Help me decide on which cruise (first time cruiser)

[DJ PDX]

Hi there Everyone! Im excited to finally start posting on these boards. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and experiences!

 

My partner and I have never been on a cruise before, but I have been dying to get on a ship for years now. My partner is a little skeptical of the whole thing (seen a certain movie about a cruise disaster a few too many times), but he has agreed that he would like us to do a cruise to Alaska together. I have 2 weeks off in June next year so I figured that was as good a time as any to finally book out Alaskan cruise!

 

I have done hours and hours of research into what would work best for us, and I found a few options that would work well for us. We are a mid 30's couple who likes a lively atmosphere, but we don't party all that much. We like good food, good entertainment and a lot of pretty things to look at. I knew from the start that I wasn't interested in Royal Caribbean or Norwegian, which Im sure are amazing cruise lines, but I wasn't interested in any of the ships/itineraries that they have in Alaska at the moment. SO I narrowed my choices down to Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess.

 

There are two that I have narrowed it down to, and I literally cannot decide. Both have pros and cons and both sound wonderful. Maybe you guys can help me decide because my knowledge and experiences are limited.

 

Option 1: Princess

Royal Princess Roundtrip from Seattle     Veranda Cabin

 

         

 

This was my initial choice. We would choose the "princess Plus" option. This one was my first choice because it leaves from Seattle (which is only 3 hours away from us) and it visits Glacier Bay (which I really want to be included in our itinerary). Royal Princess looks like a gorgeous ship with lots of things to do and see.

 

Pros:

Ive heard wonderful things about princess

Seattle is a very easy port for us to get to

An additional port stop (unsure if Victoria is all that exciting or not)

More theatre entertainment (at least based on reviews)

Great Shore excursion options on website

A little cheaper

 

Cons:

Larger ship (not a deal breaker, but I always pictured a smaller ship for Alaska)

More time in open ocean (partner is afraid of getting seasick, unsure if this would be a problem with proper precautions)

Less port time in some ports

 

 

 

Option 2: Holland America

Koningsdam Roundtrip from Vancouver.     Veranda Cabin 

 

 

 

     

 

I was surprised I got so excited about this option, as I have two acquaintances who said they did not enjoy Holland America (one was my grandma who sailed on HAL over 20 years ago, and the other was a client who usually travels megaships on Royal Caribbean with her family of 5), But I loved the Itinerary for this cruise and I thought the port times and the amount of time in the inside passage were fantastic. Koningsdam also seems like a very nice ship. We would choose the "Have it All" option.

 

Pros:

More time in inside passage (more to look at, less open water)

Smaller Ship

Longer port times (at least in Ketchikan)

Ive heard slightly better things about HAL service and food compared to princess (let me know if this is accurate)

Holland America seems to be more "designed for Alaska"

Lots of Live music (which I love)

 

Cons:

Vancouver is a little further drive for us (Seattle is 3 hours from home, Vancouver is 5 hours. Not a deal breaker though)

One less port stop (no Victoria)

Seems to have less theatre entertainment (at least based on recent reviews, correct me if incorrect)

 

 

 

Im Pretty sure that we would greatly enjoy either cruise, but seeing as this is my first cruise I want to make sure we do it right. If you guys have any opinions or experiences on either of these ships or itineraries (or even both) let me know which you think is the better option.

Thank you!! looking forward to hearing what you all have to say!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Sail Koningsdam. More time in true Inside Passage, plus you are gettingTracy Arm. In the Princess cruise,  "Inside Passage " is stretching it considerably. 

[disneyochem]

I sailed on both of these ships to Alaska this past summer—both out of Vancouver.

 

Of your two choices, I would pick the Koningsdam.  As mentioned above, the sailing from Vancouver is more scenic than Seattle.  The Koningsdam has three major advantages, IMO, for an Alaskan sailing—it has a covered pool, a promenade and the Crow’s Nest.  The Crow’s Nest is a forward-facing lounge on an upper deck that is fabulous for glacier and wildlife viewing; the Royal does not unless you pay extra for the Sanctuary (but it is not indoors).  The covered pool is nice on an Alaskan cruise—you can still hang out and swim cold weather.

 

We certainly enjoyed our cruise on the Royal but we love the Koningsdam.  Have been on it three times and have two more booked!   Both cruise lines do Alaska well—enrichment programs, lectures, etc. We enjoy the music venues a bit more on the Koningsdam— the music walk is fun in the evening.

[Coral]

Consider doing a one way from Vancouver to Whittier and spending a week on land in Alaska. Or vice versa.

 

Though - between the 2 ships - I would go with HAL. 

[Heidi13]

HAL wins for both the ship and itinerary.

[DJ PDX]

Wow you guys! Thank you so much! I really appreciate the input!

