Royal Caribbean vs Princess vs HAL to Alaska

[vplsh]

We are looking to book an Alaska cruise for next May. We have done an Alaskan cruise once before; last year we sailed Ovation of the Seas and stopped in Juneau, Skagway and Victoria BC out of Seattle. We enjoyed the cruise but felt we didn't get to see enough of Alaska, so we are looking for a different experience. The three cruises we have narrowed it down to are:

 

Serenade of the Seas 7 night RT Vancouver stopping in Sitka, Tracy Arm Fjords & Glacier, Juneau, Haines and Ketchikan,

 

Caribbean Princess Northbound Vancouver to Whittier stopping in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and sailing Glacier Bay and College Fjord before arriving in Whittier,

 

Holland America Konigsdam RT Vancouver stopping in Tracy Arm Inlet, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and sailing Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage.

 

While price isn't necessarily the deciding factor on this cruise, we're wondering what the difference is. The Princess and HAL cruises are approximately the same price. We are Platinum on Princess and have never sailed on HAL.

The Royal Caribbean cruise is about half the price of the others. We are Diamond Plus on Royal and receive complimentary drinks and wifi, so we don't need to do the all inclusive packages like we would on the other two.

 

Lots of reviews state that Glacier Bay is a must see. Since we didn't do that on our first Alaska cruise, is this something we should be looking to do. Is a one way northbound better than a round trip cruise? I don't think we'd do more touring once we arrive in Whittier, other than seeing Anchorage. Also, we did not do the Yukon and White Pass RR last time in Skagway, and thought we'd like to do that again. The RC cruise doesn't stop there, but does go to Haines, which is different.

 

Finally, is the HAL experience that much better? As I noted, the HAL cruise is twice the price of the Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!!

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, seeing Glacier Bay is something you should do. 

[Oscar13]

2nd vote for Glacier Bay.  So beautiful, best chance of getting close enough to watch some calving.

We are doing the NB next May from Vancouver, land touring and then the SB.

 

K2

[Aquahound]

I like the Koningsdam option.  I think K'dam is one of the best Alaska cruises when considering both itinerary and ship.  

 

Serenade is a beautiful ship but if she's not going to Hubbard Glacier, I'd rule her out.  

 

Caribbean has a great itinerary but when I cruised that ship, I swore I never would again.  It was one of the most crowded feeling ships I've ever sailed.  

[vplsh]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

I like the Koningsdam option.  I think K'dam is one of the best Alaska cruises when considering both itinerary and ship.  

 

Serenade is a beautiful ship but if she's not going to Hubbard Glacier, I'd rule her out.  

 

Caribbean has a great itinerary but when I cruised that ship, I swore I never would again.  It was one of the most crowded feeling ships I've ever sailed.  

Thanks for the response. We’re leaning in this direction and appreciate your thoughts. 

[jean-lynd]

If you do a one way you will see a lot more of Alaska.

[Zippercat]

Consider pricing HAL without the Have It All package.  It’s mostly all inclusive beverages (up to 15 drinks per day) and you’ll be ashore many days.  

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Zippercat said:

Consider pricing HAL without the Have It All package.  It’s mostly all inclusive beverages (up to 15 drinks per day) and you’ll be ashore many days.  

Its a lot more than that...specialty restaurant dining, shore excursion credits, wifi, maybe tips...but yes, considering HIA or no HIA is always a good idea.

[Coral]

My least favorite cruise to Alaska was on RCCL (Radiance). Poor times in port, tendering in Juneau, kids out of control on the ship and RCCL didn't care, no talks about Alaska on the ship (except for shopping) so I would rule RCCL out.

 

I like Princess's routes (2 glacier days, Glacier Bay) but I have never wanted to go on the Caribbean Princess. I am sure they have a few other ships doing that same itinerary that would be more desirable. I also like Princess's Alaska speakers (variety).

