alaska royal carribean ovation or princess grand/emerarld?

[cbowls30]

Looking at both ships for Alaska. Never been to Alaska before or on a Princess cruise. We've done Royal Carribbean in the carribbean and wanted to do a 'quantum' class but not sure if the ship is just too big to do the activities onboard and if to be honest, because of the itinerary/type of cruise this will be not sure we're gonna be onboard enough anyway! It kinda appears from my research that royal don't seem to adapt their onboard schedule for the location, the same as it would be in the carribbean? i.e not 'Alaska' related activities/talks/trivia etc etc

 

Princess - Looked up the onboard activities and obviously doesn't have the rock climbing/bumper cars/north star etc etc ovation does but we're wondering if that matters on such a trip? we like the look of some of the more 'destination' centric activities they appear to do on Princess and they do more trivia and destination specific stuff then royal seem to do, especially with their link-in with the discovery channel?

 

Can anybody advise? has anyone done both? 

[1025cruise]

Don't book Alaska based on the ship. Book based on the itinerary. Princess goes to Glacier Bay, RCI does not. That would be my first NO for RCI. I also have no desire to sail on a ship the size of the Ovation, and IMHO, it has no business cruising in Alaska.

[Heidi13]

Agree with the previous reply, Alaska is all about the scenery, the ship is simply a mode of transport. Although I personally wouldn't use either of those Lines, I have cruised Alaska extensively.

 

The longest serving in Alaska are HAL & Princess and they have the most infrastructure. Have only sailed RCI  once, but did work/sail with Princess for many years. Between the Grand & Emerald, I would opt for Grand, although a little older, it has 1 less deck of cabins for the same hull and public spaces.

 

If you have any choice of itinerary, I would definitely take Vancouver departures over Seattle, as the route is more scenic. From Vancouver, you also have the option of a 1-way up to Prince William Sound, whereas Seattle must be R/T and only see the touristy SE Alaska.

 

Glaciers - All are impressive, but with well over 20 trips into Glacier Bay, the entire day is still my favourite. The scenic cruising, Ranger talks and glaciers provides a great day. Never failed to get into the bay. Hubbard is significantly bigger, but I have missed it a couple of times due to ice in the approaches. Tracy is also spectacular, especially when getting to the end, but it is too often blocked. I have only seen it once.

 

Princess & HAL had the most licences for Glacier Bay, with RCI not having any. However, the latest contracts issued last year included RCI,  so you may see 1 of their ships in Glacier Bay for the next 10 years.

[cbowls30]

thanks for the information, pretty much confirmed what we were thinking!

I reckon we will probably go with Princess.

 

[Langley Cruisers]

Not sure if your plans are set in stone, but having sailed both ships, I thought I'd weigh in. Ovation to Alaska was our most recent (and probably last ever) cruise. Everything about it was fantastic, from the ship itself, food, service, ports, experience, weather, etc. I realize some of those are variable, but we had a blast and did NOT think Ovation was too large for Alaska. On the contrary, we enjoyed having something to do on sea days. The ship is glorious and we would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

 

Emerald Princess - well, we spent nine days aboard her some years ago and can't give the same glowing review. Honestly, we were still trying to find our way around on Day 8 - yes, really. The food in the dining room was excellent (buffet, not so much) as was the service, but we found ourselves bored and a bit frustrated. Yes, I know Alaska is not necessarily about the ship but for us, we enjoyed being able to enjoy the ship on sea days and in the evenings on Ovation. Emerald did not provide us with the same experience, regardless of different itineraries.

 

There is no one ship, line, or itinerary for everyone and I'm so glad we have a choice in this big ol' world. You asked for opinions, and this is mine. 😊

[Coral]

4 hours ago, Langley Cruisers said:

Not sure if your plans are set in stone, but having sailed both ships, I thought I'd weigh in. Ovation to Alaska was our most recent (and probably last ever) cruise. Everything about it was fantastic, from the ship itself, food, service, ports, experience, weather, etc. I realize some of those are variable, but we had a blast and did NOT think Ovation was too large for Alaska. On the contrary, we enjoyed having something to do on sea days. The ship is glorious and we would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

 

Emerald Princess - well, we spent nine days aboard her some years ago and can't give the same glowing review. Honestly, we were still trying to find our way around on Day 8 - yes, really. The food in the dining room was excellent (buffet, not so much) as was the service, but we found ourselves bored and a bit frustrated. Yes, I know Alaska is not necessarily about the ship but for us, we enjoyed being able to enjoy the ship on sea days and in the evenings on Ovation. Emerald did not provide us with the same experience, regardless of different itineraries.

