Celebrity Millennium or Star Princess/HAL in Alaska

[lozzie64]

Hi everyone, I have just booked a Concierge Class Cabin (inc Balcony) with Celebrity Millennium for 7 Sept 2018 sailing Seward to Vancouver, via Hubbard, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straight, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, port Vancouver, 7 nights. I am about to pay my deposit. I can't seem to get a Sky Suite or Aqua Class on the lefthand side (Starboard?), in the middle of ship or anywhere, apparently sold out already. So settled for Cabin 6135 Concierge Class. I have cruised once before on Celebrity Silhouette in the Med, smooth as silk for 7 days.

 

I need to sail on or around 6/7/8th Sept 2018 and this itinerary seemed to cover most places inc Inside Passage. There is a Princess Star that leaves Whittier on 8th but that ship looks bigger (700 people) and also it just says At Sea from Ketchikan to Vancouver so assuming there is no Inside Passage sailing? I want to see Glaciers, Whales and all other animals avail. I like the Seward - Vancouver to cover all bases and will probably do a Seward Whale Watch tour on the morning of the cruise as I will overnight before boarding in Seward.

 

Have a picked a good cruise? Silverseas, Regent etc, look to be out of the budget for the moment. I didn't want to miss Hubbard or Inside Passage? Would that be correct? Thanks.

[easyboy]

Matter of preference. If Celebrity has the itinerary you like, I would say you picked a good cruise. Personally, I love our sailing on the Glacier Bay so I would pick Star Princess.

 

 

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[Essiesmom]

Princess or HAL for Glacier Bay. Any ship sailing to/from Vancouver will be in the inside passage. 'At Sea' just means a day with no port call. I would also choose HAL or Princess because the ships have better outside viewing areas than does Millie. Regardless of the location of your balcony, you are not going to see nearly what there is to see if you spend all your time there. You need to be our moving about the ship. EM

[CruiserBruce]

The way to describe a ship location is to act as you are standing in the middle of the ship, looking forward to the bow. In that case, starboard is the right side of the ship. Port is left side.

 

The side of the ship your cabin is on really doesn't matter. The views are on all sides, and staying in your cabin doesn't help you see the best views.

[Keith1010]

I think the itinerary looks great.

 

If you are like many of us you will visit Alaska more then once.

 

Don't worry about what side of the ship you are on. Select the suite based on its location on the deck.

 

You will find that you will enjoy the views on the open deck where it will be easier to move from side to side and see more.

 

Keith

[lozzie64]

Thanks everyone, it's hard to know what you want to see when you haven't seen any of it before. Maybe I should revisit Princess if deck space viewing options are better from there? So hard to decide. Paying my deposit tomorrow, but can more than likely swap.

[lozzie64]

This is my Princess Option: Anchorage (whittier), Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Vancouver. It doesn't say Inside Passage from Ketchikan but sounds like thats what it does? I think the ports times are a little longer too on Millennium. Must check that again. So there are more viewing places outside the Cabin on Star Princess than Millennium?

[CruiserBruce]

If your cruise starts or ends in Vancouver, you are going the "true" Inside Passage (some call it the Canadian Inside Passage).

 

I don't know that you can say one ship really has more outside viewing areas than another. If it were factually true, I would bet you would have difficulty actually telling the difference. I think you may be starting to overthink this.

 

Route and itinerary is the key points.

[Aquahound]

Thanks everyone, it's hard to know what you want to see when you haven't seen any of it before. Maybe I should revisit Princess if deck space viewing options are better from there? So hard to decide. Paying my deposit tomorrow, but can more than likely swap.

 

I took that same exact cruise on Millennium and it was excellent! Celebrity is a great cruise line and their ships...in my opinion...are nicer and less crowded than Princess ships. Celebrity has a really nice lounge at the top, forward part of the ship that offers panoramic views ahead. In other words, I think the views are better from Celebrity ships. I also stayed in Concierge Class on that cruise, and I loved it.

 

For a southbound cruise, port (left) side is best. You'll get some excellent views your first couple days.

 

My advice...don't overthink this. You're booked on an excellent cruise. I recommend keeping it, and shifting your focus to your tours, etc.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Aquahound

[capriccio]

If you only plan one Alaska cruise in your life, make sure it includes Glacier Bay. It is spectacular and the entire day is special. National Park rangers board the ship around 6:30 am and stay on it until about 3 pm (while sailing in the National Park up and down the Bay), narrating much of time and offering a talk or two in the theater. Princess (not sure about Celebrity) also has on board naturalists that contribute much to the cruise with special talks, narrations from the bridge, etc.

[GottaKnowWhen]

If you only plan one Alaska cruise in your life, make sure it includes Glacier Bay. It is spectacular and the entire day is special. National Park rangers board the ship around 6:30 am and stay on it until about 3 pm (while sailing in the National Park up and down the Bay), narrating much of time and offering a talk or two in the theater. Princess (not sure about Celebrity) also has on board naturalists that contribute much to the cruise with special talks, narrations from the bridge, etc.

