Pearl or Star?

[lucia1024]

Hi Everyone

 

I hope that some of you experienced CC can help me with my concerns about these ships.

 

I am going to be going to AK in May 2007. I haven't booked yet. This is my first trip there.

 

Here is my dilema. I wanted to sail the Pearl because she is a brand new ship, but when I compared the iterinaries of both I have some concerns.

 

Here they are:

 

Star sails the Inside Passage. Pearl doesn't. Will I be missing a great experience?

 

Pearl doesn't dock in Juneau until 2:00pm. Won't I miss out on some excursions like Whale Watching or Flight tours which I definately want to take there because it is so late in the afternoon? Star docks at 7:00am.

 

By the way, when does daylight end in May?

 

I would really appreciate any help or suggestions.

 

Thanks

[dwrist]

We cruised on the Star in Aug and did the exact same iterinary that the Pearl is doing next year. We arrived in Juneau at 2pm and had ample time to do the whale watch and then were taken to the Mendanhl Glacier. It does stay dark longer than here in the 48's. We did not do the inside passage at the beginning but the next day we were cruising the inside passage. Missed the sorthern part. Can't comment on that part of the cruise. The outside passage is a little rough but manageable. The Star is beautiful and have no problem cruising her again. We are on the Pearl in April and have thought about b2b and see Alaska again but finances said no--we want another cruise on the Gem:D like maybe the Trans Atlantic.

[Toyz711]

i was on the star this last sept. it ran the route that the pearl will be running next year. in sept the sun set early, but we still had time, in juneau, to get in a whale watch. the rest of the family took the bus to mendenhall. on the whale watch, we got back just at dusk.

 

2 things: the star is a beautiful ship, we loved everything about her.

but we loved the route leaving from seattle, it worked for us. (but we have family who leaves in seattle and they went with us..no airfare for them)

after the ship got past vancourer island, we had islands in view the whole way. i am sure you have more scenery leaving from vancourer, but from seattle ..it's not bad:D .

glacier bay is wonderful, but we had the extra of being able to go to john hopkins glacier. john hopkins is close to ships for most of the year, only in mid-sept do they open that part of glacier bay to ships.

we made the most of our 1st day at sea, sitting on the balcony..watching the world go by...and getting to know the ship and the other CCers on our roll call.

my review of the cruise is linked in my signature, as well as a link to some pictures. i have some other pictures of the ship to add.

[Debbie in Orlando]

Star sails the Inside Passage. Pearl doesn't. Will I be missing a great experience?

 

We sailed the Star this past August 27th, we did the outside

of Vancouver Island at night so by the next morning there were all kinds of islands and cool sites at least on the Starboard side.

 

Pearl doesn't dock in Juneau until 2:00pm. Won't I miss out on some excursions like Whale Watching or Flight tours which I definately want to take there because it is so late in the afternoon? Star docks at 7:00am.

 

We also did the whale watch with the ship's excursion and had plenty of time, it was great.

 

By the way, when does daylight end in May?Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day Hope the link works, just put in your date and an Alaskan city.

We also loved the Star very much. We sailed on the new Jewel last December cause it was new and had an annoying creak in the balcony door, but still enjoyed ourselves. But the Star looks new so we couldn't tell the difference. LOL I'm sure whichever ship you choose will be great.

[lucia1024]

Thanks guys for sharing you experiences.

 

I just have another question. If you say that the Pearl with take the same route as the Star I would prefer to do the Pearl. In my research it showed the Pearl and the Star having different docking times in Juneau (Who knows)!

 

Can someone give me a name of a operator that will have excusions for Whale Watching after 2:00pm?

 

Has anyone ever used Shoretips for reserving excursions?

 

Thanks

[Toyz711]

the pearl is doing the same route that the star has done, until next year. when the new ship comes up, it is taking over the seattle route and the star is moving to the vancourer round-trip route.

for us it was just a lot easier to go from seattle. the airfare was cheaper, my FIL would not have gone if he had to travel to vancourer (he has health concerns) and others in the family would not have gone just because..with leaving from a port an hour away from their home..they could not say "no".

either route is great, we did not notice a "lack" of view..since when the ship was in open water, it was dark. when we woke the first morning...outstanding. :D

[dwrist]

Thanks guys for sharing you experiences.

 

I just have another question. If you say that the Pearl with take the same route as the Star I would prefer to do the Pearl. In my research it showed the Pearl and the Star having different docking times in Juneau (Who knows)!

 

Can someone give me a name of a operator that will have excusions for Whale Watching after 2:00pm?

 

Has anyone ever used Shoretips for reserving excursions?

 

Thanks

 

All the excursions operators know the ships schedules and plan accordingly. Hope this helps. Remember the economy is tourist based for a short season, so the tour operators are very good with schedules. We did ship excursions, if that helps.

