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Alaska - Family Trip - Princes vs HAL vs RCI


andylas
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Hello,
I am planning a first time cruise to Alaska in August 2020. I am planning on a 7 night one way (North or Southbound) from Vancouver to/from Seward/Whittier.  I plan on adding some days on both ends to explore Denali and Vancouver on our own.  This is a family trip and the kids are going to be 6 and 9 at the time.  My question is around which cruise line would be the best choice for us.  We have never taken a cruise and are used to planning our own trips and running the kids ragged ourselves (not sure how much they would like being dumped in a kids club, but I'm sure they would rather be in the pool with other kids rather than retirees.  
For itinerary, we would prefer the cruise through Glacier Bay, so we are leaning toward Princess on Coral Princess as our top choice.  We are comparing that to HAL Westerdam and Royal Caribbean Radiance.  The price difference is about 1000-1200 dollars more for Princess (mini suite) vs HAL (balcony) or RCI (balcony) - is Glacier Bay and College Fjord (Northbound Coral) being on the Princess itinerary worth the extra money?  The RCI itinerary has Hubbard Glacier and adds Icy Point Straight (no Glacier Bay though), and HAL has Glacier Bay but doesn't seem to have College or Hubbard.  We are slightly leaning away from HAL due to age of the clientele, unless someone says otherwise.   But this would be mid August, so still summer with the kids being off.  Which line do people think would be better for our age kids?  Princess seems to have more Alaska based talks and things like that the kids might like, but it also seems to be maybe slightly stuffier than RCI?  We definitely aren't interested in formal dinners or sitting with the same people every night, but understand that they exist.  Also, for Radiance of the Seas, it seems the covered pool is adults only - is that true during an Alaska trip as well, when having a covered pool might be ideal?  

I have read through a lot of the forums and people tend to lean towards Princess for Alaska, but I am wondering if it is worth the extra money (~15% more) as their might be more kids or ship wow factor (water slides) on RCI.

 

And a separate question - this being our first cruise, is it better to use a travel agent or book direct through the cruise line?  I have no problem doing all my own research and will probably book all my excursions on my own as well.  Once I make a decision on Cruise line and date, would a travel agent be getting a better deal that direct?  We are planning a balcony on RCI/HAL or Mini-suite on Princess - it's almost the same price as the standard balcony.

 

Thought of one more question - Princess has the "Best. Sale. Ever." sale that includes WiFi, drinks, and on-board Gratuities for about 250 or so more per person.   Is that worth doing if the kids won't drink anything other than water or chocolate milk?  The wifi seems worth it, as I am not sure we'll survive if the kids don't have it.  What does a weeks worth of wifi cost on a cruise usually?

Thanks in advance for any help.  And if anyone has any other helpful tips or recommendations that is fine too...

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2 hours ago, andylas said:

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

IMHO...hope we can help...random thoughts:

* Glacier Bay is spectacular.  Many years ago, we missed it.  Fortunately, we sailed there our next time.

* Hubbard Glacier is one massive glacier (many glaciers in Glacier Bay) and breathtaking if your Captain decides to be "up close and personal" to the glacier...long story, but this could be dangerous.

* Yes, HAL may perhaps be a bit "too old" for your children.  We are in our 60's and HAL feels old to us...smiling. 😊

* The price difference is personal...only you can answer that question.

* You can request for a "Table for 4" by contacting the cruise line.  They will accommodate you.

* If you book directly with a cruise line, you can usually transfer it to a travel agent to take advantage of additional perks a travel agent may give you. (We realize this is your first cruise...but just as an example, we typically book our cruise while onboard (less deposit and some OBC (onboard credit), then we have 60 days to transfer it to our travel agent (not allowed to mention it on Cruise Critic)....but it's one of the big box travel agent and get more perks from them.

* The sale on Princess...you'll have to do the math and see if this is a good value for your family...Note: You can usually find free wifi when at ports.

