which ship / week / itinerary for Alaska

[banderboo]

Hi,

 

I have only cruised with Royal Caribbean before so I was wondering if you all could help make my first Princess cruise a success. I am planning a surprise trip to Alaska for my parents (late 60's) (DH and I (early 40's) will be coming along - no kidlets)

 

Our dates are very flexible and we can go anytime between May - Sept. Since we are not traveling with our kids we'd kinda like to go when there are fewer kids on board.

 

Which itinerary should I book? and do you recommend the land part before or after the cruise?

 

Ship and cabin recommendations would also be appreciated. On Royal Caribbean we generally book either a balcony or a suite.

 

Any other helpful tips / hints would also be appreciated.

 

thanks in advance for all your help and recommendations

[Druke I]

Very broad question - perhaps no right answer.

 

I'm partial to the San Francisco departures on Regal Princess - no thrill like that of sailing from San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

I'm also partial to May or Sep departures, as Alaska is less crowded when school is still in session, and cruises prices often are more reasonable on "the shoulder".

 

Do a little research, both with brochures and this board. There is a wealth of information available to help you find a good match.

[Budget Queen]

Kids are not an issue on Alaska cruises, overall the bulk of passengers are still middle aged an above and no where near the numbers of the Caribbean.

 

As for a Princess Alaska cruise, one way with an additional week. I like southbound better for the excellent last scenic sailing day back to Vancouver. I also only go independent in interior Alaska, way superior for the freedom of making your own plans and best use of time. Can do twice as much as the cruise tours. IF you go with a cruisetour, DO YOUR HOMEWORK, the bulk of the people taking these added tours, don't know what they are purchasing. Big problems are repeatively seen by me in Denali Park, know your options into the park and make your correct choice. Also get a map, another problem area is people thinking they can get into the National Park from the McKinley lodge, you can not, also not likely to view McKinley either, nearest town is 50 miles away.

 

This is a great adventure, the more you know the better your choices will be for you. If you go independent, consider http://www.toursaver.com I've used it for years with great savings. :)

[Once Upon A Time]

Since you asked for opinions, I'll give mine. May might be a bit cooler than September, but usually there is much less rain, which makes sightseeing more pleasant. Also, that is the time of year when all the baby seals are born... lots of them on icebergs. The Bears wake up from their Winter sleep and are hunting. Lots of eagles around too!

 

I think that there is less chance of kidlets on a cruise where a long one-way air flight is involved(as opposed to cruises in/out of same port).. Also, any cruise that includes Glacier Bay in their itinerary is tops on my list. You take it from there.

[crusdiva]

Hi Diane,

DH and I recently returned from our first Alaska cruisetour southbound - Sept 6-17. I do recommend a southbound tour and cruise as it can be quite hectic with some early mornings. We LOVED it though - flew into Fairbanks and did a 4 day land tour (I'd probably do a minimun of 5 days next time). We stayed at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge (1 day -wish I'd done two nights here) McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge (2 nights here). The September foliage was incredible, I've never seen colors like it (and I'm from New England). The train from Fairbanks to Denali was superior to the train from Talkeetna to Whittier - IMHO. In this case I'm referring to the rail cars. Princess' rail cars were larger and by far more comfortable with much better service than the rail cars used from Talkeetna to the ship.

We met the Coral Princess in Whittier and sailed to Vancouver and I can't tell you how thrilled I was when we emerged from the Whittier tunnel and saw her sitting in port. We had a balcony cabin (D218) we rarely get a mini-suite on 7 days cruises and it was just perfect for us. Loved the itinerary which was College Fjord, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan - the last day we sailed through the Johnstone Straits and it was wonderful to see this part British Columbia.

I could go on and on...check out my pictures to see what I mean out the foliage. And if you have any questions ask away!

[northwoods2]

We went on our first Alaskan cruise with Princess last summer. We had a perfect trip and here's some of the specifics and why I thought it was good.

 

We sailed the inside passage on the Coral leaving May 28th from Vancouver.

