First Alaska cruise and I need help

This will be my first Alaska cruise. I don't care for Carnival. I have cruised on the Star Princess before and enjoy the product but also want to try HAL as I am 50 years old and might enjoy that atmosphere a little more. I am not worried about extensive nightlife but do like to have a beer and listen to blues or jazz. I'm mainly just really excited to see Alaska. I will be traveling by myself.

Here is my difficult decision...I am looking at a 7 day cruise in September and I can either do a Southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver on Coral Princess which has a great itinerary with both Hubbard and Glacier Bay but would be in an obstructed view cabin. I understand the public viewing areas are great on the Coral and not crowded at all.

I can also go roundtrip from Seattle on the Eurodam with Glacier Bay, Sitka, and a small boat excursion to Tracy Arm(weather permitting). This would be in a balcony cabin which I love!!! I love sleeping with the door open even if its cold and sitting and watching the world go by in my own private area. Also very much enjoy getting room service from main dining room during lunch and dinner hours. Also very easy travel from my home in Denver.

I am totally torn between these two trips, the really great Southbound route vs. the balcony and HAL atmosphere. I know there have been many posts regarding is a balcony needed in Alaska, but hoping all of you will give me your thoughts. Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

These two trips are within a couple hundred dollars of one another once air and one night hotel in Anchorage are factored in.

Both are great options, flip a coin? Are you really going to make a decision based on anonymous claims "I" would do this? (with sometimes a bias reason, or slanted negative for reason "why"?)

A factor to consider is when in Sept. I wouldn't choose past the first week for either. Too big of a loss of daylight for my preferences.

IF in Anchorage can you add several days? A lot of possibilities, and no, one answer.

Enjoy your planning.

Actually its leaving August 26th and returning September 2nd.....

The small boat excursion is an extra cost item.

I would suggest the Coral . They have a nice large promenade deck with wooden lounge chairs and wool blankets . The last HAL cruise we took (also friends of ours) found that HAL standards have dropped to save money.

The Coral probably does Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay on that cruise. Those are two of the nicest glaciers if seen in Alaska.

You actually get close to the face (1/2 mile) on both.

Hi-

We took the Golden Princess to Alaska (stops included Glacier Bay) a few years ago the week of Memorial Day and had a balcony room. Here were some of the advantages of the balcony:

* A private place to hangout and take photos. We went onto one of the covered decks while in Glacier Bay to see what it was like, and there were too many people competing for the same viewing space

* A place to warm up quickly. Glacier Bay in late May was 49 degrees. We kept bopping into the cabin and back out to the balcony to deal with the cold

* Comfortable and convenient photo taking. Taking photos were a big part of our trip, so we appreciated being able to lay our photo equipment on the bed, go onto the balcony to take photos, and go back into the stateroom to change equipment

Princess, by the way, did a terrific job in Alaska, with a great naturalist giving many talks--including a narration while we were in Glacier Bay, several other great speakers, salmon buffet, etc.

Also of note, Alaska tends to draw an older crowd on Princess.

Hope some of this helped. - Musing About Cruising

I looked at the Eurodam's itinerary (http://www.hollandamerica.com/details?webItineraryIdForAudit=A6E70S&fromSearchVacation=true&guestsCount=2&voyageCode=D756&selectedMeta=Interior&shipId=ED), and I don't see an option to do the Tracy Arm small boat excursion. When HAL offers that, it is usually noted in the itinerary as a service call only. If the ship does drop-off passengers for a Tracy Arm excursion, it will cut into your time in Juneau.

Both ships go to Glacier Bay, Juneau, and Ketchikan. HAL goes to Sitka while Princess goes to Skagway. HAL spends a few evening hours in Victoria, and Princess goes to Hubbard Glacier. Both have their advantages! :D

If you do choose Princess, I'd do as Budget Queen suggested and try to add a few more days in Alaska to the front end of your trip. However, it sounds like the balcony cabin on HAL is pretty important to you. Go with your heart.

If it's one thing I've learned from reading about cruising to Alaska, it's that you can hardly find fault with any of the itineraries. If you want to try HAL, have a balcony, and it's better for you logistically, then do it.

