Pacific Princess or Island Princess?

[Fern]

I'm really "between a rock and a hard place" ! I've been looking at Alaska cruises for at least 2 years.

We've decided on Princess because we've always loved our Princess cruises.

There are two choices; the first is the 14 day Pacific Princess cruise. We like the ports, but we don't like the size of the ship (too small, mid size ships are our favorites). We also don't like the size of the mini-suites (like balconies on other ships), and the assigned seating in the the dining room (we like Anytime Dining). We're thinking that this ship is really too small for our tastes, but the ports may make the difference.

The price of this cruise is also at our very outer limits !

The other choice is a B2B on Island Princess. We'd visit the same ports twice, but we think that we wouldn't have any trouble finding something to do in each port, twice. The price of the B2B is a little more than half of the 14 day cruise. It would be Anchorage to Anchorage, with a stop in Vancouver.

Opinions would be much appreciated!

[bonvoyaged]

How lucky to get to do two Alaska weeks! We cruised on the Island on it's 2nd voyage and loved that ship! We had a mini-suite w/balcony and I wouldn't cruise Alaska w/o a balcony. The mini-suites are only about $600/cabin more for 7 days and well worth it. If you will be on there for 2 weeks, you will appreciate the extra room in the bathroom, the closet and your sitting area. My favorite thing on the Island in Alaska was that the entire front deck has see-tru glass and there are no obstructions for viewing. For sure, you will find enough excursions in each port to make each port very different. We just booked the Sapphire for our 2nd Alaska cruise in July 2009 but would have loved to be on the Island but we couldn't coordinate our pre-cruise adventures with the Monday departure from Anchorage so went with the Sapphire. Hope this helps!
bonvoyage from
bonvoyaged!

[Fern]

Originally Posted by bonvoyaged

How lucky to get to do two Alaska weeks! We cruised on the Island on it's 2nd voyage and loved that ship! We had a mini-suite w/balcony and I wouldn't cruise Alaska w/o a balcony. The mini-suites are only about $600/cabin more for 7 days and well worth it. If you will be on there for 2 weeks, you will appreciate the extra room in the bathroom, the closet and your sitting area. My favorite thing on the Island in Alaska was that the entire front deck has see-tru glass and there are no obstructions for viewing. For sure, you will find enough excursions in each port to make each port very different. We just booked the Sapphire for our 2nd Alaska cruise in July 2009 but would have loved to be on the Island but we couldn't coordinate our pre-cruise adventures with the Monday departure from Anchorage so went with the Sapphire. Hope this helps!
bonvoyage from
bonvoyaged!

Thanks so much for your info! We also love the mini's . We'll be looking at booking for next summer .

[tanJarin]

the island princess is nice ship and I would choose that over the Pacific. I think it's sister ship to the Coral. Not sure about that but the Coral was nice.

[tanJarin]

the island princess is nice ship and I would choose that over the Pacific. I think it's sister ship to the Coral. Not sure about that but the Coral was nice.

[richstacy]

Island princess is higher rated. Have been on it. it is a beautiful ship

[Irish Shark]

Island Princess hands down.

[Fern]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I think we'll book the Island Princess . It's so nice to get opinions from people who've been there.

Who wants to go with us ?

[richstacy]

Me Me Me