Need advice on best cruise line for Alaska

First time sailing to Alaska and very overwhelmed. Was thinking of doing land and sea with Princess. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

First time sailing to Alaska and very overwhelmed. Was thinking of doing land and sea with Princess. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Unfortunately, "best" is subjective.

Princess and Holland America have the most Glacier Bay permits. Is that important to you? They also have cruised Alaska the longest of the major cruise lines. Is experience important?

Have you figured out what you are interested in seeing/doing in Alaska? That will help figure out what itineraries would work best for you. Then you have to check the various cruise lines that "do" Alaska to see if you can find an itinerary that fits your plan the closest.

We've done both a round trip Alaska and a cruise/tour on Holland America. Loved them both.

I'd suggest you hop on over to the Alaska board and ask questions and read the other threads there:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=55

Additional thoughts...

• Another vote for HAL and Princess.... especially for ships going to Glacier Bay to satisfy glacier seekers.
  
• Are you looking at 7 return, 7 day Northbound, 7 day Southbound, 14 day returns? Are you happy with just South East Alaska? There's 5 day Ketchikan express and 9 day variations too.
  
• Holland American offers a Yukon Denali experience.... The segment between North of Skagway and Anchorage is over land and air in the Yukon.
  
• In addition to your Alaskan ports, would like your cruise ship to depart from Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco? Vancouver is a great place to spend a few days as it's bigger than all the Alaskan ports combined.
  
• are you travelling with young children? Would they like a DCL pixie dust experience? Does your credit card enjoy snorting pixie dust?
  
• Once you have selected a cruise line. Think about which month.... Value vs dry weather vs warm weather.
  
• May and September is cheaper, but colder and some excursions are not running
  
  
• May can mean ice congestion to some glacier viewing sites like Tracy Arm/Sawyer
  
  
• May to July is dryer in Alaska, August will see more rain and September will be wettest. If too stormy to dock.... cruise ships will skip the port.
  
  
• July to August will be dryer in Cascadia
  
  
• May to August will give you more day light
  
  
• August and September offer better wildlife opportunities
  
  
• I like late-July for weather compromise and wildlife. It's also priced higher.
  
  
• some ports offer season opportunities like fireworks and pride celebrations, but can also mean congestion.
  
  
• http://www.alaska.org/advice/best-time-to-visit-alaska
  => it recommends mid-June to mid-July!

  
  

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There IS NO ONE "BEST"! Because everyone's desires and interests are different. Chevy or Ford? Starbucks or Peets? McDonalds or Burger King? All with strong emotions, and totally subjective.

If there was one "best", they would know, and raise their prices, and perhaps you wouldn't be able to afford their cruises.

Some reading on the Alaska board (link given in Post #2). would be beneficial.

There IS NO ONE "BEST"! Because everyone's desires and interests are different. Chevy or Ford? Starbucks or Peets? McDonalds or Burger King? All with strong emotions, and totally subjective.

 

If there was one "best", they would know, and raise their prices, and perhaps you wouldn't be able to afford their cruises.

 

Some reading on the Alaska board (link given in Post #2). would be beneficial.

Yours is the BEST answer however.

DON

Yours is the BEST answer however.

 

DON

Ah, gee, thanks!;):D

If someone offered me a free Alaska cruise on any ship/line I'd ask for a National Geographic expedition cruise or a Crystal cruise. For me, that's "best". For you, as most posters have mentioned, it all "depends."

If someone offered me a free Alaska cruise on any ship/line I'd ask for a National Geographic expedition cruise or a Crystal cruise. For me, that's "best". For you, as most posters have mentioned, it all "depends."

Excellent choices. If one needed to dial it back a few dollars I'd go with Princess aboard the Pacific Princess - not because it's a great ship but because of her number of passengers (600). The big ships open deck areas get clogged with thousands of people on an Alaska cruise that are all vying for space to take pictures from. That can ruin the moment very quickly. Tip, stay on a lower completely uncrowded deck when photographing everything of interest such as glaciers, whales or ice bergs. I got great photos standing under the life boats because there were no crowds to push through and the view was really just as good as the view a million decks higher. Did the sea land package late last summer aboard Pacific Princess and enjoyed it.

I have only been on one cruise to Alaska (last September) and it was amazing!

We sailed with Celebrity and found them to be a great cruise line. The Celebrity Solstice had two fantastic speakers, one was a cultural interpreter and the other was a nature commentator. They were a husband and wife team and were so knowledgable about each town we were going to and about the wildlife. The gentleman narrated during the day we sailed Tracy Arm Fjord. His commentary was really good and it was the most spectacular scenery I have ever witnessed. Our cruise was in September and the weather was really good. It was cold at times (especially Tracy Arm Fjord), but not as cold as I was expecting. I saw lots of whales (even breeching) when I went whale watching in Juneau. I caught two halibut when fishing at Icy Strait Point. It was my first time on Celebrity (have done Princess, Royal Caribbean, Costa, Carnival, and Norwegian before) and I would absolutely go on Celebrity again. The food and service were top notch. Enjoy your Alaskan cruise - memories to last a lifetime.