Which ship

[tinykygal]

DH has chosen Princess as his input on our Alaska cruise. We have the itinerary decided.

Would you mind sharing your comments on the 3 ships:

Coral, Island and Crown?

I understand the size, passengers and cruise, etc.

We have never sailed Princess.

Thank you!

Edited April 29, 2014 by tinykygal

[sunsetbeachgal]

My vote is the Coral or Island. They have such wonderful outdoor viewing areas and are smaller ships, with capacity almost 1,000 less passengers than the Crown. No contest, in my opinion!!

Edited April 29, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[tinykygal]

Have you cruised Alaska previously?

We have been fairly loyal to Royal and have received good service. I find that alot has to do with MY attitude.

I enjoy the adult only solarium and think it would feel great in Alaska, but so,would everyone else. 😄

Thank you for your input. We have not sailed mega ships.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We just did a Royal Caribbean cruise last month in the Caribbean and had a great time...Princess is our preferred cruise but we tend to do Royal when traveling with our Daughter and little grandkids...

 

 

For Alaska, hands down do Princess and choose an itinerary that visits Glacier Bay. Entrance to Glacier Bay is controlled by the National Park Service, and years ago Royal was involved in something environmentally unfriendly and is not permitted to enter Glacier Bay. For us and for many the highlight of an Alaska cruise is Glacier Bay. That is where you can often see glaciers calving, wildlife, etc. Park rangers board the ship and narrate and point out things to see. Listen to your DH!! ;)

Edited April 29, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[tinykygal]

Thank you! You just made his head swell. 😄

He always books last minute and although we live in Central KY, I have never owned a waterproof jacket other than our fishing camo LOL No way!

 

This is off topic but no one has replied to my thread. What type of shoes do you recommend? I am planning to layer rather than carry bulky items that take up the entire luggage.

 

Thank you agin. I don't know where you live, but my husband's favorite place is OBX

[sunsetbeachgal]

You are welcome...we actually live closer to Wilmington, NC

 

Yes, layers are best. I took jeans, fleece, gloves and long sleeve cotton tees to wear under it all. Take some kind of poncho, hooded is best. The Alaska cruises tend to be much more casual at night as well. As far as shoes, I took athletic shoes, if you have water resistant all the better. We did Alaska in June and did a land tour and cruise and were lucky that we had very little rain. Leave some room in your luggage as there were a lot of stores selling very reasonable outerwear...love some of the fleece I bought there!

 

Hopefully other posters will chime in...maybe they are still asleep!:D

 

Alaska is lovely...breathtaking!

Edited April 29, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[born2cruize]

DH has chosen Princess as his input on our Alaska cruise. We have the itinerary decided.

Would you mind sharing your comments on the 3 ships:

Coral, Island and Crown?

I understand the size, passengers and cruise, etc.

We have never sailed Princess.

Thank you!

 

From reading this board, I think you'll find that the majority of the seasoned passengers prefer the Island or Coral. But I differ. We've been on 5 Alaska cruises (not many compared to some on this board), 3 have been with Princess, Pacific in '09, Coral in '12 and Sapphire also in '12. In addition we did Panama Canal in '08 on the Island. Since Island and Coral are sister ships, they are almost identical. I do agree that the viewing is very good on either except most of the area is blocked by colored glass. If you plan to take pictures then you have to go up to deck 16 (Sports Deck), which is a very small deck, to get your pictures. You could go down to deck 7 (Promenade Deck) but the forward section is not viewable as it is blocked. On some ships the Captain will open the crews area on the bow to passengers then you have excellent views in all directions.

 

We have not been on the Crown but we have been on the Ruby and Emerald which are also sister ships. These ships have a forward area on deck 8 (Emerald Deck) which is protected from the rain and offers superior views (IMHO) for photography. Also deck 16 (Sun Deck) offers unprotected views without the glass as on the Island and Coral.

 

As far as clothing everyone will recommend layering. Your not going to be in the Arctic in January so leave the parka at home :). Dress like you would at home, for temps in the 50's, 60's, 70's and even 80's. But remember you may get all 4 temps in the same day. As far as shoes. I'd bring old comfortable walking shoes you don't mind getting muddy for shore excursion in the rain forest. Good non-slip shoes for up on deck and anything else for in town. Even though I own several waterproof jackets I never bring one as a light poncho or light wind jacket will suffice (again think layers) and again you might get all 4 temperature ranges during the same morning & afternoon.

