Alaska - First Time

Hi All . . . I am trying to plan the ultimate cruise vacation for when my husband returns from serving 18 months in Iraq. Given that he has been in sun and sand, I decided a cruise to Alaska might be perfect. We will be traveling with our 16/18 year old sons. I would be intersted in knowing your opinions as to the best time to go, the best itinerary, the best ship (we have only cruised on Royal Caribbean), the best excursions . . . whatever you want to tell me would be very helpful.

Thanks.

Marianne

I am an online cruise only TA, and predominantly book Alaskan cruises.

Because I respect Cruise Critics rules, I can not specifically disclose who I work for, or direct you to our website.

What I will tell you briefly is:

The sailing season is May-September. Practically every Alaskan cruise sells out 100%, often 4 months in advance of departure. The peak sailing season, and peak pricing is July. If travelling in May, it's a great shoulder season bargain because the weather is typically excellent. In September, it's not necessarily the best value for shoulder season pricing because there is a higher possibility of precipitation and other weather factors that could effect the ships scheduled itinerary.

Many lines sail to Alaska, Royal Caribbean included. As for line/ship preference, it's very subjective. Each line/ship is best at providing exactly the product they offer. If you love Royal Caribbean, stick with them.

There are several routes. Seattle round trip. Vancouver Round trip. And alternating north/south itinerarires to/from Vancouver. The north/south route exists to combine the 7 day cruise with a pre or post tour in Alaska. (thus booking a "cruisetour"). The different ships/routes/lines visit different glacier viewing areas as well. (Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Sawyer Glacier, Hubbard Glacier)

Any cruise departing from and or returning to Vancouver typically has a more desireable route as the ship travels through the true inside passage route, one of the scenic highlights. Many round trip Seattle Alaskan cruises bypass this highlight of the route all together.

The 2005 sailing season is nearly completely sold out, although there are a few cabins remaining here and there.

In 2006, the Vision of the Seas will be doing Seattle round trip, the Serenade of the Seas will be doing Vancouver round trip, and the Radiance of the Seas will be doing the cruisetour route. (alternating north/south to and from Vancouver) Reservations can already be made for 2006.

I recommend that you conduct further research online. Focus your efforts on websites that offer comprehensive expert advice and information on the Alaskan cruise route. There are plenty out there that will provide you with much more detailed information than this general messaging board.

If you have the time, consider a one way cruise with another week of interior touring, just excellent adventures. But no way would I ever recommend a cruise tour with 4 people, way too costly for what little you get. Consider independent touring with a rental car or RV. Superior for doing what is of interest to you. Head to your library and take out Frommer's Alaska and Fodor's Alaska, The MILEPOST if considering independent. I give a big edge to one way cruises to Seward, a city not to be missed. :) HAL is the top choice for those one ways, in my opinion.

Hi All . . . I am trying to plan the ultimate cruise vacation for when my husband returns from serving 18 months in Iraq. Given that he has been in sun and sand, I decided a cruise to Alaska might be perfect. We will be traveling with our 16/18 year old sons. I would be intersted in knowing your opinions as to the best time to go, the best itinerary, the best ship (we have only cruised on Royal Caribbean), the best excursions . . . whatever you want to tell me would be very helpful.

 

Thanks.

 

Marianne

Please Tell your Husband Great Job and Thanks!!!! I too am going on my first Alasken cruise in july 2006 so I cant give you any advice but Have Fun!

When is your husband coming home???

My son in-law left San Diego this morning leaving fror Iraq, we miss him already and my daughter is handling better then I am, she has moved home with us while he is gone,

You leave Aug 24 for our ALaska cruise and have the same thoughts you have about when he gets home taking them on a cruise to Alaska, well they might not want us to go with them but If I'm paying I'm going :) ,

Have fun planning this board is great I've learned so much,

How long do you have to spend?

Thanks for your help . . . can you suggest any websites. Also, what is your opinion as to just a seven day cruise for a family of four over the 10 day land/sea combo? Thanks.

Thanks for your help . . . what is HAL?

Sorry everyone -- I'm having a blonde moment. The boards have been revamped since I used them last, and I thought the quick replies went directly only to who I was responding to!

My husband left Jan 7, came home for 9 days in June, went to Kuwait and is now in Iraq for a year! Not sure when he will be home next -- we're just hoping he gets home in time for our son's graduation. He's been in the service for 20 years, but he's never been deployed to a situation such as this. He was formerly a Navy Seabee and then after they moved the reserve center too far from where we live, he switched to the Army National Guard and has been weekend warrior for the majority of his 20 years! None of us thought we would ever go through something like this. Of course, he was supposed to get out this Dec, but . . . . anyways, thank you for your comments. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of our service members -- deployed, retired, active duty -- whatever and whomever!

