Alaska Cruise Help

Hi, I am a seasoned Carribbean & Panama Canal cruiser. My healthy, but 81 yr. old Mother has decided an Alaska cruise is on her bucket list for summer 2013. It's quite possible our group will also include a few 50 somethings, another 70+ Mother and two children 8 & 11. Biggest question...Can this group please tell me if we should be looking at the Inside Passage or Voyage of the Glaciers???

Obviously we want to save money, and we are all coming from South Florida, so we need airfare for the 1st time ever!

Where is the best port to sail from?

I liked the Island Princess (from our Canal cruise) with the inside pool, but am open to suggestions.

Usually an Oceanview cabin suffices for me. Do you recommend a balcony for Alaska?

How many days? We're not going to be dog sledding or hiking, This is mainly for my Mother to see Alaska by cruise.

Your input has never failed me before. I love this group, and crusing! Thanks!

We took my mother for her 80th on the 7 day Alaska northbound out of Vancouver and we are in our 50's so very similar. We sailed on the Island and absolutely loved it. Her 76 year old sister went along so she had a room mate she could do things with if we went our separate ways on the ship. This was kind of a bucket list item for both of them.

The Island was great and the staff excellent. There are plenty of things to do that do not require a lot of walking. They enjoyed the wildlife viewing, the gardens of Juneau and the "Days of 98" show in Skagway.

I would suggest they pack a some warmer clothing and some good quality binoculars. I also would suggest booking a balcony. With so mutch scenic cruising in Glacier Bay and College Fjord it is a great place to view the glaciers. They turn the ship so it doesn't matter which side. We had adjoining balconies and were able to open them up into one large one, it was great.

Alaska is one of Princess' most popular areas. There are so many choices from RT cruises, one way cruises and cruisetours.

The Grand will be doing 10 day RT San Fran. Golden and Star are doing 7 day RT Seattle. Coral, Island, Diamond and Sapphire all do 7 day one way either northbound or southbound. The one way cruises can be booked as cruisetours which include 3 to 8 nights land tour of Alaska. You really have to look at all of it.

From the ship point of view, all of the above ships have indoor pools. The Coral and Island have approximately 2000 passengers vs the other ships which hold approximately 2600. The Coral and Island are my favorites as they have the most public space per passenger. However, I have been on the Grand, Sapphire,and Star and have not felt crowded on these. The Coral and Diamond are going into dry dock before the 2013 Alaska season. It's rumored that the Coral will get the international cafe in the current casino bar area. The Star was in dry dock late 2011 and had some nice improvements to the Horizon Ct, plus other areas. Have not seen any rumors yet about the Diamond, but I guess it might wind up looking something like the Sapphire.

No avoiding the flights, on one ways you have to either fly to or from Alaska.

We are sailing on the newly refurbished Grand Princess in Sapt. 2013 RT from San Francisco. This is our second trip to Alaska. As we are on the east coast, flying into Fairbanks was very expensive. RT San Francisco will be far less money, for sure. And, perhaps, easier on the older folks. Look at this cruise.

If this is a one time Alaska cruise then for sure the Voyage of the Glaciers is the cruise to take. There is very much more scenery in the Inside Passage out of Vancouver. If you see this as a bit of an Alaska sampler then a return out of Seattle will suffice but remember you will not have any scenery for the best part of a day in either direction and you are out in the open Pacific where you can be subject to rough waters.

As for which ship any will be fine but I have a preference for the Sapphire/Diamond. They have superior viewing areas, large public area and are big without feeling big.

Balconies are a subjective thing and over the years I have had a port hole, obstructed view and balcony. One thing with a balcony is the fact that with Alaska the weather can preclude the use of a balcony and combine that the fact that you are in port for several days no matter which cruise you choose....you have to start questioning the value of a balcony. Some will argue that a balcony is a must for your glacier day(s) but if you stay on your balcony those days you will only take in half of the scenery, you really need to get out on deck to take it all in. In the end there is no correct answer.

Thanks everyone so far. Keep it coming!

If we choose a 1 way Voyage of the Glaciers, is there a preference sailing North or South, or is it just based on which port gives us the best airfare?

