MsPAtSea

Oh nothing like that re: immigration, I just prefer to avoid it if I can. I just looked at both Princess and NCL and neither line has better times in Port than the one leaving Seattle (at least during the week we're going). So getting more time in port doesn't seem to be an option. But I feel like it will be adequate. I'm currently leaning towards Princess but would be interested in any other feedback and also little tips (like the fact NCL docks elsewhere, for example).

I was trying to avoid flying into and out of Canada because of customs/immigration reasons and flight prices being more expensive. All the itineraries that go to Glacier Bay across all cruise lines have these similar port times. In order to get better times in port we'd have to forgo doing Glacier Bay. I have heard NCL docks in bad locations at all the ports, so I'm wondering if that alone should justify Princess? Though the Thermal Suite on Encore has beautiful exterior views whereas the one on Discovery is inside the ship and smaller. I've also heard that NCL has a great observation inside deck that can be nice for the Alaskan cruises. We are going in July.

The times in port are basically identical: At Sea Juneau - 2:30p - 11p Skagway - 7a - 8:30p Cruising Glacier Bay Ketchikan 7a - 1p Victoria - 8p - 12a As for the excursion costs, we are going to pay what we have to in order to have a good time. We'll likely only go to Alaska once. 🙂

We are looking at two almost identical Alaskan cruises - the same itinerary and the same price, but one on the Princess Discovery and one on the Norwegian Encore. Both going to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BC. Which would you suggest and why? We are going to be spending more on this cruise than any we've ever taken before (almost 3 times as much) and don't want to make any mistakes! We will get a balcony cabin. We love using the thermal suites, but will also be doing excursions to go hiking and sight seeing. Good food is important to us. We don't necessarily need a drinks package for this one (though I think both prices included it). We are two 32 year olds going with no kids and we're old souls - we will be in bed early and up early because we want to be able to make the most of being in this beautiful state. We're not concerned about access to things like go carts and paid activities or the casino. And we don't always make it to the night time shows so if they're not amazing, that's ok with us. We'd like to have some things to do like karaoke, trivia, etc but we're not making our decision on that. I think ultimately the ship layout, staff quality, food quality, and the specific experience on the ship as it pertains to being in Alaska are what are most important. So any thoughts or comments you have good or bad are welcome!