Glacier Glut - Best Ice?

I read a recent post discussing the merits of Glacier Bay vs. Tracey Arm.

What about Hubbard Glacier? It was not mentioned in recent posts.

My preference is to sail with Royal Carib rather than HAL or Princess based on past experience (plus they are higher priced). This cruise (Radiance) hits the Hubbard.

Comments appreciated.

It is "different". Are you going to go with another line if you read enough to convince you? :) Mine or anyone elses preferences don't mean much to anonymous message board. EACH area is very worthwhile to see, which ever one is chosen you are missing multiple others. You are going to get claims- of "must dos"

Have you researched Hoonah? AND determined, if you wish to go there, and what activities you would do there? That is a big difference with your itinerary. Are you spending time in Seward? Adding time for mainland touring? Are you interested in seeing glaciers?

A LOT of compromises involved.

Each Glacier is interesting to see and if you are like many of us after you visit Alaska you will want to return.

In the end I would sail the cruise line/ship you prefer if you are happy with the itinerary.

Keith

Thanks Budget Queen & Keith.

Actually, have not looked at all into port touring options.

If (enough) someones thought that a particular itinerary was inferior - yes, I would consider a change of cruise line.

Current plan was to do a 4 day land extension with RCCL, which heads through to Denali on day one (zipping thru Seward and Anchorage). Two nights in Denali, then train to Fairbanks for 2 nights. They include a Denali tour, a Fairbanks tour and a gold panning tour and riverboat ride in Fairbanks.

Not likely that we will visit any glaciers directly (as in landing upon), though I do find them interesting.

Thanks Budget Queen & Keith.

 

Actually, have not looked at all into port touring options.

If (enough) someones thought that a particular itinerary was inferior - yes, I would consider a change of cruise line.

 

Current plan was to do a 4 day land extension with RCCL, which heads through to Denali on day one (zipping thru Seward and Anchorage). Two nights in Denali, then train to Fairbanks for 2 nights. They include a Denali tour, a Fairbanks tour and a gold panning tour and riverboat ride in Fairbanks.

 

Not likely that we will visit any glaciers directly (as in landing upon), though I do find them interesting.

All Alaska cruises get rave reviews. :) Simply several alternatives, but ALL sail inside passage, which is a highlight.

As I already mentioned- in my opinion, it is imperative- that you find out about the ports you are going- and IF you want to go there? A significant factor is the touring, what you want to see and do.

What is "inferior" in my opinion- is your cruisetour choice, big problem with it being too short . A marginal plus- the Tundra Wilderness tour, which I assume is included. Alaska isn't a place to see it from the road, and you are missing out completely on, Seward, Talkeetna, Girdwood and Anchorage. (which are on some RCI tours)- add to the mix- the jackpot of glacier sightseeing- PWS out of Whittier. Another big -miss. And have you already determined- you are so interested in Fairbanks to have chosen it?

We prefer Royal Caribbean as well, but I booked our last cruise on Princess to be able to go to both Hubbard and Glacier Bay as both were strongly recommended. I really preferred the Hubbard Glacier to Glacier Bay as I found the glacier much more stunning. Of course,it could have been the weather, timing and personal opinion. I was not as impressed with Glacier Bay, although we did enjoy it. Of course it does depend on what you want to see and how much interest you have in the glaciers, but I figured if I booked a cruise with two glaciers, and one got canceled, then at least I would still see the other hopefully. I found in Alaska, the scenery and the ports were more important than the ship. But that is only my opinion.

All Alaska cruises get rave reviews. :) Simply several alternatives, but ALL sail inside passage, which is a highlight.

 

As I already mentioned- in my opinion, it is imperative- that you find out about the ports you are going- and IF you want to go there? A significant factor is the touring, what you want to see and do.

 

What is "inferior" in my opinion- is your cruisetour choice, big problem with it being too short . A marginal plus- the Tundra Wilderness tour, which I assume is included. Alaska isn't a place to see it from the road, and you are missing out completely on, Seward, Talkeetna, Girdwood and Anchorage. (which are on some RCI tours)- add to the mix- the jackpot of glacier sightseeing- PWS out of Whittier. Another big -miss. And have you already determined- you are so interested in Fairbanks to have chosen it?

Your advise is wise. And while I have not investigated port excursions, now that will be next on my pre-booking to do list.