Anyway, back to the thing we are all looking forward to . . . if you've done Alaska before, would you chose to do the fiords over Danali? I called for pricing today on the 10 day land/sea and am afraid it might be to pricey.

Also, has anyone ever done a cruise through something like RCI (a timeshare company)? Is it significantly cheaper?

Thanks for all your support and input --

Marianne

Thanks for your help . . . can you suggest any websites. Also, what is your opinion as to just a seven day cruise for a family of four over the 10 day land/sea combo? Thanks.

Are you looking at the partial cruises?? I find these a poor choice as you are missing a great port or glacier. The bus ride to Anchorage is extremely long with some boring areas. If you are looking for a 7 day cruise then a 3 day add on, extremely limited and way to costly for what little you get, just not enough time for much more than endless transits.

You can do much better price wise going on your own. Consider if this is an option for you. Consistant raves from Alaska independent travelers and plenty of first hand info on this board. But definately 5 days is a min. recommendation from me. In that timeframe you can do Seward and Denali Park. HAL is Holland America cruise lines, a big bonus is the Seward port vs Whittier. Clearly a big advantage not having to back track to Seward out of Whittier.

!

Also, has anyone ever done a cruise through something like RCI (a timeshare company)? Is it significantly cheaper?

 

Thanks for all your support and input --

 

Marianne

I would be leery of a time share company ..there are plenty of online and in person Travel agencies that can give you information, assistance and whose rates might even be better? If you are already enrolled in this time share program and know it to be reputable, then go for it if you can do much better on price.

If you can only afford the cruise consider roundtrip out of Vancouver for a call in Glacier Bay -- definitely the Ultimate in relief from hot sun and sand! Holland America, which sails this itinerary, is probably not the first choice for teenage boys so in its place I'd recommend Norwegian Star.. it does Glacier Bay, offers "Freestyle cruising" (Check http://www.ncl.com for more info on that) and the really only "downer" on that is that you don't get to experience British Columbia's inside passage.. But for your boys' age etc. that itinerary and the fact that you don't have to go formal etc. for dinner might work? They have had excellent rates on this ship early season this year.

I have been on board many of the ships sailing to Alaska.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend HAL for a family trip. Simply put, HAL's average age on board their vessels world wide is 57 years old... with the Alaskan route being even higher.

Some of my family recently sailed HAL (early 50's) and were amongst the youngest on board.

It does however come down to your personal preferences, and ultimately you get to make the final decision. I have booked young families and even young Honeymooners on HAL, but they were well aware of the product prior to securing their reservations.

I highly recommend that you search for and review some of the many websites that specialize in Alaskan cruises. It's in your best interest to do so in order to make an informed decision.

Good luck with your research.

The pricing is not really any better for a party of 2, but see below concerning 4. You still have to pay your maintenance fee for your week, it has to have 50K point status, and you will see that the prices they list are very close to what you can get on a special anywhere. So, no, they are not much of a bargain. The RCI cruise agent even told me so.

It would be worth it to ask if one of RCI's cabins would hold 4 people, however (a suite for more privacy, or a regular cabin with a pull out sofa or pull down beds). That might be a savings. if you are all going to stay in one cabin, the prices for the 3rd and 4th passengers are much less than the rate for the first two. So compare what it would cost for 4 in a cabin thru a travel agent, vs. 4 in a cabin thru RCI.

It would be an option, however, if you had a week you were going to lose if you didn't use it, since you'd already have paid the mt. fee. Also RCI mostly books RCCL, Carnival and HAL only, so your choices are more limited.

If you do have points, not weeks, you might be able to get the pre and/or post day or two instead of hotels in Vancouver and/or Anchorage. I just checked my RCI book. The two that are in Vancouver say they are 30 & 35 miles from the airport (all the others are 80 and 85 miles away). You might call them and see if they have a shuttle or could arrange one for you to the Vancouver airport. There is only one timeshare in Alaksa, at Homer. There are none at or near Seattle. So that's out unless you booked a rental car to get to the timeshare

Will you be booking your own air or using cruise/air, or using frequent flyer miles? Since you would not be booking a formal round trip like Vancouver to Vancouver if you did a one way in order to include Denali, you might get a better quote from the cruise line since they get very reduced fares. Mine was $300 from Atlanta, but that was a special. the regular price was $798. Most people suggest arriving at least a day or two before you sail 1) to adjust to the 4 hour difference in the time zones between the East Coast and Alaska, 2) to rest after the flight, 3) to allow for any airline delays that might cause you to miss the cruise 4) see some more of Alaska or Vancouver. it CAN all be done in one day, however.

