2016 Alaskan Cruise Help

[fuddhist1]

My wife and I are planning an Alaskan cruise next year. We have only sailed on Carnival so we need help on which Ship to book.

Our choices of ships available are the RC Explorer of the Seas, The Norwegian Jewel, The Norwegian Pearl, Or the Carnival Legend. Any help with which one we should book would be greatly appreciated.

We don't mind Carnival but want the best cruise possible.

 

Thanks

Robert

 

 

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[DRS/NC]

Do any of those ships' routes go into Glacier Bay? It is a MUST SEE!

 

I've cruised to Alaska 3 times & Glacier Bay never gets old. Princess & HAL have the most most permits for G. Bay. You might want to look further if it's not on the itinerary.

[fuddhist1]

Jewel and the Explorer of the seas say Sawyer Glacier the Legend and the Pearl say Glacier bay national park. Don't know if that's different or not. All 4 go in to Skagway

 

 

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[Essiesmom]

If this is likely to be the only time you go to Alaska, you should choose a cruise that visits Glacier Bay. It appears that in 2016, only HAL and Princess have permits to visit, as well as Carnival Legend in May and Sept. NCL Jewel and Pearl do not list Glacier Bay on their itineraries. EM

[fuddhist1]

not sure what you are looking at, but this is the itinerary for the Pearl for May 15, 2016.

 

 

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[skandls]

Glacier Bay a Must See. Why did you exclude Princess - the cruise line that has done Alaska the most. I am a Royal Caribbean person but I did Princess to Alaska.

[SuiteTraveler]

Check out the Princess Cruise called Voyage of the Glaciers - that one is Southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver or Northbound from Vancouver to Anchorage which gives you the opportunity to do a land extension at the beginning or end of the cruise IMO, this is the preferable itinerary than roundtrip Seattle that NCL does AND it includes Hubbard Glacier as well as Glacier National Park.

 

BTW, I've sailed on Carnival, NCL, Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, HAL and even Uniworld so I'm not loyal to any one cruise line. As far as I'm concerned all cruise lines have their pros and cons, but any cruise can be good if you go with a positive attitude. I tend to choose my cruises either by the ship I want to experience (where the ship is the destination) on any cruise line OR which itinerary has the best ports. So for your cruise, I'm suggesting what I believe will be a superior itinerary because that is the most important thing in Alaska.

[fuddhist1]

Glacier Bay a Must See. Why did you exclude Princess - the cruise line that has done Alaska the most. I am a Royal Caribbean person but I did Princess to Alaska.

 

 

Didn't rule it out, we are looking for a Seattle round trip and just didn't see where princess had one for next May.

 

 

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[fuddhist1]

Suite Traveler I would love to do that land/sea Alaska trip but that would end up costing a bit more than we want to spend. We are definitely looking to do that one though, just a little further in the future so we can save for that one.

 

 

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[fuddhist1]

Oooh Princess does have a Seattle round trip Alaska. Thanks Skandls, another ship for the dilemma. [emoji2]

 

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

Pearl (2006) and Jewel (2005 refurbished 2010) are sister ships - they are essentially identical. Both only have outdoor pools. Both have a space problem in the buffet in the morning - it is wildly crowded on port days, which is everyday in Alaska, but you can walk all the way through the buffet and eat your breakfast in La Cucina or order room service or eat in the MDR. If you intend to buy the Unlimited Dining package, add on $110pp.

 

On looking online, I noticed you could get a similar deal to the NCL ships on the Princess Star sailing Vancouver to Vancouver - which you could either fly into or just take the ferry from Seattle as these cities are very close together. I do prefer the port of Vancouver to Seattle which is more spread out. But I love both cities as I have lived-in Seattle and worked extensively in Vancouver. They are both just wonderful places with great scenery, great food and much to do! In fact doing a land trip to both cities followed by an Alaska cruise, time permitting, would be awesome!

 

RCCL Radiance is by far the least expensive.

 

The Celebrity Solstice is a very elegant ship with really outstanding food. Celebrity has improved their entertainment options recently. However, for a port intensive cooler weather cruise like Alaska or the Med Solstice is a really good option because it has a large glass enclosed pool area which the NCL ships don't have. Also the buffet is large with unusually good food and can handle big crowds which the NCL buffet is not good at. The specialty dining restaurant QSine is really great! I wouldn't bother with any of the other ones, though because the MDR food is truly the best of all the mass market lines. The Solstice doesn't do Glacier Bay so it does Tracey Arm Fjord instead which is off the charts gorgeous. Check this out:

Now that I've seen the above video, I WANT to do this cruise through the Tracey Arm Fjord! Wow!

 

By contrast, here is another Wow! Cruising through Glacier Bay:

 

So now you're going to have to decide which you would rather see: Glacier Bay or Tracey Arm Fjord. Both are wonderful, but so completely different!

[zookiebird]

Something to think about. A couple of years ago we did a RT Vancouver on HAL. We really loved this because we had the opportunity of doing both Tracy Arm (small boat ship excursion) and Glacier Bay. Both are terrific in their own way. Tracy Arm is beautiful, not as wide and more serene. Glacier Bay is simply majestic and the calving of the glaciers is incredible. If I had to choose I guess I'd take Glacier Bay but doing them both was a real bonus. Whatever you choose, you're going to have a fantastic time. There's no place like Alaska!

[flowers12155]

We have only cruised Carnival but Two trips to Alaska one on the Spirit (nolonger used in that port moved to Austrailia) and the other was The Legend we went up to Glacier Bay it was wonderful. The first time we did not go to Glacier Bay but the Holland America Ship went up there and hit an ice berg and it delayed them for several hours waiting on the coast guard to check out the damage. We enjoy skagway, if you can take the jeep tour it is a great way to have a little extra time to get photos and feel more like a native and we shared our Jeep with people from a Disney Cruise. We also did the train you really are in the middle of nowhere. Most of the excursions are the same,used by all cruiselines. We prefer early spring the temperatures are just warming up but you still get the benefit of all the Snow and Ice. The Legend does have a roof that closes on one of the outside pools. Alot of the differences in cruiselines are the type of passengers you want to travel with; old,really old,young,crazy, normal. We are a little beyond middle age but like to stay with that crowd so Carnival is good for us. Have a wonderful trip :) check out my travel blog www.atouristlife.com

[fuddhist1]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I have a bunch more research to do, but one thing is for sure, We will be going to Alaska. @Suitetraveler all I can say is WOW!!!! Those vids are amazing. Can't wait to show them to my wife. She will definitely be sold on the trip.

 

 

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