Princess cruises- Pools

[stevenikkij]

My extended family will be going on an Alaskan cruise in the summer 2011. We are going to do Princess or NCL. We want to do Glacier Bay- and the itineraries seems good on both. My question is are the pools on Princess heated or do they have a retractable roof. I know the NCL ones are not. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks :)

[Carolyn R]

The Coral and the Island Princesses do have retractable roofs over one pool.

[stevenikkij]

Thanks alot- just trying to narrow down our decisions for our first Alaskan cruise. :D

[janina]

Take Princess hands down. In alaska they are tops!!

[CALMOM]

You can go on Princess Website and look up the ship you are interested in and it will tell you if it has a covered pool. I do believe all of the Princess Ships that cruise Alaska has covered, heated & FRESH water pools. I don't know if NCL has fresh water but it sure is nicer then salt water.

[Dorset Cruiser]

We are doing Golden Princess from Seattle this year to Alaska and I know that has a covered pool area with freshwater.

[stevenikkij]

I have heard that Princess is the way to go. We want to leave out of Vancouver- but may have to do Seattle because of the dates. We also have narrowed down to Glacier Bay itineraries. We will have possibly 15-20 people ages 7-65(and some teenagers) so we're looking at all different types of activities and lots of different interests. Does anyone know when the dates for July 2011 will be out?:)

[caber]

You can go on Princess Website and look up the ship you are interested in and it will tell you if it has a covered pool. I do believe all of the Princess Ships that cruise Alaska has covered, heated & FRESH water pools. I don't know if NCL has fresh water but it sure is nicer then salt water.

 

I tried looking up the ships but can`t find out where it tells you which pools are covered. What about the Grand Princess? I have heard it has one but can`t see anything about it.

[CTGirl]

I tried looking up the ships but can`t find out where it tells you which pools are covered. What about the Grand Princess? I have heard it has one but can`t see anything about it.

The Grand, Golden and Star all have retractable roofs over one of the pools. The Crown, Emerald, Ruby, and Caribbean do not.

[karatemom2]

The Diamond which does the Alaska itinerary out of Vancouver and Whittier also has an indoor pool area with a retractable roof.

[karatemom2]

You can go on Princess Website and look up the ship you are interested in and it will tell you if it has a covered pool. I do believe all of the Princess Ships that cruise Alaska has covered, heated & FRESH water pools. I don't know if NCL has fresh water but it sure is nicer then salt water.

 

There are two Princess ships doing an Alaska itinerary that do not have covered pool areas. One is the Sea Princess which does the 10 day Alaska cruise from the port of San Francisco and the other is the 14 day Alaska cruise on the small Royal Princess out of the port of Seattle.

 

We have cruised on NCL and their pools are salt water, just one of the many reasons we prefer Princess to NCL.

[dshefter]

NCL (at least the Pearl) has fresh-water pools. Not sure if they are heated. We were on her in the Caribbean.

[karatemom2]

NCL (at least the Pearl) has fresh-water pools. Not sure if they are heated. We were on her in the Caribbean.

 

Sorry, you are mistaken. NCL pools are salt water. You can verify it by going to NCL's FAQ section. The following was copied and pasted from the NCL website:

 

 

All pools on NCL ships are outdoors and contain salt water and are chlorinated as per USPH regulations.

 

All Jacuzzis are fresh water and are chlorinated as per USPH regulations.

[pedirn]

The Sea Princess out of SFO does not have a pool with a retractable roof. We were on it last summer to Alaska and to us the pools were unusable.

 

Chris

[campgirl]

We cruised to Alaska a few years ago on the Golden. We swam outside every day. The pools were warm, fresh water and they were almost always empty. We especially liked the pool in the stern of the boat. One day it was really foggy while we swam. It was neat. It was handy to have something warm to put on, because it was cold when you got out or you can just hop into the jacuzzi.

[dshefter]

Then the NCL policy has changed. The Pearl had fresh water pools in 2008.

[Av8tor]

We cruised to Alaska a few years ago on the Golden. We swam outside every day. The pools were warm, fresh water and they were almost always empty. We especially liked the pool in the stern of the boat. One day it was really foggy while we swam. It was neat. It was handy to have something warm to put on, because it was cold when you got out or you can just hop into the jacuzzi.

 

When you say "they were always empty" I'm assuming you meant that noboby was swimming in them or lounging around them, not that they did not have any water in them!! :D

[stevenikkij]

Thanks for all of your help everyone. We were definitely leaning towards NCL Pearl- but with having a lot of kids- a nice pool is something we will want and need. :)

[AUNTIE24]

:)What about the Sapphire Princess out of Seattle, does it have a covered pool.:)

[hbcruiser]

Take Princess hands down. We went with five couples in 2005 on the Sapphire. What a ship and yes enclosed pools. Princess knows how to make you feel. We had all cabins lined up and ask that the dividing doors be opened, created a huge "backyard". Enjoy!!

[hbcruiser]

Yes, it has a covered pool and is an amazing ship. We sailed on her 2005 to Alaska with five couples. Had the best time. Princess does it right!

[DrJJ]

We sailed to Alaska on the NCL Pearl in 2008 and were very surprised when we found there were no covered pools. There was therefore almost no pool use during the cruise. The hot tubs were used occaisionally (we used them in Glacier Bay).

 

We just are just off the Island Princess Panama Canal Cruise. Both the Island and the Coral cruise the Alaska route in the summer. The Island had a lovely indoor, heated pool that was wonderful to use during our cruise (it had an endless pool device that one could swim against and stay in place). That pool would be great to use in Alaska.

[campgirl]

You are correct. We swam in them every day and they were warm. The fresh water is really a treat.

[campgirl]

One thing to consider about Princess. Many of the pools that we swam in outside (lap pool and the deck pool) were for adults only. This was not enforced, but if you are a rule follower, you may feel uncomfortable in the outdoor pools. The indoor covered pool is very nice as well.

[Purpleprincess4]

We are doing Golden Princess from Seattle this year to Alaska and I know that has a covered pool area with freshwater.

 

Hi its Cheryl from the 7/17/10 Golden sailing! I am glad to see that you posted that there is a covered pool area. My question is I want to know if the covered pool is for everyon. Not just adults.