Which Princess ship best for Alaska? One way from Vancouver 2021?

[Jimbo]

Star, Coral, Sapphire or Royal ?

[Coral]

In this order: Coral, Sapphire, Star and then Royal Princess.

[Jimbo]

7 minutes ago, Coral said:

In this order: Coral, Sapphire, Star and then Royal Princess.

Why? Please give good and bad points.

[NSWP]

Coral Princess is very good size, spacious, good condition. They wrecked Island with loss of public rooms, viewing areas etc to put in extra cabins aft. I have been on both doing the Inside Passage and Panama Canal.

 

I have been on Sapphire, Star and Royal as well, but in Asia and Europe.  Love Sapphire and Star, but not keen on Royal and the Royal Class ships, Majestic, Regal, Sky due to no walk around prom deck, small balconies, too many pax, lack of bars.

Edited February 20, 2020 by NSWP

[Jimbo]

What decks Vista Suite's on the aft on Star are the best, any pics anyone? any added perks by booking those category cabins? Will be our first time on Princess.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Jimbo

[LoriPhil]

Re Coral as our first choice:  aft decks are public viewing, great Promenade deck that’s nice and deep with classic loungers, large library with comfy chairs and big windows, covered pool, a horizon Court at the front of the ship, and you don’t feel crowded.  
 

If you can’t sail Coral, then the Star/or Sapphire would be next for us, with Royal as our last choice.  We love a Royal class for Caribbean cruising but she usually sails west ofVancouver Island so you miss some spectacular cruising up the Inside Passage and doesn’t have the outdoor public spaces that we prefer for scenic itineraries like Alaska.

 

have a terrific cruise - Alaska is wonderful!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

59 minutes ago, Coral said:

In this order: Coral, Sapphire, Star and then Royal Princess.

Agreed. The lack of a promenade deck on the Royal is a deal breaker for me. I’d rather not go to Alaska (I’ve sailed and toured 4 times to date) than sail on a ship without a promenade deck.
 

I love the more intimate feel of Coral. However, the Sapphire and Star have the International Cafe and Alfredo’s that I enjoy. 

[Jimbo]

Anything on Coral like the  Vista Suite's on the aft on Star?

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Jimbo

[Coral]

33 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Anything on Coral like the  Vista Suite's on the aft on Star?

 

 

No aft cabins on the Coral Princess. The aft area is open for viewing.

 

There are suites similar to other Princess ship, just not aft. If you want an aft Ssuite, go with Sapphire Princess.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Coral

[Coral]

The Coral is 90,000 tonnage, has great outside viewing areas, not crowded, great entertainment venues, etc.... I like the size and outside viewing areas.

 

I give an edge to the Sapphire Princess though the Sapphire and Star Princess are very similar. Sapphire was built in Japan and IMO, is better built. It has wider promenade deck which is great for viewing. I was on her 2 years ago and she looked great. I have been on the Sapphire more than any other ship.

 

I would never do the Royal Princess in Alaska - not enough outside viewing areas. Too big of ship for Alaska.

[RedE2Go64]

We looked at these for next year also. We liked Coral except that there were a couple things from the itinerary next year that didn't work for us. 

1. When we are traveling, they aren't stopping in Ketchikan. I know a lot of people don't care for that stop, but my husband really wants to do the Misty Fjords float plane there.

2. We just couldn't get excited about Icy Straight Point. I'm sure if I looked into it more, we would have found an excursion there that my husband would like as much as the Float Plane in Ketchikan.

3. The Coral was departing on a Wednesday. This may not be a factor for you, but we needed to be able to utilize both weekends to be able not use up all of our vacation days.

4. We wanted to go Southbound so that we could do our pre-stay in Anchorage and explore. Knew we didn't want to do it at the end of the trip.

 

I've read so many comments and they seemed to mostly point to Coral Princess, so that's what I tried to make work. It just didn't for us, so we are booked on Star Princess. I am very happy with the decision, especially since it seems to be one that most people still give a thumbs up to.

[Jimbo]

I kind of wanted to do the train ride from Anchorage to Seward or Seward to Anchorage, but I guess we really can only do that by going on Royal Caribbean. But my wife really wants to try Princess. Guess there is no way we can do that train ride I wanted.

 

How would I get from Whittier to Seward after cruise?  Just how long would it take.......No problem adding 2 or 3 days post cruise before flying home from Anchorage?

[BarbinMich]

10 hours ago, Coral said:

The Coral is 90,000 tonnage, has great outside viewing areas, not crowded, great entertainment venues, etc.... I like the size and outside viewing areas.

