What's the best princess ship for Alaska???

[portcbob]

Hi. 

Wife and I are starting to research a Alaska northbound cruise probably from Vancouver in 2022.

May we please have some advice which princess ship is the best.

[mevs904]

We sailed on the Coral and would definitely recommend her.  The full promenade deck and fore and aft “secret” viewing areas provide many opportunities for excellent viewing.  We had a balcony stateroom, but enjoyed having a variety of areas to view the scenery.  It’s been several years since we took our cruise, but the naturalist on board, Mark Harris, was first class.

     We liked the Coral so much that we sailed on her for our Panama Canal cruise too!  We also had a reservation on the Coral for a March 2021 South America/Antarctica cruise, but sadly cancelled that reservation due to the pandemic.

[leck57]

1 hour ago, portcbob said:

Hi. 

Wife and I are starting to research a Alaska northbound cruise probably from Vancouver in 2022.

May we please have some advice which princess ship is the best.

 

Greetings from just down the road in Biggera W. We did a southbound to Vancouver on the Royal last August which we found fantastic. Many on here will advise smaller ships for an Alaskan cruise but we found no fault with the Royal whatsoever, in particular viewing areas. Not sure whether it is in your plans but consider a Princess cruise tour to go with it. We flew to Anchoage and did an 8 day Princess land tour then the cruise, which was wise as the land tour is pretty hectic and the cruise allows a bit of rest.

Princess does Alaska very well, especially Glacier Bay. Enjoy researching what will be a great trip. We are just waiting for cruising to start up and we will go anywhere, just to get going again.

[capriccio]

We've done Alaska on the Coral twice and the Ruby (which we have also cruised on for other itineraries) once.  My recommendation is the Coral for all the same reasons as mevs904 (post #2) plus their wonderful show created just for the Coral and its siser ship:  On the Bayou.  We always reserved a mini-suite with a covered balcony; it can rain in Alaska so we wanted the ability to sit on our balcony in all types of weather.

[Cruiserkenn]

I have been on 14 Alaska cruises, all on Princess Grand Class ships.  The Grand Class ships are wonderful for Alaska:  the sheltered promenade decks are perfect for viewing the scenery.

 

I have sailed from Seattle, Vancouver, and San Francisco on:  Grand, Star, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Diamond.  (Oooh, I forgot.  I have also been to Alaska on Dawn and Sun, both of which also had nice sheltered promenade decks.  I have also been to Alaska on the original Star, in addition tot he current Star.)

 

Go for it!  Princess Alaska cruises are wonderful!

[Kamloops50]

14 hours ago, portcbob said:

Hi. 

Wife and I are starting to research a Alaska northbound cruise probably from Vancouver in 2022.

May we please have some advice which princess ship is the best.

Don't recommend the Grand or Royal Class ships. The rest will be fine. Currently don't know which will be in Alaska , so really can't give advice as to which ship.

[Thrak]

10 minutes ago, Kamloops50 said:

Don't recommend the Grand or Royal Class ships. The rest will be fine. Currently don't know which will be in Alaska , so really can't give advice as to which ship.

 

Ummm... That doesn't leave much in the way of ships unless you are specifically referring to Grand Princess rather than the Grand Class. Grand Class ships are great for Alaska as would be Coral Princess (which, of course, is not a Grand Class ship).

 

I agree with  @leck57 regarding doing a land tour. We've done two Alaska cruise tours (we did the connoisseur tours and highly recommend them) and feel that doing the land portion first and the cruise portion after is the way to go. Take the longest land tour you can manage - it's worth doing.

[Kamloops50]

27 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Ummm... That doesn't leave much in the way of ships unless you are specifically referring to Grand Princess rather than the Grand Class. Grand Class ships are great for Alaska as would be Coral Princess (which, of course, is not a Grand Class ship).

 

I agree with  @leck57 regarding doing a land tour. We've done two Alaska cruise tours (we did the connoisseur tours and highly recommend them) and feel that doing the land portion first and the cruise portion after is the way to go. Take the longest land tour you can manage - it's worth doing.

I’m specifically referring to the Grand Princess . I wasn’t clear enough . The Grand Princess since Skywalker’s has been removed  isn’t great for viewing scenery in Alaska.

[RNCheryl]

The Coral, for sure. Just the right size, and in our experience, the best crew ever.

[Lucky TGO]

I can’t say witch ships is the best. I think the smaller ships might be. When I went to Alaska I was on the Star Princess and I really like the ship. Just think your going to be on a cruise ship going to Alaska it doesn’t get much better then that. Have a great time!!

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by Lucky TGO

[waltd]

I would say the best ship is the one that goes to more of the ports that you are interested in.   All the ships have their plus and minuses.    Alaska is a great cruise.

[ontheweb]

What made our Princess Alaska cruise extra special was the naturalist aboard, Mike Modzelewski. If he is still employed by Princess, I would try to see what ship he was on.

