Southbound Alaska 2013- which ship

[scotlady]

Coral, Island, Diamond or Sapphire? Our dates are open - so we can choose any ship.

 

I understand Coral & Island are smaller - does this have positive effect on service levels and crowding? And is it a negative in any other way? (Such as entertainment or food?)

 

I'm also confused on covered vs. uncovered balconies - do the ships differ on this? And how would you know if your balcony is covered or uncovered?

 

Lastly, do any or all have enclosed or sheltered pool/hot tub areas that can be enjoyed in the "brisk" Alaskan climate?

[loliola]

Coral and Island are exactly the same except for decor. Passenger to space ratio is great on these ships, they never feel crowded. They have an outdoor large pool and another enclosed on the Lido Deck. We sailed on Island in midship balconies D501, D502

(D418 and D419 are the same) which had 2/3 covered balconies perfect for Alaska weather. I would also narrow down by which ships go to Glacier Bay, which should not be missed!

[scotlady]

Hi, Leslie.

 

Thanks for the info. So the Island has a covered pool, good to know. Do you know if the other ships do?

 

And can you tell ahead of time whether the balconies are covered - or are all the balconies on the ship the same?

 

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), all the itineraries/ships I am looking at go to Glacier Bay, so no help deciding there!

 

I also wanted to ask you - have you encountered any problems as far as kids overcrowding the hot tubs on any of the Alaskan cruises you have gone on?

[loliola]

You want to look at Tom O's great site

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/p...ies/index.html

which will show you which balconies are covered and which are uncovered. Alaska does not seem to be a popular destination for the young, we did not have a lot of children when we went in early August. There are uncovered balconies on the ships; I would not want one as you have no privacy and things fall down on you. A partially covered is best in my opinion, even more important in Alaska

[scotlady]

Wow! Really useful site. Thank you! I couldn't reach it from your link, by the way, but it was easy to find by googling "Tom O Princess balconies", in case someone else is looking for it.

 

Good to know that there didn't seem to be a problem with number of kids on the ship.

 

I would still like to hear from anyone that has sailed on both the smaller Coral/Island and larger Sapphire/Diamond.

[Wishing on a star]

You may be seeing by your research that the Sapphire has been updated and has things like the International Cafe. It has a covered pool. If you are interested in anytime dining, the Sapphire/Diamond have 4 smaller dining rooms.

 

I know the two smaller ships have a lot of folks here who love them.

But, we are considering the Sapphire.

 

Many balconies are covered.

Caribe are deeper, larger, balconies... so they are half covered and half open. I am not the type who really cares or is worried about who might be looking down... We don't plan on using our balcony for anything strange or 'naughty'!!! Hahahaha!!! So, I really liked the Caribe balcony on my last cruise.

[cruisequeen4ever]

We have sailed to Alaska on the Island, Diamond, and Sapphire. Hands down, go for the Sapphire Princess! It's the only one of the 4 that has had the renovations to include the International Cafe; plus they are one of only 2 Princess ships to have Alfredo's Pizzeria, which is out of this world! The Sapphire Princess has become our favorite ship because it's beautiful, unique, and offers more daily activities than the Coral and Island.

[Wishing on a star]

Thanks cruisequeen - that seems to be what I keep hearing!!!

When was your Alaska cruise?

We are looking at the end of May!

[scotlady]

Thanks!

 

So if the balconies are "covered" - does this keep the rain off, or is it just a matter of privacy (which I really don't care about either)?

 

Are the mini-suites on the Sapphire covered? It doesn't tell on Princess's website, and the Tom O website only shows the Coral and Island.

[geoherb]

We loved our Sapphire Princess cruise last week. We did the southbound from Whittier to Vancouver. The balconies on the Aloha and Baja Deck are covered, which keeps the rain off unless it's really windy. The Caribe Deck balconies are half covered. They're also twice as large as the other balconies. The Dolphin Deck mini suites have uncovered balconies.

 

It rained every day on our cruise. We were glad our cabin had a balcony that was half covered.

[gometros]

You want to look at Tom O's great site

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/p...ies/index.html

which will show you which balconies are covered and which are uncovered. Alaska does not seem to be a popular destination for the young, we did not have a lot of children when we went in early August. There are uncovered balconies on the ships; I would not want one as you have no privacy and things fall down on you. A partially covered is best in my opinion, even more important in Alaska

 

I got a not found when clicking on the link?

[scotlady]

Geoherb - are all the balcony cabins on the Caribe deck larger?

 

I'm looking at the deck plans, and it is hard to tell - they don't look any larger than the other decks' balconies just by looking at them on the plans.

 

And everyone is saying they are "half-covered". What does that mean?

That they are covered part way out from the cabin door or that only half of the balcony is covered, while the other half is open?

[rdsqrl]

I got a not found when clicking on the link?

Try this one: http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

 

 

Geoherb - are all the balcony cabins on the Caribe deck larger?

 

I'm looking at the deck plans, and it is hard to tell - they don't look any larger than the other decks' balconies just by looking at them on the plans.

 

And everyone is saying they are "half-covered". What does that mean?

That they are covered part way out from the cabin door or that only half of the balcony is covered, while the other half is open?

