General Alaska Advice Please

I am looking at doing an Alaska Cruisetour in 2019 from the UK. I am looking at both Princess and HAL. The cruisetour is likely to be 6 or 7 nights on land, followed by a 7 night southbound cruise to Vancouver.

Having done some research, I kind of feel that I want to see both Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier but it seems the only line that does this is Princess. Would I be missing anything if the cruise did not call at Hubbard Glacier?

I have got brochures from both companies but the HAL brochure is incredibly difficult to work through/understand.

If anyone out there has sailed Alaska with both Princess & HAL, any thoughts would be really welcome.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Another difference between the HAL and Princess SB Cruises has been that HAL actually stops in Haines where Princess stops in Skagway. I haven’t double checked to see if this has changed in 2019.

You may want to research to see if you prefer one or the other.

The facetious but still relevant answer is that you'd be missing Hubbard! Maybe it'll turn out to be your favourite glacier...

Glacier Bay is a big draw because the odds of failing to see a glacier are vanishingly small - but it could still be a day with crappy visibility when you are there on any line, meaning poor photo ops.

The more glacier time you have, the more chance you'll get a good day, see calving, get great photos... so if it's a priority I'd definitely weight a cruise with 2 glacier days much higher than 1 day.

OP, doesn't NCL have a Glaicer Bay/Hubbard combo itinerary? Well if you want to see glaciers, the more you see the better every glacier is different.

Your comments are alarming with "difficult,, understand/work through" It's essential, you figure that out- FIRST. And know ALL the details of what you are looking at. You aren't going to be able to make an informed decision otherwise. At the least Be certain, you want your time at the McKinley Lodge??? I see a whole lot of nothing going on here, when I've done a stop. But with Princess, there is Prince William Sound for fantastic glacier boat tours, way superior to anything seen from a cruise ship- However, cruise tours, most all simply bypass this opportunity.

I haven't seen the HAL brochure, but I've noticed that a lot of companies lately put fairly brief info in printed brochures and the real information is to be found on line. The HAL website accessed from a computer browser may provide better information. The version of the HAL website that shows up on my phone is lacks important information that shows up on the computer (e.g. it doesn't show port times - just the day). I haven't tried on a tablet.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. If the whole-trip itineraries are pretty much the same I would not really be interested in NCL - just not my type of cruise line. The HAL itinerary that misses Hubbard Glacier does include an excursion on a small boat to view Portage Glacier. Any info on that would be great too.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. If the whole-trip itineraries are pretty much the same I would not really be interested in NCL - just not my type of cruise line. The HAL itinerary that misses Hubbard Glacier does include an excursion on a small boat to view Portage Glacier. Any info on that would be great too.

The 2018 HAL cruise that I was looking at included small boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. Is that what you are referring to? If so, there is a lot of info on that on this board.

Princess docks in Whittier while everybody else uses Seward. You can walk a short distance from the Princess dock to where you can take a "glacier" cruise up into College Fjord, where you'll see more tidewater glaciers in a couple of hours than you'll have seen on the whole cruise north.

Are you totally sold on a cruisetour? Many people tour independently and not only see more, but do so more cheaply. Self-driving in Alaska is easy, and you can make up your own itinerary.

The 2018 HAL cruise that I was looking at included small boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. Is that what you are referring to? If so, there is a lot of info on that on this board.

The 2019 one I am looking at spends one night in Anchorage and 1 night in Seward, so presumably takes in the Portage Glacier cruise on the journey between Anchorage and Seward? It doesn't mention the Portage Glacier cruise on the HAL website but is in a brochure I was sent by e-mail from my cruise agent here in the UK.

Princess docks in Whittier while everybody else uses Seward. You can walk a short distance from the Princess dock to where you can take a "glacier" cruise up into College Fjord, where you'll see more tidewater glaciers in a couple of hours than you'll have seen on the whole cruise north.

 

Are you totally sold on a cruisetour? Many people tour independently and not only see more, but do so more cheaply. Self-driving in Alaska is easy, and you can make up your own itinerary.

