Alaska - Princess or RCCL
 

Please give your expertise. Especially on the rail car trips and other land tours.
Considering 2008 trip. What type is better, inside passage? From Vancouver or Seattle?

I prefer the one way itineraries.

I also prefer HAL. The Princess ships on this route are too big for my taste.

Seward to Vancouver or vice versa is preferred. Hubbard Glacier is amazing.

If you referring to Interior Alaska touring. You can not leave from Seattle, it has to be Vancouver.

I too prefer HAL for Seward- but few people tour this gem and just pass through. :)

RCI does not do College fjords which is a must do on one way trips, again my opinion. :)

With the land tour- DO YOUR HOMEWORK, and understand FULLY what you are purchasing, most people do not. Descriptions are vague, factor out all transit times- they can be significant. And make sure your destinations are what you think they are and a priority for you. Meals are not included unless specified. The Natural History tour at Denali park is totally worthless in my opinion. :)

I haven't done HAL so I can't comment...

But between Princess and RCCL - Princess did a much better job in Alaska compared to Princess. RCCL was a disappointment in many different areas.

I agree about the one-way itineraries, because I think you miss half of Alaska by only going to Juneau, Skagway.

Princess and HAL have both been doing Alaska cruises for more than 50 years and really have the experience as an art form. Princess does have smaller ships that sail the northbound/southbound itineraries. I did a tour of one of the ships last year and it was very nice, with only about 1500 guests total.

Princess has a casual elegant style with brass, marble, teak wood and a Personal Choice dining option, where you can choose where, when and with whom to dine. Holland America is a more classic experience with fresh tropical flowers around every corner, original artwork and sculpture everywhere. The food and service are impeccable.

Both cruise lines are excellent and have options for all preferences. It is a matter of matching cruise line to your tastes.

Best Regards,
Julia

You need to consider personal preferences in terms of acitivities, formality, etc.

HAL and Celeberity are premium lines, no really large ships, more traditional and elegant, more adults (except in summer when all bets are off).

Nightlife in Alaska was quite subdued on my five cruises there.

I personally enjoy HAL and will be on the Noordam to Alaska in May 0f 2007, and the Westerdam in June of 2008.

HALs cabins and bedding are a step up from Princess in terms of luxury it that matters to; it does to me : )

kfusto - Princess is upgrading their bedding on all ships (all categories). Many of the ships have already been completed.

The Island Princess and Coral Princess are the same size as Celebrity's ships, but these ships go to Glacier Bay (and have 2 glacier days with College Fiords) verses on Celebrity which doesn't go there.

I understand about the bedding but the suites get the good stuff and the rest just ok stuff, so not all cabins are treated alike. Nothing compares to HALs bedding IME. And the size of the SS suites particularly are much nicer than Princess.

I also dislike Anytime Dining which is easy to get stuck with on Princess.

I think HAL is the best choice as Celebrity's azipod problems are a real issue.

I just booked Noordam for May 2007 and Westerdam for June 2008 to Alaska.

Kfusto: I did not know of problems with Princess inre to getting stuck w/ anytime dining. Our requested seating preferences have been met so how does it work? We have always requested seating well in advance of our sailing date. Is that the trick? What else have you seen? The more I know the better. :D BTW do you remember that other issue inre to our friends seating problem? Well their TA seemingly has set a record for bungling a task. He apologized for forgetting to cross reference them with us for dinner, then forgot to do it a second time! I called Princess about 7-10 days after he supposedly corrected the problem and unfortunately even then they were still wait listed for SECOND seating instead of being referenced with us for first. Unbelievable. Now they are 254 on the wait list so though I don't know how this sort of thing works it seems dubious to me now. Cheers, Larry :-)

Hi, Larry:)

As your friend has discovered, traditional dining on Princess is very often waitlist only. This always surprises me, as they tout Anytime as being superior, but their passengers obviously do not concur!

That is my point, as when I go to book clients who want traditional it is often unavailable. So there really is not a choice after all.

Sorry about your friends bad experience. I do hope it all works out in the end.

You apparently book early or at least early enough to have your preference confirmed.

My experience with open dining on mass market ships was not positive. For me, not getting late sitting confirmed is a deal breaker.

kfusto - I am not sure if you have sailed Princess recently but the regular rooms now have very nice sheets and duvets. From your posts, I am assuming you have not sailed them recently. The sheets and duvets equaled what has been in Princess Suites and Minisuites.

As far as Anytime dining - I am usually not a fan of them on regular cruises but in Alaska, it is awesome. There is plenty of evenings when you are in port late and it is nice to come and just have dinner. I have done 5 cruises with Princess to Alaska and have never had a wait. Because you are in ports late, there just isn't the wait times that there are in the Caribbean and other itineraries.

kfutso - I question some of your posts. It really doesn't sound like you are up to date with your information and you are providing inaccurate information.

You indicate that the Princess ships sailing the one way routes are too large for your taste but then say the Celebrity ships are great. 3 of the 5 Princess ships sailing one ways this year are the same size as the Millennium class or smaller (in the case of the Pacific Princess).

