All right Liners, my in laws are going on a cruise to Alaska next summer. Which cruise lines should they favor and which should they avoid? The ones they are looking at are Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean.
They turned to me for recommendations given my connections to the travel community. They are not experienced cruisers, though I think they’ve been on one or two in their time.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Do they want one way or round trip?
We went on Royal Carribean to Alaska 5 years ago. It was just okay, but the year before we had been on the Dream, so it was always going to come in second. The food was good, but the entertainment was lacking. The excursions were good through them. The things we didn’t like would probably not bother them. We felt like we were not the target age (we were 42 & 44 then and felt like we were 20 years below the target). There wasn’t much for the kids. They wouldn’t open the climbing wall except for one day (the last full day).
We did Holland America and they were fantastic. I loved it and would totally do it again. Fantastic service and attention to detail. Great food. We took the bus from the boat to Anchorage on the last day and wish we had taken the train.
They were originally looking at one way but may end up doing round trip depending on the economics.
Those 3 cruise lines are really different in cruise line “personality.” I have yet to be on my first cruise, as it has been delayed from 2020 to 21 and now 22, but I have done a lot of research. Basically, Holland America seems to be known for being for older people and is very traditional (as in, traditional cruising). Princess is very elegant and (from most accounts) has great food. Royal Caribbean has huge ships with a ton of stuff to do (such as bumper cars and robot bartenders) and caters more to a younger crowd. There is a lot of info out there on what different cruise lines are like; a quick search on you tube would lead to several videos discussing this. I chose Princess to Alaska for my cruise, which I’m going on solo. But I would have chosen something else for my family, probably Royal C or DCL. I don’t think any of the 3 you named would be “to avoid,” it’s just a case of what type of experience they want. One of the big selling points to me for Alaska is that Princess will go on the Inside Passage. I’m not completely sure, but I think the Royal C ships would be too large for that. I also wanted to go by Glacier Bay, which is something you do staying on your ship; you watch from the ship. Another good resource is Cruise Critic website. If you go to “boards” and then look at specific locations or ships it will give you these TP type things for cruises. Oh, and if it matters, like for points accrued from other cruises etc., both Holland America and Princess are owned by Carnival. Royal C is a different company (just called Royal Caribbean).
They will probably be more interested in food than entertainment. To the extent they do watch shows, they will want something wholesome and clean.
We did a one way, flew to Anchorage (and cruise boarded in Seward), and then ended up in Vancouver, BC. My DH wanted a one way because it had 4 port days and only 2 at sea days (7 night cruise). That part we liked, as the 2 sea days were long without much to do, I wouldn’t have wanted a 3rd day which some of the Seattle round trips had.
It was wholesome and clean, the acts they had were great for the 60’s crowd (just weren’t of interest to us).
That’s them! Lol
I enjoyed Royal Caribbean much more than Holland America. HAL was BORING. (And I am not one who needs slides and flow riders and whatnot.) The crowd on HAL is much older.
Holland American was definitely older people. DH and I were on our honeymoon (20 years ago) and we were the youngest by far. I was 26 and DH was 30. We were never bored. I’d call it low key. It was our first cruise. We enjoyed sitting on the deck with a blanket and hot chocolate watching the whales. We did excursions and explored each city we stopped in. I liked the slower pace. @JJT I would assume your in-laws would be age most of the travelers were on Holland America.
We haven’t gone yet, but are sailing one way (northbound) on the Sapphire Princess next summer! I’m super excited 
Since we are doing an Alaskan cruise more for Alaska than the cruise itself, we didn’t want to spend a ton on the cruise itself. Princess had the cheapest options and itineraries we liked.
There are so many things to consider for Alaska cruises. Round trip vs one-way? Based out of Seattle or Vancouver? Does the itinerary go to Glacier Bay or not (and does it matter to you?)?
Princess and Holland America are the two biggest Alaska cruise operators, meaning they have more ships so more choices, and they have more “slots” to go to Glacier Bay (not every ship gets to go there, and have to do other glacier areas).
