Alaska - Cruisetour RCCL vs. Princess

[Pusniski]

I'm looking into booking an alaska cruisetour. I felt Princess was going to be our best option but I've also decided to look at RCCL. Has anyone done a cruisetour in Alaska w/RCCL that can give me some insight. Princess seems to have a little better itinerary, but I also need to consider atmosphere. I just returned from my first Princess cruise so I now have a feeling for the line itself. I've never cruised RCCL though I've come close quite a few times. :D

 

How's the Radiance looking these days? I have a choice between it and the Serenade.

 

Which cruisetour is the best if you're limited to 4 nights?

 

TIA! :)

[Hoosier Gal]

I know you are asking for advise on RCCI, but I wanted to chime in and say that we were on a Princess Cruisetour to Alaska four years ago and it was totally spectacular. The Princess lodges were extremely nice. I have said many times since the cruise, that the land portion was my favorite part of Alaska.

 

I am sure RCCI would be equally as nice.

[gdisney]

Which cruisetour is the best if you're limited to 4 nights?

 

TIA! :)

 

Wait - stupid question - you do mean 4 nights for the land tour part alone, not including the cruise part, right?

[Barbiegator]

We also did Princess for alaska. I agree the land portion before we boarded was our favorite part of trip.Great to relax on ship after that.We like personal choice dining-wish RC would try it.

[Aprille]

We did an Alaska cruisetour with RCCL in 2005. I'll echo what others have said about their Princess' cruisetours - the land portion was the best part!

 

We had a great tourguide. We did a 5-night land package which included 2 nights in Denali. I would highly recommend 2 nights here to ensure you get the full-day tour into the park but I'm not sure any 4-night packages offer 2 nights in Denali. Although my understanding is that one night can get you the full tour depending on time of year (mid-summer months provide more daylight hours).

 

The other cities we visited were Anchorage, Talkeetna and Fairbanks. All the resorts we stayed at were fabulous.

 

We were on Vision as she was doing the north-and-southbound routes between Seward and Vancouver in 2005. We did Radiance northbound last year with no land package. Radiance is a great ship.

 

Serenade is doing roundtrips out of Vancouver, isn't she? If so, it would be difficult to tack on an Alaska land package. ;) Although I believe RCCL offers Canadian Rockies cruisetours from Vancouver. As far as I know Radiance is the only RCCL ship doing the north-and-southbound route and therefore the only ship you can add the Alaska land package to.

 

Whichever cruiseline you choose I would also recommend doing the land portion before the cruise. It was so nice to get on the ship and not have to unpack for 7 nights after running ourselves ragged on the land portion. LOL!

 

ETA: Feel free to check out my Alaska Trip Photos linked in my sig.

[negc]

We did our Alaska cruisetour several years ago with Princess and it was fabulous. At that time RCI was not as well established in Alaska. Since that time they seem to have created a very good land tour operation under the supervision of someone who held that job at Princess for a number of years. The next time we do an Alaska cruisetour, we will most likely try RCI since we think that their ships are ideally suited for anyone wanting to see the spectacular Alaskan scenery, and it would be interesting to compare the two. I don't believe you will go wrong whether you sail with Princess or Royal Caribbean in Alaska. Enjoy.

[Pusniski]

Yes, I was looking for at least 4 nights on land. I'm pushing DH for 5-7 days but we'll see.

 

I thought it would be best to do the land part afterwards because I have motion issues after cruising but I'll rethink that. You have point! The land part seems mighty busy - go, go, go.

 

Yes, I saw the Canadian Rockies one and that's not exactly what I was thinking about. I'm going through all the mounds of them now to sort through them. :rolleyes:

 

2 nights Denali - check! :D

 

I'll put the two itineraries side by side and see how they hash out. My DH is for Princess, but I'm not quite ready to eliminate RCCL.

 

I appreciate the insight! :)

[Aprille]

Pusniski - whichever cruiseline you choose I'm sure you will have a fabulous time! Alaska is such beautiful country.

 

It's true - they keep you VERY busy on the land portion. Plus you have to have your bags outside your room at the crack of dawn every morning to move on to the next city. We were very glad we did the land portion first as we were exhausted by the time we got to the ship. LOL! I really can't imagine doing it the other way around but there are some that swear by it. It is definitely a personal choice.

 

It appears by your sig that you have not cruised on RCCL yet. Is that right? Just thought I would add that if you do a 5-night land package with a 7-night cruise that makes the total 12 nights and you will get an extra C&A cruise credit. 11 nights or less is a single credit (unless staying in a JS or higher which is an additional credit - max 3 credits per cruise/cruisetour).

 

If you have any more specific questions, ask away.