Voyage of the Glaciers - Looking for insights

[Ken the cruiser]

We just discovered the Voyage of the Glaciers itineraries this evening, a 14 day Alaska cruise which looks totally awesome! We noticed in 2023 we can book it on either the Grand, Majestic or Sapphire from May through early September. Has anyone been on one of these cruises and/or aware of any “Live from” threads that covered them, or is this a brand new itinerary? Unfortunately, when we did a search this evening regarding any remaining 2022 itineraries, there were none left, which kind of makes sense since it’s the middle of September.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as we’re looking to book one of them in 2024. 😁

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Not new...we've done the Inside Passage 3 times now of which most if not all is included in this itinerary.  This one, however, goes much further north.  Sorry, I don't have ant insights to share with you.

[Wishing on a star]

Princess does Alaska well!!!

It sounds like you are wanting to do a back to back, both Northbound and Southbound.

If you haven't done Glacier Bay, most will say to make sure you get this.  Which of course, that is what these itineraries do.

 

The ship can make a difference too, according to your preferences.  The Majestic has the enclosed pool and large front viewing area that probably works well for cooler weather cruises.

 

We did Southbound on Coral Princess a few years ago.  

From Whittier we also did the 27 Glacier Tour.  Touring these waters and glaciers on a smaller boat is wonderful.

 

If we ever cruise Alaska again, I want to choose an itinerary that allows for the small boat tour up into Tracy Arm Fjord or Endicott Arm - whichever the cruise ends up visiting.

 

If you want to get out and view the bears during the Sallmon Run, you will want to go mid to late Summer. The Salmon run is relatively short in duration.

 

Those are the first basics that come to mind.

I am sure many will give their recommendations.

The more details you ask, the more info you might get!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s an example of the Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary which does appear to be a B2B where we would actually go to Glacier Bay twice, which would be fine with us.

 

 

 

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=A314A

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re thinking of booking an aft-facing cabin with a fully covered balcony, which would make the Grand and Sapphire more appealing than the Majestic (see below).
 

There doesn’t appear to be a lot of those on the Majestic.

 

 
When compared to the Grand or Sapphire.

 

 

Also, we’ve cruised to Alaska 3 times before, with the last time being in 2017. Once with Celebrity, HAL and Disney, but we’ve also heard Princess definitely offers a wonderful Alaska cruise experience as well.

 

Edited September 18, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[capriccio]

We've done 3 Alaska cruises (2 on the Coral northbound out of Vancouver to Whittier and 1 on the Ruby round trip Seattle).  We've also cruised twice on the Sapphire including a Norwegian fjords cruise.  I recommend the Sapphire Princess with a very nice covered pool area plus the deck above has a ring of lounges overlooking the pool or set up to see the passing scenery through the floor to ceiling glass windows.  There is easy access on each side to the deck outdoors.  The Sapphire (and the Grand) also sails through the inside passage which is more scenic and usually calmer than the route that the Majestic has to take west of Vancouver island.

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Did the Majestic to the round trip Seattle?  

Am I right thinking that Seattle departures sail to the west of, and not thru, the Inside Passage.   It could be the Seattle departure and not the ship or ship size.  That is how I have understood.  

[capriccio]

37 minutes ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Did the Majestic to the round trip Seattle?  

Am I right thinking that Seattle departures sail to the west of, and not thru, the Inside Passage.   It could be the Seattle departure and not the ship or ship size.  That is how I have understood.  

See the map in post #4.  The route with the dotted line out of Vancouver is entitled the Royal Class Route. When the first Royal class ship (IIRC it was the Royal Princess) began sailing the Alaska itineraries there were a number of threads here basically asking what was Princess thinking adding a ship (and ship class) that can't sail the Inside Passage.

 

Grand class ships out of Seattle (like the Ruby Princess we cruised on in July 2018) sail a similar route up the west coast of Vancouver Island after exiting Puget Sound but I think that is necessary because of the shorter distance.

[Yehootu]

17 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We just discovered the Voyage of the Glaciers itineraries this evening, a 14 day Alaska cruise which looks totally awesome! We noticed in 2023 we can book it on either the Grand, Majestic or Sapphire from May through early September. Has anyone been on one of these cruises and/or aware of any “Live from” threads that covered them, or is this a brand new itinerary? Unfortunately, when we did a search this evening regarding any remaining 2022 itineraries, there were none left, which kind of makes sense since it’s the middle of September.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as we’re looking to book one of them in 2024. 😁

 

We had done the 10day from SFO 3 times. This year we did the 14day from Vancouver. We loved our day in Whittier. Seeing Glacier Bay twice was fantastic. We had great weather. Make sure if you do this itinerary you book the small boat tour at Hubbard Glacier. Book it early if you want to go, it shouldn't be missed. We were on the Royal. I wasn't sure how I'd like the MINI balconies but it was fine. Hot tubs and pool was in use almost everyday.

