What Alaskan cruise is your favorite?

We have yet to take an Alaskan cruise. 2018 is our 30th anniversary, and we may look into doing just that! However, I would love to hear which Alaskan cruise is the best (your favorite), especially for someone who will probably only take just one such cruise. What are the "must sees" and "must dos?"

Thanks,

Janet

My ideal Alaska cruise would include Glacier Bay, Sitka instead of Skagway, and have a land tour tacked onto the end of it.

The next one :D. Sorry I could not help my self.

Tony

Minimum of Glacier Bay, Sitka, and Icy Straits Point. Doesn't matter what cruise line or embarkation/departure ports. The more days the better.

We don't care for land pre-post excursions (we lived in Anchorage for almost 4 years - described the year as 9 months of winter and three months of relatives! Everyone had to go to Denali. We have been Denalied out!)

The next one :D. Sorry I could not help my self.

Tony

Good one, Tony!

Princess cruise out of San Francisco so you can sail under the Golden Gate Bridge which is always a nice experience no matter how many times you've done it. You would also want to do the cruise that will take you through Glacier Bay and make sure it takes you to Skagway that way you can take the train up to the Yukon and make sure on the train that you get on the last car that way you can stand in the back of the trains balcony to be able to take photos without any obstructions.

Enjoy which ever cruise you decide on!

Becca

The next one :D. Sorry I could not help my self.

Tony

The next one's always the best! :)

Take a North/South bound going into Glacier Bay and add a land tour. I agree sailing out SF going under the Golden Gate never gets old but that would not allow you to go into the interior of Alaska.

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We have taken three cruises to Alaska--two roundtrip from Seattle and one southbound that had five nights beforehand starting in Fairbanks. The one that included the land portion was our favorite.

Cruise from Vancouver to Whittier. Then take 5 day land tour.. Excursion suggestions: helicopter ride to dog camp and sledding. Also. Whale watching

Seattle r/t with Glacier Bay.

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Glacier bay out of Vancouver so you see more gorgeous inside passage in calmer waters.

I sail up to Alaska as often as possible ... my favorite port of call is Icy Strait Point. There is so much natural beauty there.

I would suggest North to South with land tour first. You stay on the go so much during land tour and you see sooooo much, it's nice to get on the cruise for the second part of your trip. The longer you can go, the more you see. Also agree with dog sledding and whale watching. ...we traveled Fairbanks to a Whittier. Embarked on the cruised. Then cruised to Vancouver

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Go South after a 5 day land tour which includes the longer bus trip onto Denali. That is what we didn't do and now wished we had. Far less tiring.

I think you want to have Glacier Bay on your itinerary whatever you choose. A sea/land tour would be the best probably but not everybody has the time available. If you can, like others have said, do the land first and then you can relax more on the ship.

do anyone ever do a massage in ketchikan

Congratulations on your upcoming 30th Anniversary. DH and I just celebrated our 32nd with a Vancouver-Whittier cruise, The Voyage of The Glaciers, aboard the Star Princess. I liked this itinerary because you get to see both Glacier Bay and College Fjord. I much preferred College Fjord, while DH thought they tied in beauty.

We followed the cruise up by renting an RV in Anchorage and driving to Denali NP, where we spent a week camping at Teklanika River Campground. It was for us, the best of both worlds. A week of pampering with lots of scheduled activities followed by a week of peace, hiking along the Teklanika riverbed, catching the park shuttle to view bears, caribou, moose, lynx, snowshoe hares, ptarmigan, golden eagles, and more.

So my best advice to you would be to decide what do you most want to do or see in Alaska. Then choose a cruise that best meets your wish list. Our was to see glaciers, and to tour Denali. On our first cruise, a decade or so ago, we did a re positioning cruise on the Celebrity Infinity which visited another glacier, I believe Hubbard, which was very disappointing as far as glacier viewing. However it stopped at Sitka which was such a beautiful town. We missed Icy Straight so I can't comment on it.

Have a wonderful cruise and congratulations again.

