Alaska May 2021 - Emerald, Regal, or Sun?

[bmc alabama]

So, considering another Alaska cruise for May 2021 for a round trip and looks like there are 3 choices:

 

1). Sun out of Vancouver.  

 

This has 2 advantages.  First, it looks like it goes up the East side of Vancouver Island, so it would do a “full” inside passage.  Second, it goes to Glacier Bay during the timeframe we are going (for some reason, Emerald is also doing Endicott Arm as is Regal that week).  Third, if we do this one, I may just go for the Mini-Suite as they are so much better on the Sun class.  Also, for nostalgia, our first ever cruise was on Dawn Princess!

 

The hesitancy on this is one, it takes more to get to Vancouver versus Seattle. Two, if we go with a regular room, the rooms are smaller and potentially more dated.  Three, will they “re-North Americanize” the ship for Alaska?  Right now, there’s no free soft serve and no pizza place.  Potential deal breakers for the kids. Also, is the buffet as good as the other ships? 

 

2). Emerald out of Seattle.

 

Emerald is newer and has more food options and the rooms are bigger.  The downside is that we did this exact cruise two summers ago on the Emerald.  Also, it’s easier to get in and out of Seattle (I.e. Southwest Airlines)...

 

3) Regal out of Seattle

 

Regal is the newer ship with the best buffet, plus, it has an Alfredo’s!  However, we sailed her twice in the Caribbean this year, so not sure if I want to sail her 3 times in a row...

 

I am kind of leaning towards the Sun, but the lack of pizza and free on-deck ice cream (two of my favorite things on a cruise!) do make me worry.

 

Which would y’all go for?

[bmc alabama]

OK, I think we've narrowed it down to the 5/25 Sun or the 5/29 Emerald.  Looking for more pros and cons...

[BarbinMich]

Didn't know they were bringing the Sun back from "down under".  I'm assuming it's the same Sun we sailed on in Jan 2005 or is there a newer one?

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I have sailed aboard all three of the ships that you mention: Sun Princess (1997 and 2015), Emerald Princess (2012 and 2018), and Regal Princess (2014). The current Sun Princess entered service in 1995. In 2015, I took a 10-day Australia cruise on the Sun Princess. The ship was fine and offered similar food and service as the newer ships. Of course, the Sun Princess is an older and smaller ship that does not have many of the new features. I personally would choose the Emerald Princess or Regal Princess, but I understand why you would rather sail on a different ship. 

 

Chuck

[bmc alabama]

53 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

Didn't know they were bringing the Sun back from "down under".  I'm assuming it's the same Sun we sailed on in Jan 2005 or is there a newer one?

Yep, it's coming back for Alaska in 2021...