Trip Index
- Planning, Seattle pre-cruise, embarkation
- Days 2-4 - Sea day, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier
- Days 4-5 - Juneau, Skagway
- Days 6-7 - Sea day, Victoria, disembarkation
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This family cruise had been a long time in the making, trying to coordinate everyone's work and school schedules as well as choice of destination. We all agreed to go somewhere not hot in summer time, and that it should be a spectacular destination. Alaska ticked off the boxes. There were opportunities for additional savings by sailing on Princess Cruises, so the 7-day Emerald Princess Inside Passage cruise departing round-trip from Seattle was the winner.
CRUISE
When we booked the cruise in January 2018, there was a promotion that offered one free specialty dinner per person ($39 value), free gratuities per person ($94.50 value), as well as $200 on-board credit per cabin. When final payment was due, we took advantage of multiple "AMEX Offers" (spend $500+, receive $100 back on the World's Leading Cruise Lines, which included Princess, example discussion here) that we had on our collection of American Express credit cards. It was great to be able to share the discounts with the family, saving a total of $2200! There was no problem splitting the payment into $500 chunks to take advantage of the offers. Alas, American Express has since then limited these offers to one per member regardless of the number of Amex cards they carry. It was fun while it lasted - I saved money in a similar fashion on our Norwegian Alaska cruise in 2016.
EXCURSIONS
What's a cruise without shore excursions? Kaleb and I had been to these ports a few times before, doing our own thing such as hiking in Ketchikan, renting a car to explore the Yukon, even taking a glacier helicopter tour. But there is always something new to experience. We reserved a Ketchikan duck tour and Juneau whale watching on the Princess website and was able to apply the $200 on-board credit towards the purchase. Through Shore Excursions Group, we booked a salmon bake in Skagway. There was a discount promo code for Costco members (COSTSHRX), though I don't know how the company would know if you were one or not - hint hint.
FLIGHTS
Most flights to Seattle wouldn't get in on time before the ship would sail, so everyone flew in the day before. Kaleb and I took Southwest Airlines since I had the companion pass. Rapid Rewards points were used for my ticket and his ticket was free from the pass, so we just paid the 9/11 security fee and added Early Bird on the return flight as we wouldn't have internet service to check in the day before.
PRE-CRUISE HOTEL
Our hotel for the night was the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Seattle SeaTac Airport. I booked one room using a free night certificate from the Chase IHG credit card, two other rooms using a travel agent rate, and my brother Edmund redeemed points for his room. Complimentary airport shuttle service was available.
TRANSFERS
There were a total of 11 members in our party. Uber was considered but we would have to break up into several cars due to having multiple pieces of luggage. Tallying up the cost, I found that it wasn't much more to reserve a private van from GroundLink after discounts. Visa Infinite cardholders (such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve and US Bank Altitude Reserve) receive a one-time $30 discount off a ride, plus 15% off. (Sign up here and you get $10 and we get $10; can't stack with other discounts) Between Kaleb and I, we had Visa Infinite cards and were able to secure a private van from the Holiday Inn Express to Smith Cove Cruise Terminal, and from the cruise terminal to Sea-Tac airport. The rates also included gratuity.
Now onto the trip...
Kaleb and I would be the last to fly into Seattle, the rest of the family arriving a few hours earlier. Unfortunately, I had to personally check in at the hotel for two of the rooms due to using a travel agent discount so Allen's family had to hang out in the other rooms until then.
Our Southwest flight was uneventful. Arriving in Seattle, I called the hotel regarding shuttle pick up and one was already on the way, great! We got to the Holiday Inn Express, checked in and met up with the rest of the family, where we learned that their shuttle experience wasn't as prompt.
Originally, I had considered having a group dinner at Sharps Roadhouse, about a 15 minute walk. (the hotel also offered complimentary shuttle service there) However, plans changed and everyone did their own thing. Kaleb and I ended up using UberEats to order food from Chontong Thai Cuisine since I had $30 in Amex credits from the Platinum Card to burn. (use promo code "eats-uberkatkong" with your first UberEats order to get $5 off, and I get $5 off) I found plates and utensils at the hotel's breakfast buffet area. There was also fruit there.
