Choosing - the decision-making process from a first time cruiser

[GettingMyShipTogether]

I'm writing this in case the ridiculous amount of time I spent researching our trip can help someone else who is trying to decide on a first time cruise to Alaska. Breaking it up into pieces b/c it's a novel 😂

 

The mission: Plan a 7-10 day Alaska vacation for Aug-Sept 2019, total trip budget 4-5k. I started looking in early July; explored cruise only, cruise tour, land only, and cruise plus DIY land. Pretty soon decided we wanted to do the cruise component for sure, to be able to see things we could only access by water. We're not sure if we like cruising though, so we wanted ample time with nature, hiking opportunities, and photography opportunities (hubs is a photo nerd). 

 

The first thing I found out is cruise pricing is mysterious - it is hard to figure out apples to apples comparisons on all the various options.

 

The second thing I discovered is that cruising has an entire subculture I didn't know how to navigate. We're newbies - I've been on a 3 day to the Bahamas (Norwegian) many years ago, my other half has never been on one.

 

My biggest takeaway: I got obsessed with optimizing the trip b/c we feel this will be our one and only visit to Alaska, but at the end of the day I'm pretty sure our trip would have felt epic and enjoyable with any of the options we considered.

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

[GettingMyShipTogether]

The contenders:

 

Celebrity (Millenium, Solstice, Eclipse), Norwegian (Bliss/Joy, Jewel), Holland America (lots of Dams), Princess (Royal, Coral). Did not consider Carnival, their marketing kind of says "Spring Break!" to me, although honestly marketing usually blows the differences between options out of proportion imho.

 

Took a quick look at Oceana, Uncruise, and some other options that were out of our price range - maybe another time another place. 

 

Zeroed in on rooms ranging between 600-900/pp & itineraries that included Glacier Bay. That eliminated Celebrity.

 

Looked hard at Norwegian Bliss & Joy. YMM(will)V on pros/cons but here it is from one point of view. 
Price at the time: $849 oceanview, includes "free at sea" offers (room total with port fees & tips ~$2500)

 

Pros: observation deck, new, sounded fun, Seattle R/T = easiest flights, had a positive experience on my previous Norwegian cruise, like the "freestyle" approach

 

Cons: shorter port times, didn't go too far into Alaska, 4k passengers, Victoria seemed like a wasted stop, ocean view cost as much as balcony on other ships

 

Decided we would take a ship out of Vancouver even though the flights would be more expensive. We wanted to get to Denali National Park if possible. 

 

That left Norwegian Jewel. Decided Holland America and Princess had more Alaska-centric programming/events on board. That eliminated Norwegian and we were down to Holland America and Princess. 

 

...

 

[GettingMyShipTogether]

Debated cruisetours vs. DIY. They priced out similarly at about $800pp additional when you factor in food, tips, etc. 

 

Cruisetour Pros: easy logistics, no driving, some good deals with perks available

Cruisetour Cons: looked like a lot of time in transit, the train sounded cool but driving would be faster, only 1 full day in Denali, not interested in a day long bus tour of the park, not too interested in staying in Talkeetna or Fairbanks

 

DIY Pros: control of the itinerary, tailor it to our needs, can spend all the time near Denali

DIY Cons: managing logistics, limited lodging options at this point in the season

Decided to DIY so we could spend 3 nights/2 days at Denali. 

 

DIY it is...now to decide Holland America or Princess. Honestly, they seemed pretty similar to me (no offense!) and pricing was comparable.

 

Holland America

Pros: our options for ships were both on the smaller side (~2k passengers), fewer complaints about the food, interesting onboard activities (BBC, America's Test Kitchen, EXC classes, etc.), slightly better incentives available with booking, more time in Glacier Bay

Cons: slightly higher pricing at the balcony level, reputation for catering to an older clientele

 

Princess

Pros: "North to Alaska" programming, 2nd glacier viewing at either Hubbard or College Fjord

Cons: more complaints about the food or how the line has gone downhill, more complaints that certain ships needed work (outdated, leaks, etc.), the design of the interior spaces & cabins didn't appeal

 

Decided on Princess for the 2 pros listed above. 

 

...

 

 

 

[GettingMyShipTogether]

Ok, last decision, which ship. 

