LoveCoffee

This is a bit deceiving. Truck only offers no single supplement on certain cruises, not really at peak time, it is only in the lowest class cabin category which is a smallish cabin on level 1 and it is extremely noisy. I have never heard this much noise in a cabin in all of my many cruises taken though this was my first river cruise. Maybe that is the norm.

No problem with that age issue, very good mix.

Food is not gourmet but did not expect it, it is good.

Safe Cruising! :)

Hmmm? It must be cruise and boat dependent because we have been on 4 Tauck River Cruises and we go with my husband’s sister who travels as a single and her Cabin is always across the hall from ours- always quiet. And we go with the cheapest category because we spend the difference on 2 more weeks in Europe post cruise and we find the rooms larger than Viking & AMA- and the bathrooms too. We do take the Xmas Market Cruises, so maybe it’s different. We are doing Uniworld 2018 and can’t wait to compare. We’ve found no better service, guides and excursions than Tauck

This thread has been very interesting to me. We have been on a total of 4 Tauck tours, 2 land, & 2 RiverCruises and found all 4 to be top notch. The best as far as guides, service, excursions - we love the daily treats/gifts/surprises.

We love the Tauck cruise ships, our cabin, the amazing glass lounge. The only thing that hasn't been a 10/10 - is the dinners in the Main Dining Room. Some nights they were good, but never great. We always check out the menu at the Guest Services Desk, and if the choices aren't what we like - we go to Tauck's alternative restaurant, Arthur's, where we LOVE the menu, food, and service -it's the best kept secret on the cruise sometimes.

We just booked our 1st Uniworld Cruise for 2018 and we are so curious to the differences. The only reason we didn't go with Tauck is because it is our 3rd Xmas Market River Cruise and we've done the only 2 that Tauck offers and this one with Uniworld goes to Hungary which Tauck doesn't offer.

And, it's nice that we actually get a discount with Uniworld, both an AAA discount and a discount when we paid in full at booking. And they now offer a discount for future cruises if you book while on a cruise. I've traveled with Tauck 4 times and absolutely LOVE them, but would like to see them reward/offer discounts to repeat Tauck travelers.

Thanks again for your comparison and I will post one too when we've completed our 1st Uniworld River Cruise.

Have you looked at the SINGLE PRICE/SUPPLEMENT? I know that Tauck doesn't charge one - you will pay the normal price of the cruise, you will not pay more just because you are single. I understand the age issues, but if you want a 1st class experience, all inclusive, with the best guides, excursions, daily treats/surprises - Tauck is your answer. Check out the menu everyday at the guest services desk and if you don't like the one in the main dining room - then Arthur's is also fantastic (even better some nights for us). U by Uniworld would be my 2nd choice. Just know if you go with one of these two all inclusive lines - you will never be able to cruise Viking and like it again. . . . there are huge differences once you've been on the different lines.

We've been on 2 Tauck River Cruises and they were flawless - the best guides and excursions and service. Loved our cabin and lounge. Our only disappointment on both cruises were the dinners in the Main Dining Room. We LOVED the breakfasts. Some of the dinners were ok, but none were great. We actually ate 3 meals in their smaller dining area Arthur's and we really liked the menu and food a lot there. We just booked a Uniworld cruise for next year and we hear amazing things about the food. Not sure they can measure up to Tauck's guides/excursions/daily gifts - but we are curious to experience the difference - plus, Uniworld was cheaper and they give a discount to repeat travelers - wish Tauck did this. We have traveled with Tauck 4 times and get no discount.

Not saying Princess doesn't offer a quality product in the Alaskan arena. However, having just been (July) on a 14 day HAL, I simply cannot imagine any other cruise, including princess, that can come close to our experience on HAL's Amsterdam. The ship is intimate, 1,300 passengers. The lack of crowds was refreshing. Being served piping hot bowls of split pea soup while wrapped in blankets on deck watching the glacier calve was an experience I challenge any Alaskan Princess passenger experience to beat.

