Help Me Decide: Alaska

[ihate2cruise]

My husband and I are planning a cruise in Mid May of this year. We have narrowed down to:

Encore - R/T Seattle - Glacier Bay

Bliss -   R/T Seattle - Dawes Glacier

Jewel - Seward/Vancouver - Hubbard Glacier w/Inside Passage

 

This will be our first time and possible our last time visiting Alaska(so much of the world to see, a so little time 😉

Looking for feedback from those that have cruised to these destinations pros/cons and not to be missed excursions.

Appreciate your time.

[SoloAlaska]

I’m partial to a north or southbound voyage. I’ve done two and booked another plus have a hold to make it a b2b right now. The inside passage is incredible.

[wil e coyote]

We did the Jewel Seward/Vancouver itinerary in May 2023. Loved it. We thought the Jewel was a good size for the Alaska cruise - it doesn't have waterslides, but it's not all that warm in Alaska anyway!

Also, the Seward/Vancouver (or vice-versa) gets to more of Alaska than the Seattle round trips. I have a friend who took a Seattle R/T in 2022, and now wishes he had done the other itinerary.

It also gives you the option to tack on a couple of days in Anchorage if you would like.

 

Enjoy!

[1025cruise]

If this is going to be a "one and done", then go for Glacier Bay.

[9tee2Sea]

i enjoy going in/out of Seattle.  Much easier airfare than going upto seward ( that alone is almost 1 day ,or more of traveling, lots of change of planes).  Never say Never on going back to Alaska ( I have done it 4 times so far).

[www3traveler]

For me, I would choose The Jewel. 

  (1) By taking either the bus or train from Anchorage to Seward, you will be able to see just a glimpse of what Alaska has to offer ( possibly for another trip).  If you can, you might want to add a day or two to see Seward.

 (2) The Jewel is a small ship with lots of outdoor space and an lounge space (indoor) all the way front on Deck 13 for comfortable watching the world go by.

 

 (3) Because you plan on going early in the "Season", Hubbard Glacier (or Glacier Bay) will be pristine white when blue edges.  Sometimes because of the weather and the amount ice flows, the large ships may not be able to get sail very close to the glaciers.

 

 (4) There are 3 excursions that I would NOT waste money:

      (a) Excursions in small boats or zodiacs to get closer to the glaciers.

      (b) Whale watching excursions-- should be able to see lots of whales from the ship--the Bridge staff

            is very good at spotting whales and keeping you informed on the PA system.

     (c) The "Deadlest Catch" Excursion in Ketchikan--- talks about the crabbing industry in Alaskan 

          waters.  Every year a number of crabbers lose their lives fishing in Alaskan waters.  I know 

          because I lost a brother in law and nephew in the same accident, so I look at the excursion

          differently than most people do.

 

The only issue I have with the Jewel cruise is the cost of 2 one way flights (one to Anchorage, Alaska and the return from Vancouver, British Columbia.

 

No matter whether you choose to sail either the Bliss, Encore or the Jewel, you will have a wonderful experience.  Relax and enjoy

 

 

[PATRLR]

Did you look carefully at the times in port for these itineraries?  Seems like I've heard some complaints about limited port times for some of the NCL itineraries.

The other thing I would look into is if there are any issues early season getting up to Dawes glacier.  I don't know if that is an issue or not, just something I'd look into.

If you do the Bliss, I strongly recommend the  "TRACY ARM FJORD & GLACIER EXPLORER" excursion.  You leave the Bliss and get on an Allen Marine boat with 150 or so others and get up much closer to the glacier than the Bliss gets.  
 

[olemissreb]

I recommend the one way on the Jewel.  When I was doing my research 10 years ago, I found the longest port times were on the one ways (with the Southbound even a little bit longer than the Northbound IIRC).

 

Fly in to Anchorage a couple days early - spend one night there and then take the Alaska RR (Gold Star Service) to Seward.  Let the railroad send your luggage on ahead to your hotel (if they still do that) and take a Major Marine Kenai Fjords tour.  You'll see lots of wildlife and get really close to a glacier and may even hear it calving.  On the Celebrity Millennium, we didn't get close enough to Hubbard Glacier to hear it calving - it was still a gorgeous journey down to the glacier though.

 

After your Kenai Fjords tour, the next day, let the hotel hold your luggage for a while and go take a tour of the Alaska Sea Life Center - do a behind the scenes tour.  You'll get to see the bird rookery from the day before on one of the screens in the center...it was so cool for us knowing we'd been there the day before to see it live and in person.

 

One way airfare from Vancouver is expensive, but I discovered a way around it - if you have enough vacation time.  Do a "HOHO" tour in Vancouver to waste time (there's a storage facility in the cruise terminal to store your luggage), but then take a cab to the train station and take the train to Seattle.  Spend a night (or two) in Seattle and then fly home from there.  For 5 of us (flying on free tickets), it was cheaper to do that than fly from Vancouver and the scenery was beautiful.

