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Alaska for the Azamara cruiser


ctkathy
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We love Azamara but wish to book an Alaska cruise. We are early 60s, active, prefer the casual Azamara lifestyle. I want to either depart or arrive in Vancouver rather than Seattle.

 

We have looked at info on Princess, Holland America and Crystal. Timing would be either July or August and I would like to avoid a lot of children. Would love to do an expedition cruise but the price is too much, as it is for the Silversea/Seaborn.

 

Also we plan on spending 6-8 days on land either before or after the cruise on our own-- not with a planned Cruisetour.

 

Have any Azamara cruisers had a great experience on an Alaska cruise-- any tips appreciated.

 

Kathy

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We love Azamara but wish to book an Alaska cruise. We are early 60s, active, prefer the casual Azamara lifestyle. I want to either depart or arrive in Vancouver rather than Seattle.

 

We have looked at info on Princess, Holland America and Crystal. Timing would be either July or August and I would like to avoid a lot of children. Would love to do an expedition cruise but the price is too much, as it is for the Silversea/Seaborn.

 

Also we plan on spending 6-8 days on land either before or after the cruise on our own-- not with a planned Cruisetour.

 

Have any Azamara cruisers had a great experience on an Alaska cruise-- any tips appreciated.

 

Kathy

 

I would look at Holland America , Princess or Celebrity. for Alaska. I think Crystal goes from Seattle in those months.

I would first decide whether to cruise first then land or the other way . I suggestion is land first.

I would study as what I want to do on land first , plan hotels and transportation . Once you have determined the above and have them booked . Then determine what cruise fits your schedule the best .

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I would book Coral Princess for this itinerary. Princess and Holland have licenses for Glacier Bay, which few other lines can get -- and Glacier Bay is a must-have site for an Alaska cruise [iMHO]. People will tell you that Hubbard is just as good -- but Coral Princess goes there too! Also Coral Princess has many public viewing areas that are perfect for these glacier scenic-cruising days. [island Princess used to, but its recent drydock has added cabins where there were public balconies.] Coral is also fairly small for a mass-market ship, and she has a full promenade deck -- so the ambience is closer to Azamara than you might expect.

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before i mention this wonderful country I want you to be aware that all cruise lines that have been mention have 2 formal nights unless you plan on eating in the buffet.. I would do Princess as it goes to Glacier Bay. I would look at the hours each ship was in port. First trip not enough time in Juneau-second i did but it was colder and rainy but managed to walk around and eat out. .the AK boards are great. Both trips I stayed in Vancouver and did a lot-second spent time in Whitter for 2 nights. remember to bring a bathing suit Vancouver was hot and Whitter was nice to-afternoon sun is very warm. I did Celebrity second round-weather not as good- same time in July but better hours in port.

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I would book Coral Princess for this itinerary. Princess and Holland have licenses for Glacier Bay, which few other lines can get -- and Glacier Bay is a must-have site for an Alaska cruise [iMHO]. People will tell you that Hubbard is just as good -- but Coral Princess goes there too! Also Coral Princess has many public viewing areas that are perfect for these glacier scenic-cruising days. [island Princess used to, but its recent drydock has added cabins where there were public balconies.] Coral is also fairly small for a mass-market ship, and she has a full promenade deck -- so the ambience is closer to Azamara than you might expect.

 

Highly recommend the Coral Princess for all the reasons Host Jazzbeau mentioned. We did the southbound with a land tour at the beginning. After a very busy, active land tour it was nice to cruise on the second leg of the trip. To start the trip, we flew into Anchorage and took the Alaskan Rail to Fairbanks. It was a 12 hour trip but scenery was so beautiful that the time flew by, plus the sun was out and we saw Denali from our observation car.

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What about Oceania?

 

We did 10 nights on O's regatta last summer, so basically the same ship as Quest & Journey, starting at Seattle & ending in Vancouver, it was great. Spent some time pre and post cruise in Seattle, Vancouver & also in the Okanagan area which was fab.

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Formal nights are not a problem on Princess. The standards for "formal" are pretty low, and you can avoid them altogether by having dinner in a specialty restaurant (or the buffet). It's not like the old days of Cunard where you couldn't leave your cabin without a tux or long gown!

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Formal nights are not a problem on Princess. The standards for "formal" are pretty low, and you can avoid them altogether by having dinner in a specialty restaurant (or the buffet). It's not like the old days of Cunard where you couldn't leave your cabin without a tux or long gown!

 

celebrity like that. but i was really saying you need a jacket and tie vs a polo shirt. last formal cruise I was one my freind and i had short dresses on.. my comment was more for polo shirts vs a jacket.. people do need to know this.. i wore wore dresses but dressy ones. bit i did the the Diamond and then the Millie. .big difference on hours in port and other things.

