Alaskan Cruise 2015

[cruiserninja1]

Researching Alaskan cruise for June 2015 and it looks like the Golden Princess will be replaced by the Crown Princess leaving out of Seattle . Your thoughts on sailing Alaska with Princess and the Crown Princess ship itself . Thanks :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Researching Alaskan cruise for June 2015 and it looks like the Golden Princess will be replaced by the Crown Princess leaving out of Seattle . Your thoughts on sailing Alaska with Princess and the Crown Princess ship itself . Thanks :)

 

 

Princess does Alaska very well and has won some awards for it.

As for the Crown, we have sailed her 9 times. Excellent ship, great amenities. The Crown would be an excellent choice and much newer then the Golden. We do like the Golden alot too though. ;)

[runnerodb83]

It's unfortunate. Although the crown/ruby have more features, they have about 600 more passengers, or more, especially on family friendly alaska sailings. That combined with alaskan weather and lack of a covered/climate controled pool area that acts as overflow for the horizon court makes it a bit of a downturn for Princess in Alaska in my thoughts.

[cruiserninja1]

Are the rooms on Princess comfortable? Are there any special things they do for Alaska (ex. Special dinner menu) Ive sailed Alaska before with NCL but I've never sailed Princess . Do you consider it to be a kid friendly ship ?

[c-cruise]

To me the Crown is a downgrade from the Golden for Alaska for the same reasons runnerodb83 mentioned. No covered pool, and an extra deck of passengers. Also like the Skywalkers setup on the Golden better for Alaska viewing.

 

We've found Princess to be kid friendly, but it's not really what they are known for. Their kids facilities aren't going to compare with RCI, Carnival, NCL, or Disney, but our kids have enjoyed in "Princess Pelicans".

[Colo Cruiser]

Are the rooms on Princess comfortable? Are there any special things they do for Alaska (ex. Special dinner menu) Ive sailed Alaska before with NCL but I've never sailed Princess . Do you consider it to be a kid friendly ship ?

 

Yes they are very comfortable. Princess does theme's with food dishes.

They have 2 excellent speciality restaurants (Crown Grill/Sabatinis) onboard. Princess has an excellent kids program.

[Coral]

To me the Crown is a downgrade from the Golden for Alaska for the same reasons runnerodb83 mentioned. No covered pool, and an extra deck of passengers. Also like the Skywalkers setup on the Golden better for Alaska viewing.

 

I agree. I would avoid the Crown in Alaska. There is an extra deck of passengers and I found the ship to be very crowded when I sailed it.

[SuzyQ123]

We have not sailed on the Crown Princess, but highly recommend Princess for Alaska. We have gone twice and they were real experts. They had it down to a science and we were very impressed.

[kath00]

Don't forget the roundtrip sailings from San Francisco too!!

[dorisis]

Princess does an excellent job in Alaska, but I prefer the smaller ships for Alaska.i like Pacific best then Island or Coral.

[cruiserninja1]

Don't forget the roundtrip sailings from San Francisco too!!

 

 

Thank you, that may be an option! We really wanted to sail out of Seattle but maybe We can negotiate :)

[SlyOldLady]

Thank you, that may be an option! We really wanted to sail out of Seattle but maybe We can negotiate :)

 

Seattle is convenient but day 6 finds you bombing down the west side of vancouver island trying to make victoria by 8:00pm for a few hour stop. When sailing out of vancouver you get to spend more time in Ketchikan then set for a leisure sail down the inside, east side of the island all day 6. Very nice way to end a cruise.

 

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[cruiserninja1]

Seattle is convenient but day 6 finds you bombing down the west side of vancouver island trying to make victoria by 8:00pm for a few hour stop. When sailing out of vancouver you get to spend more time in Ketchikan then set for a leisure sail down the inside, east side of the island all day 6. Very nice way to end a cruise.

 

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We are really considering spending a day in Seattle then taking the train to Vancouver .

[BumperII]

We are really considering spending a day in Seattle then taking the train to Vancouver .

 

That is to be highly recommended, maybe even a couple of days. There is a lot to see, and several tours including the Boeing Aircraft Factory and Mt. Ranier. Great aquarium and endless restaurants. Bon Voyage!!

