Which ship to Alaska?

[Gracie115]

I realize this is subjective....but since we have only cruised on one Princess ship(Regal) and I know it doesn't cruise to Alaska, I am looking for opinions on which Princess ship is the best one for Alaska. We are looking at 7 night cruises...aside from that we have made no real choices ... would love to hear what regular Princess passengers think! Thanks!:)

 

oh...and, yes, I know the Regal is FAR bigger than any of the ships that go to Alaska...:)

[Retiring cajun]

we had a wonderful cruise to Alaska on Island Princess 3 yrs ago. great size ship..not too small or too large

[TracieABD]

I have been on the Golden and the Grand. I loved them both, but I have to give the Golden props. Of course, just coming out of drydock, the ship was amazing!

[2pbears]

Of the Princess ships that are cruising to Alaska in 2016 my first choice would be the Coral and second choice would probably be the Star. I would definitely choose a Vancouver to Whittier (or vice versa) itinerary as opposed to the round trip Seattle and would want a cruise that included Glacier Bay. Hope this helps.

[Gracie115]

I have been on the Golden and the Grand. I loved them both, but I have to give the Golden props. Of course, just coming out of drydock, the ship was amazing!

 

Thanks...I don't see any itineraries for 2016 for the Golden...does she do alternating years or just no longer sailing there? We aren't going until 2017...so we have lots of time to plan....:)

[skynight]

I realize this is subjective....but since we have only cruised on one Princess ship(Regal) and I know it doesn't cruise to Alaska, I am looking for opinions on which Princess ship is the best one for Alaska. We are looking at 7 night cruises...aside from that we have made no real choices ... would love to hear what regular Princess passengers think! Thanks!:)

 

oh...and, yes, I know the Regal is FAR bigger than any of the ships that go to Alaska...:)

A lot depends on what cruise you are looking at. Princess runs the traditional 7 day Northbound or Southbound Vancouver to Whitter or the reverse on the Crown, Star, Coral & Island. These trips are normally booked with a pre or post cruise land package, but they can be booked without the land. In selecting these I would select the Coral first, then the Star, then the Crown and lastly the Island. The Island and Coral were built as sister ships, but last year the Island had a major rebuild which added about 250 extra passengers, removed the Universe Lounge a really nice show lounge, eliminated lots of aft viewing areas and other modifications.

Coral: 2,000 passengers, two show lounges, good viewing areas, lots and lots of public space, indoor pool, really nice forward viewing buffet area.

Star: 2,600 passengers, never feels crowded, two show lounges, good viewing areas, indoor pool.

Crown: 3,100 passengers, doesn't really feel crowded, one show lounge, nice viewing areas, no indoor pool

 

Now if you want to sail 7 day RT Seattle you only have 2 ships to choose from the Crown and the Ruby. They are sister ships and pretty much the same.

[skynight]

Thanks...I don't see any itineraries for 2016 for the Golden...does she do alternating years or just no longer sailing there? We aren't going until 2017...so we have lots of time to plan....:)

The Golden is based in Australia. It makes one southbound Alaska run as part of a voyage from Osaka to L.A. to Australia in June 2017. This is part of the circle the Pacific voyage.

[Gabrielle R.]

Coral! We did her when we did Alaska 4 years ago. LOVED the front Horizon Court. Island & Coral both have that.... This was nice in the early morning hours or if it was raining. Coral being able to go to the back decks is really nice.... So sad that Island lost that capability.:(

 

I DO like the Crown and Ruby...SO if you want more bells and whistles Crown is nice. I LOVE the international Cafe. Which Crown has..

 

IF given a choice we liked going to Alaska first... Getting the long flight out of the way first... Land tour... THEN relaxing on board the ship.

 

Alaska is really beautiful Whatever you chose you will have a great time!!! Have fun choosing!

Gabrielle

[Kamloops50]

The Golden is in Japan in summer 2016.

[Gracie115]

Thank you all so much for your information!:)

[Cruisin' Chick]

On one hand, Princess has been sending over (relatively) newer ships over to the west coast -- previously the newest ship had been the Sapphire, which was built in 2004. On the other hand, these new additions to the west coast (eg the Crown) don't have a covered pool.

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

I have been on the Golden and the Grand. I loved them both, but I have to give the Golden props. Of course, just coming out of drydock, the ship was amazing!

 

 

I agree golden or grand. It's a bonus as they have the inside pool you can use when it's cold.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Musky Ike]

Island or Coral are a better size ship for Alaska scenic cruising IMO.

[akeasley]

I've been on the Star and Coral for Alaska and I'd pick the Coral. The Louts pool is wonderful since it's covered.

[Lady Lexus]

No contest - Coral. My favorite Princess ship. I've been on her twice - a full transit Panama Canal cruise and an Alaska cruise.

[Whimsy]

Another vote for Coral. We sailed her for the Panama Canal and liked her so much we chose her for Alaska. I would also suggest choosing am itinerary you really like then narrow down the ship. No matter how wonderful the ship, if it doesn't stop where you would like it's not going to make you happy.

[Gracie115]

So many are picking the Coral.... thanks for the input!!:)

[shofer]

We've done the Coral, Grand and Island (before the re-do). The Coral has great areas for being inside for viewing. Also the balconies are larger than the Regal. We did a land tour before the cruise from Whittier to Vancouver that included Glacier Bay. It was a great tour/cruise.

 

Sue

[SlyOldLady]

Having cruised Alaska a dozen times with Princess, taking every route offered on every ship they've sent to the region, I can honestly say that the least of my concerns is what ship to go on, theyre all great. My personal concerns are the route and times in the ports. My personal favorite would be Vancouver based cruises over Seattle with scenic cruising in Glacier Bay. For a real treat try linking two seven day Vancouver/Anchorage voyages together, slightly different routes with different times in each port.

Sorry if I got off question but when I think about which ship is my favorite I keep realizing it has more to do with the staff and crew aboard at the time, the physical structures of all the ships are, in my opinion, the same.