Which Cruise???

[JordanAllison]

Hello friends!

My husband and I are between two Alaska cruises - Princess in late June or Carnival in early July. Itineraries and pricing are very comparable but we just can't decide! It's the Star Princess vs. the Carnival Legend. We have cruised on Carnival before but never Princess. We like to eat and drink and take advantage of on-board activities but aren't "night club" people. Please help us decide!

[LoriPhil]

Haven’t cruised Carnival, but would recommend Princess because of their excellent enrichment programs for Alaska.

[JF - retired RRT]

Sounds like Princess is for you.

No drunken night life to be found. There's a disco in the late evening, but it's usually very poorly attended.

Food is very subjective, but I've always found something I enjoy. I don't drink, but there are lots of bars waiting to serve (and sell) lots of concoctions.

The daily activities are many and varied (as a general rule. Seems some Cruise Directors do a better job than others).

[paul929207]

Princess has great speakers on their Alaskan cruises.

[Pam in CA]

If you’re cruising to see and experience Alaska, Princess has a much better Alaskan infrastructure. Better lectures, more onboard Alaskan activities including puppies in the Piazza and Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, who gives a talk.

 

Princess is more laid back, no in-cabin announcements unless it’s information that affects all passengers, decor is more subtle, no singing or dancing waiters, etc.

[Coral]

If you have not been to Alaska before, I would suggest an itinerary with Glacier Bay. Some of the other glaciers can be missed due to conditions, Glacier Bay doesn't seem to be missed.

 

Carnival in Alaska is not the same as Carnival in the Caribbean.

[satxdiver]

I have cruised on Carnival and will be on the Breeze in a week or so. Princess is a step up above Carnival. The decor is more subtle, food better (subjective), better entertainment (no silly pool games or other outlandish stunts), less drinking and better itinerary. Princess has twice daily cabin service, table cloths on tables in MDR and an adult acting crowd. There are guest speakers before each port, park ranger aboard for the glacier bay experience and speaker with sled dogs talking about the dog sleds. Cabins usually are available as soon as you board at your leisure (no assigned times). If you like wine, you can bring on all the 750 ml bottles you want for $15/bottle consumed anywhere on the ship however the first bottle/adult is free to be consumed in your cabin. Pax can bring aboard all the non-alcoholic drinks they can carry. You are allowed to bring on wine or non-alcoholic drinks at any port. Piazza (deck 5 center) has entertainment with musicians etc.

[skynight]

If you’re cruising to see and experience Alaska, Princess has a much better Alaskan infrastructure. Better lectures, more onboard Alaskan activities including puppies in the Piazza and Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, who gives a talk.

 

Princess is more laid back, no in-cabin announcements unless it’s information that affects all passengers, decor is more subtle, no singing or dancing waiters, etc.

ditto

Plus if you want to take a before or after land tour, recommended, Princess has lots of good options and have been there a long long time.

If you want water slides then Carnival.

[Potstech]

Hands down PRINCESS

[1965]

I agree with satxdiver's comments. I don't know anything about the wine or alcohol policies, but everything else was exactly what I would say. We have done 7 Carnival cruises, 2 of those were Alaska, & 7 Princess cruises, one was Alaska.

 

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[nini]

We have always enjoyed and been very impressed with the Guest Lecturers on the Princess ships- Alaska and Panama Canal

[moki'smommy]

Just off the Golden Princess yesterday. 3 EXCELLENT speakers on each leg, so lots of good education in addition to Glacier Bay with the park rangers. We've done Alaska before on another line--Princess was better.

 

I've never done Alaska on Carnival, but in general Princess is better than Carnival. It has less of a party atmosphere (although that is most obvious on shorter, often Caribbean cruises), each person in a cabin can purchase any package they want or don't want (soda, coffee, alcohol). We had plenty of kids on board, but with rare exception they were well behaved and not a problem. In the one instance where a young man ran out of the pool and about knocked me over, then promptly repeated the incident, and officer happened to be present and spoke to him....I'd guess about the "no running" issue. Most kids were "parented." There are lots of small things that are better on Princess...which add up to a better experience.

[JordanAllison]

Thank you all so much for the feedback! After reading everyone's comments we have decided to go with

*drumroll please*

PRINCESS!

After reading everyone's comments, I realized I really needed to prioritize the Glacier Bay itinerary, which is actually on Ruby Princess - so any Ruby Princess tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Wishing on a star]

Right choice!

For Alaska... Princess.

Does Carnival even sail Glacier Bay?

[Coral]

Right choice!

For Alaska... Princess.

Does Carnival even sail Glacier Bay?

 

Yes they do - early in the season (and maybe late) in the season. It is usually just a few sailings per year. Not all summer like Princess.

[neverbeenhere]

Ruby tips?

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2672272&highlight=Ruby+princess

[jb008]

On Ruby there are a number of balcony cabins on Caribe that are larger and partially covered. I think Princess' website is accurate on which cabins feature the larger balconies. I think they're included in category BD, BB, and BA, where BE are the forward and aft off-peak locations and BB and BA are progressively more "prime" real estate (idk if BC also has some of the caribe cabins).

 

We did Coral Princess, and they featured some Alaskan food (mostly seafood) in the MDR every night. In fact, I opted to not buy crab ashore in Juneau since I wasn't really hungry at the time and we ended up having crab legs in the MDR that evening at dinner.

 

The educational lectures were also really cool, and added a nice element to learn some of the history and facts about the ports.