Which EXACT itinerary for Alaska cruise?

[Royal Addiction]

I'm reading the Alaska reviews, yet few of them say exactly which itinerary they chose: Northbound, Southbound, Sawyer Glacier, leaving from Seattle, Vancouver, Alaska, .....which one gives you the best scenery and wildlife viewing? And how many cruisetour days do you recommend? I really need specifics, but reviewers don't mention the exact name of the cruise they took as listed on the website.

 

Thanks for any help!

[firefly333]

The ship should be listed and the itinerary is assumed. Most people want to do a round trip from Seattle because of the cost of airfare. going one direction, you would get to see more ...but the airfare could be sky high and problematic.

 

I know RCL does a round trip from Vancouver Canada ...which you start further north, so you can see a little more than say on Princess leaving from Seattle and doing a round trip.

 

Id love to do a north bound and southbound together.

[Sue L]

The best in my opinion is southbound and doing the tour first so you get the longest flight over with first, and the busy land tour. You then board the ship for a more relaxing portion. The length of the tour is determined by what you want to see, assuming Denali then add the others that fit your time a budget.

[Mango Tango]

We did a 7 night Northbound cruise on the Radiance out of Vancouver. We flew into Vancouver 3 days before and had a wonderful time exploring Vancouver. We also did a 5 day land tour when we got off the ship in Seward. We spent 2 days in Denali which was fabulous. We then flew home from Fairbanks.

[gnocchi_mommy]

Whatever you do, head north beyond Southeast AK and Glacier Bay- southcentral Alaska and the peninsula is very different than say, Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau. So something that ends in Seward would be perfect- take extra days to explore.. go to Whittier and visit Portage Glacier. Anchorage is an amazing city, and not at all like your lower 48 cities, you can spend several days there enjoying it. Maybe visit Homer if you want to be a little off the beaten track but still have inns and restaurants to choose from. If you want an experience you will never forget, catch the Alaska Marine Highway ferry out of Whittier to Cordova and spend a few days there in Alaska hidden treasure, before flying south. There is an AK Air jet that flies south on a milk run to Seattle from there daily. If you are going to go that far north you might as well experience at least a taste of the real Alaska and not just the theatrical backdrops you are exposed to on the cruise stops.

[klingoncruiser]

If you have the time, do a southbound with a land tour to start. If not, then take a northbound and spend a couple extra days in Anchorage before you come home.

 

Last choice is to go out of Seattle. You will miss a lot if you do.

 

Check the Alsaka Ports board on CC for LOADS of information.

[dce85]

I would encourage you to choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay National Park. Be aware that weather makes a HUGE difference on what you see and what you don't. We had a wonderful view of the Glaciers as we cruised through the Nat'l Park but the park ranger admitted that the week before everything had been fogged in. We flew to Anchorage and took the train to Seward. That was a gorgeous trip!

[negc]

For both of our Alaska cruises we did southbound itineraries coupled with at least a five night land tour that included Fairbanks, Denali, and Anchorage. Last year we added Talkeetna to the itinerary and loved the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge and the little town itself.

As SueL said, I recommend doing the land tour first so that you get the longest flights over with at the beginning of your vacation and so that you have time on the ship to recover from what can be a very active land tour. At the end of the cruise in Vancouver, we always add a couple of days to spend in this wonderful city and its environs. Victoria, Butchart Gardens, and Whistler Mountain are just some of the must-see places in British Columbia and make a great conclusion to your Alaskan adventure. You will need to budget extra time and money but in the end I believe that it is well worth it .:)

[dirtgirl]

The ship should be listed and the itinerary is assumed. Most people want to do a round trip from Seattle because of the cost of airfare. going one direction, you would get to see more ...but the airfare could be sky high and problematic.

 

I know RCL does a round trip from Vancouver Canada ...which you start further north, so you can see a little more than say on Princess leaving from Seattle and doing a round trip.

 

Id love to do a north bound and southbound together.

 

OK, this is false! I sell A LOT of Alaska cruises, being in Vancouver. ;) RCI does not sail round-trip out of Vancouver - it has the Radiance doing one ways. The Rhapsody sails out of Seattle, with an inferior itinerary.

 

The BEST Alaska cruises sail out of/into Vancouver. The only good point about Seattle cruises is the cost, as you say. If you want a better itinerary, calmer seas, and better scenery, go out of Vancouver.

 

HAL is the number one cruise line doing Alaska. Princess is number 2. I would pick Princess to do a cruise tour - they have their own lodges, although I may have to duck as this is the RCI board. :o But, I know my stuff as regards Alaska!

 

Cruise tours are busy - best to do them before the cruise. As to length - well - how much do you want to see, and where do you want to go? The minimum land portion is generally 3 days. Do you want to see more than Denali? That would determine which tour you choose. ;)

[Sue L]

OK, this is false! I sell A LOT of Alaska cruises, being in Vancouver. ;) RCI does not sail round-trip out of Vancouver - it has the Radiance doing one ways. The Rhapsody sails out of Seattle, with an inferior itinerary.

 

The BEST Alaska cruises sail out of/into Vancouver. The only good point about Seattle cruises is the cost, as you say. If you want a better itinerary, calmer seas, and better scenery, go out of Vancouver.

 

HAL is the number one cruise line doing Alaska. Princess is number 2. I would pick Princess to to a cruise tour - they have their own lodges, although I may have to duck as this is the RCI board. :o But, I know my stuff as regards Alaska!

 

Cruise tours are busy - best to do them before the cruise. As to length - well - how much do you want to see, and where do you want to go? The minimum land portion is generally 3 days. Do you want to see more than Denali? That would determine which tour you choose. ;)

 

Firefly333 is probably thinking of the Serenade which did do the round trip out of Vancouver and probably doesn't realize it no longer does which is a shame. Celebrity does a round trip out of Vancouver which is a great cruise also...just no land.

