Alaska Cruise / Princess Cruises - feedback?

[laura]

I am randomly considering a cruise to Alaska for our 5 yr anniversary. I am pondering Princess Cruises "Dawn Princess" merely b/c it departs on our actual anniversary and it is a 10-day RT from San Francisco which I think *may* help as a selling point to my delightful husband, as he hates to fly. Does anyone have any experience either w/ cruises to Alaska or Princess Cruises?

TIA! :)

[ruledbymercury]

I took an Alaskan Cruise on the Ocean Princess back in June/July of 2001 with my parents and siblings. We had a great time! It was my first cruise, so I was just in awe of everything...the decor, the layout and size of the ship, the food, the entertainment. We had awesome experiences in-port with our excursions as well. We took the Yukon train trek in Skagway, small seaplane ride in Juneau, and tour of the Totem museum and Totem Bight Park in Ketchikan, all arranged through the cruise line. My experience was very positive, so I'd say go for it!

[bethnjim]

We sail Princess and LOVE it!! We are also considering the Alaskan cruise for our 4th anniversary this summer because next summer will be baby time hopefully!!

[lovebugs2003]

We went on the Dawn Princess in January to the Mexican Riviera. We loved it, everyone was so nice and helpful. It wasn't a huge ship, but it was a perfect size. We will definitely sail with Princess again.

[Ferris]

We went on an Alaskan cruise on one of the Princess ships for our Honeymoon and LOVED it! It was so beautiful and relaxing.

The one thing we're glad we upgraded to was the viranda. You do a lot of cruising to look at the glaciers and it was nice to be able to sit by ourselves and and enjoy the scenery without tons of other people on the desks!

[Rosebud]

I would recommend reading reviews at cruisecritic.com. It's a very helpful site, with detailed info on the ship you're considering and reviews from cruisers who have sailed on that route. :)

[lovebugs2003]

I would definintely recommend the viranda, it was so nice to sit outside, have breakfast and just look at the view.

[ManteoChik]

I have been wanting to take a cruise for years but SO isn't that keen. He has said on many occaisons that the only cruise he'd want to do is an Alaskan cruise.

Question for those who have done it: What cruise line did you use? What time of year did you go?

[gumball]

I went on an Alaskan cruise this past August on Royal Caribbean and loved it. There was a group of 17 of us and everyone thought it was a great trip.

I've heard the best times to go are June, July, August and possibly early September due to the weather. The weather for our cruise was mostly sunny with rain a couple days which is pretty normal.

[vwinkel]

I went on a Princess cruise for my honeymoon 3 years ago and loved the fact that Princess allows you to eat at a table for two, restaurant style. In addition, they had anytime dining. From what I heard from other cruisers, they said other cruise lines don't offer that.

[krbb]

I am going on an Alaskan cruise this June. For those who have gone what was the weather like? Was it warm enough for shorts? Dress in layers? TIA!

[Boomer]

We cruised the Dawn Princess from Seward to Vancover in Sept 2001 (yes, we were on it on Sept 11) and loved it. I agree with the others that a veranda make the cruise much more enjoyable, especially when cruising the glaciers as you can sit in you cabin on the veranda and not on the deck with the others for 8 hours of cruising. We added 4 days on the beginning of the cruise and Princess booked all of that for us too in different lodges they own in Denali, etc.

It is one cruise both DH and I say we will do again and we have been on quite a few cruises.

[Lanapoo]

krbb - Expect all weather, except snow :p . Bring shorts, jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts. Be sure to bring a heavier windbreaker if you want to do any of the excursions that go to glaciers. In early June there is still a slight coolness in the breeze. I'll be wearing shorts in June but mostly I'll be wearing a lot of jeans or capris. July is really the hottest month in Alaska and that varies wildly depending on what part of AK you are in. If you're in the Fairbanks area temperatures can get into the 90s on a sunny day but if you are in the Anchorage area the temperatures are more like 70-75 due to our proximity to the ocean. But it's easily in the 60's on a cool breezy day too.

If you need any other information just let me know. I'm here ;)