Alaskan cruises questions?

[dixie]

We have been to Alaska but are thinking of taking a cruise next summer. Sure would like to know your favorite intineraries, ships line, and which month etc?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Passepartout]

We just did one in late August. I have taken two on Holland America. I like them because they- and I think Princess- have access to Glacier Bay. As far as I am concerned THAT's the only difference. Otherwise, it's docking in small towns with other cruise ships and disgorging 10,000 passengers a day to prowl the dockside jewelry and T-shirt shops. You have to work to get an 'Alaska' experience. There are some smaller ships that go to smaller port towns, so it's up to you to decide what type of experience you want.

But as to time/cruise line recommends, I'd go with either Holland America or Princess in July or August. No earlier than mid-June and they quit running in Sept. and move the ships to Mexico/Caribbean.

Jim

 

[lvhmbh]

Have you checked out cruisecritic.com. It is very good and you can get the flavor of the different lines and also check out Alaska under the ports section of the boards. As was already mentioned, it seems you have to work at Alaska or you end up wandering around with all the other people. If I ever go I want to go to Mendenhal (sp?) Glacier and do the dogsledding. You go up by helicopter. Linda
Oh yes, I second HAL from what I've heard re Alaska. It is a good line (check out the ships on cruisecritic as that DOES make a difference) and if you go to the Holland America board you'll also see what people are saying re the ship they took. Linda

 

[brigechols]

There is a cruising Tuggers thread and I believe it's in the Tug Lounge. You may obtain more answers from those Tuggers. We are taking an Alaskan cruise next summer on a Norwegian ship. Did not conduct a great deal of research. Needed to cruise out of Seattle and wanted to go with a previously experienced cruise line. I did check out cruise critic and the family vacation websites. Princess and Holland receive great reviews but we have no prior experience with either line.

 

[Passepartout]

We are taking an Alaskan cruise next summer on a Norwegian ship. Did not conduct a great deal of research. Needed to cruise out of Seattle and wanted to go with a previously experienced cruise line. I did check out cruise critic and the family vacation websites. Princess and Holland receive great reviews but we have no prior experience with either line.

NCL doesn't go to Glacier Bay- imo, the single best thing about an Alaska cruise. It will cost extra to go to Mendenhall Glacier, as it's receded so far above Juneau. I think that some research- even reading a few CruiseCritic.com reviews will ensure a better experience. Loyalty programs for returning guests are one thing. Positive reviews are something else.

Between my DW and myself, we've cruised on at least 8 lines- give us the discount instead of loyalty perks and trinkets. Each cruise line sort of 'specializes' in a geographical area. HA has the most Alaska experience.

Jim

 

[lvhmbh]

I agree - we go for the itinerary and then the cruise line. We are going on HAL Noordam over Christmas. I wanted to try Regent (we've done Royal Carib, QMII, HAL, Celebrity and Crystal previously) but couldn't find an itinerary that matched the time we could be away. Lots of people love Noordam on the HAL board (I like that board because you will get the negatives from them too as they aren't all "cheerleaders" for ALL the ships. Linda

 

[BillandSusan]

We are going to Alaska next year on Norwegian from Seattle, WA. The Ports included are Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, Ketchikan, Victoria, BC, Canada. Norwegian is more laid back than some of the other cruise lines. There are no formal seatings for dinner, etc. Also, they are the only union run cruise line and you're eligible for a discount if you're a union member.

 

[Paumavista]

Princess from Whittier

Well I did TONS of research on Cruisecritic, Tripadvisor, and anywhere else I could google or write to. We chose Princess one way from Whittier to Vancouver and flew in a few days early (wish we could have had more time before the cruise but we were working full time as well as cost being a factor). We went the last week in May and the weather was perfect (warmer than we expected) and the days were LONG (which we took advantage of). We were traveling with 3 of the kids (10,11 & 20). We used VRBO to rent a condo in Alyeska as our base (we had to choose between exploring the Kenai area & around Anchorage or going up to Denali - we chose Kenai - Great choice! - we felt like Denali would be a one shot deal & Kenai/Anchorage offered more options. We rented a van but wanted to experience the train so returned the van back to Anchorage the morning of the cruise and took the train down to Whittier. We rented a car at each port for exploring on our own (easy and absolutely the best bang for our buck). I would not do another thing differently (except arrive earlier and spend more time in Vancouver at the end) A perfect trip!!
Judy
ps - Princess upgraded us the day before sailing from a balcony & interior to a Balcony Family Suite (2 bedrooms/2 baths, living room & huge balcony)

 

[marmite]

If you have kids going with you, then Disney -- there is no other choice. And if not, then anything BUT Disney!

I went in May from Vancouver (the pier is literally a 5 minute walk from my office building), it was still REALLY cold in the evening on deck but mostly sunny days (you still needed a jacket and blanket though if you wanted to sit outside for very long). If I had to do it again, I would choose the peak of Summer -- the warmer the better. Vancouver and Seattle are both great in the Summer too, if you have a few days before or after your cruise.

As others have said, cruisecritic is great. Even within some of the great cruise lines there are crummy ships. Pick a great ship and most things will fall into place. Have a great time.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Dixie if you are also interested in doing a land tour (either do-it-yourself or through the cruise line) and Denali Nat'l Park is on your to do list, you will need to plan around that as they do not fully open until I believe the first or second week of June.

For the same reason, be careful with your dates & itinerary in September as some services also stop running around the 15th of the month. There were a number of cruise people on my flight into Fairbanks two weeks ago who were very disappointed in the amount of tourist attractions already closed for the season.

Someone else suggested checking out Cruise Critic and also mentioned that Trip Advisor is a good resource for input. There is an entire "Top Questions" section for those interested in Alaskan cruises. Additionally, you will get some great info on how to plan for your own land tour w/o using the expensive cruise line options.

 

[beejaybee]

NCL doesn't go to Glacier Bay- imo, the single best thing about an Alaska cruise. Jim

We are going to Alaska next year on Norwegian from Seattle, WA. The Ports included are Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, Ketchikan, Victoria, BC, Canada. Norwegian is more laid back than some of the other cruise lines. There are no formal seatings for dinner, etc. Also, they are the only union run cruise line and you're eligible for a discount if you're a union member.

The NCL Pearl out of Seattle went to Glacier Bay when we cruised with them in '08 and I would agree with Bill and Susan that it is still on their itinerary.

That was our 1st cruise and the freestyle worked fine for our large group; however, we've since sailed Celebrity and that has become our cruiseline of choice with 2 upcoming cruises booked with them. Celeb's Select dining allows for your choice of dining times and, if you don't care to dress up for their scheduled formal nites, you can wear smart casual to one of their xtra fee specialty restaurants.