Cruise line advice--and Princess hesitation

[windycity11]

We traveled on The Ruby Princess 2 years ago and I was seriously disappointed. The food was quite possibly the worst I have ever had in cruising and the entertainment was maginal. Most people are recommending the Princess to Alaska and quite frankly, I don't know if I want to travel with them any more. In fact, the last 2 RCCL cruise were also disappointing from a food standpoint. Does anyone have decent food anymore?

 

I was spoiled in that I cruised during the golden years of cruising when dinner was many courses and there were nightly midnight buffets and the quality was generally good. I am souring a bit on cruising.

Anyway we are going with our 15, 18 and 21 year olds and grandparents. Since I always have done Caribbean cruises I am uninitiated to the Alaskan. Any comments or advice for Cruise line?

 

All help would be great--

Best time to go?

Best itinerary for 7-8 days max

Best cruise line?

Best excusions?

Thanks all!

[Chat Noir]

We've sailed Alaska with Celebrity(1), Princess(2), and Carnival(1). I honestly can't say I noted much difference in any of the cruiseline food. It's just food to me. Really, the only thing I remember outstanding were breakfast waffles on Celebrity, enough so that we chose them every morning. Otherwise, all about the same.

 

I'd go not planning for food to be the highlight and look at the other items you made mention of...

 

Itinerary? - Are you looking at one-way or round-trip? Specific port or glacier viewing?

Best time? - Are you looking for wildlife? Timing can make a difference there!

Excursions? - Active? Price-range? Interests?

 

Narrow down what you're looking to get out of, and posters here will be more than willing to help you plan to make the most of your time in Alaska! :)

[chipmaster]

I think you need to reset your expectations.

 

Mainstream line pricing ( HAL, Princess, Celebrity, NCL, Carnival ) to expect anything but mass food cooking is anything but the unrealistic. If you think about it many of these lines are feeding, housing you on a moving hotel for around a hundred bucks a day plus/minus a little.

 

I think if you want high end food you are looking at speciality resturant and or high end 2x-3x the price cruising from the boutique lines.

 

The one thing that gets me is consistency and / or service. That probably irks me more than the quality of the food cooked for a thousand at time.

 

 

As to the lines with the most scenic sailings to the best sights, its going to be Princess and HAL, they have the market cornered so to speak.

 

We traveled on The Ruby Princess 2 years ago and I was seriously disappointed. The food was quite possibly the worst I have ever had in cruising and the entertainment was maginal. Most people are recommending the Princess to Alaska and quite frankly, I don't know if I want to travel with them any more. In fact, the last 2 RCCL cruise were also disappointing from a food standpoint. Does anyone have decent food anymore?

 

I was spoiled in that I cruised during the golden years of cruising when dinner was many courses and there were nightly midnight buffets and the quality was generally good. I am souring a bit on cruising.

Anyway we are going with our 15, 18 and 21 year olds and grandparents. Since I always have done Caribbean cruises I am uninitiated to the Alaskan. Any comments or advice for Cruise line?

 

All help would be great--

Best time to go?

Best itinerary for 7-8 days max

Best cruise line?

Best excusions?

Thanks all!

[kkorman]

We traveled on The Ruby Princess 2 years ago and I was seriously disappointed. The food was quite possibly the worst I have ever had in cruising and the entertainment was maginal. Most people are recommending the Princess to Alaska and quite frankly, I don't know if I want to travel with them any more. In fact, the last 2 RCCL cruise were also disappointing from a food standpoint. Does anyone have decent food anymore?

 

I was spoiled in that I cruised during the golden years of cruising when dinner was many courses and there were nightly midnight buffets and the quality was generally good. I am souring a bit on cruising.

Anyway we are going with our 15, 18 and 21 year olds and grandparents. Since I always have done Caribbean cruises I am uninitiated to the Alaskan. Any comments or advice for Cruise line?

 

All help would be great--

Best time to go?

Best itinerary for 7-8 days max

Best cruise line?

Best excusions?