[Dar & Bob]

We did just the northbound cruise this summer on the Grand.  IMO I would avoid the ship.  We were in a Club Class mini suite.  Our balcony was constantly flooded, the room was in rough shape.  We had orginally the prior two years chosen the Sapphire, 2020 cancelled due to Covid, then they changed the ship for 2021 and no comparable cabins on any ships.  Rebooked on the Sapphire for 2022 and they took her again so we moved to the Grand.  After sailing on her we probably should have went with the Majestic.  It doesn't do the inside of Vancouver island but hindsight after sailing we were busy with dinner etc and didn't really see much anyways.  Also, supposedly the smaller ships get closer to the glaciers - again, I don't think it made a difference.  

Given the condition of the ship I don't think we will sail Grand Class again.  

[PacnGoNow]

36 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

We had done the 10day from SFO 3 times. This year we did the 14day from Vancouver. We loved our day in Whittier. Seeing Glacier Bay twice was fantastic. We had great weather. Make sure if you do this itinerary you book the small boat tour at Hubbard Glacier. Book it early if you want to go, it shouldn't be missed. We were on the Royal. I wasn't sure how I'd like the MINI balconies but it was fine. Hot tubs and pool was in use almost everyday.

So, is that why they can’t do the 14 day from SEA?  
Did you fly to/from YVR, or did you go into SEA and just take the transfers roundtrip?

TIA

 

[Ken the cruiser]

35 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

We did just the northbound cruise this summer on the Grand.  IMO I would avoid the ship.  We were in a Club Class mini suite.  Our balcony was constantly flooded, the room was in rough shape.  We had orginally the prior two years chosen the Sapphire, 2020 cancelled due to Covid, then they changed the ship for 2021 and no comparable cabins on any ships.  Rebooked on the Sapphire for 2022 and they took her again so we moved to the Grand.  After sailing on her we probably should have went with the Majestic.  It doesn't do the inside of Vancouver island but hindsight after sailing we were busy with dinner etc and didn't really see much anyways.  Also, supposedly the smaller ships get closer to the glaciers - again, I don't think it made a difference.  

Given the condition of the ship I don't think we will sail Grand Class again.  

Sorry you had those issues. If I might ask, what was causing your balcony to be constantly flooded?

[Barry H]

We did this cruise on the Majestic this August. With Skagway out we were fortunate to visit Sitka and Icy Strait Point. There are two trips into Glacier Bay. This is a backup should one day be bad weather.

 

We went north and then south. Do your Juneau and Ketchikan tours on the northbound trip as you have a longer day in port. The time in Ketchikan on the southbound route can be greatly reduced as the Majestic Princess has to time its return to Vancouver with the tides (It needs low tide to fit under the Lion's Gate Bridge). In Ketchikan the Majestic was in berth 2. It is a 20 minute walk to the downtown area and lumberjack show. There is a free downtown shuttle bus running every 15 minutes right in front of the ship. It goes to both museums in town.

 

We saw Orcas, Humpbacks Bubble feeding, sea otters and enjoyed both legs. There were sightings of goats and bears in Glacier Bay.

 

We liked the Majestic as the Sanctuary has been replaced with the enclosed Hollywood Conservatory and a covered pool.

[westcoaster]

18 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

The ship can make a difference too, according to your preferences.  The Majestic has the enclosed pool and large front viewing area that probably works well for cooler weather cruises.

 

Grand and Sapphire also have covered pools, so that is available on all 3 ships sailing this itinerary.

Of the 3, my preference would be Sapphire.  Along with the covered pool, it has a full promenade deck (which Majestic doesn't) and the Sapphire's promenade deck is wider than on the Grand Princess.

[donaldsc]

My problem with this supposed 14 day cruise is that it is really two 7 day cruises as a B2N w lots of port duplication.  I will admit that that port times are reasonable however.  There are also several good ports that you are missing because of the duplicates.  If you want a 14 day cruise the best bet in my opinion would be to book 2 separate 7 day cruises - a north bound and a south bound cruise.  That way you can pick the 2nd cruise to hit some ports that the first on missed.  We did a great 14 day cruise some years back that got as far as Kodiak but the lines do not seem to be doing this type of cruise any more.

