Alaska 2026: Two Questions (Verandah Booking & Princess Comparison)

[carolina_yankee]

I’m planning a 2026 Alaska cruise, Southbound from Whittier or Seward following a 7-9 night land DIY itinerary. Looking at late June or very early July, depending on line and ship.  Two questions:

 

Since HAL appears to be holding Verandah and above for general bookings on the one-way itineraries until a later date, any idea on when that might be?  

 

Since we would spend a couple of days in Seward if cruising another line (Celebrity Summit), Glacier Bay is not a deal breaker, but I freely admit I would enjoy it, like the idea of two full days on the ship after a busy land trip before the Inside Passage ports, and appreciate the expertise HAL or Princess would bring to an Alaska cruise.  I also think I would get a better price with HIA on HAL and maybe even Princess Plus or Premium (though I’m the only one who drinks and even then not much, the HIA inclusions tend to be a no-brainer given what is included and that we would buy internet, non-alcoholic, pay gratuities, and do specialty dining anyway).

 

If we did not embark from Seward, we would drop Seward off the itinerary and add a night to Denali (for total of 3), and 2 nights in Talkeetna, then spend a couple of nights in Anchorage, rent a car or take shuttle tour to Portage and the Wildlife Sanctuary before taking the train to Whittier. Our land portion will be mostly train. (I love trains as much as cruising.)

 

All of that is to say, if I did opt for HAL or Princess, I would likely prefer Nieuw Amsterdam or Coral Princess.  Maybe Discovery Princess but not certain.  I like laid-back classic with good tech and food. I don’t like that most Princess verandahs don’t have a sofa without paying for a Mini-Suite, but if HAL and Princess prices are close, any pros/cons of Nieuw Amsterdam vs. Coral or Discovery Princess?   (Probably would not opt for Island Princess because of Promenade deck being chopped, but  not a total deal breaker.)

 

All of this would be easier if HAL and Celebrity would just release prices and cabin availalbity so I could compare the three lines, embarkation dates, and make a decision!

 

Thanks for sharing your pro tips, perspective!

 

 

 

 

Edited September 22 by carolina_yankee

[Emme1233]

I would pass on Discovery Princess. Once and only once were we on Princess..it was that ship..too big..too many people. 

[Hlitner]

Since price seems to matter to the OP, that is certainly a factor.  We have 36 cruises with Princess (some of them quite long) and over 600 days with HAL, so have a good feel for both lines.  A big negative, for most of the Princess ships, is their lack of good indoor viewing places.  On most Princess ships, if you want to watch the view, you are going to need to spend much of your time out on the deck.  With HAL, you have the Crows Nest (which can become overly crowded on AK cruises).  

 

My first choice, for AK, would be Seabourn :).  They also have a decent lounge with bow view (Observation Bar) and their small size is really nice in those AK ports.

[carolina_yankee]

Oh, I would love to do Seabourn! Price is a factor in the sense that I don’t think we could put out for Viking level or higher, otherwise I’m more concerned for value for money. e.g., I’m annoyed at having to pay mini-suite prices on Princess to get what is essentially a Verandah on HAL or Celebrity.

 

The Crows Nest on HAL looks very appealing, and I like that we have a chance for sunset verandah cabins.

 

Emme1233, thanks for saying that about Discovery. I was concerned about passenger load - I much prefer the 2000 passenger range (and would go with smaller ship cruising if we could afford it).  Even on Disney, which we have cruised the most, I prefer Magic and Wonder (their first) to the larger successors.

 

I think I’m talking myself back into HAL from Celebrity, and realizing that if I just want to see Seward, no reason I can’t come back and do that once we’ve knocked off a couple of other items on the bucket list.

