Princess cruises; Alaska

[sabrecmc]

My family is booked for Alaska with DCL. I did a ton of research and comparisons and it came down to that I knew I would be devastated about pulling in to port seeing the Disney cruise ship and knowing I was not on it. In my opinion, I am a Disney lover and if there is a Disney option, I am taking it! We booked a secret porthole room to keep costs down and we couldn't be more thrilled. Keep doing your research, there are so many ways to see Alaska. How could any way be bad? It is a beautiful place. I can't wait to go!

This is us, too! I acknowledge that DCL doesn't have the best itinerary. It is very expensive. Leaving on a Tuesday is problematic. Blah, blah, blah. I still want to be on the Disney ship, lol! With a then 5-year old daughter in tow, the thing that makes it special is Disney. Otherwise, I probably couldn't justify dragging her off to Alaska! We're just...Disney people. I figure we'll have a blast no matter if we don't get to see the most bestest of the awesomest sites. I'm a Florida girl. Snow impresses me!

We're doing the repo from LA to Vancouver as well as the first Alaskan trip. We plan to go to Disneyland before the repo. For us, that combination just can't be beat!

[GrammieMame]

Will be taking 2 teenagers and I'm wondering if the other cruise lines, ie. Princess, have on board activities for children & teens? Are there many children on the other cruiselines?

[abdmom]

Princess, HAL, Celebrity, RCCL and CCL all have activities for children and teens. On our Alaskan cruise on Radiance of the Seas, there were about 400 children out of 2500 pax.

[budwmn]

Originally Posted by GrammieMame

Will be taking 2 teenagers and I'm wondering if the other cruise lines, ie. Princess, have on board activities for children & teens? Are there many children on the other cruiselines?

We took an Alaskan cruise on NCL's Pearl in August 2007 and there were plenty of kids on board. Surprisingly, my son liked the kid's program on NCL better than DCL. We're booking the same cruise again for August of 2010. It was fantastic.

[woody73]

Originally Posted by budwmn

We took an Alaskan cruise on NCL's Pearl in August 2007 and there were plenty of kids on board. . .

It was fantastic.

We were on the Norwegian Pearl for 14-nights in October and had a great time.

It's a newer ship (2006) with lots of nice amenities.

Woody

[NancyIL]

Based on Princess's April and May 2011 coastal and repositioning itineraries, I can figure out which ships will be in Alaska in 2011. It's similar to 2010, except the Star Princess will be back in Alaska after a summer in Europe in 2010, the Sapphire Princess will return to doing one-way cruises, and the Royal Princess is leaving Princess and joining P&O: http://www.princess.com/news/article...ticleId=na1067. The article says there will be one less ship in Alaska in 2011, but I think the number will remain the same as in 2010 - with the Royal Princess leaving and the Star Princess returning. My guess is that there will be no 14-night roundtrip cruises from Seattle, as that's what the smallest Princess ships have been doing since 2008. I can't tell you which ports and glaciers the roundtrips will go to, but I am relatively sure about the southbound itineraries - based on the one shown for the Diamond Princess.

Roundtrip cruises from Seattle

Star Princess - departs Saturdays beginning May 14
Golden Princess - departs Sundays beginning May 15

Roundtrip cruises from San Francisco

Sea Princess - arrives in San Francisco on Tuesday, May 10. The cruises from San Francisco are usually 10 days.

One-way cruises between Vancouver, BC and Whittier, Alaska

Island Princess - departs Mondays beginning May 16 from Vancouver
Coral Princess - departs Mondays beginning May 23 from Vancouver
Sapphire Princess - departs Saturdays beginning May 14 from Vancouver*
Diamond Princess - departs Saturdays beginning May 21 from Whittier*

*I don't know how the Sapphire and Diamond can both depart from Whittier on May 21 - so perhaps the Sapphire will be in dry dock for a week before beginning its first Alaska cruise.

The southbound Diamond Princess goes to Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan on it's repositioning cruise from Beijing to Vancouver (http://www.princess.com/pb/itinerary...finition_name=) - so I assume the other southbound one-ways will have the same itinerary.