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I would book Coral Princess for this itinerary. Princess and Holland have licenses for Glacier Bay, which few other lines can get -- and Glacier Bay is a must-have site for an Alaska cruise [iMHO]. People will tell you that Hubbard is just as good -- but Coral Princess goes there too! Also Coral Princess has many public viewing areas that are perfect for these glacier scenic-cruising days. [island Princess used to, but its recent drydock has added cabins where there were public balconies.] Coral is also fairly small for a mass-market ship, and she has a full promenade deck -- so the ambience is closer to Azamara than you might expect.

 

 

I had narrowed it down to Coral Princess, too. It goes to Glacier Bay and would let us have time in Denali and a couple other locations. It's bigger than I would like but reviews are generally good so for a first cruise to Alaska it should work. Wish they would have another good promo.

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I had narrowed it down to Coral Princess, too. It goes to Glacier Bay and would let us have time in Denali and a couple other locations. It's bigger than I would like but reviews are generally good so for a first cruise to Alaska it should work. Wish they would have another good promo.

 

The thing with Alaska as opposed to other cruise destinations is that you do not pick the ship, you pick the itinerary. After you pick the itinerary, you then pick the cruise with the best port times. Then you can decide based on the ship.

 

As several others have said, for a first time Alaska, if you do not visit Glacier Bay, it is an inferior itinerary.

 

DON

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If you are thinking of taking a Princess Cruisetour package, make sure you have two nights in Denali so that you can take the longest possible bus ride into the Park. Even better, use the resources on the Alaska forum here (esp. posts by Budget Queen) to plan the land portion DIY -- you can either save money, or spend the same Princess would charge but get more days and much more flexibility. I would suggest one night in Anchorage, two nights in Talkeetna, two nights in Denali (actually, in Haines), another night in Anchorage -- then take the train to Whittier [where you'll have time for a small-boat glacier cruise in Prince William Sound before you board the ship].

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What about Oceania?

 

We did 10 nights on O's regatta last summer, so basically the same ship as Quest & Journey, starting at Seattle & ending in Vancouver, it was great. Spent some time pre and post cruise in Seattle, Vancouver & also in the Okanagan area which was fab.

 

Agree! We did 10 nights on Regatta on O from SF to Vancouver and it was one of my favorite cruises. We went in May 2015 and had no rain, no crowds, prime docking, and were up close and personal with the amazing Hubbard Glacier.

Same size ship as AZ and very elegant, no formal nights, and great food.

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I want you to be aware that all cruise lines that have been mention have 2 formal nights unless you plan on eating in the buffet.

 

Don't want to turn this into a dress code discussion but, if you are not aware, Celebrity has replaced the "Formal Night" concept with a more relaxed "Evening Chic" dress concept for all sailings on/after 4 December...

 

You'll find the related Cruise Critic article here...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-4/news/news.cfm?ID=6642

 

Best regards, Mike

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Don't want to turn this into a dress code discussion but, if you are not aware, Celebrity has replaced the "Formal Night" concept with a more relaxed "Evening Chic" dress concept for all sailings on/after 4 December...

 

You'll find the related Cruise Critic article here...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-4/news/news.cfm?ID=6642

 

Best regards, Mike

 

I'm not interested n Celebrity because they do not go to Glacier Bay and Oceania itineraries during the dates I can go either leave from Seattle or do not begin or end in northern Alaska. I had to narrow down choices so Vancouver, Glacier Bay and land time in Denali and Kenai are musts.

 

My husband always has a sports coat and I can pack a dressier top with black pants so nearly any scenario should be covered.

 

We have friends who want to do the Crystal 7 night Anchorage to Vancouver, mainly because of the passenger lad, but they do not do Glacier Bay on this itinerary. They go to Hubbard Glacier instead and add Sitka, which I'd love to see. Problem for us is it would only give us 2 days in N Alaska before the cruise due to our schedule so that is out.

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I'm not interested n Celebrity because they do not go to Glacier Bay and Oceania itineraries during the dates I can go either leave from Seattle or do not begin or end in northern Alaska. I had to narrow down choices so Vancouver, Glacier Bay and land time in Denali and Kenai are musts.

 

My husband always has a sports coat and I can pack a dressier top with black pants so nearly any scenario should be covered.

 

We have friends who want to do the Crystal 7 night Anchorage to Vancouver, mainly because of the passenger lad, but they do not do Glacier Bay on this itinerary. They go to Hubbard Glacier instead and add Sitka, which I'd love to see. Problem for us is it would only give us 2 days in N Alaska before the cruise due to our schedule so that is out.

 

We had a great northbound cruise early last July on the Celebrity Millenium from Vancouver to Seward. It did not go to Glacier Bay but we found the Hubbard to be amazing. The captain positioned us within a mile of the face where we were treated to the sights and amazing sounds of multiple calving events. He opened the helicopter deck for viewing and made several turns so all on board had great viewing during the almost 2 hours we were there. We also did the easy hike into the Mildenhall Glacier while in Juneau for more glacier viewing.