Milos R. Is 99% likely to be the naturalist aboard Millennium next September. He is super! Knowledgeable, a good speaker, eager to interpret the sights you are seeing, and he has a good working relationship with the captain and other crew. Also, I support the notion that port vs. starboard won’t make much difference. You’ll want to roam the decks. Note that on Millie the crowds tend to go up, but deck 4 outside has uncrowded lower level views, closer to wildlife, better views of the bergie bits, etc.

[Aquahound]

Ref the port/starboard side thing, if you're going to get a balcony anyways, why not try to get one that's slightly better. One of my most fond memories was early in the cruise. Wife was in the shower. I just sat there in awe as we sailed past Mt. St. Elias. The folks on the starboard side would have just seen open ocean. She took this in also as she got dressed.

 

It would have been a little awkward for her to get ready outside on the open decks. ;)

 

[CruiserBruce]

Ref the port/starboard side thing, if you're going to get a balcony anyways, why not try to get one that's slightly better. One of my most fond memories was early in the cruise. Wife was in the shower. I just sat there in awe as we sailed past Mt. St. Elias. The folks on the starboard side would have just seen open ocean. She took this in also as she got dressed.

 

It would have been a little awkward for her to get ready outside on the open decks. ;)

 

 

Great pic!

 

Now, can you say that at no time on that cruise did someone get a great view on the other side of the ship?

[lozzie64]

Thanks everyone, all good info and helpful tips. I had one last look at Princess last night and all the cabins I would have considered were gone, so I paid my deposit for Celebrity Millennium today and am very happy with my Concierge Class cabin and it's location. My agent and her cruise booking agent are happy that I will be happy and I have enjoyed Celebrity once before. Yes, now looking at Excursions. I want float planes, crab feasts, brown bears, more whales, think I might do a little Whale Watch something in Seward before we leave as well. I am very happy with the Itinerary and yes, there is a chance I will be back as I have some friends who want to go in a few years time.Cheers and no doubt I will have more questions.

[capriccio]

OP - I'm sure you'll have a fantastic cruise and may it be just the first of multiple Alaska cruises (we have number 3 planned for next summer). Some unsolicited advice on excursions: consider whale watching in Juneau - we had a fantastic trip with Harv and Marv; consider a float plane excursion in Ketchikan to the Misty Fjords that then lands so you can transfer to a boat for the trip back to Ketchikan (we did that as a ships excursion before I knew about cruise critic - you can arrange a private excursion for cheaper); and check out the Alaska Ports of Call forum (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55) for lots of good advice.

[Aquahound]

Yes, now looking at Excursions. I want float planes, crab feasts, brown bears, more whales, think I might do a little Whale Watch something in Seward before we leave as well. I am very happy with the Itinerary and yes, there is a chance I will be back as I have some friends who want to go in a few years time.Cheers and no doubt I will have more questions.

 

For whale watching, check out Misty Bay Lodge in Hoonah (Icy Strait Point). They only take 8 people max on their boat. It was my favorite excursion on that cruise. Plus, their boat has a platform on top for better viewing. I didn't see this on the other private tour boats.

 

Also, if you spend a few days pre-cruise in Alaska, I highly recommend going to Whittier and booking the 26 Glacier cruise with Phillips Cruises.

[lozzie64]

Thanks Capriccio and Aquahound. Yes, I have a list of things I would like to do, inc lots of whales, float plane, crab feast, and more so will post a different thread and see what pops up as I will try and cover it all with the ports I am visiting, ie not doing the same thing in each port.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Keep watching Celebrity for Aqua or Suites to come available. We were able to upgrade from a Celebrity Suite to a Royal Suite about a month before we sailed to Alaska in August.

[lozzie64]

Thanks Chezmarylou, Yes, I was talking to my agent about that. I like the side of the ship I am on so we didn't put down for an automatic upgrade if it became available, however we definitely decided to keep an eye on it. Did you ask for automatic upgrade or just kept checking? Yes, people's plans change. Great info, appreciated.

[lozzie64]

It looks like an Aqua Class Suite has opened up, room 9051. Just wondering how it will compare to my 6135 Concierge Class? It's definitely bigger I think, though closer to the front of ship.

[lozzie64]

Having said that, there are still some Sky Suites left on the Starboard side, in the middle, on lower Deck 6. I am really thinking of changing my booking now to one of those and then if a cabin on the Port side comes up I might be able to swap over??? Should I put this question on a different thread? The size of the rooms is quite a lot, 191sqft room to 251 sq ft for the Sky Suite. What to do, what to do!

[Cruzaholic41]

On southbound cruises, there's a reason port side sells first, likewise with starboard side on northbound cruises. For the northern part of the cruise, that's the side that sees land.

[new_cruiser]

For most of the cruise, you are in the Alaska or Canadian inside passage - there is land on both sides. The first day out of Seward, you will be in the Gulf of Alaska with land only to port, but much of that time you will be too far from land to see it.

 

We were on the port side on a Northbound Alaska cruise. There was land on our side of the ship most of the time, but most mornings the fog hampered visibility on both sides.

 

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