Any opinions on how well Princess does Alaska? Considering a late May (how's the weather at that time of year?)cruise on the Coral Princess Northbound from Vancouver to Whittier. They cruise Glacier Bay and College Fjord. Which side of the ship is best for viewing?

We cruised Alaska with them last Aug. on the Sapphire Princess which is a new ship. All went very well. We also did all of our excursions thru them as well and they were very well organized, on time and all in all we were very pleased. Any questions? Larry

My mother, older brother and I did a lang/cruise with Princess in May '05 and it was great. We were on the port side of the ship and had a balcony which I recommend. There were a few times when the starboard side (we cruised southboud) enjoyed better scenery but I really don't think it is a big issue. Our weather was great- warm in Glacier Bay (we had bought wind pants and jackets and never used them). Had drizzly rain in Ketchikan but never had 'cold' weather- and this is coming from a Floridian. Our naturalist (Barbara) was fabulous in her cultural, historical, environmental and biological knowledge. We spent a lot of time outside of our cabin and even ate dinner at the buffet instead of the dining room so as to whale watch- always had our binoculars with us. Enjoy! It was a great trip for us!

I have sailed the Coral Princess to Alaska and it is a fantastic trip (and ship). Barbara was also our natrualist and she is awesome.

You are going to want to be on the land side - so that would be starboard on Northbound trips. But if you can't get that - it isn't that big of a deal.

IF you plan on only viewing your glaciers from your balcony, then you will want the port side for Glacier Bay and College Fjords. No glacier views on the way into either and all the commentary and stops are then. But frankly, the best place of all for viewing is from a front deck, so do try and get out there at least part of the trip.

BudgetQueen: How are the views sailing up between Vancouver and Whittier? Is there a preferable side of the ship?

There are views on a good portion of the Vancouver/Whittier sailing. BUT a key issue for you to determine- are you going to go out on deck during your sailing of Glacier Bay and College Fjords??? If not, then you may want to consider a port side balcony since that is where all the viewing is on the way in with the commentary. Otherwise, it won't matter much. Pluses to each side.

Princess and HAL are the leaders in Alaska and control Glacier Bay permits. I was also on the Coral and Barbara is a great naturalist. The coral is a great ship

Carnival goes to Glacier Bay on 3-4 sailings in May and Sept. and NCL has Glacier Bay permits.