I enjoyed our Alaska Land & Cruise this past May. We started out in Fairbanks, with a Princess tour on the Riverboat Discovery. Very interesting. Then on to Denali. We especially loved the Princess lodge and the shopping on both sides of the road! Our TWT which I highly recommend was a disappointment only bc it snowed 10" the night before and we were unable to go past mile 12. But, I would like to do that tour again one day. We were at Denali May 25, 17 when it snowed!! McKinley was ok, but was my least favorite lodge.

I would also advise to do a connoisseur (all meals included) land tour. Food at the restaurants is expensive.

after a train ride of about 6 hours we boarded the ship in Whittier AK for a wonderful cruise to Vancouver Canada.

Loved, loved the Land & Cruise. and hope to do that again. This was our 2nd trip to Alaska...!st was R/T from Seattle.

Yes... for sure include Glacier Bay.

My thoughts--done this cruise twice, both on Carnival.

I recommend a one-way northbound late in the season--amazing deals on last cruise of the season and, wonders of wonders, we didn't have a single day of rain in September.

If affordable add the Princess train from Fairbanks to the port. Denali Lodge is fabulous. Went on a kick-ass river rafting trip through glacial waters.

Splurge and get an aft-facing cabin. Going down the fjords, majestic mountains on each side is amazing

Take your slippers. You will need them.

Terrific ports are Sitka (a walkable, sweet, island with interesting Russian history)

Ketchikan (George Inlet crab feed is best. Excursion. Ever.)

Juneau--Mendenhall glacier. And whale-watching

Skagway--take the train trip to Canada; we did a 1/2 train trip, with 7-mile hike--amazing

Have a WONDERFUL time.

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We've done the round trip Seattle with Tracy Arm included and the last three years have done the cruise from Whittier to Vancouver which includes Glacier Bay. The last two we have added a land tour before the cruise. If you're only going to do it once, I would recommend that you add a land tour. Glacier Bay is significantly better than Tracy Arm. And we prefer the southbound route because it's much easier to get home from Vancouver than Anchorage which has a lot of red eye flights back to the lower 48. It's hard to go wrong with any Alaska cruise as the scenery is stunning. Hope you have a wonderful anniversary trip!

Every year we cruise to Alaska. One year it’s Tracy Arm and the next year it’s Glacier Bay. In 2009 we took the Pacific Princess out of Seattle for a 2 week cruise up as far as Kodiak. It was by far the best cruise we have ever taken to Alaska. I don’t know why cruise ships don’t go that far North. We wish that Princess would do this cruise again, it was an outstanding cruise.

Southbound Voyage of the Glaciers. :)

If this is your one and done, I recommend doing a Voyage of the Glaciers one way cruise between Vancouver and Whittier. Glacier Bay is spectacular! Do the full cruisetour that includes Denali.

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A few tips:

1. Some people prefer Vancouver over Seattle as a southern port as you get more time on the inside passage. This is calmer seas, and generally better views. I don't have a strong preference.
   
2. The glaciers are amazing! We were surprised in how much we enjoyed Hubbard, and are dying to see Glacier Bay (I hear it's the best glacier viewing in AK).
   
3. The Fjords are also quite amazing - though more for mountains than their glaciers. Seeing a mama and baby orca along the side of the ship in Tracy Arm Fjord may be the fondest memory of my life.
   
4. We go late July/early August and see oodles of whales - primarily Humpback.
   
5. I slightly prefer 1-way trips as you get to see more of Alaska - though going into/out of Anchorage will add a lot of travel time.
   
6. Whale watching from Juno (or Icy Straight Point) is a must-do for any whale lover.
   
7. Shore excursions can get extremely expensive, and tend to be high risk/high reward depending on things like weather. Plan accordingly.
   
8. I strongly prefer the cruising sites over the ports. If I could find a cruise that hits 4 fjords/glaciers and 1 port (for whale watching), I would book it as an annual trip.
   
9. I do not enjoy the touristy and repetitive feel of shops right off the docks. In virtually every port, you need to walk a few blocks before you get a feel for the real town - and even then - much of the town often feels like it's there to be touristy.
   

Just my take. Obviously others will have different views :)