Renting a van and doing Denali on your own would be the best & certainly the most economical way to see more of Alaska after or before a one way Seward to Vancouver, or vice versa. Read these boards and search out the people who did it on their own.

I would agree with Hostess Caroline. The 7day r/t from Vanc, flying in the day befoe and out the next day after cruise. NCL may be better than HAL with the boys. I see lots of specials every day for Alaska in 2005. I would not advise going much later than first week of Sept for 2005 or before middle of May for 2006. The weather begins to be much more iffy in outside of those parameters. Take excursions to get away from the ports and see real Alaska. Whalewatching, kayaing, helecoptor flts, floatplanes are all highly recommended.

If at all possible to get an extra week, take a one way cruise with 7 land days on your own and you can than see denali (2nites), Seward and Kenail Fjords NP (1 or 2 nites) plus nice drive to Seward and a day or two in and around Anc. Much cheaper that a cruise tour, and you are in control of your time instead of riding around on buses, or trains the whole time.

This poster asked specifically about RCI timeshare exchange and I am answering her about that. I am a paid up member through 2018, and have used them for 20 years. But I have never booked a cruise with them. I was also wrong about naming only the 3 cruiselines I stated. Today I saw some for Celebrity, too. The times I have called them they didn't have any for Celebrity, so have not checked it very often.

I did some more research on RCI's cruise page. The specials offered seemed to be only within the next 5 months. But RCI travel is huge, and I would trust it. After all, everyone who has a time share and gets Endless Vaction magazine, and ONLY those people, have access to their huge travel program. These are not available to the general public, but just to the million or more members.

You could, just like with any travel agency, request pricing on any particular cruise in the future. They may or may not have it.

I picked one particular cruise and compared it to the costs and specials offered on the cruiseline's website. RCI in a few cases had phenomenally lower prices on a particular cabin, by using your week. They also had lower air fare add ons than the cruiseline offered. And without depositing your week, pretty much the same fares as the cruiseline. All cabins did not have an exchange fare, but a "special purchase fare" but you have to look closely. Just play with it. Some of the "special purchase fares" were lower than those using an exchange. For instance, you could get a special fare on an outside cabin for less than the exchange rate on an inside, on the particular cruise I was researching.

I will be taking my first Alaskan cruise in six weeks. I just wanted to say that I think an Alaskan cruise is a marvelous idea. I love how thoughtful you were that you realized he's gotten plenty of sun lately and the Caribbean might not be the best choice!

Marianne,

I agree that what you are doing for your husband is a wonderful idea. Make certain you get the insurance, just in case his military obligations disrupt your plans.

I’m also a first time Alaska cruiser, leaving later this week. My best advice is to read, read, and read. These boards are just filled with wonderful pieces of information from experienced cruisers. And I would quickly add that they are so willing to share their knowledge, and assist in any way possible.

Please accept this expression of appreciation to your husband, and your family, and have a wonderful cruise.

Terry

I did not find RCI to be cheaper for our cruise, so we kept our week and will use it elsewhere. However, the airfare was dramatically cheaper though RCI over what the cruiseline charged, and significantly less than I could find it online or through our TA. Enough that I used that money for 2 nights + car rental pre-cruise.

We traveled with our 16/17 year old sons, and 13/16 year old nieces. They weren't as impressed with Carnival activities as they had anticipated, but still had fun, purchasing games in Juneau and playing on board. Pools were closed most of the time, even the enclosed. Neither especially wish to go on Carnival if we go back to Alaska next year. I will say I was quite thrilled with the size of our balcony cabin, and the service staff was awesome.

Our whole family loved the AdventureBound Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier excursion out of Juneau. However, just for a new experience next time I'll book a different glacier area. My sister-in-law and her family really enjoyed the kart rides near Ketchikan. We took a rental car up to Emerald Lake in the Yukon from Skagway, beautiful!, but next time I'll probably book the train, especially if our boys go again.

Consider sticking with Royal Caribbean if you like it. Also consider a balcony if you like relaxing and quite time for scenery viewing. Even if you never actually use the balcony, just having the floor to ceiling glass is worth the extra price in my opinion.