12 Day Alaska Cruise - Roundtrip out of Los Angeles

[nooptere]

I totally get it why So-Cal people would love this cruise itinerary, to go away without the hassle of flying to a Port. How about adding a Mexico round trip out of Seattle?:D

[AVCruzers]

We were also on that April 12 day cruise; good friends from church will be on the Sept. cruise. Since we rarely see snow living in southern Calif., we really enjoyed the train ride from Skagway. There were huge snowdrifts along the way as the tracks were barely cleared. After the cruise on our evaluation sheet, we mentioned if they could lengthen the cruise and add a port or two like SF or Seattle. Like others, we don't like to fly so we love all these cruises embarking/disembarking in LA. On another thread, a CC member questioned why anyone would take the 15 day to Hawaii and only spend 4 days in a Hawaiian port. We love the sea days and looking forward to our next Hawaii cruise on the STAR next month with Captain Tuvo. Bye-Bye

[XBGuy]

Along with some others who have previously posted, we were on the Emerald Princess Los Angeles-Alaska cruise last April.

 

My wife was very disappointed that we did not encounter any storms. She is a foul-weather cruiser. The rain we encountered in Ketchikan was more of a heavy mist. Unfortunately, it did cause cancellation of all float plane tours. Rats. I'd booked a trip on a De Havilland Beaver.

 

As others have indicated, the weather was chilly, but, to me, not terribly cold. I'd bought a nylon coat that was fairly well-insulated and had a hood at Costco for $39, and that did the trick.

 

We were the third cruise ship of the year in most of the ports, the Norwegian Pearl and the Princess Star visited the days before us. However, we were the only ship in all our ports. So, none of the ports were particularly crowded,

 

There were a couple businesses in Skagway that had not, yet, opened for the season--a restaurant and a candy shop. It appeared that they would be open within the next few days.

 

We saw a few whales, but not as many as we've seen on previous cruises. Most of the whales were still migrating up. That being said, as we were leaving Ketchikan we saw a whale breech off our balcony. That was pretty cool.

 

Here's something that you may or may not find of interest. We had one-day turnaround on the batch of laundry that we sent out. I take that to mean that there were not a huge number of Elite-level travelers.

 

Our Canadian port was Vancouver. I think all the 2019 cruises out of Los Angeles will be visiting Victoria.

 

This was our fourth Alaska cruise and we loved it. Even before we left we'd booked the Sept. 2019 cruise on the Royal Princess. After we returned we booked the Apr. 2019 cruise on the Ruby Princess. (Is that the one that you booked?) So, I'll get two more shots at my De Havilland Beaver ride next year.

 

:D

[abbydancer2003]

 

Here's something that you may or may not find of interest. We had one-day turnaround on the batch of laundry that we sent out. I take that to mean that there were not a huge number of Elite-level travelers.

 

:D

 

We got both 1 and 2 day turnaround on laundry. Part of the 2 day turnaround may have been that there were days that the laundry was closed (Glacier Bay I think).

 

And by the way there were 1400 platinums and elites on that cruise, split evenly between them (roughly). On the same ship last week, there were about 85 elites.

[Pierlesscruisers]

For those who live in the LA area, it means NO FLYING.

 

And no flying means more $$$ to spend on cruising! ;p That's something that's really nice about living in the Seattle area, you have not only 1 nearby port, but 2-Seattle and Vancouver, BC!

 

 

Tom

[momK]

We were on the Emerald earlier this year for this 12-day AK cruise. Why did we take it?

1. Airfare from MI to LA is much cheaper than to Seattle or Vancouver.

2. MUCH less crowded in all ports. It is really nice to be the only ship in town!

3. Love the sea days on my balcony! Even with a jacket and/or blanket.

4. Snow in the mountains!

5. I spent my teens in AK, so liquid sunshine and cool temps don't prevent me from enjoying being there.

6. The price was great.

 

We have booked the same itinerary on the Star for next April.

[roxievegas]

In May 2017 we did an Alaska 7 night with Celebrity round trip out of Seattle. We are from southern California. Day before the cruise we flew to Seattle, stayed the night downtown seattle (also had to make shuttle arrangements) and then had a wonderful cruise with great weather. Chilly, some showers, but mostly sunny.

We want to do an Alaska cruise, then do the land tour with Princess. But we no longer want to be flying. Flying for us means going in the day before, getting hotel, getting transportation.

We will probably do this 12 night round trip in the future.

Also looking into taking a one way LA to Vancouver and then going Vancouver to Anchorage, then doing the land tour. Would have to fly home from Fairbanks or Anchorage, but then it is one way home.

[Coolmama_1]

Because it’s just as much fun making the journey as it is at the destination. We are doing a 10 day out of SF and I am really looking forward to the sea days as much as each port we will visit. We live a hectic life working, commuting, etc. and the idea of not flying to a port first is so appealing to me!

 

We have a transatlantic booked for next year and I am so excited about the 7 days in a row at sea!

 

It’s all about the journey! [emoji6]

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I am with you on this one .we are also doing a 10 day out of san Francisco because we want to spend some time there too. Besides, 10 beats 7 all day long!

[pink845]

An early cruise will mean that when you take the train up that mountain in Skagway there will be some snow. We did this a few years back in late May and got some fabulous pictures. Also, practically no kids on the cruise. Always a few with babies but that is fine. Loved the sea days. Lots to do or nothing to do. You choose.

[tawlaw1526]

I want to thank all of you for replying. You have made me even more excited for this cruise. :)