Need your advice! Picking an itinerary for mom's surprise birthday

[dgel401]

Hi all! I have been a long time reader but never posted before. You all are clearly the experts here, and while I usually will just make travel planning decisions on my own, I could really use the collective advice of CruiseCritic to pick the itinerary and ship for my first Alaskan cruise.

 

For some background, I would like to take my mom on a surprise cruise to Alaska next summer - we did a trip to Ireland together in 2016 and it was a blast. Mom can't be in the sun for too long so beach/tropical vacations are out, and we have to work around her public school teacher schedule. A cruise to Alaska is something we've talked about in the past and it seems like the perfect blend of some relaxation and fun with that once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip.

 

Now I know a lot of decisions here are up to personal preference, but I really would love to hear what all of your opinions are on a couple of the decisions I need to make. One thing I know for sure is that with my budget, we will be doing either an inside or oceanview stateroom. Below are a couple of the major decisions I'm having trouble making for this 2019 cruise.

 

1) Glacier Bay

Is this a must do? This limits the number of options for itineraries but is something I would ideally like to do. I think getting to see a National Park like this sounds amazing, especially with Rangers on board, but I also can imagine that all of the Alaskan scenery we will see will be incredibly beautiful.

 

2) Port Times/Locations

A lot of the port times are not ideal, which I understand is for a variety of reasons. What would you all recommend? Do I prioritize getting in the 3 major Alaskan ports? It seems to me like Victoria would actually be a wonderful stay as long as we were there for the full day (Ovation does this while others only spend a few hours), even at the expense of Skagaway or Ketchikan (I forget which one they skip).

 

3) Ship Features

It seems to be that more of the big ships will be moving to Alaska for the 7 day round trip cruises.One thing I was surprised at was that NCL Bliss is supposedly custom built for Alaska but does not have any type of Solarium. I can imagine on an Alaskan cruise that the Solarium on Ovation would be so nice to have for time on the ship.

 

4) Round Trip vs. One Way

I would love to do a one way but the practicalities of flying to or from Anchorage make this very difficult, even if the cruise fares themselves are lower. Is it really worth the added difficulty for the 1 way voyages? I know they have much better port times.

 

5) Cruise Line

I am leaning towards NCL and RCCL - only been on RCCL and Disney in the past. The freestyle aspect of NCL is hugely appealing to me, since my mom and I do not like sitting with strangers and having set mealtimes (no offense everyone :)). However, Princess does have some decent fares and is able to go to Glacier Bay.

 

I know this is a lot of information but basically I would just love to hear all of your thoughts on what you might do if you were in my shoes. Feel free to ask any follow up questions you may have and thank you all so much!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I applaud you, dgel401, for your care and consideration for your mother, and your conscientious planning. Before you go too much further, could I give you some advice? (free and worth every penny). If you and your mother have discussed an Alaska cruise in the past, I would recommend that you include her in your planning now. She may have some ideas that could be helpful. I speak as the mother of two grown daughters:)

[dgel401]

I applaud you, dgel401, for your care and consideration for your mother, and your conscientious planning. Before you go too much further, could I give you some advice? (free and worth every penny). If you and your mother have discussed an Alaska cruise in the past, I would recommend that you include her in your planning now. She may have some ideas that could be helpful. I speak as the mother of two grown daughters:)

 

Ha this is also something I have been struggling with! My mom actually doesn't love planning trips but I do think I will need to clue her in sooner than later to figure out what would be best for her since it is her birthday.

[Kellie in Texas]

Agree 100% with @Old As Dirt Mom. Maybe you could narrow down to a couple of ships and a couple of itineraries (because Alaska planning can be pretty overwhelming) and then present them to her so you can finish the research together.

 

I'd say yes, Glacier Bay is a must-do, but be aware that you are actually on the ship the entire day; it's called "scenic cruising"; you don't get off the ship and there is no dock or pier there. The ship will sail slowly into the bay and as close to the glacier as possible and will stay there for a couple of hours. The park rangers may be on board and may make announcements about what to look for; on our Princess cruise a few years ago, most of the time, there were no announcements, no music, so you could enjoy the scenery. Our cruise was round-trip from Seattle, with Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria.

[dgel401]

Agree 100% with @Old As Dirt Mom. Maybe you could narrow down to a couple of ships and a couple of itineraries (because Alaska planning can be pretty overwhelming) and then present them to her so you can finish the research together.

