Alaskan Cruise in July 2009

[brnsofia]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Before I put a down payment, what do you think of this itinerary?

 

SatJul4Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:00pmSunJul5At SeaMonJul6Tracy Arm Fjord, AK (Cruising)8:00amNoonMonJul6Juneau, AK 2:30pm10:30pmTueJul7Skagway, AK 7:00am9:00pmWedJul8Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising)7:00am4:00pmThuJul9Ketchikan, AK 10:00am6:00pmFriJul10At SeaSatJul11Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00am

 

who is this with and how much?

[vplsh]

We are considering the Golden Princess r/t Seattle leaving on July 11. Princess is offering a great sale and I'd like to take advantage of it.

 

Does anyone have any comments on this one?

[Yukon]

We are considering the Golden Princess r/t Seattle leaving on July 11. Princess is offering a great sale and I'd like to take advantage of it.

 

Does anyone have any comments on this one?

 

That is a terrible itinerary, with no guaranteed glacier viewing (only a Tracy Arm cruise), and poor port times for both Ketchikan and Victoria

[c-cruise]

I would have to agree, this is possibly the poorest Alaska itinerary out there. Even the Star Princess itinerary out of Seattle is better; same ports, but slightly better port times. Mid-July is a great time to go to Alaska however.

 

Star and Golden are nice ships and leaving out of Seattle is very convenient, plus Princess is offering some great prices right now. I would say if you have done Alaska before then this itinerary would be ok, but for a first trip I would definitely recommend something else. If you want to cruise out of Seattle I would recommend either of the Holland America itineraries. If you want to stay with Princess then I would recommend their one way itineraries out of Vancouver/Whittier. They have some great prices right now on these as well.

[NancyIL]

who is this with and how much?

 

Hal Zuiderdam: http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/FindCruises.action?destCode=A&durationCode=&portCode=&dateCode=&shipCodeSearch=UU

[Two from Virginia]

who is this with and how much?

 

It's with HAL Zuiderdam.

[Two from Virginia]

For those of you sailing on the July 4th Zuiderdam, did you get a good deal? Does anyone know anything about the MM deck?

[vbmom87]

We are considering the Golden Princess r/t Seattle leaving on July 11. Princess is offering a great sale and I'd like to take advantage of it.

 

Does anyone have any comments on this one?

 

Besides the other comments, do you realize that Seattle has less scenic sailing than the trips out of Vancouver? Also, you have a greater chance of rough waters out of Seattle.

[vbmom87]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Before I put a down payment, what do you think of this itinerary?

 

SatJul4Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:00pmSunJul5At SeaMonJul6Tracy Arm Fjord, AK (Cruising)8:00amNoonMonJul6Juneau, AK 2:30pm10:30pmTueJul7Skagway, AK 7:00am9:00pmWedJul8Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising)7:00am4:00pmThuJul9Ketchikan, AK 10:00am6:00pmFriJul10At SeaSatJul11Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00am

 

Great Choice for scenic cruising!!!! You will love it!!!! You did your homework first before booking; not everyone does. You made a wonderful selection!!!!

 

Make sure you are up early for your Tracy Arm cruising. Check your daily program which arrives the evening before to check for any possible changes in times. We had several changes on our cruise and there were no general announcements about it. You needed to read that daily program each night. Even the TV channel was not corrected. You don't want to miss any of your scenic cruising time, so stay on top of it.

[vplsh]

Besides the other comments, do you realize that Seattle has less scenic sailing than the trips out of Vancouver? Also, you have a greater chance of rough waters out of Seattle.

 

Thanks to you all for the advice. I will look into some of the other itineraries and ships.

[NancyIL]

I would have to agree, this is possibly the poorest Alaska itinerary out there. Even the Star Princess itinerary out of Seattle is better; same ports, but slightly better port times. Mid-July is a great time to go to Alaska however.

 

 

I think that honor still belongs to Rhapsody of the Seas out of Seattle - or at least it's a tie:

 

Seattle, Washington 4:00 PM

At sea

Juneau, Alaska 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM -8:30 PM

Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM

At sea

Victoria, Canada 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Seattle, Washington 6:00 AM

 

However, I would personally rather spend the whole day in Victoria than a morning in Ketchikan (I don't care if I ever go there again) and an evening in Victoria.