I am not a seasoned cruiser, but have recently done Inside Passage on Sapphire (with 80+ year old mom and two of my sisters) and Northbound Voyage of the Glaciers on Island.

Points I would consider:

• Both itineraries hit the same ports and some of the Inside Passage trips go up to glacier bay, so compare the trips.
  
• On the trip with mom, one of my sister's shared a handicapped balcony cabin with her and we all had a key to their cabin. That is one way to save on the cost of the trip and you can share the balcony.
  
• As you know, Island Princess (loved that ship) has lots of public space; fewer passengers; great public balconies forward and aft for viewing the scenery. If I recall correctly, Sapphire Princess has the covered/enclosed pool also.
  
• You live in Florida and as Putterdude says, the northbound trip is great, but the flight home will be pretty long (we had an overnight back to Denver). Is mom up to that? Are you willing to break up the travel if needed--flying AK to Vancouver and spending a night or two then travel home? Northbound also involves transfers from port at Whittier to Anchorage--via bus or Alaska rail.
  
• My mom used a wheelchair frequently on board to get around. We rented a mobility scooter in Ketchikan so she could get around more easily and independently. The crew is great pushing WC's up and down the ramp.
  

Just some thougths. Hope you have a great trip.

If it were me, I'd book the Island or Coral Princess and I'd book an oceanview cabin. Then, for the glaciers, I'd book The Sanctuary for the morning or day. The Sanctuary on the Coral/Island is aft and over half of the loungers on Lido deck are covered. They have blankets, hot drinks and you're thoroughly spoiled.

The reason I say this is that for my 17-day Island cruise last September/October, I could only get an oceanview because it was so sold out. So I booked the Sanctuary for the cruise. Much cheaper than getting a balcony and it was fabulous on the day we went through the Canal.

I'd take the southbound because you get the long flight over with first.

I had an inside cabin on Diamond, and I didn't miss anything. I did a B2B, Whittier-Vancouver-Whittier. The flight to Anchorage was much longer and more stressful than the flight back. My flight was supposed to get into A. at midnight, but we didn't get there until 2:30am, and I was checking into my hotel at 3:30am. It was a very short, expensive night. Don't let sanyone persuade you that you have to have a balcony. Plenty of passengers travel without balconies and their cruise experience doesn't suffer. EM

Great idea on the sanctuary Pam. I didn't mean to suggest that a balcony was a must at all. In fact we book OV guarantee most of the time. On our Alaska cruise last year we were treated by the upgrade fairy to balconies or otherwise it would not have been then either. I was surprised how much we used them. Other cruises, not so much. It would depend on price and personal preference but IMHO, if one is thinking about trying a balcony, Alaska would be a good choice.

As to the port to start from, it would depend on what you want to see. We usually fly to visit the port city a day or two before so we are there on time:) and since we had been to Anchorage before we wanted to see Vancouver. There is no bad choice.

We have done the 1 way twice, both from Alaska south to Vancouver. Happy with the itinerary both times.

I suggest you look at the times in port or with the galciers in both directions. Some itineraries do not have as much time in ports as the others and may have the time at the glaciers early in the day.

Any of the Princess ships on this route would be good, but I do agree with the recommendations for the Island/Coral for the reasons others have given.

Ihave cruised Alaska 11 times so far and will be doing so again in 2013. I also worked at Princess Mt. McKinley lodge. If you are doing a one way 7 day cruise I would suggest going northbound because even though the whole trip is beautiful the views do get more beautiful as you head northbound.

There are plenty of great things to do and see when on an Alaskan cruise, as I said I have cruised Alaska 11 times and I always find something new to do or see. Regardless of which direction you go some things to do or see will depend on when you go. Even though the Alaskan cruise season is only from May to September each month holds different things to do or see. For instance May cruising is considered the dry season and with the snow melting you will see thousands of waterfalls, also wildlife is just starting to come out so you will not see as many bears or moose.

The start of June is still dry but the rains will start about the third week of June but the end of June will start salmon season. Wildlife will be coming out more and more as well as flowers.

July, one of the most popular months, is actually the rainiest month. Wildlife will be peak as well as peak for the salmon run, however you will get wet.

