First Alaskan Trip

I am planning an Alaskan trip next Aug. l usually cruise with RCL, but I like the itinerary better that the Princess cruise line has. I would like to know how can you tell if balcony is covered and which side of the ship is better from Vancouver to Anchorage. Would appreciate any tips on excursions.

You might want to post this on the Princess Board.

Keith

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Also check out the Alaska forum.

You might try the following. Looking carefully you can see the coverage. http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/522/IMG_0287.JPG

There was a better site, but it's currently locked and I haven't heard why.

A balcony can be a waste of money in Alaska. Views are better from some of the public decks and it can be too chilly or damp to get full use of a balcony. The park rangers will be on the public decks to narrate the areas you will see. I hope you picked one of the smaller Princess ships. They do a better job on Alaska than the megas.

I am planning an Alaskan trip next Aug. l usually cruise with RCL, but I like the itinerary better that the Princess cruise line has. I would like to know how can you tell if balcony is covered and which side of the ship is better from Vancouver to Anchorage. Would appreciate any tips on excursions.

There are lots of sites to check balcony coverage, once you know the ship. I think generally (from memory) on Princess, Caribe deck balconies are covered (and some Emerald deck balconies). We've cruised Alaska twice, with balconies both times, and I don't think it's as important to have a covered balcony on an AK cruise as it is on a Caribbean one...sometimes that sun feels great up north (and rarely are people above you more interested in what you're doing than the view)! But I wouldn't do the cruise without a balcony -- simply too many opportunities to step outside and see the beauty...or maybe a whale or seal or otter.

For ship side selection, I'd prefer the port/left side because I prefer to look at the water, and they'll usually make sure both sides have glacier views (but I liked Tracy Arm better than Hubbard Glacier, and either side has awesome scenery there).

We don't do many excursions, so I'm not a good one to comment on those.

Hope this helps. And hope you're ready for some jaw-dropping landscape!