Help Deciding Alaskan Cruise

[Ajg601]

my husband and I have decided last minute that we would like to do a cruise this year for our 20th anniversary. Princess repeatedly comes up as being one of the best to take for Alaska, so we think we have decided to use Princess.  The itinerary we think we like best is a southbound cruise. Our choices are Royal Princess on Aug 31 or Sapphire Princess on Sept 7 (exact same itinerary).  We feel like Aug 31 would be a better choice for weather and wildlife, but have heard Sapphire is a better ship experience.  While Alaska is obviously important to us, the ship experience (food, service and entertainment) is also very important.  What is our better choice in your opinion?

Or, would you recommend switching to a different, round trip, itinerary?

 

(Side notes:  1. We would do a couple days land on our own before the cruise.  2. We can not leave any sooner than August 28 due to work commitments and our child’s college move in date)

[lahlah57]

4 minutes ago, Ajg601 said:

my husband and I have decided last minute that we would like to do a cruise this year for our 20th anniversary. Princess repeatedly comes up as being one of the best to take for Alaska, so we think we have decided to use Princess.  The itinerary we think we like best is a southbound cruise. Our choices are Royal Princess on Aug 31 or Sapphire Princess on Sept 7 (exact same itinerary).  We feel like Aug 31 would be a better choice for weather and wildlife, but have heard Sapphire is a better ship experience.  While Alaska is obviously important to us, the ship experience (food, service and entertainment) is also very important.  What is our better choice in your opinion?

Or, would you recommend switching to a different, round trip, itinerary?

 

(Side notes:  1. We would do a couple days land on our own before the cruise.  2. We can not leave any sooner than August 28 due to work commitments and our child’s college move in date)

I would say do not feel bad about not leaving sooner than august 28th because the later in august and september you can avoid being overun with the little darling that are out for summer vacation.

Everyone makes their Alaska trip for different needs. We wanted as little flight drama that I could muster because of work contraints. Living in california I wanted nonstop round trip to and from seattle. Less chance of goof ups for a nonstop 2 1/2 hour flight 🤞. The stops are basic cities in alaska and for seven days...3 sea days are perfect (we love sea days).

Just keep in your mind your needs specifically according to itinerary.

[tmt218]

For glacier viewing I prefer Sapphire for the promenade deck. Also a smaller ship with less people. 
 

entertainment and Alaskan extras they are known for will be about the same. 

I would also pick the ship that has you in port the longest. 

 

 

[karatemom2]

Honestly, both ships are great and we have cruised on both. However, I would give the edge to Sapphire for a few reasons. 
 

First, if you are getting a balcony cabin (which is a good idea for AK if you can), the balconies on Sapphire are slightly larger and more comfortable. The Royal class standard balconies are notoriously skimpy. You will want to spend a lot of time enjoying the scenery so it’s nice to have more space. 
 

Along those same lines, Sapphire offers more comfortable outdoor viewing space onboard - particularly the promenade deck. 
 

And, one big factor for me would be that on Sapphire you have a strong chance of actually cruising the inside route to and from Vancouver. I don’t know if it will - but I know it can as we took the inside route in her sister ship, Diamond, on a B2B cruise out of Vancouver many years ago. The scenic viewing and wildlife viewing opportunities on the true inside route are excellent. 
 

The Royal, due to its size, will always go the outside route in open ocean. It’s definitely not as scenic. 
 

We did a round trip cruise from Vancouver on the Royal in 2022 and it was wonderful - but there were aspects of a smaller ship cruise in Alaska I missed. 
 

Given our experience on many Alaska cruises, I don’t think a one week departure difference will be a significant factor so I would probably choose the Sapphire over the Royal. 
 

Either way though, you will no doubt have a great experience and will love Alaska!!

Edited March 3 by karatemom2

[Cruise Raider]

This is no secret to my cruise friends that I would always take a Royal class ship over one of the older ships in the fleet.  And if it were my first time up there, I’d definitely recommend an easy itinerary, such as Seattle roundtrip or even Vancouver roundtrip and one that includes Glacier Bay, if at all possible.  But I say that because I really don’t care to fly anymore so, we just go right out of San Francisco instead.  Those itineraries are 11 nights, though and not sure how much time you can take.  
 

My other advice is to take in all the Alaska events they have on the ship, talk to the ranger or naturalist onboard and go to their lectures, attend the totem pole carving demonstration and puppies in the piazza if they have them on your ship.  
Book a balcony if at all possible within your travel budget and layer your clothing, it may be warm, it may be cold, it may be raining.  All are possible! 
Bon voyage!  
 

[HikaruTsuki]

If these were my options, I'd go with Sapphire. She's a great ship with a lot of great viewing areas for scenic cruising. The later date also means kids are back in school, so the ship will be less crowded. 