Thanks all!

 

 

We have found Princess/Celebrity/HAL to be best of mass market, but not very different from each other.

 

If you are looking for above mass, Crystal or Regent would be other options.

[PennyAgain]

If you want fine food book Crystal Cruise Lines. They are doing Alaska.

[TravelWise101]

We traveled on The Ruby Princess 2 years ago and I was seriously disappointed. The food was quite possibly the worst I have ever had in cruising and the entertainment was maginal. Most people are recommending the Princess to Alaska and quite frankly, I don't know if I want to travel with them any more. In fact, the last 2 RCCL cruise were also disappointing from a food standpoint. Does anyone have decent food anymore?

 

I was spoiled in that I cruised during the golden years of cruising when dinner was many courses and there were nightly midnight buffets and the quality was generally good. I am souring a bit on cruising.

Anyway we are going with our 15, 18 and 21 year olds and grandparents. Since I always have done Caribbean cruises I am uninitiated to the Alaskan. Any comments or advice for Cruise line?

 

All help would be great--

Best time to go?

Best itinerary for 7-8 days max

Best cruise line?

Best excusions?

Thanks all!

 

Come - join us on NCL's Pearl! (wink wink)

We booked our excursions tailored to what we thought we'd like. Everyone is different. We will do the helicopter to glacier, float plane over national forest and a lake landing, and whale watching. But they have all kinds of different excurtions from dinner in the dark at a restaurant, glass blowing classes, fishing, zip line runs, water sports, you name it!

 

Inside passage I was told is best so we booked that. We also are going on the recomendation from friends who already did the Pearl a couple of years ago. We've never crused before but our friends said that we are foodies and the Pearl is the ship for us.

[Putterdude]

I also sailed or at least crewed back when cruising and dining were events...real china, silver that didn't end, and French service with white gloves. I don't believe that it exists any more.

[vmom]

Our first two cruises were on RCCL in 1986 and Princess in 1988. The food was outstanding. Food has changed in the years that have passed.

 

 

I agree with the previous poster, mainsteamed cruising has changed over the years as reflected in the prices. I think you either have to change your expectation, or go on one of the more elite/premium lines such as Regent, Crystal, etc.

 

Prices for cruising any of the mainstream lines are the same price or sometimes cheaper than they were 15-20 years ago. Yes the food isn't what it was, but its still good. I have been on Princess 7 times and enjoy their food, even if it isn't what is used to be. If you don't want to pay the premium prices of the premium lines such as Regent, then the other option would be to dine in the specialty resturants. There is usually a $20-25 fee per person extra for this, but that may be the compromise that works for your family.

 

I have never sailed Celebrity, but have heard good reviews regarding their food.

 

Best time to go??? Some people will say June because its less rainy, some will say July or August because the salmon are running and more chance at wildlife sightings. Some say May or September because the prices are cheaper. Frankly there is no right answer. We decided to sail in June because of a slightly less chance of rain and because we were able to take advantage of some great sale prices that were not available for July or August.

 

Best excursions??? That's going to be different depending on the ports you go to and what your family enjoys. Spend some time doing your research on these Alaska boards and read some of the excursion reviews to see what you think your family might enjoy.

 

Best Cruise line??? I don't think there is a one "best" cruise line. All have their strengths and weaknesses. Being that you are traveling with teens, you might want a cruise line that has more active opportunities and is a bit more lively. You might want to look at RCCL or Carnival for the teen activities offered, but frankly I think the food on Princess is better then RCCL (JMHO) and I've heard better reviews about the food on Celebrity. Holland America has some great reviews for Alaska cruises, but I don't think I'd go with Holland America with teens. I think the passenger age base will be a bit older.

 

You should be aware that Alaska tends to attract an older passenger base compared to Caribbean cruises and the ship activities are a bit different, more focus on scenery and wild life. There are some really great active excursion opportunities that I think your teens would enjoy such as ziplining.

 

I know this response has not really answered your questions, so I guess what I am trying to say is I think you will need to spend a lot of time reading reviews and information about excursions to see what will be a good fit for your family.

