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Which Princess Ship to Alaska for Cruisetour


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Thanks for the response. Was beginning to worry about what we had booked. Fit our schedule and has long time in all ports and in Glacier Bay. Looked like a good cruise but was not familiar with the ship.

 

The ship has been in Australia/New Zealand for awhile, thus you don't hear it mentioned a lot on this board.

 

I will take this ship over some of the newer ones in Alaska as it is less crowded (has one less deck). If not the Coral Princess, the Golden Princess would be my 2nd choice. I would have no hesitations sailing on her to Alaska (and have sailed on her many times before she went Down Under".) Enjoy your cruise.

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The 4 Seasons in Texas:

Hot and Humid

Hotter and more Humid

Blazing Hot and so Humid you might as well be in a pool

So Damn Hot and Humid it'll make ya think you died and went to Hades! (aka Georgia in August)

 

Umm...you guys must be in a different region of Texas than I am. I would NEVER compare humidity in Texas to Georgia. I've lived both and thought I would DIE in Georgia. I'll take my 100+ summer days over that 80+ and 80% humidity I had in Georgia any day. Plus, when and where I was in Georgia, they didn't all have air conditioners. I was baffled.

 

We picked the Star for our upcoming Alaska cruise. It will be refurbished soon, so it should be ship shape for the 2018 Alaska season.:)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Starfox, I was wondering the same thing! We were on the Coral to Alaska last July and are planning another northbound trip in 2019. We’re going back and forth between the Coral and the Royal for this next trip.

 

The Royal looks huge and the passenger load is almost double (2,000 v. 3,600). I would imagine that excursions could fill up faster on the Royal—but I suppose it depends on how many other ships are in port on each day.

 

My initial research on Royal’s amenities seem impressive, but we’re leaning towards the Coral. I love the great public viewing areas on the Coral and the relative ease of navigating the ship. Balcony size is important to us on an Alaska cruise—and it looks like Royal’s cabin balconies are far shallower than those on the Coral (generally). (Thanks, YouTube!)

 

One of our favorite spots on the Coral was the forward viewing area on the Caribe deck. Our cabin was only ten cabins from the front of the ship, so it was easy to access this deck. Approaching Glacier Bay, we often were the only ones on the entire front deck.

 

For 2019, the Coral’s departures are on Wednesday—but both Golden’s and Royal’s are both on Saturdays. We prefer mid-week flights, so that is ideal for us.

 

If you’re researched any more about this, please share! Thanks!

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Cobber76, we have decided on the Coral for our trip! The deck 7 promenade deck as well as the forward and aft viewing areas on some of the other decks (like you mentioned) were the deciding factors for us. For an itinerary such as Alaska, we felt those were vital! Good to know that the front viewing decks are not usually too crowded. We are most likely going to aim for a forward cabin on the first bump out.

 

I was on the Regal (sister ship) for a Scandinavia/Russia cruise a couple of years ago and it really is a wonderful ship (love Alfredo's!), but I don't think it would work for us for in Alaska. I mentioned Coral vs. Royal in Alaska on another thread as well and someone pointed out that the Royal won't be the only mega ship in Alaska and ports are bound to be crowded anyways, but I'd like to think being on the Coral will alleviate that even if it's only by a little. Ha!

 

Funny - we prefer cruise departures on the weekend, but we are planning a DIY land tour before our Southbound cruise and a few days in Vancouver so it works out for us too!

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We chose our Alaska Cruise Tour for next year because the cruise ends in Vancouver, BC. This means that the last "sea day" is through the Johnstone Strait and down the eastern side of Vancouver island overnight. I could be wrong and it might be all at night in September but I just think this could be more picturesque and interesting than the open ocean to the West.

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On my first cruisetour with Princess my TA mentioned land first, cruise second. You get all the strenuous days out of the way and then relax on the SB route to Vancouver. It really worked out well. We will be on the Coral July, 2018. Looking forward to it!

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