HELP! I need to plan a Cruise to Alaska.

[Marietta]

My husband has decided he wants to go to Alaska after a friend took Princess to Alaska, for his first cruise, and won't stop talking about it. I've always planned our cruises based on price and something we can drive to (Galveston & New Orleans). He is no help as to when, where, with who, or anything. He just wants to go on a cruise to Alaska. I've never had a desire to go there (my uncle worked on the pipeline so I've heard all the negatives) and am at a total loss as to where to start.

 

I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions on what to look for and where to start.

 

Thanks,

[CowPrincess]

This forum is a GREAT place to find information. You can read back through a number of pages and see some of the pros and cons to various itineraries, departure points, etc.

 

How long do you want to travel for? Do you want just a cruise or cruise and land tour? Do you want a 7-day roundtrip from Vancouver or Seattle? Do you have a fairly firm budget?

 

Will part of your budget be for shore excursions? What do you like to do on vacations? Are you normally pretty active, or more into relaxing?

 

Don't let your uncle's tales of the pipeline diminish this opportunity -- Alaska is wonderful, beautiful, magnificent, awe-inspiring. I've been 4 times and would go again in an instant if I had the chance.

 

In another thread Budget Queen (she's been to Alaska dozens of times) recommended to someone getting "Alaska by Cruiseship" from the library as a good starting point. And you probably want to talk to your husband's friend to find out what they did, who they cruised with, etc. 'Cuz you wanna be sure your cruise is as good as his :D

[calmac]

As you've already cruised, determine what you like and dislike about the ships/lines you've been with and take this into consideration when choosing what line / ship / itinerary you want.

[Italy52]

My husband worked quite a bit in Alaska (pump stations to the pipeline included). He has many stories to tell but it still didn't stop us from returning. We have cruised to Alaska 3 times; 4th cruise will be May '09. Alaska is beautiful - why not come and see for yourself.

[1932Canal]

My husband has decided he wants to go to Alaska after a friend took Princess to Alaska, for his first cruise, and won't stop talking about it. I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions on what to look for and where to start.

Thanks,

We (my wife, Daughter and I) just completed an Alaska Cruise/Tour with Princess last August. Princess started the Alasaka Cruise itinerary and "knows" Alaska. I suggest that you take something similar, always starting from Vancouver, going North with the Land Tour afterwards; or, if you prefer, the Land Tour first and then the cruise South to Vancouver. The reason for either Vancouver being the start or finish of the cruise is that the ship will sail the 'Inside Passage' which is definitely more comfortable than the 'Outer Passage' which ships, sailing from Seattle, use. Now, go one step further and arrive at your 'Start' one day ahead of either the Cruise or Land Tour. Better still, let Princess book your Hotels and tranfers. Princess will also book your Air Travel, but that's somthing that you might like to do for yourself. Any way that you decide will be enjoyable, although do be warned, the weather can be 'not so good' (ie. often raining) at any time through April to September when you are on a 'shore excursion'. :p

[Budget Queen]

Yes, consider getting to your library and taking out Alaska travel books, Fodor's Alaska and Frommer's Alaska will also give you port information.

 

I am not in agreement with some of the above. "Princess" is not the one I would consider the "best" for cruisetours, with the "knows" statement. I'm not sure why this is put as a comment, since ALL cruisetours, are run similar and there isn't much to really "know" with longitivity??? Princess uses just as many seasonal, non familiar Alaska employees as anyone else. They also sell some pretty poor tours. I always recommend you educate yourself and get very serious about details, since most people don't. Key is to avoid the surprises that are not mentions.

 

All ships sail "inside passage" and actually one ways can also do a LOT of open ocean sailing instead of more coastal. I have personally been on some. Vancouver sail inside Vancouver Island, which is different than "inside passage". Definately a superior routing.

 

The comments above about using cruise booked hotels is not a good one in my opinion. The rates are per person and always far more costly than booking direct. If you have trouble getting yourself to lodging than use it, but if you can make a phone call for a shuttle or get in a cab, you can save significant money not going with Princess booked hotels. Same with cruiseair, if you can't manage yourself , then use them, but you may want to compare what you can get on your own. The benefit will be YOUR choice of flights and connections, with confirmed bookings way in advance. Transfer information is available independent.

 

Again, do your homework and find out what works the best for you. Taking a round trip cruise is excellent and certainly packs plenty into 7 days. IF you can allot more time and have the interest a one way is excellent with my recommendation of allowing another week for interior Alaska touring. Plenty to see and do. :)

 

With cruise selections, you may want to give the priority to itinerary rather then cruiseline. Look at ports, time in ports, route, glacier, ship naturalist, price. Budget fully for costly excursions, in my opinion you get only half a trip without them.

