Which ship to Alaska?

[Chesie]

I have been looking on the various threads and in need of help. We have only taken one cruise on Princess (Grand) last October and had the mini suite on Emerald last one starboard with the extra wrap balcony.

 

We are planning Alaska next year and notice there are 4 ships. Diamond/Sapphire and Coral/Island. It seems D/S are larger ships? Looking for fully covered balcony.

 

Would appreciate input on which ship would be the best and why.

 

Thank you!

 

Spring is here!! YEAH!!

[jhannah]

I like the slightly smaller Coral/Island. You can click here for a website that will show you which balconies are covered, partially covered, and uncovered. You'll then know what to ask your TA for.

[spongerob]

Be sure to compare itineraries, also. Some cruises are one-way Vanouver to Whittier and some are round-trips from Seattle. There would obviously be a great difference in the travel arrangements you would have to make.

[Ken076]

Many prefer Coral/Island because they're smaller & more intimate - they are somewhat larger than most 2000 PAX ships. We prefer the larger ships for 7-day cruises as there are more Restaurant/Lounge opportunities and we tend to get bored with the smaller ship after about 5-days. I don't believe you'd go wrong choosing either. In Alaska you'd probably prefer covered balcony in case of rain while glacier viewing. ken

[RickEk]

Don't forget the Pacific Princess which is sailing a 14 day roundtrip itinerary out of Seattle. She goes to many smaller ports. And she has covered balconies. Also the Sea Princess is doing a 10 day roundtrip itinerary out of San Francisco and her balconies are also covered...

[mr green]

All other things being equal, Coral or Island in my opinion are the better ships, far less crowded.

 

john

[robin6666]

My DH and I did an Alaska Cruise last year. We chose the Coral, as we had been on her before for a Panama Canal Cruise.....and she is our favorite ship. We had a Caribbe balcony which was perfect I thought. Half covered.....half in the sun. It was perfect for our cruise as we were able to enjoy many days of sun. Our favorite day was Glacier Bay....as we spent the entire day on our balcony. Even ordered room service for lunch and dinner as we didn't want to miss anything.

[Grego]

Don't forget the Pacific Princess which is sailing a 14 day roundtrip itinerary out of Seattle. She goes to many smaller ports. And she has covered balconies. Also the Sea Princess is doing a 10 day roundtrip itinerary out of San Francisco and her balconies are also covered...

 

Glad you mentioned that because we were on the Tahitian Princess last August and loved the smaller ship with it's different itinerary and the balcony was great. To me, if you are just wanting a cruise that hits 9 ports of which some other ships can't get to, take the smaller Pacific ship.

[sailor602]

We've also heard the smaller ships are more intimate; however when we went as newbies we were on the Diamond. You can see pictures at my webshots account below. We enjoyed the ship immensely.

[Eaglecw]

Somehow we got hooked on cruising up to Alaska, this will be our 5th cruise to Alaska. Every cruise is a little different. The first cruise we were on Holland America Oosterdam and we’ve been hooked ever since. So far we’ve been on the Celebrity Mercury, Princess Golden and the Star. They have all been wonderful. This year we are going on the Pacific Princess, it’s a small ship (670 passengers)that goes to some of the places that I’ve never been to in Alaska.

[msmoger]

We've also heard the smaller ships are more intimate; however when we went as newbies we were on the Diamond. You can see pictures at my webshots account below. We enjoyed the ship immensely.

 

I'll second that!! :D:D This was our first cruise and we loved the Diamond. It never seemed crowded and the service (our Steward Jun was Great), cabin (Caribe BA Balcony), and anytime dining experience were perfect. We loved Sabatini's. The Sterling Steakhouse was excellent except for the steak :rolleyes:. But seriously folks, I think you can't go wrong with whichever ship you choose. Did I mention that Alaska is INCREDIBLE!!! :D:):D

[tweety522]

Somehow we got hooked on cruising up to Alaska, this will be our 5th cruise to Alaska. Every cruise is a little different. The first cruise we were on Holland America Oosterdam and we’ve been hooked ever since. So far we’ve been on the Celebrity Mercury, Princess Golden and the Star. They have all been wonderful. This year we are going on the Pacific Princess, it’s a small ship (670 passengers)that goes to some of the places that I’ve never been to in Alaska.

