Princess or Holland America to Alaska with a 7 month old?

[twigac]

My husband and I plan to take our daughter on an Alaskan cruise in August. She will be 7 month by then. I'm trying to decide between Princess or Holland America. Which cruise line would you recommend? We're in our 30s. My mother and in-laws will also be joining us. They will be able to help baby sit.

[mom2sz]

We've sailed Holland America(HAL) twice to Alaska. The first time was when our daughter was 5 months old and last year when our kids were 5 and 7 years old. We've sailed Princess four times on other itineraries.

 

Overall, we feel that Princess has better food, entertainment and onboard activities. Activities and entertainment are important since you actually have time to enjoy them with family babysitters around. A majority of HAL cruisers were on the older age groups (50+) and Princess had a bit more diverse age groups including more families with younger kids.

 

The main reasons we've chosen HAL to Alaska had been price and itineraries. We've sailed both times during 4th of July week and at that time, HAL had lower prices and had the itineraries we wanted and primarily sailing roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver. We also took into consideration the times they spent on each port.

 

Try to look at the itineraries and schedule to see which one fits your interests. If price is not an issue, then based on our experiences, Princess would be a better option.

 

Good luck with your plans. Alaska is absolutely beautiful.

[Keith1010]

I believe that the itinerary should be the driver for deciding on which Alaska cruise to choose but all things being equal I would select Princess over HAL. I find that food and entertainment are nice on Princess and they do a wonderful job in Alaska as well.

 

Keith

[twigac]

We've sailed Holland America(HAL) twice to Alaska. The first time was when our daughter was 5 months old and last year when our kids were 5 and 7 years old. We've sailed Princess four times on other itineraries.

 

Overall, we feel that Princess has better food, entertainment and onboard activities. Activities and entertainment are important since you actually have time to enjoy them with family babysitters around. A majority of HAL cruisers were on the older age groups (50+) and Princess had a bit more diverse age groups including more families with younger kids.

 

The main reasons we've chosen HAL to Alaska had been price and itineraries. We've sailed both times during 4th of July week and at that time, HAL had lower prices and had the itineraries we wanted and primarily sailing roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver. We also took into consideration the times they spent on each port.

 

Try to look at the itineraries and schedule to see which one fits your interests. If price is not an issue, then based on our experiences, Princess would be a better option.

 

Good luck with your plans. Alaska is absolutely beautiful.

Thank you for your feedback. I'm really interested in a cruisetour. Would you recommend it?

[mom2sz]

Thank you for your feedback. I'm really interested in a cruisetour. Would you recommend it?

 

You're welcome! Yes, I highly recommend the cruise tours. It's usually cheaper to go with the local tour companies compared to what the cruise lines offer. Try to check the Alaska boards here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

They should be able to give you some good recommendations for tours and tour companies for your family.

[twigac]

We've sailed Holland America(HAL) twice to Alaska. The first time was when our daughter was 5 months old and last year when our kids were 5 and 7 years old. We've sailed Princess four times on other itineraries.

 

Overall, we feel that Princess has better food, entertainment and onboard activities. Activities and entertainment are important since you actually have time to enjoy them with family babysitters around. A majority of HAL cruisers were on the older age groups (50+) and Princess had a bit more diverse age groups including more families with younger kids.

 

The main reasons we've chosen HAL to Alaska had been price and itineraries. We've sailed both times during 4th of July week and at that time, HAL had lower prices and had the itineraries we wanted and primarily sailing roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver. We also took into consideration the times they spent on each port.

 

Try to look at the itineraries and schedule to see which one fits your interests. If price is not an issue, then based on our experiences, Princess would be a better option.

 

Good luck with your plans. Alaska is absolutely beautiful.

Is there enough room in Princess or Holland America's dining rooms to bring a stroller for the baby to sleep in while we dine or should I just have her sleep in the room while we take turns for dinner?

 

I prefer Princess' Anytime Dining. Have you experienced Holland America's flexible open schedule? Is it similar?

[mom2sz]

Is there enough room in Princess or Holland America's dining rooms to bring a stroller for the baby to sleep in while we dine or should I just have her sleep in the room while we take turns for dinner?

 

I prefer Princess' Anytime Dining. Have you experienced Holland America's flexible open schedule? Is it similar?

 

The dining rooms are pretty crowded but we've been seated at corner tables by the windows with a bit more space with our umbrella strollers. I'm sure the the Maitre'd can arrange to accomodate the stroller if you ask them in advance.

 

But, is your baby the type who can sleep through a lot of noise? The dining rooms are pretty noisy and have so much activity going on with many busy servers. HAL on a couple of nights also has some form of dinner entertainment. Personally, if I had relatives to watch the baby, I would take turns for dinner on most nights. You can also designate a couple of nights for everyone to eat together in the dining room if you want.

 

When we sailed last year, Holland America had Your Choice dining and was very similar to Princess' Anytime Dining. We just called a couple of days before to reserve times and they also had a staff at the Lido Buffet to make reservations. My husband and I decided to be spontaneous one night and did a walk-in and ended up waiting for 40 minutes to be accomodated at any available table. That was the longest we've ever waited. I don't know if it was because it was a smaller ship or if the Princess dining rooms were just bigger or have more restaurant options. So, try to reserve your times no matter what ship you decide.