Alaska on Golden Princess out of San Fancisco?

[canyoncam]

Never have cruised Princess before but have heard mostly good. We love Disney and really like RCCL. My sister would like to surprise my parents with an Alaskan cruise and since Mom would like to see San Fran thought this might be good. We also LOVE sea days. So I am just asking for thoughts on this itinerary and ship.

Edited July 18, 2014 by canyoncam

[trbarton]

Never have cruised Princess before but have heard mostly good. We love Disney and really like RCCL. My sister would like to surprise my parents with an Alaskan cruise and since Mom would like to see San Fran thought this might be good. We also LOVE sea days. So I am just asking for thoughts on this itinerary and ship.

 

You don't say when the cruise is but San Francisco is a great port to cruise from. All cruises are not exactly the same from SF but the ports & cruise is excellent as I've done it twice from SF. If you're considering a cruise next year your cruise will be from the new cruise terminal opening in September of this year.

 

Since I done this cruise twice in May I would suggest a cruise latter in the season because of icebergs we couldn't go all the way right up to the glacier.

 

If you have any other questions pleas ask.

 

Tom:)

[KruzeKrazy!]

We cruised on the Grand on the 10-day Alaska out of SFO. It was great for us as our son/wife live in the Bay Area so they took us to the pier and did the BVE with us.

 

We had cruised Alaska before as well as Princess but this itinerary was great for us being SFO and having the extra sea days (which we love, too). It also went to Tracy Arm (we did Glacier Bay before) and a port we hadn't been to before (Skagway which we loved).

 

We loved everything about it - even the ports we'd been to before as we did something different or just took it easy.

 

The Grand was in great shape and has a nicer pax-to-public space ratio than our previous Princess cruise on the Caribbean Princess (which has the same public space but one more deck of all cabins). We were a bit concerned about the condition of the Grand after reading some posts that she was old and needed some updating throughout. But never fear - she was in great shape and it was a great cruise.

 

And be sure to enjoy Alfredo's which is called the best pizza at sea which in our experience on 6 different lines is absolutely true!

 

And I agree on the timing - you'll have a wide range of weather anyway but it will vary also based on the tine of year (as will the price).

 

If you have a choice of dates and all is the same except that one cruise goes to Tracy Arm and the other to Glacier Bay (last year they alternated between the two) and it's your first Alaska cruise I'd recommend Glacier Bay. Both are great but Glacier Bay has more glaciers to see and a bit more dramatic scenery.

 

So go and enjoy!

Edited July 19, 2014 by KruzeKrazy!

[morriscats]

We live close to S.F. and love cruising from there. We cruised Alaska last Sept on Grand and are booked on Golden for next year (August10). Saw Tracy Arm and looking forward to Glacier Bay. We did the Window Suite and loved it.

[Working 2 Cruise]

We love Princess but it may be a little too subdued for you. In many ways, it's similar to RCCL but Princess doesn't have flow riders, ice skating rinks or climbing walls.

 

If you want to relax and enjoy the scenery, then you'll love the cruise. Also, it's not quite as high end as Disney, but then Princess fares are usually much better... IMHO.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Working 2 Cruise

[shepp]

We love Princess but it may be a little too subdued for you. In many ways, it's similar to RCCL but Princess doesn't have flow riders, ice skating rinks or climbing walls.

 

Agreed. What, particularly, do you love about Disney and RCCL? Razzle-dazzle entertainment? Family-centric atmosphere? That's not Princess. On the other hand, in a month I'll be on my third Princess SFO-Alaska cruise, so obviously some of us like the voyage a lot.

 

Oh, and if you love sea days, be advised the days between San Francisco (we who live here tend not to call it "San Fran," btw) to the Inside Passage can be on the rough/chilly side.

Edited July 19, 2014 by shepp

[satxdiver]

We love going to San Francisco as it truly is a unique city unlike the usual US city. If you do this cruise be on the top open deck as you approach and go under the golden gate bridge. Many of your shipmates will be up there with cameras taking pictures. It is truly a sight to behold. You also will get a good look at Alcatraz as you leave port. We will be sailing out of there this fall but this time from the new terminal. We are looking forward to it.

 

We have been on the Golden Princess and enjoyed it. Having also sailed on RCL voyager class ships, the Princess ships lack the flash but to us are more like what cruising on the sea should be. I like being able to see out at the sea almost everywhere on the ship. I have seen the ice skating show and have not been back to see it since the first time and I don't ice skate anyway.

 

One really nice perk on Princess is that they let you bring on all the wine (750 ml bottles) you want. They do now charge $15/bottle after the one/pax they allow free. We love to have our wine on the balcony in the later afternoon sometimes as the sun sets. On 7 day cruises we normally bring 7 bottles aboard paying the $90 excess bottle fee.

[canyoncam]

Agreed. What, particularly, do you love about Disney and RCCL? Razzle-dazzle entertainment? Family-centric atmosphere? That's not Princess. On the other hand, in a month I'll be on my third Princess SFO-Alaska cruise, so obviously some of us like the voyage a lot.

 

Oh, and if you love sea days, be advised the days between San Francisco (we who live here tend not to call it "San Fran," btw) to the Inside Passage can be on the rough/chilly side.

 

We love the look/feel of the ships. Love the promenade decks on the Disney ships and spend most of our tome there. Good food and plenty of availability a must. I do feel Disney should have a 24 hr buffet but we do fine without. Don't need entertainment. If we take this cruise the "youngest" will be pushing 40 so lack of sports activities not a worry.

 

I just really want to know if the ship feels dated, the rooms feel way too cramped (most likely getting balcony but could have to go oceanview), the staff friendly, the food edible, and the scenery of Alaska worth being away from Colorado during it's best months.;)

 

Thanks everyone for taking time to reply. I love boards like these.

Edited July 19, 2014 by canyoncam
added thanks

[caribill]

 

I just really want to know if the ship feels dated no, the rooms feel way too cramped some say yes, some say no (most likely getting balcony but could have to go oceanview), the staff friendly very, the food edible yes, but not gourmet, and the scenery of Alaska worth being away from Colorado during it's best months definitely.;)

 

Thanks everyone for taking time to reply. I love boards like these.

 

My opinions above in red

[Treven]

I love sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, and I'm one of those pax out on deck with my camera (even though I've done this several times) taking pix of the bridge. I love the sea days going from SFO up to the first Alaska port. Yes it was chilly, but you are sailing along the north west coast. I think you can't go wrong choosing this cruise.

[sassyredhat]

Just last night, I looked at a cruise on the Golden departing SF :D

I personally, like the Golden. Our last one from SF was on the Sea.

 

SF is a good embarkation place, and as Treven says (hi Treven), sailing under the bridge never gets old.

 

We have sailed in May and Sept. The cruise I was just looking at is in May, although we prefer Sept as it is warmer. The weather is so variable now days, you just don't know what you will get.

 

Pat

[Treven]

Hi Pat.

My next cruise is to Alaska on the Golden, I think you really can't go wrong.