 

If this is truly going to be your only trip (I've only done the one trip so far, but am chomping at the bit to take my boyfriend), spend as much time in Alaska as you can!

[CaptainBazz]

We have done both sailings. Much prefer the one way (we did Vancouver to Seward on the Jewel). More time in the ports. We are not big on excursions and find plenty to do and see in the ports. We have been on the Jewel twice, Alaska and a 19 day Australia cruise...it's a great ship.

[bonvoyagie]

Having done 4 AK cruises now I have seen three glaciers - Dawes, Sawyer, and Glacier Bay - Hubbard was both foggy and iced in so we really did not "see" it. The SB Jewel offers visits to Icy Strait Point as well as Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan  - The NB Jewel subs Glacier Bay for ISP and offers longer stays in the other ports. Of the RT Seattle cruises I would go with the Encore simply because of Glacier Bay for two reasons - first GB is awesome with several different styles of glaciers plus a park ranger who explains it all, and secondly it is rarely iced out - unlike either Dawes or Sawyer Glaciers. However if you do decide on the Bliss then try to book the small boat excursion into the glaciers, you will see either glacier up close and perhaps witness calving. 

 

As for travel, we live in Portland OR so getting to either Seattle or Vancouver BC was not a big deal and with proper planning you can easily fly into Seattle and take a bus or train to Vancouver BC. If you do the NB Jewel flying home from Anchorage is not that big of a deal as most airlines use it as a re fueliing stop on their polar routes to Europe so there are lots of flights to choose from that end up in major hubs such as Chicago and Denver as well as Seattle. We flew to Fairbanks from PDX with a stop in Seattle when we did our SB cruisetour last summer. 

[julig22]

Depends on your interests. I love the Seward/Vancouver route. Longer times in ports, both Seward and Vancouver have additional excursions available if you are wanting additional whale watching or glacier viewing (Seward). And the train from Anchorage is always nice.

 

The Bliss visits lots of ports - and the trade-off is very short times in port.  I've been to Alaska on NCL 6 times, my least favorite itinerary. 

[ihate2cruise]

Thank you for your thoughts and sharing your experiences. I think we are leaning towards the Jewel Seward-Vancouver route. The flights are going to be brutal from Upstate NY, there is just no way to get around that, there are no non-stop flights, sadly.

 

Any tips for where to stay and what not to miss in Anchorage or Seward as we will be flying in 2 days early to help get acclimated before the cruise, it would be much appreciated.

[Monica887]

I have the Encore booked. I wanted Glacier Bay, and to fly in and out of Seattle. But yeah, some of the port times are very short. Places we would normally think to find ouu own excursions seems risky with the short time. Or in Victoria when you don't dock until 8pm on the last night. Seems like a waste.

 

Editing to add - I did Alaska once before. So I'm ok with a lot of ship time for the views, and seeing whales from the ship. 

Edited January 20 by Monica887

[ihate2cruise]

Just now, Monica887 said:

I have the Encore booked. I wanted Glacier Bay, and to fly in and out of Seattle. But yeah, some of the port times are very short. Places we would normally think to find ouu own excursions seems risky with the short time. Or in Victoria when you don't dock until 8pm on the last night. Seems like a waste.

Yeah, that Victoria, BC is purely the obligatory "foreign port stop" for a closed loop cruise from the US.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

Simple choice in two respects.   Do you want a large or small ship?   That means the number of passengers and children.   Do you want to get to know staff from the General manager to the bartenders, waiters and steward?

 

For me #3 the Jewel.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We’ve done AK six times and I prefer the Jewel class ships for those itineraries.  In terms of airfares, if you book two one way tickets it will be hard ther than booking an open jaw, which is more than a RT but in my experience it was not as hgh as the two one ways.

[tundra1]

My recommendation would be to fly into Anchorage, stay downtown, take the downtown trolley tour, get a nice meal at one of the Breweries,  then take the train in the morning to Seward and spend a second night there.  You can take a Kenai Fjords tour when you arrive in Seward, and go to the Sea Life center the next morning before boarding the ship.  

 

Once you get to Vancouver, plan on staying there for a night or two and then taking the train to Seattle and flying out of SeaTak.  Both Vancouver and Seattle are really great cities and worth spending some time there, so you can figure out if you want to spend time in Seattle also.  

[laudergayle]

To double down on what others have said.  I definitely recommend the one way on the Jewel.  We did Bliss last year in mid May and there was too much ice for Dawes Glacier.  And, the Bliss and Encore have very short port times.  We are re-doing AK thus May on the Jewel, Vancouver to Seward.  We are doing the Deadliest Catch excursion in Ketchikan (have read great reviews) and also a whale watching trip in Juneau.  I want to be up close to those whale tails.

