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Trying to plan for Alaska 2020...which ship?

Littlegoo75

By Littlegoo75,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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californiatripman

californiatripman

Posted
Posted
I don't think they're trying to guess which ships will be in Alaska. Since Carnival only sails one ship there, they're trying to figure out which one will replace the Legend when it's repositioned to Tampa next year.

 

Just got off 14 day Alaska on Splendor and they said Spirit would take over Alaska cruise after the Legend leaves

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trippingpara Great Review Rare

trippingpara

Posted
Posted
Oh wow, so that guy was way off. Ideally, we'd love to spot some from the ship, but would try to take a smaller whale watching tour somewhere. I don't know about the Mrs., but I don't think I'd mind the rainy weather if it meant seeing whales. I think our son would feel the same. Although, it would certainly put a damper on my photography. I just looked at another site and it says prime time for Orcas is early May to early June, but can be seen throughout the summer. As much as my boy loves Orcas, I want to give him the best chance possible. This would be a once in a lifetime experience for us.

 

We've never seen glaciers in person, so no matter where we see one, I'm sure it'd be amazing. We'll keep your advice in mind for sure. Thank you for the info.

 

Hi Organized Chaos,

 

I just got off the Legend's run to Alaska last week. Had a great time! We had an aft wraparound balcony on the starboard corner so we had better sight lines in that direction but could see to the port side as well. Glacier Bay is the best time to have a balcony since you will be outside the entire day and it's nice to be able to jump inside quickly to warm up and then go right back outside without really missing anything. A balcony is not mandatory for an Alaskan cruise but if you're considering to someday splurge for a balcony, that would be the cruise that I would pick to do it on. The views from your balcony on a Caribbean cruise are nothing compared to those same views in Alaska!

 

We were in Alaska at the beginning of Sept and the weather was bloody well near perfect. At least as perfect as you can get in the Inner Passage. We saw a lot of whales from our balcony but we hit the mother-lode when we did a whale watching excursion in Victoria. I've done a lot of whale watching here in New England but I have never in my life seen so many whales in one place at one time. It was breathtaking! It left me speechless which anybody would have told you is an impossibility with me! We also saw orcas in the same spot too. And the very rare to see, Dall Porpoises. You will probably have a better chance of seeing orcas around the Seattle/Victoria area as they have several resident pods there however transient orcas can be found anywhere on the cruise. Please keep in mind that orcas are a bit harder to track down than humpback whales so seeing them can be a bit hit or miss. I do agree that you will probably have a higher chance of spotting them earlier in the summer season but they can be found anytime during the cruising season. Check out my review that I'm currently writing about our Alaskan adventure here. You will be able to get a sense of what you'll see and some of your options for excursions too.

 

Cheers,

Trip

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bingomamma19

bingomamma19

Posted
Posted
Pick an itinerary that's one-way, the Seattle 7day round-trips have insufficient time in Alaska and often their port calls are on the short side.

 

I don't believe carnival does any one ways.

 

I just got off the legend from a 8/21-8/28 Alaskan cruise. I loved it.

 

The time in some of the ports was short. We planned accordingly. I got to see whales, pan for gold, see glaciers, see dog sledding, shop etc.

 

As a 1st time Alaskan vacation...this was fantastic and all we needed. Hit every point I wanted to do...got to do it on Carnival, which I love, and set me up for my platinum status (which will happen on my next cruise)

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LuckyStar

LuckyStar

Posted
Posted (edited)
I know this is a Carnival thread, but how does Norwegian Cruise Lines compare? I see that a new ship called The Bliss is cruising Alaska, and I know my kids would want to try out a ship like that.

 

We did Alaska on NCL in 2013. It was awesome. We really enjoyed the experience. My husband does not care for cruising but he enjoyed that one. Our ship went through Glacier Bay and brought a park ranger on board to narrate the terrain. Maybe all lines do this, though. My son was about 9-10 at the time and he had a great time. He was in kids club a lot of the time but he left the ship with us to do excursions.

Edited by LuckyStar
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LuckyStar

LuckyStar

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We're hoping to do our first Alaskan cruise within the next few years. Probably not our next cruise, but maybe the one after, if the stars align. While we'll certainly look for deals with a couple of the other lines that were mentioned here (Princess & HAL seem to be the top recommendations), I doubt we'll find a better price than Carnival when the time comes. And as a family on a tight budget, price is our number one deciding factor. If that means limiting ourselves to what amounts to only a couple of Glacier Bay possibilities, so be it, we can live with that. And we've enjoyed what Carnival has given us so far.

 

With all that said, now on to some questions. :) On our Carnival cruise two years ago, we stopped by the future cruise desk and spoke to the gentleman on duty. We talked about Alaska and he told us that prime whale watching season is in September? Would the rest of you agree? Seeing whales would be our #1 goal for an Alaskan cruise. Especially Orca (killer whales), which have been my son's favorite animal ever since he was little (he's 17 now). But seeing any whales would be awesome. We couldn't really consider a Fall Alaskan cruise before because of school, but he'll be graduating H.S. early, in January, so that'll no longer be a problem.