[dirtgirl]

Firefly333 is probably thinking of the Serenade which did do the round trip out of Vancouver and probably doesn't realize it no longer does which is a shame. Celebrity does a round trip out of Vancouver which is a great cruise also...just no land.

 

 

Yep, Serenade hasn't done that since '09, and it is a shame! :(

 

We have the Celebrity Century, HAL Volendam, and HAL Zuiderdam doing round-trips out of Vancouver (and the Disney Wonder for this season). Oceania is doing a couple of round-trips out of Vancouver, but they are basically sold out. Next year Princess will finally be doing 3 round-trip Vancouver cruises -they are obviously liking what they see as to demand and what price they can command! Best to book round-trips out of Vancouver the year ahead. Seriously.

 

And if you want to do a cruise tour of Alaska, the only 7 day one way sailings are out of Vancouver.

[pcur]

We did the Rhapsody's last itinerary last season in 9/10. We left from Seattle and ended in Vancouver, then did a b2b over to Hawaii. It was a fabulous trip! Alaska and Hawaii in one trip!

 

The Inside Passage is amazing, and the scenery breathtaking. We loved sitting up in the Viking Crown Lounge as the sun went down, watching all the fabulous scenery go by.

 

Sawyer Glacier was truly a great experience, and you can see it behind me in my avatar picture above.

[destiny217]

Here's the Cruise Critic Alaska site:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/regions/alaska-cruises/

 

You can sort by cruise line, date and ratings. Once you click on a review, go to the bottom and you will see~~ Read the Alaska ports review.

[klingoncruiser]

OK, this is false! I sell A LOT of Alaska cruises, being in Vancouver. ;) RCI does not sail round-trip out of Vancouver - it has the Radiance doing one ways. The Rhapsody sails out of Seattle, with an inferior itinerary.

 

The BEST Alaska cruises sail out of/into Vancouver. The only good point about Seattle cruises is the cost, as you say. If you want a better itinerary, calmer seas, and better scenery, go out of Vancouver.

 

HAL is the number one cruise line doing Alaska. Princess is number 2. I would pick Princess to do a cruise tour - they have their own lodges, although I may have to duck as this is the RCI board. :o But, I know my stuff as regards Alaska!

 

Cruise tours are busy - best to do them before the cruise. As to length - well - how much do you want to see, and where do you want to go? The minimum land portion is generally 3 days. Do you want to see more than Denali? That would determine which tour you choose. ;)

 

After 17 years of going to Alaska, I have to agree. I love RCI and Celebrity, but Princess still owns this market. However RCI has some nice land tours now and their own train cars as well.

 

RCI had cut WAY back on Alaska as did other lines in a tiff over a passenger tax a couple of years ago. Shame on Alaska, but they have mostly resolved it now.

 

Best bet for Alaska still remains a RT out of Vancouver or on way.

[Royal Addiction]

Awesome info, guys! Thanks!! I'm sticking with RCI though because of the VISA points. I saved $500 last month on our Explorer Caribbean cruise with $300 of OBC. I'll have about the same savings in 2 years for the Alaska one as well.

 

If you want to read my Explorer review, it's listed as a 2/11 cruise on Explorer under Royal Addiction's name. 5 + stars.

 

Thanks for the help!

[negc]

HAL is the number one cruise line doing Alaska. Princess is number 2. I would pick Princess to do a cruise tour - they have their own lodges, although I may have to duck as this is the RCI board. :o But, I know my stuff as regards Alaska!

;)

I say this not because we are on an RCI board and I have to admit that my opinion is based on only two Alaska cruisetours (one on Princess and the other on RCI) but while the Princess tour was wonderful, our RCI cruisetour was exceptional. The lodging that RCI used in Fairbanks and in Talkeetna was much better than the Princess lodges that we stayed in in Denali and Fairbanks. Princess included the Natural History Tour in Denali while RCI offered the Tundra Wilderness tour, which most believe to be the superior tour. Transportation on Princess to the ship was by motor coach, while RCI offered us the opportunity to take the marvelous rail transfer from Anchorage to the ship in Seward. RCI's tour also included a full-time tour director and a bus driver who accompanied us on the entire land portion of the trip. I also found the RCI railcars better suited for the trip since no one was riding facing backwards the way that the Princess cars are set up. Princess took us to Glacier Bay while RCI took us to Hubbard Glacier. Having experienced both, I can't honestly say that one was hands down better than the other. Either company will offer a good Alaska experience but I found that RCI's program was better than Princess' in just about every aspect.

[April-in-NC]

I'm reading the Alaska reviews, yet few of them say exactly which itinerary they chose: Northbound, Southbound, Sawyer Glacier, leaving from Seattle, Vancouver, Alaska, .....which one gives you the best scenery and wildlife viewing? And how many cruisetour days do you recommend? I really need specifics, but reviewers don't mention the exact name of the cruise they took as listed on the website.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

I was hoping to do an Alaskan cruise this summer (ended up doing a Southern cruise because it is a lot cheaper) so I have done a ton of research.

 

I was also sticking with RCI because of Visa points, so I was looking at the 7-night one way cruises from Seward and Vancouver. My personal preference was to do a land tour on our own (much cheaper than an organized tour) and do the southbound cruise. It turned out that it was a few hundred dollars cheaper for us to do the cruise first and then do the cruise tour.

 

If you are comfortable driving long distances (and/or have another person who can share driving duty) it can save a TON of money doing the land tour on your own. You also have the added flexibility of staying longer in areas you like or leaving early if you don't like a place.