 

Not to make it any more difficult for you...but just thinking about your kids...I would also consider the Ovation of the Seas...it has the an indoor Seaplex that has a full size basketball court that turns into other venues including "bumper cars"...oh, and trapeze...enough games for your children that may not even remember being in Alaska.  It also has the IFly, Northstar, Flowrider (may be too cold to use), and rock climbing wall.  It has "Two70", located in the back of the ship, with floor to ceiling windows...breathtaking views!....ok, I'd better stop, you're cruising Alaska for the scenery. Regardless of what you decide, Happy Sailing! 😊

 

 

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I cannot speak to HAL or Princess, but we sailed RCI Radiance in 2018 with our son, who was 8 at the time, and we loved the ship and Alaska.  We also booked the three-day land tour through RCI, which was amazing too.  I have a very long review and pics from our trip - see link in my signature block below.  
 

One comment I would say - Alaska is all about the excursions, and less about the ship.  I would book the best itinerary at the lowest price so you can spend more money on excursions!  But no matter which ship you choose, you will have an amazing trip - Alaska is an incredible place. 

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HAL attracts a lot of families in the summer months, so don't discount it automatically.  Their ships have an enclosed pool with a retractable roof, and all ages may use it.  

 

I wouldn't characterize Princess as stuffy, and most lines now offer anytime dining if you don't want a fixed dining time.  The buffet is also an option for the evening meal if your family doesn't enjoy a multi-course meal in the dining room.  It's not really formal.  

 

Since you're a first timer, a travel agent could be a lot of help and may offer you discounts or onboard credit.  I wouldn't purchase a beverage pkg. for water and chocolate milk.  Wi-Fi onboard ship is expensive and sometimes slow and unreliable.

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PS:  I am not sure if it’s in my review or not, but the main pool on Radiance was heated the entire trip and there were people in the pool.  It was 72 while we were in Anchorage, and temps varied between 70’s and 50’s on the ship.  Also, the Solarium was opened to families a few hours each day - but that pool is kind of tiny.  

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Thanks for the responses.  Ovation of the Seas only went from Seattle, so it didn't really fit the itinerary we were looking for.  Good to know that HAL does attract more families in the summer, I'll look a bit closer at them again.  

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We were in basically the same quandary as you (have 3 kids) and came up with a different option you might consider: Norwegian. We are taking the Jewel on their Northbound route from Vancouver that includes both Glacier Bay and Hubbard, a key selling point for us. They also have no set dining times and multiple restaurants that might appeal to you based on your comments (Princess does have set times). It is also a smaller ship so will be able to get in closer to the glacier (recommend if you do Princess, don't take the Royal, they have been having a lot of problems running this itinerary due to the ship size--you can read the reviews and see). This will be our first time with Norwegian so can't comment directly on the kids program but reviews seems to give them solid marks (will say Princess looks to be slighter better in this area). Another selling point for us is they have 2 bedroom family suites, while more expensive, come with very nice suite amenities and makes life a lot more calm and pleasant in the cabin for a family. 

 

As for the question on travel agent vs direct, both methods have their fans, but we found some incredible promotions that were travel agent specific that saved us a lot of money, so recommend you shop around before pulling the trigger. 

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We'll be going in 2021 (our kiddos will be 8 and 10 at the time, so pretty similar).  Everyone I've ever talked to (or read posts from) waxes poetic about the scenery in Glacier Bay, and how gorgeous it is, and unfortunately that majesty is all melting away, so getting in to see it sooner rather than later is key.

From all of my research, it seems that Princess and HAL are THE Alaska operators, and so I sort of nixed NCL and RCI from the list based on that, and I 100% want to get to Glacier Bay, it's non-negotiable. 

I did look briefly at NCL, because they do have some routes that go to Glacier Bay, but they are all Northbound for some reason, and we wanted to do our land portion before the cruise.  If that's less of an issue for you, then I'd probably give them a harder look.  Like @RussNJodi, we really like the suite cabin configurations on NCL, and their suite perks are very nice.   

 

As far as considering HAL, while we haven't sailed it before, most HAL cruisers are quick to remind you that the age goes down significantly for the Alaska summer sailings, so I don't think that matters terribly much.   And for the kids clubs, having slightly fewer kiddos is a bonus for us as our kids get overwhelmed when the clubs are overrun and crazy, but your mileage may vary based on personality of your little ones.

There were two things that stuck out to me when comparing the Princess and HAL lines.  The first was the menus (I found more on Princess that my picky eater family would likely eat).  The other was that Princess gets into Juneau earlier in the day (though they both spend the same amount of total time in port).  For our east coast family that will likely be getting up earlier, getting up and off the ship before the rest of the crowds arrive is definitely a nice perk.  