 

Glacier Bay would be another goal. I recognize that's limited on Carnival, but we'll keep that in mind when it comes time to book.

 

We've stayed in interior cabins so far and really don't have a problem with them. We've thought that maybe someday we'd splurge on a balcony. Let's say we got one for an Alaskan cruise. If we did Glacier Bay, or anywhere up there for that matter, is being on one side of the ship better than the other? Some people like to plan their balconies according to ports and being on the side facing a port, but when it comes to Glacier Bay, for instance, does it really matter? I don't mind going out on deck when there's something to see. And I like the idea of being out on deck and being able to move from one side to the other, forward & aft., so I'm not sure a balcony is best for us in that situation, but I just want to gather some info.

 

The scenery will be one of our biggest thrills. We love mountainous scenery, the Smoky Mountains is one of our favorite vacation spots. Again, as a family on a budget, we're not sure if we could even do any excursion. We'll sure try, but the scenery and the overall experience would probably be worth it to us. I'd love to do some of the adventurous stuff, but for us, an Alaskan cruise comes with two huge expenses. The cruise itself, for one. The other being just getting to home port. We're in the midwest, so it's a very long haul, and expensive one, just getting to port. Even longer than FL. But one thing I know I'd look forward to over the Caribbean is the cooler weather. Being from the midwest, I certainly wouldn't have a problem with Alaskan Fall weather. I'd much rather be in cool/cold temps than hot. And let me tell you, our humidity can choke a horse. ;p

 

We also would enjoy a more subdued passenger base that an Alaskan cruise would offer. We're not heavy drinkers or party animals...I did my fair share many moons ago and I'm past that. We like the fun atmosphere Carnival offers, but at times the wild ones are a bit too much. For those who have done a Carnival Alaskan cruise, are the activities available on board similar to that on a Caribbean cruise? Things like trivia, Playlist shows, general time-wasters at sea. Don't care about the casino, we don't really gamble.

 

Sorry this was so long. I love researching our vacations and didn't intend to start researching an Alaskan cruise for quite a while, but after reading this thread, it seemed like a great start. I appreciate the help and info.

 

Just now read all your post. It's been a long week. We booked an inside and really enjoyed it. On the other hand, if I had it to do again, I'd probably book a balcony. We spent a lot of time on the deck watching for wildlife (we were July 15ish) but 1) upside, we also met some awesome people to visit with while on deck. 2) downside, we ended up eating a lot more than we should have because we were on deck near the food. But we were taking an extended trip so saving money at the time seemed smarter.

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LuckyStar

LuckyStar

Posted
Posted
Another line to look at is HAL. Between Princess and HAL they own like 99% of the Tourist infrastructure. One of them is buying the railroad in Skagway.

Though last year’s Alaska Journeys cruise out of Long Beach was, hands down, the best cruise we’ve ever been on. Hoping the Splendor’s is half as good.

 

I personally loved the Splendor. It was easy to get around and was just a ball. My favorite so far. Many say it is outdated but I don't know, maybe I'm wierd cause I didn't mind the bright pink and black. It was well maintained. We stayed in an inside spa cabin on Deck 11 and were near the spa and the buffet areas.

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  • 1 month later...
five.

five.

Posted
Posted

I have been checking once or twice a week for Alaska 2020 and today I was like "hey, it's open." I had been wanting an obstructed view interior 4K category. Hopefully one between lifeboats. I couldn't believe how few of that category was left. About 60 rooms in that category and they had 8 rooms left! I am pretty sure I checked Monday morning. Insane!

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megbowlstrike

megbowlstrike

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21 hours ago, five. said:

I have been checking once or twice a week for Alaska 2020 and today I was like "hey, it's open." I had been wanting an obstructed view interior 4K category. Hopefully one between lifeboats. I couldn't believe how few of that category was left. About 60 rooms in that category and they had 8 rooms left! I am pretty sure I checked Monday morning. Insane!

We just booked the 8 day in Sept and there were only like 5 of the interior 4K rooms left.  Crazy!!

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kona_wahine

kona_wahine

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11 hours ago, Chief1369 said:

Just looked and they've filled up any open times on the site and there are still none that go to Glacier Bay 😞 

I wonder what is up with that? I know they have to contract to go there, and only allow a certain number of ships, but carnival always has some cruises there. I’m not going to spend $5K and not go to GB. 

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bakersdozen12

bakersdozen12

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

I wonder what is up with that? I know they have to contract to go there, and only allow a certain number of ships, but carnival always has some cruises there. I’m not going to spend $5K and not go to GB. 

 

The Glacier Bay spots are booked on a first-come, first-serves basis with seniority playing into who gets first choice. Meaning, the cruise lines who have been sailing in Alaska the longest get first choice. There must not have been any left for Carnival this year. It’s a shame. Thought I did see at least a couple cruises going to Icy Straight Point in 2020. Not someplace that a Carnival goes frequently, which is nice. 

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