 

I give an edge to the Sapphire Princess though the Sapphire and Star Princess are very similar. Sapphire was built in Japan and IMO, is better built. It has wider promenade deck which is great for viewing. I was on her 2 years ago and she looked great. I have been on the Sapphire more than any other ship.

 

I would never do the Royal Princess in Alaska - not enough outside viewing areas. Too big of ship for Alaska.

I think the deck on the Star is quite wide--enough for deck chairs AND still room for the walkers/joggers.  We've been on her several times (including Alaska out SF in 2014) and only on the Sapphire in 2005 so I don't remember it as well except that it was a fairly new ship.

[Jimbo]

Well scrap the train ride now, my wife says she wants to do a B2B leaving from Vancouver..........So it looks like the Princess Sapphire, has the kind of back to back itinerary we would like.........So now I think it is best to downgrade the cabin a little bit.

 

Looking for a aft cabin, Category B4.............so which B4 on Sapphire has the best cabin/balcony? We hopefully can get same cabin for both cruises.

[hal2008]

How does Grand Princess fit in this mix?

[Jimbo]

11 minutes ago, hal2008 said:

How does Grand Princess fit in this mix?

 

Doesn't.......... Going to Alaska???

[snoozecrooze]

19 minutes ago, hal2008 said:

How does Grand Princess fit in this mix?

Grand Princess won't be visiting Alaska in the time-frame that OP has posted. But to help you out, Grand is most comparable to Star Princess (except for a Skywalkers) and the slightest bit less superior than Sapphire, but really not by much, if at all.

[hal2008]

21 minutes ago, snoozecrooze said:

Grand Princess won't be visiting Alaska in the time-frame that OP has posted. But to help you out, Grand is most comparable to Star Princess (except for a Skywalkers) and the slightest bit less superior than Sapphire, but really not by much, if at all.

 

Thanks. Lot more helpful than Jimbo.

Grand Princess is doing itin that OP mentioned this year. Hence the question.

Thanks for the response.

[Jimbo]

25 minutes ago, hal2008 said:

 

Thanks. Lot more helpful than Jimbo.

Grand Princess is doing itin that OP mentioned this year. Hence the question.

Thanks for the response.

Sorry about that, I'm not up on these Princess itineraries.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Jimbo

[frugaltravel]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Well scrap the train ride now, my wife says she wants to do a B2B leaving from Vancouver..........So it looks like the Princess Sapphire, has the kind of back to back itinerary we would like.........So now I think it is best to downgrade the cabin a little bit.

 

Looking for a aft cabin, Category B4.............so which B4 on Sapphire has the best cabin/balcony? We hopefully can get same cabin for both cruises.

If you do a B2B consider renting a car for the day in Whittier. Avis is the only option.  Explore Turnagain Arm and Girdwood area. It is a national scenic byway and well worth your time. If you don't do that, consider booking a Prince William Sound glacier tour. You get much closer to glaciers on this tour than you get on the large cruise ship.

 

[Jimbo]

5 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

If you do a B2B consider renting a car for the day in Whittier. Avis is the only option.  Explore Turnagain Arm and Girdwood area. It is a national scenic byway and well worth your time. If you don't do that, consider booking a Prince William Sound glacier tour. You get much closer to glaciers on this tour than you get on the large cruise ship.

 

Great suggestion, I like that idea alot. Would take the sting out of not taking the train ride along that area.

[frugaltravel]

6 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Great suggestion, I like that idea alot. Would take the sting out of not taking the train ride along that area.

Even if it is a distant possibility, book the car rental soon. Very limited supply on cruise days and you can always cancel for no charge.

 

[LoriPhil]

B2B Vancouver is our favorite cruise - great choice!  Another option on the turn-around day is the Phillips 26-glacier cruise on a modern catamaran that gets you up close to some beautiful glaciers and cruising through some beautiful passages.  We tried Major Marine the last time as an alternative and enjoyed it as well.

[frugaltravel]

23 minutes ago, LoriPhil said:

B2B Vancouver is our favorite cruise - great choice!  Another option on the turn-around day is the Phillips 26-glacier cruise on a modern catamaran that gets you up close to some beautiful glaciers and cruising through some beautiful passages.  We tried Major Marine the last time as an alternative and enjoyed it as well.

If you read my reply you would have noticed I suggested that as a second choice 😀. Major Marine no longer operates tours from Whittier. 26 Glaciers/Phillips is the big one. Lazy Otter is another option.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by frugaltravel

[LoriPhil]

Wow - sorry to hear they are gone.  We may need to check Lazy Otter next time to compare with the Phillips experience (just because the name is so great).