August 2015 cruise - which Princess ship to Alaska

[homeatlast]

We are considering next August for Voyage of the Glaciers on Princess, either to or from Vancouver. We are kind of spoiled from recent cruises on Oceania and Regent, but from what I've read here and elsewhere, Princess seems the way to go for seeing the glaciers and icebergs. Can anyone please recommend a best choice for which Princess ship to take, in terms of recent refurbishment, comfort, food etc? We sailed Princess many years ago and enjoyed it, so I'm pretty sure we will again.

[chrysalis]

What are the options?

[Working 2 Cruise]

I'd book the Pacific Princess.... Small ship...

Edited July 31, 2014 by Working 2 Cruise

[Kamloops50]

Depends on your dates and budget . If your not doing a land tour , consider a 14 day return from Vancouver . Sometimes the cruise is cheaper than the flight to/from Anchorage and the same for Vancouver.

If you can do only a one way , fly to Anchorage and cruise to Vancouver.

SB you'll visit Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay NP.

[Illyria]

We are considering next August for Voyage of the Glaciers on Princess, either to or from Vancouver. We are kind of spoiled from recent cruises on Oceania and Regent, but from what I've read here and elsewhere, Princess seems the way to go for seeing the glaciers and icebergs. Can anyone please recommend a best choice for which Princess ship to take, in terms of recent refurbishment, comfort, food etc? We sailed Princess many years ago and enjoyed it, so I'm pretty sure we will again.

Island Princess is going into dry dock in April 2015, so she'll be nice and fresh for an August itinerary :)

[H2Go]

But the Island is heading to the Mediterranean next summer... This season is her last in Alaska for now.

[Illyria]

But the Island is heading to the Mediterranean next summer... This season is her last in Alaska for now.

Sorry, you're right... didn't realize that she isn't repositioning back to Vancouver until 2016.

[Kamloops50]

I would consider the Coral instead.

 

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Forums mobile app

[MSMcDuffy]

IMO, the smaller the ship the better, especially for AK.

[Once Upon A Time]

I would book the Coral Princess in a heartbeat! Love that ship and her amazing crew.. Smaller ship is best for Alaska and the Coral has some great viewing areas..

[homeatlast]

Still thinking what to do, Coral Princess looks pretty good. We like that size of ship, as our first cruise was on the old Regal Princess many long years ago. Is Coral due for new mattresses, carpets etc. anytime soon? One recent review thought the ship looked kind of tired and run down?

[shredie]

IMO, the smaller the ship the better, especially for AK.

 

I've done the big ones and the little ones. You most definitely want the smaller one, whatever it is. They get up closer to the glaciers, and there will be fewer kids on the Princess or Ocean (if available.) The Coral is a beautiful ship, and the layout is much easier to navigate than the big girls. Go smaller.

[pjo]

We just booked the 10 day roundtrip from SF in August. The extra days plus leaving from SF was too good to resist.

 

Paul

[Astro Flyer]

Still thinking what to do, Coral Princess looks pretty good. We like that size of ship, as our first cruise was on the old Regal Princess many long years ago. Is Coral due for new mattresses, carpets etc. anytime soon? One recent review thought the ship looked kind of tired and run down?

Mattresses are being gradually replaced with the pillow-top ones we enjoyed on the Royal Princess. Except for the new ships, there is someone who will describe any ship as "tired & run down" so that's not a consideration for me. I've read such comments about a cruise we were also on & never saw anything out of the ordinary. Ships are constantly exposed to salt air so there'll be rust spots and railings that need to be varnished along the way.

 

I don't know if the Pacific or the Ocean is an option but since you've been on Oceania they're the same old Renaissance ships that Oceania sails but probably finished off differently.

 

Last summer we enjoyed sailing Coral in Alaska and they were in the process of replacing the carpet with that on the new ships. They also added a small International Café adjacent to the casino and improved the buffet. At 92,000 tons and carrying nearly 2000 passengers we found her and her sister ship the Island to be uncrowded. I feel that the production show "On the Bayou" which is only on these two ships is great.

[bachcruise]

I would book the Coral Princess in a heartbeat! Love that ship and her amazing crew.. Smaller ship is best for Alaska and the Coral has some great viewing areas..

 

 

Totally agree. I'd book the Coral without hesitation. It's a wonderful ship with a great layout and tons of open deck space..perfect for Alaska.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums