Celebrity Alaska vs Princess

[AbbyCruiser45]

Hi all-- I'm currently booked on a 2023 Princess Alaska cruise. I booked it over Celebrity because Princess has access to Glacier Bay. I'm now worrying this was the wrong decision because I've heard Princess has not been as good since the return to cruising and I've really been enjoying Celebrity. So, to those that have sailed both Princess and Celebrity to Alaska, is Glacier Bay worth it? The Celebrity option goes to Hubbard Glacier. I've previously been to Endicott Arm with Dawes Glacier on another line. Thank you in advance! 

[mcrcruiser]

There is no doubt in my mind that Celebrity is a far better choice that any Princess ship .  Personally , there are only 2 lines that I  like to sail one is this line & the other is Holland America & especially for Alaska .

 

 Holland America brings in board a specialist in Alaska  to explain every thing 

[doktor71]

19 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

There is no doubt in my mind that Celebrity is a far better choice that any Princess ship .  Personally , there are only 2 lines that I  like to sail one is this line & the other is Holland America & especially for Alaska .

 

 Holland America brings in board a specialist in Alaska  to explain every thing 

When we did princess, their was a ranger on board when they did Glacier Bay.  I would question someone who has done Princess recently.  

[stevenr597]

We have been sailing for over 25 years and our two top cruise lines are Celebrity and Princess.  While there are differences, we have found they have much in common.  

I would describe both as upscale.  Food in both of them is quite good.  In Celebrity we go Aqua Class and in Princess we book Club Class Mini-suite.

Entertainment in both is excellent.

We have recently completed a seven day cruise on Discovery Princess, and we found the ship to be excellent. No major complaints.

Our cruise did not include Glacier Bay, but we did cruise this location many years ago on Sun Princess.

Definitely not something to miss.  Would also suggest taking a trip on the Narrow Gauge Railroad in Skagway, and don't miss a helicopter trip to the Glaciers out of Juneau.

Princess does specialize in Alaska and you will not be disappointed. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Do not miss Glacier Bay. It is more important than any small differences between Celebrity and Princess. We started on Princess and they are the Pros in Alaska ( Holland American also does a good job). You will have a ranger on board. There was half the ice five years ago ( NCL round trip from Seattle and a mistake because there was too little time in port) and our Princess trip 25 years ago. We mostly cruise Celebrity now because of the smoking in the casino. We were on the Sky Princess in 2021 and our favorite ship the Regal in February 2020 right before shutdown. Food is better on Celebrity, entertainment better on Princess . But Alaska hands down is Princess territory. If you can afford it, take the helicopter to the dog camp on the glacier and go sledding with the Iditarod dogs. Also the train in Scagway is fun ( sit on the left side).

[Ken the cruiser]

This is the Princess Alaska cruise we're looking at where you see not only Glacier Bay twice and Hubbard Glacier, but you also cruise through the College Fjord which has even more glaciers! 🙂

 

Cruise Details - 14-Day Voyage of the Glaciers Grand Adventure - Princess Cruises

 

[Cruising Divers]

We sail Celebrity almost exclusively (and have 2 more already booked including Christmas on Apex in Aqua) and we sailed Alaska for the first time this year. We finally decided on Princess, our first time with them, over Celebrity solely because of Glacier Bay. 
 

It was absolutely the right choice, we had an AMAZING time and the ship and experience was just as lux as any Celebrity cruise we ever took if not more so in some cases/cruises. 
 

We would go back to Alaska with Princess in a heartbeat, it was fantastic, beautiful and exceeded our expectations in every way I can think of. YMMV. 

[Ken the cruiser]

34 minutes ago, Cruising Divers said:

We sail Celebrity almost exclusively (and have 2 more already booked including Christmas on Apex in Aqua) and we sailed Alaska for the first time this year. We finally decided on Princess, our first time with them, over Celebrity solely because of Glacier Bay. 
 

It was absolutely the right choice, we had an AMAZING time and the ship and experience was just as lux as any Celebrity cruise we ever took if not more so in some cases/cruises. 
 

We would go back to Alaska with Princess in a heartbeat, it was fantastic, beautiful and exceeded our expectations in every way I can think of. YMMV. 

Just for future reference, which Princess ship were you on?

[tabby50894]

A little late for me to be asking this question, but what’s the difference between Glacier Bay and Hubbard Bay? We cruised to Alaska in August and Hubbard Bay was fantastic.

 

[Cruising Divers]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just for future reference, which Princess ship were you on?

We were on the May 14th Royal Princess, Deluxe Balcony. On top of a totally stellar cruise we:

 

Rode in (the front of) a floatplane in Ketchikan over the fjords and then went snorkeling in 47° water for 45 minutes. 
 

Flew in a helicopter and walked around a glacier before going whale watching in Juneau where we hung out with 4-5 orcas for a while and saw a bunch of whale tails on the way out & in. Tram was fun as well. 
 

Rode the White Pass Railway, hiked the nearby foothills and then caught another heli in Skagway where we spent even more time on the glaciers/did much more exploring, was great fun. 
 

And Glacier Bay was amazing. We had perfect weather and towards the end we went into a field of 100% thick fog for about 20 minutes and then back our into the total clear; was an outstanding visit. 
 

Also did the “wildlife visit transit” to the airport and it was one of the best “to the airport excursions” we’ve ever done. Bears/tons of wildlife and a nice transit plan to the airport supplied by the city so Anchorage was a breeze.  
 

Highly recommended. 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, Cruising Divers said:

We were on the May 14th Royal Princess, Deluxe Balcony. On top of a totally stellar cruise we:

 

Rode in (the front of) a floatplane in Ketchikan over the fjords and then went snorkeling in 47° water for 45 minutes. 
 

Flew in a helicopter and walked around a glacier before going whale watching in Juneau where we hung out with 4-5 orcas for a while and saw a bunch of whale tails on the way out & in. Tram was fun as well. 
 

Rode the White Pass Railway, hiked the nearby foothills and then caught another heli in Skagway where we spent even more time on the glaciers/did much more exploring, was great fun. 
 

And Glacier Bay was amazing. We had perfect weather and towards the end we went into a field of 100% thick fog for about 20 minutes and then back our into the total clear; was an outstanding visit. 
 

Also did the “wildlife visit transit” to the airport and it was one of the best “to the airport excursions” we’ve ever done. Bears/tons of wildlife and a nice transit plan to the airport supplied by the city so Anchorage was a breeze.  
 

Highly recommended. 

Wow!!! That sounds fantastic!

[Cruising Divers]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Wow!!! That sounds fantastic!

Ken it really was. 
 

We cruise to dive normally and so I was not expecting AK to be so vast, interesting and spectacular so I was taken back. We have been blessed beyond belief with vacations (and their weather and overall outcomes) this past year though so at this point I’m just happy to still be here with even more to come lol. 

[GORDONCHICK]

Alaska and Europe are where the itineraries should be the top priority, IMO.  This doesn't just include ports, but TIME in ports is important to me.  I am one that prefers Hubbard over Glacier Bay.  BUT there's a huge caveat to that!  If sailing early in the season, there's a good chance of fog covering Hubbard or not getting very close because of all the ice in the water.  If cruising late in the season, you have a much better chance of actually seeing Hubbard.  The wildlife in Glacier Bay is amazing, but the glaciers did not impact me like Hubbard did.  Our last cruise to AK was in 2015 and it was in very late May.  The itinerary had both Glacier Bay AND Hubbard.  However, Hubbard was so fogged in that we couldn't hear a thing.  But we could hear the calving - soooo frustrating!

[Ken the cruiser]

We’ve cruised to Alaska 3 times so far, once on the Celebrity Solstice in July 2015, then on HAL’s Amsterdam in 2017, and finally on the Disney Wonder in 2019. One thing is for sure about Alaska and it’s wide variety of wildlife as well as it’s ever changing weather patterns, each visit has been truly awesome and totally unique. That’s why the next time we cruise there in 2024 will be with Princess, to experience Alaska “for the first time” with them, to include seeing as many different glaciers as we can! 😁

 

But this time, if at all possible, we will be in an aft-facing cabin where we will hopefully improve our chances of seeing the awesome views of the Alaska wilderness as well as wildlife on both sides of the ship as well as from behind as we cruise to the various port calls.

