NCL or Princess - Pacific Coastal

[liberty64]

Hi, I am looking at doing a cruise next year in this area (Pacific coast) and would like some contributions from people who have sailed this route with either NCL or Princess, what is the difference in experience.

Princess does have a number of ships doing this route.

Also, am interested to hear from anyone regarding the itineraries - NCL is doing LA, San Francisco, Victoria and Vancouver whereas Princess is doing LA, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria, Vancouver or Vancouver, Victoria, overnight in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, Los Angeles and back to Vancouver.

This is a special cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary.

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks

[fabby50]

We have been on both and liked both, for all the usual reasons people say they like the different lines. Some people dislike the more informal approach of NCL. I've seen reviews from people who say they will never sail on NCL again because of the hull art. Seems a small point to me, but whatever you prefer, there's a cruise line for everyone.

 

I would check out the boards for each line and read reviews of the proposed ships, taking them all with a grain of salt of course.

 

Also, if you want to stick with ship sponsored tours, you may want to check out what shore excursions are offered. We've found the Princess ones to be more "staid" - we prefer active hiking/biking etc. type excursions. This could just be the routes we've taken and we just stay aware and plan stuff via other means if we need to.

[lamchops]

Hi, I am looking at doing a cruise next year in this area (Pacific coast) and would like some contributions from people who have sailed this route with either NCL or Princess, what is the difference in experience.

Princess does have a number of ships doing this route.

Also, am interested to hear from anyone regarding the itineraries - NCL is doing LA, San Francisco, Victoria and Vancouver whereas Princess is doing LA, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria, Vancouver or Vancouver, Victoria, overnight in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, Los Angeles and back to Vancouver.

This is a special cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary.

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks

 

As you can tell from my signature, we've done both cruise line's coastal 2 times each. I prefer the itinerary that Princess offers but I enjoy the service and cruise staff on NCL much more. The Pearl is my favorite ship based on the cruises that I have taken.

It sounds like you're planning to to a northbound in April/May.

Just before you leave for the cruise check the weather for Astoria, Victoria, and Vancouver. If it's greater than 50% chance of rain, buy the thermal grotto Spa package on the first day. It's limited (40?) and worth it when it's wet and cold out.

 

I've posted detailed reviews to DIY instead of taking the ship's excursions in all the ports mentioned.

[SadieN]

Love both Astoria and Victoria so that's an easy one for me.:D

 

Not many ships go to Astoira, even fewer spend more than 6 hours in Victoria.

 

Are you spending more time in California? If not, I'd do the Princess overnight in San Francisco. From there you can go to the wine country in Sonoma and Napa Valley.

Edited January 16, 2014 by SadieN

[em-sk]

Love both Astoria and Victoria so that's an easy one for me.:D

 

Not many ships go to Astoira, even fewer spend more than 6 hours in Victoria.

 

 

I did NCL in 2013. At that time it was LA, San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

 

San Francisco - I did Alcatraz. I was not expecting it be as interesting as it actually was. The park service boat to Alcatraz departs a block or two from where NCL docked. Tickets to the general public sell out ahead of time. The cruise line buys large blocks so I have no problem getting on board.

 

Astoria. - I was not expecting much but was very plesed we stopped here. There were actually two cruise ships in port. A smaller ship that could fit under the bridge. The ship we were on docked just before the bridge. This is place that has not been taken over by tourism. Makes for a very pleasant day.

 

Victoria - I live here now. It is a historic city.

 

Nanaimo - I lived here many years ago. Most passengers had little knowledge of the city and did not know what to expect. They do a nice job of running a shuttle between the ship and the city downtown.

 

If I were to do it again I would try to ensure Astria, San Francisco, Victoria and Nanaimo were stops en-route to Vancouver.

 

If you do decide to do the shorter cruise, you can also toss on an extra day after cruise and take the ferry over to Victoria. There are daily ships that connect Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle.

Edited January 19, 2014 by em-sk

[paluni]

I would take Princess, because it has more good ports. Santa Barbara and Catalina are really good. An overnight in San Francisco is very nice - can do a lot more. People report that they like Santa Barbara a lot. We enjoy Princess cruises. Best weather is usually September and October.

[OceanDreaming2]

As much as we enjoy NCL, I'd chose Princess in this instance. Just like the ports better. We just booked a 7 day Pacific coastal on the Crown for April 6.

[hello]

I would also check to see which line spends more hours in Victoria EARLY in the day. We love going to Victoria, however find that the shops seem to close by 6/7PM whenever we have been there. Definitely enjoy the all of the city lights at night ... just beautiful.

 

We, also, have really enjoyed Astoria and Nanaimo.

 

Astoria had a small craft market located just outside the the ship's security entrance ... and yes, two of our visits were POURING down rain.

 

Nanaimo had a free city bus that picked up at the pier ... which would have been quite a walk into town otherwise ... and made 4 or 5 different stops (I believe) ... it was also available all day. I believe they had 2 or 3 buses running.

 

The times we have done Princess, their San Francisco dock was right by Pier 39 (the shopping complex), whereas NCL was docked quite a ways away. We did walk to the Ferry Building and Pier 39, but it was QUITE a hike. The Ferry Building has a Farmers Market a few days a week (I would check their website to make sure of the days), and there was also a Craft Fair Market directly across the street from the Ferry Building ... not exactly sure when it is, but had found out that it would be when we were there.

 

Either one you choose .... you'll have a great time.

Edited February 16, 2014 by hello

[KCcruisin07]

We did the NCL Pacific Coastal last year with stops in San Francisco, Astoria, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Vancouver. It was great!

The Princess itinerary is better this year, so I would choose that.

[Urban trekker]

I am on that Princess - Vancouver to LA to Vancouver next year - good choice of ports and no travel for this Vancouver boy.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis