Rebooking thrice cancelled Alaska cruise, when / what ship?

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

I posted this in Alaska but didn't get many responses so I thought maybe Princess was the place for it:  So, I missed my thrice rescheduled Princess cruise with a group, but now I'm wondering if I should book a similar thing for 2023 b/c I still really want to do this itinerary.  I still really love the Princess, Glacier Bay, Vancouver to Whittier route, with Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican.  I've seen some posts here talking about Skagway being dropped and that would be a deal breaker for me b/c I really want to do the train there (even if it's only in Alaska next season).  I'm finding myself unsure of when and what Princess ship to book.  I didn't have a choice of ships before b/c the group leader chose, and it was Majestic.  I liked Majestic ok but preferred the overall look of the ship I was booked on first, which was Royal (sorry to be confusing:  this cruise was on Royal when booked in 2020 and 21, then was moved to Majestic for 22).  However, there was a big to do about whether Royal was being allowed into the Inside Passage, and I definitely wouldn't want to miss that.  I know there are other ships too but I never researched them, such as the Grand.  I"m also thinking about another time in summer besides early June b/c my DS15 might have a school trip then I might go on.  So I was thinking about late July.  Is that the peak  of the peak season?  Thanks for any info.  I feel like I'm already late to be booking something, but I'm completely at sea about what to book.  I want something midship and it seems like cabins are already selling out.

[lesnpatty]

We recently went on an Alaska cruise tour on the Grand and we were not impressed at all.  The ship is really showing it's age. The staff was very nice but the food was the worst we have ever had on the ship and our mini suite was really showing it's age.  We were on the ship and very disapointed because they had all the doors open to the solarium so we could not use the pool or hot tubs.  We also had to deal with no hot water in our mini suite which we booked specifically for the tub, 

[geoherb]

The Royal and Majestic are pretty much the same except for a few minor differences, such as Sabatini's on the Royal and Harmony on the Majestic. They're almost exactly the same size. Currently, Princess is listing Skagway as a port on the northbound cruises on the Majestic next summer.

Late July is still peak season but toward the end of it. We took a cruise tour that started in late July several years ago, followed by an early August southbound cruise. If you are doing a one-way cruise, I hope you have time to spend at least a few more nights after your cruise, either on a cruise tour or on your own.

 

I took the Majestic last year on a roundtrip cruise to Alaska from Seattle. I had a great time. It helped that the ship was at 65% capacity so most things were not crowded. 

[donswife]

It really depends on what is most important to you.  The Grand is older but smaller, so more likely to go through more of the Inside Passage.  It is also the only one of the 3 to have a real promenade deck. We were on the Grand last October and thought she was in decent condition. The buffet is smaller on the Grand,  but it was enough for us.

[deliver42]

Right now, the grand is having major propulsion problems and skipping ports. It's been on going with no end in site. Don't go by the web site for itinerary because it doesn't account for the missed ports or the shortened stays.

[PacnGoNow]

48 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

Right now, the grand is having major propulsion problems and skipping ports. It's been on going with no end in site. Don't go by the web site for itinerary because it doesn't account for the missed ports or the shortened stays.

The Grand?  Do you mean the Crown?

[Yehootu]

We just did the RT from Vancouver on the Royal. The royal class ships do have to sail outside to Ketchikan, but thats the only difference in routes. We really liked our day in Whittier. I don't think I'd do the Southbound only as Ketchikan was substituted with Victoria ( which we skipped due to slowing for rough weather).