 

DON

[Dar & Bob]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sorry you had those issues. If I might ask, what was causing your balcony to be constantly flooded?

It did rain a bit, we sailed in July (rainy season)  but the balconies do not have an opening under the railing so it wouldn't drain.  Ours was at the end of a block D425 in Club Class.  Our friends next door was wet and they do put down mats like used in bars but it was deeper than that - so not just a little bit wet.  

 

Unfortunately that wasn't the worst of our problems on this cruise.  We had a loud mechanical noise followed by a thunk that went off every 19 to 26 minutes 24/7. We were above the lifeboats and the head of housekeeping speculated that might have made the noise.  It wasn't resolved before we disembarked.  Two days before the end they did offer to relocate us, we chose just to sleep in another cabin since we didn't want to pack and we were next to our friends.  That shouldn't affect a future cruise however.

Edited September 18, 2022 by Dar & Bob
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[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Dar & Bob said:

It did rain a bit, we sailed in July (rainy season)  but the balconies do not have an opening under the railing so it wouldn't drain.  Ours was at the end of a block D425 in Club Class.  Our friends next door was wet and they do put down mats like used in bars but it was deeper than that - so not just a little bit wet.  

 

Unfortunately that wasn't the worst of our problems on this cruise.  We had a loud mechanical noise followed by a thunk that went off every 19 to 26 minutes 24/7. We were above the lifeboats and the head of housekeeping speculated that might have made the noise.  It wasn't resolved before we disembarked.  Two days before the end they did offer to relocate us, we chose just to sleep in another cabin since we didn't want to pack and we were next to our friends.  That shouldn't affect a future cruise however.

That settles it, we're going to start looking for aft-facing Vista Suites with fully covered balcony! 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, westcoaster said:

Grand and Sapphire also have covered pools, so that is available on all 3 ships sailing this itinerary.

Of the 3, my preference would be Sapphire.  Along with the covered pool, it has a full promenade deck (which Majestic doesn't) and the Sapphire's promenade deck is wider than on the Grand Princess.

The Sapphire is also 6 years "newer" than the Grand and has aft-facing Vista Suites with fully covered balconies whereas the Majestic doesn't. You all are definitely helping us fine tune our cabin choices! Thanks for your thoughtful inputs! 😃

[Dar & Bob]

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

The Sapphire is also 6 years "newer" than the Grand and has aft-facing Vista Suites with fully covered balconies whereas the Majestic doesn't. You all are definitely helping us fine tune our cabin choices! Thanks for your thoughtful inputs! 😃

As long as they don't swap the Sapphire out again - as they have for the past two years.  Made us quite upset because when it came down to it she didn't even sail this last summer 😞

 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

As long as they don't swap the Sapphire out again - as they have for the past two years.  Made us quite upset because when it came down to it she didn't even sail this last summer 😞

 

🤞🤞🤞

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

My problem with this supposed 14 day cruise is that it is really two 7 day cruises as a B2N w lots of port duplication.  I will admit that that port times are reasonable however.  There are also several good ports that you are missing because of the duplicates.  If you want a 14 day cruise the best bet in my opinion would be to book 2 separate 7 day cruises - a north bound and a south bound cruise.  That way you can pick the 2nd cruise to hit some ports that the first on missed.  We did a great 14 day cruise some years back that got as far as Kodiak but the lines do not seem to be doing this type of cruise any more.

 

DON

That's OK. For us this "Voyage of the Glaciers" B2B is all about the large variety of glaciers along with the wildlife we'll hopefully see along the way!

[donaldsc]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That's OK. For us this "Voyage of the Glaciers" B2B is all about the large variety of glaciers along with the wildlife we'll hopefully see along the way!

 

Whatever works for you.  However if glaciers are really important there would be better alternatives than seeing Glacier Bay twice.  There are sort of 2 types of glaciers in AK - the ones that you are almost guaranteed to get into and the ones that you might not get into but are really good if you do get in.   

 

Glacier Bay is one of the guaranteed glaciers.  Cruising into Whittier through Prince William Sound or taking a day cruise out of Prince William Sound is also a pretty much guaranteed glacier visit.  Doing a day cruise out of Seward is also pretty much guaranteed and the odds of seeing wildlife are also pretty good.  I will point out with regard to seeing wildlife that to really see wildlife properly you have to spend some of your time on a land tour and not a CruiseTour but a specific land tour.