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Originally Posted by NancyIL

Based on Princess's April and May 2011 coastal and repositioning itineraries, I can figure out which ships will be in Alaska in 2011. It's similar to 2010, except the Star Princess will be back in Alaska after a summer in Europe in 2010, the Sapphire Princess will return to doing one-way cruises, and the Royal Princess is leaving Princess and joining P&O: http://www.princess.com/news/article...ticleId=na1067. The article says there will be one less ship in Alaska in 2011, but I think the number will remain the same as in 2010 - with the Royal Princess leaving and the Star Princess returning. My guess is that there will be no 14-night roundtrip cruises from Seattle, as that's what the smallest Princess ships have been doing since 2008. I can't tell you which ports and glaciers the roundtrips will go to, but I am relatively sure about the southbound itineraries - based on the one shown for the Diamond Princess.

Roundtrip cruises from Seattle

Star Princess - departs Saturdays beginning May 14
Golden Princess - departs Sundays beginning May 15

Roundtrip cruises from San Francisco

Sea Princess - arrives in San Francisco on Tuesday, May 10. The cruises from San Francisco are usually 10 days.

One-way cruises between Vancouver, BC and Whittier, Alaska

Island Princess - departs Mondays beginning May 16 from Vancouver
Coral Princess - departs Mondays beginning May 23 from Vancouver
Sapphire Princess - departs Saturdays beginning May 14 from Vancouver*
Diamond Princess - departs Saturdays beginning May 21 from Whittier*

*I don't know how the Sapphire and Diamond can both depart from Whittier on May 21 - so perhaps the Sapphire will be in dry dock for a week before beginning its first Alaska cruise.

The southbound Diamond Princess goes to Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan on it's repositioning cruise from Beijing to Vancouver (http://www.princess.com/pb/itinerary...finition_name=) - so I assume the other southbound one-ways will have the same itinerary.

THANK's for information.

[woody73]

Originally Posted by NancyIL

Based on Princess's April and May 2011 coastal and repositioning itineraries, I can figure out which ships will be in Alaska in 2011. . .

Nice bit of information.

We'll be on the Sapphire Princess next month.

Woody

[NancyIL]

Originally Posted by woody73

Nice bit of information.

We'll be on the Sapphire Princess next month.

Woody

Maybe you can find out if the Sapphire has a drydock scheduled when it first arrives in Vancouver in May. (If so - it will probably be done in Victoria.) It doesn't make sense for the Sapphire and the Diamond to travel the same direction on the same days, as they alternated directions on the Alaska one-ways in the past. I suppose I could also ask about drydock plans on the Princess board at Cruise Critic!

[2littlestitches]

Hi guys!

We are currently booked on the DCL Alaskan cruise, but also having thoughts about switching to Princess. One bit of info that I can't seem to find anywhere in my research is if there are age limits on kids participating in the land tours through Princess. My kids are older, but my sister would be traveling with a toddler and I'm not sure if that would be allowed??? I may have to just call Princess with this question, but was wondering if any of you knew about younger kids and the land tours? Thanks so much for any info!

[mobopolo]

Not sure how much help I will be, other then I worked a summer at Kenai Princess Lodge. The excursions at the lodge have everything from horseback riding, river rafting, guided hiking (recommend since brown bears will go right up to the lodge) and fishing trips. I also lived for 18 yrs. on the Kenai (Keen-eye) Pennisula, 10 yrs. in Anchorage and now 6 years in the Mat-Su Valley. (Where they start the Iditarod race). I looked at the Disney cruise and was sad to see that they wouldn't be visiting what I think is the best parts of our State Oh well, I think they will slowly work their way into it in years to come. I would love to see a Disney Alaska themed Lodge Most of the cruisers that I saw, came into port in Seward, were brought by coach to the Kenai Princess Lodge, or some went by train on to Anchorage. Some stop at the ski resort at Mt. ALyeska(Ally-S-Ka) in Girdwood located on the Turnigan Arm (turn-again) Named from Captain Cook having to "turn again", after discovering it wasn't an inside passage he was hoping for. Then on up to Denali. Where Princess has, I believe 3 more Lodges to choose from. I personally love Talkeetna (Tal-keet-na) for is charm. I have only been to Mt. McKinley once as a child, as Alaskan's need to win a lottery ticket to get in. So cruisers have an advantage there. Everything is very spread out here, but you won't be disappointed by the views. I wouldn't venture to much off the beaten path, unless you are a very experienced outdoor person. Princess has their own dome cars and buses/coaches to get you around. Less stress I say, driving our road system can be very dangerous...lot's of weekend warriors trying to get to all the camping and fishing hot spots. I agree that starting down in Vancover or Seattle would be the best, and ending with a plane trip out of Anchorage. Either way, I hope you come visit our State, we would love to have you.

