Planning Alaska cruise

We have been on several cruises to the Caribbean and now are looking into an Alaska cruise. My 5 traveling companions are ages 42, 40, 21, 21, 18 and I'm 55. We all love to cruise and generally select our cruise by time, ship or cruise line with price. I am still trying to wrap my head around cruising to where the weather will not be hot. It also appears that the ships the cruise to Alaska are smaller, older ships. From what I have read about cruises to Alaska, it is suggested to pick your itinerary first, then the ship and June is a good time to go. What about the inside passage - is that a must do? I've also heard something about a train ride. We normally cruise Carnival and RCCL. We love the RCCL ships but the like the Carnival activities (nightclubs, party themed activities) a little more than RCCL. We also are not a fan of YTD, Of course, we want to get the most bang for the buck. I'm looking for suggestions for cruise lines, ships, itineraries (must do) etc. We live in Kentucky and will be factoring in the airfare cost and the duration will need to be 8-14 days.

I've been on the following cruise lines to Alaska---Rccl, Hal, Princess & Celebrity. Just make sure whatever ship you pick--goes to Glacier Bay.

Another must is a balcony. I've cruised Alaska in May, June, July & September. Now the cheaper time is the 1st cruises of the season or the last. I say the best is June--July. Sometimes if you go earlier or later---ships can not get as close to the glaciers-----some times the tours are cancel'd cause of weather ( boats & float planes).

I say go with your favorite then you know what you are going to get.

The last time for me --I took a chance & went in May ( temp was 70 in Juneau) I also cruised with Celebrity for the 1st time ( for me - they were my favorite) I got invited to go on the Heli Pad.

Anyways have a great time planning.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

The brand new Norwegian Bliss will be sailing its inaugural season from Seattle to Alaska next summer. A lot of cruises don't stop at Glacier Bay. Our ship, the Celebrity Solstice, went to Endicott Arm Fjord and it was amazing.

For us, the big thing was planning some amazing excursions. They're usually pricey but essential for a memorable experience.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We have been on several cruises to the Caribbean and now are looking into an Alaska cruise. My 5 traveling companions are ages 42, 40, 21, 21, 18 and I'm 55. We all love to cruise and generally select our cruise by time, ship or cruise line with price.

 

1. I am still trying to wrap my head around cruising to where the weather will not be hot.

 

2. It also appears that the ships the cruise to Alaska are smaller, older ships. From what I have read about cruises to Alaska, it is suggested to pick your itinerary first, then the ship

 

3. and June is a good time to go.

 

4. What about the inside passage - is that a must do?

 

5. I've also heard something about a train ride.

 

6. We normally cruise Carnival and RCCL. We love the RCCL ships but the like the Carnival activities (nightclubs, party themed activities) a little more than RCCL.

 

7. We also are not a fan of YTD,

 

8. Of course, we want to get the most bang for the buck. I'm looking for suggestions for cruise lines, ships, itineraries (must do) etc. We live in Kentucky and will be factoring in the airfare cost and the duration will need to be 8-14 days.

I've numbered your questions, and replied as follows:

1. The more you read and research, the more accustomed you will get to a cruise that may be cooler than the Caribbean.

2. Not all the ships going to Alaska are smaller and older, unless you are comparing them to Quantum and the like. DEFINITELY pick itinerary first :) Compare port times also.

3. You cannot count on better weather or anything else in a particular month. One GREAT thing about late May and into June is the long daylight hours. Historical weather patterns can give an indication of what you may experience, but do NOT guarantee that you will experience the "average" weather.

4. Leaving from Vancouver gives you more time cruising the Inside Passage, which is a very scenic route.

5. The train ride is in Skagway, the White Pass Railroad, I think.

6. The cruise lines all do a fine job in Alaska

7. That eliminates Oceania and NCL, I think

8. Only you can decide what is a "must do". (For me getting away from the port is a "must do", while for many others shopping the port area is a "must do" :) ) You need to read, research, discuss, consider, and then short-list what is important to you.

I've been on the following cruise lines to Alaska---Rccl, Hal, Princess & Celebrity. Just make sure whatever ship you pick--goes to Glacier Bay.

l]

Interesting "make sure" claim when two of the lines they have sailed don't have permits for Glacier Bay??? They got nothing out of those sailings?