Yes, they're larger -- about 9x9, versus 9x5 for the balconies on Baja, Aloha, and Lido. Half-covered means that the first few feet out from the balcony sliding door is covered by the Baja deck balconies above. The rest of the balcony extends out further than the balconies on the decks above and so is open to the sky.

[poncho1965]

We sailed Coral to Panama in March. Great ship and never felt crowded. We had a Dolphin balcony on the bumpout. 1900 passengers, covered and uncovered pools, but no IC.

 

We just got back from Whittier to Vancouver on the Sapphire. Caribe balcony (larger, half uncovered). 2700 passengers. Ship is in great shape, the same covered and uncovered pools, AND has the International Cafe. I'm not sure if the weather was a factor but the ship did not feel crowded at all. It would almost be a tossup for me, but I would lean towards Sapphire and the IC :-) I don't think you could go wrong with either!

[scotlady]

Thanks for the help.

 

I'm sold on the Sapphire. Tough decision, though, between a mini-suite w/uncovered balcony and balcony room covered. I don't care about the privacy issue, but am concerned about being able to use the balcony when it rains.

 

What is the International Cafe & what's special about it?

[dorisis]

Wow! Really useful site. Thank you! I couldn't reach it from your link, by the way, but it was easy to find by googling "Tom O Princess balconies", in case someone else is looking for it.

 

Good to know that there didn't seem to be a problem with number of kids on the ship.

 

I would still like to hear from anyone that has sailed on both the smaller Coral/Island and larger Sapphire/Diamond.

 

I have sailed on both and also on the Pacific princess. I much prefered the Pacific for the size (670 passengers) and the itinerarey which included Kodiak and Hoonah.

 

~Doris~

[scotlady]

Thanks for the reply, Doris.

 

I don't see the Pacific Princess as one of the choices for a 7-day Alaskan cruise.

 

Regarding the other smaller ships - Coral and Island - do they have an advantage over the larger ships - as far as being able to get closer to the glaciers, further into the fjords, etc? It looks like they run the same itinerary and Sapphire & Diamond, but wondering if they can get up closer?

[Wishing on a star]

Scotlady, I am wondering if the Minisuites on Emerald might be covered???

 

Maybe somebody here can answer this for sure.

 

Yes, I believe that most of the mini's, which are, of course, on Dolphin, are completely un-covered... I am talking the sliding door open immediately to the elements.

 

PS: About getting closer to the glaciers... I believe that the conditions that day, and how close the Captain is willing to go with it, are the two biggest factors that will determine how close the ship will get to the glaciers.

I do not think that the other ships are small enough to have that much of an advantage????

[Wishing on a star]

Okay, I just did a quick Yahoo Search and looked at photos of the Sapphire.

 

It appears that YES, you can get a mini that has a covered balcony on the Emerald Deck.

 

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoV4D_yxQQzoA7ZiJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dsapphire%2Bprincess%2Bship%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701-s%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D4&w=2560&h=1920&imgurl=pictures.mastermarf.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F080714-sapphire-princess.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mastermarf.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fcruise-ship-watch-carnival-spirit-and.html&size=1.2+KB&name=Master+Marf%3A+Cruise+Ship+Watch%3A+Carnival+Spirit+and+Sapphire+Princess&p=sapphire+princess+ship&oid=77ae9155047fe06323f75a6af451c65f&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701-s&tt=Master%2BMarf%253A%2BCruise%2BShip%2BWatch%253A%2BCarnival%2BSpirit%2Band%2BSapphire%2BPrincess&b=0&ni=144&no=4&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12cqncbhu&sigb=13m7o76k0&sigi=11u21nvh6&.crumb=7QTVJM9aTKq

 

There are 9 of these on both Port and Starboard AFT. Right behind the life-boats.

They seem to be covered by the Dolphin deck balconies.

 

If you do decide to book one of these mini-suites, over a regular covered 'balcony stateroom', you might want to be sure it is flagged 'NO UPGRADE'. These are category ME - with all other categories of mini-suites considered a slightly better category. You wouldn't want to be bumped up to a cat. MA, midship dolphin deck, but with the completely uncovered balcony.

 

I am thinking that Southbound, you would want to be on the PORT side for better viewing thru most of the southbound sailing.

 

Of course, everyone gets great viewing by going up to the decks, and the captain will turn/rotate the ship at key viewing areas, such as the glaciers, so that balconies on both sides will have equal time.

[sassyredhat]

We just sailed Sapphire in April, after the upgrade, and I lived in the IC. ;)

We had a Baja aft balcony, which is fully covered. I needed the full cover for Hawaii. In the future, I would choose a mid ship balcony. Long walk for my bad legs. (no upgrades).

As others have said, southbound I would choose port side. I saw alot from my balcony. :)

Pat

[Wishing on a star]

Yep, it is a bit more of a hike when one is way toward the AFT, or the front!!!

 

Right now, I am debating an ocean view on Plaza (Right there at the International Cafe!!!) I have been researching which ones have the better layout, same as balcony cabins...

OR spending more to get a balcony. I really LOVE the location and idea of being there on Plaza... But, I am a 'gotta have my fresh air' girl...

 

Hhhhhmmm????

Fresh air and easy outside access.

Or being right off the Piazza and International Cafe for easy access to that and most everything else...

 

For Alaska, which is all about the scenic viewing, I am thinking that the first option will win out!