Over 55 and single and Alaska

[shipper50]

I was in Alaska on Celebrity for my first cruise in 2012 and not the best overall experience. I would like to plan another trip for May of 2021 and unless things change I will be alone. I have traveled a lot for my birthday over the years and its on May 14. Any suggestions for what ship and what company would be greatly appreciated. I have looked at cruises for May of 2021 and would like a 7 plus day trip out of Seattle since I live in Indiana.

 

Thanks

[honumaui]

What was it you were disappointed with ? Alaska or the ship ? We have cruised there twice ...First on Oceania ( round trip Seattle)  with a Denali extension, second on Windstar Legend ..two weeks out of Seward... and are going again this June on Oceania..two weeks RT Seattle because we like the itinerary. Loved the ports and scenery. 

[Von & John]

Are you looking to do a round trip out of SEA?

There are great options w/ a one way in or out of Vancouver as well...

[shipper50]

36 minutes ago, honumaui said:

What was it you were disappointed with ? Alaska or the ship ? We have cruised there twice ...First on Oceania ( round trip Seattle)  with a Denali extension, second on Windstar Legend ..two weeks out of Seward... and are going again this June on Oceania..two weeks RT Seattle because we like the itinerary. Loved the ports and scenery. 

To be honest? As it was my first cruise and was with my ex-gf and neither of us had cruised, we were playing this by ear. Like we got yelled at for not being in the back a  line at embarkation in Seattle. Me being a retired steelworker from Gary Indiana, I bit my tongue and we got in line once we found where. The other main thing was people would sit off to the side and wait for lines to move and then jump in. Was almost a stink when a guy behind me said something and a lady said, WHO made you boss. So I guess it was more the ship. It was the Celebrity Infinity.

[shipper50]

34 minutes ago, Von & John said:

Are you looking to do a round trip out of SEA?

There are great options w/ a one way in or out of Vancouver as well...

The past trip was from Seattle and back with Juneau,Ketchican, Skagway and BC. One other port I cant think of. I would prefer flying in and out of Seattle. One thing I left out in my response was I got a balcony and sure enough the cabin below had a smoker who came out and would smoke when we were outside. That wont happen again now I have learned the rules. If the cruise line doesn't want to enforce them I will say something to the smoker on my own.;-)

[honumaui]

Most cruise lines today do not allow smoking on any balconies and they are strict about it.  You can check their policies on the web sites. We have sailed for many years, love cruising but now avoid any ship with over around 800 passengers.

  We loved the Star Legend because there was only 200 pgs and they visited some great ports the big ships don't go to.  If you  like adventure, they do zodiac tours with naturalists directly off the ship. ( we are over 75 and decided to skip the zodiacs.) The down side is they don't go out of Seattle,  there are no big shows, but also no long lines..  and the food and service was great.

  I would suggest you check out Oceania. A nice size ship, comfortable accommodations,  some of the best food, and they do Rt from Seattle. Also, Sitka is a really nice port to visit.

[shipper50]

Thanks honumaui, I will 70 this May and if you might have read my posts about my knee I am not sure what tours I can do if required to sit low in a boat. I did a white water raft trip on my National Parks tour this past May and was lucky they had 2 guys help me out of the boat. Not as mobile as I once was. Me with the Kenny beard in front.lol

Edited February 5, 2020 by shipper50

[lcand1923]

I have taken three trips to Alaska as a solo.  My favorite was a RT out of Seattle on Holland America (HAL).  It was a 14 day trip, though.  I've done several other solo cruises on HAL and have found that they are quite Solo-Friendly.  Alaska is quite user friendly, too, as far as Shore Excursions are concerned.  Many of the ports can be done by just walking from Point A to Point B.

The Crew on HAL is the best -- very attentive and friendly.

I have also done a solo trip to Alaska on Princess.  This one was a land first, cruise second type of trip.  It was a good trip, but I did not find the cruise line as Solo-Friendly.  The Crew never recognized me when I approached a bar or my table in the Dining Room which I found quite unusual.

[KansasTexan]

I'm sailing solo to Alaska this May. I'll try to remember to come back to this thread and give you an update on how it went for me. 

[Truluv]

I've cruised to AK on Celebrity, NCL and HAL (widow-67).  I cruise a lot w/RCL, and our family had cruised a lot with Carnival in the past.  I also wasn't a fan of Celebrity.  I prefer a more informal style, and (just bad luck) met some pretentious, unfriendly people on Celebrity.  I also wasn't crazy about my NCL cruise in AK, although their prices are usually good.  The NCL cruise had some cold & rainy weather,  so passengers were inside a lot.  The ship  felt very crowded.   Weather in AK is always a gamble though.  

 

On that NCL cruise, sometimes port time was barely enough for one excursion.   I learned that it's really important in AK to compare times in port when looking at choices.  Ideally, you want to have time to explore the port AND take at least one excursion. 

 

 I liked my HAL cruise in AK so much that I booked another HAL cruise to AK  in 9/20.  About 25 years ago, I renewed vows with my spouse in a service in the Russian Orthodox church in Sitka.  I fell in love with Sitka, and HAL is one of the few cruise lines that stops there now.  I've heard RCL is adding it next year.  It's a tradeoff, since going to Sitka usually means dropping one of the other ports.  Anyway, my HAL cruise was lower key, good food, friendly passengers, and just a great trip.  Passengers were a little older, but overall there was a mix of ages.  Note -  HAL has a separate pier and doesn't depart from the downtown Seattle terminal.   That's not a big deal except you might consider it when planning any pre-cruise hotel or transportation.  

 

[bbwex]

Well one option would be a round trip out of Seattle, but another option would be to do a cruisetour and cruise.  We flew to Seattle, changed planes and flew to Fairbanks.  Took a cruisetour that did Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage.  You can pick from among many cruisetours on HAL, Princess, or I guess Carnival, but to avoid too much noise from partiers, I would go with HAL or Princess.  You decide how many days you want on the tour part, and then connect with a cruise at the end.  I would suggest that you do it that way, so you can relax on the ship afterwards, though the tour was not tiring.  Then if you leave from Seward, you can take the Kenai Fjords tour in Seward for about five hours before you board the ship and leave. 

 

Some of the stuff in Fairbanks seems as if it is going to be hokey, but it was extremely interesting.  We started a day ahead of our tour and had a flight that was supposed to visit a village above the arctic circle, but weather turned us back and we toured Coldfoot (southern terminus of the ice road truckers route).  Then the regular day in Fairbanks, a train ride to Denali is glass-domed railcars, then Denali which was fascinating -- the Tundra Wilderness Tour takes you in 52 miles, so you see tons of bears and other wildlife, then the train to Anchorage.  You could add other stuff if you have the time.

 

Alaska is a great state, and there is much to do, and just doing a RT cruise misses so very much.  As you can see, I strongly recommend doing more.