 

But with regards to the OP’s original question. We have cruised on 5 different Celebrity ships and 2 different Princess ships since cruising started back up, and have had a lot of fun and laughed a lot on both cruise lines! But I’ve also heard many times over the years that Glacier Bay is one destination not to be missed! Hence why we’re so excited about booking Princess’ Voyage of the Glaciers cruise once it becomes available in 2024 as we will visit Glacier Bay twice!

[prmssk]

I was not at all impressed with the two Princess cruises since the restart, enough that we cancelled our third Princess cruise (none of them Alaska) BUT in doing our research for an Alaska cruise we are considering soon, we are prioritizing getting to both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier over the cruise line which means Celebrity is out.  We are probably leaning towards Holland but if Princess has the right itinerary, we would also consider it.  We can enjoy a cruise on any cruise line (and did still enjoy our Princess cruises this year) and I think Alaska is one of those cruises where the itinerary is very important.

 

One caveat, is that if you are currently booked on the Crown, I would hesitate.  I realize she is in dry dock right now which should hopefully fix the engine problems but there is no guarantee that dry dock will fix the issues she had with having to miss ports due to lack of speed throughout the entire Alaska season.

Edited October 11, 2022 by prmssk

[AbbyCruiser45]

Thank you everyone!! This feedback has been great. Looks like Glacier Bay should not be missed so we'll stick with Princess! We'll be on the Majestic. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

16 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

This is the Princess Alaska cruise we're looking at where you see not only Glacier Bay twice and Hubbard Glacier, but you also cruise through the College Fjord which has even more glaciers! 🙂

 

Cruise Details - 14-Day Voyage of the Glaciers Grand Adventure - Princess Cruises

 

One day!! The time is tight with this trip, so we can't swing two weeks, but we are hoping to tack on some extra time on land in Alaska at the end of the trip. 

 

Also, this is a big family trip....not sure I would want to spend a whole two weeks with everyone 😂

Edited October 11, 2022 by AbbyCruiser45

[LB_NJ]

23 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Hi all-- I'm currently booked on a 2023 Princess Alaska cruise. I booked it over Celebrity because Princess has access to Glacier Bay. I'm now worrying this was the wrong decision because I've heard Princess has not been as good since the return to cruising and I've really been enjoying Celebrity. So, to those that have sailed both Princess and Celebrity to Alaska, is Glacier Bay worth it? The Celebrity option goes to Hubbard Glacier. I've previously been to Endicott Arm with Dawes Glacier on another line. Thank you in advance! 

 

FYI, Cunard has a cruise that does both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier in 2023.  We booked it for that reason.  Some people love Cunard, some hate it.  Can be a different cruising experience.  If I had to pick a different cruise line I would pick Oceania.

 

In general, my experience has been that all the cruise lines took a hit after the COVID restart.

[Treasure Hunter]

Majestic should be great ( pretty new ship). We did the add on of the Princess train to Denali staying in Princess lodges. It cost the same as the cruise but we saw and did a lot like white water rafting and nature hikes. Saw a lot of bear and moose. You stay one night in Anchorage before and one night in Fairbanks before flying home. Great easy way to see the interior. Princess does a fabulous job. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

On 10/11/2022 at 5:44 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Thank you everyone!! This feedback has been great. Looks like Glacier Bay should not be missed so we'll stick with Princess! We'll be on the Majestic. 

I’m so glad you decided on that! I would chime in that Princess and Holland America are the original Alaska cruise specialists, and they really do it right. In addition, as others have said, Glacier Bay is a must do.

[bigbenboys]

In my eyes the Hubbard Glacier is my favorite. Also Ziplining in Icey Strait Point. Photos from Millie June 2022. You can see the excursion boat in the one photo.

Edited October 14, 2022 by bigbenboys
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[GORDONCHICK]

2 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

In my eyes the Hubbard Glacier is my favorite. Also Ziplining in Icey Strait Point. Photos from Millie June 2022. You can see the excursion boat in the one photo.

Yep, absolutely jaw-dropping! These are from 2007 and we were on Mercury.