Recommend an Alaskan Cruise??

[3 things]

If Disney went to Alaska, this would be a no-brainer... But they don't, and my wife wants to go on an Alaskan cruise this summer. Princess and Holland America have been recommended to us, but I wondered if any of you had any advice? We love the quality of cruise experience we have on Disney - which cruise line (cruise ship) in Alaska would come closest to the quality of experience we'd like?

Any help would be appreciated...

 

[Miss Eeyore]

We have done Alaska on Celebrity and Princess, and Princess wins. And this summer there are two BRAND NEW Princess ships sailing Alaska out of Seattle.....which is a bonus for us.

 

[ruvidu]

We are leaving in 4 weeks for our first Non-Disney cruise and it is with Princess to Alaska. We chose them much for the same reasons we like Disney.
They have their own hotels.
They have theri own train cars.
They have a great reputation.

We will leave SC and fly to Fairbanks where we will spend 2 nights.
While there we will go on a steamboat tour and a gold mine tour.
We then take a train to Denali Nat. Park and stay 1 night at the Denali Princess lodge. There we go on a 4 hour park tour.
The next day we reboard the train and head down to Talkeetna where we are motorcoached to the McKinnley Princess lodge for 1 nights stay.
The next morning we will be motorcoached to Whittier where we will board the Coral Princess for a 7 night South bound cruise with stops in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. We have booked excursions to go whale watching, a helicopter tour and landing on a glacier and a train ride to the Yukon territory.
We have been working on this trip for about 15 months and think we have it planned out pretty good.
If there are any question please let me know.

Just a Note: If you want to go this year you had better be making ressies. The Alaska cruising seanson only lasts from May to mid Sept. and they book up fast. We have had ours for 8 months.


Russ

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

only reason i wont do an alaska cruise "ICEBURG DEAD AHEAD" i dont know of any other reason then that

 

[jazstar87]

Im going to Alaska on one of those new cruise ships in August. On the princess sapphire. can't wait to go!!!!

 

[GrumpyMom1]

We are seriously considering Alaska as an alternative to Disney in 2005. It depends on where Disney is sailing and how much it costs. From the research I've done so far, we can do a 7 day Alaska cruise on a new Princess ship for almost half the price of Disney.

After telling my DD's about the excursions we can do such as whale watching and the train in Skagway, they really want to go.

I would love to hear back from those of you have sailed Disney and are sailing on Princess to Alaska.

 

[denise5374]

I can't recommend now, but my parents are going on RCCL Radiance of the Seas on 5/22/04...If you can wait until after then I will llet you know what they think. They have also been on DCL.

 

[GrumpyMom1]

I'm considering the Radiance also. It will be on the Travel Channel today and tomorrow so I will be watching.

 

[TootyJane]

We did an Alaska cruise 3 years ago on the Regal Princess. I can't say enough good things about Princess! I would recommend Princess plus they've got the new Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess going to Alaska. My BIL and his wife are going to Alaska on the Diamond this September. I am looking forward to their comments especially since we're booked to go on it next spring break to the Mexican Riviera.

 

[kajohn]

I sailed the Radiance of the Seas to Alaska in 2002 and it was the most wonderful cruise I have ever been on! The ship is beautiful, and Alaska is an experience not to be missed! The ship is amazing with glass everywhere so you can see outside almost all the time. Even when you are taking the elevators, they are glass to the outside, which is wonderful for sailing Alaska. I love watching the travel channel special because it was taped the season we went, so the cruise director was the one we had and it just brings back wonderful memories for us.

As you can see from my signature, I have sailed RCCL 3 times, and I love them. The biggest thing about cruising another line is going into it with an open mind. There are posters on this board who say they had horrible experiences on other lines, and most of the time I think it is because they go into it thinking it just won't measure up. Each cruiseline has there possitives and negatives, but I truly believe Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, NCL, Holland America and even 7 day Carnival cruises all have wonderful things to offer and are very comperable to DCL.

The biggest thing I love about cruising is the service, and I have to say that in my 3 RCCL trips, I have had as good or better service than on my DCL trip.

To all of you considering an Alaskan cruise, have fun planning it no matter what ship you choose, it is an amazing experience!

 

[UMTerp]

Any of these Alaska cruises good for kids (7-10 yr old)? Have kids clubs/activities?

Do people end up purchasing their own air tickets for these cruises or just go with air packages?

ruvidu - Did you book all of your trip through Princess? It sounds great!

Thanks for the info!

UMTerp

 

[plutojudy]

Does anyone know what is the smoking policy on the Princess Cruises to Alaska?

