Celebrity and Princess seem comparable in price for 7 day inside passage cruise to alaska. Has anyone used the Carnival cruise , (which is a bit less) and found it satisfactorily. We will be celebrating our golden anniversary and will be sailing July 2008

Never been on the Carnival Cruise but I see no reason why the cruise ship would not be satisfactory going through the Inside Passage and stopping at the regular ports.

Percy

Carnival cruises are also very nice and, by the way, Carnival is actually the owning company of Princess.

One thing you might want to consider is getting a balcony cabin for your Alaska cruise. I'm told that the views are truly marvelous from your very own balcony!!

my parents, who are very seasoned travelers and cruisers took Carnival to Alaska and are still raving about it. They thought it was the best cruise they have ever taken, and they have taken all the major lines.

They had a balconly cabin and said that was a must (if afforded) and a real plus.

They said that the clientle was very nice and everything about the cruise was incredible. When they got to the ports in Alaska, the ship had fish caught fresh from the locals and was served at dinner that night.

Overall, they said it was an upscale experience and they would do it again and do it on Carnival, and probably only Carnival.

BTW....my parents are 60, and traveled with their friends who loved it equally as much. Their friends are in their mid 60's.

We took the Diamond Princess on a 7-day Inside Passage trip last year. It was fabulous and the ship was beautiful.
I don't care for Carnival cruises at all. I think the food is inferior, and the decor of the ships are gaudy.
I find Princess to be consistently 'casually elegant'. We have taken take alot of cruises, and have gone on most of the big companies. Princess is our favorite, in the mid-range price category.
If $$ is no object, I prefer Crystal.

Actually we took the sister ship of the Diamond, the Sapphire Princess for Alaska and I truely loved that ship. She's a beaut and Princess tours w/i Alaska are very, very good. I would not be dissuaded about Carnival either. Recently here there was a discussion about CCl vs. RCI and as usual the Carnival bashers voiced their opinion which they are entitled to do. However I looked at cruise critic, totaled up all the reviews they had of CCL and of nearly 4000 passenger reviews the average score was 4.43. RCI averaged 4.44 so you can see there is no discernible difference using that data. What I would suggest is looking at www.cruisecritic.com for reviews of the specific ship(s) you are interested in using. You also may want to consider using HAL too. Congrats on you golden anniversary!

The itinerary might help decide, we're using Carnival next year because the itinerary is a little different. We took Princess about 7 years ago to Alaska and it was great. Took a Carnival to Halifax about 5 years ago and loved it too.

You may want to consider Holland America. (you know, The DAM SHIPS!) I have been twice on 2 different itineraries in Alaska 2 years apart and 2 European itineraries. The shore excursions were also good. Very very pleased.

Carnival has a very good reputation in Alaska.

The main thing I would look at is the ports and the glaciers. Make sure you are going to a major glacier such as Hubbard or Glacier Bay (my preference). I believe Carnival does Glacier Bay early in the season and then doesn't the rest of the time.

Look at the times in port to see if they are adequate.

I just spoke last night w/ two people who recently cruised Alaska with Carnival. They both gave ringing endorsements.

I have sailed on 5 lines in Alaska including Princess and Carnival. If you are thinking of Carnival and comparing it to nonAlaska sailings, they really are not valid. Passengers on Carnival to Alaska are similar to all others, middle aged and above the norm. They do an excellent job in Alaska- have a couple round trips begining/end of season that include Glacier Bay, and their one way trips have 4 ports and College Fjords, again a very nice itinerary.

Princess does a great job on their one ways, including College Fjords and Glacier Bay.

I do like HAL for Seward- definately worth a visit and do not miss a Kenai Fjords boat trip.

With any one way, I strongly suggest adding time for interior Alaska touring. Take advantage of being there. Independent is superior for the freedom to choose what is a priority for you and much less costly compared to the cruise tours. Very very easy to plan.