Alaska experts help......

[bambam26]

This is directed to all those Princess experts...

 

Myself and my wife and another couple will be traveling to Alaska in May 2013. My questions are these-

1-Whats decks have covered balconies

2- what are your favorite balcony cabins for Alaska viewing

3- Of the 3 Port, Starboard and Aft what is the best location for this trip

4- do any cabins connect via the balconies? :confused:

[PotatoBug]

Which ship?

[jeromep]

This is directed to all those Princess experts...

 

Myself and my wife and another couple will be traveling to Alaska in May 2013. My questions are these-

1-Whats decks have covered balconies

2- what are your favorite balcony cabins for Alaska viewing

3- Of the 3 Port, Starboard and Aft what is the best location for this trip

4- do any cabins connect via the balconies? :confused:

 

Yeah, it would be helpful to know what ship, but some of your questions can be answered.

 

1. This is a less direct answer but if memory serves there are a number of ships that sail to Alaska, most of them are Grand Class ships so they have similar deck layouts. The Golden and Star Princess are close sisters. They sail out of Seattle on round trips. The balcony rooms are cantilevered off the side of the ship. Dolphin deck mini-suites are all uncovered, but when you are Glacier Bay or the Tracy Arm you don't have any shadows or obstructions. We were initially concerned about having a fully uncovered balcony, but once we were in Glacier Bay we were so glad to have an uncovered balcony. The Diamond and Saphire Princess are also sisters of a slightly different design. Same basical layout. They do one-way voyages from Vancouver, BC to Anchorage and vice versa. In general, the higher up on the ship the balcony stateroom, the more overhead cover you have.

 

2. My favorite are the minis on Dolphin deck.

 

3. Well, it depends. On round trip Seattle, It doesn't seem to matter what side of the ship you are on. We were Port side on our last trip and that was nice, but I couldn't tell you why. However, if you are doing a one-way it may matter. If you are going from Anchorage to Vancouver you want a port side cabin because it will generally look toward the coastline as you go south. If you are going the other direction you would want starboard to look at the coastline as the ship goes north.

 

4. Most cabins can have the partition between balconies unlocked so that you can pass between the two.

[bambam26]

Sorry the ships are The Golden and Star Princess, we live just across from Seattle so we will be taking the ferry over and walking on in Seattle....:D

[islandermg]

I am not an expert but have just booked our 7th cruise to Alaska. Have taken many ships and many decks. All have been great. We prefer a mini-suite but most times we are outside on deck watching the beautiful scenery go by. Take your binocs.

islandermg

[windsor26]

The thrill of watching the scenery with other people and not in the lonely space of a balcony is part of the Alaska experience. Having a blanket and being served hot chocolate and cookies is part of the fun:p

[MCC retired]

We have always booked a balcony for Alaska cruises , but now I realize that we always have been up on deck for when the scenery is the greatest.

Besides that , the whale is always on the other side of the ship.

[triscuit413]

What about the Island Princess. We are staying in Caribe 526?