NCL or Princess to Alaska with Teens?

[KC512]

I am in the process of planning my families' very first ever cruise.  We will be doing a 7 day Seattle cruise to Alaska that includes Glacier Bay.  My husband and I will be travelling with our two boys ages 13 and 16.  I have it narrowed down to NCL and Princess.  Which to you recommend?  It seems from what I read that Princess really has the best programming for Alaska.  I have read many, many posts about how wonderful their park rangers are who board the ship and how great their staff is.  My hesitation is that it doesn't seem that there is a lot for my two teen boys to do when we are on the boat.  NCL seems to have the most for teens to do.  But I have read that NCL's Alaska programming is not that great and that their dining can be tough to deal with.  I'd love some advice!  This is a ton of money we are spending and its a once in a lifetime trip, I want to get it right!

[nordicacres]

National Park rangers board both cruise lines for Glacier Bay. We chose NCL from Vancouver to Seward for my 18 y/o and I. I’m not sure what you mean by tough dining. It’s freestyle. If you’re cruising from Seattle I’d choose the line that offers the best times in port. 

[KC512]

I read in one post that the person providing the commentary during Glacier Bay cruising on NCL was more like an advertisement for excursions, etc and that Princess was much more informative.  I don't know if that's true.  I was also worried about the one port that you had to take a shuttle to if you were on NCL - other posts said that was a real hassle and wasted port time.  

[nordicacres]

I sincerely doubt that National Park rangers are advertising for any cruise line.
 

I think it depends on what you want to do in Ketchikan. Ward Cove is much closer to Totem Bight SP. My son wanted to zip line so that’s what we’ll be doing there, and we booked that excursion thru NCL. There are trade-offs for every route, every line. You just have to decide what is most important to you. I have never cruised Princess so can’t comment there.

 

How do the port times compare?

[Coral]

1 hour ago, KC512 said:

I read in one post that the person providing the commentary during Glacier Bay cruising on NCL was more like an advertisement for excursions, etc and that Princess was much more informative.  I don't know if that's true.  I was also worried about the one port that you had to take a shuttle to if you were on NCL - other posts said that was a real hassle and wasted port time.  

This is not true for Glacier Bay. These are National Park Rangers and it is required they board the ship on all ships going to Glacier Bay. They are there for education (and to protect wildlife and the area). It maybe true for other glacier days.  

 

I know my RCCL ship on Hubbard Glacier the speaker was all about shopping at the ports.

[KC512]

2 hours ago, nordicacres said:

National Park rangers board both cruise lines for Glacier Bay. We chose NCL from Vancouver to Seward for my 18 y/o and I. I’m not sure what you mean by tough dining. It’s freestyle. If you’re cruising from Seattle I’d choose the line that offers the best times in port. 

I have read that the Freestyle dining can be tricky - I've read about people having trouble securing acceptable times to dine, etc.  I am not sure if that is really a concern.  

[KC512]

Thank you all for your responses!  They are very helpful!

I guess my biggest concern is entertainment on the boat - if you have sailed NCL and Princess I am curious which one you feel excelled in this area?  I am most worried about my teens and them being bored on the day at sea or in the evening.  

[KC512]

1 hour ago, nordicacres said:

I sincerely doubt that National Park rangers are advertising for any cruise line.
 

I think it depends on what you want to do in Ketchikan. Ward Cove is much closer to Totem Bight SP. My son wanted to zip line so that’s what we’ll be doing there, and we booked that excursion thru NCL. There are trade-offs for every route, every line. You just have to decide what is most important to you. I have never cruised Princess so can’t comment there.

 

How do the port times compare?

This is a great point.  I had not thought to determine which excursions we would want to do vs their proximity to Ward's Cove.  Thank you!

[karatemom2]

My kids have been cruising on Princess with us since they were 5 and 10 - they are adults now. They never had any issue being bored and always met other teens onboard. There will be a lot of families traveling over the summer and Princess puts together a nice program for all age groups.

 

Yes, NCL has more stuff onboard with the Go Carts and Laser Tag - that would be fun for teen boys. But, really this trip should be your opportunity to really let them see Alaska and Princess is so much better for that. I would look at planning some really fun and adventurous port tours too which would make it even more fun for them.