[vbmom87]

Best excusions?

!

 

HEre is a thread something just posted about the excursions they did and how they liked them:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1446354

[HistoryNutCalifornia]

We just returned from a 7 night cruise from Vancouver to Whittier with Princess (first time with Princess). We were very pleased with Princess in all regards except the food and wait staff. We have found Norwegian and Celebrity (in that order) to have the best food. We found Princess' organization, the aesthetics of the ship, and the activities to be excellent. The entertainment, for the most part, was very good. We highly recommend the "Experience the Yukon and Suspension Bridge" bus tour in Skagway. We had an excellent tour guide with great narration. The scenery was beautiful, lunch was tasty, and Caribou Crossing's taxidermy museum was great. We enjoyed the Misty Fjord Wilderness Adventure in Ketchikan; there was time to walk around town afterward. We highly recommend "26 Glaciers" day trip around Prince William Sound in Whittier (booked independently) after disembarking. We had a small boat experience viewing glaciers and wildlife, and then they drove us to the airport in Anchorage.

[vbmom87]

We highly recommend "26 Glaciers" day trip around Prince William Sound in Whittier (booked independently) after disembarking. We had a small boat experience viewing glaciers and wildlife, and then they drove us to the airport in Anchorage.

 

I am considering this tour, but I was turned off by the size of the boat...300 capacity. I am also considering the PWS whose boat holds 100.

 

Did the boat seem crowded? Were you able to be outside or did it seem too cold and windy? I have read that this boat travels quite fast.

[HistoryNutCalifornia]

I was surprised by how many the boat held, since I had not checked that ahead of time. We had a full boat, but I didn't think it felt too crowded. I had no trouble getting out on the deck. This boat, unlike the Misty Fjord catamaran trip in Ketchikan, only allowed people to be outside in front when the boat stopped for wildlife viewing, however I believe we were allowed on top and in back while moving. We booked early and were able to get the "best seats in the house" (Seats 50A&B) so we were on the top deck in front with "wall to wall" windows, so I didn't really need to go outside to have great views. (Although I did go outside at times.) I thought the lunch was tasty and they served a hot chocolate chip cookie mid-day. The US ranger narration was good and they stopped whenever someone spotted an otter, whale, seal, etc. It was a good outing. Friendly crew.

[shepp]

Let's face it - food is subjective, a matter of ..taste. One man's Mickey D's is another's Ruth's Chris. On a thread on the Princess board, one person chose the escargot as the line's worst food, others (including me) as among the best. Someone complained about all the seafood, while I thought Princess had the yummiest mussels I ever ate.

 

While I don't drop a couple of hundred bucks on a dinner, I think I have a pretty good, sophisticated palate - I live in San Francisco and like a wide variety of ethnic, cutting-edge, and traditional dishes. And, with a couple of disappointing exceptions, I've thoroughly enjoyed the 50 dinners I've had on Princess ships thus far.

 

The buffet, lamentably, is another matter...again, in my opinion. But I sailed Celebrity once to Alaska, and I'll be on my second Princess to Alaska next month, and I really thought the dining room food was not notably better on X. Celebrity did have it all over Princess on quality of sushi, but then...some people hate sushi.

 

If it matters, in the most recent Conde Nast Traveler readers' poll, 7 out of the top 20 megaships were Princess. (And 9 were RCL, so you seem to be in the minority.)

[Wannaknow]

If you are going this year, I would recommend Oceania. I have traveled on Princess, HAL & RCI and agree totally with you. The food on Oceania was a very pleasant surprise. However, I understand this is the only year they are traveling to Alaska - which is a shame. However, they do not have any separate activities for your teenagers and not much going on at night.

[shepp]

The food on Oceania was a very pleasant surprise.

 

And the price for Alaska cruises is about three times the fare on Princess, no?

[vmom]

I am considering this tour, but I was turned off by the size of the boat...300 capacity. I am also considering the PWS whose boat holds 100.

