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Alaska

pastorv

By pastorv,
in Alaska

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

Posted
Posted

Alaska is an incredible destination. It absolutely blew us away.

 

I would recommend you read a number of reviews to get a feel for the experiences of others and match their comments to your personal objectives. There's a thread at the top of the Alaska board that offers a common thread for cruisers to post their trip report ... many with pictures to go with them. The thread (link below) is not cruiseline specific, so you can get a feel for what all the cruiselines offer.

 

One thing I found when planning for my trip was that it involved a lot more research than cruising the Caribbean, because I was really breaking new ground and didn't have some pre-conceived expectations (other than wanting to do a flight-seeing option at some point). But the more research and planning you put into it, the better your chances are of having your cruise meet or surpass all your expectations.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2222970

 

Good luck!

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negc

negc

Posted
Posted (edited)

I concur with the suggestion that you substitute a one-way (northbound or southbound) Alaska cruise and, if you have the time and extra money, to include a land tour portion that will introduce you to the impressive interior of Alaska, especially Denali.

Edited by negc
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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

Posted
Posted
My husband and I will be celebrating our 30 wedding anniversary in Sept and wanted to take an Alaskan cruise. Any suggestions? Port of call will be from Seattle.

I also asked questions 2 weeks ago

Our 40th is in September and always cruise then. Not too good for Alaska though as average rainfall is roughly double what it is earlier in summer.

We ended up booking the Crown Princess as we considered their itinerary a little better

We also wanted to cruise from Seattle so we could get free air using Southwest

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wendychloecruiser

wendychloecruiser

Posted
Posted

Be sure to do your homework with the choice of cruise lines. We all have our favourites. One line may be more suited to your particular demographics and interests. HAL tend to attract the 60++ age group, celebrity/RCI/Princess 25 and up, Carnival well, whatever. But it's not all about age, obviously.

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Langley Cruisers

Langley Cruisers

Posted
Posted
You've limited yourselves by saying September only. Any chance your dates are flexible?

 

Quoting myself and hoping OP will come back for more conversation. Remember too that you can celebrate your anniversary anytime you cruise - as I said, I hope you won't limit yourself to the actual date. You can take that cruise anytime in the summer, and still celebrate in a special way on your actual anniversary. :)

.

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denatravels

denatravels

Posted
Posted
because air at last minute costs a fortune to or from Alaska

 

 

My PLAN was to book air and watch the cruises that I wanted and book closer to sailing. When I seriously looked at land tours (and knowing these will sell out), I booked on princess. Then I thought, maybe I would add a second cruise last minute and visit family in Seattle to bridge any gap-- THEN I found this incredible HAL trip. And THEN I found myself having to cancel my insurance because my trip ended up being more than 30 days in total-- so much for my plan!!

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catr13

catr13

Posted
Posted

I would definitely investigate doing a one way northern from vancouver. A flight back home from Anchorage to Seattle usually aren't too bad in price. Glacier Bay to me is a must. So breathtaking. You will find only HAL, Princess and Norwegian Sun generally sail there. Or you could do it vice verca and fly to Anchorage first.

 

Of course if your budget allowed a land tour is recommended but I understand that adds up. Even if you can stay a night or two before flying home will give you chance to to do a few things.

 

If you are willing to stay in an inside cabin you can save a lot compared to a balcony. Some say a balcony is a must but if you really are limited then an inside is better than nothing.

 

September is also a little cheaper as it's reaching the end of the season. With this you also have to be aware you take a risk of poorer weather.

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denatravels

denatravels

Posted
Posted
I would definitely investigate doing a one way northern from vancouver. A flight back home from Anchorage to Seattle usually aren't too bad in price. Glacier Bay to me is a must. So breathtaking. You will find only HAL, Princess and Norwegian Sun generally sail there. Or you could do it vice verca and fly to Anchorage first.

 

 

 

Of course if your budget allowed a land tour is recommended but I understand that adds up. Even if you can stay a night or two before flying home will give you chance to to do a few things.

 

 

 

If you are willing to stay in an inside cabin you can save a lot compared to a balcony. Some say a balcony is a must but if you really are limited then an inside is better than nothing.

 

 

 

September is also a little cheaper as it's reaching the end of the season. With this you also have to be aware you take a risk of poorer weather.

 

 

Look NOW for air-- I got a one-way from NYC to Fairbanks (granted it's three legs and arrives at midnight) for $245.

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mek

mek

Posted
Posted
I would definitely investigate doing a one way northern from vancouver. A flight back home from Anchorage to Seattle usually aren't too bad in price. Glacier Bay to me is a must. So breathtaking. You will find only HAL, Princess and Norwegian Sun generally sail there. Or you could do it vice verca and fly to Anchorage first.

 

Of course if your budget allowed a land tour is recommended but I understand that adds up. Even if you can stay a night or two before flying home will give you chance to to do a few things.

 

If you are willing to stay in an inside cabin you can save a lot compared to a balcony. Some say a balcony is a must but if you really are limited then an inside is better than nothing.

 

September is also a little cheaper as it's reaching the end of the season. With this you also have to be aware you take a risk of poorer weather.

 

I've been to Alaska 4X - once in an inside, twice in an OV, and once in a balcony. All four cruises have been wonderful and it definitely is not necessary, IMHO, to have a balcony in Alaska. The best views are up on the open decks.

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thinfool

thinfool

Posted
Posted

While I like the one-way idea, most of the posters ignore the point the OP makes....namely that they want to sail from Seattle.

 

Only round trips are available from Seattle. One-way cruises sail from Vancouver.

 

To the OP, RCL will give you a wonderful cruise, but no RCL cruise can take you to Glacier Bay, which many put at the top of their 'to do' list for an Alaska cruise.

 

Consider moving your anniversary celebration to August. September has much shorter daylight periods and can be very rainy, chilly, cloudy.

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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

Posted
Posted
While I like the one-way idea, most of the posters ignore the point the OP makes....namely that they want to sail from Seattle.

 

Only round trips are available from Seattle. One-way cruises sail from Vancouver.

 

To the OP, RCL will give you a wonderful cruise, but no RCL cruise can take you to Glacier Bay, which many put at the top of their 'to do' list for an Alaska cruise.

 

Consider moving your anniversary celebration to August. September has much shorter daylight periods and can be very rainy, chilly, cloudy.

That's why we had to give up idea of the Explorer next summer. Princess it is

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emory2001

emory2001

Posted
Posted

You will LOVE it no matter what you do, but I too recommend doing a 7 day in one direction. We honeymooned Alaska, but on Princess.

 

Since the Alaska cruises go along the shoreline, if you're going to have a balcony, consider whether you want to be on ocean view side or land view side.

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