Golden vs Grand Alaska

[retta]

There is more cabins available on the Grand for the dates in June I need. I wanted to do the Golden, but price would be more and location not good. Please help what is the difference in ships. I know Grand is older. The Golden seems to get better reviews. Thank you for any help on this.

[Colo Cruiser]

There is more cabins available on the Grand for the dates in June I need. I wanted to do the Golden, but price would be more and location not good. Please help what is the difference in ships. I know Grand is older. The Golden seems to get better reviews. Thank you for any help on this.

 

 

We like the Golden because it still has Skywalkers.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I did the Grand in July 2013 out of San Fran for a 10 Alaska cruise and it was awesome!

[bdjam]

Golden Princess was the second of the original Grand Class trio coming right behind Grand Princess - she's only a couple of years younger and both ships have had major refurbishments.

Golden has Skywalkers, Grand does not; Grand has Alfredos, Golden does not. Grand has window suites, Golden has Sun Deck suites.

I think either ship would be fine for standard cruising - personally I'd pick Grand Princess but that's just because I have had better times on that ship.

[IECalCruiser]

Golden Princess was the second of the original Grand Class trio coming right behind Grand Princess - she's only a couple of years younger and both ships have had major refurbishments.

Golden has Skywalkers, Grand does not; Grand has Alfredos, Golden does not. Grand has window suites, Golden has Sun Deck suites.

I think either ship would be fine for standard cruising - personally I'd pick Grand Princess but that's just because I have had better times on that ship.

The Golden also has Window Suites in addition to the suites on the Sun deck. We have the Grand booked for a 10 day Mexico cruise from San Francisco and the Golden booked for a 17 day cruise from Chile to LA in 2015. Expect to enjoy both ships. Edited January 17, 2014 by IECalCruiser

[sherryf]

The biggest difference that you should be considering here is the itinerary. Golden is going to Glacier Bay, but Grand is only going to Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier. In June, there may be too much ice in Tracy Arm to get far enough in to see the glacier.

 

I'm also trying to decide between these two ships for this summer, but I've been to Glacier Bay 3x and Tracy Arm 2x, have been on Golden 3x but never Grand. I go every summer, so I might be willing to sacrifice Glacier Bay in order to check out the Grand and get a longer port time in Ketchikan.

 

If this is your first/only trip to Alaska, go for the Golden to Glacier Bay.