NCL Star or Sun Princess?

[SAYHEYRENEE]

Alright, I am doubting myself.

I booked Sun Princess for my Honeymoon 9/17/2006. I keep looking at the NCL Star's iteniary and can't help liking it better. They both are round trip Seattle and what I want.

The differences:

Sun goes out to sea, not the Inside passage like the Star.

 

Sun goes to Tracey Arm, the Star goes to Glacier Bay.

 

Sun balconys are cut in the ship and the Star has clear sight.

 

Sun is older, Star is far newer.

 

 

My question.... Has anybody done both and can compare them? I have not been on either line nor to Alaska. I hear Princess food is far superior and food does matter.

THanks for your help.

[Coral]

Definitely tough - I am big into Princess (just returned from the Sun Princess) and I also prefer NCL's itinerary to Princess' for next year out of Seattle. We saw the Star in Alaska and she is a beauty - I would also be tempted to switch. I know friends (who I trust) who have sailed NCL Star and they said as long as you do the pay restaurants, the food was good.

[brunolvr]

Alright, I am doubting myself.

I booked Sun Princess for my Honeymoon 9/17/2006. I keep looking at the NCL Star's iteniary and can't help liking it better. They both are round trip Seattle and what I want.

The differences:

Sun goes out to sea, not the Inside passage like the Star.

 

Sun goes to Tracey Arm, the Star goes to Glacier Bay.

 

Sun balconys are cut in the ship and the Star has clear sight.

 

Sun is older, Star is far newer.

 

 

My question.... Has anybody done both and can compare them? I have not been on either line nor to Alaska. I hear Princess food is far superior and food does matter.

THanks for your help.

Even though the NCL Star itinerary map shows that it cruises on the east side of Vancouver Island, it in fact does not always do that. The first two cruises that left Seattle this year have cruised on the outside of Vancouver Island (west side) with no land in view.

[Host Caroline]

Princess is my fav cruise line, hands down, but also like NCL .. if it were any other ship of theirs in Alaska I'd say go with Princess (Wind is older, port times on Spirit aren't that good) but the Glacier Bay cruising is the deal breaker IMHO... it's a day you won't forget and Tracy Arm can be iffy depending on ice, etc.. I'd switch...

[Cruizer_J]

We sailed the Sun Princess Northbound this year to Glacier Bay & College Fjord, the NCL Star last year to Glacier Bay and the NCL Sun two years ago to Tracy Arm.

 

We had the same situation with the Star's route out of Seattle as brunolvr mentions in that the NCL map showed full inside passage sailing when in fact it went out to sea; you should definitely verify the route before figuring it into your decision.

 

I agree with Caroline about the Glacier Bay itinerary; it would be my choice over Tracy Arm, although Tracy Arm was beautiful, we had very good luck and good views of both North and South faces of Sawyer glacier.

 

Based on our experiences, Princess' food was not "far superior" and in general we would call the food more or less comparable. Sterling steak house on the Sun was a winner, very good steak. As mentioned in Coral's post, the specialty restaurants on NCL offer some very good food; we ate dinner in several of them on our Star sailing last year (Le Bistro was consistently very good) and this is one area that we preferred as compared to the options on the Sun Princess.

 

Although the Sun Princess is older, it is in quite good condition for its age and there was nothing disappointing from that standpoint for us. And, as far as the balcony construction, it didn't really make much difference to us. There were other, small things that we liked better about the Sun. The main dining rooms are more intimate and the buffet seating area on the Sun is a nicer, larger area than that on the Star. Our experience was that the Sun Princess was much quieter (at least on our sailing) with hardly any PA announcements into the cabins as compared to many (for activities, bingo, auctions, etc.) on the Star.

 

We enjoyed our sailing on the Sun Princess and would not hesitate to sail on her again. All in all, though, we would prefer Glacier Bay and the dining options on the Star.

[SAYHEYRENEE]

Thanks, I now have more indecission than before. We are the last cruise week up in Alaska so Tracy Arm may have too much ice. The Sun stays in port a little longer than the Star. Princess wowed me with having a set dinner and the option of 2 alternatives. I have never had a bad seating arrangement to date. I like the idea of a Alaskan menu with seafood and the Baked Alaska parade. I know the Suns rooms are smaller. We are the first booked on the ship (called TA weeks in advance and told her what we wanted). We are the highest balcony room with the option for upgrade. We are hoping for a mini suite but will not be disappointed without it.

 

Other questions...

Sun has no inside pool, Star does. Did that matter much?

[Cruizer_J]

Thanks, I now have more indecission than before. We are the last cruise week up in Alaska so Tracy Arm may have too much ice. The Sun stays in port a little longer than the Star. Princess wowed me with having a set dinner and the option of 2 alternatives. I have never had a bad seating arrangement to date. I like the idea of a Alaskan menu with seafood and the Baked Alaska parade. I know the Suns rooms are smaller. We are the first booked on the ship (called TA weeks in advance and told her what we wanted). We are the highest balcony room with the option for upgrade. We are hoping for a mini suite but will not be disappointed without it.

 

Other questions...

Sun has no inside pool, Star does. Did that matter much?

DW is the swimmer in our family and she never once got into the pool, so can't help with the pool question. We spent a lot of our time on our balcony or on deck, watching the scenery go by.

 

Sorry that we couldn't make your decision easier; fortunately, you have some time to ponder it. Either way that you go, Alaska will be so amazing that you won't regret it.