Need Disser Help -- Alaskan Cruises!

[invaderzim]

Well, we've decided to bite the bullet and go with a different venture in 2006. After 4 Disney cruises (counting next year's Repo), and after spending three days trying to get a decent rate for 2006, we've decided to give the Caribbean itinerary a rest and try Alaska.

Can anyone give me any advice on cruise lines? I have heard that RCL is good, that HA is a little stuffy and that Norweigen has gone downhill. I don't want Carnival -- too much of a party ship. It will be the two of us and our 19-year-old daughter.

We don't know which itinerary to pick or how many days or whether to leave from Vancouver or Seattle.

So any advice you can give would be a good start. Thanks so much.

 

[pwade]

I just did the Alaska cruise via Princess Sapphire. It's a beautiful new ship and everyone in our group (~30) had a wonderful time. We left out of Seattle and did the Inside Passage. I would highly recommend Princess.

Pat

 

[shoes99]

Originally posted by invaderzim
Well, we've decided to bite the bullet and go with a different venture in 2006. After 4 Disney cruises (counting next year's Repo), and after spending three days trying to get a decent rate for 2006, we've decided to give the Caribbean itinerary a rest and try Alaska.

Can anyone give me any advice on cruise lines? I have heard that RCL is good, that HA is a little stuffy and that Norweigen has gone downhill. I don't want Carnival -- too much of a party ship. It will be the two of us and our 19-year-old daughter.

We don't know which itinerary to pick or how many days or whether to leave from Vancouver or Seattle.

So any advice you can give would be a good start. Thanks so much.

We sailed this past summer on the Diamond Princess inside passage cruise out of Seattle, 7 night cruise. We also did 3 consecutive Disney cruises but always wanted to see Alaska.
We booked a mini-suite almost 1 year out and got a really good rate. One week before sailing we were upgraded to a full suite.
I loved the full suite and all the extras that come with it. We were very comfortable in our room. We had a hugh balcony with two deck chairs, and a table and 4 chairs.
We visited the ports of Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria. In Skagway we took the glacier helicopter to the dog sled camp. Best experience of the trip.
We have cruised 7 times, and this was the best one yet.
We went in early June, ages were mixed, not many children. We did have two days of extrodinary warm weather in Juneau and Skagway, and the pools and sun decks were very busy.
I loved Princess, we have sailed with them before, the the ship was brand new....
Michele

 

[Mary Anne]

I have been looking at those Alaska Cruises for a long time now. (25 years actually) I'm thinking either Holland America or Celebrity. We have sailed on both lines and really enjoy them. Holland America does have the reputation of attracting older cliental, but we really enjoy their ships.

I'm thinking when we do it to do the Vancouver route. I don't know why, it just looks nicer to me and I’d like to see that part of the country.

 

[Minybear]

We just did an Alaska cruise through Holland America. We did the inside passage out of Vancouver BC. We stayed at the Pan Pacific for our precruise and we watched all the ships coming in that morning from our room. When HAL docked we could see the ship for our hotel room.

Loved the ship but we noticed lots more of the older generation and just a few children. We noticed that most of the activites was generated for the older generation. The food was fantastic (I gained 8lbs). The excursions was also great. It was great seeing glacier bay and having the ranger tell us about the glasciers. The hot chocolate w/Baileys was also a plus .

We had a verandah and it was so spacious. If you decide to book (any cruiseline) book a verandah on starboard side. You could see most of the sights from your room.

Enjoy Alaska. You will enjoy it. We are hoping to go back and do a different route next time.

Minybear

 

[pvangordon]

I chose Celebrity for my Alaska cruise next year based on very positive feedback and a great price for a Royal Suite. It's my first time on the line and to that destination. I'm sure I'll be back though.

Before I booked on Celebrity, I almost went for a deal on NCL for an Owner's Suite. The hot tub on the deck was very attractive (imagine sailing among the glaciers while in your hot tub!) but I was discouraged by reviews and other factors.

I have a couple of friends who went to Alaska on Princess this summer. Both had a wonderful time and highly recommend that line.

 

[daisy112878]

My sister and her DH and their friends are going on an alaska cruise next June. After several months of research they narrowed it down to Princess and Celebrity. They ultimately decided on Celebrity b/c they could get a better room for a lower rate.

My parents went on Radisson Seven Seas Cruises and loved it. They said the ship was small then the other ships around them. They said the rooms were nice and the food was amazing.

 

[jenlovesdisney]

We are thinking about an Alaskan cruise when the kids are a smidge older. What would be great would be a Disney alaskan cruise!

 

[travellady]

Though I've not done an Alaska cruise, I did do quite a bit of research and settled on the Sapphire Princess for our June 26 2005 trip. I also considered RCCL out of Vancouver but decided against it for a few reasons:

1. We live 15 miles from Seattle so it will be a quick trip to the port.
2. Sapphire Princess is a brand new ship - has one of the highest ratings on cruisecritic.com ( a great place to gather info on Alaska cruises and many cruiselines).
3. RCCLs new pricing policy has eliminated discounts yet Princess continues to allow TAs to book discounts. I booked a balcony room, with an extra big balcony, on the Sapphire Princess for several hundred dollars less than one of the RCCL ships but with a smaller balcony.

There are many good choices out there for an Alaska cruise. I will say out of all of them, NCL was the least appealing based on reviews I've read. But, it is also the cheapest.