Apart from that, I would look simply at cost and cabin configuration/square footage to make sure it suits your family's needs.  If NCL had the itinerary we wanted, we'd likely have gone with them, but as it is Princess is edging out HAL ever so slightly.

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Thank you all for the advice.  I am now between NCL Northbound on Jewel and Princess Southbound on Coral - as both of these cruise to Hubbard and Glacier Bay.  Is there any benefit to Southbound over North?  The price seems to be pretty close for a balcony on each of them, Princess being slightly more expensive.  Any arguments for one over the other?  We still have HAL southbound on Westerdam on our list, only because it is quite a bit cheaper (~20 percent less), and as people have recommended to save the money on the cruise and use it on the excursions.

Are there any other benefits of NCL vs Princess.... is Seward better / easier than Whittier to leave from? The rooms/balcony on NCL seem slightly bigger? Food on one over the other? Kids clubs?

One other note, I emailed a few TA that were cruise certified and it seems to just be the same price as from the cruise line's website.  Am I missing something there?  Everyone seems to recommend using a TA as there will be more perks or cheaper price?

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8 hours ago, andylas said:

.... is Seward better / easier than Whittier to leave from?

 

I prefer Seward, but both are beautiful. The train ride to Whittier is a great way to get there, but there's not much there. We did a morning boat tour of Prince William Sound and College Fjord before our cruise, which was really nice. Seward is a bigger town with more to see and do. It'd be worth your time to spend a day or 2 there after your cruise and explore Kenai Fjords National Park before heading up to Denali. It is an amazingly scenic area. 

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Although we chose to take NCL Northbound, have been told one key advantage to southbound is shorter trip home--we are not looking forward to the long flight day back from Anchorage after the cruise. And if you are doing the land tour, the first couple of days on ship let you rest up from the journey. However, have also been told northbound is nice in that the scenery gets more impressive as you go. Other than that, would probably look at times in port if that makes a difference for you.

 

As far as TA, what we found (at least the one we are using) is that they don't directly discount much but give other discounts--either on board credits or cash back after the cruise is taken. We opted for the later and for our booking amount was about 20% of the cruise price (We did catch a limited time promotion on that one). 

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20 hours ago, andylas said:

 

One other note, I emailed a few TA that were cruise certified and it seems to just be the same price as from the cruise line's website.  Am I missing something there?  Everyone seems to recommend using a TA as there will be more perks or cheaper price?

I often book with Princess and I get a pretty good discount from my TA. With Princess, TAs can not advertise lower rates but can quote them. I can easily expect 10% off plus extra perks if there is group space, etc... There are some good promos right now with Princess that includes all drinks, tips and internet.

 

I like the Coral Princess in Alaska and like their enrichment programs. I have not done NCL so I can't comment on comparing them.

 

Whittier is easier and closer to get to from Anchorage. Seward is farther but it is more scenic to travel (train is wonderful here) and there is more to do in Seward. Though most people don't see either town and just get on the ship.

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I have sailed Princess and Royal Caribbean with my son who started cruising at age 3 and is now 7 soon to be 8. We go on Princess with my parents as they prefer that cruise line. My husband, son and I prefer Royal.

Here is a difference to consider if your kids may want to go to kids club. My son loves kids club and begs to go almost daily. Princess age groups for kids clubs are 3-7, 8-12 while Royal is 3-5, 6-8, 9-11.

We prefer the age ranges for Royal-smaller age span. We are going to Alaska on Princess and my son will be in 8-12 age group. I am worried a little with him being with 12 years old but since I teach 5th grade he is just to interacting for 10 and 11 year olds.

I have more pro's and cons about each line. Let me know if you need more info.

We have sailed twice on both lines and have a Princess cruise to Alaska in June and 2021 on Royal to the Caribbean.

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22 minutes ago, teachingforme said:

Also RCI balcony rooms are larger than princess balcony rooms. Pools are not heated so depending on the weather may depend on how much or little you use them.

Princess does more enrichment programs in Alaska (and they are amazing). And Princess does go to Glacier Bay. RCI does not. Having done both in Alaska, I just can't go back to RCI in Alaska. Princess goes all out, RCI doesn't.

