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Which line for my roundtrip cruise??


CBowling

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I am just beginning research for our 1st cruise to Alaska. I need a roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver. Trying to decide between Infinity, Norwegian Pearl, or Holland Amsterdam. I have cruised Celebrity's Mercury and wasn't that thrilled. We also have cruised RC, and Princess a couple of times each, and enjoyed both. We like the newer ships with the larger cabins. We also like the anytime dining, but also enjoy formal night. Any suggestions? I am at a loss and need insight.

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I am just beginning research for our 1st cruise to Alaska. I need a roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver. Trying to decide between Infinity, Norwegian Pearl, or Holland Amsterdam. I have cruised Celebrity's Mercury and wasn't that thrilled. We also have cruised RC, and Princess a couple of times each, and enjoyed both. We like the newer ships with the larger cabins. We also like the anytime dining, but also enjoy formal night. Any suggestions? I am at a loss and need insight.

 

This board is probably the best place in the world to start planning you vacation.

 

I have sailed to Alaska on Princess, HAL and Celebrity and would give Princess a slight edge over HAL from my experience. The Celebrity Infinity suffers from long standing mechanical propulsion problems and my advice would be to avoid the Infinity. The Infinity is the worst offender, of several Celebrity ships, having had eight different times that it was pulled from service to make repairs over the past six years. This problem has resulted in over twenty weeks of cruising at reduced speeds in 2007 alone, with missed ports, changed itineraries and late arrivals.

 

I have not sailed the Pearl yet, but have read many very good reviews on these boards.

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Boy, you sound exactly like what my wife and I wanted in a cruise this coming summer. I wanted to check out the Pearl but crossed her out because neither legs were not through the inside passage (the part between BC and the island). We enjoyed our first cruise on HAL’s Volendam (sister ship to the Amsterdam) but found on that style of ship balcony cabins are very expensive. Also I think that doesn’t go through the inside passage. Thus, we decide to go with Infinity. At lease the northbound leg goes through the inside passage. I learned that Celebrity also has a casual anytime dinning option, which my wife and I will use on formal nights, unless she wants to play dress up but we are both kind of beyond that experience now.

So good luck with your investigation on which cruise to take and enjoy Alaska next year!

John

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Most ships that leave from Seattle will sail on the west side of Vancouver Island - in open ocean. They are still considered "Inside Passage" cruises, because that's what all roundtrips are called - to differentiate them from one-way "Gulf of Alaska" cruises. The port towns are also in the Inside Passage.

 

If you want to sail on the east side of Vancouver Island, then you need a roundtrip cruise departing from Vancouver instead of Seattle. HAL's Ryndam and Statendam go to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay out of Vancouver - but those aren't HAL's newer ships. HAL is experimenting with anytime dining. RCI's Serenade of the Seas goes to Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, and Juneau. NCL Sun goes to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and a glacier (Tracy Arm?). If you have 2 weeks for a trip - the Tahitian Princess has a great 14-day roundtrip itinerary out of Vancouver.

 

If you are cruising early or late in the season, some ships that normally do one-way cruises - begin and end with roundtrip cruises. Look at a site like Expedia to see what is available for the time you want to travel.

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If you want to sail on the east side of Vancouver Island, then you need a roundtrip cruise departing from Vancouver instead of Seattle..

 

That's not true. Check out Infinity's route next year. If I'm wrong please let me know so I can cancel my cruise.

John

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That's not true. Check out Infinity's route next year. If I'm wrong please let me know so I can cancel my cruise.

John

 

 

Notice that I said "most ships." The map on Celebrity's web site looks as though the ship travels east of Vancouver Island one direction. But with the first port being Sitka - I would be skeptical. This ship sailed from Vancouver the past few years, so you may not know its route for sure until people return from the first cruises of the season next May. If you read Sunshine Gal's comments about the pod problems some of Celebrity's ships have had, you might reconsider for that reason alone.

 

If you look at the Millennium's itinerary (leaving from Vancouver), day 2 specifically says "inside passage" vs. Infinity's "sea day" on the same day: http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationItinerary.do;jsessionid=0000SJmK3T75nXYF1ShtvKUz_Mb:12hdebdrn?packageCode=ML07A009&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

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Notice that I said "most ships." The map on Celebrity's web site looks as though the ship travels east of Vancouver Island one direction. But with the first port being Sitka - I would be skeptical. This ship sailed from Vancouver the past few years, so you may not know its route for sure until people return from the first cruises of the season next May. If you read Sunshine Gal's comments about the pod problems some of Celebrity's ships have had, you might reconsider for that reason alone.

