NCL or Princess for Alaska Cruise

[LB_NJ]

Looking for a June 2020 cruise between Seward (or Whittier) and Vancouver (don't care which direction) that includes Glacier Bay.

 

Looking at choosing between Princess Coral Princess (southbound) and Norwegian Jewel (northbound).

 

Both cruises seem to have both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier so for me both the itineraries seem OK.

 

I like smaller ships.  Coral Princess has a very slight edge there over Norwegian Jewel in this area.

 

A concern I have about Princess is the chance that they will be banned from Alaska.

 

I have sailed on Princess ships before but never NCL.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

[Oakman58]

The judge has set a hearing in June on whether to revoke Carnival Corporation's probation.  Why not wait to book a cruise until after that hearing to decide on which cruise line to book.

 

At this point I would choose NCL just on general principles.  I have a June 2nd cruise booked with Holland and if it weren't for the fact that we are past the final payment due date I would cancel the cruise.  One of the charges against Carnival Corp. is the Holland Westerdam dumped 26,000 gallons of grey water into Glacier Bay NP this past September.  That incident alone makes me want to never cruise on a ship owned by Carnival Corp.

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

1 hour ago, LB_NJ said:

Looking for a June 2020 cruise between Seward (or Whittier) and Vancouver (don't care which direction) that includes Glacier Bay.

 

Looking at choosing between Princess Coral Princess (southbound) and Norwegian Jewel (northbound).

 

Both cruises seem to have both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier so for me both the itineraries seem OK.

 

I like smaller ships.  Coral Princess has a very slight edge there over Norwegian Jewel in this area.

 

A concern I have about Princess is the chance that they will be banned from Alaska.

 

I have sailed on Princess ships before but never NCL.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

Who is traveling? I think that is important to know. If you have kids, I would go NCL. 

[LB_NJ]

13 hours ago, Teacherloves2Cruise said:

Who is traveling? I think that is important to know. If you have kids, I would go NCL. 

 

Two adults 50+, no children. 

[cruisencrazy]

I have cruised Alaska many times and once on the Coral Princess. Loved that ship in Alaska. Book your cruise but get insurance. Princess does a great job in Alaska. You will see more on a smaller ship. Getting to Wittier can be done from Anchorage by bus or train. The train fills up quickly. We liked the bus and the stops they made along the way. Also one more note...you can be bussed from Vancouver to Seattle if that helps with your flights. If you go early to Anchorage the Captain Cook is a great hotel and in Vancouver we like the Pan Pacific. I love Alaska. It’s totally different from a Caribbean cruise. 

[newmexicoNita]

17 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Looking for a June 2020 cruise between Seward (or Whittier) and Vancouver (don't care which direction) that includes Glacier Bay.

 

Looking at choosing between Princess Coral Princess (southbound) and Norwegian Jewel (northbound).

 

Both cruises seem to have both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier so for me both the itineraries seem OK.

 

I like smaller ships.  Coral Princess has a very slight edge there over Norwegian Jewel in this area.

 

A concern I have about Princess is the chance that they will be banned from Alaska.

 

I have sailed on Princess ships before but never NCL.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

Everyone on here regularly knows I am a huge lover of NCL and to be honest, I am not fond of Princess. That being said, I would take Princess. if there is any line that knows how to do Alaska it would is Princess. We did do NCL and it was fine but still I would not hesitate to do Princess. AS for your concern, that is still a year away, but I do understand. 

[Markanddonna]

I have heard people say to go with HAL or Princess because "they have the most experience and know how to do Alaska the best."  I've been on both NCL and HAL in Alaska and the experience was not discernible. We use private excursions like Harv and Marv for whale watching and would never take a ship excursion in Alaska. All major cruise lines are smart enough to offer a good product because they hire or contract from the same tour operators.

 

Personally, I would avoid any cruise owned by Carnival because of all their illegal dumping. 

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

I have heard people say to go with HAL or Princess because "they have the most experience and know how to do Alaska the best."  I've been on both NCL and HAL in Alaska and the experience was not discernible. We use private excursions like Harv and Marv for whale watching and would never take a ship excursion in Alaska. All major cruise lines are smart enough to offer a good product because they hire or contract from the same tour operators.

 

Personally, I would avoid any cruise owned by Carnival because of all their illegal dumping. 

Then you would have to avoid HAL because it is also part of Carnival.

 

Carnival Holdings:  Aida, Carnival, Costa, Cunard, P&O, P&O-Australia, Princess, Sebourn

 

If you were interested in a large ship and can wait until May 2021, Norwegian announced yesterday that The Encore would replace The Joy in Alaska.

[Markanddonna]

11 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Then you would have to avoid HAL because it is also part of Carnival.

 

 

 

Agree. My one cruise with them was okay, but not spectacular. They are way down on my list of desirable cruise lines.

[hilcadon]

We cruised on Celebrity Solstice and had an incredible experience from Seattle round trip. You will enjoy any experience with any Alaskan cruise regardless on what ship unless you have achieved status with a particular line. As you can see we have traveled with a variety of lines but  usually choose the itinerary  over the ship or line. What ever you decide have a great time.  

[purpleally]

Princess knows Alaska like no other.