Alaska Itineraries - HAL vs Princess

[orgutierrez]

I am looking at cruises for Alaska next August, and after a deep research I have decided that we'll be doing one of the following cruises:

 

1. Crown Princess - Whittier to Vancouver - 23rd August

- 23rd August: Whittier, Alaska (Embarkation-08.30 PM)

- 24th August: Hubbard Glacier Cruising, Alaska (03.00 PM-08.00 PM)

- 25th August: Glacier Bay Cruising, Alaska (09.15 AM-07:30 PM)

- 26th August: Skagway, Alaska (07.00 AM-08:30 PM)

- 27th August: Juneau, Alaska (06.30 AM-04.00 AM)

- 28th August: Ketchikan, Alaska (10.00 AM-06.00 PM)

- 29th August: At Sea

- 30th August: Vancouver, BC, Canada (07.30 AM-Disembarkation)

 

2. Oosterdam - Seward to Vancouver - 24th August 2014

- 24th August: Seward, Alaska (Embarkation-08.00 PM)

- 25th August: At Sea

- 26th August: Glacier Bay Cruising, Alaska (10.00 AM-07.00 PM)

- 27th August: Haines, Alaska (06.30 AM-09:00 PM)

- 28th August: Juneau, Alaska (08.00 AM-06:00 PM)

- 29th August: Ketchikan, Alaska (11.00 AM-07:00 PM)

- 30th August: At Sea

- 31st August: Vancouver, BC, Canada (07.00 AM-Disembarkation)

 

3. Westerdam - Seattle Roundtrip - 23rd August 2014

- 23rd August: Seattle, WA, USA (Embarkation-04.00 PM)

- 24th August: At Sea

- 25th August: Juneau, Alaska (01.00 PM-10.00 PM)

- 26th August: Glacier Bay Cruising, Alaska (07.00 AM-04.00 PM)

- 27th August: Sitka, Alaska (07.00 AM-03.00 PM)

- 28th August: Ketchikan, Alaska (07.00 AM-01.00 PM)

- 29th August: Victoria, BC, Canada (06.00 PM-11:59 PM)

- 30th August: Seattle, WA, USA (07.00 AM-Disembarkation)

 

The prices for all of them are pretty much the same, and I have never cruised with Princess. I would be cruising with my family and perhaps Princess may be better for them, even though, we love HAL's excellent food, service and relaxed atmosphere. How is people in Princess cruises to Alaska? Are they more like Royal Caribbean or NCL or Princess' cruisers are mostly senior people like in HAL? How does food compare to HAL in Princess?

 

It looks that the Princess cruise, visits both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay and that is why we are considering Princess. Even though, the Seattle itinerary includes Sitka. We are first time cruisers to Alaska, so which itinerary would be the best one?

 

Looking forward to hear from Alaska experts in the boards!

[Alberta Quilter]

I cannot help you with cruise line comparisons but I would choose the Princess itinerary because it goes to both Hubbard and Glacier Bay. The port times seem to be equal with the other itineraries. Going to Vancouver means you will be cruising in the Canadian inside passage, which is lovely.

[zelker]

Have been to Alaska three times (twice on HAL, once on RCCL) and our first one was that Westerdam itinerary. Fabulous!! Anyway, if it were me, I'd choose Sitka and Victoria over Hubbard Glacier ... both are wonderful ports with lots of things to do that all ages will enjoy. Glacier Bay is a must, especially for your first Alaska cruise and you'll have a full day there so to me, doing two glaciers in 7 days is overkill and I suspect kids will get bored with two glacier days. Oh, and you'll cruise the Inside Passage on the RT Seattle cruise, too. And finally, air in/out of Seattle is usually much less expensive than in/out Vancouver and Anchorage, at least from the US.

 

Whichever one you choose, you will LOVE LOVE LOVE Alaska! :D

Edited January 18, 2014 by zelker

[RuthC]

I've never sailed Princess, so know nothing about that line or ship.

I will say that the Princess itinerary is by far the best of the three! You not only get both Hubbard Glacier (one of the most beautiful rides in the world) and Glacier Bay, but you also have Skagway. The sail there up the Lynn Canal is another of the world's most gorgeous sails.

