Pearl, Sun, or Jewel to Alaska

[skycheney]

Thinking of sending my in-laws on an Alaska cruise for their 50th. What ship would be best for 70yo couple that is not very social? They prefer to keep to themselves but would enjoy the scenery, relaxing, dining, reading, and a few excursions.

[sdmike]

any of them

[triptolemus]

Agree with Mike. Any of them are suitable for your in-laws. Alaska is very well suited to keeping to oneself if that is what is desired.

 

The three ships each offer a slightly different itinerary so take a look at those differences.

[themnms]

if the cruise is for the scenery I would suggest you book them on a one way, either southbound or northbound sailing. We did that the first time and just loved it, last year we did a round trip from seattle and felt like we lost valuable scenery time when the ship went out to see rather than full inside passage

[sdmike]

I also suggest a balcony room. Sitting on the balcony watching Alaska go by is just awesome, especially if they're not very social

Edited May 22, 2014 by sdmike

[Love my butler]

Been on them all multiple times to Alaska. Send them on the Sun. If you can swing it, do the 14 day, north then south.

[dexddd]

Sun.

[newmexicoNita]

Thinking of sending my in-laws on an Alaska cruise for their 50th. What ship would be best for 70yo couple that is not very social? They prefer to keep to themselves but would enjoy the scenery, relaxing, dining, reading, and a few excursions.

I have been on all three and there isn't a bad one. I think I would go with the least expensive to be honest. The Jewel is a wonderful ship, the Pearl is very similar but a few years newer and everyone seems to love the Sun. The cabins are a tiny bit larger, the crew is outstanding but the ship doesn't have the bells and Whistles some people like. It also does not have Blue Lagoon, which probably isn't a bad thing and they do have food in the Sports bar from about 5 pm on. It is just about the same food Blue Lagoon serves. The set up for Modernos is also much better.

[www3traveler]

My question would be which city would they be more comfortable: Seattle or Vancouver, B.C.

 

The Jewel is round trip Seattle- Seattle on a Saturday

The Pearl is round trip Seattle-Seattle on a Sunday

The Sun is Vancouver, B.C.-Whittier, Alaska on a Monday

Whittier Alaska to Vancouver, B.C. on a Monday.

 

Which would the easiest for them to manage?

[roger001]

Mini suite on the Sun. They are very nice with super nice bath/dressing area. However, the Pearl and Jewel are both excellent also, just slightly bigger/busier. The Pearl and Jewel have very good buffets. Al three ships have a forward observation lounge and a rear Great Outdoors grill sitting area. You won't go wrong with any of them.

[fishin' musician]

A couple questions: Have they cruised before, and if so, where? Are other brands being considered?

[punkincc]

You have a choice of departing from Seattle or Vancouver. I don't believe Seattle departures do the Inside Passage which has wonderful views. Also you might consider which itineraries take you to Glacier Bay. The others are wonderful too, but I would want to see Glacier if it was my first Alaska.

 

I don't know if any of these ships currently offer round trip or just one ways for your dates. We did roundtrip Vancouver to Vancouver, on the Sun, Inside Passage and Glacier Bay included. We wanted to see Vancouver, which is gorgeous, and spend a couple extra days there. And we did not want to do a one way and have to fly to or from Alaska. Will save that for a trip when we will tack on a land vacation in Alaska. We did fly into Seattle and then took the train into Vancouver. That was very scenic as well.

 

Love the Sun. It still has the wonderful forward lounge with panoramic windows which they would probably enjoy very much. Balcony highly recommended. Aft facing if possible.

[skycheney]

A couple questions: Have they cruised before' date=' and if so, where? Are other brands being considered?[/quote']

 

They have not cruised before. I may consider other cruise lines, but I am most familiar with NCL so I feel like I could give them more info if we go that route.

[bonvoyagie]

how much time do they have? IMHO a one way is only good if you can spend at least 3 extra days to make a quick trip to Denali either before or after the cruise.

 

All three visit the same ports and port times are about the same - except for Victoria where the Jewel spends more time.

 

You can also look at what day of the week they sail - the Jewel and Pearl sail on Sat and Sun - the Sun sails on Mon - which means that they could spend the weekend in Vancouver (on the NB Sun) - they could also spend a few extra days in Anchorage and still only spend 2wks - BTW I would do the NB over the SB due to glacier bay.

 

I have found that on any ship you can be as active or passive as you want nobody really cares. You could also spoil them rotten in a Suite - aft ones are my favorite.:D

[biojeep]

We sailed on the Pearl at the end of May in 2012 & loved every minute of the trip. We had a midship balcony & used it quite often. It was great to have a private place to view the breathtaking scenery. The Pearl is a beautiful ship with plenty of open viewing space. Many people complain about the rough seas when sailing out of Seattle but that trip was the only cruise my wife did not experience any motion sickness. Seattle is a lovely place for sightseeing a few days before cruising. We used NCL transfers to the airport & utilized the bags program NCL offers when disembarking so we did not to have to worry about our luggage until you reach your home destination.