Alaska cruise tours

[Cardinal30]

What cruise lines offer the best Alaska cruise tours?

 

[crystalspin]

18 minutes ago, Cardinal30 said:

What cruise lines offer the best Alaska cruise tours?

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Holland America and Princess.

[MCC retired]

17 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Holland America and Princess.

Both have their own branded hotels , bus , and train cars 

[Cardinal30]

I’m not a fan of the Caribbean Princess.  How are the other Sapphire and the Coral?  Has anyone used Celebrity for an Alaska cruise tour?  I sail a lot with Celebrity.  Thank you!

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, Cardinal30 said:

I’m not a fan of the Caribbean Princess.  How are the other Sapphire and the Coral?  Has anyone used Celebrity for an Alaska cruise tour?  I sail a lot with Celebrity.  Thank you!

Celebrity doesn't do Glacier Bay, so you will be missing a key site.

[Cardinal30]

Thank you, I didn’t know that!

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Cardinal30 said:

Thank you, I didn’t know that!

To help you with the research, make this your "home page" on Cruise Critic:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/

 

That way you can see what Cruise Critic has to offer. You will find a wealth of info, including a board devoted to Alaska, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

[donaldsc]

Until you define your parameters for "best" responses to this question are totally subjective and thus somewhat meaningless.

 

DON

Edited March 4 by donaldsc

[Pan pan]

On 3/2/2024 at 12:21 PM, crystalspin said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Holland America and Princess.

Hi! 

Definitely agree Princess is one of the best lines to go to Alaska. They will take you to Glacier Bay! 

 

[capriccio]

On 3/3/2024 at 10:53 AM, Cardinal30 said:

I’m not a fan of the Caribbean Princess.  How are the other Sapphire and the Coral?  Has anyone used Celebrity for an Alaska cruise tour?  I sail a lot with Celebrity.  Thank you!

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Our first Alaska cruise (and only our 3rd cruise ever) was an Alaska cruisetour in 2007 on the Coral Princess.  It was magical.  We were so impressed with the Princess tour logistics - dedicated train cars with a guide in each one and comfortable hotels. 

 

The Coral and Sapphire are our favorite Princess ships especially for Alaska (done it twice on the Coral) and the Norwegian fjords (once on the Sapphire).  They are smaller than the Caribbean Princess (which we've sailed on numerous times in the Caribbean); that means fewer passengers which makes disembarkation in port much easier than the larger ships.  They both have covered pools which is important given the itinerary.

 

I absolutely concur with the earlier comments that you need to make sure Glacier Bay is included in the itinerary.

 

If you check the Princess forum, there are a few recent threads comparing the Coral and Sapphire Princess specifically for the Alaska cruising season: