Princess in Alaska

[maggiev]

We’re looking for a Cruise/Tour in August 2024 and are noticing most lines (Princess, Celebrity, Holland) use older ships.  Any thoughts on who / what ship is best in Alaska.  We’d like Northbound with Land tour.  Are open to Royal if that’s best

Is it worth going to Fairbanks? I’d love to go to Alyaska but then no Fairbanks - is taking the the chance of seeing the Northern Lights worth it?

Thanks in advance for input

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Not sure where you got your info...but we just did an Alaska cruise in August on the brand new Discovery Princess.  It was just launched this year.  I would not call that old!

[Mercruiser]

It has too be dark at night to see the Northern Lights. August is marginal. Go as late as you can if this is important to you. See https://www.explorefairbanks.com/explore-the-area/aurora-season/#:~:text=Fairbanks' Aurora Season is from,we have dark enough skies. 

[Mercruiser]

Alyaska is on the way between the cruise ports (Whittier and Seward) and all points north such as Anchorage and Fairbanks. Personally, I'd get a one way car  rental from the cruise port to Fairbanks, and then fly home from Fairbanks. That would make a nice 7-10 day trip. 

 

I'd skip the cruise line tour of Alaska, unless you're really fond of bus tours. Alaska is easy to drive yourself. 

[arctickitty]

It is unlikely to see the northern lights during cruising season.

[caribill]

Several years old, here is the land part of our Alaska cruise tour.

 

 

[nini]

Fairbanks is quite a distance from the cruise itineraries. Summer is typically not when you see the Northern Lights. We were fortunate as we saw them on August 28, 2000 after we left the port of Haines.

In term of a ship's age, it really depends. We were on the Grand in September and really enjoyed the ship and the crew. OTOH, we were on the Emerald in May and it was a different vibe.ship's

We loved the Golden (on it 3 times) but it has been sold. We have never been in the Royal.

[Coral]

I have friends who saw the Northern Lights in September on their cruise. While unlikely, there are reports it has happened.

 

It seems the newer ships are hitting less ports. I would suggest looking at the Sapphire Princess.

 

The newer ships have less outdoor viewing areas compared to older ships. Plus, it is much easier to get off a smaller ship compared to an older ship (less passengers).

[mtnesterz]

11 hours ago, maggiev said:

is taking the the chance of seeing the Northern Lights worth it?

No, not worth taking a chance. You are not far enough north.  Fairbanks 64 degrees, need to be above 65 degrees. Months September to March, you'll be there in summer.

Ship? smaller is better. Exclude every Royal Class ship. Sapphire is in Alaska that would be my choice for it's prommenade deck and Skywalkers.

[Mercruiser]

2 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Ship? smaller is better. Exclude every Royal Class ship. Sapphire is in Alaska that would be my choice for it's prommenade deck and Skywalkers.

Good point. I booked Sapphire Princess, in 2024, specifically to avoid Royal Class. This route map, from Princess' web site, shows that Royal Class ships skip the Inside Passage and cruise the open ocean west of Vancouver Island. This is bad because you are missing some of the great scenery between the B.C. mainland and Vancouver Island. You are also more exposed to waves than on the sheltered waters of the Inside Passage. For me, the B.C. Inside Passage is a highlight of a Vancouver-Alaska cruise.

 

[Sea Hag]

9 hours ago, arctickitty said:

It is unlikely to see the northern lights during cruising season.

I'm sure you're correct about it being likely, but we were lucky enough to have seen them twice during cruising season. Once, was on a ship either in May or September. The other time was in August when we were on a DIY trip and did an excursion up the Dalton Highway. We saw the northern lights in the middle of the night at Coldfoot.

[donaldsc]

We did an AK cruise in August once where we saw aurora sort of - they were so faint that they were hardly worth going out of our cabin to see them.  Just a faint green glow.  I also was in Fairbanks and points north one year for about a week in February or March - can't remember which month.  Really intense aurora every night.  If you really want to see aurora you have to plan a specific trip around them which will be very much worth it.

 

DON

[CruizinSusan70]

15 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Not sure where you got your info...but we just did an Alaska cruise in August on the brand new Discovery Princess.  It was just launched this year.  I would not call that old!

The OP was inquiring about a cruise/land tour combination.  The Discovery does 7 days out of Seattle and is not listed for August of 2024.

[CruizinSusan70]

15 hours ago, maggiev said:

We’re looking for a Cruise/Tour in August 2024 and are noticing most lines (Princess, Celebrity, Holland) use older ships.  Any thoughts on who / what ship is best in Alaska.  We’d like Northbound with Land tour.  Are open to Royal if that’s best

Is it worth going to Fairbanks? I’d love to go to Alyaska but then no Fairbanks - is taking the the chance of seeing the Northern Lights worth it?

Thanks in advance for input

 

Radiance of the Seas, built in 2001 and 90K tons and the Grand Princess, built in 1998 and 107 K tons are two options for cruise/tours I found 

[Coral]

I have done both Princess and Royal Caribbean in Alaska (though RCCL was a long time ago). Princess has far more educational sessions/programming that RCCL. Plus, Princess goes to Glacier Bay (should not be missed on first cruise as Hubbard can be missed).

 

The educational sessions include a naturalist who is onboard all week who has talks on different Alaskan topics, puppies brought on to the ship (they are a huge hit), Libby Riddles speaking (first female to win Iditarod), etc.... They do a great job in Alaska IMO.

 

RCCL had a shopping talk and that was it.

[Rick&Jeannie]

16 hours ago, maggiev said:

We’re looking for a Cruise/Tour in August 2024 and are noticing most lines (Princess, Celebrity, Holland) use older ships.

 

 

46 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

The OP was inquiring about a cruise/land tour combination.  The Discovery does 7 days out of Seattle and is not listed for August of 2024.

I was responding to the OP's statement about "old" ships.

[malba2366]

This is generally true for the north/south Alaska cruises because the smaller ships are usually older and they are better suited for these cruises, also there is less emphasis on the latest in ship entertainment for the Alaska cruises.   Princess does use one of its newer Royal Class ships on these cruises, but it can not do the entire inside passage due to being too large.

[maggiev]

23 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Not sure where you got your info...but we just did an Alaska cruise in August on the brand new Discovery Princess.  It was just launched this year.  I would not call that old!

From what I’ve been seeing, & I could not be looking correctly, Discovery is only doing Round Trip in 2024 nor 1 way North or South bound

 

[CruizinSusan70]

10 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

 

I was responding to the OP's statement about "old" ships.

Yes, but they were looking for a combo cruise/tour for August of 2024 which the Discovery doesn't do.