Royal Caribbean or Princess for Alaskan cruise?

[Disneyland1084]

I'm 45, DH 49. In 2 years we plan on going on a cruise to Alaska to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I've asked about Alaska cruises on here before and many of you suggested we go on one that sails by Glacier Bay. We definitely want that. I noticed both Princess and Royal Caribbean do. Which one would you chose and why? My elderly neighbor, in her upper 70's says Princess caters more to people around her age. She suggested Norwegian (I won't rule that out, but they're so expensive). If it were just me doing a solo trip, I'd probably go with Princess, but there's a possibility DH might get bored. We're not party people, but still like to have a good time. I checked Royal Caribbean and it seems to offer more of what we like. I would appreciate any advice, tips or suggestions.

P.S. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before.

ETA: Maybe I read Royal Caribbean's Alaska Cruise itinerary wrong. It says they go to Glacier, Alaska. I was assuming that was Glacier Bay.

 

[Skippy918]

Are you on cruise critic? They have forums like these and will have the info you are looking for. We sailed celebrity last year and going on princess this year. Princess and holland America go to glacier bay and NCL does as well. Royal does not. I think they used to but I didn’t see it on their itineraries. Alaska only has 1 or 2 sea days so you are busy in port for most of the trip. Doing a round trip from Seattle or Vancouver will be easier logistics wise to plan.

 

[NAB]

We were on the Princess last May. They do get a good spot when in the ports that was a plus. We left from Seattle.

They do get a good spot while in ports. They do all there activities in the Piaza that is open to 2 floors. They do everything there including yoga, line dancing , games for kids, a band or DJ at night to dance. If you like to people watch this is a good place.

Only went to one of their shows at night wasn’t our thing. One show was an Elvis impersonator and second night was a Lionel Richie one.

They do have a small casino.

We really didn’t like the dining room food, but did like extra pay fish one. The pizza one was really good too.

Cabins were fine .

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've cruised Alaska with both RCCL and Princess (and Holland.) The "Glacier" that was mentioned on RCCL may be Hubbard or another. They usually don't go to Glacier Bay.

While we've enjoyed all eight of our Alaskan cruises. I'd give the slight advantage to Princess. As mentioned above, Princess gets the best dock assignments. DH is disabled and Princess really helpful getting him to/from the ship, even when we needed to tender (take one of the ship's motorized life boats) to shore.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We are booked for June 2025. Chose Holland that sails out of Seattle. We booked a Neptune Suite

 

[Deb]

For Alaska, go with Princess or Holland America. Yes, they tend to cater to an older crowd, but they've been in Alaska the longest

 

[tvguy]

Both our Alaska cruises have been on HAL. They have been going to Alaska longer than any other cruise line and have the best access permits to glaciers and best docking berths in ports. Although, hard to have a bad cruise to Alaska.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm 45, DH 49. In 2 years we plan on going on a cruise to Alaska to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I've asked about Alaska cruises on here before and many of you suggested we go on one that sails by Glacier Bay. We definitely want that. I noticed both Princess and Royal Caribbean do. Which one would you chose and why? My elderly neighbor, in her upper 70's says Princess caters more to people around her age. She suggested Norwegian (I won't rule that out, but they're so expensive). If it were just me doing a solo trip, I'd probably go with Princess, but there's a possibility DH might get bored. We're not party people, but still like to have a good time. I checked Royal Caribbean and it seems to offer more of what we like. I would appreciate any advice, tips or suggestions.

P.S. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before.

ETA: Maybe I read Royal Caribbean's Alaska Cruise itinerary wrong. It says they go to Glacier, Alaska. I was assuming that was Glacier Bay.

Holland America and Princess have been cruising Alaska the longest and have held Glacier Bay permits for years. I'd book with either of them.

I'd suggest you look at all the itineraries for each of them and find which one interests you the most, and has the best cost for you.

 

[Nora03]

We were lucky to find a great itinerary on Celebrity a few years ago to Alaska from San Francisco. I’d always wanted to go to SF so it was a win win and we had a few days there before the cruise. . It was a bit longer, and had usual ports - Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, but also Icy Strait Point, Sitka, Victoria, and Hubbard Glacier,which was fantastic! Cruise Critics is a great source. Celebrity and Princess are our favourite cruise lines. You’ll love an Alaskan cruise. The scenery is amazing.

 

[Meriweather]

10 Alaska cruises., 11 th in June.
First was on HAL loved it......and liked going into Glacier Bay.
One about 10 years ago was with Princess, not a fan of that one. Ship, entertainment, food all subpar.
The glaciers had shrunk a lot.
In between and always now we are Royal people. I would also go with HAL.