 

What months have you gone to Alaska?? Ever in Sept??

[packercruising]

We just booked Island Princess for August because that was what was available. The comments I have read seem to favor the smaller ships but there seems to be a high level of satisfaction so I guess it would depend a lot on your personal preferences.

[Chesie]

I'd like to thank everyone for your comments and thoughts. It helps narrow things down. Does anyone know when the 2010 schedules come out?

[packercruising]

Does anyone have an idea in the approximate difference in price between a mini and a suite. It isn't listed in the brochures or online.

[Eaglecw]

Tweety522

The first year we went we went in June and about froze to death. I think the best time to go is in September. The weather is pretty nice at that time of the year. But you can still get into some bad weather so be prepared for just about any type weather. Last year we got rained on in Juneau and the rest of the trip the weather was great.

 

Packercruising

I don’t think you can go wrong on a smaller ship in August.

[LoveSanibel]

We were on the Sapphire in early June a few years ago and had spectacular weather. It was chilly on the College Fjord day(misty and in the upper 40's) but we are from Chicago and were prepared. Layers are a must and the fitted under armour gear was a great first layer. Kept us all very comfortable. The rest of the trip was very pleasant weather wise. A sprinkle here and there but that was it. And no one got even one mosquito bite. Could not have been better.

 

We love the Sapphire (have sailed on her once to Mexico and once to Alaska). Loved everything about the ship and both trips.

[artsy-girl]

We loved the Sapphire from Anchorage (Whittier) to Vancouver so much, that we did it two years in a row! Great ship and great ports!

[Putterdude]

I would be torn between the Coral/Island and the Diamond/Sapphire...as much as we loved the Coral in January...the Diamond is probably still our favourite for the extra ammenities it offers. We didn't feel that she felt crowded and the flow of people within the public areas was better.

[jenlparkins@hotmail.com]

hi the first thing to do is look at the diff deck plans and each ship is differant. most of the ships willhave at least 2 decks with covered balconies except the smaller ships. pros and cons to each kind of ship, the larger ships, carr, crown ruby and the grand are the largest they have features that the small ships dont have, yet the small ships have an intimite feel. so i think most of it is on personal preferance. i have been on the golden a couple of times and i have my next cruise on the sapp. i know the ships lay out pretty well since it is my job to know them. but before you book either with a ta or direct know the ship you want first, find out were the dining rooms are and ect it does help determining were to pick your cabin.

[riteonglor]

I have been looking on the various threads and in need of help. We have only taken one cruise on Princess (Grand) last October and had the mini suite on Emerald last one starboard with the extra wrap balcony.

 

We are planning Alaska next year and notice there are 4 ships. Diamond/Sapphire and Coral/Island. It seems D/S are larger ships? Looking for fully covered balcony.

 

Would appreciate input on which ship would be the best and why.

 

Thank you!

 

Spring is here!! YEAH!!

We were on the Sapphire to Alaska 2 years ago, great ship. Just got off Coral a month ago, Panama Canal cruise. I was under the impression that the Coral was way smaller due to the fact its quite a few less passengers. Yet, when we walked from the front to the back of the ship, I kept telling my DH it felt like it was a way longer walk then on the Sapphire. But the hallways were not as wide as Sapphire.

We got to meet the Captain of the ship and I commented to him, "for a smaller ship it felt longer when we walked fron our aft cabin all the way to the front for the buffet." He smilled and said, "that because it is longer then the Sapphire but not quite as wide. Less people so less crowded feeling, your gaining more sq feet per person." No wonder we felt like we had way more room on the ship. Shappire's length is 952 and Coral length is 965. It is a great ship, also, actually I liked it better then Sapphire.

[Grego]

It just gets down to what you want to see and where you want to go. If you want something really different, then do the smaller ship with the addtional ports she can get into. If you don't care and you like what the bigger ships offer then choose one of those.

 

What we found is that we spend most of the time off the ship seeing what we went to Alaska for, so it really isn't that important as to size of cabin or balcony unless you plan on staying on the ship.