 

Eliminated Golden Princess and Island Princess due to concerning things in reviews which honestly may not have impacted us but had to narrow it down somehow.  

 

Down to Royal and Coral. Happy with either northbound or southbound itineraries.

 

Royal - best option was a forward obstructed deluxe balcony (those super huge ones with the metal railings). $733 + $180 port fees + $105 tips pp= ~$2000 for the cabin

 

Pros: huge balcony at the front of ship looks awesome for glacier viewing days, new ship with nicer decor, ease of the medallion thingie, more and maybe better dining options, cabin options on or just beneath Lido deck, less expensive

 

Cons: lack of public deck space, sails west of Vancouver island, 3.6k passengers which I assume translates to more waiting for things, being tracked by the medallion thingie, balcony may be too windy to use while sailing, may not be able to see much outside from the room due to the metal railing

 

Coral - best option was a starboard cabin with a slightly larger than normal covered balcony. $935 + 225 + 105 pp = $2500 for the cabin

 

Pros: sails east out of Vancouver, smaller, more public deck space

Cons: more dated, fewer "bells & whistles", more expensive

 

Again, we'd probably be perfectly content with either. Decided ultimately on Coral in order to see the Inside Passage. Busted our overall budget a bit so hoping it's amazingly beautiful! I'll be able to tell you if I thought so in a month! 🤣

 

...

Edited August 8, 2019 by GettingMyShipTogether

[GettingMyShipTogether]

Aaaand one last thing... here's the breakdown of itinerary and rough pricing. It was hard to find info like this when I started planning so again, hope it helps someone else even though these things are always fluctuating. From what I can tell, cruise fares are pretty good 30-60 days out if you have flexibility but you get fewer perks and less choice so depending on your needs may be kind of a wash. 

 

Note: our activities in every port are going to be a hike, a beer, and fresh seafood. The excursions weren't too appealing to us so that kept our budget more reasonable. 

 

Total ~$5500

 

Flights ~$1k (booked 6 weeks out via Orbitz)

$100 transit to/from airports

 

Cruise fare, port fees, gratuities, ~$2.5k

-$120 on board credit

$200 on board spending (guesstimate)

$100 transits in ports

$300 food, supplies, shopping

 

DIY land tour - ended up being a bit less expensive than anticipated

$400 airbnb cabin

$250 car  

$100 gas

$120 park fees, shuttle

$80 shuttle

$500 food, supplies, shopping

 

Thanks also to everyone who answered my newbie questions and responded to my panic re: negative Coral reviews. Cheers! 

[oaktreerb]

Thanks for posting.  For someone new to the Alaska cruise market you did a very thorough analysis and a great decision.

[GettingMyShipTogether]

44 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Thanks for posting.  For someone new to the Alaska cruise market you did a very thorough analysis and a great decision.

 

Thank you! They say the trip planning increases your anticipation and enjoyment, so by now I am REALLY looking forward to getting on the ship. 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by GettingMyShipTogether

[GettingMyShipTogether]

I forgot to add fwiw when initially looking at cruise lines we didn't really consider Royal Caribbean either b/c the ship seemed too big and the itineraries a little funky. 

[SuperCrewBear]

I like your planning!  I pondered it all in a similar fashion when I was planning our first Alaskan cruise about 4 years ago - our first cruise ever too.  One thing you said that I wanted to comment on is how you felt Victoria seemed like a wasted stop.  I'm sure in your research you found out why most of the cruises stop there - because of the laws. But there could be an ulterior motive. At least Norwegian has one.  They have figured out a way to make lemonade out of what might be a lemon stop.  Trash.  Ha Ha

 

Our first cruise was a 10-day on NCL Pearl that we completely enjoyed.  Our stop in Victoria was from noon until midnight so we have plenty of time to do *something*.  (We took a cab to the gardens as soon as we were off the ship. Then a cab back to the ship for a free dinner on board then back to town on the shuttle bus to shop.  It worked well for us.)  On a 2nd cruise two years later our time there was only from 6 PM until midnight - hardly enough time to do very much.  We had poutine at a friend of mine's little restaurant on the far side of town away from the other tourists! 😋

 

Anyway, back to the trash.  Our last full day onboard on the 2nd cruisse (our Victoria day) I took a paid tour of the ship as an "excursion" - it was pretty cool.  We saw quite a bit of the mysterious behind the scenes places.  There was a large space full of bales of compressed garbage.  Guess where all that garbage is unloaded.  Victoria.  The space it takes up is the same space where the luggage is staged at for departure in Seattle.  That same space is where all the luggage is placed until it's distributed to the new passengers.  So for one day each week it's luggage storage - the other six days it's garbage storage space.  Who would have guessed?