 

There is no one ship, line, or itinerary for everyone and I'm so glad we have a choice in this big ol' world. You asked for opinions, and this is mine. 😊

Ovation has one of the worst itineraries in Alaska.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Ovation has one of the worst itineraries in Alaska.

 

OMG, just checked it out - Skagway, Juneau & Endicott. Might be a nice ship, but that's a terrible itinerary. They will probably stay at sea until Coronation Island, so wouldn't see much of the Inside Passage.

[Coral]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

OMG, just checked it out - Skagway, Juneau & Endicott. Might be a nice ship, but that's a terrible itinerary. They will probably stay at sea until Coronation Island, so wouldn't see much of the Inside Passage.

They won't see much of Alaska either. Though I hear it is a fun ship to be on! 🙂

 

Some people need to decide if they want to see Alaska or see a ship.

[wolfie11]

On 11/15/2020 at 1:00 PM, Heidi13 said:

Princess & HAL had the most licences for Glacier Bay, with RCI not having any. However, the latest contracts issued last year included RCI,  so you may see 1 of their ships in Glacier Bay for the next 10 years.

I heard a rumor they declined their contract and won't be going to Glacier Bay.  I'm excited that Viking, Cunard (Queen Elizabeth), and Seabourn now have permits! I love Cunard!

[coastcat]

1 hour ago, wolfie11 said:

I heard a rumor they declined their contract and won't be going to Glacier Bay.  I'm excited that Viking, Cunard (Queen Elizabeth), and Seabourn now have permits! I love Cunard!

Not a rumor. They did, and are not listed as currently authorized vendors.

 

Glacier Bay NP vendor info

 

I’m looking forward to visiting Alaska this June on Ovation’s sister ship Quantum. It’ll be trip #3 to Alaska so I’m going more for the ship and a new-to-me port (Sitka). For a bucket list trip though, Glacier Bay should be on the itinerary. If you want the big glitzy ship AND the daylong park visit with ranger talks, pick NCL Encore instead of Ovation OTS.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, wolfie11 said:

I heard a rumor they declined their contract and won't be going to Glacier Bay.  I'm excited that Viking, Cunard (Queen Elizabeth), and Seabourn now have permits! I love Cunard!

They were only given a few dates anyway. And then gave them back.

[Ashland]

I prefer the northbound RCI itinerary...but Celebrity has a great 11 nighter in Sept 2022.

[CatsinShow]

I disagree with some of the things here. While Glacier Bay is great, so much of the viewings in Alaska from a ship are dependent on weather and ice in the water. I've had 2 sailings that had the same itinerary including it. The first one had great visibility and we got close to the water...the 2nd time, totally different experience. However it is true that the smaller ships seem to get closer but again that's based on conditions.

 

I had the I same thing happen when I booked a full day trip in seward out on the water (small boat). Most of the day, you couldn't see anything and it was a waste of $$$ imo. Probably would have been better booking day of, but I didn't have the opportunity to as I was short on time.

 

You may luck out though and have everything go your way with what you wanted to see though, but I learned to not expect it. I assumed I would see bald eagles close up in the wild, and that never happened. I assumed I would see a ton of bears in the wild, and I saw 1, 1 time in the distance. 

 

I would honestly just do a pros and cons chart. 

[CatsinShow]

On 11/17/2020 at 7:58 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

OMG, just checked it out - Skagway, Juneau & Endicott. Might be a nice ship, but that's a terrible itinerary. They will probably stay at sea until Coronation Island, so wouldn't see much of the Inside Passage.

Ovation also goes to Victoria, sitka, and Ketchikan depending on the dates....

[Coral]

7 hours ago, CatsinShow said:

Ovation also goes to Victoria, sitka, and Ketchikan depending on the dates....

Very limited ports compared to other lines/ships.

[Heidi13]

20 hours ago, CatsinShow said:

Ovation also goes to Victoria, sitka, and Ketchikan depending on the dates....

 

They may visit other ports during the season, but that only provides some variety for the Bridge Teams. When I checked out the itineraries, none of them were of interest. Way too much time at sea.

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

They may visit other ports during the season, but that only provides some variety for the Bridge Teams. When I checked out the itineraries, none of them were of interest. Way too much time at sea.

Exactly. They visit fewer ports. Often spend a whole day in Victoria - if your goal is Alaska, spending the day in Victoria doesn't give you an Alaskan feel.

[Heidi13]

3 minutes ago, Coral said:

Exactly. They visit fewer ports. Often spend a whole day in Victoria - if your goal is Alaska, spending the day in Victoria doesn't give you an Alaskan feel.

 

Since we went to the Esquimalt Graving Dock on completion of the Alaska season, I can attest that Victoria certainly doesn't give you a feel for Alaska.🙂

 

Great city, but definitely not Alaska.