dlca1

I called Princess directly to confirm if what my TA told me is true: "I can switch to the EZAir promotion if I increase my deposit to $500." The Princess rep I spoke with checked and said she couldn't find any active EZAir promotions for my sailing. She did say it is possible that travel agencies have access to different set of promotions. Would any of the Princess experts know more about the 2023 EZAir promotion?

Thanks again @harryfat1 for pointing out possible hiccups with my plan and the Air promotion for 2023. Would much rather know now. I did some research. I asked my TA to confirm with Princess. Princess said that in my case, there isn't a problem removing balcony dividers between E231 and E301. I'm going to call Princess myself to make sure I get the same message. Just speculating. Perhaps the break between E227 and E229 serves as a balcony fire break in this situation? Awesome. I actually was NOT aware of this promotion for 2023! It seems less well advertised. I see the love-boat promotion everywhere. Even with the info in your post, it was hard to google/find the promotion! My TA said I could switch over to that promotion but it would require me to put down a non-refundable $500 deposit instead of $1. If plans firm up, I may try to switch over. This would be a nice savings for 10 flights. The information that Discovery doesn't have connecting cabins on Deck 8 (where most of the obstructed balconies are) was helpful. I kept eyeing the shiny new boat (Discovery) and hoping I could find a nice block of obstructed balcony rooms with connecting rooms. @harryfat1-- If you do see this post, would love to hear your thoughts. In hindsight, If you had a chance to redo, would you have picked the same ship/cabins?

HI @harryfat1! Thanks for sharing those points. Totally relevant. I'll investigate. In hindsight, were you and the family happy with Majestic? If you had a chance to redo your Alaska cruise selection would you have picked the same cruise? In practice, how did opening up the balconies work out? I guess it is still a pretty narrow space.

Quick Update: I booked on Majestic yesterday! I really appreciate all the seasoned experts sharing their advice about going with smaller ships for Alaska. I'm convinced this is the best way to see Alaska if nature/scenery is top priority. Your comments led me to seriously reconsider the Sapphire. Carefully read a bunch of recent reviews/reports/videos. For my taste, Sapphire looked too dated. I also looked very briefly into HAL. The ships/food look great. There also seems to be a consistent theme that folks with direct experience on both Princess and HAL typically prefer HAL. Ultimately, I decided that for my scenario, it is more important for me to stay in a newer/modern ship and accept the drawbacks. When we go on vacations, I know I'm much happier/more relaxed when I stay in newer/clean/modern/well-maintained resort. I also picked Princess over Hal because it seems like the better fit for a casual multi-generational trip with tweens. Will definitely consider HAL for a future adults only cruise. I was actually leaning towards the Discovery (nice and new), but had to rule it out because there were no connecting obstructed balcony rooms left. I was able to get a block of 6 continuous obstructed balcony rooms (E229-E307) on the Majestic. This block includes two sets of connecting rooms. Rooms are all Starboard side (for Northbound itinerary). I think/hope they avoid the entertainment areas above/below. We like to peek out on the balcony but typically don't spend much time on the balcony (hotels or cruises). I'm sure that will increase a bit for Alaska. The grandparents typically got themselves inside rooms. Having any balcony should be a nice perk. With the interconnected balconies, I'm hoping we can walk around and navigate any balcony obstructions. The Princess $1 deposit is a pretty compelling way to get customers to pull the trigger. With all the input on this thread, I feel pretty good about the choice. However, the tiny deposit allows us freedom to change our mind. The Majestic had some nice bonus features too. The grandparents might enjoy the bi-lingual signage. I think the group will also enjoy having the option of the Asian Noodle Bar as well as Congee Bar. This may be the grandparents last trip to Alaska. Think they will have plenty to enjoy (sites, grandkids, sites). I suspect this will be my family's first of many trips to Alaska. Thanks to all the commenters on this post. Was incredibly helpful to get everybody's expert insights. @Wishing on a star -- thank you for going above and beyond and sharing all that balcony information. None of the larger balconies were available. Like you said, those go fast. I was grateful just to be able to find 6 contiguous obstructed balconies.

Would love to hear experience/thoughts on: 1) Reserve big block of obstructed balcony rooms? I was originally planning to get combo of inside rooms + balcony rooms (didn't figure out which flavor-- regular, premium/deluxe, mini-suite, etc) As I was playing around with the price quotes I saw big blocks of obstructed rooms available. I'm now toying with the idea of getting a connected block of obstructed balcony rooms instead. Reserve block of 5 or 6 obstructed balcony rooms (Looks like availability is primarily on deck 8 for Majestic and Discovery). Even better if I can get connected obstructed/unobstructed rooms. Remove balcony dividers. This way everybody has some access to a balcony. Note: My wife is a sensitive sleeper and gets grumpy if she doesn't get a good sleep. Would need to scrap this if I can't avoid the entertainment areas above/below. 2) Family of 4: Mini-suite vs two obstructed balcony connecting rooms? 3) For a Northbound trip, is it essential to get Right/Starboard rooms?