I was looking at this cruise, but I don't see where it goes to Glacier Bay? Did you? I may be looking at it wrong? And we have friends who have done both HAL & Princess - and they say they are both fantastic. They actually booked Princess again for Summer 2018.

My wife and I debated over whether to take the traditional 7 day cruise plus some sort of add-on versus a 14 day cruise on HAL. We ended up taking the 14 day itinerary.

 

Was the most amazing, awesome, fantastic cruise of the 28 we've been on. The 1300 passenger Amsterdam was the perfect size. Never crowded. Outstanding service and food. Highly recommend this one.

thanks so much for this info. While we'd love to do UnCruise, AlaskanDream, or one of the smaller ships - they're just not in our budget. We've been debating between a Princess Cruise, or the 14night HAL cruise.

In our opinion, Glacier Bay is a must. It's a National Park and World Heritage Site. Only 2 cruise lines get access to GB - HollandAmerica & Princess. Start there and go based on price, itinerary, and dates that work for you. Alaska needs to be based on seeing Alaska, not on a particular Cruise line. Spend time on the HollandAmerica & Princess & Alaska forums here - you will learn a lot.

I'm sure you will have a great trip, sounds perfect for you. BUT, I hope that your wrong assumption about HAL does not get perpetuated. Demographics are VERY similar on all the lines in Alaska. Your "assumption" is not just on that itinerary. Even Carnival, which is known as being "young", is the same, middle aged the bulk with all ages sailing. I have sailed on all the lines, except Disney and have found this to be the norm, that continues. So, reason why I am disputing it. It simply is not true for Alaska. Caribbean, yes. .

Budget Queen - since you have sailed to Alaska on both Princess & HAL - do you have a preference if the itineraries are the same and price comparable? We are debating between HAL & Princess with the same ports and GlacierBay. Yes, we are going to Alaska to SEE Alaska & the cruise is secondary - but I'd be curious as to your preference?

From all the research we've done, Glacier Bay is a "DO NOT MISS" -& since it's a National Park & World Heritage Site, only 2 lines are allowed in - HAL & Princess. That is my answer. That being said - we are going on RCCL Explorer of the Seas in July ONLY because it is basically a reunion of friends we haven't seen in 30yrs - it is not what we would have picked if we were in charge. We are already planning to do HAL or Princess Summer 2019 since we are missing Glacier Bay in July on RCCL.

Which ship?

It's RCCL Explorer of the Seas. And yes, we know it's not a great itinerary w/only 2 ports and NO Glacier Bay. We are going with a large group of friends and we got a GREAT GROUP rate.

We are planning another Alaska cruise Summer of 2019 on either HAL or Princess to do Alaska the way we want to - this is just a great vacation with friends we haven't seen in 25yrs.

We just are curious about why people have cabin preferences/locations.

We are taking an Alaskan Cruise in July and while we would LOVE a balcony - it is almost double the cost, and we just can't do it. We are going to get OCEAN VIEW which is apparently a large window, not a little porthole.

Our TA is asking us what area of the ship we want - front, middle, or back. She said most people want middle. Why is that? What is the difference in being in the middle versus the front or back? She also said most people want middle to upper decks. Is there a disadvantage to being on a lower deck? If you were choosing an OceanView room, what deck would you choose and what part of the ship -- front, middle, back?

We are in the beginning stages of planning Alaska for Summer 2019. We know we want a Land/Cruise Tour. We've been researching these forums for a couple of weeks and know we want HAL or Princess for Glacier Bay. Has anyone done a Land/Cruise with both HAL & Princess? Any preference? Is one better than the other? From what we've 'seen' so far, seems most people like HAL better for the cruise & food, but we are going to SEE Alaska, the cruise is our way to do it. We really just want the best TOTAL experience. Would love thoughts on HAL vs Princess LAND part. Thanks.