The next morning, we enjoyed the complimentary breakfast buffet, then checked out. We borrowed the front desk stapler to attach the cruise luggage tags to our bags.
The GroundLink shuttle arrived a few minutes early. It was a large Mercedes-Benz van with exactly enough space for the 11 of us plus the driver and our luggage. It was fun to ride all together like that.
Once on board, we settled into our rooms. Kaleb and I, and my parents had inside cabins, and the other two families were in obstructed oceanview cabins. I found a website that showed the view out of Princess obstructed oceanview cabins so they knew what to expect. It wasn't bad for the substantial discounted price.
The Princess shore excursion tickets were already in the cabin. I also got an invitation to attend cocktail parties held on different nights of the cruise. Our free specialty dining was assigned for tonight at Share by Curtis Stone, all of us with the same dining time. I'm sure we could have moved this to another night or different restaurant.
We went to the Horizon Court buffet for lunch. After being on Norwegian Bliss six weeks ago, it was hard not to compare that bountiful selection to this. Emerald Princess was built in 2007 and isn't in the same class as a mega-ship built in 2018.
There was also a pizzeria and grill for more dining selection.
After lunch, we walked around the ship while the kids had some fun in the pool.
And yes, there was Pokemon in the ocean!
We headed to Share for dinner. The restaurant wasn't very full since it was the first night of the cruise. It was a nice meal!
After dinner, we went to the kids' club to sign them up.
We explored the ship together a bit more. The ship had to stop in Port Angeles for a medical emergency. We saw a small boat come alongside to take someone off the ship. It was good that Princess was able to take care of the situation before leaving into international waters.
Sea day tomorrow, then stops in Ketchikan and Juneau - stay tuned!
If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button at the top of the page or retweeting!
Don't miss a blog entry! Sign up for updates direct to your inbox here or add the blog to your RSS feed.
Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy returning clients - references always available.
Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
CRUISE
When we booked the cruise in January 2018, there was a promotion that offered one free specialty dinner per person ($39 value), free gratuities per person ($94.50 value), as well as $200 on-board credit per cabin. When final payment was due, we took advantage of multiple "AMEX Offers" (spend $500+, receive $100 back on the World's Leading Cruise Lines, which included Princess, example discussion here) that we had on our collection of American Express credit cards. It was great to be able to share the discounts with the family, saving a total of $2200! There was no problem splitting the payment into $500 chunks to take advantage of the offers. Alas, American Express has since then limited these offers to one per member regardless of the number of Amex cards they carry. It was fun while it lasted - I saved money in a similar fashion on our Norwegian Alaska cruise in 2016.
EXCURSIONS
What's a cruise without shore excursions? Kaleb and I had been to these ports a few times before, doing our own thing such as hiking in Ketchikan, renting a car to explore the Yukon, even taking a glacier helicopter tour. But there is always something new to experience. We reserved a Ketchikan duck tour and Juneau whale watching on the Princess website and was able to apply the $200 on-board credit towards the purchase. Through Shore Excursions Group, we booked a salmon bake in Skagway. There was a discount promo code for Costco members (COSTSHRX), though I don't know how the company would know if you were one or not - hint hint.
FLIGHTS
Most flights to Seattle wouldn't get in on time before the ship would sail, so everyone flew in the day before. Kaleb and I took Southwest Airlines since I had the companion pass. Rapid Rewards points were used for my ticket and his ticket was free from the pass, so we just paid the 9/11 security fee and added Early Bird on the return flight as we wouldn't have internet service to check in the day before.
PRE-CRUISE HOTEL
Our hotel for the night was the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Seattle SeaTac Airport. I booked one room using a free night certificate from the Chase IHG credit card, two other rooms using a travel agent rate, and my brother Edmund redeemed points for his room. Complimentary airport shuttle service was available.