- great timing - lower price leaving in May, although most of the cruise was in June. The temps were wonderful - mid 70s.

- we didn't have any rain

- very calm seas

- few kids on the ship. (we had our 10 and 13 year olds with us and there were less than 25 kids on the ship)

 

We had a mini suite with a balcony. Balcony is a must. We needed the mini suite because there were 4 of us.

 

We booked our own land tour for 7 days after the cruise. Here was our schedule.

Day1:

Princess transfer to Anchorage to pick up rental car

Drive to Healy (just north of Denali)

Stayed at the Earthsong B&B in Healy for 2 nights. (great place)

Day 2:

Took the shuttle into Denali Park and did a little hiking

Day 3:

Went back to Denali Park and did some hiking near the entrance

Drove to Fairbanks

Stayed in the Aspen Hotel

Day 4

Flew to Barrow - on Alaskan Airlines with a package tour

Stayed overnight in Barrow (wish we had done just the day pkg)

Day 5

Flew back to Fairbanks

Did a little sight seeing in Fairbanks

Drove to Talkeetna

Stayed at Princess McKinley Lodge

Day 6

Sight seeing in Talkeetna & Anchorage

Drove to Anchorage

Stayed at the Hawthorn Suites

Day 7

Flew home

 

The road into Denali Park had just opened a few days before we got there. So if you go in May you will not beable to shuttle into the park. The land trip was a great addition to the cruise - you see a completely different part of Alaska. We choose to do it on our own for a couple reasons. It is a lot cheaper with 4 people (if you have only 2 it is probably closer in costs). We hate being on a schedule - we saw a lot of people standing around waiting to get on their bus to go to their next location - this would drive us crazy.

 

Have fun planning and have a great trip!

[ladysheri]

Diane,

 

DH & I just returned from our first cruise to Alaska in September (18th-25th RT from Seattle) and I can highly recommend this time of year. We chose the last cruise of the season primarily to get away from kids. It was our Anniversary cruise and we did not want to leave our children for a week, only to be surrounded by hundreds of other people's children. It was a little chilly, but the colors, especially up in the Yukon were very beautiful, especially against all of the dark green of the Evergreens. We saw some wildlife, but not as much as I think you see earlier.

 

If you are a shopper (and I am not but became one that week), the deals are extreme at the end of the season. Many places, items were 75 to 90 percent off. We ended up bringing back an entire suitcase of goodies. Some of the items were just t-shirts and such, but also found good deals on pottery, jewelry, and knick-knacks. One other benefit, from my point of view, was that some of the ships had already left Alaska and we never had more than 3 ships in any port. None of the towns seemed crowded.

 

As far as ships go, I can highly recommend the Sapphire--a beautiful, well-run ship with many activities and lots of nooks/crannies to relax. I was concerned about being on a large ship with so many people. But we never felt like part of a large crowd.

 

IMHO, a balcony is a must...nothing like it at through the Fjords or at 4 in the morning when you are arriving in a sleepy port, watching it all come to life, with a cup of hot coffee in your hand, of course. (Which brings to mind my only piece of serious advice, which I got here at Cruise Critic--if you are serious about coffee, bring your own coffeemaker and coffee--Princess makes their coffee from a syrup).

 

I will say that the round trip was great the first time, to get a taste of Alaska and to keep $$$ down. But I am really looking forward to a one-way in 2006 (which is where Princess has the Diamond and the Sapphire positioned in 2006). I am reading the other responses in this thread to decide how much time and where to spend time on land before we sail. Such great advice here!

 

Happy Sailing.

[banderboo]

awesome advice. Thanks everyone. Looks like I need to do some more research before booking anything.

 

thanks again

[Budget Queen]

[quote name=

The road into Denali Park had just opened a few days before we got there. So if you go in May you will not beable to shuttle into the park.![/quote]

 

 

 

This is incorrect. The Shuttles start about third week of May and go to Toklat mile 53 until June 1 when the Fish Creek, mile 63 Shuttle starts. June 8, Wonder Lake mile 85