 

We planned a 1 week post-cruise on our own (with daughter and 3 teen grandkids) using the Alaska RR from Seward to Anchorage and on to Denali for 2 days there, then back to Anchorage for 1.5 days there. Seward was the 2d best highlight of the trip. The Kenai Fjords day cruise was amazing with bubble-net feeding humpbacks, breeching orcas, sea otters, seals, and another beautiful calving glacier. (If you use Princess or Holland, you'll go to Whitier and miss the Kenai -- not good IMHO.) Also hiked to and on the Exit Glacier while in Seward -- another amazing but strenuous experience. Our bus tour through Denali was magnificent too, especially with a relatively rare clear view of the mountain.

 

Although we've been spoiled by Azamara cruises, we found the Millie to be improved from previous Celebrity cruises, especially in the quality of MDR food. There were some kids, but not overwhelming. You'll probably find kids on any Alaska cruise in the summer. Our grandkids thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip. Even last year Celeb seemed to be less-than-formal on formal nights in Alaska, and as xport explained, Celeb is dropping formal nights effective 4 Dec.

 

We would have preferred to do land first, but had other schedule constraints that prevented it. We had great weather last July, but that's always iffy in Alaska. Without other schedule constraints we probably would have preferred later in August to be able to see some of the salmon runs (and therefore better chance of seeing bears.)

 

Have fun!

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Agree! We did 10 nights on Regatta on O from SF to Vancouver and it was one of my favorite cruises. We went in May 2015 and had no rain, no crowds, prime docking, and were up close and personal with the amazing Hubbard Glacier.

 

Same size ship as AZ and very elegant, no formal nights, and great food.

 

 

OP: if you like Azamara, you'll love Oceania.

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We had a great northbound cruise early last July on the Celebrity Millenium from Vancouver to Seward. It did not go to Glacier Bay but we found the Hubbard to be amazing. The captain positioned us within a mile of the face where we were treated to the sights and amazing sounds of multiple calving events. He opened the helicopter deck for viewing and made several turns so all on board had great viewing during the almost 2 hours we were there. We also did the easy hike into the Mildenhall Glacier while in Juneau for more glacier viewing.

 

We planned a 1 week post-cruise on our own (with daughter and 3 teen grandkids) using the Alaska RR from Seward to Anchorage and on to Denali for 2 days there, then back to Anchorage for 1.5 days there. Seward was the 2d best highlight of the trip. The Kenai Fjords day cruise was amazing with bubble-net feeding humpbacks, breeching orcas, sea otters, seals, and another beautiful calving glacier. (If you use Princess or Holland, you'll go to Whitier and miss the Kenai -- not good IMHO.) Also hiked to and on the Exit Glacier while in Seward -- another amazing but strenuous experience. Our bus tour through Denali was magnificent too, especially with a relatively rare clear view of the mountain.

 

Although we've been spoiled by Azamara cruises, we found the Millie to be improved from previous Celebrity cruises, especially in the quality of MDR food. There were some kids, but not overwhelming. You'll probably find kids on any Alaska cruise in the summer. Our grandkids thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip. Even last year Celeb seemed to be less-than-formal on formal nights in Alaska, and as xport explained, Celeb is dropping formal nights effective 4 Dec.

 

We would have preferred to do land first, but had other schedule constraints that prevented it. We had great weather last July, but that's always iffy in Alaska. Without other schedule constraints we probably would have preferred later in August to be able to see some of the salmon runs (and therefore better chance of seeing bears.)

 

Have fun!

 

Your wrong that Holland goes to Whittier. They actually go to Seward as well. Princess and maybe NCL only use Whittier.

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I forgot to add we sailed r/t Vancouver in May. No children. If your goal is to minimize crowds of kids, your preferred timeline almost guarantees lots of kids everywhere. For minimum kids, May or September are the obvious choices. :D I should have checked first but Pacific Princess is not doing Alaska in'16. Too bad, seemed just the right size to us.

Edited by Jim Avery
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Many recent Regatta reviews don't show much "love" for Oceania.

 

Their itineraries do not work with what I want to do. I do not want to depart Seattle and they do not end or begin in N Alaska. How can you experience Denali, Talkeetna or Kenai peninsula if you use Oceania? A maybe it would work for someone who has already done that.

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We live in WA state and have cruised AK a lot. We prefer Holland cruise line departing out of Vancouver. Departing out of Seattle would be easier for us (less driving), but they don't do the true inside passage. You'll be spending time in the Pacific Ocean. Check the routing closely. Once in Seward you could rent a car and do your own exploring or take the train to Anchorage and go from there. We prefer Holland's back to back cruise, so we stay aboard and cruise back to Vancouver and drive home from there. Love it

We prefer HALs smaller ships (ie, Massdam, Zaandam, Amsterdam). But last summer we booked a suite on the Oosterdam. While I loved our cabin, I really didn't like the size of ship. Larger ships = more balconies for less $ than on smaller ships.

I've looked at Oceania, but they don't do the true inside passage. For a nice getaway, yes. To experience Alaska, you really need to go further north - ending or beginning in Seward or Whittier.

I haven't looked much at Regent. I think they include excursions and cost is more than I want to pay.

Also, to avoid the kids, cruise before Mid June or in Sept.

Good luck

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