[SlyOldLady]

We are really considering spending a day in Seattle then taking the train to Vancouver .

 

We love seattle (we live there) Pike place market is great. There is an awesome hotel right at the entrance to the market, Inn at the Market, not to miss, get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee from the very first Starbucks next door, sit in the roof top deck and watch the city wake up. The train is nice but watch the schedule, only some go all the way to Vancouver, most transfer you to a bus. Quick Shuttle is another easy option. Have a great time

 

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[AZmike480]

I'm planning a trip to Alaska in 2015 so thank you for the info. My DW has wanted to cruise to Alaska for years, so I'm finally giving in to this idea. I personally prefer being on a cruise ship in the carribean!:D

 

AZmike480

[cruiserninja1]

We love seattle (we live there) Pike place market is great. There is an awesome hotel right at the entrance to the market, Inn at the Market, not to miss, get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee from the very first Starbucks next door, sit in the roof top deck and watch the city wake up. The train is nice but watch the schedule, only some go all the way to Vancouver, most transfer you to a bus. Quick Shuttle is another easy option. Have a great time

 

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I did an Alaskan Cruise with NCL last year with my boyfriend and his family . We stayed at the Sheraton Downtown and walked down to Pike Place Market ! I absolutely loved it! We had lunch there at noon and walked around until it was almost dark then we woke up the next morning and had breakfast there too!

 

My Mom loved all the pictures so that is why we are wanting to leave out of Seattle. We live in Texas so we were planning to leave here early on a Friday then arrive in Seattle at around noon , explore, spend the night there and then explore a little more Saturday morning before boarding. Then schedule a late flight Next Saturday so we can explore Seattle some more , head home and relax all day Sunday before returning to reality .

[janetz]

We love seattle (we live there) Pike place market is great. There is an awesome hotel right at the entrance to the market, Inn at the Market, not to miss, get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee from the very first Starbucks next door, sit in the roof top deck and watch the city wake up. The train is nice but watch the schedule, only some go all the way to Vancouver, most transfer you to a bus. Quick Shuttle is another easy option. Have a great time

 

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Looks wonderful. Room rates start at 350. a night.

[ntvsdgrl]

Last year I did a Northbound cruise out of Vancouver on the Coral and absolutely loved it. The ship was the perfect size. I also added a land tour at the end. I loved it so much I'm going back next year but doing Southbound with the land tour first for 5 days on the Star ending in Vancouver.

[Treven]

Don't forget the roundtrip sailings from San Francisco too!!

I've sailed out of SFO to Alaska, and doing it again next year (July on the Golden). It's an easy 90 minute train ride into The City. I really enjoyed the way Princess does Alaska.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Treven

[SlyOldLady]

Looks wonderful. Room rates start at 350. a night.

 

I took my wife for the night for her Birthday, big day inthe big city, ferry ride to downtown, dinner, Inn at the Market, the whole thing...europe was cheaper! She's worth it.

 

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Edited April 11, 2014 by SlyOldLady

[Mare10]

We're researching 2015 Alaska cruises round trip from Seattle. It looks like it's between the Ruby and the Crown.

 

Any advice between the two ships?

 

Thanks!

[SlyOldLady]

Did a TA on the Ruby and loved it...then again, we've loved every ship so I'm no help. I believe it's the crew that makes a ship great so there's no telling what it'll be like in a year. I guess all things considered I would book the Ruby simply because, for some reason the price is better for what should be basicaaly the same ship...or am I missing something?

 

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[Mare10]

The only advantage to the Crown is it has Glacier Bay on the itinerary. The Ruby has Tracy Arm. Crown has a Sat. departure out of Seattle and Ruby a Sunday. I think we'll go with the Ruby since we want to be able to fly into Seattle the day before.

 

Now comes the fun of booking and planning!

[SlyOldLady]

The only advantage to the Crown is it has Glacier Bay on the itinerary. The Ruby has Tracy Arm. Crown has a Sat. departure out of Seattle and Ruby a Sunday. I think we'll go with the Ruby since we want to be able to fly into Seattle the day before.

 

Now comes the fun of booking and planning!

 

That explains the cost difference, Glacier Bay is preferable to most including myself...