 

As I said, you tell me it's not true and I will cancel my cruise. As far as the pod, yes big issue in the past. It was also a big issue last year when we were on HAL's Oosterdam. It hasn't made me scared of sailing a ship with pods. All I can do is purcahse insurance and make the best out of any cruise. If you don't like Infinity so be it, but back up your stements with facts please.

John

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As I said, you tell me it's not true and I will cancel my cruise. As far as the pod, yes big issue in the past. It was also a big issue last year when we were on HAL's Oosterdam. It hasn't made me scared of sailing a ship with pods. All I can do is purcahse insurance and make the best out of any cruise. If you don't like Infinity so be it, but back up your stements with facts please.

John

 

I can't tell you it's not true. However, other than a drawing on Celebrity's web site - what makes you think it does go east of Vancouver Island? Web sites can be wrong! The deck plan on an RCI ship I booked for a March cruise showed that my cabin could sleep 4 people. Guess what - the diagram on the web site was wrong!

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I have no knowledge about the Infinity's sailing, but do know for sure that people have had trouble with that in the past on other cruise lines. I had this debate with someone on the NCL board last year about the Pearl's sailing. He kept insisting that it went east of Vancouver Island, because the map said so, but when we sailed on the Pearl, we definitely went west of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, having a map that indicates a particular route is no guarantee of which direction the captain will take the ship.

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Alaska is a very different cruise than say the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera.

Last month we took the NCL Sun round-trip from Vancouver...which is our home.

To be fair, we have both been to the north country, (Yukon and Alaska), by road a couple of times in years past, and while we love the region the road trip is very long and sometimes hard. So the cruise idea came along.

The "real" Inside Passage in my opinion is from Vancouver to Alaska, although certainly part of that Inside Passage is in Alaska where most of the ports all the cruise lines visit are located!

The Coral Princess also does this itinerary (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, one glacier)...but we had just been on th Coral four months earlier to Panama and decided it was just a bit too upscale for Alaska...and if Princess is too upscale....well HAL...is way too upscale!LOL!! So we picked NCL Sun...a little rugged...not as flashy...but a good comfortable ship...good service and not bad food.

For us Alaska is about the itinerary and price not the ship....but...that's just us!

By the way the NCL price was about the same as a two week drive vacation from Vancouver to Whitehorse, Dawson, and Anchorage....and return...but we didn't get to see any whales!!

No matter what oyu decide it is a wonderful cruise!

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I noticed that the Pearl states that it does the inside passage but if you look at the map now you can see it doesn’t go east of Vancouver Island (what I personally call the inside passage).

I have done as much homework as possible, contacted Celebrity on the phone, and asked here on Cruise Critic if the map for Infinity is accurate. It's that important to my wife and I.

All I know is that cruising to the east of Vancouver island was such a beautiful part of our first Alaska cruise that I want to make sure at lease one leg of our second Alaska cruise will go through the same inside passage, because we have a balcony this time and want to really enjoy the views.

I’m completely serious that if anyone has factual knowledge (not a guess) that the Infinity will not follow the map as advertised, then I will cancel our cruise in a second.

And back to the OP question, as TCF mentioned, NCL’s Sun was our second choice out of Vancouver and would enjoy that just as much.

Thanks,

John

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The Coral Princess also does this itinerary (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, one glacier)...but we had just been on th Coral four months earlier to Panama and decided it was just a bit too upscale for Alaska...and if Princess is too upscale....well HAL...is way too upscale!LOL!! So we picked NCL Sun...a little rugged...not as flashy...but a good comfortable ship...good service and not bad food

 

This is the first time I've read that someone decided against a ship/cruiseline because it was TOO nice for Alaska! :eek: We were on the northbound Coral Princess in June (which goes to two glaciers), and thought it was a wonderful ship for Alaska.

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I noticed that the Pearl states that it does the inside passage but if you look at the map now you can see it doesn’t go east of Vancouver Island (what I personally call the inside passage).

I have done as much homework as possible, contacted Celebrity on the phone, and asked here on Cruise Critic if the map for Infinity is accurate. It's that important to my wife and I.

