Need Advise May 08 Cruise

[mikensuenfl]

Please Help Us Decide.. Planning End Of May Next Year Southbound Glacier Cruise With Pre 4 Day Independent Tours.. Cant Decide To Go Rccl ,radiance Or Princess,diamond,or Sapphire.what Are Thoughts Of Icy Straight Stop With Rc.. Seems That Princess Trip Has More To Offer.. Thanks

[NancyIL]

We really enjoyed our northbound cruise on the Coral Princess 2 weeks ago. Glacier Bay and College Fjords were both beautiful. I have been happy with 3 previous RCI cruises (none to Alaska), but I know that Princess does a good job in Alaska.

[mikensuenfl]

thanks nancy,never been to alaska,so all this is new to us.. we are diamond plus members with rccl.. we can get a balcony cabin for 1,309 plus tax and port charges,each,minus $200.00 plus $100.00 obc.. on the radiance.. looks like a good deal but i think i like the princess glacier trip.. anybody have any thoughts of when we plan to go.. cruise sail around may 30th thanks

[Coral]

May 30th is a great time to go IMO - I love the last week in May/first week of June.

 

I personally would go with Princess. You have 2 glacier days. When I went with RCCL and we missed Hubbard glacier - it was the only glacier on our trip and it was hugely disappointing to miss it. Many people are missing Hubbard glacier again this year. You also know for sure that you will have a naturalist onboard (this is not guarantteed with RCCL).

[mikensuenfl]

Coral, That Is Our Thinking Also. In Fact Just Got Off Phone With My Brother.. He Is Going On Diamond Princess In August.. Just Hate To Give Up All The Perks And Good Price On Rccl.. However The Two Glacier Stops Is A Plus On Princess.. Anyone Have Other Thoughts/??

[Italy52]

We cruised Island Princess last year May 22-29 and had a fabulous trip. The weather was fantastic and the two glacier days made the trip even better. We got a mini-suite for a very good price - shop around for your pricing.

[Coral]

Coral, That Is Our Thinking Also. In Fact Just Got Off Phone With My Brother.. He Is Going On Diamond Princess In August.. Just Hate To Give Up All The Perks And Good Price On Rccl.. However The Two Glacier Stops Is A Plus On Princess.. Anyone Have Other Thoughts/??

 

If you have your brother refer you (if he has sailed Princess before) before you book the cruise, you can each save $25 pp of the cruise cost (plus he gets $25 off his next cruise after you sail). If you find someone on your sailing who has sailed Princess before and has a "share the wealth coupon" - you can get $50 pp obc pp.

 

Generally, Princess is less than RCCL.

[sayaguru]

Hi. We sailed on Diamond Princess Vancouver to Whittier last month. Great ship, staff, food. The Glacier Bay was amazing. We left on May 12 and were one of the first ships to get close. The naturalist was saying it was the best he had seen it. Sunny, clear. We were so lucky.

You'll love the trip, whoever you choose to go with.

[mikensuenfl]

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR INPUT SO FAR.. BEING THAT WE HOPE TO DO SOME INDEPENDENT PRE CRUISE TOURS, I AM STILL LEANING TO THE RADIANCE.. FOUND SOME REALLY NICE DAY TOURS THAT TAKE YOU TO COLLEGE FJORDS ETC. ALSO DAY TRIPS AT KENAI. SO ONLY GOING TO HUBBARD MIGHT NOT BE AN ISSUE ON THE CRUISE.. WILL DECIDE LATER ON AFTER READING ALL OF YOUR GREAT PEOPLES INPUT.. I APPRECIATE IT''''

[Budget Queen]

Going southbound in May is an advantage to sail out of Seward, since there are more activities to consider. IF Denali Park is a priority, go as late in May as you can, so to have the Park Road open the farthest, however, the most you will get in is Toklat mile 53 going before June 1.

