Westerdam or Crown Princess?

As you can see I have been to Alaska a few times. We were considering the Crown but a poster here said there is no retractable roof on the one pool on the Lido deck. I guess I consider it a must for Alaska. Nice place to view the scenery without getting cold. Also, as we know, it rains in Alaska so this would be useless space on a ship with 3,000 people. If the buffet area is full you can always bring your food out there and find a table too.

I have been on the Amsterdam and really enjoyed it...so I am leaning toward Westerdam just for that area on the ship alone! Any thoughts? Thanks.

Totally agree about the retractable roof especially as they can open it a bit for fresh air when the temps are less than warm and you can still enjoy the area. If ports are the same and the roof over the Lido deck area sounds important to you, so you may have already made your decision.

Did like the Crown so you would not go wrong on that ship.

As you can see I have been to Alaska a few times. We were considering the Crown but a poster here said there is no retractable roof on the one pool on the Lido deck. I guess I consider it a must for Alaska. Nice place to view the scenery without getting cold. Also, as we know, it rains in Alaska so this would be useless space on a ship with 3,000 people. If the buffet area is full you can always bring your food out there and find a table too.

 

I have been on the Amsterdam and really enjoyed it...so I am leaning toward Westerdam just for that area on the ship alone! Any thoughts? Thanks.

I have sailed on Crown Princess and Westerdam. Crown was a nice ship, but as you've mentioned it is better suited to warm weather itineraries. It's also a fair bit larger than Westerdam (3,080 pax on Crown; 1,916 on Westerdam), so Westerdam would feel much less crowded.

I like the buffet much better on Westerdam, the thermal suite is vastly superior if that has any appeal (thalassotherapy pool on Westerdam, not on Crown), and I like the two-level MDR on Westerdam better than the single-level MDRs on Crown. Also, the forward observation lounge on Westerdam--the Crows' Nest--is an essential on an Alaska cruise. Crown Princess does not have a forward observation lounge.

Good luck with your choice! (But choose Westerdam. ;))

I totally agree with Cruiser Bruiser.

We have sailed on the Westerdam quite a few times including Alaska.

Wonderful ship.

We also agree that the Grand Class Princess ships without a covered pool is not a great fit for colder water cruising. If you have no problem with the smoking issue (cigar and cigarette smoke on balconies) then we think the Westerdam is a better option. Of course there are other possibilities including different cruise lines (such as Celebrity) or possibly one of the Grand Class Princess ships that do have a covered pool.

Hank

Thank you all for your input!!

Last summer we did both the Crown Princess and the Westerdam back to back. We had the Westerdam booked early but, in January, my DH keep telling me he wanted to go to Skagway and the only way to do it was on Princess. This was our 2nd Princess sailing and our 9th HAL sailing.

The two ships are very similar. You're right, without the retractable roof the pool area is not as usable in Alaska. There were times it was blustery, wet and not at all inviting out there.

As for the two ships, we surprised ourselves on what we liked and didn't like. On Princess we were upsold ($100.00 each) to a handicapped Caribe balcony cabin (hubby has COPD, has mobility issues, etc). What a lovely cabin but we did miss not having a couch. The balcony was huge! We also liked the International Cafe for lunch and morning sweet things.

We ate in the buffet every evening as the dining room menus didn't appeal to us on Princess. I found the area congested and harder to maneuver around than on HAL. I love to walk and log a lot of miles onboard and it was disappointing on sea days that you couldn't walk all the way around as they had the bow closed for wind issues.

It was fun to get off the Crown at 10:30, claim our bags, hand them off to a porter, clear customs, walk across the room, go upstairs and check in at HAL. We accomplished all that in 25 minutes!

The Westerdam felt like we were coming home and we had a good sailing on it as well. We had some ports in common - Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria but the ones not in common were Skagway and Sitka and Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay.

In conclusion, we loved this so much we are doing it again in 2016, husband's health willing. One special event was that Princess has the "Bon Voyage Experience" where, for $39.00 a person, you can have family and friends come on with you. We brought our son, daughter-in-law and 17 year old granddaughter on and they were in total awe at the whole experience. They get lunch, a glass of wine and a picture as well as free run of the ship for about 4 hours. We got to board early with them as well. It was the best money we've spent on them in a long time!

Karen

If it were warm weather, I'd say Crown but w cold weather and passenger load being smaller, I'd go Westy because there's a chance for more space.

I am partial to the Westy though, one of the best months of my life were on board here in 10.12 when we hit Hawaii and the South Pacific on her. I'd do that again in a heartbeat... every year in fact!

Just because there is a rolling roof to cover the pool, don't count on it being covered in Alaska, even if it is cold. It might be open or closed.

We sailed on Zuiderdam to Alaska and not only was the pool cover retracted (and it was freezing), but the workers used the nicest part of the midday to bang, bang, bang away on the metal roof rollers, apparently to fix something.

Something not mentioned is that with the Westerdam when you go to Glacier Bay HAL opens up the Bow of the ship for scenic cruising. I love doing this, it makes you feel up close to t he Glaciers. Princess does not do this that I am aware of. I have sailed both Crown and Westerdam, of course Westerdam many times. I agree with comments that have been made. Especially about the Spa/Thermal Suite. There just just no comparison, the Crown's Thermal Suite is basically a dungeon lol. You take this narrow small stairwell down to the Thermal Suite. No windows to the outside, no scenic views. Cabins over all are much smaller than HAL's. But Princess has good Pizza :D

Thanks again for the suggestions and input! I believe it will be HAL for us. Just checking with the others in my group! Most of my trips to Alaska have been sunshine and smooth sailing. Except for one where it rained the entire 14 days so hopefully the cover will be closed if that happens!