The included ports for this northbound cruise, by the way, are Ketchikan, Icy Straight Pt., Juneau and Skagway. Obviously, you can't hit everything on one voyage. Same may be said for the ground extension. A review of the general info in the 2 cruise line books I have at home guided my choices, along with other things - my DW had to be talked into Alaska. She spent a season there, long ago, before we met as crew with HAL (this will be my first time to AK). Her current preference is to not visit any place "cold" (did someone say "Bermuda"?). In any event, there will be nothing literally on ice or snow, nor hiking, small vessels (e.g. kayaks), helicopters or small planes on our itinerary.

The tour I'm "working" with (4 day) does include the Denali TWT plus free time in Denali plus a day of tours in Fairbanks (city tour, Gold Dredge 8, Riverboat Discovery). As for the length, a couple of personal issues are in play. One is time away from home - trying to limit to about 2 weeks. Also, plan to be 1 day (probably 2) pre-sail in Vancouver. Including the red eye home, that's 14 nights. Dare I even mention that each additional day of cruisetour runs $700-$800 per day plus any additional tour fees.

Hopefully you have an idea of how I got to where I am in the process.

Suggestions are still very welcome.

I'd head to your library and checkout some Alaska guide books (Frommer's, Fodor's, etc). See what catches your interest in each port. Each port also has websites and will send travel planners from their cities. Also check the different ships excursions list, just to see what is available.

I like to start a graph chart with the different cruiselines/ships across the top and the things of importance (ship size, cabin type, cost, excursions, ports, time in ports, etc) down the side. As you research put an "X" in the conjoining box. As you near the end of your research, one should have more x's than the others.

Have fun planning, then taking your trip to Alaska. It is an awesome destination.

we did a DIY trip before the cruise as we couldn't find any cruisetour that matched what we wanted to do in the tight time constraints that we had (plus in truth, i like to be independent so that i can change activity on the spur of the moment)...

we were very happy with our DIY trip...

as for the cruise itself, we were on RCI's Radiance of the Seas (southbound) as we preferred the ports and port times of that itinerary...

we were really looking forward to seeing hubbard glacier, but the unexpected happened...

there was a major (fatal) traffic accident on the road from anchorage to seward that closed the road from about noon until midnight.

because of the road closure, 900 passengers only made it on board the ship after midnight and we sailed only at 3 am....(we were already on board as we'd spent 3 days in magnificent seward before the cruise)...

as a result of the very delayed sailing from seward, the ship was unable to make it to hubbard....

disappointing to be sure, but at least we were alive (unlike the man on the road)....

so things can happen that change the itinerary..

as it happens, we'd gone on a glacier cruise out of whittier a few days before the cruise....so while what we saw was a small shadow of the grandeur of hubbard, we did get the idea, so to speak and enjoyed breathtaking beauty, if perhaps on a smaller scale... :)

Interesting, though disappointing story, Beth.

If I stay with my original plan, will be doing Radiance northbound in July.

Plan to spend a day or two in Vancouver up front. Plus, I like the 'flow" of things (no pun intended) northbound. And the best combination of flights and connections, including return out of Fairbanks to NY.

Thanks to all for your tips.

As always, Cruise Critic people are the best.

:cool:

Interesting, though disappointing story, Beth.

If I stay with my original plan, will be doing Radiance northbound in July.

Plan to spend a day or two in Vancouver up front. Plus, I like the 'flow" of things (no pun intended) northbound. And the best combination of flights and connections, including return out of Fairbanks to NY.

 

Thanks to all for your tips.

As always, Cruise Critic people are the best.

:cool:

i'm sure that will be great!

i think my ideal would be to do a back to back on the radiance the next time we go...start in inland alaska......then cruise southbound....then turn around and go northbound...and end up back in inland alaska.....how perfect....14 days of cruising and maybe about 14 days of inland - 7 before and 7 after....hmmm...28 days of vacation?....dare to dream....

i'm sure that will be great!

 

i think my ideal would be to do a back to back on the radiance the next time we go...start in inland alaska......then cruise southbound....then turn around and go northbound...and end up back in inland alaska.....how perfect....14 days of cruising and maybe about 14 days of inland - 7 before and 7 after....hmmm...28 days of vacation?....dare to dream....

WOW!

Might as well move to Alaska, lol.

I'd be tempted to switch cruises on the return (yup, gotta pack).

That way, you'd get a different itinerary, get a shot at different ports and glaciers.