We did a cruisetour on RCL Radiance of the Seas (almost as big as the Disney Magic), starting from Vancouver. A 7 night northbound cruise was followed by 5 nights on land, going to Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks. We had a wonderful time! Alaska is not a place for the RCL Oasis-class behemoths. We chose RCL because that’s who we usually sail with (cost, features, loyalty program, a Visa rewards card). We splurged by choosing a one-way with a land tour, in order to do a lot of Alaska, not just the southeast “Inside Passage” region.
Roundtrips make it easier/less expensive for airfare. Ones that start in Vancouver go through more of the Inside Passage (which has smoother water, more like a river cruise). Ones that start in Seattle tend to spend more time in the open ocean water and stop at places like Victoria on Vancouver Island to meet the “go to a foreign country” requirement of US cabotage laws (modified this year due to Covid so they could do Alaska cruises and stay out of Canada).
The focus on an Alaska cruise is Alaska (land and sea), not the food, entertainment, nor activities. Dress is more casual. Spend your luggage space on layers, not formal wear. When in port, go on excursions that really let you see and experience the place - glacier viewing, whale watching, scenic train ride at Skagway, walking along the narrow old mining-town section of Ketchikan, etc. We enjoyed having a balcony on our starboard cabin, so we could face the shore more than open ocean once we were beyond the Inner Passage. Bring binoculars! In fact, bring a pair for each of you.
We had a great time, with near-perfect weather (usually it’s too damp/cool/misty). We had good, clear views of Denali over 3 days, which is often hidden in clouds. We saw pods of whales “bubble feeding,”
On the one hand, we’d love to go back. But on the other hand, we had such a perfect trip that we’d hate to go back and have a crummy one due to weather or animals not cooperating.
They all do the Inside Passage, which is very big. That’s where all the ports of Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Glacier Bay are located. Also, RCL has ships of several different sizes, and does not use their biggest ones there.
I had a feeling I was not getting it 100% correct, thanks. All of my Alaska cruise research was in fall of 2019. When I finally get to go it will seem like a miracle.
I highly recommend “Alaska by Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Cruising Alaska,” by Anne Vipond. See if your local library has it, if you don’t want to buy it - yet.
I was awake 3:00 AM and spent more time thinking about this than I should.
If I were to take an Alaskan cruise right now I would start with Princess and HAL and look at dates and prices. If I found something I was happy with I would just book that and be done. Yes, I am a research/liner-type, but I think there are some parallels between this kind of cruise and the once-off Disney visitor. You can’t see it all, do it all, or know it all about WDW any more than a once ever cruise is going to let you do ALL there is in Alaskan cruising.
I don’t think you can go wrong with HAL or Princess. You can probably have an extremely wonderful time with any of the lines, TBH. If you want to feel like you ruled some lines out, then stick to one of the two that get the highest marks, and feel slightly “safe” that you didn’t try one of the other ones.
I have done two Princess cruises in the Caribbean with mom friends. The entertainment has been -meh-, but IME the entertainment on any cruise ship is rather -meh-, outside of DCL. And my husband and son would also rank DCL entertainment as -meh-. I’m not sure too many people rate “cruise ship entertainment” as their reason for booking any cruise. I’m sure someone will point out if I am wrong.
Princess food was excellent IMO. And I had great service, as well. I’d go back to Princess in a heartbeat.
I did know exactly what you meant. My original first post I did say something along the lines that two lines had greater privileges than others. I thought it was something about the passageway too. I now see it is regarding docking in Glacier Bay. Thanks for correcting @mkmuzzy.
I suspect it’ll be out of their price range given the three lines they’re already looking at but I took my aunt on Silverseas a few years ago. It’s kind of like the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton of cruising. The service was impeccable. Food was outstanding. Excursions were interesting and relatively small. Seeing our ship docked near the big lines helped me appreciate how much more intimate it was. If they are able or willing to up their budget a bit, I’d look at it for sure.
Is RCL sailing two ships again? I think my answer to this question would depend on itinerary (larger ships cannot go to the same places as smaller ships) and ship.