[KC512]

13 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

My kids have been cruising on Princess with us since they were 5 and 10 - they are adults now. They never had any issue being bored and always met other teens onboard. There will be a lot of families traveling over the summer and Princess puts together a nice program for all age groups.

 

Yes, NCL has more stuff onboard with the Go Carts and Laser Tag - that would be fun for teen boys. But, really this trip should be your opportunity to really let them see Alaska and Princess is so much better for that. I would look at planning some really fun and adventurous port tours too which would make it even more fun for them.

Thank you so much for this information!  It is great to hear from someone who has taken kids on their cruises and had a good experience.  You mentioned that Princess does Alaska better than NCL - what do you think is the difference?  The port times seem similar, but it sounds like NCL doesn't have the premier docking locations that Princess does.  

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, KC512 said:

Thank you so much for this information!  It is great to hear from someone who has taken kids on their cruises and had a good experience.  You mentioned that Princess does Alaska better than NCL - what do you think is the difference?  The port times seem similar, but it sounds like NCL doesn't have the premier docking locations that Princess does.  

Generally in a side by side comparison, Princess usually offers better port times, not just in length of time, but also not odd hours. Also, in Ketchikan, Princess docks right in town as opposed to a remote dock at Ward Cove that NCL uses. We have cruised both Princess and NCL multiple times in Alaska and one of my main issues with NCL was the Ward Cove docking location. It is very inconvenient and really diminishes the time you have to enjoy your time in port due to the shuttle situation. We love Ketchikan and always have a full day planned. 
 

Princess also just does a great job onboard with their Alaskan cultural and naturalist program that we have never found matched on any other line we have tried for Alaska. 

[KC512]

1 hour ago, karatemom2 said:

Generally in a side by side comparison, Princess usually offers better port times, not just in length of time, but also not odd hours. Also, in Ketchikan, Princess docks right in town as opposed to a remote dock at Ward Cove that NCL uses. We have cruised both Princess and NCL multiple times in Alaska and one of my main issues with NCL was the Ward Cove docking location. It is very inconvenient and really diminishes the time you have to enjoy your time in port due to the shuttle situation. We love Ketchikan and always have a full day planned. 
 

Princess also just does a great job onboard with their Alaskan cultural and naturalist program that we have never found matched on any other line we have tried for Alaska. 

Thank you so much!  This makes me feel so much better pulling the trigger with Princess.

[KC512]

Just now, KC512 said:

Thank you so much!  This makes me feel so much better pulling the trigger with Princess.

Out of curiosity - what are your favorites in Ketchikan?

[sherryf]

It depends on your teens and what they enjoy.  We took my 3 kids to Alaska on Princess 3 times while they were teens/young adults, and we took one friend on 2 of those cruises.  They all had a wonderful time!  They would not have been interested in go carts or climbing walls.  They did go to a few lectures.  They met friends in the clubs, and hung out with each other also.  They stayed up late and ate everything in sight. They enjoyed the pools and hot tubs.

 

Honestly, the most important thing about an Alaskan cruise is Alaska!  Don't choose your cruise based on what you think your kids will like on the ship.  Choose based on best port times, glaciers, and enrichment/naturalists on board.

[KC512]

21 minutes ago, sherryf said:

It depends on your teens and what they enjoy.  We took my 3 kids to Alaska on Princess 3 times while they were teens/young adults, and we took one friend on 2 of those cruises.  They all had a wonderful time!  They would not have been interested in go carts or climbing walls.  They did go to a few lectures.  They met friends in the clubs, and hung out with each other also.  They stayed up late and ate everything in sight. They enjoyed the pools and hot tubs.

 

Honestly, the most important thing about an Alaskan cruise is Alaska!  Don't choose your cruise based on what you think your kids will like on the ship.  Choose based on best port times, glaciers, and enrichment/naturalists on board.

Thank you!  I guess I underestimate them meeting other teens, but I am sure they do and that fills their down time.  

[karatemom2]

2 hours ago, KC512 said:

Out of curiosity - what are your favorites in Ketchikan?

 

Oh my gosh - so many, where to begin.

