First time Alaskan and Princess Cruiser

[Brian918]

Hello Everyone,

In the very early planning stage of a 2014 Alaskan Cruise. We have sailed 5 times previously on Carnival, all in the Carribbean.

 

I have read that Princess is one of the preferred lines as they have access to Glacier Bay. Is this correct? Also, I've read that the one-way cruises are better. Carnival for example (at least in 2013) offers a round trip only from Seattle. If the one-way is the preferred route, does it make a difference if it is Northbound or Southbound? I plan to use airline miles for our flights, so that would negate flight cost considerations.

 

If we are booking a balcony cabin (will probably put the kids in an interior), is it safe to assume that the Eastern side of the boat is the preferred side?

 

Our kids will be 21, 13, and 10 at the time of the cruise. Is the swimming pool an option on Alaskan cruises? Are there any kids activities, similar to what Carnival offers? I am presuming that there will be far fewer kids than a summertime Carnival cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Last question (at least for now), if we are planning to do a couple of days on our own in Alaksa, is it better to do them pre- or post-cruise? I realize this will ultimately be determined by the direction the ship sails.

 

Thank you all in advance!

 

Regards,

Brian

[Colo Cruiser]

College Fjord and Glacier bay are on almost all the one way Vancouver-Anchorage or Anchorage-Vancouver iteniary.

We never worry about what side to book, you will see plenty of scenary on either side.

We tend to spend hours on the balcony in Alaska.

 

We always book days pre cruise, by the end of the cruise we would rather head home then stick around, but thats just us.

 

Airfare can be expensive to/from Anchorage and the amount of flights are limited.

 

We love the Island/Coral Princess with their covered pool and less passengers. Also love the Promanade deck. ;)

 

I also believe that some roundtrip iteniaries from Seattle do hit Glacier Bay as well.

[IECalCruiser]

We haven't sailed any line other than Princess to Alaska, but we felt they did a very good job. Libby Riddles of Iditarod fame will be on board the evening in Juneau and Steve Hites will be on board the evening in Skagway to give very good insights on Alaska. 2014 schedules won't be out for a month or two but, based on the recent past, one ship will include an RT from Seattle that includes Glacier Bay every other week. We have done both the Seattle RT and the Voyage of the Glaciers route from Vancouver to Whittier. Northbound you will have glacier viewing in Glacier Bay and College Fjord while southbound it will be Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. We haven't done Hubbard Glacier so I can't comment on the differences.

 

It doesn't matter which side you are on. Away from ports you really can't see land, you enter and exit ports and Glacier Bay the same way you leave so you will have the same view either entering or exiting and when you are actually at the best glaciers the Captain will rotate the ship so both sides have a good view.

 

There are kids activities, but I think your 10 year old and your 13 year old will be in different age groups. The covered pools on the Island and the Coral are posted adults only and I can't comment on how strictly that is enforced. There was a youth party of some sort in that pool one night on our cruise on the Coral. The Grand, Golden, Star and Sapphire have covered pools open to all. With the Diamond in Japan during the summer of 2014, the Crown will probably be doing one of the two Seattle RT routes. She doesn't have a covered pool so that would be a disadvantage. Pools are heated but the air around the pools can be quite cold in Alaska.

 

I would probably opt for the land portion first. That way you are well rested for the higher activity level and then can relax and enjoy the ship on the way home.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We have done Alaska twice, both times on the Coral Princess (LOVE the Coral and her twin, the Island!!). STRONGLY recommend the land tour package either before or after the cruise. We have done it after, and flown home from Fairbanks.

 

There is SO much to see, and the Princess Lodges are the best! We took over 3,000 pictures the first time, just trying to capture it all!!

[gingera]

Hi!

 

When we cruised Alaska we were on the starboard side, but to us it did not make a difference....when we went to the fyords, the ship turned for all of us to view the glacier.....we even got to witness a calving of the ice! We staying up on deck, it was cold even though it was in June, so we wore our Cabella thermal wear and placed chemical warmers in our gloves..

 

It was an amazing trip...have a great time!

[gingera]

Is the swimming pool an option on Alaskan cruises? .

Regards,

Brian

 

The year that we went to Alaska, it was quite cold in June, so neither I nor my husband spent time at the pool.

We wore jeans with a jacket the whole 2 weeks.

 

3 weeks later, my friend went to Alaska in July, and her family was able to swim in the pool and they also wore shorts.

 

Welcome to Alaska!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hello Everyone,

In the very early planning stage of a 2014 Alaskan Cruise. We have sailed 5 times previously on Carnival, all in the Carribbean.

 

I have read that Princess is one of the preferred lines as they have access to Glacier Bay. Is this correct? Also, I've read that the one-way cruises are better. Carnival for example (at least in 2013) offers a round trip only from Seattle. If the one-way is the preferred route, does it make a difference if it is Northbound or Southbound? I plan to use airline miles for our flights, so that would negate flight cost considerations.

