Alaska 2025

[bonvoyagie]

Well it looks like NCL has some interesting stuff planned for AK in 2025. The Jade replaces the Jewel on the now Whittier to Vancouver one way - and visiting Valdez on both north and south bound voyages. - the same port they have now axed for the rest of this season. The Joy replaces the Sun on 9 and 10 day sailings out of Seattle while the Encore and Bliss continue their RT out of Seattle voyages with the Encore going to Glacier Bay and the Bliss visiting Dawes Glacier. No word yet on the cruisetours as I am sure they will all need revamping with the change in port from Seward to Whittier.

[laudergayle]

Wow thanks for the insight.  I think putting the Joy in AK for the summer months makes good sense.  They should get higher fares in AK vs sailing Caribbean.  And more occupancy vs the Sun.  

[janice2348]

Our Bliss cruise in May of 2025 is going to glacier bay. 

[laudergayle]

On 6/22/2023 at 2:58 PM, laudergayle said:

Wow thanks for the insight.  I think putting the Joy in AK for the summer months makes good sense.  They should get higher fares in AK vs sailing Caribbean.  And more occupancy vs the Sun.  

I am going to retract this affirmation of the Joy in AK since they are removing half of the Observation Lounge for more cabins.  The OL is why I thought it was brilliant to send Joy to AK for summer.  

Edited July 21, 2023 by laudergayle

[BirdTravels]

8 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

I am going to retract this affirmation of the Joy in AK since they are removing half of the Observation Lounge for more cabins. 

I have seen the posts on this and it is bizarre since they removed rooms to add the Observation Lounge during the $50M refit in 2019. 

[laudergayle]

Just now, BirdTravels said:

I have seen the posts on this and it is bizarre since they removed rooms to add the Observation Lounge during the $50M refit in 2019. 

Now this really does seem odd.  I am sure some brilliant, highly regarded bean counting analyst justified the ongoing stream of increased revenue that would come by more cabins.  Unfortunately, the customer experience is what suffers from more passengers with less public space.  C’est la vie.

[yakcruiser]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

I have seen the posts on this and it is bizarre since they removed rooms to add the Observation Lounge during the $50M refit in 2019. 

i think this is about different visions of our glorious leaders. In spite of what people said I really do believe Frankie wanted to take the NCL brand up a notch whereas Harry only cares about the bottom line. Only my simple opinion.

[BirdTravels]

24 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

i think this is about different visions of our glorious leaders. In spite of what people said I really do believe Frankie wanted to take the NCL brand up a notch whereas Harry only cares about the bottom line. Only my simple opinion.

Yes. Harry is only concerned about the bottom line and recovering from the pandemic shutdown. That is why every department got their targets for cost cuts which is what we are seeing now. 

[laudergayle]

Yes. As unfortunate as it is..it is reality.  

[MississippiMom]

I am just now starting to learn about the Alaskan cruise options in hopes we can enjoy one of those itineraries in 2026.  If NCL Sun is leaving, are there any remaining NCL ships that are small enough to cruise the inside passage?

[shof515]

52 minutes ago, MississippiMom said:

If NCL Sun is leaving, are there any remaining NCL ships that are small enough to cruise the inside passage?

The Norwegian Jade is doing Alaska cruises. It is unknown if they are doing any more inside passage. From what i read here before and elsewhere, all ship is is no longer sailing in the passage

[bonvoyagie]

The Jewel and Jade are similar ships, I am sure that the Jade will indeed ply the inside passage of the Johnstone Strait and Seymore Narrows. The Spirit had to go outside of the island to make better time while trying to get to her first port. 

[azappraiser]

On 7/23/2023 at 9:10 AM, MississippiMom said:

I am just now starting to learn about the Alaskan cruise options in hopes we can enjoy one of those itineraries in 2026.  If NCL Sun is leaving, are there any remaining NCL ships that are small enough to cruise the inside passage?

 

I can't speak for 2026, but we're on the Encore in mid-May 2025... Inside Passage & Glacier Bay.

[laudergayle]

2 hours ago, azappraiser said:

 

I can't speak for 2026, but we're on the Encore in mid-May 2025... Inside Passage & Glacier Bay.

I don’t think Encore can do inside passage due to size.   Look at your itinerary map vs. that of a northbound Jewel out of Vancouver and you will see where the inside passage is. 

[EngrJones]

Aren't there several "inside passages?"

[azappraiser]

2 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I don’t think Encore can do inside passage due to size.   Look at your itinerary map vs. that of a northbound Jewel out of Vancouver and you will see where the inside passage is. 

 

Juneau, Ketchikan, & Skagway are also within the inside passage...actually, Alaska's Inside Passage, which begins south of Ketchikan, to approximately half the distance to Prince Rupert.

 

I believe you may be referring to Canada's Inside Passage.... look at the map.

Edited July 25, 2023 by azappraiser
typo

[laudergayle]

9 minutes ago, azappraiser said:

 

Juneau, Ketchikan, & Skagway are also within the inside passage...actually, Alaska's Inside Passage, which begins south of Ketchikan, to approximately half the distance to Prince Rupert.

 

I believe you may be referring to Canada's Inside Passage.... look at the map.

Yeah I didn’t realize they called the area around those ports the inside passage.  So yes, it would be the Canadian Inside passage that NCL does on the smaller ships.  