[Coral]

On 6/9/2024 at 12:49 PM, vplsh said:

We are looking to book an Alaska cruise for next May. We have done an Alaskan cruise once before; last year we sailed Ovation of the Seas and stopped in Juneau, Skagway and Victoria BC out of Seattle. We enjoyed the cruise but felt we didn't get to see enough of Alaska, so we are looking for a different experience. The three cruises we have narrowed it down to are:

 

I am surprised they do that route. Yep - you missed out on a lot in Alaska. Glad you are able to go back.

[maggieq]

We are looking at similar cruises and leaning toward the ha ship 

[sambamama]

Absolutely do a cruise with Glacier Bay. I have only done a RT cruise, so I can't comment on the difference of a one way. I will also say second that you don't need the HIA for either ship as you won't be onboard much. I've been on Princess once and HAL lots, and found them fairly similar with Princess having better entertainment and more pasta dishes. HAL has bigger cabins. 

[edinburgher]

On 6/9/2024 at 6:49 PM, vplsh said:

The Royal Caribbean cruise is about half the price of the others

And there is probably a good reason for that as you were disappointed first time.

 

Princess and HAL have more Glacier Bay slots than other lines and the Yukon and White Pass trip we did was another highlight, so I would choose an itinerary which includes both if possible.

 

Past threads for Haines, some of which you might want to read if you are still undecided. Haines itself is very small and you would probably want to take an excursion.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=haines&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=33

 

At the end of the day, ask yourselves if you are going for the best Alaska experience or for the Diamond Plus perks?

 

Edited June 24 by edinburgher

[vplsh]

7 hours ago, sambamama said:

Absolutely do a cruise with Glacier Bay. I have only done a RT cruise, so I can't comment on the difference of a one way. I will also say second that you don't need the HIA for either ship as you won't be onboard much. I've been on Princess once and HAL lots, and found them fairly similar with Princess having better entertainment and more pasta dishes. HAL has bigger cabins. 

 

2 hours ago, edinburgher said:

And there is probably a good reason for that as you were disappointed first time.

 

Princess and HAL have more Glacier Bay slots than other lines and the Yukon and White Pass trip we did was another highlight, so I would choose an itinerary which includes both if possible.

 

At the end of the day, ask yourselves if you are going for the best Alaska experience or for the Diamond Plus perks?

 

Thank you so much for the replies! We have decided to go with the HAL cruise for the reasons stated by edinburgher and sambamama. We even booked the excursion that takes you off the ship in Tracy Arm on a catamaran to Juneau. The White Pass RR is a must. Now to figure out the best way to get to the Mendenhall Glacier once we get to Juneau. 

[Coral]

3 hours ago, edinburgher said:

And there is probably a good reason for that as you were disappointed first time.

 

 

Yea - I know my RCCL cruise was my least favorite. They treated it like a Caribbean cruise with shopping talks and that was it. We had no cool Alaska activities, our port times were horrible, etc... Unless you are going for the ship, I would put RCCL last on my list - though who goes to Alaska for the ship?

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

Yea - I know my RCCL cruise was my least favorite. They treated it like a Caribbean cruise with shopping talks and that was it. We had no cool Alaska activities, our port times were horrible, etc... Unless you are going for the ship, I would put RCCL last on my list - though who goes to Alaska for the ship?

 

If you  read the CC posts on AK - lots of people select their AK cruise ship based on what is inside the ship or which line they have status on.  Go figure.

 

DON

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

If you  read the CC posts on AK - lots of people select their AK cruise ship based on what is inside the ship or which line they have status on.  Go figure.

 

DON

You are 1000% correct. That is often the #1 deciding factor. So bizarre.

[Cruzaholic41]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

If you  read the CC posts on AK - lots of people select their AK cruise ship based on what is inside the ship or which line they have status on.  Go figure.

 

DON

 

1 hour ago, Coral said:

You are 1000% correct. That is often the #1 deciding factor. So bizarre.

Yeah, because heaven forbid anyone to think different or have different priorities than you. 🙄

 

Some people don’t value sea days, including Glacier Bay as much as others. Some people have particular ports they want to visit and they value the ship that takes there. 
 

Please stop acting as though you’re the self appointed experts on what everyone wants. 

