Sigyn

The only cruises that work with our dates are are Bliss, Encore, Spirit and Jewel. My friend did the Bliss to Alaska three years ago and said it was the worst cruise she'd ever been on. Too many people, terrible food and it was just miserable. She cruises quite a bit and loved doing the Grand Princess to Hawaii, Cunard Queen Elizabeth transatlantic, but the Bliss to Alaska was just miserable for her, so I trust her judgement. She's not anti-NCL. She did the Gem to New England and Canada the year before and really enjoyed it. She said her best Alaskan cruise was in 2000 on the Celebrity Mercury and she also really liked the Diamond Princess in 2007 to Alaska.

Has anyone sailed on an NCL ship to Alaska and, if so, how was your experience? I worry that the ships are too large to really get close to the glaciers. I did a one-day glacier cruise many years ago on a small boat and we were so close and it was so beautiful. I think it was even offered as an excursion to Princess passengers at the time (I was on a land vacation.) What is it like to cruise on NCL to Alaska and which port is best?

I've always wanted to travel on Celebrity and I've heard such amazing things, and I finally have a kid-free vacation opportunity coming up next summer where my husband and I are considering a cruise to Alaska while our teenager is at summer camp. I looked at the Solstice and Eclipse, which have cruises that fit with our timeline during the camp schedule, but both ships are kind of older (Solstice from 2008 and Eclipse from 2010) and, worse, they have bad reviews. People say the ships are looking dated, the deck furniture needs a refresh, and some really gripe about the food on the Eclipse. These complaints aren't what I expected to hear about Celebrity, so now I'm wavering and unsure whether to book. Maybe it's the newer Celebrity ships like the Apex, etc, that get all of the fanfare? I would love to book an Alaskan cruise - my only trip to Alaska was 23 years ago and it wasn't a cruise - but I'm having trouble figuring out which cruise line to book. If anyone here has sailed on either of these two ships, particularly to Alaska, I'd love to hear about your experiences.

I did see an appealing Oceania cruise. I forgot about that!

I posted just above on what I considered bad about the ship. It was rundown, you could see where maintenance was needed, the deck furniture was old. The ship looked ugly from the outside, not fresh and attractive. Those were the biggest things. I like just sitting on the deck and enjoying the view. I don't go to much evening entertainment, even when it's there. I like a nice bar in the evenings. or taking a drink to the deck and talking with my friends or husband. I'm pretty low key. I like a nice group of passengers to get to know, good seating areas, comfy furniture, pleasant surroundings. I want to feel like I'm at a 4-star hotel, not a 2-star motel. It was scarring in that it made me just want to avoid cruising and book land vacations, which I did for the next three years, until Carnival had a med cruise that looked appealing on a brand new ship. Which we really enjoyed. Now I'm switching to NCL for a cruise in December on a new ship, the Prima, so that will be interesting. But I'm leery of older ships and need to try to convince myself to try them again, since smaller ships, of which many older ships are, seem to be the best for Alaskan cruises if you want to get close. I don't want to get on a huge RCL ship to see Alaska. That sounds icky, too.

For more information, it's a July 2023 Alaskan cruise I'm considering, and the ships that work for us with timing are the Crown Princess and the Royal Princess. And then the brand new Discovery Princess. We could possibly do the Ruby Princess, but that skips Seattle or Vancouver and my husband would really like to visit that area before or after the cruise. But if the Ruby is the best of the ships, then that might be a good tradeoff. I read reviews on the ships, and the Crown has a lot of negative reviews. The Royal Princess has better reviews. Of course the Discovery is new, but some people don't like it, either. I don't like the itinerary as well, either. So, thoughts on the Crown and the Royal are of most interest to me. The Royal isn't really what I consider older, having come out in 2012. But the Crown is from 2005. So I'm curious if it's still viable.

With Carnival, it was that the ships weren't well maintained - I've been on two of their older ones - and the experience as a whole felt rundown. The third Carnival cruise was on a brand new ship, the Vista, and a Mediterranean cruise, and it was very nice. Perhaps it was because the people on board were a different group of people than what usually sail Carnival being that it was in Europe, I dunno. The cruise I remember most was the one in 2013 and that was the one that was really kind of ick. This is good information, thank you. I don't want a ship with 6,000 people, either, so I'm avoiding those mega ships. Our next cruise is a new NCL ship but it only holds about 3,000 people. I am considering a cruise to Alaska on the Crown, but I saw negative reviews. The Crown is one I'm considering. I saw negative reviews so I wasn't sure if it was okay. Thank you!

