Sailing Alaska with NCL and Princess - a comparison

[shukapaw]

Here is a quick rundown/comparison of a seven-day Alaska cruise on the Star Princess and the Norwegian Sun.

 

We live in Alaska and took an Alaska cruise a few years ago. One of the “ports” is Glacier BayNational Park. The first time we did this route there was very thick fog and we were unable to enter Glacier Bay. I’ve always wanted to go back and give it another try. We decided to do it in the summer of 2017 and also decided we’d cruise south to Vancouver, spend a couple days there and then cruise back home northbound. Both sailings hit the exact same ports so this is a comparison of apples to apples.

 

We booked these sailings back in March of 2016. We selected an inside cabin on both. The price was nearly identical; they were within $50of each other. However, the NCL price included unlimited bottom-shelf adult beverages.

As a shareholder of both NCL and Carnival, I was treated to a $100 OBC on both sailings. Princess also added another $100 because I am a veteran.

 

This is in no way an attempt to characterize one cruise line as better than another. The comparisons/comments made here are specific to ourMay 29th Princess sailing and our June 5 NCL sailing only.

 

Ships: The two ships are very close in size. The StarPrincess can accommodate 2,600 passengers and was built in 2001. It was refurbished in 2011. The NCL Sun can accommodate 1,936 passengers and was also built in 2001. It was last refurbished in 2016.

 

Overall, we were happier with the Star Princess because:

More pools (4 vs 2) and one of them was covered.

Hot tubs that were actually hot. The NCL hot tubs were barely bath temperature.

Ship seemed to be in better shape and cleaner.

Winner:Princess

Food: As always, food is subjective. I’ll touch on a few areas here.

Buffet: I prefer the layout of the buffet on the Star but the food in the buffet on the Sun. The Sun does offer some awesome pretzel rolls on the buffet!The dessert selection was also better on the Sun. Winner:NCL

Pizza: Princess has always been known for their pizza but they failed on this cruise. I tried it 3 different times and did not like it at all. The pizza on the Sun isn’t going to win any awards either. I rate this a tie (equally mediocre)

Dining Rooms: The food in the main dining rooms was better on Princess. It honestly seemed like they spent more on food for the week thanNCL. Examples include shrimp cocktails which were available each evening on theStar and never available on the Sun. Alaskan King crab was offered as an entrée one night on the Star but not on the Sun. Lobster was served one night on theStar but not on the Sun. Princess makes their own ice creams onboard and there were interesting (and tasty) selections each night. NCL offered only the basic three: Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. The bread selection on the Sun was consistently better than on Princess. Princess’ rolls were all hard and crusty (not stale)but NCL had a wide variety of bread textures. Winner: Princess

Around-the-clock-eating: Princess has the International café that, in my experience, has not been equaled. Always something good to eat when the mood strikes. Winner: Princess

Staff and Crew: We didn’t encounter any unpleasant crew on either sailing but the Princess crew seemed happier. Winner: Princess

Fitness Center: Both are stocked with an adequate assortment of cardio equipment and weight machines/ free weights. Like most cruise lines, both have a 7:00 am stretch/exercise class. However, Princess doesn’t advertise this in their daily schedule so it is poorly attended. The Princess instructors will not hold the class unless a minimum number of people show up and so it was cancelled on a few days due to lack of participation. Winner:NCL

Cabin: We have always felt that Princess has the best cabin layout and best utilization of cabin space. That changed on this cruise. The NCL cabin was 20 to 25% larger than the Princess cabin. It had more storage than we could utilize. We had lots of leftover closet and drawer space. Winner:NCL

 

Entertainment: The singers in the production cast onPrincess were as good as we’ve ever encountered on a cruise. The shows were good on both ships but it seemed that Princess had more offerings outside of the main showroom (guitarists, pianists, string trios, etc.) Winner:Princess

Adult beverages: Since the NCL cruise included the package, they are the clear winner here. That being said, their drinks are ridiculously priced and the cutoff point between the brands that are included and those that incur additional charges is ridiculously low.

