I'm so excited and I just can't hide it

[CarnyMan]

We just booked our Alaskan cruise on the Ruby Princess!! We have never sailed on Princess before so we can't wait to board and find out what it is like. How does Princess compare to Holland America? That was our only Alaskan cruise before this one.

[cr8tiv1]

I know where Huntsville is....

 

Welcome to Princess. I've only done one HAL comparison cruise and found them to be similar to Princess. If your cruise includes Glacier Bay, you are fortunate.

 

For me, the differences were in the afternoon tea service and entertainment. I like the scones on Princess better. Princess seemed to have more of a variety of entertainment.

 

I did like the sofa and bathtub in all stateroom categories on HAL. Food is good on both ships.

 

Do your homework on excursions. Some are better than others. Some private ones are terrific. If you have a National Park Passport book, bring it along. There are many places to get your National Park stamps.

 

Please tell us the name of the ship and the itinerary. It will help other Cruise Critic members respond to your thread.

[CarnyMan]

Our itinerary is: Ketchikan, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria.

We have been to ketchikan and Juneau before.

The Ruby Princess is our ship. We were on the Holland America Amsterdam before for our Alaskan cruise in 2009.

[patattack]

I work in Huntsville, AL. I am currently working on pricing for an Alaskan cruise in 2017. I went in 2014 on Carnival Miracle and had the best time. I am currently looking into Princess this time.

 

Pat

[Colo Cruiser]

Congrats on the booking.

[trystran72]

My first HAL trip was to Alaska and it was awesome - that Tracy Arm is really something to see! I personally love both lines, and in my opinion and past experience, find them to be quite similar. I give a nod in favor to Princess for their food, especially now with International Cafe.

 

Hope you have a great trip! :)

[SueFrankuk]

We have been on over 30 princess cruises and Alaska was our most disappointing, we went early September and never got to Tracy Arm, the scenery is not a patch on Norway, the dead salmon everywhere was not nice and we never saw any wildlife but I know it is manys best cruise ever, the glaciers in South America are far more stunning and you will not see another cruise ship, IF I ever do it again I would make sure we did Glacier bay

[Colo Cruiser]

We have been on over 30 princess cruises and Alaska was our most disappointing, we went early September and never got to Tracy Arm, the scenery is not a patch on Norway, the dead salmon everywhere was not nice and we never saw any wildlife but I know it is manys best cruise ever, the glaciers in South America are far more stunning and you will not see another cruise ship, IF I ever do it again I would make sure we did Glacier bay

 

 

Salmon spawn salmon die. ;)

[RocketMan275]

We just booked our Alaskan cruise on the Ruby Princess!! We have never sailed on Princess before so we can't wait to board and find out what it is like. How does Princess compare to Holland America? That was our only Alaskan cruise before this one.

 

I work in Huntsville, AL. I am currently working on pricing for an Alaskan cruise in 2017. I went in 2014 on Carnival Miracle and had the best time. I am currently looking into Princess this time.

 

Pat

 

The RocketMan is from Huntsville too. I wonder how many of us there are.

 

I've done Princess twice and I have a HAL and two Princess cruises booked. Haven't been to Alaska so I can't help but I did want to say hello to two fellow Huntsvillians.

[satxdiver]

Salmon spawn salmon die. ;)

 

That is a fact of life for the salmon and a bit disturbing no doubt to those who do not know the life cycle these types of salmon have.

 

We have sailed on the Veendam and the Golden to AK. The HAL ships are considerable smaller than the Princess ships except the Island/Coral. So the public venues are less. What turned us off on any future HAL cruise was the average age of the pax (elderly), the lack of activity on the ship after 9 PM (many times the crew outnumbered the pax in the different evening venues) and to some extent the food (subjective of course). We much prefer a livelier ship in the evening and a younger crowd like we have found on Princess.

 

We did Glacier Bay on the Veendam and Tracy Arm on the Golden. We were totally unimpressed on Tracy Arm and will never return. Glacier Bay though was something to behold and a return trip would be nice.

 

If you have never been before, Ketchikan, site of the "bridge to nowhere" fame, is in a rain forest with over 200" of rain each year. It will rain on you! Juneau, only state capital not accessible by roads, is interesting and fun. Skagway whose claim to fame was the gold rush is small. The train ride up through the pass to Canada is not to be missed but only one way as a return trip is boring. When you leave the ship in Whittier or travel to Whittier for the south bound cruise, take the train and not the bus to/from Anchorage. It is a lot more comfortable in glass domed rail cars with some service.

[RetiredNTraveling]

We just booked our Alaskan cruise on the Ruby Princess!! We have never sailed on Princess before so we can't wait to board and find out what it is like. How does Princess compare to Holland America? That was our only Alaskan cruise before this one.

 

Congrats on booking an Alaskan Cruise on Princess! Our first two cruise were Princess Inside Passage to Alaska and we absolutely love them both. The ships were fantastic, the food was great and the scenery well you simply cannot imagine just how beautiful Alaska really is. Once you experience it you will return again.

The Ketchikan, Lighthouse, and Totems & Eagles Excursion, and the Whale Quest & Tour of Mendenhall Glacier are great. However, the Yukon Expedition & White Pass Scenic Railway was our favorite simply because of the fantastic scenery that you see on the bus ride up and the train ride down. On our second cruise our favorite without question was the Wilderness Exploration, Cruise & Crab Meal KNT650A ! We still talk about the crab meal and just how fabulous it was. All you can Eat!

Just Mike

[GUT2407]

Hope it's a great cruise.

[riclop]

Hope you have a great time.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

The Ruby Princess is a great ship. We love it and are very glad to have her out on the west coast. Just coming out of dry dock in December, her carpet is fresh and the dining room chairs have been redone. The new restaurant "Share" is really nice (the restaurant itself), but I could not find anything on the menu I would eat (give me pizza and I am happy). Speaking of Pizza...Princess has excellent pizza. The International Cafe is open 24 hours and is a great place for a midnight snack (all other food venues are closed). Grab a coffee card and it will save you some money.

 

I have only been to Ketchikan (found it very similar to where I live in NW Washington), so I can not comment on Alaska. I will be taking a northbound on Star Princess in 2017. Will look forward to your comments upon return.

[generichandle]

Been to Alaska in June, July, August, and September. Never had a cruise there

that was not full of wildlife. But you do have to look. I also went on a Midnight

Sun on the ocean. Loved Norway too, but Alaska I will return to any time

I am able.

[CarnyMan]

So much good information. Thanks to all and happy new year!!

Any comments about the food in the main dining rooms is greatly appreciated too!