 

 

re: airfare.  I found a hack that saved me several hundred dollars on the Delta app.  I booked a same day multi city.  ATL to SEA, SEA to YVR for $297 pp.  if I booked ATL to YVR (which also had a SEA layover), the lowest fare is $850.  Then I booked a one way ANC to ATL on the return. That flight cost $359.  I don’t know what airport you’re flying out of…but if Delta services it, try my booking tip and see if it works for you.

Edited January 20 by laudergayle

[Planmaam]

I love the smaller ships, and have been on the Jewel twice, so would highly recommend this ship.

BUT, if this is going to be your only Alaskan cruise, I would say the Glacier Bay itinerary. I have said Glacier Bay is somewhere everyone should go at least once in their lifetime. 

In fact I have told my daughter I wanted to have my ashes scattered there after I pass,  but then realized it is probably prohibited since it's a  National Park. So I told her I just want her to go there.

Edited January 20 by Planmaam
Grammar

[SomewhereGirl]

2 hours ago, ihate2cruise said:

The flights are going to be brutal from Upstate NY, there is just no way to get around that, there are no non-stop flights, sadly.

 

I would not let NCL book the flights.  I was on a Seward-Vancouver sailing a few months ago.  There was a family from Upstate NY (Buffalo or Rochester).  NCL booked the flights NY-DC-Dallas-Anchorage.  That still makes me mad and they weren't even my flights!  

[julig22]

26 minutes ago, SomewhereGirl said:

 

I would not let NCL book the flights.  I was on a Seward-Vancouver sailing a few months ago.  There was a family from Upstate NY (Buffalo or Rochester).  NCL booked the flights NY-DC-Dallas-Anchorage.  That still makes me mad and they weren't even my flights!  

I find that quite odd, NCL guidelines are a max of 1 layover for domestic flights. There's got to be more to that story.

[LatinaInTexas]

I picked Encore in May due to vacation time restrictions, I needed a weekend to weekend cruise. That only left me options for Bliss or Encore. Also this cruise ends on the 26th so we have the option to fly home then or on the 27th which is Memorial Day and we have off from work.

Would have loved to do a longer cruise with better port times but at least I'm getting Glacier Bay in case it's my only trip to Alaska.

 

[ihate2cruise]

46 minutes ago, SomewhereGirl said:

 

I would not let NCL book the flights.  I was on a Seward-Vancouver sailing a few months ago.  There was a family from Upstate NY (Buffalo or Rochester).  NCL booked the flights NY-DC-Dallas-Anchorage.  That still makes me mad and they weren't even my flights!  

Unfortunately flights from/to Upstate NY to/from Alaska/BC have 2 stops with plenty (sometimes too much layover time. I did find a few shorter ones nut they were to short 30-45 min layovers(no thanks)

I'm going to look at the hack someone mentioned above.

 

We used took advantage of the FAS Air in Nov 23 for our cruise out of Barcelona and it worked out very well and saved us $$.

 

BTW we would fly out of Albany.

 

[julig22]

3 hours ago, ihate2cruise said:

Any tips for where to stay and what not to miss in Anchorage or Seward as we will be flying in 2 days early to help get acclimated before the cruise, it would be much appreciated.

It depends somewhat on your interests.  Last August, I took a midnight flight from Seattle to Anchorage, then the Alaska Train to Seward (6am), the day prior to the cruise. Went directly from the train to an afternoon excursion, stayed overnight, took an all-day excursion the next day - boarding is late 7pm, so plenty of time. But I will admit I was pretty tired when I got to the ship!

I went with Major Marine tours but there are others that also do wildlife and Kenai Fjords tours - tours vary, depending on the dates you are there. I stayed at the Breeze hotel for that trip, will be staying at Harbor 360 when I'm there in April. Nothing fancy but clean and comfortable.

If you take the train, your luggage will be delivered to the major hotels in town. MajorMarine/Harbor 360 will also take your luggage to the ship, Breeze will take you, with your luggage, to the ship.

 

[v3cruiser]

We are doing southbound on Jewel in June. Airfare was challenging. Bought about a month after it posted. Alaska air to anchorage and united back home.  Had to stay a night in vancouver after cruise to get a decent flight home. We liked the longer port times. We are staying three nights in seward prior to cruise. booked our lodge over a year out. Only big mistake i have made is we are flying into anchorage late, approx 8pm but have to get up pretty early next day to get on train to seward. if I had to do it again id stay two nights in seward or try to get a flight that got into anchorage a little earlier. We sailed on Jewel in early 2023 and it was great.