All I know is that cruising to the east of Vancouver island was such a beautiful part of our first Alaska cruise that I want to make sure at lease one leg of our second Alaska cruise will go through the same inside passage, because we have a balcony this time and want to really enjoy the views.

I’m completely serious that if anyone has factual knowledge (not a guess) that the Infinity will not follow the map as advertised, then I will cancel our cruise in a second.

And back to the OP question, as TCF mentioned, NCL’s Sun was our second choice out of Vancouver and would enjoy that just as much.

Thanks,

John

As I said above, you will not know the ships's route for sure until people return from their cruises in 2008. If it were that important to me, I would choose a ship that leaves from Vancouver.

 

Celebrity Mercury (out of Vancouver) has a similar itinerary as Infinity, but without the stop in Victoria. Notice that on the itinerary map for Mercury, it shows the ship traveling on the WEST side of Vancouver Island, but it says "inside passage cruising" on days 2 and 7: http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationItinerary.do;jsessionid=0000KZaGyDW0Vt68hvt4J6PZZeZ:12hdebdrn?packageCode=MR07A029&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

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I have no knowledge about the Infinity's sailing, but do know for sure that people have had trouble with that in the past on other cruise lines. I had this debate with someone on the NCL board last year about the Pearl's sailing. He kept insisting that it went east of Vancouver Island, because the map said so, but when we sailed on the Pearl, we definitely went west of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, having a map that indicates a particular route is no guarantee of which direction the captain will take the ship.

 

Hi, Enjoyed your pics..we will be on her this coming may....Few questions,

I notice you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Seattle...How was that..We are planning to stay there also? Did you have an inside cabin? Was there plenty of room? Also is there a charge for playing bowling? Was spinnakers the best place to look at the scenery outside?Thanks for any other info you can give us regarding the ship & cruise itself. Again Thanks:)

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Hi, Enjoyed your pics..we will be on her this coming may....Few questions,

I notice you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Seattle...How was that..We are planning to stay there also? Did you have an inside cabin? Was there plenty of room? Also is there a charge for playing bowling? Was spinnakers the best place to look at the scenery outside?Thanks for any other info you can give us regarding the ship & cruise itself. Again Thanks:)

 

We thought the Holiday Inn Express was just fine. When we booked it (which was about last March -- 2 months before sailing), we were able to get a great deal using an Entertainment book discount. We generally love the HI Express chain, and this one was no exception. Getting a trifle bit worn around the edges in some places, but considering we got it for less than $60 for a king-size "suite" (separate bedroom area), I was extremely satisfied. Clean, very comfortable beds, nice continental breakfast -- which is all I was looking for.

 

We did have an inside cabin. It works fine for 2 people, but I don't think I'd personally want to be trying to deal with anymore than that. There is a charge for bowling normally. I think it is $5 per game -- including shoes -- but the only game was played was with our CC roll-call group, and they comped us that game.

 

For looking at the scenery, we spent very little time in Spinnakers as it always seemed quite crowded. If you're lucky enough to get in there and find one of the "beds", it would be great. We spent most of our time on the promenade deck, laying on one of the great loungers that they had there. This picture isn't mine (it's one Shoreguy took last week), it's on the Gem and not the Pearl, but this will give you an idea where I spent most of my time. I don't know that the loungers are exactly the same, but they're close.

 

2792247740059187889S425x425Q85.jpg

 

 

 

We also spent time in the library, which got hardly any use, and had friends who spent time sitting in Mambo's during the day at the tables by the window. One thing that I'm regretting that I didn't do was spring for the spa pass for at least one day, and spend time in their forward facing loungers which would have a great view of the scenery.

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All I know is that cruising to the east of Vancouver island was such a beautiful part of our first Alaska cruise that I want to make sure at lease one leg of our second Alaska cruise will go through the same inside passage, because we have a balcony this time and want to really enjoy the views.

 

I’m completely serious that if anyone has factual knowledge (not a guess) that the Infinity will not follow the map as advertised, then I will cancel our cruise in a second

 

And back to the OP question, as TCF mentioned, NCL’s Sun was our second choice out of Vancouver and would enjoy that just as much

 

We've been to Alaska twice, once on the Pearl, and once on the Sun from Vancouver, so I understand exactly what you're saying. From the research that I did for our second trip (on the Pearl), what I discovered is that when the cruiselines (at least NCL) says "inside passage sailing" they are referring to the area on the way into Juneau -- not necessarily the area east of Vancouver Island. Like I said, I have no knowledge of Celebrity's itinerary, but there were definitely posters who ran into this problem last year with NCL.

