***Alaska Cruise 2011...Diamond or Golden Princess? Which ship do you recommend?****

[Crackerjack216]

Hello cruise lovers! My husband-to-be and I are planning our first Alaskan Cruise for Sept. 3, 2011. We are having a hard time choosing between the Diamond Princess and the Golden Princess. We will be booking a balcony cabin or a mini suite. Which ship would you recommend?

Quick background on us: We are from Tampa, FL and in our late 20's. We tend to prefer newer, larger ships with more activities and decks to explore. Not overly picky with food or itinerary (they seem to be very similar). This will be our 15th cruise..we've sailed the Caribbean Princess twice and loved it.

Thanks so much for your help! We appreciate it!

[azdmelani]

My friend and I are going on the Golden the week before you. We're in our late 20s as well. The round trip from Settle, itinerary plus the fact that the Golden has been outfitted with the international cafe and winebar on the plaza deck has convinced us to book the Golden.

[tubasteve]

We chose the 9/3/11 sailing on the Golden. After researching the boards it sounded like missing glacier bay would be a mistake. We're also late 20's early 30's. Having the International Cafe would have been enough reason by itself though, the goodies from IC are very nice. :D

[Putterdude]

These are two completely different itineraries. The Golden does a 7 day return out of Seattle and the Diamond on 09/03 is a 7 day northbound itinerary out of Vancouver. For sure I would choose the Diamond over the Golden both as a ship and as an itinerary but you need to decide if you want to fly home from Anchorage.

[chrispb]

We've opted for the Golden too, going at the end of June. Didn't want to miss Glacier Bay.

[Putterdude]

The Diamond does Glacier Bay and College Fjord northbound and the the Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay south bound.

[jewopaho]

These are two completely different itineraries. The Golden does a 7 day return out of Seattle and the Diamond on 09/03 is a 7 day northbound itinerary out of Vancouver. For sure I would choose the Diamond over the Golden both as a ship and as an itinerary but you need to decide if you want to fly home from Anchorage.

 

This is a primary consideration, as the airfare to Vancouver and from Anchorage is very expensive (much more than the cruise), not to mention that long trip home. We've sailed the Inside Passage on Princess, and loved it ... so much that we just booked the Golden for 5/21. Airfare is relatively inexpensive (Southwest flies there), so it's probably a better choice all around. Congratulations ... and Go Bucs, Go Rays, Go Lightning!!

 

Al

[bluemoon2009]

We are going on the Diamond Princess in September for our honeymoon. It goes from Anchorage to Vancouver. To be honest we didn't even look at what ship we were taking. We're going on the cruise to see Alaska, not the cruise ship. We decided that this itinerary was better for us because we really wanted to see Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. We didn't mind spending a little more money on flights because we were getting to see the places that were important to us. So I would do some research and figure out what is your priority for the cruise. If ship choice is at the top of the list, then go with the ship you feel is best for you.

[gertz]

I agree with the dude. And for Alaska the itinerary s/b everything unless you have been there a dozen times.

[hollon]

Hello cruise lovers! My husband-to-be and I are planning our first Alaskan Cruise for Sept. 3, 2011. We are having a hard time choosing between the Diamond Princess and the Golden Princess. We will be booking a balcony cabin or a mini suite. Which ship would you recommend?

 

Quick background on us: We are from Tampa, FL and in our late 20's. We tend to prefer newer, larger ships with more activities and decks to explore. Not overly picky with food or itinerary (they seem to be very similar). This will be our 15th cruise..we've sailed the Caribbean Princess twice and loved it.

 

Thanks so much for your help! We appreciate it!

We haven't gone yet, but are going on the diamond princess, we arrive in anchorage and disembark in vancouver, doing glacier bay and hubbard, BUT taking a princess transfer (you can take another transfer for cheaper) to Seattle, even w/ the transfers it's cheaper to fly home from seattle. hope this helps some. from other cc members they say you may be missing out if you do a round trip from seattle.

[Tralynn]

We were initially torn over taking the one-way from Vancouver or the R/T from Seattle. We chose the Golden from Seattle, because we found Seattle itself offered numerous fun things to do for us. We chose to add a day before and after the cruise in order to enjoy the fun activities and sights in Seattle......And we still get to see Glacier Bay which was our top priority.

 

We're gonna save the other itinerary for when we have the time to do a B2B, which would give us R/T Vancouver and a nice long cruise.

[2278]

Diamond is a wonderful ship in many respects. We did a Northbound on her and felt very comfortable. She is bigger, but it did not feel crowded except for getting off for a port.

 

Previously we have done a Southbound on the Dawn which was small in comparison to the Diamond. At this point the Diamond seemed to more suit my needs in that it had some nice places to relax as well as the larger choices for pools and hot tubs.

 

I would love to cruise the Dawn again, but I am sure whatever the next ship is, it will be my favorite until the next one!

[JasmineC]

We are 1st time Princess cruisers as well, leaving for Alaska on July 9th and chose the Golden. Both looked appealing, I just told my hubby to pick one and we went with it. We are leaving from Seattle, and are excited about the train ride to Seattle from the Prairies (not too excited about the 25 hr train ride), but it will be an adventure. Good luck with your choice! I am sure the whole experience will be unforgettable.

[mreasier]

As other posters have stated, I would go with whatever itinerary best suits your needs and would not choose based on the ship. We did 14 days on the Golden in 2009 and 48 days on the Diamond in 2010. Both ships were wonderful. We liked the 4 anytime dining rooms on the Diamond. Each has its own theme and provided some nice variety on our long cruise. On the other hand, the Golden has a Crown Grill and an International Cafe (yummm). Have a great time!!!

[Passin Thru]

Diamond, It was drydocked in Oct 2010 and completely redone. Practically new.

[4cats4me]

I've been on each ship twice, and they're both great for different reasons.

Personally, I prefer the design of the Diamond. I don't care for the

structure over the back of the pool with Skywalker's as much as I do

with the Diamond. Just a personal preference. Mini-suites are a tad

larger on the Diamond, too.

However, the Golden has the International Cafe in the center atrium,

and MUTS. However, some might consider this a drawback.

 

I also like Club Fusion on the Diamond as opposed to the Vista Lounge

on the Golden, which has these obstructive beams.

 

However, I do like that on the Golden, many activities take place in

the Explorer's, i.e., 70's night, 50's night, and on the Diamond it takes

place in Club Fusion, so not as good, IMHO

[Putterdude]

Diamond, It was drydocked in Oct 2010 and completely redone. Practically new.

 

You are quite correct, unfortunately she did not get the IC or the Vines concepts...but that is not a deal breaker for us...the Diamond and the Sapphire remain our favourite ships.