You also are not up to date with how well Anytime dining works in Alaska. I agree, it doesn't work well in the Caribbean but it works great in Alaska and Europe. Port intensive itineraries where people often don't return to the ship until later - it works great.

Lastly, Princess is upgrading their linens on all ships with the nice sheets and the duvets.

Maybe you should do some recent research before you criticize a cruise line.

Kfusto,
I talked to HAL just a couple of days ago and was told that Alaska 2008 booking will be open some time in May. How did you book your Westerdam cruise?

The only thing I can add is that when we booked this cruise more than 6 mos. in advance initially we too were well back on the wait list which I thought was odd. Then I learned from the TA, Costco in this case, that all this meant was that seating had not yet been assigned. This proved to be true. I would hope Princess or any other carrier would not try to impose its meal preference on the customers. There is something extra I think with the traditional dining experience, either first or second. We usually do second seating but chose first this time to suit our sleep pattern better. (Hey we're getting older. :D. We missed most of the shows on the Tahitian last August. Too sleepy after second seating dinner and all that food. :D) However I sort of think second seating is a bit preferred esp. in Europe.
My friends TA assures him they will clear the list for seating with us. However if that is not confirmed by the time final payment is due which for him is the end of this month then he will cancel. I'll keep you posted.
Take care, Larry :-)

Theresa, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but it remains just that, an opinion.

I have not "critized" Princess, I have simply pointed out difference which happen to be important to me personally.

My posts recommend HAL in Alaska, not Celebrity, also mentioning tha azipod issues that continue to affect the M class vessels of Celebrity.

I do enjoy the overall Celebrity experience, including the Aqua Spa cafe on many of their ships, the extensive room service options (not limited to suites as on Princess), the exceptional specialty restaurants and the Sommeliers onboard.

You are obviously a Princess fan and that is your perogative. The last Princess ship I was on was the CB 12 months ago for a TA event. I have had several invitatations to cruise with them but so far have not felt the desire to do so.

I consider myself well informed, and have cruised over a dozen times in the past three years on RCI, HAL, Celebrity, and a total of 111 times overall. I do ship inspections on a regular basis and have the highest level of certification available for TAs that specialize in cruises.

Since the information regarding the bedding being different in suites versus standard cabins came directly from my Princess regional manager, perhaps I should let him know that he is woefully misinformed as well:( That should amuse him.

Since you have not cruised with HAL, I imagine you cannot comment about their cabins, bedding or overall experience.

ROSWALT, I just contracted for a large group for June of 2008. You are correct that individual bookings are not yet open but keep checking back as HAL is a great choice, based on personal experience and 6 cruises to Alaska on various lines (NCL, RCI and Celebrity).

kfutso - I was stating facts that Princess has upgraded their bedding. It is apparent that you do not sail the line that often or do not keep up on what they are doing. Maybe it would be better to not comment on things you are not familiar with.

kfusto, you do seem to have a bias against Princess and I have also found some of your information not correct. If people don't point out the truth on this board, then mis information will be displayed. If you haven't sailed on the line to Alaska I am surprised you are making recommendations against a line. I really don't find you very credible.

I think there a difference between deliberate misinformation vs. differences of opinion. I don't always agree with everything that is said here and Kfusto and I don't agree on everything either but she, like anyone here has a right to her own preferences. I know, for example she is not a fan of Princess while I am. Conversely though I have not cruised with HAL and she likes them I wonder if that style would be good for us. Maybe, maybe not. I also like, from time to time, the glitz with the new mega-ships. Others whose "cruise teeth" were sharpened to more traditional styles find these ships horrid. To each their own. The bottom line is I know what I like and can accept it if others prefer something else. And vice versa. JM2C. Larry :-). Now off to the gym to shed a few pounds. I hope. :D

kfusto,
Just for the record - just so people do not think that yours is the only opinion to listen to - I disliked my HAL cruise to Alaska. The service was only adequate and the staff seemed glum. But I am not a cruise critic and perhaps they knew that you were and saw an advantage in pleasing you. I saw nothing special about their bedding at all. I rarely saw the steward, the food was ordinary - nothing special. However, No credit to them, the scenery was still breathtaking and I cannot wait to cruise Princess up there and fully enjoy the experience.

Marlong,
I would buy myself a copy of the Frommer's guide and plan my own tour after I got off the ship. We did and had a great follow-up week in Alaska on our own terms and timing. Denali was wonderful as were Seward and Fairbanks. Hopefully NOT a once in a lifetime experience but we want to see Antartica before we go back.

Have only done one Alaska cruise (but several other destinations) and that was on Celebrity Summit...and in general have good things to say about it. The cabins, staff, spa, spa food, private adult areas, shows, and ports were all top notch. The weakest area of this cruise was the food in the main dining room, which some nights was excellent and others only good to fair. The much balleyhooed lobster night was a really big flop...sent it back and dined on steak instead it was so bad. However, the good FAR eclipsed the dining room experience and I would go on Summit again with no hesitation. As far as our cruise, it was from Anchorage to Vancouver.