Planning for Alaska 2013 Cruise - please give feedback

[thechicagoans]

We are considering a cruise with extended family for 2013 and wanted to get everyone's thoughts. Some background on the group: will either be 3 adult couples or 4 adult couples + the last couple's two kids (10 and 13 by that time - very well behaved kids who love wildlife and nature, they do not need a significant kids program to keep them happy). None of us are going on an Alaska cruise expecting significant nightlife but all of us have cruised at least once - everyone has been on RCL and enjoyed it (Liberty for us, Oasis and Freedom for others).

 

Itinerary: Southbound from Seward/Whittier to Vancouver. We're doing Southbound instead of Northbound because most people's advice seems to be it's better to do the more active part first and then do the cruise. After reading many reviews it seems like only HAL, NCL, and Princess are allowed to go through Glacier Bay and given that it's such a highly rated place, we feel we must see it. It appears NCL only does r/t from Seattle so it's out for us. Therefore, we are not considering Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, or RCL and only focusing on HAL and Princess. Is this reasonable?

 

Timing: If the couple without their two kids is not going to join us, we will go in late May, otherwise, we'll have to go in late June - early August to accommodate their schedule. It seems like late May is relatively dry (we know Alaska weather is unpredictable) on average and the ports will likely not be as crowded in this time frame. Again, does that seem reasonable? If we have to accommodate the kids' school schedules, what is the best time to go?

 

Pre-Cruise Land Tour: We are all experienced travelers and quite organized so we don't feel the need to do an organized tour through the cruise line. We were thinking of flying in 4 days prior to departure to Anchorage, renting Avis/Hertz (based on whether we'll be doing a return to Seward or Whittier), spending 1st night in a hotel in Anchorage, driving up to Denali and taking Budget Queen's recommendation to stay at the Denali Park Hotel (rates seem reasonable) and staying there our 2nd night, spending 3rd day till 4 PM in Denali with a shuttle inside the park, driving to Talkeetna and spending the 3rd night there. On the 4th morning, we'd drive from Talkeetna to Seward or Whittier and do one of the tours there - seems like Whittier tours are all about the glaciers and Seward is more wildlife focused. Is this too ambitious given the driving times? Is it reasonable to drive? We feel that we could rent a minivan or SUV and save significant money over the other modes of travel and it would let us have the freedom to pull over wherever we want and enjoy the scenery and beauty of Alaska.

 

Cabin Type/Location: Some of our group will insist on a balcony while we will probably go with an Inside Stateroom. It sounds like given the southbound itinerary, the Balcony cabin folks will want to be on the Port Side. Make sense?

 

Which Cruise Line/Ship?At the risk of making major generalizations, it sounds like the crowd on HAL is significantly older than our group while Princess will only be slightly older. We understand that the average age in general is higher on Alaskan itineraries. The main things that matter to our group are in terms of weight: 50% Itinerary, 20% Cabin Comfort and Cleanliness (we are all firm mattress people - have checked with everyone else and that seems to point to us choosing Princess), 20% Food Quality and Taste, 5% Entertainment, 5% everything else. I realize I'm talking myself into Princess here but please correct me if I'm wrong. Also, sailing from Whittier seems to have an additional hour driving advantage and a quick embarkation process.

 

Within Princess, all of the ships look great but do you have any suggestions on ones that would be better? It appears that there is 0 difference in the itineraries between Coral, Diamond, Island, and Sapphire. It seems like Coral and Island are smaller and perhaps better suited for Alaska while not as small as the HAL ships like Statendam and Zandam. Between those two it seems like Island has the slight edge on Coral - I might be splitting hairs here. Any thoughts?

 

 

Thank you for your patience in reading through this "over-planner's" questions.

[Alaskanb]

I am a very early planner too! Our cruise however will be 2012 May 23 northbound from Vancouver on the Island Princess (mid week date was best for us) --I simply like the idea of adjusting to cooler weather before seeing the glaciers and wildlife etc. Our port days are incredibly busy and I plan on being on deck as much as I can on glacier days. We are pacing our land portion to suit us and are not going to Denali --too far in the time we have. I have found this to be the most difficult trip that I have ever planned but it is all working out. Making informed decisions is key. My best advice is to make a spreadsheet and calendar of events and try not to split too many hairs. Always remember that personal opinion is just that and is highly variable. Your trip is what you make of it.

[j&dmott]

Hello Chicago:

I too am looking at Alaska in 2013 and just started checking the message boards to see what people have said. My sister cruised in Alaska on Princess and said it was alot like cruising on RCL. Not sure if we want to do a BIG ship or try something smaller this time. My daughter is a teacher so we will have to go in July when school is over. We are looking at the 3rd week in July. Keep me posted on what you discover.

[epixx]

If you're considering going in May and want to go into Denali, then read this thread about timing of shuttles:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1509827&highlight=shuttle+may&page=2

 

You might (1) consider going northbound and doing the land portion of your trip after the cruise or (2) keeping the June-August time frame regardless of the presence or absence of kids.

[Budget Queen]

I don't agree with the "North/South" claims. And if you go in May, you are FAR better off going northbound, and getting into Denali Park as late as possible.

 

Your land touring IS underestimating time and distances. I encourage you to add at least another full day. With what you have now, you will be driving 5 hours to Seward, 3.5+++ tunnel time, for Whittier, but tours start laterat 1pm.

 

Being you are so far ahead, I would not get into a "fixed" schedule at this point. As time going on, this is likely to change many times over, as you read more, and get other ideas. Especially if you continue with a southbound cruise, depending when that is, it may be far more suited to tour the Kenai Peninsula, or even Valdez etc. which is a fantastic scenic loop in May with the Alaska ferry.