 

Again, going only from what I read, it is apparently slower for the ships to have to go east of Vancouver Island. All that beautiful scenery also makes it harder to navigate than the open water west of Vancouver Island, which slows down their speed. Without going back and re-doing my research, there is also an area where they have trouble with the tides, which is the reason that most of the ships leaving Seattle do go with the western route on both legs. Does this mean that the Infinity will definitely go outside? Certainly not -- they may have factored those items in, but it seems to be fairly common.

 

For us, it came down to a matter of choosing between Glacier Bay and doing the inside passage from Vancouver. Since we had already done the inside passage on the Sun, for our 2nd trip we chose to go with the Pearl so that we could see Glacier Bay.

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I am just beginning research for our 1st cruise to Alaska. I need a roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver. Trying to decide between Infinity, Norwegian Pearl, or Holland Amsterdam. I have cruised Celebrity's Mercury and wasn't that thrilled. We also have cruised RC, and Princess a couple of times each, and enjoyed both. We like the newer ships with the larger cabins. We also like the anytime dining, but also enjoy formal night. Any suggestions? I am at a loss and need insight.

 

Now, back to the OP's question :D . I LOVED the Pearl from Seattle. However, you are probably looking at the smallest cabin size between any of those 3 on the Pearl. For me, that's not a factor, but it sounds like it might be an issue for you. The Pearl is the newest ship by quite a bit, but the cabins do not look like they will be as large as either the Infinity or the Amsterdam.

 

NCL has their freestyle dining. I'm not sure what the other two lines are doing. I know they both used to be traditional dining, but I think HAL, at least, is implementing some sort of "anytime" dining. I haven't heard that Celebrity is going that direction, but may have just missed it since I've been happy to stay with NCL.

 

NCL also won't have a designated formal night. When we sailed last year, their new phrasing was "dress up or not", but there was no one night that was designated for formal attire.

 

Good luck with your plans!

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We've been to Alaska twice, once on the Pearl, and once on the Sun from Vancouver, so I understand exactly what you're saying. From the research that I did for our second trip (on the Pearl), what I discovered is that when the cruiselines (at least NCL) says "inside passage sailing" they are referring to the area on the way into Juneau -- not necessarily the area east of Vancouver Island. Like I said, I have no knowledge of Celebrity's itinerary, but there were definitely posters who ran into this problem last year with NCL.

 

Hi ute fan,

I know that this is the first itinerary like this from Seattle, thus maybe the reason there is skepticism from a few (including me last month when I started my research). But all I can say is Celebrity explain this was the first time for Infinity to have this Itinerary and that it will be the route as on the map (excluding any unforeseen circumstances).

I don’t know what other factual sources I could use before we made our decision. I even posted this concern on the Celebrity board before purchasing our cabin. Now, it seems I have someone making statements that Celebrity is not verbally telling me the truth, that they are lying with their map, and that I shouldn’t believe anything of my research facts and make other plans. Just doesn’t sit right with me but will keep an open mind but I’m not changing any of my plans until someone can prove I have been lied to.

John

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Now, it seems I have someone making statements that Celebrity is not verbally telling me the truth, that they are lying with their map, and that I shouldn’t believe anything of my research facts and make other plans. Just doesn’t sit right with me but will keep an open mind but I’m not changing any of my plans until someone can prove I have been lied to.

 

If you are referring to MY comments - I NEVER said you were being lied to!!! I asked what, other than the itinerary map, made you think the ship traveled east of Vancouver Island. If Celebrity has assured you that this is how they will travel, than I hope that's the route they stick with. For your sake, I hope you are right.

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We thought the Holiday Inn Express was just fine. When we booked it (which was about last March -- 2 months before sailing), we were able to get a great deal using an Entertainment book discount. We generally love the HI Express chain, and this one was no exception. Getting a trifle bit worn around the edges in some places, but considering we got it for less than $60 for a king-size "suite" (separate bedroom area), I was extremely satisfied. Clean, very comfortable beds, nice continental breakfast -- which is all I was looking for.

