Princess v. RC to Alaska

[Outofhere]

Planning cruise to Alaska - just cruise, no cruisetour. Any input on which line. Also trying to decide on whether to do a roundtrip or one way. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Planning cruise to Alaska - just cruise, no cruisetour. Any input on which line. Also trying to decide on whether to do a roundtrip or one way. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

 

If you want to see Glacier bay you have to go with Princess as RCI is not allowed to go to Glacier Bay. They go to Hubbard Glacier instead which isn't a bad second choice.

 

I haven't done AlaskA YET BUT HAVE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH AND THINK A ONE WAY IS WHAT i WOULD DO. aIRFARE WOULD BE MUCH HIGHER THOUGH SINCE YOU NEED OPEN JAW TIX.

 

Bill

[mbleackl]

If you want to see Glacier bay you have to go with Princess as RCI is not allowed to go to Glacier Bay. They go to Hubbard Glacier instead which isn't a bad second choice.

 

I haven't done AlaskA YET BUT HAVE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH AND THINK A ONE WAY IS WHAT i WOULD DO. aIRFARE WOULD BE MUCH HIGHER THOUGH SINCE YOU NEED OPEN JAW TIX.

 

Bill

Why not back to back the cruise then? Get an extra 7 days. Sometimes the air is almost as expensive as the cruise>

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I wish! First I couldn't afford that plus I don't have that much vacation time.

 

I was booked on the Sapphire Princess for this year but the cost just kept escalating. After adding the open jaw tix and excursions for every day it got out of my price range. Didn't want to go all the way there and have to cheap out on things. Hopefully will go at a later date after I hit the powerball.:D

 

Bill

[Coral]

I have done Princess one ways 5x and 1 RT RCCL.

 

Princess on their one ways is so much better. While is more expensive to Anchorage, the cruise itself is often less on the one ways.

 

Doing B2Bs are an excellent option if you can get the time off. Hopefully if the weather doesn't cooperate on the first cruise, maybe it will be better the 2nd week.

[rebeccalouise]

If you are choosing between Radiance of the Seas and Sapphire- I've sailed both and I'd pick Sapphire. I was not impressed with Royal Caribbean. It is a a very generic cruise line in my view- nothing bad about it but nothing sophisticated and special either.

 

Although Sapphire wasn't my favorite ship- it is nice and there are many places to sit and take in the scenery. There is a nice outside promenade which Radiance lacks.

[suni]

We were on the Radiance to Alaksa August 2006 and it was fabulous. Stunning ship, good food and great itinerary. We did RT Vancouver. Alaska is an experience not to be missed!

[ssminnow]

I could take you on a special three hour tour!

[whale-watcher]

We chose princess over RC for alaska because (at least at the time) only princess had an onboard naturalist

[LEtue]

The OP lives in NYC so an open jaw airfare may not be that much more. Plus you can sometimes save enough doing a one way cruise itinerary to offset most of the airfare price difference.

 

Also, I have bought RT to Seattle and a one way to Anchorage - which works for a southbound sailing. Still have to transfer back to Seattle after the cruise but the saving can be substantial if you find a fare sale to Seattle. One way tickets on Alaska Air and Continental to Anchorage are in the $180 range.

 

Check the total cost of both itineraries and see what works best for you. I give the nod to Glacier Bay and as much inside passage cruising time as possible. Some of the RT from Seattle are just lacking in continuous scenery!

[OhioDogLover]

We did RT from Seattle on Diamond a few years ago. It was wonderful. We saw the glaciers, had an onboard naturalist, etc. I had thought it might be boring, but I could not have been more wrong. Everyone on the trip (we had a group of 13) had a wonderful time. Although I gather you miss things by not going through Vancouver, I strongly recommend the trip through Seattle. What a great vacation that was.

Ohiodoglover

[cindep]

I would choose Princess over RCL in Alaska if for no other reason than experience. Princess has the most ships and has been sailing Alaska for longer than RCL. I have found the Princess tours to be outstanding as Princess has spent a lot of money having their own buses in Alaska.

 

I've only done the Voyage of the Glaciers, but it is incredible. Lots of good suggestions on ways to make it affordable, although Alaska is never cheap. It is an experience you won't soon forget and will be anxious to repeat.

[qiangf2]

We chose princess over RC for alaska because (at least at the time) only princess had an onboard naturalist

 

That's one of the reasons I went with Princess. The one on Dawn princess last year was very good. he predicted to see abundant of whales 3 hours before we got there. Don't know how he did it though