which ship for alaska

[mtebor]

I am currently researching a 2013 alaska cruise (and maybe landtour). I have done 3 rccl, carnival, and costa cruises in the past. Just wondering why I would choose a Princess Cruise over (looking at Radiance of the Seas) or NCL?

 

thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

I am currently researching a 2013 alaska cruise (and maybe landtour). I have done 3 rccl, carnival, and costa cruises in the past. Just wondering why I would choose a Princess Cruise over (looking at Radiance of the Seas) or NCL?

 

thanks

 

The Coral/Island Princess carry only 1900 passengers and are excellent.

Check out this site....

 

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

[califgary]

check out Holland America as well (although I dont think they are doing any 2013 items yet) I think they may be the only cruiseline offerring a 14 day Alaska Adventure we are on that in 2011. This is the last year Princess is doing it.

[FunwardBound]

I have sailed on Radiance's sister ship (Jewel) to the Panama Canal and just got off the Island Princess on Monday from a 7-day Alaska cruise. Overall, I like the Radiance class ship better, but its a VERY CLOSE call. Princess has a better Alaska itinerary in my opinion because they go into Glacier Bay while RCCL does not. That and the fact you can bring your own wine onboard, I would choose Princess again over RCCL for Alaska. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

 

Both Radiance and Island/Coral are medium-sized Panamax vessels (meaning they just barely fit into the Panama Canal locks) that carry less than 2,000 passengers as Colo Cruiser pointed out. These and the smaller Princess and HAL ships are probably best for Alaska because their architecture is focused outwards towards the water (almost all balconies, public areas face the water, etc.). The larger ships like Diamond Princess are focused inward and therefore are not as well suited in my opinion to any type of coastal cruise, especially Alaska. At least, not if your intent is to spend time on deck or behind big windows watching the beauty that Alaska has to offer. Take a peek at the deck plans for different ships to see what I mean. Hope this helps.

[geoherb]

I'm not sure what FunwardBound means about larger ships like the Diamond Princess being inward focused. We went on the Sapphire Princess to Alaska this month and had a great time watching the scenery. The Promenade Deck had plenty of room even on the morning we sailed into Tracy Arm. The fact that it has so many balcony cabins I think helps to keep the open decks from being crowded. Skywalkers Disco has great picture windows and was not crowded in the early evenings that we were there. And when we ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room, we'd ask to be near a window and the servers were always eager to open the curtains for us if they weren't already open.

 

The main decision to make in planning an Alaskan cruise is whether you have time to do touring on land before or after your cruise. If you don't, I'd recommend doing a roundtrip from Seattle. It's a lot cheaper for airfare than flying to or from Alaska.

[chipmaster]

I assume schedule is open? I think Princess and HAL have the most sailings/ships and flexbility and likely the best and most sailings to Glacier bay and hubbard. Pick the port line up and scenic cruising and if all those are met then the ships that fit into it.

 

What good is the "best" ship and miss the glacier you might only get a chance to see once in a lifetime?

 

I am currently researching a 2013 alaska cruise (and maybe landtour). I have done 3 rccl, carnival, and costa cruises in the past. Just wondering why I would choose a Princess Cruise over (looking at Radiance of the Seas) or NCL?

 

thanks

[loliola]

I just got off the Golden Princess to Alaska; fabulous cruise!! I have already reserved Island Princess for Panama November 29th 2011..I see that you did Island to Alaska and have done Panama before. Can you give me some info/insight? I reserved C622 (small corner bump-out)...did you like Island??? and Panama??? any recommendations for excursions??? Any help/opinions would be very much appreciated!!

[FunwardBound]

I just got off the Golden Princess to Alaska; fabulous cruise!! I have already reserved Island Princess for Panama November 29th 2011..I see that you did Island to Alaska and have done Panama before. Can you give me some info/insight? I reserved C622 (small corner bump-out)...did you like Island??? and Panama??? any recommendations for excursions??? Any help/opinions would be very much appreciated!!

 

 

Island is a very nice ship. She is showing a few signs of wear and tear, but is due for drydock in another couple months, so you should experience a like-new ship. The old tv's have already been replaced with flatscreens; the old hard mattresses of great discussion on this board were replaced with new softer ones on day 2 of our cruise. Just beware of the coffee - it really is awful in Horizon, dining room, etc.. The dispensers mix hot water with coffee syrup and several were malfunctioning on our cruise, but were supposed to be fixed on the voyage back to Vancouver. Buy the coffee card and grab fresh brewed coffee at La Patisserie each morning. It won't disappoint.

 

As for Panama, you are in for a treat. Our favorite port call was in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. We did a tour of the Hacienda Real coffee plantation (RCCL called this the "golden bean coffee tour") and it was fantastic. Lots of time spent on the backroads of Costa Rica seeing everything from sloths to banana plantations and volcanoes!

 

We did a partial transit of the canal through the Gatun locks and into the lake; we completed the transit to the Pacific Ocean on a shore excursion, which gave a completely different perspective of the canal than our giant ship.

[Loonbeam]

If you are looking at a cruisetour, that may be the differentiation. Princess does a very well regarded package (we were happy with it), Holland America may as well. To my knowledge, the other lines do not have the same breadth and quality of facilities available as Princess..

[JanetAlice]

Princess also has a 14 day to Alaska out of Seattle. We were on the Royal in July. The are selling the ship in the spring so I am not sure if they will again offer this great cruise on one of their other small ships.

[TracieABD]

We went on the Golden Princess and it was wonderful!:)

[susie2183]

We took Voyage of the Glaciers in July on Coral Princess. We could not have had a better time. Great ship and I want to go again! Never felt crowded, the embarkation and disembarkation were effortless. Highly recommend!