Alaska Cruises

[dreamscometrue2]

Which ship is the best all around and why (Dawn, Sun, Island, Coral)? What is the best type balcony cabin (size and location)? I've read a few post concerning an unpleasant smell on the Dawn, any truth to this?

 

We are thinking of talking an Alaskan cruisetour (southern) in May or September and we've never sailed Princess before or been to Alaska. Any info or tips of any kind will be appreciated from airline tickets, hotels, or cruise ship. Thanks again.

[kkorman]

Which ship is the best all around and why (Dawn, Sun, Island, Coral)? What is the best type balcony cabin (size and location)? I've read a few post concerning an unpleasant smell on the Dawn, any truth to this?

 

We are thinking of talking an Alaskan cruisetour (southern) in May or September and we've never sailed Princess before or been to Alaska. Any info or tips of any kind will be appreciated from airline tickets, hotels, or cruise ship. Thanks again.

 

The smell on the Dawn is being fixed during drydock right now and was limited to the Vista Lounge area.

 

If you are looking for a balcony, go with the Coral/Island as thgey are better balcony cabins. The Dawn and Coral both have pros and cons. I would sail either again in a second.

[calikak]

I haven't sailed on any of those ships yet, because I live in Seattle so we prefer to do the round-trips and avoid having to fly (my DH is 6'3" and airplane seats are no fun for him). But we've done two cruises up there, so we can give a little bit of advice. Here goes...

 

We preferred Yakutat Bay's glacier to Tracy Arm's, but that could have just been because we saw Tracy Arm early in the season (May) and we couldn't get very close to the glacier, and in Yakutat Bay, it was late August and we got VERY close to the glacier. Our favorite ports in Alaska are Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau. We didn't enjoy Sitka very much. It didn't have nearly as much charm as the other three ports we've seen up there.

 

Remember that the Dawn and Sun's mini-suites are comparable to the full suites on the Grand-class ships, which is a plus, but it means they're usually more expensive than mini-suites on Grand-class ships. I know nothing about the mini-suites on the Coral or Island. But if I found a mini-suite price that wasn't too much more than the balcony cabin price, I'd go with the mini-suite instead of the balcony. I haven't been on either of these ships yet, so I can't comment from personal experience, but lots of folks have posted about how the aft balcony cabins on most ships have better balconies than the ones mid-ship.

 

That being said, we went with an outside cabin on both of our Alaska sailings. We found that most of the time, there was nobody on the outside decks because it was cold with the wind. The only time that many people braved the cold for very long was when we saw the glaciers. At those times, the outside decks were fairly crowded and, depending on what side of the ship you were on, a balcony could have come in pretty handy.

 

On the Regal in 2001, my DH (and half the crew, including our assistant waiter, who looked pretty green at dinner that night) was horribly sea-sick when we hit a big storm. It was like being on a roller coast that just never ended. Had we been on a bigger ship, it might not have been so bad for him. The weather up there is pretty unpredictable, so rough seas are a definite possibility at any time of year. Just something to think about if you're prone to motion sickness.

 

If the airfare into/out of Vancouver is a lot more than airfare into/out of SeaTac, you might check to see how much Princess is charging for the bus from the pier in Vancouver to SeaTac.

 

That's all the tips I can think of, hope it helps!

[Tarheelbelle]

Beth,

Thank you for the info you posted. Have you been to Denali? Also, which ships did you sail other than the Regal Princess?

[Budget Queen]

I like the Sun/Dawn for the full front unobstructed deck viewing space and with Sept travel, the completely dark Aloha deck for northern lights viewing. This sailing only goes to Glacier Bay so the above glacier comments don't pertain. As for Denali Park - if it is a priority RETHINK a cruise tour and go on your own, far superior to the excessive costing tours. Also you need an arrival at Denali Park AFTER June 1 for my min. distance in- Eielson mile 66. The cruisetours AT the most will get you to mile 53- but way too many cruisetours only include the useless Natural History tour to mile 16- offered FREE via the Park Service or you can drive this portion yourself. I find it VERY difficult to rationalize taking this tour. If you continue with the tour option - BE VERY aware of what you are purchasing and allow at least 7 days- any shorter will have more time in transit compared at any destination. Don't underestimate time or distances. No meals are included on the land portion , budget 50% more than you do at home for a cushion. Head to your library and take out Alaska travel books, the more you know the better your decision will be. For clairfication - I give a BIG edge to HAL for the Seward port- superior for activies compared to Whittier. BUT way too many people just pass through missing plenty of excellent touring opportunities. Take advantage of being there- it isn't a frequent trip for most. :)

[dreamscometrue2]

Thanks everyone for your great advice. Please keep them coming. I appreciate any tips you have...so keep it coming:) .

[calikak]

Beth,

Thank you for the info you posted. Have you been to Denali? Also, which ships did you sail other than the Regal Princess?

No, I haven't been to Denali but I SOOOOOOO want to...Everyone I know who's been to Denali says it's fabulous and not to be missed, but I bet Budget Queen is right, it's probably totally doable on your own and substantially cheaper that way. There's not that many roads in Alaska so I doubt it would be that easy to get lost, and as long as you've got a decent $15 guidebook, you should have no trouble finding a good hotel to stay in.

 

As a northwesterner, I'm a bit of a scenery snob, because we have such great scenery here, I tend to look for activities to do rather than scenery to see when I'm travelling. But Alaska has even more dramatic scenery than we do here in the Seattle area. As someone once said to me, it's like Seattle's scenery on steroids: more mountains, bigger mountains, more trees, bigger trees, more glaciers, bigger glaciers...and there's an insane amount of wildlife to see compared to down here.

 

I sailed on the Regal in 2001 (our first cruise) round-trip out of Vancouver, with stops in Skagway, Juneau and Sitka, and a day cruising Yakutat Bay. Then this past May, I sailed on the Diamond round-trip out of Seattle, with stops in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and (briefly) Victoria, with a day cruising in Tracy Arm. The stop in Victoria didn't give us much time to see anything because we got into port at 7PM, so we didn't even bother getting off the ship and having to deal with Canadian customs. We've been to Victoria several times, since it's pretty close to Seattle, so we didn't feel the need to wander around town in the evening.

 

I've heard (though I can't remember from whom) that Yakutat Bay is more dramatic than Glacier Bay, but that is totally rumor since I haven't been to Glacier Bay. Yakutat Bay was pretty impressive-the glacier was calving enormous pieces of ice. There really aren't words to describe how incredibly cool it is to watch, it sounds about as interesting as watching paint dry until you actually see it.

 

If you're sailing out of Vancouver, the Art Museum is small but usually has good exhibits. We saw a Rembrandt exhibit there one year that was really fascinating. And of course the aquarium is very fun too. My DH doesn't like Vancouver so we don't get up there very often, but I think it's a lovely city. I like Victoria better, though, the Provincial Museum is one of my favorites and Buchart Gardens is beautiful, and high tea at the Empress is a great experience.