Celebrity over Princess in Alaska

[niborHS]

Am I making a big mistake? I was going to choose Princess because other threads have said that even though they normally cruise with Celebrity, Princess is better for Alaska. The problem is that my husband doesn't really want to go to Alaska, and he prefers Celebrity. We like the sky suite on Celebrity, and I can get the one with the bigger balcony for the end of June sailing we want. I don't find the Princess mini-suite comparable, so would take a regular suite, which would cost us more. The itinerary seems similar. One of the things we like about Celebrity is that we prefer the fixed dining time, especially when we are travelling just the 2 of us. We have enjoyed our tablemates in the past, so find it fun.

The other thing we are deciding on is whether to depart from Seward, and arrive in Vancouver, or the reverse. I would like to spend some time in Vancouver, so not sure if I would prefer it at the end, or the beginning. We are travelling from NY, so there is the time change issue, which gets to me.

[Fblack]

I have sailed both lines and many of their ships. Especially the ones to Alaska. I heard that Princess only holds an edge if you plan to also take a land excursion along with the cruise. I also prefer Celebrity because of their non smoking policy. But I believe Princess is tightening up their policy early next year. Also, the M class ships that Celebrity is sending to Alaska will have been refitted by the start of the Alaska cruise season. One last thing, the big Princess ships have a nice indoor pool if you are a big swimmer. The M class Celebrity ships do not have an indoor pool set up for swimming laps. For me, I would take Celebrity.

[Keith1010]

Robinsilver, no you are not making a mistake. I have sailed Alaska five times including twice on Celebrity and Celebrity did a great job. Usually there are three lines that I recommend that people check out when it comes to Alaska and Celebrity is one of them.

 

Keith

[olemissreb]

I have sailed both lines and many of their ships. Especially the ones to Alaska. I heard that Princess only holds an edge if you plan to also take a land excursion along with the cruise. I also prefer Celebrity because of their non smoking policy. But I believe Princess is tightening up their policy early next year. Also, the M class ships that Celebrity is sending to Alaska will have been refitted by the start of the Alaska cruise season. One last thing, the big Princess ships have a nice indoor pool if you are a big swimmer. The M class Celebrity ships do not have an indoor pool set up for swimming laps. For me, I would take Celebrity.

 

Is the indoor pool on the big Princess (assuming Diamond & Sapphire) ships open to kids? I'm having the darndest time trying to decide between Princess, RCI and Celebrity for our Alaskan cruise in 2013. There's about a $2000 difference between the cheapest (Princess) and the most expensive (Celebrity) for what we hope to do. We will have a 17yo and 13yo with us so the indoor pool is attractive for them.

[Bruin Steve]

Am I making a big mistake? I was going to choose Princess because other threads have said that even though they normally cruise with Celebrity, Princess is better for Alaska. The problem is that my husband doesn't really want to go to Alaska, and he prefers Celebrity. We like the sky suite on Celebrity, and I can get the one with the bigger balcony for the end of June sailing we want. I don't find the Princess mini-suite comparable, so would take a regular suite, which would cost us more. The itinerary seems similar. One of the things we like about Celebrity is that we prefer the fixed dining time, especially when we are travelling just the 2 of us. We have enjoyed our tablemates in the past, so find it fun.

The other thing we are deciding on is whether to depart from Seward, and arrive in Vancouver, or the reverse. I would like to spend some time in Vancouver, so not sure if I would prefer it at the end, or the beginning. We are travelling from NY, so there is the time change issue, which gets to me.

 

IMHO, Celebrity is the better choice in Alaska for the same reasons it's the better choice everywhere else--less crowded, better designed ships, better food, better service...

 

Princess has a certain "reputation" working in Alaska...and they seem to have a lot of folks convinced...they sell people on this with the following points:

1) They've been doing Alaska longer (Yeah, and Ford's been making cars longer than Lexus...doesn't mean I'd rather drive a Ford)...

2) They have a near monopoly on visits to Glacier Bay (Celebrity goes to just as spectacular Hubbard Glacier instead--it's a fair trade-off either way)

3) They own their own hotels (Doesn't make them better than the hotels Celebrity contracts for--in fact, it allows them not to have to compete for the business...celebrity's contracted for hotels were top rate.)

4) They own their own dome-covered rail car (Actually, Celebrity has just as nice a dome-covered rail car--they just share it with Royal Caribbean--and ALL of the cruise lines's cars are attached to the same train on the same track.)

 

We opted to do Alaska with Celebrity and were extremely happyu with the choice.

 

We chose a Southbound 13 night Cruisetour--so as to get the more stressful (moving in and out of hotels) part out of the way first, then to finish up with the relaxing cruise...though we also tacked on two nights at the Sutton Place in Vancouver post-cruise. IMHO, that is the direction in which to do it--assuming you are doing a land tour in Alaska...Also, the flight home is shorter from Vancouver...nice to have a shorter flight at the end...