 

If we are booking a balcony cabin (will probably put the kids in an interior), is it safe to assume that the Eastern side of the boat is the preferred side?

 

Our kids will be 21, 13, and 10 at the time of the cruise. Is the swimming pool an option on Alaskan cruises? Are there any kids activities, similar to what Carnival offers? I am presuming that there will be far fewer kids than a summertime Carnival cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Last question (at least for now), if we are planning to do a couple of days on our own in Alaksa, is it better to do them pre- or post-cruise? I realize this will ultimately be determined by the direction the ship sails.

 

Thank you all in advance!

 

Regards,

Brian

 

It's a long time since we did our Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire Princess (when it was brand new in 2004) and it was a RT of Seattle. That was fine for us because we weren't going to do a cruisetour. If you want to do a cruisetour, than the one-way is better for you (even though one could still stick on a tour to the RT if you're creative enough and willing to do a bit of flying). But you do have to figure in the flight to or from Anchorage whether or not you fly into Vancouver or into Seattle (and then there's the trip to Vancouver).

 

Most of the ships that Princess uses have a pool under a retractable roof. We were on the 2005 Hawaiian cruise to Hawaii on the Island, and I think then the covered pool was open to the kids too. I don't know if that's changed since then or if it's just the Coral that restricts the usage to adults.

 

There is a full kids' program onboard, especially if going between June and mid-August, when kids are out of school. Lots of families on Princess. Maybe fewer kids closer to Labor Day and definitely fewer in May. And yes, your 13-yr-old will be in the Remix program while the 10-yr-old in Shockwaves. When we went, my daughter had just turned 7 and there were plenty of science-oriented activities as well as the standard ones.

 

We had an inside cabin so we were up on deck for the glacier cruising. I don't think anyone sleeps in that morning. And there's a naturalist on board who narrates what you'll looking at. Pretty cool.

[ceba]

We did the 4 day pre-cruise trip. Flew into Fairbanks and stayed at one of Princess's beautiful lodges and explored Denali. From there the tour takes the train down to Anchorage which was a fantastic experience! This is such a fabulous vacation, I don't think there's a wrong way to do it!!! Have fun planning!

[Budget Queen]

Hello Everyone,

In the very early planning stage of a 2014 Alaskan Cruise. We have sailed 5 times previously on Carnival, all in the Carribbean.

 

I have read that Princess is one of the preferred lines as they have access to Glacier Bay. Is this correct? Also, I've read that the one-way cruises are better. Carnival for example (at least in 2013) offers a round trip only from Seattle. If the one-way is the preferred route, does it make a difference if it is Northbound or Southbound? I plan to use airline miles for our flights, so that would negate flight cost considerations.

 

If we are booking a balcony cabin (will probably put the kids in an interior), is it safe to assume that the Eastern side of the boat is the preferred side?

 

Our kids will be 21, 13, and 10 at the time of the cruise. Is the swimming pool an option on Alaskan cruises? Are there any kids activities, similar to what Carnival offers? I am presuming that there will be far fewer kids than a summertime Carnival cruise in the Caribbean.

 

Last question (at least for now), if we are planning to do a couple of days on our own in Alaksa, is it better to do them pre- or post-cruise? I realize this will ultimately be determined by the direction the ship sails.

 

Thank you all in advance!

 

Regards,

Brian

 

You are making a lot of assumptions. Every cruise sailing Alaska will offer you a great cruise- IF you do your homework and know what you are booking and why.

 

With your "planning a couple days in Alaska" you are looking at a one way cruise.

Having a lot of experience touring mainland Alaska, I see more negatives with cruisetours compared to independent- which you claim you are considering. A "few" days can be extremely limiting, due to time and distances involved.

 

I suggest you back up and find out about Alaska, head to your library, take out Alaska travel books. Be selective in what YOU want to see and do. With this information, it will become clear what you are looking at, with far more understanding. This will allow you to make logical decisions, based on what your group hopes to experience.

 

This itinerary is VERY different from you Carnival cruise- which I'm assuming was of the Carribean? No matter what line you take for Alaska, demographics are similar with the exception of Disney. No way to predict.

 

Last year, I did a Princess cruise second week of August, less than 25 kids on board.

A week later on HAL about the same. Second week of Sept on RCI- again similar. Plenty of differences week to week.

[caribill]

Last question (at least for now), if we are planning to do a couple of days on our own in Alaksa, is it better to do them pre- or post-cruise? I realize this will ultimately be determined by the direction the ship sails.

 

 

We feel that doing the land tour pre-cruise is best as you can rest up from that on the ship.

 

I do suggest the Princess tours although the price can add up for a family of 5. Princess takes care of all of the logistics and takes good care of you on their tours.

