Princess Vs Holland America

[crusinwen]

My husband and myself along with my sister and her husband are planning a cruise to Alaska. We are all big Celebrity and RCCL cruisers. We are nervous about switching lines but have heard that for Alaska, Princess or Holland America are the best. So, now we have to decide which one is the very best for Alaska. We also plan to take a rail/land tour. So we pose this question to the experts.......which one and why? Thanks so much for any input!:D

[dchan865]

Hi,

We went to Alaska in early June of 2007 on the Golden Princess. We enjoyed it alot. The food and service was great. Not sure about the entertainment since all wanted to do was relax in our cabin after doing some excusions.

 

The only thing about the cabin was that it was a bit outdated. Carpet needs to be replaced. The ship is about 5-6 years old if I recall correctly. Other than this, no complaints. I would do it again on Princess ships.

 

By the way, the lobster was awesome. Along with everyone else on lobster night, we wever given extra lobsters if we wanted some. I had 4 lobsters that night. :)

[NancyIL]

Do you want a one-way cruise or a round-trip? Both HAL and Princess have excellent one-way itineraries. HAL also has very good roundtrip itineraries from Vancouver and Seattle. Princess's roundtrips out of Seattle and San Francisco go to Tracy Arm Fjord - which is considered to be less desirable than Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. The Tahitian Princess will do a 14-day roundtrip cruise out of Vancouver, and it will go to Glacier Bay.

[crusinwen]

Hello Nancy!

 

We are planning a one way with a land tour at the end. Thanks for your post! I live just west of Orlando, FL now but was born and grew up in Illinois, ( Lansing, IL 20 miles south of Chicago)

[Budget Queen]

I give an edge to HAL, having sailed both lines in Alaska. With my preference for the Seward port. However, with you purchasing a cruisetour- probably won't be any issue.

 

I do suggest you do your homework on the land tour selection. Very few I would recommend, but there is so much that is not known and many people select the wrong ones that are impossible or difficult to "fix". Know everything about what you are purchasing, again, most do not.

 

Key- go for as long as you can afford. The shorter tours are usually a poor overall choice. Determine WHAT you want out of your Alaska tour- forget relying on the "brochure photos" they aren't reality (especially with one cruiseline having Wonder Lake in their brochure :( ) At all costs, never pick a tour with the Natural History tour.

 

If open to it, compare independent, especially with the usage of purchased coupon books, you definately can see and do twice as much for a much lower cost.

[crusinwen]

Thank you BudgetQueen for your advice/suggestions. We will really look into this. Thanks again! Wendy:D

[NancyIL]

Hello Nancy!

 

We are planning a one way with a land tour at the end. Thanks for your post! I live just west of Orlando, FL now but was born and grew up in Illinois, ( Lansing, IL 20 miles south of Chicago)

 

I should've caught your "rail/land tour" comment! We did a northbound cruise on the Coral Princess (beautiful ship and great itinerary), then rented a car in Anchorage for a 9-day independent land trip that was fabulous!

 

My husband grew up in Chicago (near Park Ridge), and I lived there for 5 years in the 80's. We're now in Champaign, but I visit your area several times a year to see my mom in Cocoa and go to WDW. :)

[Coral]

I have cruised both lines and liked them both. I have only done RCCL and Princess in Alaska.

 

I would go with the best itinerary and your ship preference size.