 

We did have an inside cabin. It works fine for 2 people, but I don't think I'd personally want to be trying to deal with anymore than that. There is a charge for bowling normally. I think it is $5 per game -- including shoes -- but the only game was played was with our CC roll-call group, and they comped us that game.

 

For looking at the scenery, we spent very little time in Spinnakers as it always seemed quite crowded. If you're lucky enough to get in there and find one of the "beds", it would be great. We spent most of our time on the promenade deck, laying on one of the great loungers that they had there. This picture isn't mine (it's one Shoreguy took last week), it's on the Gem and not the Pearl, but this will give you an idea where I spent most of my time. I don't know that the loungers are exactly the same, but they're close.

 

2792247740059187889S425x425Q85.jpg

 

 

 

We also spent time in the library, which got hardly any use, and had friends who spent time sitting in Mambo's during the day at the tables by the window. One thing that I'm regretting that I didn't do was spring for the spa pass for at least one day, and spend time in their forward facing loungers which would have a great view of the scenery.

 

THanks ute Fan: Do you remember is they had a self -service laundrymat? Again Thank-you

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Thus, we decide to go with Infinity. At lease the northbound leg goes through the inside passage. I learned that Celebrity also has a casual anytime dinning option, which my wife and I will use on formal nights, unless she wants to play dress up but we are both kind of beyond that experience now.

 

Two comments:

 

1) the casual anytime dining option with Celebrity is the restaurant that is part of the buffet area during the day (at least it was on the Summit). When I was on Celebrity last August, the menu was the same the three days I checked. It miight get a bit boring eating there the entire week.

 

2) traveling east of Vancouver Island northbound you won't see as much as if you traveled here southbound - it might be starting to get dark by the time you reach some of that area. I know we traveled through much of the nicest area from 4-8pm southbound, arriving Vancouver the next morning at 7am. So traveling northbound and departing at 4pm it will almost certainly be quite dark by the time you reach the best parts.

 

John

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MortimerM -- yes, there are self-serve laundry rooms on the Pearl. I think they're on decks 5, 9, and 10. The machines themselves are no charge, but they do charge $1 for the detergent (or you can bring your own and save the $).

 

AZJohn -- I hope you realize that I'm not saying that the Infinity definitely won't go up the east side of Vancouver Island. After all, Celebrity is a totally different line than NCL. I do know, however that for the Pearl (and the Star, which previously did the Glacier Bay round trip from Seattle for NCL), that the maps originally indicated that east side sailing, and they very, very rarely actually followed it. There were a couple of sailings that did, but it was definitely the exception, not the rule.

 

I went back and found one of the links where we were discussing this -- look at post #11 and further down: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=562686. As I mentioned, hopefully Celebrity's customer service is better informed than NCL's was (that might not be hard, according to the complaints that a lot of posters have about NCL's land based service), but your comments sound way too familiar to me :eek: .

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If Celebrity's little itinerary maps are to be trusted, then the Infinity will travel east of Vancouver Island from Seattle, and the Mercury will travel west of Vancouver Island from Vancouver. Do I believe the latter is correct? No!

 

AZJohn - ask Celebrity for something in writing confirming their route. If you call their customer service number 4 times, you might get 4 different answers.

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I looked through the requested Celebrity cruise brochure when we were planning our cruise as well and noticed too that all of a sudden, here was a cruise that went East of Vancouver island! Even in my "newbie" planning I could see that was a shock, since I hadn't seen that in a Seattle trip before. If the Celebrity company is telling you it is a new route, then I'd go for it. However I would be a little more concerned about the issue others have raised (fti, BQ) regarding a NB sailing vs. SB. Will it be light enough to enjoy that scenery on your sailing?

I hope that the route is as they describe. Please report your experience here when you return so others might enjoy it as well. (I know it is very far away!).

 

I will however strongly defend ANYTHING NancyIL states on these boards. If you read them for a week, you will see she has done so much homework for her trips, and will give her opinion (either positive or negative) to HELP someone else in their trip planning. It might not be what someone wants to hear, but it is one person's experience and if it helps the next vacationer, then it should be stated on these boards. That way the people reading these boards are at least informed about their trips. Her up front opinions helped me see the benefits of booking Princess next year for our cruise, and it also helped me see that I can have a great Alaskan experience while skipping Misty Fjords!

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