 

Any of these cruises will be a wonderful experience. You can catch another itinerary on your next trip there.

[zelker]

Any of these cruises will be a wonderful experience. You can catch another itinerary on your next trip there.

 

So true, Ruth. And Alaska cruises are like eating potato chips ... ;)

[janmcn]

I'd vote for Hubbard AND Glacier itinerary also. Sometimes you can't get into where Hubbard is due to fog, but you can always get into Glacier. I'd also hesitate on doing any AK cruise out of Seattle for anyone prone to seasickness, since you go "outside of Vancouver Island" for some of it which can be choppy.

 

Princess beds tend to be hard, therefore we choose HAL which has great beds. We just go more often ;-)

[donswife]

We just went through the same decision making process, and decided on the Westerdam route for several reasons, including:

*Comfortable beds and few passengers (Crown holds about 3,000, the HAL ships about 2,000)

*Easier to sail out of Seattle for us

*Sitka is a very unique town and a good chance to be the only ship in port that day

*I want to take my kids to Victoria.

 

Any of them will be wonderful though.

[jer_l]

You can't really go wrong with any of these ships. Each has an itinerary that is great. I sailed for the first time on Princess at Thanksgiving and I was really impressed. Although the ship was larger than HAL, it did not seem any more crowded. I'll be sailing on the Golden Princess in May with a group from work and I am really looking forward to it. I would have to say that overall my experience on Princess was as good as any cruise I've had on HAL. The food in Princess is comparable to HAL and we found the desserts on Princess to be much better.

 

Most likely the one-way itineraries will more expensive due to air fare than the Seattle loop, but you may find some good fares.

 

I've cruised to Alaska numerous times and here are what I believe are the strengths of each itinerary:

 

Grand Princess: Seeing both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay would be amazing. Personally, I would recommend the Hubbard Glacier over Glacier Bay even for a first timer to Alaska. It is the largest tide water glacier in Alaska and seeing it is amazing. There is nothing in Glacier Bay that compares. (Although I do love Glacier Bay also.)

 

Oosterdam: We love the town of Seward. If you can go a day early and stay in Seward overnight (I would suggest one of the many B-n-B's) it would be worthwhile. The Exit Glacier is certainly worth visiting as is the Sea Life Center in Seward. There are very few ships that visit Haines and we have certainly enjoyed out two visits there. Skagway is great, but can be crowded with multiple ships. Both cities are on the Lynn Canal which indeed is a beautiful sailing experience

 

Westerdam: Sitka! This is our favorite port and few ships visit there. The Sitka Sound is a beautiful sailing experience which I feel far surpasses the Lynn Canal. The Alaska Raptor Center is a great experience. There are also lots of excursions that get you on the water of the Sitka Sound which has so much wild life to experience.

 

Have fun deciding and planning a cruise that will be filled with memories!

[oo7 Bond!]

Great question...

 

I prefer Skagway vs. Sitka.

I prefer glacier touring during the day hours, not the dinner hours.

I have sailed to AK 6-times from Seattle - Never a big ocean issue.

Inside passage is always a preference.

Glacier Bay is the BEST

 

Have fun.....

[Loreto]

I've never sailed Princess, so know nothing about that line or ship.

I will say that the Princess itinerary is by far the best of the three! You not only get both Hubbard Glacier (one of the most beautiful rides in the world) and Glacier Bay, but you also have Skagway. The sail there up the Lynn Canal is another of the world's most gorgeous sails.

 

Any of these cruises will be a wonderful experience. You can catch another itinerary on your next trip there.

I am with Ruth! I have seen the Hubbard Glacier 3 times and it is THE BEST. Skagway offeres many interesting tours, including the White Pass Railroad...take it coming down and sit on the right...spectacular! The Princess itinerary is the best choice.

Karen

[sammiedawg]

I would vote for the Princess itinerary but I would look for it on either the Coral or the Island Princess. One or both will do voyage of the glaciers. Smaller ships considered premium for space per passenger. Why don't you add on a land tour either on your own or through princess.