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Lindblad to Alaska


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Has anyone taken a Lindblad cruise in Alaska? I was researching Antarctic cruises and saw that they also cruise to Alaska. I thought this might be a good starter cruise for our family on a much smaller ship - we have only been on RCI so far. From the videos, Lindblad seems to get much closer to the action than the big cruise lines, but as another poster pointed out - they are much higher priced. I think I can book suite for the three of us on RCI for the price on one person on Lindblad - so wondering if this cruise is really three times better :).

 

 

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Has anyone taken a Lindblad cruise in Alaska? I was researching Antarctic cruises and saw that they also cruise to Alaska. I thought this might be a good starter cruise for our family on a much smaller ship - we have only been on RCI so far. From the videos, Lindblad seems to get much closer to the action than the big cruise lines, but as another poster pointed out - they are much higher priced. I think I can book suite for the three of us on RCI for the price on one person on Lindblad - so wondering if this cruise is really three times better :).

 

In a word, YES! We went with Lindblad to Alaska and it was outstanding. If you are into natural history rather than wine lists, this is the cruise for you. One example, we came upon a pod of whales in a feeding frenzy and stayed to watch them for almost 2 hours, during which time a large cruise ship came flying by and very few people from that ship even noticed. Meal times are adjusted for "sightings". I could list a few other incidents like this, but you get the idea.....experiences matter, not schedules. We have traveled with Lindblad 3 times and look forward to our next adventure with them.

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Has anyone taken a Lindblad cruise in Alaska? I was researching Antarctic cruises and saw that they also cruise to Alaska. I thought this might be a good starter cruise for our family on a much smaller ship - we have only been on RCI so far. From the videos, Lindblad seems to get much closer to the action than the big cruise lines, but as another poster pointed out - they are much higher priced. I think I can book suite for the three of us on RCI for the price on one person on Lindblad - so wondering if this cruise is really three times better :).

 

In a word, YES! We went with Lindblad to Alaska and it was outstanding. If you are into natural history rather than wine lists, this is the cruise for you. One example, we came upon a pod of whales in a feeding frenzy and stayed to watch them for almost 2 hours, during which time a large cruise ship came flying by and very few people from that ship even noticed. Meal times are adjusted for "sightings". I could list a few other incidents like this, but you get the idea.....experiences matter, not schedules. We have traveled with Lindblad 3 times and look forward to our next adventure with them.

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Yes. I understand. On your 3 cruises, have they all been to Alaska or have you taken Lindblad to other destinations too?

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Yes. I understand. On your 3 cruises, have they all been to Alaska or have you taken Lindblad to other destinations too?

 

One to Alaska and Denali, the others to the Galapagos and through the Panama Canal. All were outstanding and worth the cost.

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I have hesitated to respond to the inquiry from OP - reason? I value those qualities which are stressed by Lindblad and are pushed to the side by "cruise" cruises. On Linblad's 2 Alaska boats - no casinos, no b'way shows, no butlers, no room service, small cabins and no tux requirements..... and you may pay 2X what the cruise ships call for. Why, 60 pax compared to thousands, a tailored experience, not a fixed schedule - a complement of experts who will make the trip come to life and you will be part of the family.

 

We have done 2 Alaska trips with 2 Grandsons along on each, the itineraries were perfect . Shore landings on a variety of locations including eye to eye contact with bears -seeing bubble feeding of whales, calving of glaciers which caused a thrilling rocking of zodiacs.

 

Enough, already! Yes, you will pay more, but you will experience much more!

 

Disclosure - in April, we will leave for a Lindblad B2B - Holland and Belgium followed by British and Irish Isles - this will be our 22nd and 23rd Lindblad trips - the Galapagos was one of the collection!

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I have hesitated to respond to the inquiry from OP - reason? I value those qualities which are stressed by Lindblad and are pushed to the side by "cruise" cruises. On Linblad's 2 Alaska boats - no casinos, no b'way shows, no butlers, no room service, small cabins and no tux requirements..... and you may pay 2X what the cruise ships call for. Why, 60 pax compared to thousands, a tailored experience, not a fixed schedule - a complement of experts who will make the trip come to life and you will be part of the family.

 

We have done 2 Alaska trips with 2 Grandsons along on each, the itineraries were perfect . Shore landings on a variety of locations including eye to eye contact with bears -seeing bubble feeding of whales, calving of glaciers which caused a thrilling rocking of zodiacs.

 

Enough, already! Yes, you will pay more, but you will experience much more!

 

Disclosure - in April, we will leave for a Lindblad B2B - Holland and Belgium followed by British and Irish Isles - this will be our 22nd and 23rd Lindblad trips - the Galapagos was one of the collection!

 

 

lol...please do not hesitate - this was exactly the opinions I was seeking. We have done two larger "cruise" cruises, and have a third planned for next year - so I really wanted to hear if the Lindblad experience was a good as their videos portray them to be. I have seen a few Antarctic reviews, but have never heard about any to Alaska. In the videos, the trip looks so amazing - but of course they would.

 

By the way, how old were your grandchildren when you went to Alaska? Our son will be 6 this year, and I was thinking that he needs to be at least 8 or so to really enjoy the trip.

 

 

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One to Alaska and Denali, the others to the Galapagos and through the Panama Canal. All were outstanding and worth the cost.

 

 

Thanks. Panama Canal is definitely on my list, and I know my wife wants to see Galapagos again.

 

 

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lol...please do not hesitate - this was exactly the opinions I was seeking. We have done two larger "cruise" cruises, and have a third planned for next year - so I really wanted to hear if the Lindblad experience was a good as their videos portray them to be. I have seen a few Antarctic reviews, but have never heard about any to Alaska. In the videos, the trip looks so amazing - but of course they would.

 

By the way, how old were your grandchildren when you went to Alaska? Our son will be 6 this year, and I was thinking that he needs to be at least 8 or so to really enjoy the trip.

 

 

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All of the boys were "Tweens" - we always established 11 as a minimum for any of our 13 Grands to travel with the old folks. We found that it only took nanoseconds for the kids on the ship to join up with each other to form a group - would meet for lunch, socialize etc. On one of our Alaska trips, Svend Lindblad was on board with his son and daughter. Our Grandson and his daughter got along well. The Grandson is now a junior in college and they still keep in touch! I would think that an 8 year would derive much from the adventure.

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All of the boys were "Tweens" - we always established 11 as a minimum for any of our 13 Grands to travel with the old folks. We found that it only took nanoseconds for the kids on the ship to join up with each other to form a group - would meet for lunch, socialize etc. On one of our Alaska trips, Svend Lindblad was on board with his son and daughter. Our Grandson and his daughter got along well. The Grandson is now a junior in college and they still keep in touch! I would think that an 8 year would derive much from the adventure.

 

 

How funny - one or two of the Lindblad Alaska videos had Svend in them. Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

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  • 1 month later...

My wife and I did Alaska with Lindblad in May –June 2013 with the Denali Extension. Here is a link to a short video I put together to show that experience: http://tomjed.com/index.php/alaska/121-ak-slide In my opinion if you are going to Alaska for the wildlife and not the night life Lindblad National Geographic is the only way to go.

Tom

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