 

Good luck...

[austinlw]

I guess my priorities are different from most others, but to me, a cruise to Alaska is more about Alaska than it is about the ship itself. Both Celebrity and Princess have nice ships with good food. To me the question is which company has the itinerary I want? Hubbard Glacier vs. Glacier Bay? Seward vs. Whittier? Etc. Which fits my schedule better? On our Alaska cruise 2 years ago my wife and I were up on the top deck watching scenery and wildlife most of the hours of every day. That was why we wanted to go on an Alaska cruise in the first place. We could have done that on either Celebrity or Princess (or others), but we chose Princess because they went to Glacier Bay. Plus, disembarking at Whittier (closer to Anchorage) helped make our post-cruise schedule on land more efficient, saving us a night. Next time we'll probably go on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, mainly so we can go to different places.

[ghstudio]

You answered your own question in the original post. Your husband doesn't really want to go, but he would prefer Celebrity if you do go. I don't know the details of your marriage, but I and most of my friends would choose Celebrity based on your husbands preference. Frankly, there is probably little difference between celebrity and princess and if you take one, you won't know what you missed on the other anyway.....even hubbard fx college vs glacier bay....if you are serious with yourself, they are pretty much similar and the differences aren't worth having your husband say "I'm having a lousy time, why did you pick Princess".....and anything bad on the trip becomes your fault.

[dcruisers]

We did an Alaskan cruise/tour on Princess this Aug/Sept. I agree with Austinlw that it is about Alaska and not the ship. We sailed on Island Princess which was nice..had late traditional seating for dinner. It wasn't crowded and the food was really very good.

We did our land tour first (recommended because of busy schedule) and finished with the cruise (more relaxing) and extra time in Vancouver. .Loved Vancouver!! Stayed at Pan Pacific..great place to stay.

We chose Princess because we were doing a land tour and they have their own lodges and train. Bottom line, you can't go wrong with either cruise line because Alaska is so pretty!

Just remember, cruising Alaska is all about the "last Frontier" and not so much about the cruise ship. So very different than a caribbean cruise.

[Cruise Junky]

For me the deal breaker with Celebrity is no access to Glacier Bay. If you'd been to Alaska a couple of times, then ok, go to one of the other Glaciers, but Glacier Bay was such a highlight, probably the best day on our Alaskan Cruise.

[Kdram]

Our family did an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity Mercury several years ago and had a fantastic time. We saw a huge calving by Hubbard Glacier...the waves rocked the ship. The captain came on the PA and announced that it was the biggest he had experienced in his 8 years cruising Alaska. It was indeed an awesome sight. In any rate, we have another Alaska cruised booked for next September on Golden Princess...would have liked to choose Celebrity if they would cruise out of Seattle. As others have mentioned, since your husband prefers to cruise on Celebrity, there is really not too many alternatives for you unless you can change his mind. I believe you will have a great time on your Alaskan cruise with Celebrity. Afterall it will be a week of being pampered, no cooking, no cleaning...no stress (hopefully). :D

[niborHS]

Thanks for all the replies. ghstudio, I am curious if you are a man or a woman, but you gave the best answer. Just so you know, I have been married for 37 years, and do know my husband. He likes being treated like a king, and you get a bit more of that feel on Celebrity. More so on Holland in the suites when you have access to the Neptune Lounge, but I am not willing to go that far. I hear HAL has a very old crowd in Alaska.

Now for another thing you are so right about - every year I travel at least once with girlfriends. The great thing about doing that? I don't have to worry about whether my husband is having a good time or not. When I went on a 4 day cruise on the Century with them, 2 of us shared an inside cabin because we got a fantastic deal on it. One of the best cruises I ever had.

[Cruise Junky]

Thanks for all the replies. ghstudio, I am curious if you are a man or a woman, but you gave the best answer. Just so you know, I have been married for 37 years, and do know my husband. He likes being treated like a king, and you get a bit more of that feel on Celebrity. More so on Holland in the suites when you have access to the Neptune Lounge, but I am not willing to go that far. I hear HAL has a very old crowd in Alaska.

Now for another thing you are so right about - every year I travel at least once with girlfriends. The great thing about doing that? I don't have to worry about whether my husband is having a good time or not. When I went on a 4 day cruise on the Century with them, 2 of us shared an inside cabin because we got a fantastic deal on it. One of the best cruises I ever had.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of HAL on our Alaska cruise, but I'm in my 40s and didn't feel out of place at all. It was a lot younger demographic than what I expected. I think the longer the cruise on HAL the age will skyrocket.