[stan wood]

There are several regulars (Budget Queen, Yukon, etc.) that contribute countless hours on this site sharing their vast knowledge. The best advice anyone can give you is to listen to whatever they say.

[Breezey]

My husband basically said "let's go to Alaska in May." Something he has wanted to do for years but was not on my list of places to see but...since I am the travel organizer, this is what I did:

 

1) We decided that we wanted at least a 10 day cruise and then did on-line research on which cruises do at least 10 days in May

2) Looked at itineraries and departure and arrival ports to determine which ones we preferred

3) Read ship reviews on Cruise Critic (was between Celebrity Infinity and Sea Princess)

4) Finally decided we wanted to leave out of San Francisco and arrive back in Vancouver so chose the Infinity (was a bit cheaper than Princess for a balcony which we prefer)

5) Researched and asked many questions on this board (e.g. which private tours are recommended the most) and booked 3 private tours (we just prefer smaller, more personalized touring than ones offered by the ship).

6) Bought 2 Alaska books (we chose Eyewitness Series and a cruise book that was recommended on these boards) may get one more

7) Booked our pre and post cruise hotels as we decided to stay two nights pre and post to enjoy SF and Vancouver

 

Now all that has been done, I am really excited and looking forward to the trip. Good luck, there are plenty of experienced Alaskan cruisers here who can give you lots of information.

[smitty3000]

I would encourage you to look at the port times and let that help you in deciding what ship. We had a long day in Juneau so we were able to go on an excursion called Adventure Bound. It is truly wonderful and I felt we saw the true Alaska. You must have a long port time since this excursion is like 10 hours long. I took a helicopter ride and landed on a glacier and flew in a float plane to see bears but still felt like this excursion was truly the best. Also, much cheaper. I am sure many people would disagree with me. The helicopter was really spectacular too but very costly. (We booked the plane to see the bears thru the cruise ship, that was our first mistake). I also would book my own excursions and even book the land trip myself. We saved a ton of money and had the freedom to go where we wanted to and when we wanted to. It took a lot of planning but was a trip of a life time. This board is great! :)

[kenish]

Marietta- Don't let your uncles opinions get in the way of a great time. First of all it would have been in the 70's and things change a lot in 30-35 years. I'm sure the area where you live has changed in that time. Also, he was in construction and you will be a traveler. With all due respect to your uncle I'm sure your opinion of a hotel or cruise ship will be very different from the people who worked to build it.

[morebeaches]

Also figure out what activites your husband (and you) specifically wants to do. Alaska summers are "seasonal". For example, I want to fish for a specific species of salmon, so I go in August. If he is very much into particular wildlife viewing or activities, different monts might be better than others.

 

You have come to a great place to get info.

[Marietta]

Thanks everyone for all of the idea's.

 

I still have no idea what we want to do, but I think we'll have to try to plan it for September as spring and early summer are much too busy and it's really hard for us to get away.

 

Would it be a waste to try to do a 7 day round trip from LA? Is there a big difference between cruising out of Seatle and Vancouver? Is a 7 day Round Trip from Seatle worthwhile to get a taste of it? How can I tell of a ship is going to do a lot of open sailing vs having something to look at?

 

I'm commited to going, I just really don't see anything I'm excited about (even after looking at all of the port pages) and my husband is NOT a planner. He likes to go places and do things, he just doesn't want to put any effort into it beforehand. I guess I've really spoiled him planning our vacations. He had always talked about how he wanted to take me to New Orleans so last year I planned a cruise out of there and left a whole 4 hours open for him to show me around and do whatever he wanted to "spur of the moment". We ended up parked on the side of the road with him asking me where to go. At least we did not have any trouble getting to the airport in time that day!

 

Chris

[wrp96]

You won't find a roundtrip Alaska cruise out of LA, at least not one that is only 7 nights.

 

As to the difference between Seattle and Vancouver, I had a fabulous cruise out of Seattle this year, but I haven't done a cruise out of Vancouver yet to notice a difference.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks everyone for all of the idea's.

 

I still have no idea what we want to do, but I think we'll have to try to plan it for September as spring and early summer are much too busy and it's really hard for us to get away.

 

Would it be a waste to try to do a 7 day round trip from LA? Is there a big difference between cruising out of Seatle and Vancouver? Is a 7 day Round Trip from Seatle worthwhile to get a taste of it? How can I tell of a ship is going to do a lot of open sailing vs having something to look at?

 

I'm commited to going, I just really don't see anything I'm excited about (even after looking at all of the port pages) and my husband is NOT a planner. He likes to go places and do things, he just doesn't want to put any effort into it beforehand. I guess I've really spoiled him planning our vacations. He had always talked about how he wanted to take me to New Orleans so last year I planned a cruise out of there and left a whole 4 hours open for him to show me around and do whatever he wanted to "spur of the moment". We ended up parked on the side of the road with him asking me where to go. At least we did not have any trouble getting to the airport in time that day!