 

Glaciers that are also really good but can be problematic are the Sawyer Glaciers in Tracy Arm Fjord and 

Hubbard Glacier.  I have been to Glacier Bay and to Hubbard Glacier and both are excellent.  I would also say that if you are lucky enough to hit Hubbard in really good conditions it is a bit more spectacular than Glacier Bay.  

 

There is nothing wrong w doing the essentially the same cruise twice but you are missing some really interesting places if you do it that way.  I really think that you should do a bit more research before you commit to your proposed plan.  To me the only advantage of it is that you do not have to unpack between cruises.

 

DON

[cruisequeen4ever]

You’re making a great choice! This is the classic one way Alaska route that you’d be taking both North and Southbound. We’ve done it many times and love it. The 14 day can be created by you by doing B2Bs anytime and occasionally Princess will directly offer this version. The only thing that I’d recommend over this would be to do just one way and do the land tour with it to see more of Alaska. 

[Ken the cruiser]

29 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Whatever works for you.  However if glaciers are really important there would be better alternatives than seeing Glacier Bay twice.  There are sort of 2 types of glaciers in AK - the ones that you are almost guaranteed to get into and the ones that you might not get into but are really good if you do get in.   

 

Glacier Bay is one of the guaranteed glaciers.  Cruising into Whittier through Prince William Sound or taking a day cruise out of Prince William Sound is also a pretty much guaranteed glacier visit.  Doing a day cruise out of Seward is also pretty much guaranteed and the odds of seeing wildlife are also pretty good.  I will point out with regard to seeing wildlife that to really see wildlife properly you have to spend some of your time on a land tour and not a CruiseTour but a specific land tour.

 

Glaciers that are also really good but can be problematic are the Sawyer Glaciers in Tracy Arm Fjord and 

Hubbard Glacier.  I have been to Glacier Bay and to Hubbard Glacier and both are excellent.  I would also say that if you are lucky enough to hit Hubbard in really good conditions it is a bit more spectacular than Glacier Bay.  

 

There is nothing wrong w doing the essentially the same cruise twice but you are missing some really interesting places if you do it that way.  I really think that you should do a bit more research before you commit to your proposed plan.  To me the only advantage of it is that you do not have to unpack between cruises.

 

DON

Don, I appreciate your thoughts. But for us it’s all about the journey and the sights we see along the way as we are truly cruiseaholics. But being in our 70s now, cruising is more about seeing exotic animals in the wild whenever possible, which except for Alaska seems to be mostly south of the equator, unique scenic locations we can cruise to, and staying in the same cabin the entire time! 😂
 

Since cruising started back up, we’ve been to the Caribbean too many times to count with Celebrity, gone through the Panama Canal with Princess along with a B3B family cruise in the Med from Barcelona to Istanbul and back. Then most recently the Greenland and Iceland B2B with Celebrity I mentioned above covering a total of 135 days so far. In November we’re heading out on a 38 day B2B with NCL which departs from Athens and heads through the Suez Canal, then along the east coast of Africa winding up in Cape Town. 
 

Then in 2023 after a short Disney family cruise on the Wish, we’re off shortly afterwards on a 30 day Celebrity B3B from Sydney to Vancouver. Then we’re off next to Japan for a 17 day Princess family cruise with a couple stops in Korea. Then, it’s on to a 17 day Princess Canada/New England land-sea cruise, as we want to see the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, followed by a 10 day Celebrity Galapagos land-sea cruise to finish up 2023. 
 

In Jan 2024 we’re off on a 30 day Princess Antarctica and South America B2B before going on what we’re hoping to be a 21 day Princess B2B in the summer to include Longyearbyen. But, there was a space for a spring 2024 cruise, and when we read about the Voyage of the Glaciers, that sounded pretty cool, even though we’ve been to Alaska 3 times in the last 9 years, but just not recently. 😁

FWIW I also very much enjoy doing Live From threads while on our cruises, which so far have included 7 since it started back up, and I plan to continue posting to them on our upcoming cruises.

So for us as we are in our 70s now, it’s more about the journey and experiencing as much as we can “in the moment” along the way! 😁

 

 

[Yehootu]

7 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

So, is that why they can’t do the 14 day from SEA?  
Did you fly to/from YVR, or did you go into SEA and just take the transfers roundtrip?

TIA

 

We flew in and out of Vancouver. First time i missed not being in uniform to be able to use crew line. All in all, a great trip. We did splurge for hotels and stayed at Pan Pacific and Fairmont at the airport.