[Coral]

19 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

Yeah, because heaven forbid anyone to think different or have different priorities than you. 🙄

 

Some people don’t value sea days, including Glacier Bay as much as others. Some people have particular ports they want to visit and they value the ship that takes there. 
 

Please stop acting as though you’re the self appointed experts on what everyone wants. 

I am not going to sail to Alaska to stay on the ship and not see things. I try to pick itineraries with the most ports and glaciers, long days in port so I can see as much as possible. I booked with RCCL once, not seeing the time in port and we had the crappiest times. Juneau was a tender port and 2-10 pm. It was ridiculous. I have learned my lesson. I pay quite a bit of attention now, probably more so than most on this board.

 

You would be amazed at the amount of people who email me asking for advice who want a re-do after a disappointing first cruise to Alaska. I get it - I was there also at one time. Though for most - Alaska is a one time cruise.

Edited June 24 by Coral

[CaribbeanIsland]

There are sailings/routes that are superior than other sailings. @vplsh mentioned one specifically that didn't include that much of Alaska as it only stopped in two Alaska ports.

[smilesntravels]

1. My husband and I are going on our first Princess Alaska cruise this August.  While I haven't sailed Princess yet, I already know that I don't want to go on the Caribbean.  It's an older ship.  We'll be on the Royal- not brand new, but not too old.

Also, we've sailed on HAL twice.  I suppose we're a bit younger than the typical age, but we enjoyed both cruises!  The service, and food are terrific.  We went on the Nieuw Statendam, which is the sister ship to the Konigsdam.  It was beautiful!  The food choices were abundant and the Dutch cafe, we loved.  HAL might not have as many activities as RCL, but with an Alaskan cruise there isn't as much time to just relax, enjoy multiple sea days, etc.

[maggieq]

48 minutes ago, smilesntravels said:

1. My husband and I are going on our first Princess Alaska cruise this August.  While I haven't sailed Princess yet, I already know that I don't want to go on the Caribbean.  It's an older ship.  We'll be on the Royal- not brand new, but not too old.

Also, we've sailed on HAL twice.  I suppose we're a bit younger than the typical age, but we enjoyed both cruises!  The service, and food are terrific.  We went on the Nieuw Statendam, which is the sister ship to the Konigsdam.  It was beautiful!  The food choices were abundant and the Dutch cafe, we loved.  HAL might not have as many activities as RCL, but with an Alaskan cruise there isn't as much time to just relax, enjoy multiple sea days, etc.

@smilesntravels would love to hear your feedback of royal Princess. That would be a backup to our first choice  on ha koningsdam for 2025 Alaska.  First pick would have been the discovery if they were going to glacier bay like they are this year.  Thanks!

[smilesntravels]

23 hours ago, maggieq said:

@smilesntravels would love to hear your feedback of royal Princess. That would be a backup to our first choice  on ha koningsdam for 2025 Alaska.  First pick would have been the discovery if they were going to glacier bay like they are this year.  Thanks!

I will try to post something, or at least write a review.  I would have picked the Discovery, but I believe they're just doing RT's.  Since this will be our first Alaskan cruise, I thought it would be better to do one way, so therefore the Royal it is!  I read a lot of reviews on at least a couple of sites.  Some aren't great of the Royal, but most are.  That's probably true of most cruise ships, though (good and bad reviews.)

[lenquixote66]

In May 2008 we did a two week HAL tour of Alaska.The first week was land by bus and train .It was fantastic.The second week was by sea.

HAL had a tour guide travel with us.She was native to Alaska .

 

[Btimmer]

We've done Alaska on the Amsterdam, Maasdam, Noordam, Oosterdam (several of these multiple times), and Quantum of the Seas.  I'd never do RCCL again as they did absolutely no commentary when in the glaciers and scenic areas and said that it was banned for environmental reasons (hogwash & I told them so as we've been on many HAL cruises where there is lots of commentary).  Later this summer we're going NB to Alaska on the Koningsdam and returning on Princess, so I'll be able to do some further comparisons. Please go to Alaska to see Alaska; I believe you won't be disappointed with HAL or Princess.  Both have been doing Alaska for a very long time..