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Mountaineer0313
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So, Alaska is our destination of choice. We’ve only sailed Royal Caribbean there. Ive read on different forums that Princess does Alaska very well, so I hopped on Princess website and checked some prices and am pleasantly surprised at the pricing, but I’m confused at why? 10 day, 5 ports, mini suite with some other perks, $6000. That’s less than what I have an aft balcony booked at right now on Celebrity. What gives? Was looking at regular balconies and it’s like $1500 per person, which is insanely cheap. Why is Princess so cheap? What am I missing?

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Princess is possibly our favorite line and often cheaper than others.  It is more of an 'adult' line, although they do kids really well, and doesn't have a lot of the climbing walls, wave runners, zip lines, etc. that many RCI ships have.  For an itinerary like Alaska, most of those amenities aren't particularly needed partly because of weather and mostly because the emphasis is on the ports and the beauty of nature.

 

I don't have an answer why Princess is regularly the best priced cruise for us except that it has fewer of the bells and whistles as stated above.  We have sailed it more than any other, and we have been on quite a few different lines.

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It's been several years since we sailed on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. I hardly ever look at prices for RCI cruises. It's been 20 years since we sailed on RCI. But I still look at Celebrity, and I haven't found anything lately on X that I couldn't get much less expensively on Princess or HAL. 

 

Which 10-day cruise are you considering? A lot of the early season ones are bargains. There can also be last-minute bargains on Alaskan cruises since Princess has so many ships to fill on those itineraries. 

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Just got off the Royal Princess in Alaska.  We also did the land tour since we are East Coast and not sure when or if we will make it out there. 

 

I'm not a big cruiser and I LOVED Princess.  I'm ready to go again.  Alaska is so beautiful - I just sat and looked at the scenery. 

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I absolutely loved the Alaska seven day R.T. Seattle inside passage on Princess we did in mid-May.  We did not do any of the land tours or excursions as that was my first time in Alaska and I wanted to be able to walk around on my own in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.

 

We got in on the September 2018 three for free booking on an aft suite which we adored.  We will have to save up again to go on another, but it was a trip and cruise I will never forget, a 25th wedding anniversary gift to each other.

 

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I have done both RCCL and Princess in Alaska and Princess did a much better job. There are a ton more enrichment programs about Alaska - RCCL had none!

 

Definitely try Princess in Alaska. Their one ways have a great itinerary with 2 glacier days.

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8 hours ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

So, Alaska is our destination of choice. We’ve only sailed Royal Caribbean there. I've read on different forums that Princess does Alaska very well, so I hopped on Princess website and checked some prices and am pleasantly surprised at the pricing, but I’m confused at why? 10 day, 5 ports, mini suite with some other perks, $6000. That’s less than what I have an aft balcony booked at right now on Celebrity. What gives? Was looking at regular balconies and it’s like $1500 per person, which is insanely cheap. Why is Princess so cheap? What am I missing?

Princess does Alaska well. They have nice cruisetours which include a pre or post land tour plus a 7 day voyage.

Assume you are looking at the Star Princess 10 day RT S.F. The Star is an older but nice ship. Nice layout, indoor pool, lots of lounges, lots of viewing areas.

Standard balcony fares range from around $200/pp/day high season plus port fees. Mini suites range from around $235/pp/day and Club Class minis, see web site below, are around $265/pp/day. Early & late season fares are a less expensive. From now until Oct. 31st Princess is running the 3 for free promo which includes cabin upgrades, OBC of $150/pp for a 10 day cruise in a balcony or higher and free hotel gratuities worth from $14.50/pp/day to $16.50/pp/day depending on cabin cat.

Princess stacks OBC. Shareholder, military, travel agent, promo, and others are all added together. No need to select one over the other.

Drink prices on Princess are in the $8 to $10 range + 18% gratuity. Very few alcoholic beverages are priced higher.

You can carry on 1 x 750ml bottles of wine/adult over 21. Additional bottles can be carried on and are subject to a $15 corkage fee. There is no limit and no restrictions on non-alcoholic beverages. Bring on as much or as little as you want. You can not bring on beer or spirits.

With few exceptions, all areas of the ship can be used by all passengers. No special public areas reserved for certain class passengers. Princess does have a section of a DR, Club Class, for those in full or club class mini suites. It's basically the same menu as everyone else with an added entree.

There are lots of no charge dining options. DR's open for breakfast and dinner each day and lunch on sea days. Buffet area open from around 5am until late 11pm, never closes during that time, International Cafe open 24/7, poolside grill and pizza open 11am until late evening every day, 24 hour room service with limited menu. There are also some upcharge specialty dining restaurants and meals, Crown Grill, Sabatini's, Crab Shack, Balcony Dining, Chef's Table.

All shows are walk in, no reservations. Arrive at least 30 minutes early for a selection of seats.

In the evenings there will be live music and dancing in all the lounges. The Cruise Director's staff, probably around 6 or 7 of them, will also run daytime and evening events, game shows, trivia, karaoke, and other activities.

Hope this information is useful.

https://www.princess.com/learn/ships/staterooms/club-class/

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My first cruise with Princess was to Alaska.  They did such an amazing job; we booked another cruise with them to the Caribbean.  The staff onboard their ships are very nice and go out of their way to make sure you have a wonderful time

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8 hours ago, POF1234 said:

Just got off the Royal Princess in Alaska.  We also did the land tour since we are East Coast and not sure when or if we will make it out there. 

 

I'm not a big cruiser and I LOVED Princess.  I'm ready to go again.  Alaska is so beautiful - I just sat and looked at the scenery. 

We are booked on the Royal Princess next May/June for a cruisetour.  Please consider doing a review of your cruisetour would love to hear your experiences.

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3 hours ago, WVHillbilly said:

We are booked on the Royal Princess next May/June for a cruisetour.  Please consider doing a review of your cruisetour would love to hear your experiences.

 

Just posting now in Princess forum.  I grew up in WV and graduated from WVU.  I thought I knew mountains from West Virginia, wait until you see Alaska. 

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On 9/14/2019 at 11:54 AM, POF1234 said:

 

Just posting now in Princess forum.  I grew up in WV and graduated from WVU.  I thought I knew mountains from West Virginia, wait until you see Alaska. 

Born and raised in Morgantown. The first comment I made in Alaska was “how in the hell did WV get the name The Mountain State??” 

I legit had a friend ask if Alaska’s mountain we’re comparable to the mountains down further south in WV and I was like “those are big hills”. 

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11 minutes ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

Born and raised in Morgantown. The first comment I made in Alaska was “how in the hell did WV get the name The Mountain State??” 

I legit had a friend ask if Alaska’s mountain we’re comparable to the mountains down further south in WV and I was like “those are big hills”. 

And I live in the Catskill Mountains, which aren't actually really mountains. And this summer we were in Peru and saw the Andes. And I no longer will ever refer to the Catskills as mountains.

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