Holland or Princess for Alaska?

[brewcrew]

I don't know if I am allowed to mention certain Youtube channels but there are two cruise vloggers that have been on both Princess and Holland in Alaska with nothing but great things to say about both. Try a Youtube search for reviews and you will probably find more info as well.

 

[SRQ57]

We did Holland America from Vancouver to Alaska inside passage. We ended in Seward. I highly recommend a night in Seward. It is a beautiful area. There is an aquarium right across the street from where we stayed. I think it was a Best Western. We rented a car for the day, and saw some of the surrounding area. The state park has a glacier you can walk right up to. There are trains and bus transportation to Anchorage if you don't want to rent a car. We had friends who added the land portion to Denali, and frankly weren't terribly impressed. (quite a bit of travel and limited options once in Denali, but I digress). We hope to do this trip again in 2019 with our kids and grandkids. Holland was great. We will be sticking with them in the future. We have also sailed Disney. Noting bad to say about it, but really not worth the extra expense. Mind you we are HUGE Disney fans, but just don't see the kind of money they are asking for cruises as being worth it. Holland was EVERY bit as good, if not better. You definitely want a balcony for an Alaskan cruise.

 

[Shanti]

I talked to my son about it some more today, showing him pics of the HAL & Princess ships, talking up Glacier Bay and Hubbard, and he leveled with me that he'd really rather sail on Disney. That surprised me, as he's spoken positively about possibly sailing on other ships in the past, and had said he was open to anything for this summer's trip. But after seeing other ships & facing the prospect of really not sailing on Disney, he said no thanks. The fun on the ship is more important to him than a balcony cabin or a more magestic destination. So we're going to sail on the Wonder to Alaska after all. I certainly can't complain about that, so I won't. Happy sailing, everyone!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Wait, didn't you say you cancelled the Wonder?

 

[Shanti]

Wait, didn't you say you cancelled the Wonder?

I had transferred the reservation to another DCL cruise, so I just transferred it back to the Wonder. Kept my OBC & am not paying anymore than prior, so all is well.

 

[cmph]

I had transferred the reservation to another DCL cruise, so I just transferred it back to the Wonder. Kept my OBC & am not paying anymore than prior, so all is well.

I was worried for you, for the same reason! Glad you could just transfer your res back. We had the same dilemma in my family (DCL vs others), or I should say *I* had the same dilemma. Much like your son, no one else wanted to think about other lines. We'll be in OV rooms. I guess our need for verandahs is reduced b/c we're traveling with extended family, though, b/c it'll just be easier to find public areas for all of us to gather.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I was worried for you, for the same reason! Glad you could just transfer your res back. We had the same dilemma in my family (DCL vs others), or I should say *I* had the same dilemma. Much like your son, no one else wanted to think about other lines. We'll be in OV rooms. I guess our need for verandahs is reduced b/c we're traveling with extended family, though, b/c it'll just be easier to find public areas for all of us to gather.

Same boat here-so to speak. My kids are older-too old for the clubs now-still wanted to do Disney. So OV room for us. Not too worried, hearty New Englander's, so being outside won't be a problem. There is plenty of space for all. And we will still have natural light with the porthole. But will miss the balcony. Just could not stomach the price. Will use for amazing excursions. Can't wait!

 

[xlxo]

For those who downgrade to OV..... demand deck 2. The oversized porthole is like a climate controlled balcony. If you can get midship.... the portholes are bigger.

Forget the Deck 1 twins.

 

[TexasMouseFan]

Consider the amount of time that you will be in each port compared to what you would like to see or do. I have not done HAL, but i have done a Princess and NCL to Alaska. Princess was a one way trip, so we were in port all day. This allowed us to do 2 tours on most days. The NCL cruise was a round trip from Washington an our port times were noticably shorter. Just something else to consider.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

For those who downgrade to OV..... demand deck 2. The oversized porthole is like a climate controlled balcony. If you can get midship.... the portholes are bigger.

Forget the Deck 1 twins.

We had one of those deck 1 twin porthole rooms. Knew I wouldn't be happy there. Switched it out for a room with a large porthole window up on 7. I think we will be happy.