Celebrity or Princess
 

I'm going to Alaska in August 2008 with a land package to Denali and choosing between Celebrity Millenium or the Coral Princess.
Any suggestions?

We think Celebrity and Princess are equivalent in quality, each doing some things better than the other.

We choose Princess because of the anytime dining; we just prefer not to eat at the same time every evening(early seating is too early and late seating is too late) with the same people.

I would choose Princess in a heart beat on this trip. Princess has permits to Glacier Bay. Celebrity would love to have them but they do not. Princess has 2 glacier days on that trip (which is nice incase you can not get into one as I couldn't get into Hubbard on one trip). Also, Barbara is a top notch naturalist and she has been on the Coral Princess every summer since the ship came out.

Make sure you pick a land package with the Tundra Tour at Denali or if you don't - make sure you can upgrade to it.

Also - Celebrity has an intermittant problems with their MIllennium class ships and every summer they have to cancel at least one sailing and another sailing is greatly affected. If this truly is a once in a lifetime trip, I would probably avoid the Millennium class as Celebrity has very little notice when this problem surfaces.

You need to look over and determine which itinerary offers you what you want out of Alaska. :) Hubbard glacier is great and so is Hoonah, which is Celebrity, and Seward, for INDPENDENT tourist is a gem- sorry, but with a cruisetour, you are missing a fantastic opportunity.

Princess is fantastic in their itineraries with Glacier Bay and College Fjords, Celebrity essentially has a sea day.

Make a list and go with your priority.

As for the land tour, BE CERTAIN to understand fully EVERYTHING you are purchasing. MOST people do not. Do your homework, figure out distances, inclusions and again, what you think you want out of this touring. In my opinion, point to point fixed scheduled group touring is not ideal in Alaska.

As a consideration, it is simple to also go on your own, so compare and make those lists. :)

These are both nice sized ships and one thing to consider is if the itinerary weighs more heavily than the ship.

For me,the ship is really important. I like Celebrity for the traditional feel of their ships, their service, the Aqua Spa Cafe (my choice for lunch and dinner), their spacious gym and open decks, and the T pool.

I would hesitate with the Millie due to its history of pod problems though and you should visit cruisecritic and read about those before making a final decision.

Coral Priness will offer open dining and Millie does not.

Millie offer full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus served via room service, Princess does not unless you are in a suite (not even sure if it is very extensive then). In Alaska, we use room service a lot, due to the long days of light and the fantastic views from the balcony. We like to have breakfast in the cabin every morning and coffee and pastries does not constitute a healthy breakfast IMO.

IMO, cruisecritic is a better source on info so suggest you visit there.

Once again - personal preference - but I would go Celebrity. I took the Summit this year to Alaska, and I loved it. If you want a traditional cruise - go Celebrity (they go to Hubbard bay - gorgeous glaciers there, as well), if you want more casual - you would probably go Princess. I've been on the Coral Princess, it's okay, but I liked Celebrity alot better than I liked Princess - especially the service. I'm sure both are great...

Not to complicate your situation further, but I love princess! We have cruised on 3 of their ships for a total of 5 cruises(Grand P., Diamond P., and Coral - which I liked the least)
We have also travelled on Costa and Crystal (which is the best, but not always affordable!)
I love princess's approach with the anytime dining, superb service and great itineraries
We took their alaska cruise a few years ago and loved it

When I say I liked the Coral Princess the least it's because it's a smaller ship
I prefer the larger ships.
The Coral Princess was in excellent condition, we had a beautiful mini suite and the food was delicious.