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Which cruise line

lovetotraveltx

By lovetotraveltx,
in Alaska

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CruiserBruce

CruiserBruce

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Posted (edited)

As a long time HAL cruiser (and have cruised the others as well), we would recommend HAL. But as we don't know anything about you, difficult to make a recommendation.

 

Those aren't the only cruise lines that go there. They are just the ones that go to Glacier Bay the most.

Edited by CruiserBruce
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mapleleaves

mapleleaves

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If you want to know about other travellers cruise experiences, go to the STICKY above, called '2012 Alaska cruise review list'. There are MANY detailed travel reports there ... NB, SB, cruisetours, DIY land. Lots of useful info and even photos. Towards the end of the thread the reports are sorted by cruiseline so it will be easy to spot whatever line you want to learn about.

Or go to the REVIEW forum, specifically MEMBER REVIEWS of Alaska cruises.

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ronrythm

ronrythm

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I doubt you will find any cruise line going to Glacier National Park, as it is in Montana.:D

http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm

 

If you would like a list of all the cruise lines allowed into Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve see: http://www.nps.gov/glba/parkmgmt/cruise-ships.htm

 

See also: http://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/cruise.htm for more items of interest.

 

Enjoy

Ron

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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As a long time HAL cruiser (and have cruised the others as well), we would recommend HAL. But as we don't know anything about you, difficult to make a recommendation.

 

Those aren't the only cruise lines that go there. They are just the ones that go to Glacier Bay the most.

 

Yes, of the major cruiselines, HAL, Princess and NCL are the only ones that go there.

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mollanjake

mollanjake

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When I was deciding which cruise to take, I made a spreadsheet that had ports and port times. Helped me to see all the info on 1 sheet compared to each itinerary. I also read about Hubbard and Glacier Bay as that is a big factor in your decision.

 

I had a line in mind prior to doing the above, but when I looked at the ports/times....went with a different line.

 

Hope that helps

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lovetotraveltx

lovetotraveltx

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When I was deciding which cruise to take, I made a spreadsheet that had ports and port times. Helped me to see all the info on 1 sheet compared to each itinerary. I also read about Hubbard and Glacier Bay as that is a big factor in your decision.

 

I had a line in mind prior to doing the above, but when I looked at the ports/times....went with a different line.

 

Hope that helps

 

Thanks! Would you share your spreadsheet? I know every year ships/itineraries change but it will help gather info. Not travelling until 2015 so just trying to gather a lot of info. before we can book.

 

nmttx2002@outlook.com

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Loving My Life

Loving My Life

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Princess and HAL have been doing cruises to Alaska for a very long time so I would pick either of those cruise lines.

On Princess my choice of ships would be Coral Princess.

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'd love to know why the Coral would be your preferred ship? I have never sailed with Princess but we are planning an Alaskan cruise next June. We chose the Crown, but the Coral is cheaper...

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mollanjake

mollanjake

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Not sure if I can attach my spreadsheet, but will give it a try....I think it worked! I only included one way, and I believe Southbound. Carnival and Disney aren't on there as we were not interested in sailing either line. I believe the info was accurate at the time I made the spreadsheet, but no promises. Hope it helps!

Thanks! Would you share your spreadsheet? I know every year ships/itineraries change but it will help gather info. Not travelling until 2015 so just trying to gather a lot of info. before we can book.

 

nmttx2002@outlook.com

Alaska.xls

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OCruisers

OCruisers

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Posted
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'd love to know why the Coral would be your preferred ship? I have never sailed with Princess but we are planning an Alaskan cruise next June. We chose the Crown, but the Coral is cheaper...

 

We LOVE Crown and are booked on her for 14 nights this January. You did not make a really bad decision at all. Don't worry about it!

 

The reason we would pick Coral is because Coral is a very long but narrow ship designed for the Panama Canal and does narrow spaces well.

Coral has lots of space but less passengers. Lots of places with excellent views.

Coral truly is a wonderful ship as almost everyone who has sailed on her will agree. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

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peety3

peety3

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Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'd love to know why the Coral would be your preferred ship? I have never sailed with Princess but we are planning an Alaskan cruise next June. We chose the Crown, but the Coral is cheaper...

Hijacking the answer, we did a NB on Coral in 2010 and a NB on Sapphire in 2012. Coral's layout seemed better (we were in B223) - dining rooms were more convenient mid-ship, and there's more of a semi-continuous starboard-side hallway on 7 Promenade.

 

Sapphire's layout wasn't as convenient (we were in E725), as the "main" dining room (for breakfast/lunch) was on deck 6 and ONLY accessible from the aft stairs/lift (basically a dead-end street). The anytime dining was on 5 and 6 midships, but it took us until almost the end of the cruise to figure out how the four anytime rooms worked:

 

Each dining room had a theme, easily deduced from the name and/or the decor. Each dining room had a themed dinner item, which was never listed on the menu but available every night in that room only. Otherwise, the four rooms all offered the same menu as the others (the menu would change nightly, and I figured out that it's quite predictable if you were to do the cruise multiple times in a season).

 

That said, we'd go down the wrong lift all the time on Sapphire, and on one of the floors the only way to the theater was to walk through the smoky casino (yuck). Some of the other offices (shorex, library, future cruise, etc.) were tucked away in odd corners on Sapphire, and the Art gallery had odd hallway connections to cabins.

 

If I could, we'd pick Coral again, but now that we live in Seattle, the convenience of a Seattle round-trip Alaska cruise outweighs the features of Coral.

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sweetsleep

sweetsleep

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I recently returned from the Coral partial Panama Canal transit and will most definitely book her or the Island for an Alaska cruise in 2015.

There is so much open space on this ship compared to her big sister Grand class ships-and I do love the Emerald and Ruby-but these Panamax ships would be wonderful for an Alaska itinerary.

The Coral and Island ONLY do either Alaska or the Panama Canal on their itineraries-and I suspect there is a good reason why.

The crew on the Coral was the best I have ever had on a Princess cruise too. I'm Platinum and have loved all of my Princess cruises-Golden,Star,Emerald, Ruby(x2),Coral. There is just something really special about their Panamax ships!

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lovetotraveltx

lovetotraveltx

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I recently returned from the Coral partial Panama Canal transit and will most definitely book her or the Island for an Alaska cruise in 2015.

There is so much open space on this ship compared to her big sister Grand class ships-and I do love the Emerald and Ruby-but these Panamax ships would be wonderful for an Alaska itinerary.

The Coral and Island ONLY do either Alaska or the Panama Canal on their itineraries-and I suspect there is a good reason why.

The crew on the Coral was the best I have ever had on a Princess cruise too. I'm Platinum and have loved all of my Princess cruises-Golden,Star,Emerald, Ruby(x2),Coral. There is just something really special about their Panamax ships!

 

Thank you! I gather her and the island are sister ships but the island hasn't been refurbished.

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Aquahound

Aquahound

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Thank you! I've been looking at the Coral :)

 

I think you're making a good choice. Between the 3 lines you mentioned, Princess would be my choice as well. The itinerary is most important, but when sailing at night, it is nice to have entertainment options on board. HAL falls pretty short in that category. NCL, I've just had too many experiences with bad service. Enjoy your cruise. :)

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lovetotraveltx

lovetotraveltx

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I think you're making a good choice. Between the 3 lines you mentioned, Princess would be my choice as well. The itinerary is most important, but when sailing at night, it is nice to have entertainment options on board. HAL falls pretty short in that category. NCL, I've just had too many experiences with bad service. Enjoy your cruise. :)

 

Thank you!

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