 

I'd say yes, Glacier Bay is a must-do, but be aware that you are actually on the ship the entire day; it's called "scenic cruising"; you don't get off the ship and there is no dock or pier there. The ship will sail slowly into the bay and as close to the glacier as possible and will stay there for a couple of hours. The park rangers may be on board and may make announcements about what to look for; on our Princess cruise a few years ago, most of the time, there were no announcements, no music, so you could enjoy the scenery. Our cruise was round-trip from Seattle, with Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria.

 

I'm thinking that you all are right, and it would be helpful to narrow down some options to present. Helpful to know about Glacier Bay - sounds like your itinerary hit all the spots you would want on an Alaska cruise. Were there any ports where you feel like you didn't have enough time? Or any that you felt were somewhat less exciting than others?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Ha this is also something I have been struggling with! My mom actually doesn't love planning trips but I do think I will need to clue her in sooner than later to figure out what would be best for her since it is her birthday.

 

As I'm sure you know, anticipating an upcoming trip is half the enjoyment!:D

 

A book that might be helpful to you is "Alaska by Cruise Ship" by Anne Vipond. The 9th edition was published this January, 2018, and is available at Amazon, and other bookstores.

 

The bottom line is this: you will have to compromise somewhere. You can't do it all in just one trip. Glacier Bay is wonderful, but there's also Hubbard Glacier, and Tracy Arm is another beautiful day of scenic cruising. My recommendation is to determine what you and your mom would like to accomplish seeing and doing on this Alaska trip, and that might help narrow down your choices. Who knows, you might both love it so much, you come back to Alaska on another cruise:D

[jrmende63]

Hi all! I have been a long time reader but never posted before. You all are clearly the experts here, and while I usually will just make travel planning decisions on my own, I could really use the collective advice of CruiseCritic to pick the itinerary and ship for my first Alaskan cruise.

 

 

 

For some background, I would like to take my mom on a surprise cruise to Alaska next summer - we did a trip to Ireland together in 2016 and it was a blast. Mom can't be in the sun for too long so beach/tropical vacations are out, and we have to work around her public school teacher schedule. A cruise to Alaska is something we've talked about in the past and it seems like the perfect blend of some relaxation and fun with that once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip.

 

 

 

Now I know a lot of decisions here are up to personal preference, but I really would love to hear what all of your opinions are on a couple of the decisions I need to make. One thing I know for sure is that with my budget, we will be doing either an inside or oceanview stateroom. Below are a couple of the major decisions I'm having trouble making for this 2019 cruise.

 

 

 

1) Glacier Bay

 

Is this a must do? This limits the number of options for itineraries but is something I would ideally like to do. I think getting to see a National Park like this sounds amazing, especially with Rangers on board, but I also can imagine that all of the Alaskan scenery we will see will be incredibly beautiful.

 

 

 

2) Port Times/Locations

 

A lot of the port times are not ideal, which I understand is for a variety of reasons. What would you all recommend? Do I prioritize getting in the 3 major Alaskan ports? It seems to me like Victoria would actually be a wonderful stay as long as we were there for the full day (Ovation does this while others only spend a few hours), even at the expense of Skagaway or Ketchikan (I forget which one they skip).

 

 

 

3) Ship Features

 

It seems to be that more of the big ships will be moving to Alaska for the 7 day round trip cruises.One thing I was surprised at was that NCL Bliss is supposedly custom built for Alaska but does not have any type of Solarium. I can imagine on an Alaskan cruise that the Solarium on Ovation would be so nice to have for time on the ship.

 

 

 

4) Round Trip vs. One Way

 

I would love to do a one way but the practicalities of flying to or from Anchorage make this very difficult, even if the cruise fares themselves are lower. Is it really worth the added difficulty for the 1 way voyages? I know they have much better port times.

 

 

 

5) Cruise Line

 

I am leaning towards NCL and RCCL - only been on RCCL and Disney in the past. The freestyle aspect of NCL is hugely appealing to me, since my mom and I do not like sitting with strangers and having set mealtimes (no offense everyone :)). However, Princess does have some decent fares and is able to go to Glacier Bay.

 

 

 

I know this is a lot of information but basically I would just love to hear all of your thoughts on what you might do if you were in my shoes. Feel free to ask any follow up questions you may have and thank you all so much!

 

 

 

As far as the anytime dining, RCCL does have that now.

 

 

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[katrina915]

If I were you, I would look at previous years trip reports. Especially the ones with pics of places. What do you want to see? What do you want to do? Any physical limitations? Is wildlife a priority? If so, what? If you want to see bears, timing is different. What's your budget? Excursions in Alaska are pricey. You can get an idea of what you like by looking at ships excursions.