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but huge thank you for the outpouring of helpful advice! I'm going to try to pay it forward by summing up tips so far. - Don't miss Glacier Bay! @Kay S @Coral @Oakman58 @muffin - Other glaciers have potential to be really amazing too. @sunviking90 @san diego spartan @Rick&Jeannie - Sapphire is a great ship for Alaska-- smaller, better viewing areas @Coral @mtnesterz - Sail out of Vancouver instead of Seattle- Scenery much more beautiful @muffin @sunviking90 - Consider HAL ships @san diego spartan : prefers HAL over Discovery @sunviking90 - Discovery Princess is a great ship @Rick&Jeannie @KKB - Majestic is great ship @Wishing on a star @sunviking90 (but maybe not for Alaska) @minabruuke (if newer/modern is important) - NCI Encore is best option for our needs @Oakman58 - Search deck plans for best cabins + mark no upgrade @skynight My Current Ranking: 1) Majestic is probably my leading contender out of the Princess ships. Is relatively new, sails out of Vancouver for our date and goes to Glacier Bay. 2) Discovery Princess 3) Norwegian Encore-- Nice and modern. Might be too big of ship for tweens and older folks to get around. TBD) Need to investigate HAL ships. Sapphire - It sounds like Sapphire has many loyal fans and might be an ideal size and layout for Alaska. However, there seem to be multiple recent reports of Sapphire showing signs of wear and tear after the shutdown.

delete-- didn't see all the new posts while I was writing up my post.

Thank you for all the great tips and sharing your experiences. The groups would be flying from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. @Kay S @Coral @muffin Don't miss Glacier Bay! @Rick&Jeannie Discovery Princess is great new ship. @san diego spartan I have officially put HAL back on my list to consider thanks to your feedback. I started watching some of the youtube reviews on HAL. Your Discovery vs HAL comparison is helpful. @muffin Thanks for sharing the insight about Vancouver views >> Seattle.

Hello CruiseCritic Experts Am hoping to get some ship/trip advice based on our priorities below. We are planning a multi-generational trip to Alaska for late July 2023. This would be our first trip to Alaska. My dad (late 70's) doesn't travel much and has always wanted to visit Alaska. We aren't big cruisers. Did Disney /Caribbean and everybody enjoyed that. 5 Cabins total. We will probably be paying for everybody as a thank you to our parents and siblings. Cabin 1 (4 people): Two adults, 10, 11 year old Cabin 2 (2 People): Grandparents 70ish and 80ish Cabin 3 (1 person) Grandparent 70ish Cabin 4 (1 person) Sister late 40's Cabin 5 (2 people). Brother late 40's + 9 year old I've done a ton of reading on Cruise Critic and enjoy the various trip reports. Am hoping for some advice based on what is important to us. What we care about: - Want everybody to have a wonderful/stress-free/relaxing memorable trip. - I strongly prefer newer/modern amenities and decor. - Good food. - Casual/comfortable (don't want to have to dress up) (I ended up ruling out Holland because of this) - Frugal/Want good value for $$ spent (I love costco). - Great Kids club space - We spend considerable time in the cabin (my wife and I don't have FOMO) - Enjoy enriching talks, etc - Well organized + well-managed operation - Friendly/welcoming service. Not Important - Bars - Alcohol selection - Party scene - Pool for alaska cruise - Things like go-karts, VR Experiences that require extra $$. - Shops - the shows are nice bonus, but not critical. There are some candidate ships that visit Glacier bay during our time frame (mid to late July 2023, 7 day) - Majestic Princess (sounds like ship is in good condition)? - Norwegian Encore (ship is only a few years old, might be too big for Alaska?) - Norwegian Jewel (don't know much about this one) - Royal Princess - Sapphire Princess (reviews seem to indicate ship is showing its age) - Grand Princess (reviews seem to indicate ship is showing its age) - Adding Discovery Princess on here too. (Big pro: new. Cons: Doesn't visit Glacier Bay. Goes to Dawes Glacier) 1) What ship would cruise-critic experts recommend for our scenario? Is Glacier Bay a must see for those not likely to visit again? - Majestic -- seems like a relatively modern ship that visits Glacier Bay. Enjoyed @harryfat1's detailed review - Discovery - brand new ship. Doesn't visit Glacier Bay - Norwegian Encore-- newer ship that visits Glacier Bay. Came highly recommended by my friend - Any other great ships to consider? 2) Since we will have one cabin with 2 adults/2 kids and two solo cabins (with single supplements), is it permissible to book kids with the solo travelers but sleep all 4 in our cabin? Thanks in advance for any tips. dlca1