First Alaska Trip-Must be Seattle R/T due to medical

[gemde]

We are planning on Alaska July 2013. We are past guest with Carnival and are trying to decide between Carnival, Holland, and Princess. Must be round trip Seattle due to meds that must be shipped ahead. We want Glacier Bay, and will arrange shore trips to Tracy or Mendenhall from Alaska ports, if possible. It seems like all have the same itinerary. Is one of the 3 lines superior for Glacier Bay, etc? We are 3 couples in our 50's with a total of 20 Carnival trips between us. I initially wanted a Princess Cruisetour, but the medical problems came up with on of the folks. Thanks!!

[bonvoyagie]

Well Princess and HAL are the only two on your list that go to GB along with NCL. With Princess the Golden Princess does a Seattle RT and includes Glacier Bay leaving on a Saturday. With HAL you have the Westerdam that does GB - but misses Skagway and does Sitka instead.

 

The NCL Pearl does GB and Skagway. These are the three RT out of Seattle that do GB as well. The Carnival Spirit only does GB on its final trip of the season. I think that any of these ships will take you where you want to go - I prefer NCL but to each their own. I think after NCL I would take Princess.

[Keith1010]

Princess and HAL have been sailing Alaska for a very long time followed by Celebrity.

 

I would look at Princess and HAL. My preference is Princess but again that is all a personal opinion that will vary person to person.

 

Keith

[Budget Queen]

We are planning on Alaska July 2013. We are past guest with Carnival and are trying to decide between Carnival, Holland, and Princess. Must be round trip Seattle due to meds that must be shipped ahead. We want Glacier Bay, and will arrange shore trips to Tracy or Mendenhall from Alaska ports, if possible. It seems like all have the same itinerary. Is one of the 3 lines superior for Glacier Bay, etc? We are 3 couples in our 50's with a total of 20 Carnival trips between us. I initially wanted a Princess Cruisetour, but the medical problems came up with on of the folks. Thanks!!

 

"Shipped ahead" meds? You are going to rely on the possibility the shippment doesn't make it? Not sure what your reference is? The only thing, I can thnk of is short term special mixed meds or feedings. Not looking for any answers, just pointing out additional risks involved.

 

With your Glacier Bay priority, then the list is short. HAL, Princess or NCL. Look further at the details- ports and times in port, price.

[gemde]

Yes, premixed meds, she cannot live without them. She has cruised before out of Canaveral without problems, but it must be a US port. Don't worry, she travels with a physician (me) and a nurse (my wife) ! Alaska cruise is a "bucket list" item for her. I had not considered NCL.

[PennyAgain]

Do not rely on pre-shipping anything to a cruise line. Arrive a day or so ahead in Seatlle and arrange with that hotel to accept your shipments. Likely they will charge you a fee to do so. Get the hotel's delivery address and not just the driveway address for guest arrivals.

 

Put your cell phone # and the telephone # of the hotel on the packages in plain sight.

 

We ship ahead to hotels for meetings and have about a 95% success rate with the packages arriving on schedule. Similar results with UPS and Fed-Ex. Have never lost a package all together, but sometimes one comes a day after the others.

[geoherb]

If you book on Princess or Holland America, make sure the travel agent knows about your Carnival history and passes it along. You could be eligible for a special past-passenger rate if available since all three cruise lines are part of Carnival Corp.

 

I like both Princess and HAL. We've sailed more on Princess because the price usually works out to be better. But I wouldn't have any hesitation to booking another cruise on a HAL ship.

[Gig103]

This might sound like a silly reason to choose Princess over HAL, but if all else was equal, for people like my wife and I who are soda addicts, the 'all you can drink' sticker from Princess works out to be better than the discounted-card from HAL.

[bonvoyagie]

NCL also has the soda card - I would be shocked if HAL doesn't.

 

If you are looking at needing Rx supplies shipped to AK be aware of who and who doesn't ship to AK - some towns have both Fed Ex and UPS while others have one ot the other.

[DizzyDallasDi]

This might sound like a silly reason to choose Princess over HAL, but if all else was equal, for people like my wife and I who are soda addicts, the 'all you can drink' sticker from Princess works out to be better than the discounted-card from HAL.

 

HAL allows you to bring as much soda as you want on board. You can also bring unlimited bottles of wine (including champagne) and water. And, no corkage fee for the wine if you consume it in your cabin.

[NoobCruise]

Well Princess and HAL are the only two on your list that go to GB along with NCL. With Princess the Golden Princess does a Seattle RT and includes Glacier Bay leaving on a Saturday. With HAL you have the Westerdam that does GB - but misses Skagway and does Sitka instead.

 

The NCL Pearl does GB and Skagway. These are the three RT out of Seattle that do GB as well. The Carnival Spirit only does GB on its final trip of the season. I think that any of these ships will take you where you want to go - I prefer NCL but to each their own. I think after NCL I would take Princess.

 

Carnival Spirit and Miracle cruise Glacier Bay too. Spirit sails out of Seattle. Search their website. They're September dates, so shoulder season, but they do sail there.

[bonvoyagie]

Yes, these two ships do Glacier Bay on their final cruises which start in Seattle and end in Vancouver - they are not RT Seattle.

 

The rest of the time they cruise Tracy Arm.

[mapleleaves]

Another thought .... have the meds shipped to a Seattle hotel, then the next day ride the Amtrak train to Vancouver for the cruise. This would open up more itineraries and choices to your group.

[fun cruiserz]

We have booked a RT Seattle for July 20, 2013 and it goes to Glacier Bay on the Star Princess.

[MilliesMom]

We've cruised twice to Alaska on Princess. Next year will cruise on Westerdam (HAL). We liked being able to see Glacier Bay AND Sitka. Sitka is a tender port if that makes any difference.

 

We have a number of friends who have cruised on the Westerdam and only had good things to say about the ship and the crew, so we felt comfortable booking with HAL too.

 

Cruising out of Seattle (all 3 cruises) was great ... and so easy to do. Have a wonderful time no matter which cruiseline you choose.

 

Past cruisers with Carnival and now booking with HAL qualify for their VIP (people who have cruised with their sister lines but not with HAL before). It gives you a discount on your cruise. Also check with HAL before booking. We were given a Mariner # even tho we had not cruised with HAL before. The number (because of cruises on Carnival and Princess) gave us the same benefits as a past passenger. The Mariner number will not show any cruise days tho, but will consider you a past passenger.

 

 

How do I join the program? Do I need to register?

No registration is required. All Mariners (past guests of Holland America Line) are enrolled automatically and will receive benefits starting with their second cruise. Guests who have sailed aboard a "World's Leading Cruise Lines" brand (Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line or Costa Cruises) are also automatically enrolled in the program as a Star Mariner after they make their first booking.

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/marinerSociety/Main.action#