 

Did the boat seem crowded? Were you able to be outside or did it seem too cold and windy? I have read that this boat travels quite fast.

 

 

We did the Prince William Sound tour in June. There were 100 on the boat and we felt it was a nice size. Plenty of room for viewing. It was a nice day, so people were more spread out between outside viewing and inside viewing. We spent most of the time on the outside deck for viewing, but most people stayed inside. Bring a wind proof jacket (not a wind breaker). That made all the difference for us.

 

We did the 6 hour tour and had them pick us up from Anchorage and take us to Whittier.

[Countrygirl44]

DH and I have cruised Alaska five times, all on Princess. We have done the north bound, south bound and this year round trip Seattle. We have been to Glacier Bay on all of the trips. The others have consisted of either College Fjord or Hubbard Glacier, except the r/t Seattle which only did Glacier Bay. Absolutely love Glacier Bay. Hubbard and College Fjord are also wonderful, not sure if I prefer one over the other. Maybe someday we will go back and do Tracy Arm.

O.K., now lets get back to the subject.

Our favorite time to go is the last week of May.

We have always found the food to be fine (although I like food and am really not too choosy). I do not like eating in the buffet. We try to always eat in the dining room. Some mornings if we have an early excursion, we will order room service the night before for breakfast. Always good and on time.

Love all the ports in Alaska. Skagway is probably my favorite. We have gone to the Yukon on each of the trips (either by train or by bus). The stops along the way provide wonderful sights. We have also gone on to Emerald Lake. How beautiful!! Plus we have encountered bears along the roadway on several of the trips.

Our favorite excursion in Juneau is Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier. We have done the gold panning too, but prefer the Whale Watching.

Ketchikan has several options too. Lighthouse, toems, and eagles , Misty Fjord by boat, Totem Bright Park and the town tour.

DH is a good size fellow (would probably have to pay extra for one of the flight excursions). That said, due to some health issues from a stroke DH does not want to do one of the sight seeing flights.

You did not ask, however, we like the mini suites on the Princess ships. Especially the last one before the aft balconies on the Emerald Deck. Again, due to the health issues of DH, he enjoys the balcony and sitting on the small sofa looking out. This is more expensive accommodations than an Inside which does limit what we would spend on excursions. Again, choices, but life is about choices.

We did cruise with our son and family in 2000 to the Caribbean. Granddughter was 14 at the time. She was happy to be with us. She truly loved stretching out on the loungers around the pool and drinking the non-alcoholic umbrella drinks. So I am not familiar with any of the activities for children and teens.

In a nutshell, the more research and homework you do prior to the cruise, the more enriching the cruise will be.

I have read and studied these boards for years, yet I only joined last week. Go Figure!! I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge.

One piece of advice I learned the hard way. Fly in a day early.

[vbmom87]

One piece of advice I learned the hard way. Fly in a day early.

 

Excellent Advice. In fact, after reading the stories about missing the ship, we have minimally flown out 2 days early. This year we are flying out three days early.

[burky12]

I cruised last week on the Island Pricess. Alaska was amazing! Wildlife everywhere and one gorgeous view after another. My teenage son and I shared many wonderful experiences from dog-sledding on a glacier to whitewater rafting.

 

The first night we ate in the D.R. and were embarrassed by our new tablemates - one was allergic to everything and demanded the staff prepare something off menu and the other, while this passenger was explaining this to the waitress, demanded his order be taken immediately! Such rude behavior! From then on, we decided we would not go out of our way to make sure we had dinner in the D.R. because we didn't want to deal with that every night. We usually either got pizza, food from the buffet or room service and ate on my balcony watching the beautiful scenery! We were exhausted by dinner time anyway with all that we did. I guess I don't understand why food would be the deciding choice when chosing which cruise line to go with. If I want fine dining, I can go out in my hometown and stay home! :confused:

[Wannaknow]

And the price for Alaska cruises is about three times the fare on Princess, no?