We looked at similar itineraries on both lines and in the end chose the Coral NB from Vancouver since we decided that the glacier viewing was what was the most important. I have read that the Tracy Arm excursion is spectacular and gets you sooo close to the glacier.

You can hardly make a wrong choice. :)

This will be my first Alaska cruise. I don't care for Carnival. I have cruised on the Star Princess before and enjoy the product but also want to try HAL as I am 50 years old and might enjoy that atmosphere a little more. I am not worried about extensive nightlife but do like to have a beer and listen to blues or jazz. I'm mainly just really excited to see Alaska. I will be traveling by myself.

 

Here is my difficult decision...I am looking at a 7 day cruise in September and I can either do a Southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver on Coral Princess which has a great itinerary with both Hubbard and Glacier Bay but would be in an obstructed view cabin. I understand the public viewing areas are great on the Coral and not crowded at all.

 

I can also go roundtrip from Seattle on the Eurodam with Glacier Bay, Sitka, and a small boat excursion to Tracy Arm(weather permitting). This would be in a balcony cabin which I love!!! I love sleeping with the door open even if its cold and sitting and watching the world go by in my own private area. Also very much enjoy getting room service from main dining room during lunch and dinner hours. Also very easy travel from my home in Denver.

 

I am totally torn between these two trips, the really great Southbound route vs. the balcony and HAL atmosphere. I know there have been many posts regarding is a balcony needed in Alaska, but hoping all of you will give me your thoughts. Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

These two trips are within a couple hundred dollars of one another once air and one night hotel in Anchorage are factored in.

If you are only going to spend 1 night in Anchorage & the cabin sounds inferior on that cruise (you profess to love to sleep with the door open) & didn't sound excited about an obstructed view.

It sounds to me like you should have already made the decision for yourself.

Here is my difficult decision...I am looking at a 7 day cruise in September

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/juneau/alaska/united-states/usak0116

September is also the month that has the most storms. One Sept, two HAL ships stay at Canada Place overnight due to huge storm just off the Pacific coast.

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This would be in a balcony cabin which I love!!! I love sleeping with the door open even if its cold and sitting and watching the world go by in my own private area.

I tell everyone who is thinking of doing an Alaskan cruise they should pay the extra expense and get the balcony. IMO, it is the one cruise that the balcony is worth every penny.

With regards to sleeping with your balcony door open, I've read elsewhere on CC that leaving the balcony door open is highly dissuaded because of how the cabin ventilation system is put together. If you leave your balcony open, not only will you affect the temperature of your cabin, but of the cabins around you. You could actually end up being hotter with the door left open as the rooms try to regulate themselves. At least that is my understanding.

Does anyone have a better or clearer explanation about this? Or is this all bunk and she could leave the balcony door open?

I can understand a balcony is attractive for Glacier viewing and the inside passage. However my mid-August trips were to cold and windy. I went Oceanview the following year.

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The Anchorage to Vancouver journey is far superior to a Seattle round trip journey IMHO. For instance, Seattle round trip cruises go west of Vancouver Island in open sea. You see more of Canada's inside passage with a cruise to/from Vancouver.

I can understand a balcony is attractive for Glacier viewing and the inside passage. However my mid-August trips were to cold and windy. I went Oceanview the following year.

 

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That's my concern.

We are sailing the Eurodam the first week of September and my wife insisted on a balcony in spite of what I read here - thought we could save a bit by going with an OV as Im not sure how much use we will get out of that verandah that time of year.

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Is the obstructed view cabin an obstructed view balcony? If so maybe you can find out something about that specific cabin from others. The only obstructed view balcony we ever had I really liked. It still had plenty of viewing but had a nice bulkhead that provided a good windbreak. I am sure each ship is different however.

That's my concern.

 

We are sailing the Eurodam the first week of September and my wife insisted on a balcony in spite of what I read here - thought we could save a bit by going with an OV as Im not sure how much use we will get out of that verandah that time of year.

• are you an outdoor person?
  
• do you spend a lot of time on your home deck or apartment balcony?
  
• do you drive with your windows open (got a convertible?) vs run the climate control system.
  

For those occasional times I want to be outside.... I just go out on the public decks while saving money.

September will have less daylight and will have less dry weather.