 

May be a silly question, but based on these itineraries is the HAL itinerary less likely to have rough seas? Obviously rough or smooth seas can happen anywhere at any time, but am I correct in assuming the inside passage is a little bit more protected?

Also, are there theatre shows on koningsdam lately? 

[DJ PDX]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Consider doing a one way from Vancouver to Whittier and spending a week on land in Alaska. Or vice versa.

 

Though - between the 2 ships - I would go with HAL. 

 

That would be Ideal!! Unfortunately I can't take enough time off for that, so Ill have to save the land portion for next time :)

[DJ PDX]

7 hours ago, disneyochem said:

I sailed on both of these ships to Alaska this past summer—both out of Vancouver.

 

Of your two choices, I would pick the Koningsdam.  As mentioned above, the sailing from Vancouver is more scenic than Seattle.  The Koningsdam has three major advantages, IMO, for an Alaskan sailing—it has a covered pool, a promenade and the Crow’s Nest.  The Crow’s Nest is a forward-facing lounge on an upper deck that is fabulous for glacier and wildlife viewing; the Royal does not unless you pay extra for the Sanctuary (but it is not indoors).  The covered pool is nice on an Alaskan cruise—you can still hang out and swim cold weather.

 

We certainly enjoyed our cruise on the Royal but we love the Koningsdam.  Have been on it three times and have two more booked!   Both cruise lines do Alaska well—enrichment programs, lectures, etc. We enjoy the music venues a bit more on the Koningsdam— the music walk is fun in the evening.

 

Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!

Yeah I originally had an indoor pool as a priority but took it off the priority list to open my options a bit, but now I realize just how nice having a warmer place to swim would be.

 

Good to know about the sanctuary on Princess, and the lack of promenade.

[rkacruiser]

I would recommend HAL for the same reasons that other posters had.  Royal Princess does not have as many open deck areas for guests from which to sightsee.  The true Inside Passage ought to provide a  more smooth sea than going West of Vancouver Island as Royal Princess does.

 

But, Princess' onboard Alaska program is somewhat better than HAL's in my opinion.  HAL's is very good.  Princess is just a bit more "very good".  

 

Main theater entertainment?  On HAL, there should be some.  On Princess, there will be and I think more diverse and better.  The music scene?  Both are very good.  Cuisine?  Both are very good, usually.  

 

Difficult, but fun, decision!

 

 

[Coral]

I actually don't think HAL is better in Alaska than Princess - they are very similar and run by the same office. I do think RT Vancouver is a better route in Alaska than RT Seattle. I also think the smaller ship (HAL) is better. I also like a real promenade deck and outside viewing areas which the HAL ship has.

 

I would sign up for the Tracy Arm excursion - budget for it, it is not cheap.

[CCJack]

I agree with all the responses, but a couple other points to ponder....

 

I like to minimize the number of at sea days.   For Alaska, the Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier are beautiful sights and should not be missed, but they are a day when everyone is on the ship.  Thus try to minimize the number of other at sea days.   Any port is better than no port, in my opinion.

 

I would not overlook the stop at Victoria in your decision.    A lot different than your Alaska stops, but a very nice place to see, we had a great time there.

 

As far as rough seas go, neither itinerary is going to be more or less risky.  This is based on weather and you could have bad weather anywhere, but we had very calm seas along the Alaska coast, it was no issue.   However, if you are concerned.. a large ship is better.   Laws of physics apply here and the more mass you have on your side, the smoother it will be. 

 

For my planning, I always put some emphasis on departure city.  It is part of your vacation.  Vancouver is beautiful and if you arrive a day (or two) early and stay in one of the downtown hotels, you will have a very relaxing first day of your cruise (we walked to the ship... even with luggage) rather than long traveling or transport that day of departure.   

 

Can't go wrong with either... have fun.

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, CCJack said:

However, if you are concerned.. a large ship is better.   Laws of physics apply here and the more mass you have on your side, the smoother it will be. 

 

Sorry, but the size of the ship has very little to do with the seakeeping ability in rough weather. The key factors are the design/scantlings, stability and skill of the Bridge Team in reading the ocean.

 

I have sailed worldwide on many of the smaller, older steam ships such as SS Oriana and SS Canberra, those ships were smaller than most current cruise ships and handled seas way better. Even with 1960's stabaliser technology, they were better than the modern mega cruise ships.

 

Have also completed 2 full Alaska seasons on the original Sun & Island Princess and those ships were way more comfortable than the new cruise ships.

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, CCJack said:

I would not overlook the stop at Victoria in your decision.    A lot different than your Alaska stops, but a very nice place to see, we had a great time there.

 

Victoria is an underappreciated port on an Alaskan cruise.  Most of the ships arrive later in the afternoon or early evening and many guests don't have adequate time to appreciate what the city has to offer.  Butchart Gardens is well known and is a feature for those interested.  But, the museums are interesting and the opportunity to enjoy a civilized Tea is missed by many.