 

A good point. I really don't know as our cruise included airfare from LA and was 11 nites. As to cruiselines, it is definitely each to his own. We've traveled on RCI, Princess and HAL (as well as riverboat tours in Europe).

 

Oceania was by far the best cruise experience we have had. If you can afford it, and I agree that this is a big issue, it was worth it in our opinion. Being a smaller ship, it was so easy to get around - to get to pool, to DRs, to shows - anywhere - no crowds, no lines. The ship was full too.

[martinsfo]

OK here is my advise, step up to a Luxury line. We are traveling on Crystal, 12 days out of SF, and the food is as good as any land restaurant. As a chef, I know what I am speaking about. Is it any more expensive, up front yes, but not as much as you think. Check the CC article comparing Regent, another lux line, to Celebrity. Regent was cheaper compared to the Veranda suite, and just a little more on the regular rooms.

 

Some of the benefits of Crystal is a 6 star service, no crowds and big ship amenities, like shows, activities, etc. Also no lines at the pool, plenty of chairs, no lines for tenders, no announcements. I leave tomorrow and I am excited.

[vmom]

I cruised last week on the Island Pricess. Alaska was amazing! Wildlife everywhere and one gorgeous view after another. My teenage son and I shared many wonderful experiences from dog-sledding on a glacier to whitewater rafting.

 

The first night we ate in the D.R. and were embarrassed by our new tablemates - one was allergic to everything and demanded the staff prepare something off menu and the other, while this passenger was explaining this to the waitress, demanded his order be taken immediately! Such rude behavior! From then on, we decided we would not go out of our way to make sure we had dinner in the D.R. because we didn't want to deal with that every night. We usually either got pizza, food from the buffet or room service and ate on my balcony watching the beautiful scenery! We were exhausted by dinner time anyway with all that we did. I guess I don't understand why food would be the deciding choice when chosing which cruise line to go with. If I want fine dining, I can go out in my hometown and stay home! :confused:

 

I also would be uncomfortable with such table mates. If that ever happens again, don't just avoid the dining room, instead talk to the head waiter and he will arrange for you to be seated in another part of the dining room. We did that once for similar reasons and it was such a relief to be seated else where with people we enjoyed dining with.

[rollnoles2]

If you want good food, book an independent land tour before or after you get on the ship. ;) The food on the major cruise lines is basically the same. Others will disagree, but personally, I think Celebrity has the best food in the main dining room and Carnival has the best buffet and pizza. I think Princess has the worst buffet. But I have never had consistently bad food on any cruise line. Also, food is not a determining factor in how I choose a cruise. I base my decision on (1) the itinerary, (2) who's traveling with us, and (3) price. This summer, we (my husband and kids, my three sisters and their families and our mom) went on the Southbound Coral Princess this year because we wanted to see Glacier Bay and Princess is usually good with multi-generational groups. Almost all the cruises go to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. The day in Glacier Bay made the cruise for me. I think (not sure though) that Princess and Holland America are the only two cruise lines that are allowed to go into Glacier Bay. With kids, I would opt for Princess rather than Holland America. In our group, the younger kids loved the kids activities, the teens didn't participate at all. But the teens had fun hanging out with each other.

Whatever you decide, Alaska is just amazing and you can’t go wrong just going there!

[vbmom87]

. With kids, I would opt for Princess rather than Holland America. In our group, the younger kids loved the kids activities, the teens didn't participate at all. But the teens had fun hanging out with each other.

 

 

Whatever you decide, Alaska is just amazing and you can’t go wrong just going there!

 

 

I have been reading someone's live report from the HAL Amsterdam. She has three children. One girl who went to the Kid's Club and two teen boys who went to the teen group. From all I read, those kids had a ball on HAL. I wouldn't hestitate to take my grandchildren on HAL based on what I read on that review.

[Putterdude]

I am not familiar with HAL childrens' programs but having sailed a fair amount with Princess (childless that is) I have heard nothing but great comments about their various childrens' programs and would not hesitate putting our grandchildren in one of them.