Juneau or Prince Rupert?

[Cruzmama]

Looking at two Alaskan cruises. The only difference is that one goes to Juneau, the other to Prince Rupert. Pros and cons of each please?

[JT1962]

I have not been to Prince Rupert, but from what I have read it is relatively small

and has less options than Juneau. I would review the excursion options in both of the ports and decide based on which ones of are most interest to you.

[Cruzmama]

Thanks.  Right now I'm not seeing anything for Prince Rupert, but a few possible options for Juneau.  Guess I'm leaning toward Juneau at this point unless I hear differently.

[JT1962]

31 minutes ago, Cruzmama said:

Thanks.  Right now I'm not seeing anything for Prince Rupert, but a few possible options for Juneau.  Guess I'm leaning toward Juneau at this point unless I hear differently.

Juneau has many good options - whale watching, Mendenhall Glacier, Mt Roberts Tram, museum, restaurants, shopping, etc.

[Cruzmama]

Thank you!

[donaldsc]

Simple choice - Prince Rupert.  Juneau is overrun with ridiculously large cruise ships.  Way too many people (imagine what is like when 15,000 people invade a town w a total population of 30,000) and lots of Caribbean type jewelry shops.  Mendenhall Glacier is overrated because it has retreated so much that it is disappointing.  There are lots of better glaciers in AK counting the ones that you can actually walk on or just get close to by ship.

 

Prince Rupert is a real town with some great scenery and a couple of really great museums.  I have been to Juneau several times and I would be happy to never go there again.  We spent 3 days in Prince Rupert on a trip and totally enjoyed ourselves.  We would go back.  Do some more research on Prince Rupert before you decide against it.

 

I have never been able to figure out why more ships don't make their required Canadian stop in Prince Rupert.

 

DON

Edited July 21, 2022 by donaldsc

[nini]

We will be on a 12 night Alaska cruise this September. Juneau and Prince Rupert are two of the ports.

[Cruzmama]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

Simple choice - Prince Rupert.  Juneau is overrun with ridiculously large cruise ships.  Way too many people (imagine what is like when 15,000 people invade a town w a total population of 30,000) and lots of Caribbean type jewelry shops.  Mendenhall Glacier is overrated because it has retreated so much that it is disappointing.  There are lots of better glaciers in AK counting the ones that you can actually walk on or just get close to by ship.

 

Prince Rupert is a real town with some great scenery and a couple of really great museums.  I have been to Juneau several times and I would be happy to never go there again.  We spent 3 days in Prince Rupert on a trip and totally enjoyed ourselves.  We would go back.  Do some more research on Prince Rupert before you decide against it.

 

I have never been able to figure out why more ships don't make their required Canadian stop in Prince Rupert.

 

DON

Hmmm.  Something to think about.  You just made my choice more difficult :)

[donaldsc]

20 minutes ago, Cruzmama said:

Hmmm.  Something to think about.  You just made my choice more difficult 🙂

 

I will make it even  more difficult.

 

This is the cruise ship schedule for Prince Rupert for the entire month of August

5 August, 2022.  Ruby Princess.  08:0016:00

9 August, 2022.  Seabourn Odyssey.  08:0023:00

15 August, 2022.  Ruby Princess.  08:0016:00

17 August, 2022.  Star Breeze.  06:0013:00

23 August, 2022.  Seabourn Odyssey.  08:0023:00

25 August, 2022.  Ruby Princess.  08:0016:00

 

This is the port schedule for Juneau for just August 1.  One day.  7 ships in one day.  Note the crazy short port times for the ships.  Do you think that Juneau might be a bit over crowded w visitors.?

 

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Norwegian Spirit.  07:0015:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Norwegian Bliss.  07:0013:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Majestic Princess.  08:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Star Breeze.  10:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Ovation Of The Seas.  13:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  ms Westerdam.  13:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Norwegian Encore.  15:0023:00

 

DON

[Worthcruising]

Prince Rupert 100%! My very first Alaskan cruise we stopped in Prince Rupert and absolutely loved it - our favorite port. The scenery, small shops and the ability to walk around without thousands of other people shoulder to shoulder was wonderful. Its a real town without all the same tourist shops as the rest of the ports. I wish more of the cruises used it as the Canadian stop. 

[Cruzmama]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I will make it even  more difficult.

 

This is the cruise ship schedule for Prince Rupert for the entire month of August

5 August, 2022.  Ruby Princess.  08:0016:00

9 August, 2022.  Seabourn Odyssey.  08:0023:00

15 August, 2022.  Ruby Princess.  08:0016:00

17 August, 2022.  Star Breeze.  06:0013:00

23 August, 2022.  Seabourn Odyssey.  08:0023:00

25 August, 2022.  Ruby Princess.  08:0016:00

 

This is the port schedule for Juneau for just August 1.  One day.  7 ships in one day.  Note the crazy short port times for the ships.  Do you think that Juneau might be a bit over crowded w visitors.?