[ukestrummer]

Been 22 times Alaska, not carnival or Norwegian 

best trip is RT Vancouver port, time in port important, arrive and depart. You should do 28 glacier out of Whittier, Juneau has 8 hour excursion if in port by 8am and don’t leave till after 5pm. Balcony is great but you will be missing what is going on other side all day long, cure is to plant on area of viewing inside ship that lets you see both sides, then go out for photos etc, warmth is also great. Skagway is nice if there early and leave late, train-so so, good experience but more of outdoor is private excursion up the canyon and beyond ,maybe even to Carcross and beyond,too much to tell you, have to have a couple hours over lunch to give you the plus and minus of trip. Leaving Seattle is too long out to sea, no inside much there

[Coral]

Definitely one way. If you do RT SFO, you only add additional sea days.

 

I would say Sapphire because of better viewing areas on the ship and going inside passage (Royal can not). I think one way trips are best for port times. RT Seattle have the worst port times and only include 1 glacier.

 

The vast majority of travelers only go to Alaska once. Seasoned cruisers go multiple times.

 

In the scope of weather - historically May has the best weather (driest) and Sept and October have the worst weather (storms, rain). I personally prefer to go earlier in the season. I definitely would not go past mid-September unless you have been several other times.

[Wishing on a star]

I notice that Royal Princess goes to Icy strait Point

while the Sapphire goes to Skagway

I can't offer any comparisons...  but you might want to look at these ports, and the excursions, to see if one appeals more than the other.

Other than that, the itineraries and times in port are similar.

Sapphire has SkyWalkers.

The Promenade is great...  but we felt that we wanted the better views from higher up when it came to serious viewing like the Glaciers.

 

If you are sailing Southbound, I think you could  be coming thru the Inside Passage that has been mentioned early, possibly pre-dawn, as the ship is heading to dock at Vancouver by 7:30 a.m.

 

The ships have a bit of a different look/feel.

Check out this recent ship tour video, below.

 

If you are sailing Southbound from Whittier, you might check to see if the 27 Glacier tour, or similar tour, is operating into September.  That could be a good opportunity as well.

 

We sailed Southbound in May... We had the Coastal Maritime rain, off and on, the whole way.  Only saw real sunshine when we drove inland over the Mountains to Emerald Lake!

 

Happy Planning!

 

 

Edited March 3 by Wishing on a star

[XBGuy]

@Ajg601, welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Let me start by saying that you are going to have a great cruise.

 

We have taken six Alaska cruises on five different ships.  Every cruise was wonderful, and we never thought that one ship was better than any other.  There are ship differences, but we think that is a good thing.  One of our AK cruises was on the Royal Princess.  It was wonderful.  While we have sailed on the Sapphire Princess, it was not to Alaska.  On two occasions we have sailed on the Grand Princess, which is pretty similar to the Sapphire Princess, to Alaska.  Both those cruises were wonderful.

 

Personally, I don't see much difference between the Aug. 31 and the Sep. 7 departure dates.  At this point nobody can predict that the weather in the first or second week of September.  Then again, what kind of weather are you looking for?  When was go on a cruise, Mrs. XBGuy is always hoping for storms.  😗

 

Oh, and I guarantee that you will see wildlife.

 

Bon voyage.  I am envious.

[Potstech]

Also if planning a land segment do it before your cruise.  This gives you time to recover from the land portion which can get very tiring.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Would do the later cruise southbound.  I do as one that worked fishing boats in Alaska get a cruise that begins in Seward.  The reason is from Exit Glacier hike to the all day boat tour to the museums Seward is great and a 5 minute Uber ride to the pier you will need 2 nights there.  Whitter offers a few shops and little else.  It was built to house military on rock they blasted to build the very long tunnel to give road access to town.

My itinerary is fly to Anchorage and spend a day and night in town.  Rent a car and see Denali.  Probably overnight in Healy or Talkeetna.  Anchorage also has the state museum and great restaurants.

If you can arrange to drop the car in Seward, great but except for Exit Glacier all else is walkable.  Lots of stops along the highway from Anchorage to Seward including Forest Service visitor center and Animal Sanctuary. 

Just understand that after September 1st hotels begin to close - we use Airbnbs and you can get leaves changing.

As for the rest.  The towns are interesting.  Icy Point was created as a port stop.  Sitka if you can stop there my favorite. 

[nasa1974]

@Ajg601  I haven't sailed on the Sapphire, but I have sailed on the Royal a couple of times. Other posters have given good information. From what I've seen on other threads you have a better chance doing the inside passage on the Sapphire. The Sapphire does have a covered pool which you can step in and out of the area, if necessary, on the Sun Deck, deck 15. The park ranger would be in this area on the Lido Deck, Deck 14. Each ship has its own ambiance so really it would be the best date and what you are hoping to experience on your cruise. Once you decide which cruise you want to take make sure you join the Roll Call for that cruise.

Welcome to cruise critic and enjoy your cruise.

 

For ports of call you might try this forum. Although most everybody talks about Vancouver or Victoria.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/23-canada-alaskapacific-coastal/

 

 

Edited March 4 by nasa1974