Cruise line recommendation

[JEN5508]

We are thinking of booking an Alaskan Cruise next summer for our 25h Anniversary.  We are mid 40s and looking for a ship that also has some nightlife.  We've only cruised on Royal Caribbean to the Caribbean.  I'm looking for ship recommendations and your favorite ports.

 

thank you,

Jennifer

[wolfie11]

In Alaska, it's not the line, it's the ports.  Glacier Bay is high on the list, Tracy Arm as your only glacier stop is at the bottom (most ships don't get far enough to see the rather underwhelming glacier at the end).  Most visited ports are Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.  Expect up to 15,000 other people in port on a busy day.  Sitka, Icy Strait Point, and Haines are smaller, with fewer ships and people.  Ships out of Seattle go into the open ocean, while ships from Vancouver sail the beautiful Inside Passage of Vancouver Island.

 

You should decide what your priorities are and choose among the ships that meet your criteria.

[Ashland]

We've done Alaska 5 times with RCI and as recently as this past September and either do the roundtrip from Vancouver or the north bound. Our favorite ships are the Radiance & Serenade on this itinerary.

 

The one this past September went to both Tracy Arm and Hubbard. We got extremely close to Hubbard and luckily have never missed it.

 

 

 

 

[potatopotato]

Congrats on your big upcoming anniversary! Here are two big factors that lead us to choose Holland America for our Alaska trip this summer. They aren't HAL exclusives, but food for thought.

 

1. Glacier Bay as a stop. Everything I've read online said this was an absolute must do (I haven't been yet, but I trust Cruise Critic and other bloggers). Only Holland America, Princess, and a few select Norwegian ships are allowed to enter here.

 

2. Price for departure port. It was cheaper for us to fly to Vancouver and stay overnight than it was just to fly to Seattle. Not sure if where you are flying out of will be a factor for price, but Vancouver is generally cheaper to sail out of due to their port fees and whatnot that get baked into the price. This price difference alone will fund our excursions.

[NWA395]

We are also 1st time Alaska cruisers.  We had narrowed down our search to HAL and Princess.  In the end we chose princess  RT from Vancouver for 11 nights.  This was based on Glacier Bay, the other Alaskan ports and not having to hit Victoria at 2200 at night for a 4 or 5 hour stop to satisfy a government regulation.  The HAL trip we were looking at was RT from Seattle.  Heading into Vancouver a few days before the cruise and staying a few days after.

 

^^ This worked for us but may not be what others choose.