Planning my dream cruise of Alaska

I've been researching a 7 day Alaska cruise. I still haven't been able to absolutely decide what cruise line or what type of cabin to get. Is there any particular cruise line or ship that really stands apart with their Alaskan cruise? I expect to sail in and out of SF or Seattle. Also, I really don't like the cold but I do enjoy beauty which is a large part of my wanting to take the Alaskan cruise. Are all the balcony cabins outside or are some enclosed? How do you enjoy the glaciers and such without freezing? I'm trying to decide whether I need to spend the money on a balcony or if it would be a waste of money. I appreciate any and all advice that my fellow cruise lovers care to offer.:) Thank you in advance.

When are you looking to sail? We were there this past June and while at Hubbard Glacier, the sun was shining and we were actually taking clothes off it was so warm. Most cruise ships will also have an enclosed area that you could be in to watch. The problem with being inside is if you get close enough to the glacier, you won't be able to hear it calving and that is such an awesome experience. If you dress in layers, you can always take clothes off if you get too warm.

Do your research. Get books on cruising Alaska and even regular Alaska tour books (Frommers, Fodor's etc). Read up on what all the ports have to offer and then make your decision. You may find you'd rather do a one way cruise with a week inland added on to the front or back of the cruise. Alaska really is about the itinerary first and the ship second. You will want to spend as much time as you can in port.

As for the balcony, as far as I know, none are totally enclosed. You have dividers, of course, between each cabin and some balconies may have an overhang. That is more of an individual choice. Personally, I can't sail without a balcony and do make use of it frequently throughout a cruise.

Your choice to get a room with a balcony is a personal one. The views from the main decks will be much less limiting than an individual balcony view. Weather may also limit the time you actually spend on your balcony.

I would strongly suggest a cruise out of Vancouver rather than Seattle. The cruise through the Inside Passage is far more scenic than the open sea out of Seattle.

Sailing glaciers, overall, will need a jacket. The report above is rare, and could be a distance away. Especially in Glacier Bay, you are right up next to glaciers when viewing and it is colder. So first issue with someone who doesn't like cold, is to be certain to bring proper attire, which means a WIDE range in Alaska.

Being you don't know where you want to sail out, you need to decide this first. Unless the ship is really that important? I don't find any of the standard cruiselines having any "stand out" grossly superior ships compared to others. Have you been on cruises? What did YOU like about the ships? Making that list- then you can do an elimination based on that, if priority importance for you?

I've been to AK 4 times now. Once on NCL, once on Holland and twice on Princess, with and without balconies. Balconies are only a nice to have IMO. They only serve to make it convenient to watch wildlife and keep you out of the cold. But depending on the cruise line, the timing of when you see the glacier will affect the level of cold you may feel. One of our trips (Holland) had a 5 AM arrival time at the Sawyer Glacier and it is so very cold at that hour.

Another time we arrived in Glacier Bay around noon, but after standing for a few hours it still was cold (in August) so dressing in layers is really important. Some ships like some from Princess have a protected (covered bow) area nick named the "Whales mouth" while others will have open decks to watch all of it from.

Sometimes, as on one cruise to Hubbard Glacier, we had great weather in each port (Sitka's my favorite BTW) only to find the actual glacier completely fogged in. :(

So, as was suggested before, do your research and let us know what you decide.

Oh: and bring binoculars! The ones on the ship are generally throw away junk (except for the Nikons), so before you go, get yourself a pair to get an even closer look at the whales, eagles, bears, seals, otters and the scenery.

I don't think I'll ever tire of AK. Each time, I find the scenery and the wildlife wonderful. The towns are mostly touristy, geared to sell you stuff like jewelry and souvenirs. If that's your thing, great, but the draw of AK for me is the stunning scenery and grandness of it all.

Hope it will be everything you hope for!

Glenn

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Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my questions. I'll do some more research about the different ports and arrival time. We will probably cruise out of Seattle, although I've noticed a lot of the cruise seem to go or come back into Canada. We considered that and we do have passports, but it seems like it would be a pain as far as airlines. :confused:

My primary goal on cruising Alaska is the beauty. I love to look at glaciers, wildlife, flowers etc.. Just don't want to be uncomfortable doing it.:p Thanks again.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my questions. I'll do some more research about the different ports and arrival time. We will probably cruise out of Seattle, although I've noticed a lot of the cruise seem to go or come back into Canada. We considered that and we do have passports, but it seems like it would be a pain as far as airlines. :confused:

My primary goal on cruising Alaska is the beauty. I love to look at glaciers, wildlife, flowers etc.. Just don't want to be uncomfortable doing it.:p Thanks again.

