My husband and I (early 30s, active, somewhat prone to seasickness) are looking to incorporate our first cruise into our summer 2024 Alaska itinerary. I've spent a lot of time dissecting different itineraries and reading reviews, from which I think I've narrowed it down to 5 options:
Alaskan Dream: https://www.alaskandreamcruises.com/cruises/2024-alaskas-inside-passage-sojourn/
American Queen: https://www.aqvoyages.com/expedition-cruises/alaska-british-columbia/sitka-to-vancouver/
Hurtigruten: https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-us/expeditions/cruises/alaska-and-british-columbia-wilderness-glaciers-and-culture-southbound3/
Seabourn: https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A4S07B/4442.html
Holland America: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A3S07A/I340.html?destcode=A&csvfilename=cmpgn_AWAVE23&ICID=INTHWEB20221214DFPGNFWHZY&priceType=halbest
I recognize that the Holland America option is much more of a standard cruise, but its price tag makes it at least a little tempting compared to the others.
For the Alaskan Dream cruise, I'm concerned about the size of the boat with respect to seasickness and was unsure if the culture focus would take away from the active adventure opportunities.
Both Hurtigruten and American Queen sound like the exact vibe we'd be interested in, but their newness comes with a general lack of reviews. It sounds like Hurtigruten had a rough first season and American Queen has a lot of poor customer service reviews on their other itineraries. Hurtigruten also does not stop in Glacier Bay and wouldn't offer us the opportunity to do a day trip before embarking.
Lastly, Seabourn seems to have great reviews and the Ventures by Seabourn seem to offer that expedition feel, but it seems too fancy for us and would definitely end up being the most expensive, with none of the kayak/zodiac ventures being included.
UnCruise was actually where I first started my search, but even though everyone swears it's worth it, I'm not sure I could stomach the ~$900 a day/person that it would set us back... And without spending 14 days, it didn't seem like any of their itineraries got you both up to Glacier Bay and down to Misty Fjords.
For the non-cruise portion of our trip, we will spend time in Wrangell St Elias, Valdez, Glacier Bay and/or Kenai fjords depending on the itinerary we select. We will plan to hit Denali and anything else we miss on a future trip, after Denali Park road is open again.
Sorry this ended up being such a long read, and thank you in advance for any insight you might have on any of these options!
TLDR Young adults looking for advice on active Southeast Alaska Expedition style cruise focused on scenery and wildlife!