[mikensuenfl]

looking to be at denali around may 26-67 then go to seward area and hop on shiP fri 30th.. that is if we stay with the radiance cruise.. have not decided yet.. we did however put down a deposit for the may 30th southbound sail.. still plan to look at princess.. if we go with rccl,we might take the day glacier tour out of whittier,and kenai fjords day trip out of seward.. any thoughts????

[cajun-crazy]

My thoughts? I am hardly an expert - but I liked the Radiance because I thought it might be alittle more family friendly since I'm bringing DS age 10-11. But felt I might be "cheated" only seeing Hubbard Glacier. So I decided to spend a night in Seward and do the Kenali Fjords tour and still sail Radiance. We're booked for May 30th and I'm real happy with my decision.

 

There were so many choices for ships and itineraries that would've been fine for us. I made lists, researched ships, read these boards and finally decided that I just had to make a decision so I could then concentrate my research on those specific ports that "my" ship was going to stop at. I've read the Radiance is beautiful and my expectations are low - so I should be tickled to death!

[mikensuenfl]

CAJUN, LOOKS LIKE WE ARE BOOKED ON THE SAME CRUISE NEXT MAY 30TH.. IT IS A LOT OF WORK.. TRYING TO TIE IN 4-5 DAY LAND TOUR..TRAINS,BUSSES, HOTELS,TOURS..WHEW''''' THESE BOARDS ARE GREAT,AND THEY ARE HELPING ALOT.. :eek:

[cajun-crazy]

Great! Doesn't it feel good to make at least one decision? Now there are many more to be made.

 

When you have a chance - go to the Roll Call - Radiance and look for a post already started for those sharing ideas, etc for 5/30/08 cruise. It is in the bottom half of the first page.

 

And it looks like there are a couple of experienced travelers posting there as well - (hint: I'm not one of them!!)

[Buccaneergirl]

We just sailed Radiance May 18th northbound (cruisetour #14) and had previously sailed Ocean Princess June 4th, 2001 to Alaska. Here are the differences that we saw between the 2 cruise lines:

1. The biggest thing was the age of the passengers! RCCL having more families and the average age was mid 40's and up. On Princess, we were by far one of the youngest couples on the ship(we were 37 at the time) as most people were 60 and older.

2. Nightlife - Princess had absolutely no one dancing in the disco any night of the cruise. It was empty!

RCCL was a little better in that the disco was packed on 70's night and other nights it was hit or miss. You just have to remember that Alaska cruises are not about the nightlife.

3. We went to Hubbard Glacier on Radiance and it was a disappointment compared to Glacier Bay on our 2001 cruise. Glacier Bay is much more spectacular and we also had to stay 8 miles out from Hubbard due to the ice in the water.:(

4. June is a much better time to go because we saw soooo much more wildlife in June 2001 than we did last month.

Radiance is a beautiful ship and it was our first cruise being diamond, so the concierge lounge was a definite bonus!

Good luck in your planning!

[pier]

We just got back from from the June 8 sailing of the Coral Princess. It exceeded our expectations. The food and service were excellent. We got a mini-suite, which we'd do again. It's well worth the money--plenty of room.

[NancyIL]

We just got back from from the June 8 sailing of the Coral Princess. It exceeded our expectations. The food and service were excellent. We got a mini-suite, which we'd do again. It's well worth the money--plenty of room.

 

 

Do you mean the June 18th Coral Princess? We were on the June 4th Coral Princess, and were in Skagway on June 8th.

[Coral]

]1. The biggest thing was the age of the passengers! RCCL having more families and the average age was mid 40's and up. On Princess, we were by far one of the youngest couples on the ship(we were 37 at the time) as most people were 60 and older.

 

2. Nightlife - Princess had absolutely no one dancing in the disco any night of the cruise. It was empty!

 

A lot of this deals with the people each week, not necessairly the cruise line. I have sailed both lines to Alaska and have had a younger group on my Princess cruises compared to my Radiance cruise. I have also had a more active nightlife on my Princess cruises.

 

Each week brings a different group of people on the ship and each week can vary drastically from the week before.