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by SuperCrewBear

[GettingMyShipTogether]

7 minutes ago, SuperCrewBear said:

Anyway, back to the trash.  Our last full day onboard (our Victoria day) I took a paid tour of the ship as an "excursion" - it was pretty cool.  We saw quite a bit of the mysterious behind the scenes places.  There was a large space full of bales of compressed garbage.  Guess where all that garbage is unloaded.  Victoria.  The space it takes up is the same space where the luggage is staged at for departure in Seattle.  That same space is where all the luggage is placed until it's distributed to the new passengers.  So for one day each week it's luggage storage - the other six days it's garbage storage space.  Who would have guessed?

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

 

 

 

OMG! I had no idea! thanks for sharing this. I did read how ships flying a non-US flag had to sail internationally so they won't be held to US law. but how funny! I've heard nice things about Victoria itself, but the Bliss/Joy have short and late port times there so seemed like there wouldn't be time to do much. 

[donaldsc]

Does anyone else besides me consider that your decision tree process is a bit much?

 

DON

[Coral]

18 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Does anyone else besides me consider that your decision tree process is a bit much?

 

DON

Honestly, no.

 

I have read so many posts on this board saying "we booked this trip and the time in port was too short", "we can't do what we want to do because of the month we booked" or "excursions are too expensive in Alaska - we decided to just walk around". We then come back and say "you should have asked or done research".

 

The OP did their research. I applaud them and wish them a great cruise!

Edited August 9, 2019 by Coral

[GettingMyShipTogether]

3 hours ago, donaldsc said:

Does anyone else besides me consider that your decision tree process is a bit much?

 

DON

 

 

I mean, I consider it too much tbh and made it clear i think we would have had a good time regardless but I wanted to make the most of this trip so i researched the heck out of it. My whole point in writing this was to share info that I wish I would have been able to find when I was sorting through the options. May not be relevant for you but if it helps someone then it was well worth the time to type it out.

Edited August 9, 2019 by GettingMyShipTogether

[SempreMare]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

Does anyone else besides me consider that your decision tree process is a bit much?

 

DON

No. 

 

An Alaska cruise is a big investment in time and $.    

 

I appreciate @GettingMyShipTogether sharing this as it will help other unexperienced cruisers like myself know what to consider when choosing between major cruise lines.

 

Related to what I just said, 

It would be great to read perspectives from opinionated people who have cruised several times to Alaska on several different cruise lines on pros and cons of each cruise line compared to each other.  

 

@donaldsc  have you read any such topics that you thought were particularly helpful? 

[SuperCrewBear]

11 hours ago, donaldsc said:

Does anyone else besides me consider that your decision tree process is a bit much?

 

DON

No, he thought it out in a way that worked for him.  Everyone is different. I spent about $12,000 on my 1st Alaskan cruise and I didn't want to come back disappointed and wishing I had done better research.

Edited August 9, 2019 by SuperCrewBear

[Oakman58]

11 hours ago, GettingMyShipTogether said:

 

 

I mean, I consider it too much tbh and made it clear i think we would have had a good time regardless but I wanted to make the most of this trip so i researched the heck out of it. My whole point in writing this was to share info that I wish I would have been able to find when I was sorting through the options. May not be relevant for you but if it helps someone then it was well worth the time to type it out.

 

In an effort to get you even more excited about your Alaskan cruise, here's a picture of the Coral Princess I took in early June as she cruised in Glacier Bay heading toward Margerie Glacier.  I was on the Holland Westerdam.

 

 

[GettingMyShipTogether]

@Oakman58 what perfect weather and a cute little ship from that distance. thanks a bunch! 

[Coral]

The Coral Princess is a great ship for Alaska. I hope you enjoy.