 

[denise5374]

My parents purchased their own airline tickets and hotel accomadations. THey are flying from Philly to Seattle, spending 2 dyas prior to sialing there and then going to port in Vancouver and after the cruise spending two days in Victoria, BC. The airfar from PHL to Seattle is $$, I think like $500 per person, so that does add to the cost of the cruise....But for them it will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see that section of the country so they want to do as much as possible.

I tried to convince them to do the Dog Sled Ride excursion but at their age...they were't real into it......I thought it looked like fun!!

 

[ruvidu]

UMTerp wote

ruvidu - Did you book all of your trip through Princess? It sounds great!

Hey Terp,
No, I actually went through a local TA. The Princess book has all the different land and sea tours listed and we picked this one.
We are like a bunch of mid 50s kids right now. If there is anything I can do to help you plan I will let you know. If there is interest I will post a Trip Report when I get back offering a comparison.
The Princess web site has all the info as well.

Go Tigers

Russ

 

[ruvidu]

Does anyone know what is the smoking policy on the Princess Cruises to Alaska?

I have been checking in to this as I am a recovering smoker and have been for over 15 years. Princess allows smoking in the rooms, balconies and one side of the ship in public areas from what I read. The dinning rooms are non smoking as well. That said, I could find nobody that could smell smoke in their rooms. The Princess boards report as do the Disboards that the biggest problem is cigar smoking on the balconies.
cruisecritic.com is a great source of information on non DCL cruises. For specifics about an area such as Alaska you would select Boards from the top menu and then go down to Ports Of Call and then select Alaska. Keep in mind that cruisecritic is nowhere as busy as Disboards but the folks over there are very knowledgeable.
I wish evryone could smell the beautiful Spring air at my house right now. Thank goodness that I quit smoking so I can.

Had to preach just a little bit,
Russ

 

[3 things]

My thanks to everyone for their advice... Based on that advice we booked a 7-day on the Sapphire Princess leaving Seattle on July 25th - for some reason we could get a great price for a balcony room - like $600 per person less than the Holland trips...

My wife and I have been to Alaska probably 10 times, but never on an Alaskan cruise - and only one of those trips in the summer. We tend to go in March or October so we can see the Northern Lights. Next year my wife has a short job in Barrow in March, so that will be a new experience.

And for whoever was going to Fairbanks... I don't know if you'll have any freedom to explore the area, but if you do... A great restaurant is the Chena Pumphouse! For a great Philly cheesesteak go to the Food Factory. If you have the opportunity visit the U. of Alaska Fairbanks Museum - spent more time per square foot than any other museum in the world. If you really have flexibility - take the drive out to Chena Hot Springs and sit in the hot springs at night and listen to the wild animals howl in the mountains... (ok, can you tell we LOVE Alaska?)

Seriously, we'd be happy to help anyone else with any questions also...

And again, thanks for the helpful suggestions. Disney folks are so helpful!

 

[Otisp]

Bump for feedback on kid's programs

 

[floridaminnie]

Both Princess and RCCL have kids clubs and I've heard great things about both.

I'm going on one of these cruises next summer. I'm looking at a good last minute deal since I'm so flexible for the summer. For those folks going really soon, you'll need to let us know how it went!

 

[tvguy]

We went Holland America to Alaska, closest to DCL we've been on. Went on the Amsterdam out of Seattle on the inside passage.
We've been with RCCL and NCL also, but those were all in the Caribbean.
But we've NEVER been on a bad cruise.
Worst one I was on was on the MS Mermoz, run by Paquet, a French line. It was my first cruise, I was on assignment as a TV cameraman to shoot stories on cruises..this was in 1980 when the Love Boat was number one on TV, so I didn't have to pay for the trip, and was being paid to be there.
Paquet's big deal at the time was free French wine with lunch and dinner. It was a very small ship, without the stabilizers the ships have now, and a 2 week cruise.
95% of the passengers were from France, and well, not to bash the French (as my wife was born there), but they are a ruder bunch of folks than I have ever encountered. I thought it was a great trip, until my wife and I went on other cruises, on the Norway (twice), the Nordic Prince, the Soveriegn Of The Seas, the Amsterdam, and finally the Magic. Service was much better on all those ships.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

I just finished watching the Radiance of the Seas Alaskan cruise on the travel channel (I Tivod it from yesterday). Wow, the ship is beautiful. Alaska is beautiful. I was born in Alaska but don't remember it. I would love to do this cruise. Can anyone tell me if the rates are comparable to DCL?