Which ship for Alaska?

We've cruised Alaska once before and have done 3 Princess cruises (not on ships that do Alaska). SO, when I research Alaska on Princess, I see at least 6 ships doing the area each summer. I DO understand the differences in departure cities, inside passage, etc., but how do I sort out which ship to choose?

Having cruised Alaska many times on PCL.

These ships are all either grand class (2500 passenger) or super grand class(3000 passenger).

In other words....they are all almost identical.

Some people will say this ship is better than that ship...then someone else will disagree.

In other words...your mileage may vary.

IMHO...all will be fine choices. My only extra suggestion is be sure to visit Glacier Bay NP.

Having cruised Alaska many times on PCL.

 

These ships are all either grand class (2500 passenger) or super grand class(3000 passenger).

In other words....they are all almost identical.

 

Um, no.

Coral Princess is a Panamax-size ship with a 2,000 passenger capacity.

Island Princess is identical in size but has more than 100 additional cabins than Coral, thus a capacity of 2,200+.

Grand, Golden and Star are first generation Grand-class with 2,600 passengers.

Emerald and Ruby are the newest design of Grand-class with stated capacity of 3,080.

And if the OP is thinking ahead for 2019 they will be joined by Royal Princess and her 3,360 passengers in her maiden Alaska season.

So lotsa ship to sort through.

Personally I put itinerary ahead of ship: open jaw between Whittier and Vancouver with the opportunity for a pre- or post-cruise land tour preferable to the round-trip Seattle. But the Seattle sailings far, far better than the round-trip San Francisco with the wasted, guaranteed dreary weather sea days at start and finish.

We've cruised Alaska once before and have done 3 Princess cruises (not on ships that do Alaska). SO' date=' when I research Alaska on Princess, I see at least 6 ships doing the area each summer. I DO understand the differences in departure cities, inside passage, etc., but how do I sort out which ship to choose?[/quote']

 

Take the one you can get an aft balcony on.

Princess made its name by sailing to AK so they have a plethora of ships going there. I would pick the cruise leaving/arriving at the port I want that includes a visit to Glacier Bay NP.

But the Seattle sailings far, far better than the round-trip San Francisco with the wasted, guaranteed dreary weather sea days at start and finish.

Even in August?

We chose Emerald round trip out of Seattle. We saved money on airfare and used that money to book a suite. Each person has their own reasons for choosing a ship. Seattle had both Ruby and Emerald.

Princess made its name by sailing to AK so they have a plethora of ships going there. I would pick the cruise leaving/arriving at the port I want that includes a visit to Glacier Bay NP.

This.

Having been to Alaska several times. We opted to wait for the Royal sailing. We love the premium balconies at the aft of the ship.

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I have probably been to Alaska a dozen times.

I much prefer the one way cruises. You get 2 glacier days (as opposed to 1), most ports you spend more time in them (especially Juneau) and you end in Whittier which has great glacier cruises. My RT Seattle and Vancouver cruises have been inferior to the one way cruises. I won't even consider SFO or LA as I am part of the working class still and vacation days mean a lot to me and I would rather have them spent in Alaska. I would prefer a B2B on one ways then a 12 day cruise with a lot of sea days.

For ships, I would choose the Coral Princess. The last choice ship would be Royal Princess. I love the Promenade deck and watching glaciers from there and overall, Alaska scenery (and it is covered) and the Royal Princess doesn't have this. I also liked the covered pool area.

Thanks, everyone! Great thoughts.

Personally I put itinerary ahead of ship: open jaw between Whittier and Vancouver with the opportunity for a pre- or post-cruise land tour preferable to the round-trip Seattle. But the Seattle sailings far, far better than the round-trip San Francisco with the wasted, guaranteed dreary weather sea days at start and finish.

Um, no.

I'm sorry, FW. I know I should have resisted, but I could not.

:p

Last September we took the last AK round-tripper of the season out of San Francisco on the Grand Princess. We specifically booked that cruise because my wife loves sailing in heavy seas, and we were, frankly, hoping to hit storms.

Nothing.

The closest thing to weather that we hit on that cruise was at the port stop in Icy Strait Point--it was foggy when we woke up.

We are trying, again, in April. This time it's a 12-day cruise out of Los Angeles--two more sea days for us.

To the OP. I tell everybody not to overthink it. There is no such thing as a bad cruise--especially, to Alaska. Here are some of the things I think you should consider:

• How many days do you want to cruise? Most Princess AK cruises are 7 days. I think the only exceptions to that are the round-trippers out of San Fancisco or Los Angeles.
  
• How much will it cost for you to travel to the embarkation/disembarkation port(s)? If you have a ton of frequent flyer miles, then, obviously, this question is moot. Happy problem.
  
• Do you want to do any touring before or after the cruise?
  
  • If you want to tour Denali, then you probably want to do one of the northbound/southbound cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage.
    
  • If you want to do some site-seeing in Seattle or San Francisco--both terrific site-seeing towns--then you should look at a round-tripper from one of those.
    

Once those questions have been answered, your choice of ships will have been significantly narrowed. Of course, if you are completely flexible on all the above questions, then I have done nothing for you. Sorry.

To me the Princess ships are more similar than different. The biggest difference is in the number of passengers, and FishyWood has done a good job of explaining your options, there.

Just have a great cruise.

I have probably been to Alaska a dozen times.

 

I much prefer the one way cruises. You get 2 glacier days (as opposed to 1), most ports you spend more time in them (especially Juneau) and you end in Whittier which has great glacier cruises. My RT Seattle and Vancouver cruises have been inferior to the one way cruises. I won't even consider SFO or LA as I am part of the working class still and vacation days mean a lot to me and I would rather have them spent in Alaska. I would prefer a B2B on one ways then a 12 day cruise with a lot of sea days.

