I sailed the inside passage in Alaska on the Majestic Princess – wonderful experience!
Embarkation was very fast and efficient. We had to pick up our medallions at the terminal and this did not delay us in any way. We had the Plus package included for our sailing which was nice to have on the ship. We had one rough sea day but overall very smooth sailing. We ate at the Crown Grill for dinner our first night on the ship and very impressed. Worth the additional cost! There are a total of 3 specialty dining options and 1 casual dining option.
We made calls on the ports of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria. In Ketchikan we walked around the town and had the opportunity to watch the Salmon Run up the creek. This is such a treat for you to watch. We also chose to do the George’s Inlet Crab feast excursion and had more crab legs than we ever wanted. The excursion includes transfers from port and all drinks; a salad, endless crab legs, and blueberry cheesecake for desert are also included in the cost of the excursion. For those with mobility issues, please note that there are 79 steps down and back up but they offer a van to shuttle up and down the hill for these guests who do not or can’t make it up and down the 79 stairs.
For Juneau, I booked a private Whale watching excursion. We had a small group of about 12 who took a small covered boat that had a Naturalist and captain on board. Light snacks and water or pop were offered to us during the ride. We spotted several whales as well as came to a small island of Stellar Sea Lions on the beach. We made a quick stop to see the Mendenhall Glacier on our way to the excursion and saw a black bear on our drive back to port. We made a stop at The Red Dog Saloon for an amazing fish and chips dinner and of course, an Alaskan beer before we made it to the ship.
Glacier cruising was primo! The weather was absolutely perfect but cold and truly afforded us such great views of the glacier, fjords and beautiful scenery. Guests are encouraged to get up early this day to take advantage of the serenity and of course amazing scenery. We really lucked out with the weather here up to this point. The ships Naturalist was offering plenty of commentary as we cruised in through Endicott Arms and Dawes Glacier.
Our next two stops were Skagway and Victoria. In Skagway, we took the White Pass Railway excursion that is about 4 hours. Skagway itself doesn’t really offer a lot other than shopping. Part of the old railway that was used has since collapsed and you can see this right before entering one of the tunnels. The day was rainy and cloudy, so seeing the summits/peaks of the mountains wasn’t ideal. There were about 5 ships in port this day, so lots of people walking the streets. One item to note, where we were docked, all guests had to be shuttled from the ship to the drop off point due to the land slides. There are ship containers that are used for covering the guests as they walk from ship to the shuttle area. Guests do not have the option to walk to the drop off point at this time.
On our way to Victoria, we had quite a whale watching opportunity. At first, we came in to some heavy dense fog for a short time and then once out of that, we were graced with miles and miles of whale watching along the coast. I have never seen so many whales like we did. We were very lucky. We arrived into Victoria around 7 and once off the ship, we walked to town and along the harbor. We chose to eat at a local restaurant called The Local. Great food, service and atmosphere. We chose to eat out on the patio and fun to watch the people and town buzz by us. The town of Victoria is UBER clean. Plenty of potted flowers and beds all over the city and harbor.
I definitely would recommend Princess for your Alaska adventure and will go back to do a different itinerary for the next Alaska sailing.
