Alaska - which cruise line?

Hi,

I am looking for some advice.

We are heading to Alaska next May/June (2016). We usually cruise with Disney in Concierge. However, I have looked at Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, and for the price of a regular stateroom on Disney i can book a concierge on either of the other two.

What are the pros and cons between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, the prices are very similar on both.

many thanks

Lorraine

We haven't cruised on Disney or Celebrity, but we have cruised on Royal Caribbean and have been very happy with our experiences. The last time we were in Alaska, we were in a Grand Suite on the Radiance of the Seas.

I'm not sure how that compares to your Disney cruise, but since the GS is a full suite, we had access to the Concierge Lounge and many other perks.

Below is a link to the section of my wife's website where you may view slideshows she made with pictures she took on that cruise. It will give you an idea of the ship, our suite, and the shore excursions we took. It was a fantastic experience. Hope this helps.

Radiance of the Seas ~ Southbound from Seward to Vancouver

Alaska is amazing! Happy cruising!

I've sailed all three lines, but am a bottom feeder- booking the bottom priced cabins. :)

In some respects, the food can be a little better on Celebrity. But this is very subjective. I find a little more "expected" formality with Celebrity, although, I don't change my manner no matter who I go with. I've cruised Celebrity only 3 times in Alaska, none on Disney and about 10 on RCI. However, I go with other lines more frequently.

For some, it also can matter the itinerary.

In Alaska, which ship you take is the last factor you consider. Higher factors are itinerary, port times, port arrival times, port departure times, etc. When you go to AK, you are there to see what is outside of the ship, not what is on the ship.

DON

I some what agree with Donaldsc. The itinerary is so important. I sailed Alaka 2x and itinararies were different between the 2 cruise lines. That being said when I traveled on celebrity this winter the food was better than the food on RCI. The kids club was good on both, but my boys liked RCI's kids clud better. Not because of the events held but because of the amount of kids. RCI usually has a little younger crowd than celebrity and princess.

you probably won't get many responses .... this type of question is asked frequently and there's no right answer.

You'll need to do some homework to determine which cruiseline/ship will best meet YOUR priorities.

Have you looked at the REVIEW forum? specifically MEMBER REVIEWS. Usually you'll find some common comments that are repeated by many travelers.

Also, look thru the trip reports in the STICKYs near the top of the page. There are about 65 trip reports and I don't recall anyone being too unhappy with any sailing last year. There were frustrations though ... not enough time in a specific port, disappointment with specialty restaurants, slow service, small rooms. You'll need to read thru them or specifics. Such as the one just down the page for an RCI cruise.

We can drive ourselves crazy trying to read and compare all those reviews.

The way we do it is to pick out several cruises that have itineraries we want at the time we want to go on ships that are acceptable to us and have available cabins within our price range.

Then we watch those and compare prices for equivalent accommodations.

We cruise on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and enjoy them both, but Celebrity is usually our preference when traveling as a couple without children along.

In general Celebrity has a more upscale, laid back ambiance than Royal Caribbean with better food and better space to passenger ratio, while RCI has a more high energy vibe and more activities.

Celebrity ships do not have climbing walls, pool slides, or amusement park type attractions.

Celebrity typically has only one PA announcement per day while Royal Caribbean bombards us throughout the day with bingo announcements and such.

But when they offered similar itineraries, we have gone with RCI when we were able to get a junior suite for the price of an ordinary veranda cabin on a Celebrity ship.

When itineraries and prices were equivalent, we went with Celebrity.

One caveat: If you are not planning to book a suite, you should know that Celebrity is introducing a new suite class where suite passengers will get to dine in a new, special dining room.

None of us yet know if or how that is going to impact the quality of food or service for non-suite passengers.

Celebrity typically has only one PA announcement per day while Royal Caribbean bombards us throughout the day with bingo announcements and such.

Not anymore. RCI just went to a no announcement policy, except for emergencies. So now, Celebrity has more announcements than RCI.

Hi,

What are the pros and cons between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, the prices are very similar on both.

It depends on what routes you are considering. If you are looking at round trip Seattle cruises, I recommend the much prettier Celebrity Solstice. However, if you are looking at the one-way north or south cruises, I recommend the RCI Radiance of the Seas. Both are excellent cruise lines and both have excellent routes in Alaska. But having cruised the Celebrity Millennium in Alaska, I can tell you the nightlife on Radiance is better.

We haven't cruised on Disney or Celebrity, but we have cruised on Royal Caribbean and have been very happy with our experiences. The last time we were in Alaska, we were in a Grand Suite on the Radiance of the Seas.

 

I'm not sure how that compares to your Disney cruise, but since the GS is a full suite, we had access to the Concierge Lounge and many other perks.

 

Below is a link to the section of my wife's website where you may view slideshows she made with pictures she took on that cruise. It will give you an idea of the ship, our suite, and the shore excursions we took. It was a fantastic experience. Hope this helps.

 

Radiance of the Seas ~ Southbound from Seward to Vancouver

 

Alaska is amazing! Happy cruising!