I am going to glacier bay for the first time this year, and loved Alaska without seeing it so far.

 

I prefer a combination of inland and cruise. Alaska is becoming so popular that i head out of town at the ports. If budget issues, I might consider a week inland vs a cruise unless you like being on a ship. 2 nights in Denali, bear fly out,Kenai fjords cruise out of Seward. Just keep researching and asking questions.

 

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[donaldsc]

Agree 100% with @Old As Dirt Mom. Maybe you could narrow down to a couple of ships and a couple of itineraries (because Alaska planning can be pretty overwhelming) and then present them to her so you can finish the research together.

 

I'd say yes, Glacier Bay is a must-do, but be aware that you are actually on the ship the entire day; it's called "scenic cruising"; you don't get off the ship and there is no dock or pier there. The ship will sail slowly into the bay and as close to the glacier as possible and will stay there for a couple of hours. The park rangers may be on board and may make announcements about what to look for; on our Princess cruise a few years ago, most of the time, there were no announcements, no music, so you could enjoy the scenery. Our cruise was round-trip from Seattle, with Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria.

 

Actually this is not quite true - you just have to choose the right ship. One of our AK cruises was on a small ship that held only 50 passengers which was the best AK cruise that we have ever done. We tied up at the dock at the NP headquarters and spent several hours there exploring and hiking. There are also numerous day tours and 2-3 day boat tours to Glacier Bay.This is obviously not possible in one of the large ships.

 

This is one reason that I try to avoid the large ships.

 

DON

[txwriter]

I am taking my mom to Alaska this year (she happens to be a retired teacher). I have planned most things, but since this trip was largely for her. Mom said up front she wanted Glacier Bay and a day in Skagway. This helped narrow choices.

 

First choice was round trip or one way. I picked a couple of itineraries for her, and she decided she liked the one way southbound. This gives a chance to acclimate to time change and see some things inland before getting on the ship.

 

Keeping mom in the loop has helped, and it’s been so much fun planning little surprises she doesn’t know about. Like you, I could only afford inside or oceanview. Mom said inside was no way since she needed a window, so we booked obstructed oceanview. Lucky me, I got an email from Princess a couple of weeks ago offering an upsell to a balcony for a very fair price and within budget (less than it would have cost for an unobstructed view cabin when I originally booked). Surprise! I found a t-shirt for her online that says “Alaska is calling and I must go.” I gave it to her for Mother’s Day. Early surprise! I also have booked a private tour in Skagway where I’m working with the vendor to add some special touches! Surprise! The little surprises are a lot of fun to plan.

 

If your mom is like most teachers I know, she will LOVE having something to look forward to during the school year.

[Anita Latte]

Another vote for narrowing down the options...and then including Mom in your decision. It will still be a surprise when you first present it to her.

 

And then having some surprises and surprise plans during the cruise which she absolutely doesn't have to know about...so long as you know that she will be well prepared for the plan.

 

Some things to think about...and I haven't yet taken my cruise...and haven't cruised to Alaska...but our plans were made with no prior forethought except that visiting Alaska was something DH and I had discussed since we first met...and it was something that I researched periodically...and I stumbled on a good deal for a great cabin for our family of 3 and then boom, we booked it and have just run with what we got.

 

An alternative to Glacier Bay that may be worth considering is a day cruise to Kenai Fjords National Park. This would be out of Seward. Prices seem very reasonable to me...and it is another national park where you can see wildlife and glaciers on a small boat with a National Park Ranger aboard. IIRC there are a couple tours to choose from, one operator is Major Marine. (This is not a recommendation...just a lead for research). This would only really be applicable if you were to do a one way that would end or begin in Seward. It's just an option to consider.

 

Royal and Celebrity both have dining where you can eat when you want and you can choose to eat at a table for 2 rather than a larger table. Maybe other cruise lines do too, but I don't know about that.

 

One thing I did not know about prior to booking is that there are only a couple ships that do a small ship excursion of the Tracy Arm (or is it Misty Fjords?). It's like you get into the smaller boat as you would get onto a tender (it sounds like the ship just pauses to let some people get into that smaller boat and then the big ship says on while the smaller boat catches up with it later) and then you get to cruise through Tracy Arm (or Misty Fjords?) in that smaller boat. I'm sorry I don't recall more...it wasn't an option for me, but I think NCL might be one of the lines that does it. Not sure.