 

As you can see from my signature, I am not loyal to any cruise line. I understand that each line has its strengths and weaknesses. If I were not a fan of either of these companies I wouldn’t have sailed with them again. I’m not sure how to state this next bit of business so I’ll just type and see how it looks…. The Alaska cruise on NCL was pretty much your typical NCL cruise that happened to have Alaska as its destination. Princess, on the other hand, provided an Alaskan experience Cruise. Some examples of this include:

The ship being decorated in an Alaska motif. There were tapestries depicting the gold rush era hung in the piazza.

On numerous occasions the Cruise director and his minions were dressed in lumberjack attire (red checkered flannel shirts, suspenders, boots, etc).

In Skagway, they brought sled dog puppies into the piazza for people to pet and have their pictures taken with.

In Juneau, Libby Riddles, the first female winner of theIditarod, came onboard with a sled dog and gave a talk and answered questions.

Throughout the week there were special Alaska-themed menu items.

Princess has a naturalist onboard for the whole week with various presentations about Alaska.

Princess had an author onboard who has lived and travelled extensively in the Alaska backcountry. He gave numerous talks and slide presentations.

 

Overall, I’d have to give the nod to Princess for this itinerary. If, however, your Liver weighs heavily in your travel-planning decisions, you might prefer NCL. :')

 

As I said in the beginning, I'm not loyal to any cruise line and these are my observations specific to these two ships.

Hopefully, you found this mildly amusing. I wanted to offer something to the CC community for all the help I've received here.

 

 

~Brian

[kjquilts]

Thank you for a well written comparison of your two Alaska cruises. The special Alaska touches Princess provided sounds like fun.

[GUT2407]

Very interesting thank you.

[don't-use-real-name]

You made no mention of FREE STYLE cruising ?

You made your comparisons based on an Inside Cabin of both lines -

while a suite may tilt the factors differently IMHO the standard should have been a balcony cabin ?

 

I am at odds with comparisons - I have had 1 cruise on Carnival SB Whittier to Vancouver

1 closed loop cruise on Holland-America Seattle - Seattle and one cruise on the NCL Sun

Whittier to Vancouver with a pre-cruise land package - Yea the mountain was out !

All were just great and everything except the glaciers was as expected.

The Carnival Spirit - the glaciers were clouded in with low overcast skies.

The Holland-America Westerdam made a modified 360 degree turn and departed under drenching rainy skies.

The NCL Sun got to a bend at Tracy Arm and ice flows blocked the passage but the fjord like passage

was awesome. My traveling partners got zoned out of the Mendenhall at Juneau - helicopter ride cancelled.

Win some and then well take what you are given and say thanks for the acceptable alternatives !

 

One has to realize that one cruise to Alaska is just not going to do justice especially when the cruising season

is a little over 3 months long. So cruise number 4 is coming up in September.

[newATLcruiser]

shukapaw, thank you for your detailed comparison and the information you provided. I am on the Sun in two weeks - my first time in Alaska and my first time on Norwegian. This will help me set my expectations, while also greatly looking forward to seeing the beautiful scenery in Alaska!

 

 

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[shukapaw]

shukapaw, thank you for your detailed comparison and the information you provided. I am on the Sun in two weeks - my first time in Alaska and my first time on Norwegian. This will help me set my expectations, while also greatly looking forward to seeing the beautiful scenery in Alaska!

 

You'll have a great trip!

 

~Brian

[ebay33]

Thanks for the great comparison! On Princess, I really enjoyed the naturalist and author Michael Modzelewski as well as Libby Riddles. I thought they were both great and probably two of my all-time favorite cruise guests. I knew the Sun wouldn't have the same people, but I was hoping for something similar. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like that will be the case. Not going on Sun until September, so keeping my fingers crossed.

[Clay Clayton]

One of the things that many tout about Sun is her forward facing observation lounge - did Star have the same? We sailed Princess once and I found like you, them very similar.

[craftygrandma]

No Star does not have an observation room. That is my main complaint about Princess. We are planning an AK family reunion next year and this will be a deciding factor.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thank you for the comparison. Princess, IMO, does Alaska best. We did the Star Princess northbound in 2015 and hit glacier bay and college fjords. It's really wonderful

[PhillyTravelBug]

Appreciate the comparison.

