soup, which was a bit too spicy for my taste, but full of fresh vegetables, and a wonderful Crisp Baked Beecher’s Cheese Sandwich, which was perfectly crispy. I washed it down with a light Matanzas Creek Winery Sauvignon Blanc. Before we left we were treated to the restaurant’s homemade donuts, which I compared to the Italian Zeppoles you get on the streets of New York, with even more flavor and no grease.

After lunch, we walked around the Pike Place Market for awhile.  Lynn had never seen it and I didn’t mind going through again and enjoying the hustle and bustle of food and arts vendors for awhile before we were picked up by Terry Thompson for our trip to Urban Enoteca. This is a unique wine concept within the city limits where you can taste a variety of wines in a comfortable atmosphere. I fell in love with the place and wished I had one in my own neighborhood.

While I toured the huge space that Urban Enoteca has and listened to Thompson’s even more exciting plans for the future (which includes bringing in more of wineries), I also tasted some Washington wines I had missed previously, looking for the standout ones. I found it in the 2008 McCrea Winery Picoul, a Rhone varietal that is full of pear and citrus; 2006 Cote Bonneville Carriage House, a complex red blend heavy on the cabernet sauvignon; 2007 Kiona Chenin Blanc, tropically, peachy and just plain yummy; and the 2006 Cave B Cabernet, smooth with lots of fruit.  We also sampled some of Urban Enoteca’s small bite menu and you shouldn’t miss the Pork Belly Lettuce Wrap and the Risotto Croquet with Cherries.

Urban Enoteca has another way for you to check out their unique concept, one I can highly recommend after this week. They have a  Taste of the Vineyards Wine Cruise so you can spend a week in the Caribbean to “Swirl. Sip. Savor” all of the wineries they feature at this wine bar. The cruise is on the Celebrity Solstice next April and will include wine events and programs with all of the wineries in their library

When we returned to the Celebrity Cruise I was realized we were in a great spot to see the Space Needle from our balcony. The weather wasn’t cooperating for any sunset photos, but I enjoyed the view as we sailed away. Food was not exactly on my mind as ithad been a day full of eating (and drinking).  I had a very light dinner of soup and a Caprese Salad and got plenty of rest for my full day in Victoria, British Columbia.