travelinwifey

Hi folks, can anyone provide an opinion for me of which line you suggest for our Alaskan cruise? According to my research Princess is higher rated. We are in our 30's like good dining and entertainment options as well as the better accomodation. Thank You.

jelzie

Hi,

I am a cruise specialist travel agent and if you came into my office to see me...here is what I'd recommend.

All of the cruise lines are excellent for Alaska, but I don't think that you can really go wrong with either ship - both cruise lines have been doing Alaska for longer than any other cruise lines. If you like a more casually elegant atmosphere, you would probably enjoy Princess - their ships have lots of teak and marble, with a light, airy feel. Holland America is a more classic experience; the ships are smaller and feel more like the classic cruise lines of days gone by; the ships are filled with beautiful artwork and fresh flowers around every corner. Otherwise, prices are very similar, dining and entertainment reflects the different ambiance of the cruise lines. Really, I don't think you can go wrong with either cruise line - it is mostly a matter of your personal style.

Please let me know if I can offer any further assistance - I am very happy to help!

Best Regards,
Julia

travelinwifey

Thank you Julie, sounds like my thoughts leaning towards Princess were correct. The bigger ship thing is also important and I am a little prone to sea sickness. Thanks again for your response.

BudgetQueen

The routing on these Seattle departures have more outside passage sailing- so if you are prone to seasickness TAKE PRECAUTIONS. There is no guarantee of "smooth as glass" sailing and is actually a myth. I think the HAL ships are just supurb for deck viewing space and excellent service. But I would consider other factors too- time in ports, ports, glacier, routing, price. Be sure to budget for costly shore touring (I never book ship tours myself), you get only half a trip without them.

travelinwifey

Thanks BudgetQueen. I just returned from a 4 day cruise with the patch and felt significant nausea after I took the patch off the following day. I think it was the patch that made me sick. I was going to try the Alaska cruise without the patch but am now wary. Hubby did the cruise without the patch (for the first time) and wasn't sick at all. But the waters were still. We'll see.....

mikeim

Service is much better on HA. Nickle-and-diming on Princess is just unbelievable.

Theresa

I have sailed Princess and have not experienced any nickel and diming, not any more then any other line.

Both HAL and Princess are good lines. The Diamond Princess is a new ship and people haven't sailed her before. I think you will find more younger people. Also, Princess has Personal Choice dining in which you can eat in the dining room at any time which is great for Alaska.

I would go by the iteniary of each ship and choose accordingly.

BudgetQueen

My opinion only but a costly cruise is not the place to try out and see if you get ill. You don't want to miss a minute. Consider Bonine?? Once a day and plenty of good results with people. If prone to drowsiness, take it at night. Another combination is to take 1/2 a pill twice a day. Several "fine tuning" options available. As I mentioned- smooth Alaska sailing is a myth- 3 out of 10 of my Alaska cruises encountered very rough sailing (one trip lasting 3 days of it). All those rough sailings were also round trips.

travelinwifey

Thanks for the responses. I was curious about the "nickel and diming" comment also.
Regarding sea sickness, I am going to try a 1/2 patch and bring extra. We pretty much decided on the Diamond Princess because we just saw it is a new ship. It is 100,000 tons, hopefully that will also help with the rocking.