We have been on several cruises to the Caribbean and now are looking into an Alaska cruise. My 5 traveling companions are ages 42, 40, 21, 21, 18 and I'm 55. We all love to cruise and generally select our cruise by time, ship or cruise line with price. I am still trying to wrap my head around cruising to where the weather will not be hot. It also appears that the ships the cruise to Alaska are smaller, older ships. From what I have read about cruises to Alaska, it is suggested to pick your itinerary first, then the ship and June is a good time to go. What about the inside passage - is that a must do? I've also heard something about a train ride. We normally cruise Carnival and RCCL. We love the RCCL ships but the like the Carnival activities (nightclubs, party themed activities) a little more than RCCL. We also are not a fan of YTD, Of course, we want to get the most bang for the buck. I'm looking for suggestions for cruise lines, ships, itineraries (must do) etc. We live in Kentucky and will be factoring in the airfare cost and the duration will need to be 8-14 days.

I instead, suggest you back up, and find out of each port and glacier viewing option. Know, what each port is known for, what they offer, and what touring is of the most interest to you? With a general list of tour selections, verify the seasons of peak- it may not be "June". :) As for glacier sailings, I've had fantastic sailings of EACH one of them. I find the "must" and "better" claims sometimes misleading. You will find rave reviews about each one.

Activities at the ports can be half your trip. I suggest budgeting fully and reviewing shore excursion lists carefully and completely. Don't just stop and choose, because someone claims, it's the "best". That adjective fits numerous tours. Figure out what YOU want to see and do.

I'm no a fan of balconies, but plenty of people are. It is NOT a must. It's an option.

All Alaska cruise ships sail the inside passage, you can not get to Juneau, Skagway etc without doing so. :)

With 14 days, I'd suggest you consider a one way cruise and then perhaps use tripadvisor and plan a wonderful independent add on visit of mainland Alaska. :)

I was giving my opinion---I could make comments about what you wrote but I will not. Dorisdvu will do what's best for her.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you for all of your ideas, comments, opinions.

Cruise Critic is the best.

We have been on several cruises to the Caribbean and now are looking into an Alaska cruise. My 5 traveling companions are ages 42, 40, 21, 21, 18 and I'm 55. We all love to cruise and generally select our cruise by time, ship or cruise line with price. I am still trying to wrap my head around cruising to where the weather will not be hot. It also appears that the ships the cruise to Alaska are smaller, older ships. From what I have read about cruises to Alaska, it is suggested to pick your itinerary first, then the ship and June is a good time to go. What about the inside passage - is that a must do? I've also heard something about a train ride. We normally cruise Carnival and RCCL. We love the RCCL ships but the like the Carnival activities (nightclubs, party themed activities) a little more than RCCL. We also are not a fan of YTD, Of course, we want to get the most bang for the buck. I'm looking for suggestions for cruise lines, ships, itineraries (must do) etc. We live in Kentucky and will be factoring in the airfare cost and the duration will need to be 8-14 days.

We have cruised a lot, but finally decided to do an Alaskan cruise. After talking with some of our cc friends about what itinerary was best, we decided to take a one way Vancouver to Seward cruise on the NCL Sun. We compared NCL with the other lines and NCL had the best deal, by far.

We wanted to see the inside passage so that eliminated a RT out of Seattle. After much research it was apparent that flying into Vancouver and out of Anchorage was not significantly more expensive than flying RT to Seattle.

Vancouver was wonderful, we spent a week there before we took a four day Canadian Rockies tour by bus with Key West Tours. It was super.

The cruise was great and we saw both Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.

I would not go on a cruise to Alaska that did not include Glacier Bay. It was amazing, we saw glaciers and wildlife, the ship got up close to the glacier.

RT cruises out of Seattle don't do Glacier Bay.

Here is my review

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=547125&et_cid=2764671&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

 

RT cruises out of Seattle don't do Glacier Bay.

 

You might want to explore this in more detail.

Ruby Princess sails through Glacier Bay every 7 days, round trip out of Seattle.

You might want to explore this in more detail.