[Kamloops50]

My vote is the Coral or Island. They have such wonderful outdoor viewing areas and are smaller ships, with capacity almost 1,000 less passengers than the Crown. No contest, in my opinion!!

 

We just did a Royal Caribbean cruise last month in the Caribbean and had a great time...Princess is our preferred cruise but we tend to do Royal when traveling with our Daughter and little grandkids...

 

 

For Alaska, hands down do Princess and choose an itinerary that visits Glacier Bay. Entrance to Glacier Bay is controlled by the National Park Service, and years ago Royal was involved in something environmentally unfriendly and is not permitted to enter Glacier Bay. For us and for many the highlight of an Alaska cruise is Glacier Bay. That is where you can often see glaciers calving, wildlife, etc. Park rangers board the ship and narrate and point out things to see. Listen to your DH!! ;)

 

Agree with both about the Island or Coral.

[Colo Cruiser]

From reading this board, I think you'll find that the majority of the seasoned passengers prefer the Island or Coral. But I differ. We've been on 5 Alaska cruises (not many compared to some on this board), 3 have been with Princess, Pacific in '09, Coral in '12 and Sapphire also in '12. In addition we did Panama Canal in '08 on the Island. Since Island and Coral are sister ships, they are almost identical. I do agree that the viewing is very good on either except most of the area is blocked by colored glass. If you plan to take pictures then you have to go up to deck 16 (Sports Deck), which is a very small deck, to get your pictures. You could go down to deck 7 (Promenade Deck) but the forward section is not viewable as it is blocked. On some ships the Captain will open the crews area on the bow to passengers then you have excellent views in all directions.

 

We have not been on the Crown but we have been on the Ruby and Emerald which are also sister ships. These ships have a forward area on deck 8 (Emerald Deck) which is protected from the rain and offers superior views (IMHO) for photography. Also deck 16 (Sun Deck) offers unprotected views without the glass as on the Island and Coral.

 

As far as clothing everyone will recommend layering. Your not going to be in the Arctic in January so leave the parka at home :). Dress like you would at home, for temps in the 50's, 60's, 70's and even 80's. But remember you may get all 4 temps in the same day. As far as shoes. I'd bring old comfortable walking shoes you don't mind getting muddy for shore excursion in the rain forest. Good non-slip shoes for up on deck and anything else for in town. Even though I own several waterproof jackets I never bring one as a light poncho or light wind jacket will suffice (again think layers) and again you might get all 4 temperature ranges during the same morning & afternoon.

 

 

Princess does not open closed crew decks for passenger viewing.

 

As far as layering we have had much lower temps then 50, in fact we have had snow and freezing rain at the end of July. We were glad we had our parkas/hats/gloves etc as we spend alot of time on our balcony or open decks. But we have also had 70's so you just never know so be prepared.

 

 

We would choose the Island/Coral.

Being that Princess has never had one of their ships with a Riviera deck (extra 500 passengers) in Alaska it remains to be seen how this plays out.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[Pam in CA]

Another vote for the Coral or Island. I've sailed several times on all three ships and wouldn't choose the Crown for Alaska. Given a choice between the Island and Coral, I'd choose the Coral because she's been updated with the International Cafe albeit a small one.

 

As for shoes, I wear a good pair of sneakers when traveling and on tour.

[tinykygal]

Your awesome input is greatly appreciated :)

[OCruisers]

Coral or Island would be my choice! Great ships with plenty of space for viewing. :)

LuLu

[skynight]

Assuming these ships all travel the same routes, I would suggest the Coral. The Island and Coral are sister ships, but the Coral had dry dock upgrades that the Island hasn't had. These include, improved flow in the Horizon Ct. Buffet, and the addition of the International Buffet. The Island and Coral have fewer passengers, approx 2,000 vs the Crown that has approx 3,100 passengers. The Island and Coral also have the indoor pool which is nice for Alaska. The Crown does not have an indoor pool.

[winncruiser]

I am considering a cruise to Alaska this summer and appreciate all this info. But I wanted to know which month is better...July or August? We are flexible. Thank you for your input!

[Cruisin' Chick]

One advantage that the Island or the Coral would have over the Crown is that the first two have a pool under a retractable roof. I don't believe the Crown has had one put in. If the weather is iffy on a sea day, it's nice to have the covered pool for those who like to get a swim in.