 

[jimmymc]

First thing is the glacier vs Glacier Bay. All Alaska cruises will spend a sea day at a glacier, where the majority of the day is sailing up a fjord and viewing the glacier for a few hours. Only some cruise lines are able to go to Glacier Bay National Park, where the glaciers are larger and more accessible, and you normally get to see multiple in one day. It's a great addition to a cruise, and I would consider it a factor in choosing a sailing.

Now for Royal vs Princess, the first thing to keep in mind is that it'll probably be too cold to swim and use the waterslides. Indoor pools and hot tubs are still fun, but some of the big activities on Royal might not be worth doing. The other thing to consider is that you'll be waking up earlier than normal for vacation. Glacier day and excursions start early.

I haven't been on Princess yet, but I've heard very good things about the food and enrichment talks, while the nighttime shows and bars are just ok. Royal will have bigger shows and more bars that are fuller at night. During the day, both ships do similar activities like trivia and game shows.

The last thing to consider is the time spent in each port. Princess tends to make sure you have 10+ hours in each port, while Royal and NCL will do some half-days. This is because docking space is limited in some of the ports, and Princess have seniority for the best berths. It also means you don't need to walk as far from the ship to the attractions. But this will ultimately depend on the exact itinerary. For any Alaska cruise, definitely make sure you have ample time in port to do excursions and explore the towns on your own.

 

[MillauFr]

Agree with others. Holland or Princess.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We did NC a couple years ago. At least one of their ships has a permit to enter into Glacier Bay. We did the Encore. DH & I are similar age to you guys and we had a fabulous time. We aren't partiers either but want to stay occupied throughout the day. The Encore had a go-kart track so that was kinda neat. Wonderful shows and great food. Plus the standard trivia contests, scavenger hunts, etc that all cruise lines offer. When we entered into Glacier Bay we had a NPS naturalist come onboard and do a presentation almost the entire time we were in Glacier Bay. You could go up and listen to them in person in the observation lounge or they broadcast onto the TV. But what we did since we had a balcony was just crank up the volume on the TV and sit out on our balcony and enjoy the sites. I'm thinking the other lines that have Glacier Bay permits would do similar.

Our port calls days were very long in all ports except Ketchikan. It was really early like 6a - 1:30p. But it was enough time for us to do an excursion. We sailed in and out of Seattle so Victoria, Canada was also a very short port (like 7p - midnight) just a purpose basically for us to hit an international port per cruise line requirements on sailings. But Juneau and Skagway were both very long days.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Now for Royal vs Princess, the first thing to keep in mind is that it'll probably be too cold to swim and use the waterslides. Indoor pools and hot tubs are still fun, but some of the big activities on Royal might not be worth doing.

Our anniversary is in July. Does that make a difference as far as swimming? I'll definitely want to swim.

 

[jimmymc]

Our anniversary is in July. Does that make a difference as far as swimming? I'll definitely want to swim.

I went two years ago the second week of August. By our second day, it was 60 F and windy. On glacier day, it was in the low 40s and people were wearing winter coats. I did swim once on the top deck, but it was chilly. If you want to guarantee a swim, find a ship with an indoor pool.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Our anniversary is in July. Does that make a difference as far as swimming? I'll definitely want to swim.

Swimming pools on ships are much smaller than a hotel pool. If the weather is warm enough the pools will be really crowded -- people soup.

 

[lucas]

Princess!

 

[liamthompson]

I'm going to suggest something totally different - check out uncruise, which does an itinerary with 2 nights at glacier bay. Uncruise is not everyone's cup of tea - the focus is kayaking/hiking and getting close to the flora/fauna. It's the REI crowd, but mostly older folks because of the price tag.

There's nothing wrong with princess or any of the other heavy hitters (my brother and SIL LOVED their prin

 

[liamthompson]

I'm going to suggest something totally different - check out uncruise, which does an itinerary with 2 nights at glacier bay. Uncruise is not everyone's cup of tea - the focus is kayaking/hiking and getting close to the flora/fauna. It's the REI crowd, but mostly older folks because of the price tag.

There's nothing wrong with princess or any of the other heavy hitters (my brother and SIL LOVED their prin

Ack, hit reply too soon. My brother and SIL were first time cruisers on princess for one of their Alaska itineraries and were very happy. They did have to field many invasive questions about their occupations/salaries but they laughed it off.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We were lucky to find a great itinerary on Celebrity a few years ago to Alaska from San Francisco. I’d always wanted to go to SF so it was a win win and we had a few days there before the cruise. . It was a bit longer, and had usual ports - Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, but also Icy Strait Point, Sitka, Victoria, and Hubbard Glacier,which was fantastic! Cruise Critics is a great source. Celebrity and Princess are our favourite cruise lines. You’ll love an Alaskan cruise. The scenery is amazing.

We took that same cruise on Celebrity almost 30 years ago. It was the best cruise we've ever taken.