 

Ketchikan itself is a charming little town with a wonderful history, so just exploring in town offers quite an array of things to do and see. We love going up to Cape Fox Lodge for breakfast and sitting by the window watching the float planes land and then walking down Married Man's Trail from the top and exploring the historic Creek Street area. During salmon season you can watch hundreds of salmon fighting their way back up the creek and we like to fish from the bridge and docks there.

 

You will find a couple of small, but interesting museums in town and the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, plus just lots of charming shops and some fun and delicious places to try the local cuisine. The Lumberjack Show is cheesy, but fun for a once and done kind of thing.

 

But we really love getting outside of town and exploring the beauty - in one direction you will find Saxman Native Village and up the road Herring Cove, where you can stop and watch for bears during the salmon run. If you head the other direction you will see the beautiful Totem Bight Park on the beach with it's pretty trails, Ward Lake and the hiking there as well as Lunch Creek Trail which is so easy and leads to a beautiful waterfall.

 

We find that we have our best days in Ketchikan by renting a car or van for the day and letting the weather and our sense of adventure dictate our itinerary for the day. It is the best way to get out and explore and driving is so easy as there is basically just one road and you can only go so far in either direction. 

 

This is a great map to use for an overview:

 

https://www.experienceketchikan.com/support-files/revillagigedo_map.pdf

[KC512]

53 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 

Oh my gosh - so many, where to begin.

 

Ketchikan itself is a charming little town with a wonderful history, so just exploring in town offers quite an array of things to do and see. We love going up to Cape Fox Lodge for breakfast and sitting by the window watching the float planes land and then walking down Married Man's Trail from the top and exploring the historic Creek Street area. During salmon season you can watch hundreds of salmon fighting their way back up the creek and we like to fish from the bridge and docks there.

 

You will find a couple of small, but interesting museums in town and the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, plus just lots of charming shops and some fun and delicious places to try the local cuisine. The Lumberjack Show is cheesy, but fun for a once and done kind of thing.

 

But we really love getting outside of town and exploring the beauty - in one direction you will find Saxman Native Village and up the road Herring Cove, where you can stop and watch for bears during the salmon run. If you head the other direction you will see the beautiful Totem Bight Park on the beach with it's pretty trails, Ward Lake and the hiking there as well as Lunch Creek Trail which is so easy and leads to a beautiful waterfall.

 

We find that we have our best days in Ketchikan by renting a car or van for the day and letting the weather and our sense of adventure dictate our itinerary for the day. It is the best way to get out and explore and driving is so easy as there is basically just one road and you can only go so far in either direction. 

 

This is a great map to use for an overview:

 

https://www.experienceketchikan.com/support-files/revillagigedo_map.pdf

This sounds awesome - it makes me sad that on both cruises we are considering we are only there until mid afternoon!  Thank you for the ideas!

[Kingsmom]

On 4/9/2024 at 10:16 AM, sherryf said:

Honestly, the most important thing about an Alaskan cruise is Alaska!  Don't choose your cruise based on what you think your kids will like on the ship.  Choose based on best port times, glaciers, and enrichment/naturalists on board.

I have to agree.  I recently spent WAY too much time planning a cruise around what I thought would make my 17yo son and his friend happy.  The water slides and ropes courses weren't it.  

[sadiwest]

On 4/8/2024 at 11:08 AM, KC512 said:

 This is a ton of money we are spending and its a once in a lifetime trip, I want to get it right!

Tossing in my $.02.

 

Out of the 3 of us (DH 60, me 54, and DD 14) I'm the only one who has been to Alaska.   Next year when dd will be 15 am planning on going via Princess.  

 

My thoughts are... I doubt any ship will have the bells and whistles shes used to (RCCL Anthem or Oasis....etc) but that's par for the course size wise. Not all ships can do that itinerary. 

 

While I'll spend countless hpurs trying to plan it just so the truth is that this IS a once ib a lifetime trip. Everything you see and do is going to be more amazing than you anticipated.   If the kids are the types to appreciate what they'll see it won't matter what the ships offer.

 

I get the draw of bumper cars and ice skating, but if my dd can't appreciate the forest for the trees (or Alaska for the glaciers) she'll make do and hopefully appreciate what she sees. 

Edited April 16 by sadiwest