Alaskan Cruise

[bmccarthy]

My husband and I are considering going on an Alaskan cruise in July, if he can acquire time off work. He works for the airlines, so we tend to book last minute and recently have found some good rates for interior/oceanview rooms. The ships we are looking at are: Island/Coral or Diamond/Sapphire. Since we have never been to Alaska or on Princess, I had a few questions for those that have prior experience.

 

1. Would you recommend the smaller or larger ships for Alaska? I hear Island/Coral has a lot of glass. Is that the same for the Diamond/Sapphire as well? We have been on Radiance class for Royal Caribbean and are looking for a similar experience on Princess.

 

2. On the Island/Coral we could have an ov room for the same price as interior on the Diamond/Sapphire. I am not sure if the ov upgrade is worth it, because some of the interior rooms might be just as big and the view might be obstructed anyway. We won't know our room # until we book, since it is a promotional rate and non-refundable.

 

3. Do you prefer Northbound or Southbound cruises better? Those who have done this cruise in the past, which worked better for flights to or out of Anchorage?

 

4. Is anytime dining better than the late seating? How do you sign up for it?

 

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Cruise Raider]

We have always booked inside cabins for our cruises to Alaska as the weather is much colder so didn't assume we could justify spending the extra money on an outside or balcony cabin for these cruises. We were wrong! The balcony room we booked for our latest cruise to Alaska was used more often than any other cruise we have been on. We got back one week ago and the weather was so fantastic that we slept with our balcony door open all night long every night! We sat out there and were absolutely mezmorized by the outstanding scenery. It was light out until 10 PM on most nights so were usually on our baloncy until it was time to get ready for dinner. We too were reluctant to spend the extra $$ on the balcony for a cooler weather cruise but don't regret this now for a minute. I would much rather have an inside or oceanview cabin for a warm weather cruise after experiencing Alaska in both inside cabins and now a balcony cabin.

I must mention, we were on the Celebrity Infinity and ended up meeting some people from the Island Princess at the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau. They were having a great time on their cruise and believe they were in a suite. The Island looked like it was a beautiful ship as we were docked right behind it in at least one port on our 13 night adventure. I would see if it was possible to spend the extra money to make this an exceptional cruise and book a balcony cabin. Who knows, they may go on sale and you may get a great deal! I just think the extra cost for Alaska is worth it!!

[bmccarthy]

We have to go to Alaska next year with my family. Since we just went on a cruise 2 months ago, we weren't planning to go on another cruise this year. However, the cheap rates for interior rooms got me excited. I would rather have an interior room and be on a cruise, than be at home all summer. I am teacher so I am off during the summer. We haven't been on Princess before so I figure we'll spend a lot of time exploring the ship. We like to hit the bars at night, so being able to sleep in the dark might be nice.

[abbydancer2003]

I've been on the Sapphire, Diamond and Island. Our first Alaska cruise is later this year, so I can't really answer anything related to that, but I do have a comment on the glass.

 

The think I liked the least about the Island was that if you go to the front of the ship, it's got glass panels across the bow. We ended up doing sailway on the corner of one of the stairs to get an un-glassed in view. (I didn't like felling like I was watching through a window). I don't recall either the Diamond or Sapphire having glass there. Your milage may of course vary.

 

abby

[Tarheelbelle]

I took the Coral to Alaska and highly recommend it. The Coral is a beautiful ship. I was on a northbound out of Vancouver. We flew into Seattle, stayed overnight, then took the morning train to Vancouver. I had no trouble getting a flight out of Anchorage on America West [now part of USAirways]. I agree with Cruise Raider---we spent a lot of time on the balcony and on deck. The naturalist onboard was a fantastic feature, with narrations of some of the sailing.

I would consider an inside cabin if I return to Alaska, knowing now what I do---I would just be prepared to go on deck for long stretches of time.