[AstoriaPreppy]

10 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Yeah I didn’t realize they called the area around those ports the inside passage.  So yes, it would be the Canadian Inside passage that NCL does on the smaller ships.  

 

3 hours ago, EngrJones said:

Aren't there several "inside passages?"

 

For cruise lines, "inside passage" generally used to refer to the east side of Vancouver Island, passing through the Seymour Narrows. As ships have gotten bigger, the Canadian pilots association won't let those ships through the narrows because of navigability issues, so lines have gotten creative.

Princess seems to have started this when they couldn't get Royal class certified for the narrows, and they rebranded with "oh, everything is an inside passage cruise now, even on the other side of the island!" At this point, I think Princess' Grand class may be the largest ships that still do the narrows regularly? (please correct me if I'm wrong)

 

Re: NCL, it's hit or miss if they'll take the Jewel class into the narrows. We did a Vancouver-Seattle trip on the Pearl in 2015, and expected a leisurely first sea day sailing up the inside passage... instead we made a beeline out of Vancouver and into the open ocean.

[MississippiMom]

21 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

 

For cruise lines, "inside passage" generally used to refer to the east side of Vancouver Island, passing through the Seymour Narrows. As ships have gotten bigger, the Canadian pilots association won't let those ships through the narrows because of navigability issues, so lines have gotten creative.

Princess seems to have started this when they couldn't get Royal class certified for the narrows, and they rebranded with "oh, everything is an inside passage cruise now, even on the other side of the island!" At this point, I think Princess' Grand class may be the largest ships that still do the narrows regularly? (please correct me if I'm wrong)

 

Re: NCL, it's hit or miss if they'll take the Jewel class into the narrows. We did a Vancouver-Seattle trip on the Pearl in 2015, and expected a leisurely first sea day sailing up the inside passage... instead we made a beeline out of Vancouver and into the open ocean.

Thank you so much for this detail.  I know it may sound silly to everyone with Alaskan cruise experience, but, as a newbie to that itinerary, I am finding it all a bit overwhelming to sort out.  We will want a 7 day sailing with as many sight seeing opportunities as possible, but also want to enjoy the ship, especially if the weather isn't cooperating or if a port is missed.    There could be a possibility that our late 20-something/early 30-something children will sail with us, so I don't want them feeling like we picked "an old folks" cruiseline, which is why I was looking closely at the smaller NCL and RCCL ships.

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 7/21/2023 at 2:08 PM, BirdTravels said:

I have seen the posts on this and it is bizarre since they removed rooms to add the Observation Lounge during the $50M refit in 2019. 

Yep.  When I heard the early reports, I refused to believe them, thinking "even NCL couldn't be this stupid."  Well,  I guess I was wrong. 

[AstoriaPreppy]

2 hours ago, MississippiMom said:

Thank you so much for this detail.  I know it may sound silly to everyone with Alaskan cruise experience, but, as a newbie to that itinerary, I am finding it all a bit overwhelming to sort out.  We will want a 7 day sailing with as many sight seeing opportunities as possible, but also want to enjoy the ship, especially if the weather isn't cooperating or if a port is missed.    There could be a possibility that our late 20-something/early 30-something children will sail with us, so I don't want them feeling like we picked "an old folks" cruiseline, which is why I was looking closely at the smaller NCL and RCCL ships.

 

What I'd recommend for a first timer in Alaska is to try and make sure you get Glacier Bay on your itinerary. Having the park rangers, and a day full of commentary and glacier/wildlife viewing (without bingo or gold by the inch announcements every hour) is quintessential Alaska. 

 

Also, (this may be heresy on the NCL boards), but I'm not a huge fan of NCL in Alaska. They don't have full-time naturalists on board, so we've found you miss a lot of the context. For example, when we've sailed Princess (or even Carnival) in Alaska, there's a person on board who will lead wildlife viewing from the deck, make announcements when wildlife are spotted, do lectures about the trip, etc. It's a cost NCL doesn't want to take on, and they seem to do okay without it, but we missed it. Also, HAL and Princess tend to do a much better job with included enrichment onboard (alaskan food/beer onboard, axe throwing, sled dog puppies) than a lot of the other lines... but you'll pay more for those lines in Alaska.

 

The crowd in Alaska on almost all the lines is less drinking/party oriented than a Caribbean cruise. It's absolutely more a jeans, fleece and sweaters crowd. If they're looking for all-night party cruising, it might not be a good fit, but as long as they know what they're getting into, they'll be fine. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:43 PM, janice2348 said:

Our Bliss cruise in May of 2025 is going to glacier bay. 

Yep.  It varies.  Overall, it seems like the Encore almost always goes to Glacier Bay while the Bliss is more of a mixture.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

NCL couldn't be this stupid." 

Chief, you have been around long enough to know better than that!

you’ve been MIA recently - you been cruising, I hope?

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Our first Alaskan cruise was on RCCL’s Vision of the Seas in 2003 and it was listed as an “Inside Passage” and there was a day listed as sailing the Mist Fjords..  it was mystical.  Very narrow and at times it almost felt you could reach out and touch the bank.  I wondered why I never see that on an itinerary anymore.

[ChiefMateJRK]

23 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

you’ve been MIA recently - you been cruising, I hope?

🤣The Chief was on a well earned "holiday."

 

('nuff said about that 😎)