 

Ruby Princess sails through Glacier Bay every 7 days, round trip out of Seattle.

Sorry if I missed that one. Clearly, most cruises out of Seattle don't.

Sorry if I missed that one. Clearly, most cruises out of Seattle don't.

You missed a lot of them. Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian ALL have ships sailing to Glacier Bay from Seattle weekly. Clearly, you are giving out faulty information.

Norwegian Pearl

HAL Zaandam

HAL Eurodam

Carnival Legend

This is all I could find.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We took the Celebrity Solstice out of Seattle last August...which was supposed to go to Tracy Arm fjord. There was too much ice so we detoured to Endicott Arm instead (apparently this happens almost all the time.) It was stunningly beautiful. Am sure that Glacier Bay is probably even more so, but we wanted to cruise on what we felt was the better ship so we went with Celebrity. We had a sensational time.

Budget Queen's comment on the inside passage wasn't really correct. We might have sailed in to Juneau on the inside passage from 4 am-6am, but it was in the dark and no one saw it. We did sail through it leaving Juneau from 6-9 pm heading south and it was beautiful, but that is all we saw of it. So be sure to do your own research...

Sent from my iPad using Forums

You missed a lot of them. Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian ALL have ships sailing to Glacier Bay from Seattle weekly. Clearly, you are giving out faulty information.

I booked my cruise 1.5 years ago and my memory was wrong. Perhaps it was the inside passage instead of Glacier Bay.

We took the Celebrity Solstice out of Seattle last August...which was supposed to go to Tracy Arm fjord. There was too much ice so we detoured to Endicott Arm instead (apparently this happens almost all the time.) It was stunningly beautiful. Am sure that Glacier Bay is probably even more so, but we wanted to cruise on what we felt was the better ship so we went with Celebrity. We had a sensational time.

 

Budget Queen's comment on the inside passage wasn't really correct. We might have sailed in to Juneau on the inside passage from 4 am-6am, but it was in the dark and no one saw it. We did sail through it leaving Juneau from 6-9 pm heading south and it was beautiful, but that is all we saw of it. So be sure to do your own research...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Take a look at a map. From Dixon Passage, it is "inside passage", DAYS of your sailing.

The entire route- after you leave Ketchikan, heading north- to Juneau, Skagway,, Hoonah etc. All Inside Passage.

We have been on several cruises to the Caribbean and now are looking into an Alaska cruise. My 5 traveling companions are ages 42, 40, 21, 21, 18 and I'm 55. We all love to cruise and generally select our cruise by time, ship or cruise line with price. I am still trying to wrap my head around cruising to where the weather will not be hot. It also appears that the ships the cruise to Alaska are smaller, older ships. From what I have read about cruises to Alaska, it is suggested to pick your itinerary first, then the ship and June is a good time to go. What about the inside passage - is that a must do? I've also heard something about a train ride. We normally cruise Carnival and RCCL. We love the RCCL ships but the like the Carnival activities (nightclubs, party themed activities) a little more than RCCL. We also are not a fan of YTD, Of course, we want to get the most bang for the buck. I'm looking for suggestions for cruise lines, ships, itineraries (must do) etc. We live in Kentucky and will be factoring in the airfare cost and the duration will need to be 8-14 days.

You have received some excellent advice here including a "must see" for Glacier Bay. If you are used to and want nightclubs, parties etc you will not find as much on Princess (our preferred line) or HAL. An Alaskan cruise is a different type of cruise. It's about the great outdoors and scenery, flight-seeing and whale watches. Make sure this interests you before committing because it is an expensive vacation. Happy Planning

Somebody said a balcony is "a must". I have to disagree. There are plenty of places to view the passing scenery. If you rely on a W/C, or have problems walking, yes a balcony will be easier but even then, not a necessity.

If the choice is taking a non-balcony cabin, going to Alaska and doing amazing shore excursions, OR waiting until you can afford a balcony and ALL the shore excursions you want, imho there is no question -- do without the balcony, go to Alaska, and do those amazing excursions NOW. While you can.