 

For a report of our six day Princess tour before taking the Island Princess from Whittier to Vancouver, see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858

[donaldsc]

We have done Alaska twice, both times on the Coral Princess (LOVE the Coral and her twin, the Island!!). STRONGLY recommend the land tour package either before or after the cruise. We have done it after, and flown home from Fairbanks.

 

There is SO much to see, and the Princess Lodges are the best! We took over 3,000 pictures the first time, just trying to capture it all!!

 

I would disagree on taking the land tour package. You get herded around in a group; you stop where Princess gets the most money or biggest cut of the take; you can not do what you want to do; and to top it off, you get to stay in Princess Lodges instead of small interesting places to stay.

 

AK is extremely easy to do on your own. Do the land portion but do it on your terms, not Princess' term. It just takes a bit of work on your part to decide what you want to do and what you want to see.

 

 

DON

[IECalCruiser]

OP only stated that they were planning a few days on their own in Alaska and was wondering whether that was better pre or post cruise. I believe that the overwhelming consensus is to do Alaska pre cruise.

[Budget Queen]

We feel that doing the land tour pre-cruise is best as you can rest up from that on the ship.

 

I do suggest the Princess tours although the price can add up for a family of 5. Princess takes care of all of the logistics and takes good care of you on their tours.

 

For a report of our six day Princess tour before taking the Island Princess from Whittier to Vancouver, see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858

 

You have traveled indpendent mainland Alaska to be able to recommend a cruisetour as a superior choice?

[Budget Queen]

OP only stated that they were planning a few days on their own in Alaska and was wondering whether that was better pre or post cruise. I believe that the overwhelming consensus is to do Alaska pre cruise.

 

No, certainly not what I recommend, there are several details not even being taken into consideration for that decision. And your "Alaska pre cruise?" reference- this includes Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay etc are?

[Brian918]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

 

 

 

 

After some more research (here, Tripadvisor, and reading some books at our local library), I think our tentative plan would be something like fly into Anchorage on Day 1. I figure we will just spend the night there assuming we will be tired after a day of travel from the Midwest (Louisville, KY). On day 2, we would drive to Denali, check into a hotel there and spend the day in the park. Day three would be Denali. Day 4 would be Denali in the morning and then a drive back to Anchorage, Girdwood or Whittier to spend the night before departing on day 5 for the cruise.

 

 

 

 

Does this sound reasonable? I travel quite a bit for work (and thankfully for fun too), so I have no problem doing this on-my-own as opposed to a tour. We have done it both ways in the past and our best expierences were in small groups or on our own. My main focus at this point is locking in the total days we need to allocate so that I can reserve flights and cruise once the itineraries come out in a few weeks. I realize that 4-5 days is nowhere near enough to "see Alaska," we're just trying to balance what we can see on this trip (hope there will be more in the future) with work schedules, budgets, etc.

 

Thanks agan!

Brian

[ceba]

We flew into Fairbanks to do Denali. I wasn't a very long ride to the park. I wonder if a one way rental would give you a little more time out of the car??

[Budget Queen]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

 

 

 

 

After some more research (here, Tripadvisor, and reading some books at our local library), I think our tentative plan would be something like fly into Anchorage on Day 1. I figure we will just spend the night there assuming we will be tired after a day of travel from the Midwest (Louisville, KY). On day 2, we would drive to Denali, check into a hotel there and spend the day in the park. Day three would be Denali. Day 4 would be Denali in the morning and then a drive back to Anchorage, Girdwood or Whittier to spend the night before departing on day 5 for the cruise.

 

 

 

 

Does this sound reasonable? I travel quite a bit for work (and thankfully for fun too), so I have no problem doing this on-my-own as opposed to a tour. We have done it both ways in the past and our best expierences were in small groups or on our own. My main focus at this point is locking in the total days we need to allocate so that I can reserve flights and cruise once the itineraries come out in a few weeks. I realize that 4-5 days is nowhere near enough to "see Alaska," we're just trying to balance what we can see on this trip (hope there will be more in the future) with work schedules, budgets, etc.

 

Thanks agan!

Brian

 

An alternative would be to consider dropping a Denali day and add Seward. Get a one way Anchorage/Whittier car for a direct drive. You would likely save money using two rentals.

 

If you aren't real firm on the days, or locations/activities- I wouldn't be jumping into any reservations outside of maybe a cruise. Over and over- people find out more, realize that is the new "must" include and then are blocked by reservations they didn't think through. Very few make changes and give the "all the more reason to return". :) Just a consideration to think about.

[Budget Queen]

We flew into Fairbanks to do Denali. I wasn't a very long ride to the park. I wonder if a one way rental would give you a little more time out of the car??

 

These are costly rentals- but could be a great option- since, for me, my time is more valuable than any money. :) It's not the majority thinking, I see, however.