 

For ships, I would choose the Coral Princess. The last choice ship would be Royal Princess. I love the Promenade deck and watching glaciers from there and overall, Alaska scenery (and it is covered) and the Royal Princess doesn't have this. I also liked the covered pool area.

Coral Princess is my choice for Alaska also for many of the reasons Coral mentioned! And I also prefer the one way cruises between Vancouver & Whittier. An AK cruise without Glacier Bay NP just wouldn't be right!

I do like to check the info on princess.com regarding different ships to see when they were built and when the last refurbishment was done, # of cabins and # of pax to # of crew, but I do that for all cruises, not just AK..

I have decided on a Whittier to Vancouver itinerary because of the visiting of Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, and Skagway.

For sightseeing from within the ship in scenic areas, I prefer HAL vessels because of their Crow's Nest Lounge. HAL's itinerary Southbound from Seward does not include the 3 sites I mentioned that I want to visit. Hence, I have ruled them out.

My choices are Star Princess/Golden Princess vs. Coral Princess. (I have ruled out Island Princess because of the "butchering" that was done to Island's stern area in order to add 200 more guests.) I have sailed on Star Princess (prior to her near disastrous fire several years ago), so I am familiar with her.

In your opinion, which of these three Princess ships might provide me with the best cruise experience with regard to having pleasant places within the ship from which to view the passing scenery? Which provides the best open deck areas for viewing the scenery?

Thanks for your opinions!

 

In your opinion, which of these three Princess ships might provide me with the best cruise experience with regard to having pleasant places within the ship from which to view the passing scenery? Which provides the best open deck areas for viewing the scenery?

 

Thanks for your opinions!

Coral, it has open decks both forward and stern providing over 180 degrees of spectacular scenery.

Bonus points if the itinerary goes to Glacier Bay NP AND College Fjord.

We had a great time on Coral in 2016!

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Coral' date=' it has open decks both forward and stern providing over 180 degrees of spectacular scenery.[/quote']

 

I prefer to spend my time on the Promenade deck for pictures and viewing (covered). The Coral also has covered back decks and an awesome front deck right below the bridge. By having viewing here it takes some craziness off of the top deck. I am not going to be inside on these days.

Um, no.

 

I'm sorry, FW. I know I should have resisted, but I could not.

 

:p

 

Last September we took the last AK round-tripper of the season out of San Francisco on the Grand Princess. We specifically booked that cruise because my wife loves sailing in heavy seas, and we were, frankly, hoping to hit storms.

 

Nothing.

 

The closest thing to weather that we hit on that cruise was at the port stop in Icy Strait Point--it was foggy when we woke up.

 

We are trying, again, in April. This time it's a 12-day cruise out of Los Angeles--two more sea days for us.

 

To the OP. I tell everybody not to overthink it. There is no such thing as a bad cruise--especially, to Alaska. Here are some of the things I think you should consider:

 

• How many days do you want to cruise? Most Princess AK cruises are 7 days. I think the only exceptions to that are the round-trippers out of San Fancisco or Los Angeles.
  
• How much will it cost for you to travel to the embarkation/disembarkation port(s)? If you have a ton of frequent flyer miles, then, obviously, this question is moot. Happy problem.
  
• Do you want to do any touring before or after the cruise?
  
  • If you want to tour Denali, then you probably want to do one of the northbound/southbound cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage.
    
  • If you want to do some site-seeing in Seattle or San Francisco--both terrific site-seeing towns--then you should look at a round-tripper from one of those.
    

Once those questions have been answered, your choice of ships will have been significantly narrowed. Of course, if you are completely flexible on all the above questions, then I have done nothing for you. Sorry.

 

To me the Princess ships are more similar than different. The biggest difference is in the number of passengers, and FishyWood has done a good job of explaining your options, there.

 

Just have a great cruise.

Thanks for replying. We are indeed sailing from San Francisco to enjoy the city before embarking on our Alaska cruise. We have previously completed a one-way north bound sailing from Seward to Vancouver and so decided to take the opportunity of cruising from the west coast on this occasion.

Looking forward to spending a few days in Las Vegas followed by a few more in San Francisco prior to our Grand cruise ;).

Personally, I prefer the NB routes Vancouver->Whittier. I find the itinerary the most relaxing - formal nights are always on "easy" nights to get ready, and the activities are well spread out. We took the Coral NB as our first, and it was beyond fantastic. Now as a Seattle-area resident, the Seattle RTs win on convenience, and that should be a factor in your overall decision IMHO. Glacier Bay is fantastic and probably the right choice for your first Alaska cruise, but Tracy Arm is also uniquely spectactular (and the cruises are generally less expensive, though the itinerary is somewhat wait/hurry-up/wait/hurry-up).

If I had my druthers, Coral is first choice, Ruby/Emerald second choice, (everything like the Grand except the Grand itself) third, Island, Grand. I have no experience or knowledge of the new big ships to know how to factor those into the decision.

Disclaimer: my wife and I are huge into photography, and take a lot of gear with us to Alaska. Being a 40-minute drive from Seattle means it just doesn't make sense to fly elsewhere. If we were flying regardless, I'd really prefer the 10-day runs out of SFO for the extra relaxation.

Just be sure whatever ship you decide includes Glacier Bay NP. Can't lose.

 

If I had my druthers, Coral is first choice, Ruby/Emerald second choice, (everything like the Grand except the Grand itself) third, Island, Grand.

FWIW, Ruby/Emerald are like the Grand, but with an additional deck and about 500 more passengers.

We chose Royal Princess in 2019 in an aft corner cabin with the balcony facing the wake. Hopefully that will make up for no promenade deck which we rarely go on anyway.:cool:

Jimbo:)