 

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Norwegian Spirit.  07:0015:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Norwegian Bliss.  07:0013:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Majestic Princess.  08:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Star Breeze.  10:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Ovation Of The Seas.  13:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  ms Westerdam.  13:0021:00

2 August, 2022.  Tuesday.  Norwegian Encore.  15:0023:00

 

DON

You are actually making the decision less difficult.  I don't like crowds, and had not considered this.  Leaning toward Prince Rupert.  Is it as beautiful as Juneau?

[Northern Aurora]

We actually have been to Prince Rupert as a cruise ship port.  That was about a decade ago, but I remember it as having pretty scenery.  

 

We visited the Museum of Northern British Columbia which was well curated.  Next we visited a small public garden.  We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant overlooking the small boat harbor.  And then spent some time in a very nice artist cooperative where I scored a nice pair of earrings.  

 

We enjoyed the port call, but don't expect cruise ship oriented tourism offerings.  And no Diamonds International.  I just hate opening the curtains to the balcony first thing in the morning and find myself staring at yet another Diamonds International.

[Cruzmama]

Can you see a glacier in Prince Rupert?

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, Cruzmama said:

Can you see a glacier in Prince Rupert?

 

We didn't look for one in Prince Rupert as it was raining and also because we had seen and even walked on glaciers further north.  I would guess not however.

 

DON

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, Cruzmama said:

Can you see a glacier in Prince Rupert?

 

No, Prince Rupert does not have any glaciers.

 

As Don noted in the previous post, if you can't see Mt Hays on Kaien Island, it's raining, but if you can see it, then it's about to rain.

[Coral]

On 7/21/2022 at 1:50 PM, Cruzmama said:

Hmmm.  Something to think about.  You just made my choice more difficult 🙂

The dates you are going - there will not be a lot of ships in Juneau.

 

I just checked - 2 ships in port in Juneau:

 

https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.189/2xl.54d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JNU-Juneau-2023.pdf 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Coral

[Cruzmama]

Thank you.  That's important.

[Coral]

On 7/23/2022 at 7:45 AM, Cruzmama said:

Can you see a glacier in Prince Rupert?

Princes Rupert is a welcome port to those who have done the Alaska ports a lot but Prince Rupert is not in Alaska so if your goal is Alaska, this is not it. 

[Ballerina Sweetie Pie]

I would go to Juneau just for the whale watching! Check out Harv & Marv for whale watching. If the weather is nice, you can see the glacier in the distance.

[rkacruiser]

50 minutes ago, Ballerina Sweetie Pie said:

I would go to Juneau just for the whale watching!

 

I would go to Juneau for many reasons.  It's my favorite port in Southeast Alaska.  

[Coral]

1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I would go to Juneau for many reasons.  It's my favorite port in Southeast Alaska.  

I agree Juneau has so many options on things to do - it is one of my favorite cruise ports.

[Cruzmama]

Thank you, Everyone!

[Oceangirl816]

I was in Prince Rupert on the Ruby Princess in the middle of June.  First time I have been to this port.  It was fun to see a new place.  Very small town and easy to walk around but hilly in areas.  The British Museum of Natural History is a great museum worth seeing but not on the tour.  We were only given 1 hour to see both the museum and gift shop which is not near enough time to see everything!!!  I took a lot of pictures so I could enjoy seeing it at my leisure when I got home.  The tour is good, however, for first time tourists, as they give you a great overview of not only the town but the history of the area as well.  Seeing the train museum was fascinating!  And hearing its history was too.  While I can't remember his name, the young man who was our tour guide was very knowledgeable and able to answer almost all of our questions.  While I enjoyed seeing Prince Rupert this time, I look forward to getting back to Victoria as I really love going there instead.

[Cruzmama]

On 7/30/2022 at 2:07 PM, Oceangirl816 said:

I was in Prince Rupert on the Ruby Princess in the middle of June.  First time I have been to this port.  It was fun to see a new place.  Very small town and easy to walk around but hilly in areas.  The British Museum of Natural History is a great museum worth seeing but not on the tour.  We were only given 1 hour to see both the museum and gift shop which is not near enough time to see everything!!!  I took a lot of pictures so I could enjoy seeing it at my leisure when I got home.  The tour is good, however, for first time tourists, as they give you a great overview of not only the town but the history of the area as well.  Seeing the train museum was fascinating!  And hearing its history was too.  While I can't remember his name, the young man who was our tour guide was very knowledgeable and able to answer almost all of our questions.  While I enjoyed seeing Prince Rupert this time, I look forward to getting back to Victoria as I really love going there instead.

Thank you!