[NancyIL]

Originally Posted by mobopolo

Not sure how much help I will be, other then I worked a summer at Kenai Princess Lodge. The excursions at the lodge have everything from horseback riding, river rafting, guided hiking (recommend since brown bears will go right up to the lodge) and fishing trips. I also lived for 18 yrs. on the Kenai (Keen-eye) Pennisula, 10 yrs. in Anchorage and now 6 years in the Mat-Su Valley. (Where they start the Iditarod race). I looked at the Disney cruise and was sad to see that they wouldn't be visiting what I think is the best parts of our State Oh well, I think they will slowly work their way into it in years to come. I would love to see a Disney Alaska themed Lodge Most of the cruisers that I saw, came into port in Seward, were brought by coach to the Kenai Princess Lodge, or some went by train on to Anchorage. Some stop at the ski resort at Mt. ALyeska(Ally-S-Ka) in Girdwood located on the Turnigan Arm (turn-again) Named from Captain Cook having to "turn again", after discovering it wasn't an inside passage he was hoping for. Then on up to Denali. Where Princess has, I believe 3 more Lodges to choose from. I personally love Talkeetna (Tal-keet-na) for is charm. I have only been to Mt. McKinley once as a child, as Alaskan's need to win a lottery ticket to get in. So cruisers have an advantage there. Everything is very spread out here, but you won't be disappointed by the views. I wouldn't venture to much off the beaten path, unless you are a very experienced outdoor person. Princess has their own dome cars and buses/coaches to get you around. Less stress I say, driving our road system can be very dangerous...lot's of weekend warriors trying to get to all the camping and fishing hot spots. I agree that starting down in Vancover or Seattle would be the best, and ending with a plane trip out of Anchorage. Either way, I hope you come visit our State, we would love to have you.

Unless I am mistaken, ANYONE can book the shuttle bus into Denali National Park - EVEN Alaska residents! (http://www.reservedenali.com/) The lottery is for residents to DRIVE into the park in September.

You can see the interior of Alaska without doing so on a Princess bus or rail car! You can rent a car or RV and travel at your own pace. The majority of Princess's cruise tours do the Natural History Tour at Denali - which goes only to mile 17 of the park road. The Tundra Wilderness Tour goes to mile 53, and you can take a shuttle bus for much less money all the way to Kantishna (mile 91) if you'd like.

Three of Princess's lodges are in the middle of nowhere, requiring you to book their pricey activities. I have driven by the Kenai Princess Lodge and it's very pretty - but it's almost an hour from Seward. The McKinley Princess Lodge is 50 miles from the nearest town (Talkeetna). Princess wants to keep you in Princessland, just as WDW wants to keep you on their property by taking you from the airport to their resorts and back again!

[NancyIL]

Originally Posted by 2littlestitches

Hi guys!

We are currently booked on the DCL Alaskan cruise, but also having thoughts about switching to Princess. One bit of info that I can't seem to find anywhere in my research is if there are age limits on kids participating in the land tours through Princess. My kids are older, but my sister would be traveling with a toddler and I'm not sure if that would be allowed??? I may have to just call Princess with this question, but was wondering if any of you knew about younger kids and the land tours? Thanks so much for any info!

I would not subject a toddler to a cruise tour, nor would I subject the other tour participants to a toddler! If you want to do a tour with young kids, consider the ABD tour. As I said above, you can rent a car and see Alaska at your own pace.

[2littlestitches]

Originally Posted by NancyIL

I would not subject a toddler to a cruise tour, nor would I subject the other tour participants to a toddler! If you want to do a tour with young kids, consider the ABD tour. As I said above, you can rent a car and see Alaska at your own pace.

Just an FYI, I found out that cruisetours accept kids 6 months and up. Also ABD does have age restrictions that vary by trip, and usually it's no one under age 4.