 

BTW - I am 37 right now and have cruised Alaska 6 times.

[Italy52]

I have been on two Princess cruises to Alaska. Both of my cruises were May 22-29. The first cruise was a round trip Seattle-Seattle cruise. Odly, we had a high percentage of young people on this cruise. I say odly because we had heard so much about "only old people cruise to Alaska." Our second cruise was Whittier-Vancouver and we had a mixed bag with a slight lean to the middle age/older crowd. What affects the people population of each cruise is a mystery to me.

 

We have booked a cruise on the Radiance for May 30, 2008. It will be interesting to see what age group and level of activity we encounter.

[Budget Queen]

We just sailed Radiance May 18th northbound (cruisetour #14) and had previously sailed Ocean Princess June 4th, 2001 to Alaska. Here are the differences that we saw between the 2 cruise lines:

1. The biggest thing was the age of the passengers! RCCL having more families and the average age was mid 40's and up. On Princess, we were by far one of the youngest couples on the ship(we were 37 at the time) as most people were 60 and older.

2. Nightlife - Princess had absolutely no one dancing in the disco any night of the cruise. It was empty!

RCCL was a little better in that the disco was packed on 70's night and other nights it was hit or miss. You just have to remember that Alaska cruises are not about the nightlife.

3. We went to Hubbard Glacier on Radiance and it was a disappointment compared to Glacier Bay on our 2001 cruise. Glacier Bay is much more spectacular and we also had to stay 8 miles out from Hubbard due to the ice in the water.:(

4. June is a much better time to go because we saw soooo much more wildlife in June 2001 than we did last month.

Radiance is a beautiful ship and it was our first cruise being diamond, so the concierge lounge was a definite bonus!

Good luck in your planning!

 

This really isn't a valid demographic point. Your cruises were 6 years apart. Every year, the ages have gotten younger, still not loaded with 20 year olds like the Caribbean, but certainly more families and younger passengers are now traveling there- on all lines.

[Budget Queen]

A point to consider with RCI early season- they don't include College Fjords which is highly recommended on any one way sailing. Hubbard historically is iced out early season, meaning, not likely to get as close as you will sailing later. Bring binoculars and consider another glacier tour.

 

ABSOLUTELY, strongly consider a Kenai Fjords and Prince William sound boat tours. Take advantage of two of the tour choices in Alaska. Both of these are grossly superior to anything seen from your ship. Figure out- how often you are going to get there and what you are going to Alaska for??? It is well worth adding a couple days- at least.

[Buccaneergirl]

This really isn't a valid demographic point. Your cruises were 6 years apart. Every year, the ages have gotten younger, still not loaded with 20 year olds like the Caribbean, but certainly more families and younger passengers are now traveling there- on all lines.

 

I do know that Alaska has become more popular in the last 6 years and the average age of the AK cruiser has gotten younger. However, I was just sharing what I experienced and the differences I encountered on the two cruises. That is what CC is all about - different opinions from different people.

[Italy52]

Thanks for sharing your great pictures, appreciate it very much.

[Buccaneergirl]

Thanks for sharing your great pictures, appreciate it very much.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed them! I have to give DH all the credit for the pictures because he took 95% of them and did all the editing and captions.

We had such a wonderful time and hope to sail Alaska again one day. I would love to be back up in the cold weather and out of this heat and humidity!!:D

[mikensuenfl]

Good Afternoon From Sw Florida, After Reading These Boards And Doing Some Checking,we Might Forgo Denali This Trip.. If We Can Only Go Part Way Into The Park I Dont Think It Is Worth The Expense.. If We Fly Into Anchorage, Might Stay A Few Nights, Rent A Car. Then Hop On The Train To Seward.. Plan To Be In Seward For 2-3 Nights.. For Sure We Plan To Do The Kenai Fjords Boat Tour And Would Like To Do College Fjords Out Of Whittier.will Be Looking To Do The Kenai Trip Morning Of Cruise. If Workable. Any Sugestions On Anchorage Lodging. Mike