 

Princess and HAL have a huge commitment in Alaska. They own tons of hotels, they own Gray Line Bus, they own White Pass Train, etc... Their commitment to Alaska goes way back and continues as they have a huge presence in Alaska. RCI and Celebrity just don't have that many ships (2 each?) in Alaska. Their itineraries are inferior IMO. Itinerary is everything in Alaska.

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We eliminated Holland and RCI from our list and are between Coral Princess and Norwegian Jewel. Both cruise to Glacier Bay and Hubbard And have basically the same itinerary other than port times. Does anyone have any preference of Jewel over Coral or vice versa for a one way, for a family? Are the pools better on one, or heated? Better kids clubs? Less formality? More kid friendly activities? Better food? Bigger balcony or mini suites?

 

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Two good choices !  Usually the deciding factor is the port times because one of them will be lousy.  But both are good itineraries and good port times.  Looks you can't go wrong

Where are you coming from? Maybe that will help you decide.  Many people don't want to end their vacation with a long flight home from Anchorage so they prefer a SB cruise and fly home from YVR or SEA.  

 

 

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Port times will of course be a factor, but Princess has a few extra Alaskan perks, they do a Puppies in the Piazza event, where they bring Husky Pups on board for everyone to cuddle, Libby Riddles (the first woman to win the Iditarod) comes on board one day, and I believe there may be a few other similar appearances.  

I also know the Coral is touted for having lots of viewing space on deck for all the beautiful Alaska scenery, but I don't know how the Jewel stacks up against that.  I'm also pretty certain that the Jewel does not have an indoor pool (if that's important to you).  The Jewel does however have more specialty restaurants, so if varied dining is important that might factor in.

For kids clubs, they are separated into different age groups.  For NCL it's 3-5, 6-9, 10-12 and 13-17 years.  For Princess it's 3-7, 8-12, 13-17 years.  So if it's important for kids to be together in kids club, that might be something to consider as well.

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I definitely prefer doing a Southbound cruise. You start your vacation with the longer flights. We went in early Aug (2019). My kids are 6 and 8. We did 5 days in Alaska before the cruise (around Seward and Anchorage) before going on the Royal Princess out of Whittier. Our land days were busy (1-2 activities a day) but not insanely busy. We all enjoyed our two scenic cruising days at the start of the cruise. I can't imagine doing land after the cruise.

 

You mentioned Denali- please look at trip reports and look closely at how long it takes to get to Denali from Anchorage (or Fairbanks), then how long it takes to get from Denali to Whittier or Seward (the Princess trains got to the port in Whittier around 7pm). Then the main bus tour is an all day (5 or 7-8 hours) with a few bathroom breaks. Denali was on my bucket list but with our limited time in Alaska we didn't want to spent two days as mainly travel days and another one on a bus. My kids are fairly well behaved but if they got miserable, then we would all be miserable. Instead, in Seward we did Seavey's Ididaride (highlight of our trip), Exit Glacier, a Kenai Fjords 6 hour boat ride with Major Marine, Portage Glacier, Alyeska Tram, gold panning, and more. 

 

My kids absolutely love the Princess kids clubs. They begged to be there every moment it was open. On the Royal Princess it was open from 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10. On formal nights they did a buffet dinner from 7-8pm. Both had organized activities but my 6 year old opted to do more crafts- they were also outside a bunch in the closed off outdoor area. My 8 year old chose to do some crafts but also a lot of skeeball, foosball, minecraft and video games. You can also sign up for kids club on port days. (My youngest had her birthday the day we were in Juneau- all she wanted to do was spend it in kids club she loved it that much). The staff is amazing. On Glacier Bay day they will earn their Junior Ranger badge from the Park Rangers.

 

On Princess, they do anytime dining or two set dining times. Formal dining (vs the buffet) can take about 1 1/2 hours. There are two dining times for set dining time- on our cruise it was 5pm and the other was 7:15pm. You can request a table for 4. 

 

If you go with Princess- I suggest a mini suite or two connecting (on the inside) rooms. The minimum age for the upper bunks is 8 years old. A mini suite (or deluxe balcony on the Royal Princess) would give you a sofa bed for the 6 year old and an upper bunk for your 9 year old.

 

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