The best way to go is with an aft balcony

There is an excellent article comparing Glacier Bay vs. Tracy Arm Fjord right here on Cruise Critic: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1894

No kidding about the price of excursions. My husband is in sticker shock and we haven't actually booked any excursions yet. (Sailing next May.) I am insisting on the White Pass Railway excursion and campaigning for Misty Fjords also - don't know if I am going to win that one but I haven't given up yet. In return I told him I am willing to not do a formal excursion at Juneau or Victoria, just pick a spot to investigate that we can get to via accessible taxi. (Both SIL and I use wheelchairs.) We have an aft balcony cabin so I'm hoping we will see some whales in Glacier Bay.

I totally agree this board is an incredible information source. Comments from members made a huge difference in our enjoyment of our Caribbean cruise 3 years ago and I am confident my research here now will be equally helpful on our upcoming Alaska cruise. Especially since 2 of us rely on wheelchairs, comments from people who have BTDT are priceless in avoiding situations which won't suit us. Cruise time is limited and I don't want to waste any of it!

Budget Queen...you're right and I stand corrected! I was cruising the inside passage more than I thought I was.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Note, there are TWO "inside passage" portions.

• The Canadian portion is East of Vancouver Island as you depart and return to Vancouver.
  
• The Alaskan portion is the segment South of Skagway to Prince Rupert.
  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage#Route

If interested in what ships will be visiting GB here is a site for 2017 and part of 2018.

You can investigate any other port of call you would like.

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-glacier-bay-alaska.html

I'm planning my own Alaska cruise for next summer and CruiseCritic has been a BIG help. I already had a future cruise credit from NCL, and I like them, so that streamlined my choices a bit. My trip is totaling about 14 days as well. With that kind of time, you need to decide whether to do a round trip, or a one-way sailing with time on land. Airfare may be a bit more with open-jaw flights but you'll be able to see a lot more of Alaska if you start or end in a port like Seward or Whittier. If you do decide to spend some time on land, you can either book a land/cruise package through the cruise line, or plan your own.

As much as I would probably save money and enjoy the convenience of a package, I like to set my own pace... so I've been planning my own land trip. Oh, and I'm traveling solo... so no compromising!!

I've changed up my land itinerary a couple of times but the most important advice I can give you is to really consider what is most important to you, i.e., scenery, wildlife, cool adventures (like ziplining, fishing), cultural/historical sites, shopping, dining, etc.

For example, my priorities are:

Beautiful scenery: I live in Florida, so mountains, glaciers, snow, waterfalls, etc. are important to me. I really hope I can see Denali (the mountain). I love taking photos of scenery, as well as...

Wildlife: I'd love to see some bears, moose, etc. and get some photos.

Flightseeing: I did this in Hawaii and I'm hooked. Some places are just made to be seen from the air.

Small boat tours: I also want to get close to the water to see the sealife and scenery up close.

Glacier: I want to walk on a glacier!

Sled Dogs: I'm not that excited about being on a sled dog ride, but I want to cuddle some puppies.

So... shopping, dining, museums, ziplining, fishing, etc... not on my wish list.

I AM doing flightseeing, a small boat excursion, a couple of walking tours with an emphasis on photography, and a combination train ride/van tour in Skagway (and PUPPIES).

For my land trip, everyone says Denali is a "must do." I looked into doing Denali on my own, and taking the 12-hour tour into the park. I would definitely enjoy the beauty of the park. But there is no guarantee on seeing wildlife, and the bus will not stop and let you get out to take photos except at pre-planned stops. It's a long day on a bus.

After much consideration, I decided only to go as far as Talkeetna, where I will take a flightseeing trip. The flight will take me to the Alaska range to get a birds-eye view of Denali (hopefully) and views of the waterfalls, etc. Then we land on a glacier! As for wildlife, I have plenty of chances on other excursions to see it, and I plan to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where I can see some of these animals up close.

I'm also planning to spend some extra time in Seward (Kenai Fjords National Park), taking the train to Anchorage, renting a car, and hoping to book a tour around the Knik Glacier area.

Enjoy the planning -- for me, it just adds to the enjoyment of the entire trip!

If interested in what ships will be visiting GB here is a site for 2017 and part of 2018.

 

You can investigate any other port of call you would like.

 

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-glacier-bay-alaska.html

Thanks for sharing!!