[skynight]

My opinion,

1. Coral Princess, older (2003) but suited for Alaska

2. Any on the Grand or Crown class ships

3. Royal Class ships

 

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

7 hours ago, skynight said:

My opinion,

1. Coral Princess, older (2003) but suited for Alaska

2. Any on the Grand or Crown class ships

3. Royal Class ships

 

 

I’m going to offer a different opinion and say Sapphire. She has a wraparound promenade, lots of open deck space, an enclosed pool, Skywalkers, Alfredos Pizzeria, Vines, International cafe and lots of balcony rooms. Yes she’s a bit larger than Coral, but the other items to me make her a great option.

Edited October 4, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[Thrak]

31 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I’m going to offer a different opinion and say Sapphire. She has a wraparound promenade, lots of open deck space, an enclosed pool, Skywalkers, Alfredos Pizzeria, Vines, International cafe and lots of balcony rooms. Yes she’s a bit larger than Coral, but the other items to me make her a great option.

 

We're booked 10 days on Sapphire for Alaska next September. Hoping it happens. Sailed Sapphire 12 days to Norway in 2019. Great ship. Not only is the IC larger than the one on Coral but the Piazza is, in my opinion, a much better design. To me, the only drawback to Coral is the Piazza design. I"m not at all a fan of that layout and much prefer the Piazza on the Grand Class ships. We are really looking forward to sailing Sapphire again and the cruise visits Sitka and Icy Strait Point which are two places we haven't been before.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Thrak

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@Thrak Sitka and Icy Strait Point are both great ports. I especially enjoy Sitka. 
 

I just looked at that itinerary - it really is terrific!  Too bad they don’t offer it for the full summer season.  The only negative is that so late in the season the weather can be pretty bad and many stores may already be closed (if one is into shopping). On the flip side for shoppers they can get lots of sales on tacky tourist tat 🤓

Edited October 4, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[brisalta]

On 10/3/2020 at 10:12 AM, Kamloops50 said:

I’m specifically referring to the Grand Princess . I wasn’t clear enough . The Grand Princess since Skywalker’s has been removed  isn’t great for viewing scenery in Alaska.

 

The Grand Princess is great for viewing scenery in Alaska. There are plenty of spaces that allow viewing.

In addition the Grand Princess has an in door swimming pool which is usable when it is cold outside.

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, brisalta said:

Grand Princess has an in door swimming pool which is usable when it is cold outside.

Interesting about all the posts about an "indoor swimming pool" for Alaska - is it really used that much ???

 

Isn't Alaska all about the outdoors, scenery, and viewing areas of a ship ???

[brisalta]

4 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Interesting about all the posts about an "indoor swimming pool" for Alaska - is it really used that much ???

 

Isn't Alaska all about the outdoors, scenery, and viewing areas of a ship ???

 

Not much scenery to see when it is out at sea over the horizon from land and not much scenery to see when the sun is down.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

7 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Interesting about all the posts about an "indoor swimming pool" for Alaska - is it really used that much ???

 

Isn't Alaska all about the outdoors, scenery, and viewing areas of a ship ???

It becomes another climate controlled area for scenic viewing on Glacier days, inside passage cruising, etc.  The pool may not be used much, but the space itself is

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Not much scenery to see when it is out at sea over the horizon from land and not much scenery to see when the sun is down.

exactly, so why are "most" posters here on CC so against the Royal class ships ?

[brisalta]

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

exactly, so why are "most" posters here on CC so against the Royal class ships ?

 

No promenade and the pools are out door so not suitable to be used when it is cold. Too many passengers. Too large to sail in and out of certain ports and they have difficulty with some other ports.

Edited October 4, 2020 by brisalta

[AtlantaCruiser72]

4 minutes ago, voljeep said:

exactly, so why are "most" posters here on CC so against the Royal class ships ?

Sailing out of Seattle it’s a non-issue, but from Vancouver where other ships stay within the inside passage (with some spectacular scenery) the Royal class must sail west of Vancouver island due to size, so hence less desirable.  This also why for round trip sailings many will choose Vancouver over Seattle (when available).

Edited October 4, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[brisalta]

6 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

It becomes another climate controlled area for scenic viewing on Glacier days, inside passage cruising, etc.  The pool may not be used much, but the space itself is

 

That is very true. So easy to get from one side or the other on the upper level of the pool atrium to look out the glass doors or just go outside.

[Cruiserkenn]

On October 3, 2020 at 7:31 PM, Lucky TGO said:

I can’t say witch ships is the best. I think the smaller ships might be. When I went to Alaska I was on the Star Princess and I really like the ship. Just think your going to be on a cruise ship going to Alaska it doesn’t get much better then that. Have a great time!!

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the great picture of the Star and presumably The Captain of the Rowboat:)