Need opinions on Grand Princess/ Alaska cruise vs Carnival

[Luckycruising]

I just posted this in the Carnival section, i figured i might as well post it here!

 

Hello,

 

As you can see from my cruising history below, i've cruised mostly on Carnival, tried Royal and Disney once + a Nile River cruise in Egypt. We are a couple in their mid-thirties with a 8 year old daughter. I'm looking for an Alaskan cruise for next summer, and Carnival is not on my list (for 2 reasons, 1) i've read at several places and my TA also told me that Carnival isn't the best when it comes to Alaska, and 2) i want to leave or disembark in Vancouver (which Carnival doesn't offer).

 

So i've looked around, the NCL Sun looked interesting, but they only do 1 way and it's Vancouver to Seward (or vice-versa), and Seward is a 3 hours bus ride to the airport, which i'm not interested in, but then i saw the Grand Princess which looks really interesting (and it goes to Anchorage- the actual city where the airport is). Now, i'm looking for actual opinions of people who have cruised Carnival and could give me a good comparison Carnival/Princess. I don't really care about review of cabins, but mostly food and entertainment, overall overview?

 

Furthermore, for those who have done an Alaskan cruise (on whichever line), what is the best time to go?

 

Thanks a lot

[Kamloops50]

Check your other post.

[AKman2495]

One thing you need to consider is that the Grand will actually dock in a port called Whittier. It is about 60 miles from Anchorage. It can take 1-1-1/2 hours to get to the airport, which is a lot less than Seward.

 

Both drives are on a scenic highway that will prove at least interesting to you. It is not on some superhighway.

 

As far as what is the best time to go to Alaska. Peak tourist season is from the middle of june to the middle of August. Expect the most crowds and and highest prices. Weather can change from hour to hour so, there is no"ideal" season for weather up here. May /June are the peak daylight times. August is the best time for flowers. September is great of you like cooler weather and fall colors.

 

As for wildlife, June-JUly and August are probably best. But with animals you can never be guaranteed on seeing some without going to a wildlife park.

Edited October 13, 2014 by AKman2495