[Shazzah]

You did a wonderful job outlining your planning process!!!  I hope you all safe a trip report upon completion and tell us about your experience. 

[GettingMyShipTogether]

49 minutes ago, Shazzah said:

You did a wonderful job outlining your planning process!!!  I hope you all safe a trip report upon completion and tell us about your experience. 

 

thank you!

[masterdrago]

I think you've done a masterful job of planning. I enjoyed hearing your thought processes. We spent near 10 months planning our 1st DIY land tour and cruise for this last May. Full report is here on CC at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2660632-trip-report-may-24-2019-radiance-of-the-seas-seward-vancouver/  We were sure it would be our only trip to the big State. Ended up spending ~$16k for the 16 day trip. Turns out, we are already planning the next one. So many things to see and do. Can hardly wait to go back.

 

[masterdrago]

SuperCrewBear, I was really impressed with how the back stage of Liberty of the Seas is operated when I took their ship excursion a few years ago. Especially how the liquor storage vault can be ejected out to sea if a fire becomes out of control in that room.

[geoherb]

Have a great cruise! I booked the Island Princess for back-to-back cruises this summer and had a great time. I would have preferred being on the Coral due to it retaining more of the original design instead of taking away the Universe Lounge for additional cabins. But that said, the Island had great deals for solo passengers.

 

On my cruises, the first-time Princess cruises numbered three-quarters of the passengers. I bet a good many of them wished they had done the research you did. I talked to a few who squandered some of their time because they did not plan. You mentioned you're "not interested in a day long bus tour of the park" at Denali. The Tundra Wilderness Tour was the highlight of the land portion when we took a cruise tour seven years ago. 

 

One thing I enjoyed on my southbound cruise was renting a bicycle in Skagway to bike toward the Chilkoot Trail. It was just $20 for two hours (and $40 for a day). On my northbound one, I walked to Lower Reid Falls and the Gold Rush cemetery. The National Park Service also does interesting guided tours. I went on the one that went into Soapy Smith's Parlor.

[GettingMyShipTogether]

10 hours ago, masterdrago said:

I think you've done a masterful job of planning. I enjoyed hearing your thought processes. We spent near 10 months planning our 1st DIY land tour and cruise for this last May. Full report is here on CC at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2660632-trip-report-may-24-2019-radiance-of-the-seas-seward-vancouver/  We were sure it would be our only trip to the big State. Ended up spending ~$16k for the 16 day trip. Turns out, we are already planning the next one. So many things to see and do. Can hardly wait to go back.

 

 

 

 

thank you! super helpful review and that drone footage you got must be fantastic.

[GettingMyShipTogether]

10 hours ago, geoherb said:

Have a great cruise! I booked the Island Princess for back-to-back cruises this summer and had a great time. I would have preferred being on the Coral due to it retaining more of the original design instead of taking away the Universe Lounge for additional cabins. But that said, the Island had great deals for solo passengers.

 

On my cruises, the first-time Princess cruises numbered three-quarters of the passengers. I bet a good many of them wished they had done the research you did. I talked to a few who squandered some of their time because they did not plan. You mentioned you're "not interested in a day long bus tour of the park" at Denali. The Tundra Wilderness Tour was the highlight of the land portion when we took a cruise tour seven years ago. 

 

One thing I enjoyed on my southbound cruise was renting a bicycle in Skagway to bike toward the Chilkoot Trail. It was just $20 for two hours (and $40 for a day). On my northbound one, I walked to Lower Reid Falls and the Gold Rush cemetery. The National Park Service also does interesting guided tours. I went on the one that went into Soapy Smith's Parlor.

 

 

Geoherb, thanks again for the coffee cards, got them yesterday! 

I've read many good things about the wilderness tour. I think we may have to decide once we're there depending on the weather and talking to the park staff....the plan right now is to do the ranger-led off trail hike (this also requires some bus time & takes up to 10 hours). If that doesn't work out, taking the shuttle deeper into the park or taking the wilderness tour would be our alternate options. 

 

Yesss on the bike rentals, we have that & kayaking down as alternate options for some of the port stops. One of my favorite things to do when traveling is rent a bike and tool around an unfamiliar town. :)