5 day to Alaska - what to expect?

[djefferis]

Looking at a 5 day to Alaska in September 2019...looks like Princess only offers this a couple of times a year...curious as to what to expect, both weather wise and passenger mix.

 

Only other cruise offering for the 5 day is offered is in May, and have heard your taking chances with a rainy cruise in May. Any warmer (comparatively) in September?

 

Also curious on what the passenger mix might look like on this shorter cruise. I understand what Princess draws overall - and this being a cruise sailing North it’s likely to reflect more of the same....but hopefully a little better mix than our last sailing on the Regal (Canada/New England).

 

We have done Princess 3 times now - California coastal and the most recent Can/NE...first 2 were ok..but the most recent really had us questioning coming back to Princess. Significantly older passenger base and felt like the ship collectively went to their cabins at 8:30 nightly...entertainment was a yawn and the food in MDR was just not good (service wasn’t much better). Now we plan on doing the paid meals and skipping MDR in the evenings - and we don’t hold high expectations for the shows - but hoping for a little more lively nighttime’s in the lounges. 

 

Hopefully the smaller ship and short cruise will be more to what we have came to expect and enjoy about cruising. We looked at X - but nothing less than 7 days and the price is more than Princess. 

[peety3]

We've done two NB, three Seattle RT (2 Tracy Arm, 1 Glacier Bay), one 4-day Alaska Sampler, three 1-day repositionings (Vancouver<->Seattle), and one Mexican Riviera. IMHO, the shorter the cruise, the worse the crowd. One-nighters are heavy with weddings and a ton of people who overrun the staff. The 4-day was perhaps 40% of the type who love to stop in the middle of every hallway (without any regard for the people about to run into them, or the long flow of traffic they're blocking), muck up the meal service/lines, etc. If you're iffy on Princess already, I'd be hesitant to do a 5-day. Paid meals might make dinner better, but breakfast and lunch could still be iffy.

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, djefferis said:

Looking at a 5 day to Alaska in September 2019...looks like Princess only offers this a couple of times a year...curious as to what to expect, both weather wise and passenger mix.

 

Only other cruise offering for the 5 day is offered is in May, and have heard your taking chances with a rainy cruise in May. Any warmer (comparatively) in September?

Just did a 12 day Alaska in September. Unless global warming melts Alaska, you can expect to be COLD. It was so cold DH would go out to the Promenade to look at Glacier Bay. He watched through a window.

Take the May cruise. Rain isn't 100%, cold is.

[Cruise Raider]

3 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Just did a 12 day Alaska in September. Unless global warming melts Alaska, you can expect to be COLD. It was so cold DH would go out to the Promenade to look at Glacier Bay. He watched through a window.

Take the May cruise. Rain isn't 100%, cold is.

 

We just did a 10 night Alaska in Sept as well ... temps were in the seventies for a couple of the days.  It was shorts and t-shirt weather for us.  Thankfully, I had sandals with me and only put on shoes in one port where it rained in the morning hours.  We went early Sept ... you must have just missed the beautiful weather.  Too bad! 

 

We've also gone twice in May ... one time, we had beautiful sunny weather and the other, it was rainy a for a few of the days but not freezing cold.  It is the luck of the draw ... just like the cruise I mentioned a couple of months ago in Sept.  

 

With that being said, I still prefer September for Alaska but early in the month ... the earlier the better.  We've gone several times and usually have had  very good luck with the weather except for the one time we went in late Sept.  The cruise was still a LOT of fun ... but wow ... never have I experienced the cold, wind, sleet in Alaska as on that sailing.  

 

We've also been on shorter sailings and again, what you get is the luck of the draw.  There may be a lot of kids, there may be none.  Longer sailings tend to attract a lot of the over 60 crowds whereas families tend to book the shorter cruises.  But, also with Sept, kids are just back in school so you may not see that many families on a Sept sailing.  I would suggest maybe looking at any associated roll call for the sailings you are interested in just to see who is posting ... it may not be a representative example but could give you some idea of who is booking.  

[mikjr]

We taken two Alaska Cruises, both out of San Francisco..  Both left in LATE MAY, arriving in Alaska the first week of June.  On one of the cruises, it was 75 degrees in Juneau and I was in a T-SHIRT!!   I don't believe we saw much, if any rain.  BUT, it is Alaska, and it is COLD, especially while cruising the Glaciers.  SO, dress in layers.

We always book earlier because we save $1000 per room buy booking the late MAY vs September dates.  AND I understand August / September are the most crowded times of the season.

We just booked a 14 day round trip from LA... which leaves May 30!

[fishin' musician]

The short Alaska cruises are typically either the first or last of the season.  Either departing Seattle and ending in Vancouver or vice versa.  Weather wise these would have the worst odds, but they are likely bargain priced so you roll the dice.  Likely clientele would be of the bargain hunter variety.  An advantage in May would be much longer daylight hours.  Also, in SE Alaska May is typically dryer than September.

[karioncruising]

On 11/25/2018 at 10:39 AM, djefferis said:

Looking at a 5 day to Alaska in September 2019...looks like Princess only offers this a couple of times a year...curious as to what to expect, both weather wise and passenger mix.

 

Only other cruise offering for the 5 day is offered is in May, and have heard your taking chances with a rainy cruise in May. Any warmer (comparatively) in September?

 

Also curious on what the passenger mix might look like on this shorter cruise. I understand what Princess draws overall - and this being a cruise sailing North it’s likely to reflect more of the same....but hopefully a little better mix than our last sailing on the Regal (Canada/New England).

 

We have done Princess 3 times now - California coastal and the most recent Can/NE...first 2 were ok..but the most recent really had us questioning coming back to Princess. Significantly older passenger base and felt like the ship collectively went to their cabins at 8:30 nightly...entertainment was a yawn and the food in MDR was just not good (service wasn’t much better). Now we plan on doing the paid meals and skipping MDR in the evenings - and we don’t hold high expectations for the shows - but hoping for a little more lively nighttime’s in the lounges. 

 

Hopefully the smaller ship and short cruise will be more to what we have came to expect and enjoy about cruising. We looked at X - but nothing less than 7 days and the price is more than Princess. 

Sounds like the passenger mix is important to you. Alaska and the Canada/NE will generally draw a more older crowd. Don't expect a lively crowd out on the deck like on a Carnival Caribbean cruise. 

[PAKathy]

We've been on two group cruise tours starting in Fairbanks, one in late August and one in early September.  The weather was cool and clear both trips, except for the rain in Ketchikan.  Temps required dressing in layers all the time, sometimes a fleece jacket and sometimes a heavier jacket.  One of my best buys was the "Alaska" jacket sold at the Fairbanks Princess Lodge, I still wear it all the time.  My husband bought his in Ketchikan and loves it. My advice is to be prepared by having clothes to layer.

Some of the best extras were the "end of season" sales in all the ports.  Discounts on everything!

The fellow cruisers were of mixed ages, some very young children with their parents, a honeymoon couple, young couples,  middle agers and of course older folks.  We had a great time on both trips.

In June we are taking our family on a one week northbound cruise, they can't take off more time from work for a cruise tour.  We are arranging excursions and planning lots of fun things to do.

Enjoy your trip!  Alaska is awesome!

[ar1950]

We did a 7 day round trip from Seattle the second week of September nine years ago.  The weather was overall cold and rainy.  Sounds like you are looking at a repositioning cruise.  Shorter Princess cruises tend to draw a somewhat better passenger age demographic mix.  But, maybe not on one that is so late in the Alaska season and school has already started for most families.

 

If the itinerary works for you I would go anyway because it is Alaska.