Would you say Alaskan cruises are relaxing?

[DougH]

Having "been there...done that" before to me makes it much more relaxing. There is no pressure to see anything and to just enjoy what I can. The glaciers themselves never look the same and are ever changing. My latest favorite is the Adventure Bound trip to Tracy Arm from Juneau and I now take it every chance I get. As far as other ports its just nice to wander around town and have a leisurly lunch somewhere.

 

I spend lots of time on deck watching the scenery go by, as I mentioned it always looks a bit different depending upon the weather and season, I'm always looking for different ports.

Kodiak Island and Homer are nice, Haines instead of Skagway and Seward with time to actually sightsee rather than just board the ship. To me its no different than going to the Caribbean each year, I'm not a beach person and to me they all look alike. lol

[Tweedy]

Yes, I find an Alaskan cruise relaxing. However, the first time I went it wasn't. We did something in every port. The 2nd time we went, we did something in a couple of ports so it was more relaxing. The 3rd time was even more relaxing then the 2nd. This upcoming 4th time will be pure relaxation.

 

Your vacation is what you make it. If you want a relaxing vacation, that can be done. If you want a go-go-go vacation, you can do that too.

 

Alaska is beautiful.

[Ginnyfyr]

Wow, thank you everyone for your responses! We have decided to go with the Celebrity Century and I think the itinerary will give us plenty of options to chill out or live it up! We *really* only have 3 ports (2 docked, 1 tendered) so that means we have 3 "sea" days which = lots of time to snuggle up on our balcony with a hot chocolate, binoculars, and our camera! I'm actually really looking forward to a non-Caribbean cruise! My husband has had melanoma before so while Caribbean cruising still gives us a taste of the beach vacations we loved before his diagnosis (he's fine now, we just can't chill on a beach for a week like we used to), I still worry that we're not using a strong enough SPF or applying it often enough, etc. I know we'll still have to use sunblock on this cruise but it will be so different from our usual cruise...the more I think about it, the more excited I get!

[Budget Queen]

I love AK been there 4 times on completely different types of trips) but I can't imagine cruising to AK 18 times. After all, there are only 6 or 7 ports that the ships stop at and after a while, they all look the same. What do you do after trip 7 or 8?

 

DON

 

Well, I enjoy Alaska- repeatively and always find and do new things. I don't go there to "relax" meaning- doing little or nothing. :)

 

I am fortuntate to get to Alaska every year for 3-4 weeks. My job allows me plenty of time off, so, I don't choose vacations based on limited time- which I see frequently mentioned, along with plenty of other places they may want, to someday visit. Last year I traveled 16 weeks, including 5 for Seattle/Alaska. My husband became an airline employee in the early 80's, and with me already in the generous vacation time job, I never looked back. :) I was determined to "live for today" due to some life situations. I think I've done a good job.:)