 

There's a ferry that goes to Victoria from Vancouver. If you are really interested in Victoria and want to plan to see it...you could easily take the ferry there and plan a whole day or even over night there. Would be very easy to add on to the end or beginning of any cruise going to or out of Vancouver IMO.

 

Like I said...haven't gone on our cruise yet...but I would imagine that you wouldn't want anything between you and the view. So not having a Solarium doesn't surprise me. My thoughts are, dress appropriately...and don't try looking through any sort of glass or structure that might be hard to keep clean so that you can see the view better.

 

From all the research that I've done...and I do a lot...being picky about ports is fine if you have been to Alaska before OR if you just really want to see something in particular. By and large, it feels like there are amazing things to do at every port. Skagway is notable in that it has the train, I think, and a lot of people like that train or a combination of train and bus or whatever. But my guess is that all of Alaska is pretty amazing and whatever you get to see is going to be wonderful so long as you can prioritize what would epitomize an Alaska vacation in your own imagination and make those few priorities happen and then roll with the rest of the choices you have.

 

I think it's great that you want to do this with your Mom! I hope you have a great vacation!

[martincath]

Could not agree more with the (I think so far universal!) suggestion to get Mom involved - there are just too many possiblities to make any assumptions.

 

Lots of other very solid advice too - in fact the only thing I'll disagree with is that Glacier Bay (or any other port/cruising day) is a Must Do. There's no such thing as a Must Do anywhere. You've told us some stuff about you & your Mom OP, but nothing that allows me to make a blanket statement that Glacier Bay is a Must Do for you, or that the '3 major AK ports' should be prioritized (or not!)

 

Personally I'd drop ANY of the 'big 3' for Sitka or Icy Strait Point, or indeed any port that I had not yet visited - but my perspective is from multiple cruises which all hit Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. While I would not hate to go back to any of them, I would rather do a new one - and Sitka is by far my favourite of all the ports I've seen so far for reasons related to depth & breadth of the local history & culture, the lack of tourism (relatively-speaking), and some of the specific nature opportunities (sea otter tours are pretty much a guarantee here, as are puffins in the right season, and Fortress of the Bear/the Raptor Center are also unique to here compared to the other AK ports).

 

Again, personally I'd ditch Victoria entirely (i.e. look at RT Vancouver if you cannot do a one way) because despite it being a perfectly pleasant place, it's tiny and weaksauce compared to Vancouver unless you have very specific interests, and I can go any time I like so it's a low priority for me - but my first visit to Vancouver I did take a day to do Victoria (though even back then we had enough sense not to use ferries - far too inefficient, it's a long trip! - but to fly both ways). So my opinion/advice now is very different than what I'd have offered when I didn't live in this neck of the woods!

 

Depending what your mom teaches, what you both enjoy, you might agree (partly or fully) with me - or any of the other posters here - or have a completely unique take on what would be the optimal ports for you (the fact you are considering Victoria as on-par with AK ports already marks you as an outlier in opinion...) so the best advice, already given above and now reiterated, is to do the research yourself (or rather, get Mom involved right now and do it together!!!)

 

We've visited Glacier Bay on NCL by the way - they do have slots. Princess certainly have more slots, so potentially more options of date for you especially of you do decide that GB is a Must Do for You. The Princess dress code is far from difficult to handle as is sitting by yourselves at a 2-top. I've only ever shared a table in Alaska at breakfast (by choice - sometimes my wife goes for a run while I head for brekky, and I'm happy to chat with randos whereas it annoys her); at dinner we always requested a 2-top and despite blatant lies about wait times by the hosts at the door (with 20mins the shortest ever mentioned, and 45mins+ being said on multiple occasions) we've never had to wait more than about 5 minutes. MDR food is also a notch above NCL on Princess - but specialty dining is significantly better on NCL.

[oaktreerb]

Glacier Bay and Skagway are both national parks. Sometimes glacier viewing locations are bypassed by the ship for various reasons....ice, seals pupping, weather conditions. Your ship will not bypass Glacier Bay. Skagway has a stong emphasis on the gold rush in Alaska and the Yukon and there is a lot to learn there. Ketchikan has historical significance with Creek Street and salmon viewing (in season), totems, and the Alaska experience. Juneau is the capital city and has a very nice museum and whale watching experiences.

Sitka is amazingly beautiful and you will learn about the Russian influence in Alaska.

 

Round trip Vancouver will give you the most scenic viewing and smoothest sailing. The one way itineraries are only worth it if you have several days for exploring Alaska at the beginning or end. Most people like to cruise at the end of an extended Alaska land adventure so cruising north may be cheaper for a one way.