RCCL or NCL?

[mistybaby]

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated - and specific ship recommendations would be appreciated as well (including reasons why).

 

Some background - we have been on both lines, but never in Alaska. We are platinum members of both lines as well. Travelling will be my husband and myself (30), my son (1 1/2 years) and my mother.

 

Thanks!

[ute_fan]

Never been on RCCL and I'm not familiar with their itineraries. I'd recommend NCL, just because I like them so much :D. We'll be sailing our 5th NCL cruise to Alaska on the Pearl in just a couple of weeks. Seriously, I do feel that the freestyle dining is especially suited for Alaska, and also because you'll be traveling with a toddler. It's so nice not to have to eat at a specified time in Alaska, with the scenery. We sailed in 2004 on the NCL Sun, and there were several nights when we were so engrossed in the scenery that we went down to the dining room half an hour or so later than our normal dining time. That wouldn't have been an option on RCCL.

 

Not having to take formal attire is also an added benefit in Alaska. With the extra bulk of sweatershirts, jackets, long sleeved shirts, etc., I wouldn't have had room in my luggage to pack formal attire too.

 

 

As far as ships, (ranking only NCL ones since I'm not familiar with RCCL) my first choice would be the Pearl. It sails from Seattle and includes Glacier Bay on its itinerary. My 2nd choice would be the Sun, which is sailing from Vancouver. It goes to Sawyer Glacier and seems to include more of the "inside passage" than the ships sailing from Seattle. My 3rd choice would be the Star, which is sailing from Seattle and also calls at Sawyer Glacier.

 

The Sawyer Glaciers are at the top of Tracy Arm fjord, and while the area is beautiful, I hear the glaciers aren't as spectacular as Glacier Bay. The main difficulty for the ships with that itinerary is that the cruise ships are often prohibited from getting to the end of the fjord and seeing the glaciers due to ice.

 

JMO!

[Budget Queen]

Wow 30 years old and at least 19 cruises. :) Since you have a preference for either line- first determine if you want to consider a one way or round trip. With a one way, I do highly recommend you add time for interior Alaska touring. :) NCL only does one way, so you decision would be RCI if you want a one way.

 

NCL does have one ship with a Glacier Bay itinerary, this year the Pearl, this is an excellent scenic sailing day. The other 2 NCL sailing included Tracy Arm, with is excellent with their costly add on jet boat excursion, otherwise you can not count on getting within view of the glaciers.

 

Freestyle works out excellent in Alaska and especially may be a good option with a toddler.

 

I too am a big fan of NCL and will be sailing both the Pearl and Sun this year.

 

With RCI there are more itineraries, one way, round trip Vancouver and Seattle. Look over both cruiselines, consider ports, time in ports, glacier, routing, price. :)

[mistybaby]

Thanks for the responses so far. We have been on the NCL Jewel with our son twice so far and it has been great because of freestyle - in addition to the itineraries - what do people feel are the pluses/minuses to the NCL ships (aside from the Pearl obviously being the newest and with a couple unique features)?

 

Thanks again.

[mbisson]

As usual, I agree with utefan-we love freestyle (especially in Alaska). Sounds (from your last post) like you're focusing on NCL more than RCI (we've done both to Alaska). Since you're familiar w/the Jewel, I think you would be comfortable on either the Star or Pearl. IMO (and many other peoples) the Pearl has the better itinerary of the two (Glacier Bay as opposed to Sawyer, and we like the Juneau port times on the Pearl). We've also sailed the Sun to Alaska (it leaves from Vancouver) and I'm not wild about the itinerary (we like more port days and it goes to Sawyer glacier-which often has to be missed because of too much ice)

 

With the RCI ships, we've sailed the Vision OTS (twice) and like that ship, and we've done a cruise on the Radiance up here as well. The Radiance is my favorite ship I've been on. Without checking, I think it is doing one way sailings out of Vancouver and if you select it, try to follow the advice from BQ and give yourself time to do a land tour.

 

Any Alaska cruise you pick will be an adventure and there really aren't any bad ones. Try to pay attention to the ports visited, glacier visited, and the time in port and price (if that is important to you).