 

[Miss Eeyore]

We've done DCL several times, and Alaska three times.....this last time on the second voyage of the Sapphire Princess. We loved it. The rates were great, and sailing round trip out of Seattle was a huge bonus for us (in the Pacific NW)

I am a theatre professional (technical) and the shows on the Sapphire were the best I've seen anywhere! And there was none of the raunchy, nasty comedy that there always is on any line not DCL.

Lots of families, and the kids all seemed delighted to be in the kids' clubs.

Marilee

 

[Mary Anne]

Minybear

I see you did the Holland American Cruise via a DVC exchange.

Where you pleased with your service from Member Services and do you think it was worth it as an exhange.

 

[Minybear]

Mary Anne
Thank you for having a good memory on us doing this cruise through DVC. I noticed I hadn't said anything about that on this post.

MS did great when they booked our Alaska cruise. We got our docs in plenty of time. The only thing I had against this was that was all the assistance we got from them was booking the room. They couldn't help us set up Pan Pacific, our airline, or even our excursions. Nothing else. I tried to call HAL 1 month prior to see if we can get an upgrade but due to we had done this with our DVC points it wasn't in there contract to get an upgrade prior to our cruise. We could only do that at port. Also HAL wouldn't assit us on booking the Pan Pacific and air due to we were not on one of their packages. The only way we could get HAL transfers is if we came in the day of the cruise. I kinda felt discriminated against due to us using our points. This complaint is just a little annoyance due to I love booking our air/hotel myself. The only thing we were looking at the Princess cruiseline the other day and if we had gone with them we could have gotten the Pan Pacific at $125 pp instead of $400 we had to pay for the room .

One thing I wish DVC would do is have more offerings of cruiselines and other destinations in their offerings. Hopefully that would come in time.

Minybear

 

[SandraLee]

Has anyone done the Radiance class RCCL ships? These are brand new and the same size as the Magic. The pictures of the solarium are just beautiful.

I'm more likey to try RCCL than anyone else because I think the kids activities are better -- but, I have no experience with this.

Any other comments?

 

[GrumpyMom1]

It's good to hear positive things about the Sapphire Princess. I too am looking at doing Alaska next after our DCL cruise next year and right now I'm leaning toward Princess. Those new ships look wonderful! The Sapphire will be here in San Diego on the 10th and I'm going to go down and have a peek.

 

[lookingforward]

We sailed last year from Vancouver to Seeward on RCCL. We had a wonderful time, my parents treated all of us (11) to the cruise. I would not, however, recommend RCCL as a preferred line in Alaska. The food was not great and they blew off the glaciers to make it to Seeward early for rework. I would stick with Princess or HAL as they are the "old guys" in the Alaskan market and have the better sail routes, tours, etc. RCCL does not even have sail rights for the best glaciers as they are limited and HAL and Princess have them locked up (among the big lines). Alaska is all about the view and the tours. We went deep sea fishing, on float planes, etc. It is a very expensive and physically demanding trip but well worth the effort! We traveled with our four year old, 10 and 13 year old, my sister and her kids and my parents. The moments of awe were priceless like when my kids caught a 25 pound king salmon in 12 foot waves. Those fish can fight! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mary Anne]

Minybear

It was your signature that gave it away.

08/28/04 HAL Alaska cruise DVC

Thanks for your input. I'll keep all that in mind when/if we decide.

We've sailed HAL before so we get discounts with them if we just do cash.

this is a great post, I'm going to copy and save it for when we decided when/if we want to do Alaska.

 

[invaderzim]

lookingforward and Mary Anne ---

Did you find that Holland America was "stuffy"? Someone told me that they found it to be geared toward older people and the dress code was a little stuffy.

Now I have to admit, I am DCL spoiled when it comes to not having too much expected of me clothes-wise. Dinner time is one thing, but I don't want to be frowned upon for wearing shorts and a t-shirt on deck.

Also, were there many teenagers when you went -- and do they have a movie theater onboard?

SAME QUESTIONS pertain to anyone's Princess experiences also.

 

[Minybear]

Originally posted by invaderzim
lookingforward and Mary Anne ---

Did you find that Holland America was "stuffy"? Someone told me that they found it to be geared toward older people and the dress code was a little stuffy.

Now I have to admit, I am DCL spoiled when it comes to not having too much expected of me clothes-wise. Dinner time is one thing, but I don't want to be frowned upon for wearing shorts and a t-shirt on deck.

Also, were there many teenagers when you went -- and do they have a movie theater onboard?

SAME QUESTIONS pertain to anyone's Princess experiences also.

invaderzim
Yes you are right about the HAL cruise is geared for the older generation and the dress code is a little stuffy in the evening time during the formals ect, but I saw plenty of men and women wearing shorts and t-shirts on deck. This is where you can wear what you want. There was no stuffyness there.

The only thing that got us while we were on HAL we kept on comparing the service of HAL to DCL and we were quite disappointed in HAL in this respect. The only thing you wouldn't get the top servcie on HAL that you get on DCL.

Mary Anne
Woops I forgot about my signature. Good observation.

Minybear

 

[SandraLee]

Ok, now that we agree . . . Don't you think it is time Dreams starts to specialize in Alaska, too??

 

[invaderzim]

Are Princess Cruises as stuffy as HAL?