[sunviking90]

We cruise on Princess, Celebrity and HAL mainly, but I’d avoid Discovery Princess in Alaska for these reasons: balconies are tiny, unless you’re aft or on the bump out. Large, noisy with not enough inside public sitting areas or outside viewing areas for Alaska. Discovery Princess is too large to go through the lower (BC) inside passage and will go outside on the west side of Vancouver Island. This is a huge consideration and they aren’t very clear about this on their website. This gives you a day of open seas rather than a day of beautiful scenic cruising and wildlife viewing, which is one of the advantages of the southbound itinerary. She also has no walk around promenade deck, unlike the older Princess ships. She DOES have sofas in the deluxe verandahs.

Coral Princess and Nieuw Amsterdam are similar in size and I think you’d be happy in either one. We’ve found the food on Princess to be very good. We also spent 2 weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam recently and after lacklustre food on our other recent HAL cruises, we were very pleased with NA. We loved the ship. 

I have no idea when they will release availability/pricing for the verandahs but it seems they seem to hold them for the cruise tours until at least  6-8 months before sailing.

Have you spoken to a travel agent or HAL cruise planner? They may be able to help with the verandah pricing/availability.

 

 

[carolina_yankee]

13 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

 

I have no idea when they will release availability/pricing for the verandahs but it seems they seem to hold them for the cruise tours until at least  6-8 months before sailing.

Have you spoken to a travel agent or HAL cruise planner? They may be able to help with the verandah pricing/availability.

 

 

 

thanks for the feedback on Discovery Princess, definitely not what I’m looking for; and good to know about Nieuw Amsterdam and Coral Princess. When I started thinking about this in July, HAL had pricing out for cruise-only north/southbound for 2025. We just weren’t interested because we have two weeks in France coming up next year in late April. I just assumed that when they opened bookings, it would be for all categories!  I do have a TA I work with. She’s not large, but she is fantastic in helping us. I’ll see what she is able to find out.

 

If we go the Glacier Bay route, I think I would prefer HAL, but I also want to know for sure what we are able to book. I suppose we could even book Coral Princess and just cancel and book if HAL opens with cabins and fares that we want.  

 

If we prioritize Seward and Kenai Fjords/Exit Glacier over Glacier Bay, then it will be Celebrity Summit. I also note that if we did want to come back to Alaska, we could always do HAL round trip for Vancouver and get Glacier Bay that way.

[sunviking90]

21 minutes ago, carolina_yankee said:

 

thanks for the feedback on Discovery Princess, definitely not what I’m looking for; and good to know about Nieuw Amsterdam and Coral Princess. When I started thinking about this in July, HAL had pricing out for cruise-only north/southbound for 2025. We just weren’t interested because we have two weeks in France coming up next year in late April. I just assumed that when they opened bookings, it would be for all categories!  I do have a TA I work with. She’s not large, but she is fantastic in helping us. I’ll see what she is able to find out.

 

If we go the Glacier Bay route, I think I would prefer HAL, but I also want to know for sure what we are able to book. I suppose we could even book Coral Princess and just cancel and book if HAL opens with cabins and fares that we want.  

 

If we prioritize Seward and Kenai Fjords/Exit Glacier over Glacier Bay, then it will be Celebrity Summit. I also note that if we did want to come back to Alaska, we could always do HAL round trip for Vancouver and get Glacier Bay that way.

FWIW, we’ve been to Glacier Bay on Princess and HAL multiple times and I don’t think either has the edge. You’ll have park rangers boarding for both and they give the commentary. The quality of the commentary can depend on which ranger you get to be honest. We found the onboard enrichment to be pretty equal on both. HAL does have the Crows Nest for viewing but last time I went there on Glacier Bay day, it was SO crowded I made a beeline out of there pretty quick. There are many other spots for viewing.

[ghstudio]

Be careful with princess. Several of their ships, including the coral princess I think, have no indoor seating where you can sit and enjoy the panoramic view over the bow.  They are terribly designed for scenic cruising.  Additionally, in our opinion based on 2 princess cruises last year, is that the food on HAL and Celebrity is FAR better than princesses current offerings, 

[Emme1233]

We thought the food on Princess was awful…