As does this old lady. 🙂

Very helpful! I have no idea if I will be in the Haven anytime soon. I've bid on an upgrade, but only into the "fair" category so who knows. 🙂

What is the difference between what the butler and what the concierge does for you in the Haven?

Okay, I'm very fickle. I cancelled our spring break cruise. My friend who worked for the cruise lines told me she'd never do a spring break cruise. She said there are too many drunk college kids on every ship, and she's found poop in the hallways more times than she likes to recall. I'm out. I am waiting and doing an Alaskan cruise in July instead. No poop hallways there. I hope.

Would you sail on an older Princess ship? One built more than 10-12 years ago? I've been on an older ship on Carnival and it was awful. I was so scarred from the experience I'm afraid to try older ships on other cruise lines. Please share with me your experiences, since some itineraries, ports or dates only offer older ships.

I was assigned a room last week, so it didn't take long. They assigned a family balcony, category B4, on deck 10. Technically an upgrade, since the room was going for $500 more than a regular balcony when I booked.

You have to dress like Johnny Lawrence and listen to his music all the time.

she said she won it for $90pp

congratulations! that sounds like a great win to me! I'm still learning how Princess bids are handled. Is it $90 pp for the entire cruise, or $90pp per day?

I'm thinking about an Alaskan cruise and I'm curious how Princess offers, if any, cabin upgrades. I know that Carnival simply calls and offers them for a price. I've had that happen and accepted. I'm currently about to cruise on NCL and they have a streamlined process where you bid for an upgrade about 80 days before your cruise and you find out anywhere from 2-7 days before your cruise if your bid was accepted. How does Princess do it? I typically book a balcony because that's the room I'm happy with and that fits within my travel budget, but I'm always open to an upgrade if it's affordable.

I can only tell you what I know, and that is September is very chilly. I arrived in Anchorage on Labor Day weekend, Sept 1, for a three-week vacation many years ago, and that day was nice and sunny, but every single day after that was progressively colder and most days were overcast and cloudy. The average temperature was in the 50's and it was breezy and chilly. And that was inland, in towns such as Homer, Anchorage, Mt. Denali and Fairbanks. I did a one-day cruise to see glaciers and it was quite brisk on the water. I would have been much colder on a full-fledged cruise on the water the entire time. I am planning a return visit and opting for July to make sure it is as warm as possible.

I once saw them in mid-September driving from Anchorage to Mt. Denali. Not a cruise ship, but still the right time of year.

I'm planning our first Alaskan cruise. I've been to Alaska before, but as a three-week land vacation I took 24 years ago. Back then, I did a one-day glacier boat tour out of Seward to see glaciers, but that was it for water activities. Is Glacier Bay a must-see port? I'm trying to decide which cruise line and embarkation port to choose, and Glacier Bay is available on some of the itineraries but not all of them. I'm weighing Princess, Celebrity, Norwegian and Holland America. There's even an Oceania cruise that looks enticing, but I'd have to opt for an inside cabin to be able to afford it.

There's a Vibe beach club shown in videos of the Prima. I've booked the Prima in a non-suite room for a holiday cruise and I have the option of purchasing a thermal suite pass for the entire length of my 7-day cruise for $339 pp. I've attached a screenshot where it describes what is included.

I'm considering an upgrade to the Premium Plus Drinks Package. Who did it, and was it worth it?

I booked a balcony stateroom on the Prima yesterday, but they didn't have any specific cabins available, so it defaulted to a guaranteed "best available" stateroom. I had to pay in full because our cruise is in 83 days. When will the stateroom be assigned?

I booked my first cruise with NCL today and I see that I'm supposed to have two specialty dining meals for free, but I don't know how to book these. It looks like the specialty restaurants are a la carte, so that doesn't seem like they're free. I'm surely missing something here. Thanks in advance.

I appreciate everyone's help. I liked the itinerary for Encore more than the Joy, so I went with Encore. And then there was an option for a guaranteed stateroom for a club balcony suite that was only $100 more than choosing our own balcony room, so I thought that was worth it to see what cabin they give us, and we get the bigger bathroom with two sinks in this mini "suite" room.