 

Chris

 

 

A 7 day out of LA, is going to take you to Mexico, not Alaska. In no way comparable, I don't even get off the ship in those ports. :)

 

San Francisco has 10 day cruises.

 

Yes there are differences in round trip Seattle and Vancouver.

[Excited to go crusing]

we did the ten day out of San Francisco in Sept, we are already planning to go back in 2011 or so. It is an awesome destination, & your uncles bad experiences on the pipeline have nothing to do with a vacation on a cruises ship. Enjoy.

[Marietta]

Thanks everyone for all the help!

 

I'm thinking I want to do a round trip from Seatle or Vancouver in September for my husbands birthday. Any suggestions on which ship or cruise line which is a good value for the money and great viewing areas?

 

I was trying to find a train trip back from alaska, but I guess you cannot get there from here... Maybe I need to reconcider a round trip as my husband would LOVE a train trip in Alaska...

 

AGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! The more I look at this the more there is to look at!!!

 

 

Chris

[kenish]

If trains are important, the two opportunities are the White Pass & Yukon RR in Skagway and the Alaska RR that runs from Seward to ANC. The Alaska RR continues on to Denali NP and Fairbanks. If you're doing a RT be sure it stops in Skagway; a OW should end in Seward (not Whittier).

 

The other train idea is going from Calgary to Vancouver (or the other direction).

 

September is getting very late in the season. Weather may not be as good but rates should be lower and fewer kids if that is a factor for you (positive or negative).

[Marietta]

I guess a one way ending in Seward rules out Princess. Every one of them that I can find ends in Whittier.

 

Lower rates are good. Fewer kids is a necessity! :D

 

Any suggestions on when is a good time to buy tickets for a Sept cruise? (I want to be able to make plane reservations at the same time to make sure I have them.) Do they tend to sell out early or is it okay to wait?

 

Not sure I really want to put down the money right now for a cruise almost a year from now with the economy like it is. Businesses are going out of business so fast I'm not sure if my reservations will be any good. My husband is retired and we are living off the 401K and ranching - both are doing about as good as each other right now! :eek:

 

Thanks again,

 

Chris

[CruisenLexie]

We did 1 week land and 1 week cruise on Dawn Princess the last two weeks in July 03. I liked the dawn becasue the cabin was wide instead of long so we had two doorwalls instead of one. This is a trip for two doorwalls. We had a minisuite I think and it was wonderful. First and last time we had one. The price was right at the time. We started in Anchorage and came down to get on the ship. I would do a land version that has less train and more bus. Princess trains have table seating. There is not a section where everyone sits facing forward. You are suppose to change sides halfway through but the couple we were at the table with didn;t remember that and I didn;t push it. For me it caused a little motion sickness. There is 20 some hours of daylight at that time of year. The weather was great. Princess was excellent and our agent suggeted we take Princess becuase they seem to do very well in Alaska. The best excursion we did was taking a helicopter to the dog sled camp and then I drove a dog sled. The next best was a float plane to see the black bears gettgin fish out of the water. It is a relaxing trip and not a party type atmosphere like a caribbean crusie is. Some say an Alaska trip is loaded up with seniors but that is not what we found. There were all ages on board. Bring binocculars. Do the land part first if you can do both. It is a long flight there and we flew NWA and had no movies to watch so bring something to kill the time. It is beautiful. The flowers are huge with all that sun. The princess resorts were very nice. If you do the land portion there is a stop where you have the option of paying to go further into the park (cant remember which one). Do it. We did not and we saw a fox and that was about it, except for those little dots that someone would say was an animal. The people that went into the park further saw alot of animals.

 

I would definitely do it again.

[CruisenLexie]

I just opened up a ad from RCI $200 OBC if you book the cruisetour.

 

www.royalcaribbean.com/alaskaoffer

[Budget Queen]

I guess a one way ending in Seward rules out Princess. Every one of them that I can find ends in Whittier.

 

Lower rates are good. Fewer kids is a necessity! :D

 

Any suggestions on when is a good time to buy tickets for a Sept cruise? (I want to be able to make plane reservations at the same time to make sure I have them.) Do they tend to sell out early or is it okay to wait?

 

Not sure I really want to put down the money right now for a cruise almost a year from now with the economy like it is. Businesses are going out of business so fast I'm not sure if my reservations will be any good. My husband is retired and we are living off the 401K and ranching - both are doing about as good as each other right now! :eek:

 

Thanks again,

 

Chris

 

Air is not going to get any better, most likely, so unless you are very flexable, you might want to consider booking that now. If you can be gone for a couple weeks, then that opens up several cruises to consider, again if you are flexable. In Sept. if is WAY better to go northbound so to have the best opportunity for Inside passage. The weather potential is the worse of the season later.