All the Seattle cruises will port in Canada. So if you want to get off your ship in Victoria, you will have to go through customs. But the most thought I suggest you consider, is your port activities of Skagway. A highlight is the history of the Gold Rush and that can include Canada. If you want to get into the Yukon, crossing the border will be required.

Flying into/out of Canada is a simple process, along with taking Amtrak or driving back and forth.

I would encourage you to not give this as much concern as you may be thinking.

I am NOT claiming round trip Seattle cruises are a bad idea. They offer great vacation options. I have taken several myself, and greatly enjoyed them. But if other routes are YOUR interest and priority, do consider them.

Others have already addressed a lot of your concerns, but let me just chime in.

(1) Although there are many different fine cruise lines sailing Alaska, a lot of posters lean more towards Holland America and Princess, because of the iteniaries, and experience in Alaska.

(2) Generally, you can't sail out of SF, unless it is early in the season, when ships are being repositioned. Seattle or Vancouver or Seward or Whittier is it.

(3) Many people are fine in summer clothing on Alaska cruises during the day, but most posters who write from Florida bundle up. Hats, gloves, long underwear, etc.

(4) The ships are the same as the ships sailing the Caribbean, so the balconies are not enclosed.

We have taken two 7-day Princess cruises out of Seattle and we are heading to Vancouver next week to take another one from there. Looking forward to seeing the Canada part of the inside passage this time instead of going out into open water from Seattle.

You really should look at the itinerary & ports as if you want to go to Glacier Bay for example, I believe their is only 2-3 cruise lines that are allowed in there. I know Holland America & Princess can go.

We are actually flying into Seattle and taking a bus to Vancouver as in our case, the flights did not work out too well for us out of Atlanta, plus even with the bus costs, it was cheaper to go to Seattle on direct flights.

We like balcony cabins and won't sail unless we can get one. We like to sit out there 1st thing in the morning with coffee and at other times, just stand there & look at the beauty. Our other two trips were on the Golden, and the captain turned one side of the ship to face the glacier for about 1/2 hour, then turned the ship around. When we were on that side, we were on our balcony and if we got to cool, just stepped back in the room. We did go in September too, so weather was cooler both times & more rain. Since the balcony was covered, it was also easier to take pictures with the SLR camera and not be in the rain too.

Whatever you choose, we know you will have a great trip. We rarely take the same vacation twice, but here we are going back on an Alaskan cruise, for the third year in a row :-)

David & Ellen

If you want this to be your dream trip to Alaska, with the focus on scenery and wildlife, you absolutely MUST look at Un-Cruise Adventures. We've been to Alaska on big ships, and just finished a trip with Un-Cruise on the S.S. Legacy (they have two other ships in Alaska too, though) and can swear, hand-on-heart, that it's THE way to see Alaska.

The big ships have to keep moving, meaning, they can't stop when a wildlife opportunity arises. As an example of the difference, we were able to stop and watch humpbacks bubble feeding for 3 hours (!!). We also stopped for over an hour while humpbacks breeched, tail-slapped, and lunge and bubble fed, and because we were stopped silently, two whales came right up to the ship, looking us directly in the eye while they lounged around and under us. This lasted for half an hour, and if our arms were long enough, they were close enough to touch (not that we would have!). Absolutely incredible.

We were surrounded by orca, we had Dall's porpoise playing at the bow (again, close enough to touch!), and if that's not enough, the food was truly five-star and the service fantastic, and wonderfully personal.

Check them out. It's THE way to get to the heart and soul of Alaska.

My understanding is the SF round-trips are usually 10 or 11 days, whereas the others are usually 7 days (or 14, if you treat a 7d NB plus 7d SB as a round-trip). We've done two NB cruises, and now that we live in Seattle we're doing a Seattle RT. We're going to miss out on some of the glacier viewing that the one-way routes offer, but we'll gain the simplicity of local "travel" in exchange, and "gain" another day at-sea which helps me relax and sleep. Frankly I'd love a 11-day RT from SF to get the 2+2 days at sea, but it doesn't make sense living in Seattle and being a photography nut (which means we take lots of big lenses aboard, costing a lot to fly if we went to SF).

I think you'll notice that ALL cruises that include US ports also include at least one international port as well. I've heard that it's some sort of legislation originally intended for cargo ships, but unfortunately written in such a way that the cruise lines have to comply.

Be careful what you dream for. I wish Princess would bring back their 14-day small-ship route, which went further out the SW Alaska "arm", and would provide more relaxation mid-cruise. I could do two of those a summer and still lust for more.