Celebrity for Alaska?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We sailed with Celebrity once and loved it.  Now we are looking for an Alaskan cruise and two of our friends recommend Celebrity because of the retreat.  I have read that Holland, Princess (only sailed with them once and wasn't impressed), and NCL are best for Alaska.  My husband and I are in our 50's and will traveling without children.  Would you choose X or one of the top 3?  I do think a Celebrity suite would be awesome in Alaska with the floor to ceiling views!

[keels81]

I went to Alaska for the first time on the Solstice with my husband and parents back in 2017 and both generations loved every minute. We'll be going back this season on the Summit because I just loved the experience. I don't need the bells and whistles of a more "fun" ship like the NCL ship built for Alaska. 

 

I loved Celebrity because it felt slightly more high-end, had plenty of intimate quiet spaces for enjoying the beauty of the land and just generally relaxing, and -- for night owls like my husband and I -- the lounges on Celebrity ships tend to, in our experience, keep later hours than on other lines. 

 

Also, I LOVED being able to get back indoors and have a delicious bowl of ramen at the sushi restaurant while being out in the chilly weather for an extended period of time.

[deliver42]

I would stay with Celebrity unless you want Glacier Bay. Then go with HAL or Princess. Yes, Celebrity has more lounges than princess or HAL.

[wrk2cruise]

For cruise only I think you are fine with Celebrity, especially if sailing in a suite with all the Retreat benefits.   If you were doing the land/sea package I agree with the advise you received to do HAL/Princess as they have their own lodging.   We are Celebrity loyalists and did Alaska with Celebrity and were disappointed with the accommodations on the land portion.

[keesar]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We sailed with Celebrity once and loved it.  Now we are looking for an Alaskan cruise and two of our friends recommend Celebrity because of the retreat.  I have read that Holland, Princess (only sailed with them once and wasn't impressed), and NCL are best for Alaska.  My husband and I are in our 50's and will traveling without children.  Would you choose X or one of the top 3?  I do think a Celebrity suite would be awesome in Alaska with the floor to ceiling views!

 We have done Celebrity to Alaska and loved it.  I did look at the current  itineraries and  I would go with Princess or Holland America which go to Glacier Bay.  .   

[Mr. Click]

We did Alaska on Celebrity about 5 years ago and loved it.  We did a land trip after our cruise on our own and were very happy.  We did use Princess Lodges for our Denali accomdations and they were ok.   We were supposed to go back with our children and grandchildren but that got killed in the pandemic.  We are not talking about booking it for next summer (2022) but if Celebrity sticks with their AI pricing plan we will be forced to look elsewhere.   Since we do not drink and we have Elite Captain's Club status to cover our internet and a few waters and sodas each day it is just not worth the AI upcharge.    Sadly if I was booking anything today, Alaska, Iceland, the Med, I would be hard pressed to pay the AI rates when all I would be doing is subsidizing someone else's bar tab.

[justcrusn]

We’ve never done an Alaska cruise (yet), but I’ve read a lot about them on here.

Smarter folk than I often say Princess has the better itinerary.

I can’t advise more than that, but I’ve read that many, many times on CC.

 

I can tell you that we LOVE the celebrity experience, and would sail with them if all else is equal.

[iamaqt2]

I've cruised HAL, Princess and Celebrity to Alaska.  Each offers something different, and has a different experience.  

My first was with HAL 10 years ago in my late 30's with a teen and 10 year old.  The cruise was very port intensive, with lots of immersive activities and busy days.  Night time activity was next to nothing, and most nights the ship was tucked in at 10 pm.  The demographic was much older than us, and we had little in common with fellow cruisers.

Our next Alaska cruise was on Princess in my mid 40's without children, and the demographic was much closer to my age group.  The immersive ship experience wasn't as good as HAL, but the nightly entertainment was much better, and I liked the food more.

My last Alaska cruise was on Celebrity Millennium.  It was a one way southbound with friends we met on a different cruise.  This was the most upscale of the 3 and definitely fit in our age demographic.  The immersive experience was severely lacking, but after 2 previous cruises to Alaska, I was looking to enjoy the ship with friends.  And we had a great time.

I'm currently booked on the Summit for a July cruise this year to Alaska.  I don't care about the ports.  I care about the food and onboard experience.  

 

With all of that being said.  IF Alaska is a first for you, and getting the most out of the cruise in an immersive experience is important, then Celebrity may not fit the bill.  

IMHO nothing compares to HAL in Alaska, even though the demographic is much older.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

16 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

For cruise only I think you are fine with Celebrity, especially if sailing in a suite with all the Retreat benefits.   If you were doing the land/sea package I agree with the advise you received to do HAL/Princess as they have their own lodging.   We are Celebrity loyalists and did Alaska with Celebrity and were disappointed with the accommodations on the land portion.

We are looking at their 10 day land and sea.  What was wrong with the accommodations on land?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

14 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I've cruised HAL, Princess and Celebrity to Alaska.  Each offers something different, and has a different experience.  

My first was with HAL 10 years ago in my late 30's with a teen and 10 year old.  The cruise was very port intensive, with lots of immersive activities and busy days.  Night time activity was next to nothing, and most nights the ship was tucked in at 10 pm.  The demographic was much older than us, and we had little in common with fellow cruisers.

Our next Alaska cruise was on Princess in my mid 40's without children, and the demographic was much closer to my age group.  The immersive ship experience wasn't as good as HAL, but the nightly entertainment was much better, and I liked the food more.

My last Alaska cruise was on Celebrity Millennium.  It was a one way southbound with friends we met on a different cruise.  This was the most upscale of the 3 and definitely fit in our age demographic.  The immersive experience was severely lacking, but after 2 previous cruises to Alaska, I was looking to enjoy the ship with friends.  And we had a great time.

I'm currently booked on the Summit for a July cruise this year to Alaska.  I don't care about the ports.  I care about the food and onboard experience.  

 

With all of that being said.  IF Alaska is a first for you, and getting the most out of the cruise in an immersive experience is important, then Celebrity may not fit the bill.  

IMHO nothing compares to HAL in Alaska, even though the demographic is much older.

What is so much better about Holland in Alaska?  

[iamaqt2]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

What is so much better about Holland in Alaska?  

They have a naturalist on board giving presentations, port talks, and overhead announcements about wildlife spottings.  In Glacier Bay a Park Ranger comes aboard and does a program with the kids and also narrates the highlights of the Bay. 

I'm not a fan of HAL by any means.  But IMO, they do an excellent job in Alaska.

[Darcy8]

Princess also has Ranger on board during the Glacier Bay.   I thought they did a fabulous job with narration.   Our experience was very similar to that as described by iamaqt2 above with on board naturaalists giving presentations and wildlife spotting announcements.

[Charles4515]

The problem with Celebrity in Alaska is that they do not do Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay is a must in my opinion. Holland America and Princess do Glacier Bay and both are well established in Alaska. Having  done Glacier Bay I might do Celebrity in Alaska someday but really I could do Glacier Bay over and over. Spectacular.

[nwcruiselover]

I join others in recommending Glacier Bay as a must-see part of an Alaska cruise.  I have done 6 Alaska cruise so far, on several different lines.  The itineraries that included Glacier Bay were far more satisfying cruises than those that didn’t.  An Alaska cruise is more about the scenery than the ship, so do yourself a favor and see Glacier Bay!