First Timers: Advice on Round Trip Cruise from Seattle/Vancouver

[greenmax]

Hello,

We (me+Wife and 2 pre-schoolers) are first time cruisers and are planning a 7 day round trip cruise to Alaska. A couple of friends have recommended Princess Cruise and Norwegian Cruise Line. I wanted to know how to differentiate between various cruise lines (Carnival, Disney, Princess, Norwegian etc.)

 

Here is our criteria:

1. We would prefer to go from Seattle (over Vancouver) as it saves us from international travel. We stay in California.

2. We would like enough food options to cater for finicky pre-schoolers. Basic entertainment options would be good too.

 

Looking forward to some help.

 

Thanks

[5waldos]

One difference is that Princess has a naturalist onboard who discusses what you are seeing and where you are. I believe that Norwegian does not. Carnival also does, and I don't know about Disney.

 

Disney probably offers most for the children- although they apparently also are very popular with adults.

 

As for children's programs, we found that Carnival had a much more active program than did Princess for children, although it is possible that this was only a problem on the Princess ship we took to Alaska. We have taken numerous Carnival trips and found that the children's offerings were quite good on all of them. Cannot comment on either Disney or Norwegian since we have not sailed with either line.

[GinnyHoppa811]

I haven't gone on a cruise yet but I just did all this exact research. We ended up deciding on the Bliss. I also really liked the Norwegian pearl because it was a good mix of kid and adult activities and itinerary. I have..high energy kids so I looked up pictures and reviews of all the ships going to Alaska. Princess does have the naturalist but the ships going to Alaska seemed less kid friendly than the other options.

 

 

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[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• DCL is popular for families. However....
  -for the same sailing week... how much are you paying for pixie dust premium compared to the competition?
  -DCL does not sail to Glacier Bay.... Sawyer is getting smaller every year.
  
• Might also want to add Holland America to your choices
  
• Vancouver is a great bonus port to explore. You need a few days to appreciate it.
  
• Princess offers Alaskan sailings from California too. It may be cheaper than flying into Cascadia to start your adventure.
  

[Herfnerd]

The only issue I see with Carnival is that it has very limited sailings to Glacier Bay, which many say is a must on an Alaskan cruise.

 

Also, their itineraries are Tuesday to Tuesday or Wednesday to Thursday - nothing wrong with that but not as convenient as Saturday to Saturday. We are long time Carnival cruisers who would have preferred the Legend if not for that schedule, but we are excited to try out HAL and the Eurodam later this year - have heard nothing but great things about them!

[4774Papa]

We chose the NCL Sun for our one way Vancouver to Seward cruise. It was great, I would always pick a one way rather than RT from Seattle.

 

Glacier Bay was awesome and NCL handled it very well. The food was excellent on the Sun.

[snowmc]

I have done all directions of the Alaska cruises....have really enjoyed the RT Seattle option. Very easy to fly in day of embarkation and eliminate a hotel stay. Of course, if you want to see Seattle, there are many hotel options in downtown. I found lots of helpful port information (and a packing list) on http://www.zet4travel.wordpress.com You have to scroll through the posts, but they are there. Have a wonderful cruise.