Alaska 2023--Quantum or Ovation?

[barb in ga]

There will be 4 family groups--2 sets of Grandparents, 2 sets of adults with 1 child each family, for a total of 10 people in 4 cabins. The granddaughters are 7 and 13.

We cruised this year on Harmony, which everyone loved for all the food and activity choices, so I have ruled out the smaller ships. We also prefer the roundtrip Seattle itinerary for ease and cost of flights.

 

Our plan is to go as soon as the girls are out of school for the summer, so we would sail Ovation on Friday 5/26 or Quantum on Monday 5/29.

 

The differences in itinerary: Ovation does day 3 cruising the inside passage, Quantum stops in Sitka on day 3.  On day 7 Ovation docks at Victoria from 8-6 and Quantum is only docked at Victoria from 5P to 10P.

 

Please share your thoughts on the itinerary differences and any other comments welcome.

Thanks, Barb

[STEVE-O]

I'd suggest you consider the northbound Radiance sailing from  Vancouver.

 

The further north you go, the better the scenery (IMHO).

 

Radiance is designed with more public spaces with outside views.

 

The train between Seward and Anchorage is beyond amazing!

 

The first and last full days from/to Seattle can be a bit rough as the sailings go west of Vancouver Island and not through the "Canadian inside passage".

[twangster]

I've sailed both Ovation and Quantum to Alaska.  The ships are more similar than different with only minor difference in select places.  Consequently it comes down to itinerary.  

 

The 8am-6pm Victoria stop is very compelling.  The 5pm-10pm stop at Victoria really limits what you can do in this beautiful city.  Victoria often gets a bad review not because it's a bad destination but because people book a cruise with an evening stop then complain they got an evening stop in Victoria when "all the shops are closed".  Duh!

 

If you've never been to Alaska before then everything is new.  Most Alaska cruises will provide an amazing experience with the exception of those that do evening stops in Victoria but you already figured that important detail out.  My recent Quantum sailing did the same evening stop but that was my 6th time to cruise in Alaska so it wasn't impactful to me personally like it would be if I had never been there before.  

 

There is no wrong way to cruise Alaska but paying attention to the times in port is important and you've already got that in hand.  

[neverbeenhere]

I suggest moving to Alaska and living for 5 years. 
 

As for the cruise, take the Ovation option.  For all the above reasons. 

[barb in ga]

We did an Alaska cruise on Explorer in 2015 and really enjoyed it. On our day in Victoria we went to Butchart Gardens which was really incredible.  I'm not sure that the 7 and 13 year old will have much interest in more than a short time touring gardens, so we'll be looking for some other excursion ideas.

We have cruised on Anthem, so I feel comfortable that this class ship will be enjoyed by all, including the kids. We have previously cruised Serenade, sister ship to Radiance and thought it beautiful, but we'll stick with a Quantum class ship and a Seattle departure/return for this trip.

 

Barb

[deliver42]

We were on the Ovation last September and it's a fantastic ship. They may have changed the itinerary because we stopped in Sitka.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

We chose Ovation for the itinerary and LOVED our cruise on that ship. Quantum was a close second, but ultimately I was very glad I chose Ovation, because Quantum now has an engine issue and has been skipping ports. 

[Travel R]

We sailed Alaska last month on the Serenade (smaller ship). I cannot comment on the ships, but I would strongly suggest the itinerary that includes Sitka on the Quantum vs Inside Passage. [If you go to my signature, there is a link to the Index for this cruise - in the index, click on the link for Sitka to see my review of that port.]

[Max and Ruby]

13 hours ago, barb in ga said:

We did an Alaska cruise on Explorer in 2015 and really enjoyed it. On our day in Victoria we went to Butchart Gardens which was really incredible.  I'm not sure that the 7 and 13 year old will have much interest in more than a short time touring gardens, so we'll be looking for some other excursion ideas.

We have cruised on Anthem, so I feel comfortable that this class ship will be enjoyed by all, including the kids. We have previously cruised Serenade, sister ship to Radiance and thought it beautiful, but we'll stick with a Quantum class ship and a Seattle departure/return for this trip.

 

Barb

Check out Miniature World in Victoria. Took my 12 and 10 year old daughters years ago and it went well. My husband actually enjoyed it the most. 🙂

[Mikewa]

Cruised Ovation on August 5th.  Haven't been on Quantum, but Ovation beat all my expectations.  No complaints - ship is immaculate, crew and staff super friendly and helpful.  Cruise Director is wonderful. Only complaint is Seattle (sorry for anyone reading this that calls it home).  Dirty and scary.  

[barb in ga]

Thanks for the comments. We will be having a family meeting to weigh our choices. Right now. I am leaning towards the Quantum since that would give us a chance to fly from Atlanta to Seattle with a couple of days to see Seattle highlights before boarding the cruise.

Barb

[RhondaC]

2 hours ago, barb in ga said:

Thanks for the comments. We will be having a family meeting to weigh our choices. Right now. I am leaning towards the Quantum since that would give us a chance to fly from Atlanta to Seattle with a couple of days to see Seattle highlights before boarding the cruise.

Barb

We'll be flying from ATL to Seattle next year too, and had the same question as you!  I think we're leaning toward Quantum too.

[thetwoofus1]

Just a note about Alaska.

 

We just returned from a 7 day southern itinerary on Radiance of the Seas.  I know Radiance is a much smaller ship without a lot of bells and whistles, howerver the views from almost anywhere inside the ship are marvelous.  We traveled from Seward to Vancouver with a different port every day.  We were much more interested in the ports and the scenery of Alaska than any ship amenities.  

 

The ship was more like a motel for this voyage.  

 

Jim

[dolphingirl47]

We did both in a similar time frame this year with a weekend in Seattle in the middle. We loved both, but for us Quantum had a slight edge. We went to Icy Strait Point and having the extra port day definitely was a bonus. Next time, we would definitely love to visit Sitka. 

Having a proper port day at Victoria on Ovation was nice. We took the public bus to Butchard Gardens, which was amazing and still had time to do a little sightseeing in Victoria.

 

Corinna

[Jam0610]

We have Ovation booked in September. Wanted the extra time in Victoria.

[Mikewa]

On 8/18/2022 at 8:49 AM, Jam0610 said:

We have Ovation booked in September. Wanted the extra time in Victoria.

Was pleasantly surprised with Victoria.  Very clean city, and beautiful architecture.  We didn't have a sightseeing plan - but hired a bike guide.  So this guide has a bike hooked up to a cart - forget what it's called (there were 4 of us) and he takes you on a very intimate tour of the city.  Very personal and in the fresh air, showing you all the hidden gems of the city - and the tour is tailored to what you want to see.  Highly recommended!!

[KALCJ1]

Let me start by saying...I have never sailed on Quantum.  I've been on Anthem, Odyssey, and Ovation.  We just did the 7/29 sailing to Alaska on Ovation.  If you're set on these 2 ships/itineraries, I would definitely go with Ovation.  On our sailing we were only in Victoria for the evening and it just wasn't enough time to do much.