 

For clairfication- It is not a real big deal getting between Seward/Whittier. It DOES require planning, but there are shuttles/taxis available. I suggest you continue to do your homework, it is important for you to determine what you want out of this Alaska trip and what is available.

 

If you find a cruise that does offer what you want, then consider booking it. If you book with a booking agent that doesn't charge or has low cancelation fees, you would at least have something. THEN keep track of pricing trends YOURSELF. Immediately contact your booking agent for a price adjustment, if before final payment.

[Budget Queen]

The best excursion we did was taking a helicopter to the dog sled camp and then I drove a dog sled. If you do the land portion there is a stop where you have the option of paying to go further into the park (cant remember which one). Do it. We did not and we saw a fox and that was about it, except for those little dots that someone would say was an animal. The people that went into the park further saw alot of animals.

 

QUOTE]

 

For clarification, "driving" your own sled does not happen on these tours. You are always with a driver and hooked up to a second sled. As I mention, you do get to ride either in the basket- 2 passengers, or the breaks, of which this person references.

 

I am also assuming they are referring to the Natural History Tour in Denali Park??? Which is completely worthless and a very poor choice on any cruisetour. IF you are going to Alaska, do yourself a favor and at least see it. Always look for the Tundra Wilderness tour to be included, or at the very least 2 nights there, so to be able to GET into the park with the shuttle buses.

[Marietta]

Now I'm not sure what to do. I thought Hal sounded real nice with the small ships getting into better areas but I read the alaska review for the Ryndam & Veendam and even though I think their itineraries sound great, I'm not sure my husband would like the food & activities on these ships. Most of the reviews of the Diamond Princess talk about the decks and viewing areas being very crowded and not being able to even sit down to eat if the weather is bad because everyone sits in the buffet area to look out the windows... Is this a general problem with princess? We like Carnival more than NCL so far, and hope to try RCCL in Jan. Anyone have any idea's on who's best to Alaska? Food and shows are much more important to us than casino's and spa's (which we do not use) but places to view the glaciers without a lot of crowds are #1 this time. Inside viewing will probably be a big deal going in September...

 

We will either be doing a round trip from Seattle / Vancouver or flying home from Anchorage. There will not be much time for a land tour this time. If we decide we want to do that I guess we'll have to go back!

 

Thanks so much for all of the help!!!

 

Chris

[coolmom]

I would not book airfare right now. My kids live across the country and we all travel back and forth frequently. I have noticed that unlike bygone times when it was cheaper to book months earlier, it now pays to wait. There are sites such as yapta and sidestep that will track a specific flight for you and email you when the prices go down. We just got a great price that was available in a narrow window for my daughter to fly home for Christmas. These sites also will let you know how many seats are available so you can monitor the flight to make sure it's not filling up too fast.

[Budget Queen]

Now I'm not sure what to do. I thought Hal sounded real nice with the small ships getting into better areas but I read the alaska review for the Ryndam & Veendam and even though I think their itineraries sound great, I'm not sure my husband would like the food & activities on these ships. Most of the reviews of the Diamond Princess talk about the decks and viewing areas being very crowded and not being able to even sit down to eat if the weather is bad because everyone sits in the buffet area to look out the windows... Is this a general problem with princess? We like Carnival more than NCL so far, and hope to try RCCL in Jan. Anyone have any idea's on who's best to Alaska? Food and shows are much more important to us than casino's and spa's (which we do not use) but places to view the glaciers without a lot of crowds are #1 this time. Inside viewing will probably be a big deal going in September...

 

We will either be doing a round trip from Seattle / Vancouver or flying home from Anchorage. There will not be much time for a land tour this time. If we decide we want to do that I guess we'll have to go back!

 

Thanks so much for all of the help!!!

 

Chris

 

The crowding is ONLY on your glacier viewing day. Never any other time. IF "no crowds" are a priority, then you need to consider a balcony or outside cabin. Seating during the glacier sailing day, is EXTREMELY limited, and if you are planning on doing this in a public area, frankly you are going to have to camp out very early. Most people stand at the deck rails. Many are unprepared in their attire, so the crowds are constantly changing. I never find it bad and all those extra eyes can sight some pretty interesting stuff along the way. :) All lines will experience this. Food is down several notches on all major lines. Shows are similar in my opinion.

 

You "list" includes all Alaska cruises. Figure out what routing you want to do, then look at the available list. You may want to give more priority to what is outside the ship as far as itinerary, routing, ports, time in ports, glacier and price.