We are in the beginning stages of planning our Summer 2019 Alaskan Cruise. A group of adults 45-65 yrs old. The 2019 itineraries aren't out yet, but we know we want HAL w/the land tour that includes the Yukon & Denali, then a 7day cruise which hits the main ports and Glacier Bay. So, for bears/salmon, is midJuly ok? What about Whales? We are now trying to figure out a month. Seems May/June is recommended, but we read we won't see bear then... when are whales most likely to be seen? We know it's all about compromise, but we'd love to go when our chances of bear, moose, and whales are high . . . thanks.

All southbound one-way HAL cruises start out of Seward, visit Glacier Bay and stop in Juneau. What about those do not interest you?

That is our 2nd choice and is the one we will most likely go with. We've only done one HAL cruise in the past - the reason we haven't returned is because of the number of smokers - my hair and clothes smelled like smoke daily. This was 3 yrs ago and maybe things have changed, but it has made me nervous to sail HAL again.

We like the Itinerary of many of the Celebrity cruises, and we also prefer Celebrity, but they don't go to Glacier Bay. If we pick a cruise that leaves from Seward, is there a way we can fly in a few days early and do Glacier Bay on our own? We figured there has to be tours.

Our 2nd choice is HAL, but we are having a hard time finding an itinerary we want that includes Juneau. Plus, we want to see Seward and HAL doesn't go there. Maybe we could fly in and do Seward on our own before a HAL cruise.

Thanks.

We are debating between a HAL vs Celebrity Alaska Cruise w/land time on our own. The itinerary is basically the same on the 2 cruises we are looking at - EXCEPT HAL goes to Glacier Bay, while Celebrity goes to Hubbard Glacier. Should we lean to one over the other? And why? Thanks.

I live in Kamloops as well.

Vancouver round trip cruises ( 7 day) are limited to Holland America and Celebrity . If your up to a 14 day northbound and then southbound . Your choices Princess , Holland America ,NCL , Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

If only 7 day cruises I personally would look at Seattle .

Considering the age age range I would recommend Celebrity or Princess . Holland America probably will be OK for your mother but won't really work for the rest . NCL or RCI probably would work best for for all.

YOU seem to know what's out there. Would love your opinion for us! Group of ALL adults, no kids, 40-62. We aren't party people. We do LOVE good food and prefer not to pay extra for specialty restaurants. Time is NOT an issue, we can do 7-14 days. Would LOVE your opinion. We aren't going until Summer 2019.

May is beofre the salmon runs and good fishing for visitors. IF doing a one way, do a northbound so to be at Denali as late as possible, ideally June 1 and later. Sept. does have the worse potential for weather a few tours will be over. Biggest negative for me, is the lack of daylight and dark by 7pm mid Sept. But, this doesn't matter to some people.

 

I have cruuised Alaska about 60 times and certainly , I'm certain every poster who "recommends" a cruise- it will be rave reviews for theirs. I have crusied all the major lines except Disney. Last selection I make is ship.

 

There are various itineraries, I suggest you do some homework on those.. One way Vancouver= Whittier/Seward, round trip Seattle and round trip Vancouver. If you can invest 2 weeks it is worthwhile to consider a combo cruise mainland visit. Important to know details about mainland, find those out before you book.

 

I will caution about claims of "must". You need at least 10 trips to scratch the surface of that list. :) Every crusie will be a compromise.

I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on so many things. We are planning for Summer 2019 and have no idea where to begin. We can take 2-3 weeks. What is important for an itinerary? What are the 'not to be missed' ports? Do you recommend a certain cruise line? Do you recommend the LAND part on our own or as a group with the cruise= land/sea? We aren't ones to repeat vacations, too much out there to see and do - so this may be our only time to Alaska- so we know we are barely scratching the surface, but want to do our best at planning for the best experience and time of year. Would it be better for me to email you? Or you can email me? I don't want to 'hijack' this post.