[Two_UW_Badgers]

Very informative, thank you!

We are going on two NCL Caribbean cruises and one Princess Alaska in the next year so I thought this was super useful!

 

 

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[shukapaw]

One of the things that many tout about Sun is her forward facing observation lounge - did Star have the same? We sailed Princess once and I found like you, them very similar.

 

Although there is a forward facing observation lounge, there is open deck space in front of it so if you are anywhere especially scenic, count on people standing out there obscuring your view. If you are looking for a quiet pace to sit and watch the world go by, it is quite nice. Princess has the Skywalkers lounge up high in the back. You can get unobstructed aft and side views there

 

~Brian

[don't-use-real-name]

No Star does not have an observation room. That is my main complaint about Princess. We are planning an AK family reunion next year and this will be a deciding factor.

 

The NCL Sun has the best forward observation deck - both outside and inside when the weather is dicy !

The Dawn and the Star sister ships.

The Dawn sails the eastern seaboard.

The Star does a variety of cruises.

 

The smaller NCL ships generally have a bow deck used for crew recreation - but when there is an attractive

photo opportunity that bow deck is opened limitedly for guests to use. The Star when transiting the Panama

Canal and Sun for viewing the glaciers. These bow decks are not handicap accessible and require ability

to climb narrow stairways.

 

All three of these ships have an upper deck with glass louvered wind panels for limited obstructed photo

opportunities

 

LINK:

 

http://www.beyondships.com/NCLSun.html

 

From the bow up there are 9 port windows on the bow deck with a hatch to access this area

Up from there are two levels (decks 8 & 9) of suite cabins

Above that is the Bridge

Then another deck of suites

 

Above that are three high panels of windows - the observation deck

In front of that is the open observation viewing deck.

 

And lastly the deck above is an open deck with the chest/neck high louvered glass panels.

 

The general practice is when a cruise ship approaches the glacier is to turn slowly in a

360 degree turn so everyone with a viewing point can see the glacier. For those in inside

cabins you will have to go topside; to a Buffet or to a promenade deck for viewing.

Some ships with a video feed the in house TV may carry it but the picture will leave much

to be desired !

 

When cruising the inside passage the NCL Sun can not be beat for the photo opportunities !

 

Yes I am prejudice to NCL they have Free Style Cruising MY WAY ! Lumber jack plaid shirts

with jeans and boots for formal wear - and dining when I want it except for the Specialty Dining -

and I'll drink to that quirky Ultimate Beverage Package !

[Freespir8]

I really appreciate your review! We chose Princess for our upcoming Alaska Cruise/land tour specifically because they specialize in Alaska. We had heard that no one does Alaska better than Princess. Thanks for confirming that for us. We don't drink either so we are okay skipping the beverage package ;).

 

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[kitkat343]

I've sailed both lines and would agree with your assessment. So far, Princess has been our favorite overall cruise line, but NCL is also very strong. The food in the main dining room of NCL isn't as strong, but the specialty restaurants on NCL are excellent. We'd be happy to sail NCL again in the future, and just factor in the cost of needing a specialty dining package into the comparison for the overall cruise cost, since we are happy with the MDR food on Princess, HAL and Cunard.

 

Oh, and to the previous poster we sailed the Coral Princess to Alaska and it was wonderful - I hope you have a great trip!

[avic77]

Thank you for this review. I am glad I found it. I am currently torn between the NCL Sun and the Ruby Princess for Alaska next year.

[don't-use-real-name]

Whatever cruise line is your choice - the view from the ship be it a port hole or buffet window - a balcony - a top deck walking

running track it is ALASKA and your vacation is what you make it to be.

Enjoy the food and beverage something the gold rush folks and salmon fishermen did not have the luxury of.

Of course compare the features of the ships - the pricing and fares - amenities - other etc. items and marvel at the value

offered - no one ship has 100% of all these. But don't miss out taking a cruise deciding waiting too long for your ship to come in !