[c-cruise]

I think that honor still belongs to Rhapsody of the Seas out of Seattle - or at least it's a tie:

 

Seattle, Washington 4:00 PM

At sea

Juneau, Alaska 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM -8:30 PM

Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM

At sea

Victoria, Canada 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Seattle, Washington 6:00 AM

 

However, I would personally rather spend the whole day in Victoria than a morning in Ketchikan (I don't care if I ever go there again) and an evening in Victoria.

 

Yeah, thats a tough call. However the Rhapsody itinerary shows it cruising back on the inside of Vancouver island which is a plus for the scenery and you spend a whole day in Victoria which is very nice. Plus it's probably also the "poorest" choice of a ship out of Seattle as well. RCCL certainly doesn't put its best product into the Seattle market.

[NancyIL]

Yeah, thats a tough call. However the Rhapsody itinerary shows it cruising back on the inside of Vancouver island which is a plus for the scenery and you spend a whole day in Victoria which is very nice. Plus it's probably also the "poorest" choice of a ship out of Seattle as well. RCCL certainly doesn't put its best product into the Seattle market.

 

Royal Caribbean has 8 mega-ships that are too big for Alaska, so it does have to use its moderate-sized ships there. Two of its Radiance-class ships sail out of Vancouver, and the other two ships are in Europe during the summer. That leaves a Vision-class ship for the Seattle roundtrips. I think they are very pretty and a nice size, even though they're older.

 

In my opinion, the Sapphire/Diamond Princess and the Star/Golden Princess border on being too big for Alaska.

[NancyIL]

OK - after taking a look at the Princess sale (WOW!) and comparing the itineraries of the Star Princess to the Golden Princess - I think the Golden Princess wins that one. Yes - the port times are shorter in Ketchikan and Victoria on the Golden Princess, but they are better in Skagway, Juneau, and Tracy Arm - and those are more important (IMO) than the other two. Tracy Arm and Juneau are also visited on separate days, rather than starting the day with Tracy Arm from 6-10 a.m. and then arriving in Juneau from 2-10 p.m. as on the Star. I might even book the Golden Princess, in spite of its size, because I want a cheap Alaska cruise!

[Budget Queen]

Yeah, thats a tough call. However the Rhapsody itinerary shows it cruising back on the inside of Vancouver island which is a plus for the scenery and you spend a whole day in Victoria which is very nice. Plus it's probably also the "poorest" choice of a ship out of Seattle as well. RCCL certainly doesn't put its best product into the Seattle market.

 

I find the Rhapsody a very nice ship and depending on the person, the new mega ships coming out every year, offer little to me. :) I first sailed the Rhapsody the first Alaska cruise season, when it was the largest ship sailing there. I also did this the first Alaska sailings of the Sun Princess. I've since sailed the Rhapsody twice more and will on it again Tuesday. For me, I'm sorry to see the "older" ships (which in my opinion aren't OLD, compared to my sailing history on the QEII, Norway, Carnivale, Oceanic, NCL Crown, Majesty etc) get tossed aside. I'd much rather go on the "old" ships at the low rates any day. :)

[c-cruise]

I am sure Rhapsody is a fine ship although it certainly doesn't appeal to me. When I look at all the options out of Seattle it is at the bottom of the list for ships/itineraries that I would recommend. I am not a fan of the new mega-ships either, Princess Grand class is plenty big enough for me. If for some reason I was to sail RCCL to Alaska I would definitely go with a Radiance class ship out of Vancouver.

[acruisinprincess]

If you are a Princess Past Passenger, check out their sale pricing. It's posted on some of the other threads on Cruise Critic.

[c-cruise]

If you are a Princess Past Passenger, check out their sale pricing. It's posted on some of the other threads on Cruise Critic.

 

Yeah, some great prices to Alaska on Princess even during peak season this Summer. Just booked Island Princess Southbound on the 2-1 promo. Great deal!