Thinking of an Alaska cruisetour--Which line has the best??

[CKM]

We want to take an Alaska Cruisetour but don't know much about them. I looked at several on different lines but didn't know if 14 days was too many or if 11 was not enough. Leaning toward 11 days, if so who should I go with?? Best value for the dollar?? Any information will be greatly appreciated.

[kyriecat]

To be honest. best value for your dollar is renting a car and doing the tour yourself at your own pace. That's what my famly did. We had 6 adults (me, hubby, my parents, my aunt & uncle). We rented a van and drove from Anchorage to Fairbanks with stops along the way to see Denali. We spent a week on the ship and a week in AK, but felt rushed. It would have been better to have 10 days or so in AK after the cruise. We also spent 2 days before the cruise in Vancouver but my folks felt rushed since they hadn't been there before. Hubby and I had and tried to take them through the highlights, but not enough time to fully experience the area.

 

My aunt & uncle did a cruisetour to AK with Princess last year. It was 11 days - Vancouver to Seward then 4 days to Denali and back to Anchorage. I don't know the tour number. They had minor complaints about having to get up early to move from one place to another and not having enough time at places they liked/too much time at places they didn't. Otherwise, they said they had a great time, especially onboard.

[jhannah]

As far as length is converned, go with the most you can afford. The longer you're in Alaska, the more you'll see.

 

Otherwise, what's important to you? Price? Service?

 

Most lines offer identical (or nearly) itineraries. I find HAL service to be a cut above. But I've read on Cruise Critic that Princess has better accommodations for cruisetours and slightly better train cars. Visit the Alaska ports of call area and see what folks are saying over there.

 

Good luck in making your decision.

[Cinder Again]

I'd say Holland America and Princess provide the best bang for your buck in Alaska. They've been cruising there the longest, have nice hotels, etc. I've done both, and although I personally prefer HAL's smaller ships, both are nice, and still affordable. Stay 2 days in Denali if you can. One tip would be to start at the far point, and end in Vancouver. Less fatiguing to get the tour part done and then relax the last week on the ship.

[vbmom87]

One tip would be to start at the far point, and end in Vancouver. Less fatiguing to get the tour part done and then relax the last week on the ship.

 

So many people say this, but we found our independent tour after our cruise, to be far more relaxing and less tiring than the cruise.

[CKM]

Thanks folks:rolleyes:

Well, we thought about it and decided to change our cruise plans. But I want tothanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. We decided to do a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale to semi Virgin Islands. I have always wanted to go there and with the economy the way it is and with the lost we took, we decided to down size our cruise this year.;)