Need help choosing Alaska Cruise

[riggins]

Hi guys-

We're cruising Alaska next summer with our DDs who will be 6 and 8. We're currently booked in a Family Verandah (FV) stateroom on Celebrity Infinity. Its an aft cabin that is 271 square feet and has a huge balcony that is 242 square feet.

 

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from HAL about their sale, and we can sail on the Amsterdam in an oceanview cabin and save $3250 over what we're paying on Celebrity. But, we give up the verandah altogether, and the cabin is much smaller. The itineraries are very similar, so this is really boiling down to how much I'm willing to spend for the big room and big balcony.

 

We can afford the big Celebrity cabin, but if we switch to HAL, we can also do a New Year's Eve cruise I have booked too. I'm really torn. If this were a Caribbean cruise, I'd dump the big verandah in a heartbeat, but I'm thinking that in Alaska, there will be more time that we want to sit out and watch the scenery while the kids watch TV or play games in the room. But, I'm really not sure. We've only cruised Caribbean/Bahamas and we've always been on DCL and we really only used our cabin to sleep in.

 

Anyone have opinions?

 

Thanks

Leslie

[Roz]

If the weather in Alaska is cold, rainy, foggy and/or windy, you won't be able to use the veranda. To me, Alaska is more about the ports and less about the ship.

 

Roz

[rebeccalouise]

Four people in a cabin is a bit claustrophobic but then again $ 3200 is a lot of money.

 

I do think you need a balcony in Alaska. It is so scenic and half of the adventure is sailing through the inside passage. I spent quite a bit of time on my balcony in Alaska. I've been there four times and have had a balcony all but once.

 

Perhaps you could downsize from the family suite and do a regular balcony cabin on either Holland America or Celebrity. That would be a better compromise.

 

Of the two lines, I think you and the kids will be very happy on either line.

[c-cruise]

For us a balcony is a must on any cruise, but particularly so in Alaska. There is a lot to see and it is really nice to be able to bounce back and forth between the balcony and cabin.

 

For 4 people on Holland I would check out an SS or SY category cabin on the Westerdam. Bigger than a regular balcony room, but without the price tag of a full suite. Plus they are covered so you will be able to use the balcony in inclement weather. Amsterdam doesn't have the SS/SY "mini-suite" category cabins. Also, likely to have more kids on Westerdam as it is a newer larger ship target more towards families than some of the other HAL ships.