Alaskan Land/Cruise

We are looking for an Alaskan cruise and doing the land portion first. It looks like this is possible with Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean. We've never cruised with Holland America so am wondering if there are major differences between it and the other two - pros or cons.

Thank you,

Patti

We are looking for an Alaskan cruise and doing the land portion first. It looks like this is possible with Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean. We've never cruised with Holland America so am wondering if there are major differences between it and the other two - pros or cons.

 

Thank you,

Patti

One difference would be the actual land itineraries. I know HAL has land tours that include the Yukon, and Princess doesn't. Don't know about Royal Caribbean.

Other differences could include the length of the port stops. Some may be shorter than others.

Princess and HAL have been in the Alaskan business for many years.

Definitely check the length of time you are in the ports for each cruise line.

I would also take a look at Celebrity which offers a land package.

Keith

I would start a graph chart. Put the ships/cruiselines across the top. Then put the things of importance to you down the side (size of ship, cabin type, cost, ports, times in port, excursions, etc). Head to your library and check out Frommer's, Fodors, etc to see just what in Alaska grabs your interest. Each cruiseline should have excursions listed just for an idea of what is available. As does each port have it's own website. As you research, put an "X" in the conjoining box. As you near the end of your research, one should have more x's than the others.

I chose HAL because I did want to include the Yukon. We did only 3 days on the ship then 8 days on land. It was awesome! Be aware cruisetours are not for everyone. Lots on this board advocate DIY (car rental, van rental, etc). For me I liked the regulation found on a cruisetour. Tell me where to be and what time to be there, I will sit back and enjoy the scenery and let someone else do the driving. I pay them to take me where I want to go.

Have fun planning, then taking your cruise to Alaska!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'd missed that Celebrity has a land tour. They are my favorite cruise line.

Patti

Personally, I prefer the DIY land tours. We did 8 nights in AK on our own, saw exactly what we wanted to see, and spent exactly the amount of time there we wanted. I'm not a go with the crowd kind of person, and never even do ship excursions.

We rented a car, booked our own lodging, ate when and where we wanted, and I came back with 8,000 photos of fabulous AK!