Best Alaska cruise out of Seattle?

Looking for a cruise with best ports, good evening shows, will have teens with us in August.

Looking for a cruise with best ports, good evening shows, will have teens with us in August.

Define "best".

Sadly, we can't tell you what's best for you. I'm pretty sure that not everyone shares your interests/likes/dislikes.

Out of Seattle you have several choices. It's a good idea to check out Holland America, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian Royal Caribbean. See what ports they call at and check out whether those ports are of interest to you.

Looking for a cruise with best ports, good evening shows, will have teens with us in August.

I love cruising to Alaska and will give up my preferred line to have the itinerary I like best. As an example, I'd choose Sitka over just about any other port BUT to go to Alaska without a stop in Ketchikan is just crazy :-} Probably most people prefer Glacier Bay over Hubbard Glacier and so did I until I sailed through Tracy Arm Fjord. So read up, watch videos and check out the ports to decide which ones interest you.

Holland is my least favorite line (just not wild about their food and [i think] the entertainment is lacking [shows, activities, music]), but I've sailed them two [of three cruises to Alaska] to get the itineraries I wanted. And, really (for me), cruising to Alaska is more about scenery and wildlife than entertainment. Don't think I'd ever sail there without having a balcony cabin though -- just too much to miss otherwise.

Your teens will probably be happy on NCL, Carnival, Princess, Holland....they pretty much all have teen clubs with age-appropriate activities.

Hope this helps a little!

With teens along I would definitely be checking RCI and Explorer of the Seas. If the ports suit you then this ship will certainly suit the teens. So much for them to do aboard.

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Some research on the portion of Cruise Critic, located here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

will help you define what is "best" for you. No one here can define this for you- we don't know you. People who frequently say "this is the best cruise line or ship" may have only sailed that one cruise ship or line, perhaps not a wide selection of cruise lines or ships.

Some research over there would reveal there are only 5 or 6 common ports in Alaska, and about 3 or 4 less frequently visited ports. You can see the types of activities in each port, because that is probably an important criteria for what interests you. You can then try to find a cruise that includes the most interesting ports to you, and narrow down this incredibly broad question.

You will see non-"ports" like Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm might also be of some interest- in fact they are frequently mentioned high priorities.

Best Alaska cruises are,IMHO, those with the most port time. Carnival, RCI, Celebrity and NCL have shortest port time, Princess and HAL the longest. Also be careful not to count on seeing much of Victoria if your ship arrives in the evening. Also from my experience, if there's a pool, teens will be happy. Last time in Glacier Bay, teens had the pool to themselves. They seemed to be having agreat time.

For pool HAL does have the advantage of the close-able glass roof over the pool area. RCCL has an indoor Solarium pool but it is usually adults only but exceptions are sometimes made if the outdoor pool is not usable due to cold/wet.

We picked HAL for next year mainly as a re-do of previous anniversary cruise but also favoring the hometown cruise line. Itinerary was good too since we had not seen Hubbard Glacier before and it includes Sitka. Not sure if any of the Seattle itineraries include Icy Strait Point but if so we would have avoided those routes - sort of an artificial tourist trap, better to see real Alaska towns or glaciers.

Another point about Seattle itineraries is they don't do the inside of Vancouver Is. but rather a speed run around the outside. On the other hand they avoid a flight to/from Anchorage or getting to/from Vancouver for one-ways.

In Seattle NCL and Celebrity's Infinity use Pier 66 (Bell Street) terminal which is downtown and the rest use Pier 91 (Smith Cove) which is outside the downtown area about 3 miles to the northwest. Not hard to get to just not as convenient.