Alaska 2020

I went on an Alaskan cruise in May 2017; however, it was a mother-daughter trip, so I had no part in planning cruise line or itinerary. We were on the Norwegian Pearl and it was a very nice trip.

Now I’m looking WAY ahead and starting research to plan a 7 day cruise out of Seattle in May 2020 for my husband’s retirement/birthday celebration.

I would like input - pros and cons (price, service, food, even particular balcony cabins, etc) on the various ships. I can’t say money is no object, but since I have some time to plan and save, I can do a little more than what we would usually do for a trip.

TIA

You will get many different opinions, of what is “best”, but that may not be best for you. To many, the itinerary is more important than the specific ship or cruise line. I would look at the main ports in Alaska and find things that are interesting to you all, then find an itinerary that spends the most time in those ports. A one-way will usually give you the most ports and / or time in ports.

My preference is a one-way Northbound cruise from Vancouver to Seward or Whittier. This usually gives you the most time in ports and the ability to spend time before and after the cruise touring Vancouver and more of Alaska. I like a Northbound to get the feeling of sailing to Alaska, with the scenery getting better each day. Others prefer a land tour in Alaska first, then a Southbound Cruise. Neither is necessarily better, just different preferences.

A balcony cabin is nice, with many preferring an aft balcony cabin, but it’s not a necessity to have a great trip. There are many places on the ship where you can get great views. My opinion is that a balcony is preferable, but I would not cut back on excursions just to get a balcony. Excursions can be expensive in Alaska, especially those involving flights. So I would start with the excursions you want to do and determine how much is left in the budget, then choose the cabin type.

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I really like Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports Of Call. New edition just came out. I used it when planning for my upcoming cruise. Once I settled on which ship, then I used this and trip advisor to fine tune things. Happy planning.

"JT1962" has you headed in the right direction. I would also suggest that you might want to take a look at the top of the Alaska board and look over the trip reports for the last couple of years --- lots of good information from first-hand sources.