[thechicagoans]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. epixx and Budget Queen - your points are well taken. I think when I can finally get everyone on the phone, I need to discuss with the group what they value most - whether that ends up being Denali or Kenai. I think reading more about Denali has been somewhat sobering about the actual prospects for seeing "the great one".

 

Any feedback on HAL vs. Princess and specific ships?

[thechicagoans]

Also budgetqueen, I have read your opinion on this elsewhere so mostly asking others as it seems like the only way to do Hubbard AND Glacier Bay is to go Southbound while with the Northbound you do College Fjord and Glacier Bay.

 

My general impression is that Hubbard and Glacier Bay are more different than College Fjord and Glacier Bay and also that College Fjord can be done on a day cruise from Whittier.

 

Thoughts on this?

[TheCalicoCat]

Have you compared the ship sizes... We chose the smaller ship - thinking that it might be able to get in closer... (Also smaller is a better fit for us in general. I was almost off the ship before I figured out where I was going when I was on RCCL.)

 

From what I understand if you are interstead in bears - later is better.

 

May might have too much snow & or ice... (We chose June.)

[Budget Queen]

Also budgetqueen, I have read your opinion on this elsewhere so mostly asking others as it seems like the only way to do Hubbard AND Glacier Bay is to go Southbound while with the Northbound you do College Fjord and Glacier Bay.

 

My general impression is that Hubbard and Glacier Bay are more different than College Fjord and Glacier Bay and also that College Fjord can be done on a day cruise from Whittier.

 

Thoughts on this?

 

No College Fjords is not done on the tour boats out of Whittier.

[omc329]

I've just begun planning an Alaskan cruise for 2013 as well. I noticed you cut Norwegian because they only do Seattle roundtrip. Not true in 2013. We are booked northbound, Vancouver to Whittier, hitting both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. We'll arrive in Whittier on a Monday, giving us the option of extending the full week or not at the North end.

 

Norwegian will also be doing a southbound itinerary, slightly different from the Northbound.

 

I realize a lot of folks don't care for Norwegian as it is a much more laid back style than some of the other lines, but if itinerary is important, you might recheck those itineraries for 2013 on Norwegian.

[vbmom87]

I've just begun planning an Alaskan cruise for 2013 as well. I noticed you cut Norwegian because they only do Seattle roundtrip. Not true in 2013. We are booked northbound, Vancouver to Whittier, hitting both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. We'll arrive in Whittier on a Monday, giving us the option of extending the full week or not at the North end.

 

Thanks for sharing this information. It is good to hear that another cruiseline is putting both Hubbard and GLacier Bay on one itinerary. Unfortunately, it is not HAL. For 2012 HAL went from two glacier sailings (Glacier Bay and College Fjords) to just Glacier Bay on their NB and SB. It will interesting to see how this all plays out in the bookings.

[Putterdude]

Yes, NCL is re-entering the Vancouver - Alaska market for 2013. Surprisingly there has been little fanfare on the topic by either NCL or the Vancouver media. The only reason that I have known about it is by way of a poster who sails on NCL a lot and posts on the Canada and West Coast forums a lot.

[Budget Queen]

Yes, NCL is re-entering the Vancouver - Alaska market for 2013. Surprisingly there has been little fanfare on the topic by either NCL or the Vancouver media. The only reason that I have known about it is by way of a poster who sails on NCL a lot and posts on the Canada and West Coast forums a lot.

 

I too hope this succeeds, as I am a big NCL fan, sailing with them about 25 times (including my next trip, next month in Hawaii :) )

 

I am also sorry, HAL, has "cut back", for they too, offer an excellent experience, with the edge of having ship naturalists enhancing the trip. :)

[thechicagoans]

Great to hear that NCL is adding Glacier Bay and Hubbard for 2013. This is very useful information. I think we would enjoy trying NCL.

 

I went to their site and it looks like NCL Sun will include Glacier Bay and Hubbard on the Northbound but only Hubbard on the Southbound. I am somewhat surprised that the pricing is so high relative to Princess (although I can't find their 2013 pricing).

 

Budget Queen - thanks for pointing out that College Fjord is not part of the 26 glacier cruise. If we decide not to do Denali, would you suggest Seward as the exploration point to see wildlife? We have a number of wildlife lovers in our group and think we'll get enough glaciers with Hubbard and Glacier Bay (and potentially Mendelhall via Juneau).

[Budget Queen]

Great to hear that NCL is adding Glacier Bay and Hubbard for 2013. This is very useful information. I think we would enjoy trying NCL.

 

I went to their site and it looks like NCL Sun will include Glacier Bay and Hubbard on the Northbound but only Hubbard on the Southbound. I am somewhat surprised that the pricing is so high relative to Princess (although I can't find their 2013 pricing).

 

Budget Queen - thanks for pointing out that College Fjord is not part of the 26 glacier cruise. If we decide not to do Denali, would you suggest Seward as the exploration point to see wildlife? We have a number of wildlife lovers in our group and think we'll get enough glaciers with Hubbard and Glacier Bay (and potentially Mendelhall via Juneau).

 

IF wildlife is a priority, the top hot spots are Denali Park and Kenai Fjords, for viewing in the wild. You do need a boat tour of at least 6 hours on the water, don't even bother with any shorter. Be well prepared if prone to any motion sickness, I see sick people EVERY trip.

 

Actually- the the southbound Sun, is going to Tracy Arm, along with Hubbard.