Mid August things will start to dry out again but the weather will also start to head towards fall weather conditions. It will also start getting dark earlier and earlier but this increases the chance to see northern lights at the most northern end of an Alaskan cruise.

September you will be in the full fall season and you will also have a chance of seeing some snow during the last couple weeks of the cruising season. It will also be when bears and other animals will be starting their winter preperations and disappearing from sight.

I hope this helps you some.

Thanks for all of your help. You can always count on this group! After all of your suggestions, and discovering that the Diamond is scheduled for drydock/refurb in Oct., we are focusing in on the Voyage of the Glaciers 14 day round trip on the Island from Vancouver......so that leaves July 8 or July 22 as a departure date, and I will just look to see which offers the better airfare from Florida. I have read that it's a quick taxi ride to the port area. I do believe that we will have to arrive a day early and I know we cannot disembark and make our return flight, if we want to use USA, which is where we have points for at least one ticket. This means a hotel in Vancouver. Any suggestions? Not interested in spending $200-$300 per night, so any budget hotels just for sleeping??? Thanks again all!

Thanks for all of your help. You can always count on this group! After all of your suggestions, and discovering that the Diamond is scheduled for drydock/refurb in Oct., we are focusing in on the Voyage of the Glaciers 14 day round trip on the Island from Vancouver......so that leaves July 8 or July 22 as a departure date, and I will just look to see which offers the better airfare from Florida. I have read that it's a quick taxi ride to the port area. I do believe that we will have to arrive a day early and I know we cannot disembark and make our return flight, if we want to use USA, which is where we have points for at least one ticket. This means a hotel in Vancouver. Any suggestions? Not interested in spending $200-$300 per night, so any budget hotels just for sleeping??? Thanks again all!

This 14 day combination of two one-way cruises will give you three different beautiful glacier areas...Glacier Bay twice, Hubbard Glacier and College Fjords. Leaving from Vancouver also adds extra gorgeous scenery, as already mentioned. Since your mother seems very interested in the beautiful scenery of Alaska, I would consider the Adventure Bound all day tour to Tracy Arm Fjord on the northbound leg of your cruise. (assuming the NB still has the full day in Juneau that allows for this tour.) Tracy Arm Fjord is a very beautiful area of Alaska and well worth the day on the tour for someone truly interested in seeing breathtaking scenery. Well worth the extra money!!!

http://www.adventureboundalaska.com/

Definitely come in at least one day early. It is not worth the stress. Too much can go wrong...weather delays, mechanical delays, cancelled flights, etc.

There is a lot to see and do in Vancouver, so staying another day to tour would offer you lots to see. However, if you feel it would be too much for your mother, you may want to compare prices on other airlines. Sometimes that "free" ticket will end up costing more for the rest of you. We have seen that happen and had to forgo the free flight and save the miles for another time. Some people fly into Seattle and then transfer to Vancouver via bus, rental car or train. This often saves money, but some consider it too much of a hassle when traveling with the elderly.

You may find some answers to a budget hotel in Vancouver on the west coast departures board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

Good luck with your planning. You are off to a good start with your planning.

Hi baronessk, u might want to try days inn downtown Vancouver if u r looking for a cheaper hotel.

We stayed for 1 night b4 our cruise from Vancouver n it is quite worth it for a nights stay. :)

Thanks for all of your help. You can always count on this group! After all of your suggestions, and discovering that the Diamond is scheduled for drydock/refurb in Oct., we are focusing in on the Voyage of the Glaciers 14 day round trip on the Island from Vancouver......so that leaves July 8 or July 22 as a departure date, and I will just look to see which offers the better airfare from Florida. I have read that it's a quick taxi ride to the port area. I do believe that we will have to arrive a day early and I know we cannot disembark and make our return flight, if we want to use USA, which is where we have points for at least one ticket. This means a hotel in Vancouver. Any suggestions? Not interested in spending $200-$300 per night, so any budget hotels just for sleeping??? Thanks again all!

One caveat on the Sanctuary, when I was on the Star earlier this year, the Sanctuary was closed more than it was open.

I was just looking at Vancouver hotels for our May 24 cruise. Several hotels were reviewed on Trip Adviser that were listed as being in the $150 or less range. Especially near the airport or in North Vancouver.