Planning a Cruise to Alaska

[lovofcruz]

I'm planning an Alaskan Cruise with family and friends for my hubby's birthday in August. Can anyone suggest which line to go with and which ship? I'm thinking Royal Caribbean, but I'm not sure. We've cruised on Costa and Carnival in the past and want to go with a different cruise line this time. Thanks!:)

[NMLady]

I'm planning an Alaskan Cruise with family and friends for my hubby's birthday in August. Can anyone suggest which line to go with and which ship? I'm thinking Royal Caribbean, but I'm not sure. We've cruised on Costa and Carnival in the past and want to go with a different cruise line this time. Thanks!:)

 

Personally, I'd go with HAL since they are the main name in Alaska cruises.

In 2014 they are bringing back their wonderful 14 day cruise if you can take that much time, stopping at some ports not done by other cruise lines.

 

You might want to ask your question on the Alaska forum on CC since those are experienced Alaska cruisers on a variety of cruise lines.

[Gunner22aa]

Both of these lines have been in the Alaska market a long time and offer a similar product. If you are looking to include a land based tour as well through the cruise line they both have excellent facilities.

[Kamloops50]

Look into a 7 Day RT from Vancouver . Yes airfare is more but you actually get more scenery (subjective) . The cruise from Seattle can be a little rougher because your cruising in the open Pacific on the first and last day.

Those days you are also out of sight of land. Some consider the stop in Victoria a waste (legal requirement for cruises from Seattle and San Francisc)

Have you considered a 10 day cruise from SFO.

[ducklite]

I would go with Regent. Smaller ship with a more adult crowd and no "herding." Inclusive, alcohol, food, shore excursions and airfare is all included in the price so no surprises.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[bbwex]

As has been stated, both HAL and Princess have been the main operators in Alaska for a long time.

 

As for the 14-day cruise suggestion, I would suggest an alternative -- a 7-day cruise with a 6 or 7-day land tour first. Once again, since HAL and Princess have been operating so long up in Alaska, they have a wide variety of cruise-tours, and the tour offers many exciting options. You will see Fairbanks, and can take some time to take an excursion above the arctic circle. You can spend two days in Denali, and you really do need that much time, as one day will be a bus trip into Denali for 8 or so hours. You do not want to miss that. Then there are other places, and the various tours make somewhat different stops.

 

If your tour starts in Seward, I would definitely add in the Kenai Fjords tour on your embarkation day, as that was wonderful -- getting really close to the glacier is a whole different experience than seeing them from a distance on the cruise ship.

 

Spend some time on the Ports of Call section, and scope out the better tour operators and set up your own private tours at the various cruise ports. I did some reading of other posts for awhile, and then posted questions once it was clear who the better operators were. We were with another couple, even with just the four of us, it made the tours less expensive, and much more intimate. We packed in a lot, but we were able, for instance, to do a whale watch and also take a helo for a glacier trek, all in the same day at Juneau!

 

Just to give you some names, we used Harv and Marv and Northstar Trekking for the glacier trek in Juneau, Dyea Dave for the tour to Emerald Lake in Skagway, and Island Wings for a float plane trip out to Misty Fjord in Ketchikan. All of these were fantastic, though you will run into some group size limitations in some cases.

 

Alaska is a wonderful, beautiful and amazing place. You will have a great time.

[Keith1010]

You have so many choices and people are mostly going to recommend lines they are familiar with.

 

I would start by finding an itinerary because Alaska is all about itinerary. From there you can then narrow it down to Cruise Line.

 

If you need advice on the itinerary I would suggest that you go over to the Alaska Ports Of Call Board to get input.

 

If you can find an itinerary that includes Cruising Glacier Bay I would recommend that.

 

Keith

[zookiebird]

Absolutely agree that itinerary should be your number one priority. Alaska is totally port intensive and there is a wide range of options at each. You really need to do a bit of research to identify what interests you most. As for cruise lines, DW and I have been to AK on NCL and HAL. For us, HAL wins hands down.

[Kamloops50]

Absolutely agree that itinerary should be your number one priority. Alaska is totally port intensive and there is a wide range of options at each. You really need to do a bit of research to identify what interests you most. As for cruise lines, DW and I have been to AK on NCL and HAL. For us, HAL wins hands down.

 

Another thing to look for is how long the ships is in a port .

For example we where in Skagway from 7AM to 10PM. Another ship was there from 7AM to 6PM .

[Ashland]

Another thing to look for is how long the ships is in a port .

For example we where in Skagway from 7AM to 10PM. Another ship was there from 7AM to 6PM .

Even though I am a fan of RCI...and our Skagway times have been 7am-6pm....I wouldn't base my choice strictly on those port times...we thought that was plenty of time to spend in Skagway and you might find it is also. ;)

[Kamloops50]

Even though I am a fan of RCI...and our Skagway times have been 7am-6pm....I wouldn't base my choice strictly on those port times...we thought that was plenty of time to spend in Skagway and you might find it is also. ;)

 

On one cruise we actually got to see the sunset from the White Pass RR. The ship was scheduled for a 9PM d departure.

 

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Forums mobile app

[bltrn]

We did just the cruise with Carnival and it was very nice. We went back and did the cruise/tour with Princess and it was wonderful. We flew into Fairbanks and out of Vancouver. If you choose this type, I would definitely take the tour first THEN cruise as we were quite tired from the land tour. We spoke with several others from the train that were on HAL and they spoke quite highly of them.

To get a much better picture of Alaska, by all means take the cruise/tour.

Enjoy!! :)

[Lerin]

Princess tends to get the best reviews for Alaska, especially their cruise tours.

[cntrydncr1]

Definitely do a one way and make sure you either start or end in Vancouver...not to be missed!! A land tour is a must too if you want to see wild life. Read LOTS on the Alaskan board!

 

BTW my pic is from my Alaskan cruise.

[Alamogirl]

We just did our first Alaskan cruise. It was a 10 day cruise tour on Royals Radiance of the Seas out of Vancouver on June 28. We had a FABULOUS time and it was the most memorable of all our cruises. Everywhere you look is beautiful. If you go to Anchorage, there is a great place to eat called the Glacier Brew House, we went twice!.

[Alamogirl]

We just did our first Alaskan cruise. It was a 10 day cruise tour on Royals Radiance of the Seas out of Vancouver on June 28. We had a FABULOUS time and it was the most memorable of all our cruises. Everywhere you look is beautiful. If you go to Anchorage, there is a great place to eat called the Glacier Brew House, we went twice!.

[Alamogirl]

Sorry, not sure why my previous post - posted twice??