You did the itinerary that we will be doing in May of this year. I'm worried because we booked an inside cabin for the first time. It's all we could afford after a 40th anniversary trip in February in a Grand Suite. After all the perks with the suite, I don't know if I will be able to handle the inside cabin.

As someone told me earlier today, I will be on the ship. The sights and sounds of Alaska are what I'm going for.

Gloria

G

Hi,

 

I am looking for some advice.

 

We are heading to Alaska next May/June (2016). We usually cruise with Disney in Concierge. However, I have looked at Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, and for the price of a regular stateroom on Disney i can book a concierge on either of the other two.

 

What are the pros and cons between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, the prices are very similar on both.

 

many thanks

 

Lorraine

We booked Celebrity because the cost was the same as RCCL. However, on Celebrity we were able to get an aft Aqua Suite and we purchased at a time they were running a promotion to get three perks included - gratuities, classic drink package and $300 OBC. As much as we love the RCCL ships, for us it was a no-brainer. I've never been to Alaska but the experts all say to book for the itinerary you want as first priority rather than the ship. We budgeted for a balcony and in the end, Celebrity was the best choice for us.

We are heading to Alaska next May/June (2016). We usually cruise with Disney in Concierge. However, I have looked at Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, and for the price of a regular stateroom on Disney i can book a concierge on either of the other two.

What are the pros and cons between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, the prices are very similar on both.

Lorraine,

I have cruised on eight different cruise lines...

I am an Elite, soon to be Elite Plus Captains Club member on Celebrity...

...and a Diamond Crown & Anchor member on Royal Caribbean...

So, as you can imagine, I cruise, and like, both lines quite a bit...

The general advantages to Royal Caribbean are the entertainment and the amenities (especially if you have kids)...but that is largely true of their bigger, newer ships--which they usually don't send to Alaska. If you have young ones or teens and you are cruising in the Caribbean, ships like the Allure or Oasis...or the newer ones which just came out are a can't miss--all sorts of hard to match amenities--like ice skating, surfing, ziplining, etc. and Broadway shows, water acrobatics/diving shows, figure skating shows, etc. But, in Alaska, you won't get all of that...still an excellent choice of cruise line, though...

But I, for one, much prefer Celebrity because of its main advantages. The ships are among the most spacious, least crowded ships on the sea...For example, we will be going to Alaska for the second time this June on Millennium--a 91,000 gross ton ship that carries only around 2,000 passengers...Far more space per passenger than most other cruise lines...Because of the lesser number of passengers, you don't find the crowds and the lines you find on some other lines...and it is much easier to get a seat at a show or a table in a lounge...And with a better crew-to-passenger ratio as well, the service is superior...Celebrity cruises are a little more elegant, a little more relaxing. But, there is still plenty to do onboard.

If you are considering a "cruisetour" (an extended trip with a land portion visiting Denali, Fairbanks, Talkeetna, etc.), note that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (which are owned by the same parent company) share a land operation in Alaska, so the land tour portion would be about the same.

In choosing an itinerary, note that they come in three varieties--round trip Seattle, round trip Vancouver and one-way--either Seward to Vancouver or Vancouver to Seward...

The problem, if there is one, with the round trips is this:

In order to backtrack to Seattle or Vancouver, they have less time to actually spend in the Alaskan ports...and, due to US Federal law, the Seattle round trips have to stop in one Canadian Port--usually a very brief stop in Victoria, often, just for the evening...which also takes away rather than adds to the cruise (Victoria can easily be visited from Vancouver or Seattle during a pre- or post-cruise stay anyway). A lot of folks fear that the airfare to one city and from another will be greater than, say, a round trip airfare to Seattle or Vancouver...but, what I found is that, though it is slightly higher, it is more than made up for in lower cruise fares on the one-way cruises...Plus, the one-way cruises enable you to do a pre- or post cruise visit to the interior of Alaska.

With Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, look for itineraries that visit Hubbard Glacier (which is spectacular) and Icy Strait Point (great whale watching spot)...

Good luck...

That was a fantastic post. We are Emerald RCCL cruisers and love their ships. I personally like the Voyager class but really enjoy the smaller Radiance class too.

You have piqued my interest with the Celebrity line. We may have to try them out so we can compare ourselves.

Thank you,

Gloria

I'm on Steve's Celebrity Millennium cruise coming up soon this June! We have a land tour through celebrity before the southbound cruise.

We have cruised quite a few times but never RCCL or Celebrity. We chose this cruise for itinerary both on land and on sea. We are also foodies and hear Celebrity is a little better in this department.

We love Disney and our last few cruises have been on them. But, I would never choose Disney for Alaska. From all I read the most important things when choosing Alaska is the itinerary, ports, hours in port...

I wanted 1 way to tour on land in Alaska so that eliminates Disney right there. But, more importantly, 90% of why people choose Disney is their ships: Unique activities, larger cabins... Since Alaska is not really about the ship, that shouldn't be factored too much in your choice.

Just my 2 cents!