[Toyz711]

we booked ourselves with Ocra Enterprises and had a great time. they know the ship's schedules. we got in and docked right at 2, got off the ship and grabbed a schuttle (short ride). we left from their offices about 3 and got back around 7. they have been known to send their van to the ship to look for lost customers.

the other ones are Harv & marv's, they have a great rep, also.

ocra has larger boats and can take more people at a time, but the prices is a little less. harv & marv only handle 6 at a time, but the prices is more.

capt larry's boat (Ocra enterprises) can hold up to 60, but when we went we only had 20. both serve snacks and both know the area.

 

Capt larry and Ocra Enterprises : http://www.alaskawhalewatching.com/

Harv & marv : http://www.harvandmarvs.com/

you can book direct with either of them, but can't book through any of the cruise lines. they are indepents and local.right now they may not get back to you right away, they take breaks after the season.

you don't need to book excursions through anyone, it's very easy to do yourself or through the ship.

[mbisson]

the pearl is doing the same route that the star has done, until next year. when the new ship comes up, it is taking over the seattle route and the star is moving to the vancourer round-trip route.

 

I though that the Pearl would take the Stars past route, the Star would replace the Sun routes from Seattle and the Sun would move to Vancouver. I'm not aware of another new ship coming in '08 although I guess that's possible.

 

To the OP-IMO if it is possible this will be your only Alaska cruise, another reason to consider the Pearl is that it will be going to Glacier Bay and the Star will be going to Sawyer Glacier. I've been to both and much prefer Glacier Bay. Besides, cruises to Sawyer often are iced out and can't get to the glaciers

 

I wouldn't worry about excursion availability. As other have said, the operators are aware of the schedules. However they fill up quickly so once you know which ship you want, you might want to start calling the excursion operators (if you decide to book independently)

 

-Monte

[Toyz711]

could be, i haven't looked. just thought that was what i read.

[Toyz711]

you are right, star is still in seattle. just a different route from last year.

they are doing rupert instead of victoria. in that case, it would just be which of those 2 places the OP wants to see? we had to leave on saturday, DH is in sales. the star was the only ship leaving on saturday, from seattle...at the end of sept. glad it worked out that way, the trip was great and so was the ship.

[dwrist]

:) Monte--

I thought I heard that the Sun and the Pearl would be doing the Seattle run and the Star would be Vancouver(replacing the Wind). and you are right about Glacier Bay being better than Sawyer Glacier. The serenity of Glacier Bay is not to be missed if at all possible.

 

 

<just checked the site and you are right, the Star is doing the Sawyer Glacier from Seattle. Onboard ship last Aug, they announced the Star would be sailing from Vancouver.>

[electricron]

To set things straight:

The Pearl next year will be assuming the Star's Seattle itinerary from last summer.

 

The Star will be assuming the Sun's Seattle itinerary from last summer.

 

The Sun returns to Vancouver to reassume the Wind's Vancouver itinerary, which replaced it last summer. The Sun has sailed from Vancouver before, so it should be very familiar with Canadians.

[brunolvr]

Hi Everyone

 

I hope that some of you experienced CC can help me with my concerns about these ships.

 

I am going to be going to AK in May 2007. I haven't booked yet. This is my first trip there.

 

Here is my dilema. I wanted to sail the Pearl because she is a brand new ship, but when I compared the iterinaries of both I have some concerns.

 

Here they are:

 

Star sails the Inside Passage. Pearl doesn't. Will I be missing a great experience?

 

Pearl doesn't dock in Juneau until 2:00pm. Won't I miss out on some excursions like Whale Watching or Flight tours which I definately want to take there because it is so late in the afternoon? Star docks at 7:00am.

 

By the way, when does daylight end in May?

 

I would really appreciate any help or suggestions.

 

Thanks

lucia, one thing you need to look at is the ports the ships go to and how long they are in port.

 

The itinerary map shows the Star goes east of Vancouver Island (inside) northbound but when coming back southbound, it goes west of Vancouver Island (outside). The Pearl goes outside Vancouver Island both northbound and southbound.

 

The Pearl's total port time is 32.5 hours; Star 30 hours and Sun 27.75 hours. The Pearl goes to Glacier Bay, the Star and Sun both cruise Tracy Arm Fjord to Sawyer Glacier. The Pearl goes to Victoria, the Star goes to Prince Rupert.

 

We have done both itineraries from Seattle and our preference is the one that goes to Glacier Bay. In fact we're going back again next June, this time on the Pearl.

 

We spend the first day at sea exploring the ship and trying to get acquainted enough so we can find our way around! Easier said than done!

Whichever you choose, though, you'll have a great time!:)