TRANSFERS
There were a total of 11 members in our party. Uber was considered but we would have to break up into several cars due to having multiple pieces of luggage. Tallying up the cost, I found that it wasn't much more to reserve a private van from GroundLink after discounts. Visa Infinite cardholders (such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve and US Bank Altitude Reserve) receive a one-time $30 discount off a ride, plus 15% off. (Sign up here and you get $10 and we get $10; can't stack with other discounts) Between Kaleb and I, we had Visa Infinite cards and were able to secure a private van from the Holiday Inn Express to Smith Cove Cruise Terminal, and from the cruise terminal to Sea-Tac airport. The rates also included gratuity.
Now onto the trip...
Kaleb and I would be the last to fly into Seattle, the rest of the family arriving a few hours earlier. Unfortunately, I had to personally check in at the hotel for two of the rooms due to using a travel agent discount so Allen's family had to hang out in the other rooms until then.
Our Southwest flight was uneventful. Arriving in Seattle, I called the hotel regarding shuttle pick up and one was already on the way, great! We got to the Holiday Inn Express, checked in and met up with the rest of the family, where we learned that their shuttle experience wasn't as prompt.
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Originally, I had considered having a group dinner at Sharps Roadhouse, about a 15 minute walk. (the hotel also offered complimentary shuttle service there) However, plans changed and everyone did their own thing. Kaleb and I ended up using UberEats to order food from Chontong Thai Cuisine since I had $30 in Amex credits from the Platinum Card to burn. (use promo code "eats-uberkatkong" with your first UberEats order to get $5 off, and I get $5 off) I found plates and utensils at the hotel's breakfast buffet area. There was also fruit there.
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| panang pork curry and drunken noodles |
The next morning, we enjoyed the complimentary breakfast buffet, then checked out. We borrowed the front desk stapler to attach the cruise luggage tags to our bags.
 |
| in the breakfast buffet room |
The GroundLink shuttle arrived a few minutes early. It was a large Mercedes-Benz van with exactly enough space for the 11 of us plus the driver and our luggage. It was fun to ride all together like that.
 |  |
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Once on board, we settled into our rooms. Kaleb and I, and my parents had inside cabins, and the other two families were in obstructed oceanview cabins. I found a website that showed the view out of Princess obstructed oceanview cabins so they knew what to expect. It wasn't bad for the substantial discounted price.
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The Princess shore excursion tickets were already in the cabin. I also got an invitation to attend cocktail parties held on different nights of the cruise. Our free specialty dining was assigned for tonight at Share by Curtis Stone, all of us with the same dining time. I'm sure we could have moved this to another night or different restaurant.
 |  |
 |  |
We went to the Horizon Court buffet for lunch. After being on Norwegian Bliss six weeks ago, it was hard not to compare that bountiful selection to this. Emerald Princess was built in 2007 and isn't in the same class as a mega-ship built in 2018.
 |  |
There was also a pizzeria and grill for more dining selection.
After lunch, we walked around the ship while the kids had some fun in the pool.
 |  |
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And yes, there was Pokemon in the ocean!
We headed to Share for dinner. The restaurant wasn't very full since it was the first night of the cruise. It was a nice meal!
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After dinner, we went to the kids' club to sign them up.
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We explored the ship together a bit more. The ship had to stop in Port Angeles for a medical emergency. We saw a small boat come alongside to take someone off the ship. It was good that Princess was able to take care of the situation before leaving into international waters.
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| turn down chocolates and gifts |
Sea day tomorrow, then stops in Ketchikan and Juneau - stay tuned!
***
If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button at the top of the page or retweeting!
Don't miss a blog entry! Sign up for updates direct to your inbox here or add the blog to your RSS feed.
Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy returning clients - references always available.
Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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Nice post and thank you for sharing. Have you tried the whale watching tours in Bermuda? Visit the Bermuda Island and contact Island Tour Centre your No. 1 tour operator in the Island.
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