Thanks for that. Unfortunately, all the Princess cruisetours we are considering include the 'direct to ship' rail transfer and the ship sails the same day. Alaska is a long way from the UK and neither me nor my travel companion are as young as we used to be so I think we are both sold on a cruisetour where all the driving is done for us. It also means we can get a flight & accommodation package to include all flights & transfers.

The 2019 one I am looking at spends one night in Anchorage and 1 night in Seward, so presumably takes in the Portage Glacier cruise on the journey between Anchorage and Seward? It doesn't mention the Portage Glacier cruise on the HAL website but is in a brochure I was sent by e-mail from my cruise agent here in the UK.

Sorry but Portage Glacier is hardly worth the time. It's a cheap add on tour, of an hour. do they mention, you have time at the Visitor Center? The "glacier" tours to consider are out of Whittier, just superb opportunities, on PWS.

It makes a BIG different on what is noted in the description with Seward. Is any boat tour included? Is it at least 6 hours on the water? Essential you know this. Know- what you want to see and do, in both Seward and Anchorage and be certain, it's available for you. there is way more to Alaska. :)

The 2018 HAL cruise that I was looking at included small boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. Is that what you are referring to? If so, there is a lot of info on that on this board.

What cruise are you referring to?

Sorry but Portage Glacier is hardly worth the time. It's a cheap add on tour, of an hour. do they mention, you have time at the Visitor Center? The "glacier" tours to consider are out of Whittier, just superb opportunities, on PWS.

 

It makes a BIG different on what is noted in the description with Seward. Is any boat tour included? Is it at least 6 hours on the water? Essential you know this. Know- what you want to see and do, in both Seward and Anchorage and be certain, it's available for you. there is way more to Alaska. :)

Thanks for the useful information.

Sorry to jump in here, but this is along the same line. Budget Queen, you helped me a lot planning our Alaska cruise 14 years ago and now I'm helping a friend plan theirs. Do you know if there any cruisetours that include Seward as an overnight so they could take the Kenai Fjords boat tour? They are hesitant to tour land on their own but are really interested in staying in Seward at least one day/night. Thanks!

What cruise are you referring to?

Hi Budget Queen: We are considering doing Celebrity cruise to Alaska and then a land tour. Not very good reviews on the lodging and food on these tours. Any suggestions?? Is Celebrity good to do Alaska and their hotels they use or should we consider another cruise line? Planning for June 25, 2018.

Thanks for any help.

Princess docks in Whittier while everybody else uses Seward. You can walk a short distance from the Princess dock to where you can take a "glacier" cruise up into College Fjord, where you'll see more tidewater glaciers in a couple of hours than you'll have seen on the whole cruise north.

 

Perhaps this board can help us. We finish our Princess cruise in Whittier. Princess offers an excursion that will bring us to the airport or overnight hotel if we were staying. However, is there a way to take the Kenai Fjord Boat Tour after we disembark and then get a transfer to Anchorage for our flight home in the early evening?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

thanks in advance,

Pat

Perhaps this board can help us. We finish our Princess cruise in Whittier. Princess offers an excursion that will bring us to the airport or overnight hotel if we were staying. However, is there a way to take the Kenai Fjord Boat Tour after we disembark and then get a transfer to Anchorage for our flight home in the early evening Pat

Kenai Fjord Tour is out of Seward, and you don't have time to get there, take the tour, and then make your flight.

Maybe you mean a glacier tour out of Whittier? Again, no time to take the regular tour, (as they don't go out until after noon) and then get back to Anchorage for your flight, but there are custom trips available. Here is one--I have no idea of prices:

https://www.lazyottercharters.com/

Kenai Fjord Tour is out of Seward, and you don't have time to get there, take the tour, and then make your flight.

 

Maybe you mean a glacier tour out of Whittier? Again, no time to take the regular tour, (as they don't go out until after noon) and then get back to Anchorage for your flight, but there are custom trips available. Here is one--I have no idea of prices:

https://www.lazyottercharters.com/

Thank you!