Lumidapri

"2) Is there any advantage to doing a North vs South bound route? The main difference seems to be related to times of arrival/departure from ports and College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), Alaska vs Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), Alaska" We just disembarked today from the Northbound on Majestic. I have not heard anyone making the distinction between the schedule of the 7 days; but there is a nuance to be known. On the Northbound you do Glacier Bay and the College Fjord at the "end" of the cruise and we really liked the culmination of our cruise that way. At first, we were regretting not doing the land in Alaska first and then the cruise Southbound. We like the cruise so much that we want to do it again. And as we are now looking to book I am still leaning towards the Northbound due to the way it is set as a 7 day cruise. It starts with the 3 ports in the first few days and the Scenic part towards the end. Also the food seemed to progress in quality towards the end, when they served escargot, lobster, and other higher end dishes in the Allegro and Concerto (standard dining). If you plan on using specialty dining, try to find the menu for the week and avoid scheduling your specialty dining on the nights when the (standard dining) has a better menu. For your information we did Glacier Bay in the late morning and during lunch time. We did the College Fjord later in the day (the day before ending the cruise) end got to Harvard Glacier which appears to be the biggest glacier in the College Fjord right around 6:45pm, and we stayed until 7:45pm. (This information is useful when planning your dinner), because you really want to plan on being able to enjoy the view. And even the few hours before 6:45 we were watching other glaciers and wild life in the College Fjord area. That is information that I was not aware of, and I think you should try to plan for prioritizing the view and wild life watching; and schedule your meals and dinner accordingly. Find out what are the hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at each venue. If you plan on visiting the Skagway we find Yukon Discovery Tour very good, because you get to experience the same views as the railroad, and be able to travel farther, into Yukon Canada.

"2) Is there any advantage to doing a North vs South bound route? The main difference seems to be related to times of arrival/departure from ports and College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), Alaska vs Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), Alaska" We just disembarked today from the Northbound on Majestic. I have not heard anyone making the distinction between the schedule of the 7 days; but there is a nuance to be known. On the Northbound you do Glacier Bay and the College Fjord at the "end" of the cruise and we liked the culmination of our cruise that way. At first, we were regretting not doing the land in Alaska first and then the cruise Southbound. We like the cruise so much that we want to do it again. And as we are now looking to book I am still leaning towards the Northbound due to the way it is set as a 7 day cruise. It starts with the 3 ports in the first few days and the Scenic part towards the end. Also the food seemed to progress in quality towards the end, when they served escargot, lobster, and other higher end dishes in the Allegro and Concerto (standard dining). So if you plan on using specialty dining, try to find the menu for the week and avoid scheduling your specialty dining on the nights when the (standard dining) has a better menu. For your information we did Glacier Bay in the late morning and during lunch time. We did the College Fjord later in the day (the day before ending the cruise) end got to the biggest glacier in the College Fjord right around 6:45pm, and we stayed until 7:45pm. (This information is useful when planning your dinner), because you really want to plan on being able to enjoy the view. And even the few hours before 6:45 we were watching other glaciers and wild life in the College Fjord area. That is information that I was not aware of, and I think you should try to plan for prioritizing the view and wild life watching; and schedule your meals and dinner accordingly. Find out what are the hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at each venue. If you plan on taking the Skagway

Isn't the cost of the cruise suppose to cover the "behind the scene" staff? I don't think one expects to cruise on a ghost ship. The expectations are that the cruise cost will factor in the services that must be provided to each and every passenger. The tips and gratuities I see as compensation for going above and beyond expectations. Its nonsense to tip for bad service.

English is not my first language, maybe budget is not the best term used here; maybe I meant we cannot afford a luxury cruise; we are cruising 4 in a cabin. I think we got an excellent deal with paying less than $4500 for all 4, it will include Princess Premier for first two passengers; and it is not an inside cabin. I'm not sure what is the best way to see McKinley up close, but traveling in Denali park only to mile 43 does not seem the right way to me. I heard that only a small number of people get to see the peak due to the ever-changing weather. We will enjoy driving ourselves to mile 12 and visit the park, but I think the only viable option to actually see the peak is to fly there from Talkeetna. They are saying that you can refuse to fly if the weather is not optimal, so there is no risk of loosing the money.

So far we find the Princess Cruises Majestic prices to be the best overall even when including the Premier Pass; since they offer the 3 and 4th free plus port fees. The only shore-ex that is tempting to us is the Skagway Railroad. Once we arrive in Whittier we are planning to rent a car from Anchorage and VRBO a cabin around Palmer/Wasila for a few days. We will then visit Denali, Seward, maybe consider the 26 glacier from Whittier. Not sure if Kenai peninsula has anything that is a must. And this is a secondary goal of this post: since it is our first time in Alaska, we are trying to see everything that is a "must". So far my understanding is that people visit Alaska for the glaciers and to see McKinley/Denali. I read in a forum that even if you take a cruise that does College Fjords, it is still highly recommended to do the 26 glacier tour; can someone confirm it? Also, can we get some other recommendations as to what to see/do while in Alaska? We are looking for a "must do" list, not possibilities, if that makes any sense. Thank you

Of course you may suggest it; I'm doing my best efforts to consider those.

We are planning our first cruise in Alaska and reserved an ocean-view cabin. Our friends are saying that we will regret it if we don't upgrade to Balcony. Can we get some other opinions, from travelers who have done both? The assumption is that the cabin is on the land side not the ocean. Thank you.

Checking Viking's prices doesn't mean "considering". We checked everyone's prices; looking for the best deal overall. We've never been on a cruise, don't know anything about cruises and cruise lines. So yeah, we checked Viking's prices too.... and said "no, thank you" once we saw the cost.

I can see how that can be confusing. It is our understanding that the biggest land attraction in Alaska is the Denali/Mt McKinley (besides the glaciers). If the road is damaged and we can only travel by bus to mile(or km) 43 instead of 8x, it means we would see the mountain/peak from tens of miles. The bus tour costs $128 or so. So we would pay that, plus spend a lot of time in the bus and won't even be guaranteed to see the mountain, never-mind up-close. If we book a flight over the mountain, we can cancel the same day if weather is bad( and reschedule for next day, until weather is good), we get to see it up close, and get to land on the glacier. And we still have time left in the day. Yes, it is 3 times the cost, but at least we get to actually see what we came to see. And if we still want to see the park, we can then use our rental and travel to mile/km 12.

We are planning a trip to Alaska for 2023; Currently there is a plan to take a cruise that starts in Vancouver or Seattle and ends in Anchorage (or vice versa). After that we'll see if we can find some vrbo lodging and take a tour flight over Denali, since the park only allows for the first 43 miles or so instead of 90( and we want to see the Denali peak as close as possible). So far we found that Princess cruises offer that option for a decent price for July 2023 (4 per cabin where 3 & 4 only pay port fees). First question we have is: Is Grand Princess or Saphire Princess cruise a safe bet? Second question is would you recommend a different cruise line instead of Princess for Alaska? We like the option to start or end in Anchorage, so that we can visit Denali. I already checked Viking Cruises, but they have prohibitive costs. And last question: Besides seeing the glaciers and the Denali, is there another natural attraction that we should not miss (or must include in our trip)? Thank you