Solve our Alaska puzzle: Multi-gen, budget-friendly, forward-facing balcony

[kmb388]

Can you help us book our next cruise? My dad (in his 60s), my husband and me (in our 30s), and our will-be two-year-old are looking to cruise Alaska in June 2020. Once we lock in, other family members may decide to tag along (one mature high schooler, and others ages 30-60s).

 

We are looking for:

>Two cabins
>Budget-friendly
>Visits Glacier Bay
>One-way (no preference NB or SB)
>No preference on line (have only cruised with Norwegian - positive experience, but not loyal to the line)
>At least one forward-facing balcony* (depending on cost, we could book one balcony and one inside/oceanview, or two balconies)

 

*My husband and I cruised Alaska in 2015 on the Norwegian Sun. We were very, very fortunate to book one of the four generously-sized BC Forward-Facing Balconies (Deck 11, Cabin 1002). Do such "baseline" forward balcony cabins exist on other ships?

 

Thank you SO much for your help!

[CruiserBruce]

A little research on the Alaska board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

 

would reveal Holland America and Princess have about 70 or 80% of the Glacier Bay permits. NCL does have some. 

 

HAL doesn't have forward facing balcony cabins, and don't believe Princess has many. Many complain forward facing balconies are are almost useless when the ship is moving- very windy, and in Alaska, very cold. Aft facing balconies might be the better idea.

 

"Budget friendly" is a very vague term, and Alaska isn't cheap. You need to define this better.

[Essiesmom]

The two NCL ships calling in Glacier Bay in 2020 have only forward facing OV cabins (Bliss) and penthouse suites (Jewel). I wonder if Princess has lost their permits for Glacier Bay, because their Alaska itineraries for 2020 do not show any visits there. .  You might need to rethink your criteria.   EM

Edited December 30, 2018 by Essiesmom

[Markanddonna]

I was in a forward balcony on the Jewel and it was VERY windy to the point of being rather unusable while sailing. It was a large penthouse. I would assume most of these types of forward cabins wouldn't be cheap. BTW- I didn't pay for this one and always book less expensive ones. 

Our regular cabin in Alaska was just fine. For Glacier Bay (on the NCL Pearl and HAL Westerdam), we walked around the promenade to see the glacier calving and then when the ship was turning, we hurried to get some lunch to carry back to our room to sit on our balcony. 

 

BTW- the Glacier Bay permits may be changing in just a few years as they expire soon. Maybe the NPS will determine a more equitable way of distributing the permits rather than on seniority.

[leaveitallbehind]

Just by way of information, no RCI or Celebrity ships have forward facing balconies.  

[Markanddonna]

I just googled the NPS notice about the next ten years and they are continuing their seniority policy for Glacier Bay which means HAL and Princess have 71 assured permits. Sad that they allow a line that dumped all of their chlorinated pool water into Glacier Bay (Princess in 2013) still have priority access. Are we living under an archaic monarchy?  It seems Alaska would want the cruise lines with the best EPA records in Glacier Bay. 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

29 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Just by way of information, no RCI or Celebrity ships have forward facing balconies.  

 But I don't think RCI and Celebrity have Glacier Bay permits...

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

I just googled the NPS notice about the next ten years and they are continuing their seniority policy for Glacier Bay which means HAL and Princess have 71 assured permits. Sad that they allow a line that dumped all of their chlorinated pool water into Glacier Bay (Princess in 2013) still have priority access. Are we living under an archaic monarchy?  It seems Alaska would want the cruise lines with the best EPA records in Glacier Bay. 

 

 

 

Didn't Royal Caribbean/Celebrity loose their Glacier Bay permits because they dumped something much worse than pool water into Glacier Bay? So, your holier than thou statement might be a little much!

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

 But I don't think RCI and Celebrity have Glacier Bay permits...

Good point and thanks for the clarification.  RCI lost its permit from 1999 to 2004 due to a 1999 incident.  They go to Hubbard Glacier instead.  Celebrity was not affected by this situation.

Edited December 30, 2018 by leaveitallbehind

[kmb388]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

A little research on the Alaska board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

 

would reveal Holland America and Princess have about 70 or 80% of the Glacier Bay permits. NCL does have some. 

 

HAL doesn't have forward facing balcony cabins, and don't believe Princess has many. Many complain forward facing balconies are are almost useless when the ship is moving- very windy, and in Alaska, very cold. Aft facing balconies might be the better idea.

 

"Budget friendly" is a very vague term, and Alaska isn't cheap. You need to define this better.

 

Thank you so much! Naturally, I (re)discovered the Alaska board after posting here -- too long since our last cruise and my last stint on CC!

 

My husband and I had a forward-facing balcony on our NCL Alaska cruise in 2015 and my dad is attracted to that from our pictures. He has never cruised before.

 

I agree, "budget friendly" is vague and subjective. As far as cruises go, we know Alaska is pricey v. other destinations. Suites are out of our range. We know we want at least one balcony (for my dad) and a nearby cabin for us (balcony or not, depends on budget). Our 2015 cruise on NCL (two adults in one BC balcony) was $3000. It would be ideal to be in that "proportional" range, though obviously scaled up for the increase in passengers and cabins.

[kmb388]

4 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

You might need to rethink your criteria.

 

: ) Thank you! Figured I'd throw out all of our puzzle pieces and see if they would magically fit together. Looking like we'll go with a traditional balcony. I'm sure dad will be thrilled either way!

 

 

4 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

no RCI or Celebrity ships have forward facing balconies

 

Thank you for your help as we narrow our options!

 

 

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I just googled the NPS notice about the next ten years and they are continuing their seniority policy for Glacier Bay which means HAL and Princess have 71 assured permits

 

Thank you for this research.

[capriccio]

4 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

 I wonder if Princess has lost their permits for Glacier Bay, because their Alaska itineraries for 2020 do not show any visits there. .  You might need to rethink your criteria.   EM

Where did you check?  I just went to Princess Cruise Search and searched on all Alaska cruises in June 2020.  Cruises with Glacier Bay include Voyage of the Glaciers both northbound (Vancouver to Whittier) and southbound (Whittier to Vancouver) on the Royal, Coral, and Grand Princesses;  and the Inside passage (Seattle round trip) on the Ruby Princess. I didn't check any other months.

[wheezedr]

I would suggest either HAL or Princess.  Both have lots of options in the Alaska marketplace.  Any balcony would be fine because you will actually spend a great portion of your time on deck.

[Essiesmom]

My main source is cruisetimetables.com, and thought it odd that all of the Princess cruises were calling at Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier, but not Glacier bay.  But yet there has been no mention of it on the Princess board.  EM

[Texas Tillie]

31 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

My main source is cruisetimetables.com, and thought it odd that all of the Princess cruises were calling at Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier, but not Glacier bay.  But yet there has been no mention of it on the Princess board.  EM

 

Isn't Icy Strait at the entrance of Glacier Bay? Still don't get the mistake, however.