InternetAgeTraveler

The one way rates from Seward to Anchorage through Hertz for June 2018 is running $169/$189 per day for mid/full size and nearly double that per day for a Fairbanks drop. Anchorage round trip was $50 and up on recent checks. But there 4 of us which makes it easier to justify the cost vs other modes

We have always wanted to go on a cruise to Alaska and are finally in the planning stages for next June but I have no idea on which one to choose. Can you help us?

 

We are also planning our 30th anniversary cruise in June 2018. We have done round trips before and doing a one way Northbound this time.

Here are some of our wants and questions.

 

1. We definitely want to see Glacier Bay so are looking for a ship that goes there. So we have been looking at Princess Cruise out of Whittier to Vancouver. Is this a good one? Do any other ships go to Glacier Bay? And of them round trip or not?

Yes other ships do. Go to one of the cruise sites that support search and they normally allow you to specify a month and places to visit which will allow Glacier bay to be selected. NCL, Princess, Holland, Crystal have one or more that do GB in June 2018. There are round trip, south and northbound options.

 

2. Is it better to do Southbound or Northbound trip versus Round Trip?

All good options, the key is if you want to do a land tour before or after. The round trip only reach the lower end of Alaska (still worth the trip but you get to see a bit more of the state). Many Southbound cruises do Hubbard Glacier or while going north, they may do College fjord, NCL is one exception that does Hubbard on both north and south routes. These weren't on your list so it always come back to what you want. There are a lot of videos posted on the web now showing whole segments (not like being there but can help fill in gaps)

We are a little worried about the airfare to Alaska - they don't have pricing out yet.

It is available now for the month through most airline sites but some independents have not listed yet. We booked out going flights because they were some good deals but have not booked the returns from Alaska because they seem to be higher than going rates so we expect they will get better and most flights have only a few seats shown as booked. Something to watch. As for cost, Vancouver and Anchorage do seem to run more than Seattle.

 

4. How soon should we book? I'm assuming NOW??

 

We have and many others as well. Obviously better selection but this is the first time we booked this far in advance and had good deals and good cabins on both previous cruises. If you are mostly committed, than there aren't many reasons to wait as you can still take advantage of any details that may come along.

 

5. Is it better to go through a travel agent or not

That's another personal preference but I like using a travel agent over dealing with the cruise lines that tend to push a bit more what they want you to buy. But all of lines have web pages that will give you availability and prices so you can get quite a bit of info by yourself.

We did this a few years back.

 

Photos and a couple of videos here.

 

So, you are right. It might make sense just to do the drive from Seward and save the time. It could be 2.5 hours saved even if we split up the day with a nice lunch and shopping somewhere. It's a thought.

It ends up being slightly more to rent in Seward but we plan to do the same thing, rent there and drop in Anchorage. The time gained and less complexity with more flexibility made the most sense. We looked at ending in Fairbanks but they wanted almost twice as much per day to drop there.

updating my original question with some observations.

 

Some places do book at least a year out. One place we wanted to stay was already fully booked for one night during our stay. However, we also ran into a number of places that only do a year a time, waiting until the end of the year to post the next years availability. So it seems like if you are willing to stay anywhere you can wait and book later. But if you have a specific place in mind, contact them as soon as you can. They will at least tell you when they plan to take bookings.

 

The same goes for rental cars. We had to call them to get actual rates for next year since they hadn't set up availability in the main system yet for next year.

The train car combo will somewhat repetitive. The train and cars do opposite sides of the valley so the scenery is similar. The train experience is nice though.

 

You will see whales from the ship but generally fleeting in most cases.

 

See our photos and review of the Pearl. We did the train with our kids and the drive o our second trip and plan to do a car rental again next year.

We stayed at the Motel Nord Haven (now called the Aurora Denali Lodge) June 4th and 5th this year. We booked the rooms on June 20th of 2016. We booked so far in advance because rooms sell out quickly in that area. We didn't have to pay anything up front to reserve the rooms and we had until 48 hrs. prior to our arrival to cancel.

Right, according to the book site, only 6 rooms left on the dates we are looking and they now require 10% (non refundable) deposit.

We are finishing up a DIY land tour before boarding the Coral on Saturday. We stayed at a wonderful modern cabin group about 7 miles from the Denali entrance, breakfast was included. If that type of experience interests just ask and I will post the name.

Yes, please do. That is where we are looking. When did you book it?

We are planning to travel in June of next year (2018). But in doing some initial research, I find that some places can be booked now but others don't seem to have their 2008 availability posted yet.

We go out on deck too, but it's great that you don't have to.

 

Our reason for liking the port side is that you enter the Bay early in the morning. As you cruise in, the sun is rising on the Starboard side means it is looking into the rising sun and the port side is looking away from the sun. The mountains and views are better illuminated to port as a result.

 

You can also go out on your balcony right away and have great views while still waking, dressing, etc.

 

My research has also shown that most ships, since they sail mostly north into the bay, sail closer to the west side going in and more to the middle going out. By the time they sail out, the sun is more overhead flattening out the light on the starboard side. The poster above that mentioned the ship was pointed due north at Marjorie Glacier puts the port side toward It.

 

Check out the time lapse videos in my signature for examples (watch for new ones for this year soon). There are also a lot of videos on YouTube capturing entire glacier bay cruises you can review.

Perhaps more than most places, matching itinerary not ships to your likes is key with Alaska. Glacier Bay is a big thing to most people and top on my list. We did the Pearl twice because it goes there. It does have shorter days in most ports other than Skagway but we still had time to do things we wanted in them.

 

See review in signature as well as photo from both cruises.

One thing to check the hours you will be there and the visitor center open hours on the day you are there. We were there late afternoon and they closed before we arrived and nothing was open. Still a pleasant place to wait as the nearby trails are paved and accessible.

see this image from the webcam of the Coral, downtown in on the upper left.

It takes some effort to look, but with patience we saw whales regularly, but not often close by.

 

Examples of what you could see

 

often just a whale spout in the distance (notice the kayaks closer in)

 

 

mom and baby swam along side for a bit

 

 

A quick snap and I was the only one of the 5 of us that saw it

 

If you want to repeat the cruise in 2 minutes, 30 seconds - check out this time lapse video I compiled (one of almost 350 I have compiled over the last 4 cruise seasons).

 

You can't go wrong, both options are good ones. We enjoyed the drive because we could stop whenever we wanted, but the train offers a lot of sights to see without the need for someone to drive.

 

Pictures from the drive:

Awesome photo! Who took it?

We're booked on this on our Feb 20th cruise. This photo alone makes me think I should NOT let my DH drive :eek:

Thank you to all who have posted their comments from this excursion. It's definitely one that I want to be prepared for!

I feel like we need to have Got Mud? t-shirts

I normally love to spend my port days at a beach, but I am really excited about this ADVENTURE!

 

Sorry I ddint post an answer before you went... How did your trip go? As for who took the picture, it was done by the tour company (that extra souvenir you just have to have)...

We rented from Sourdough in May 2010, early in the season and things went very smothly. In our case, we needed a mini-van and they had one while Avis didn't. Car wise, ours was in very good condition and clean.

 

The only thing I can recall that I didn't like was the 3 day cancelation policy which meant if for any reason we didn't go, we'd still have to pay.

 

This thread had a lot of discussion of the comparison. I think the consensus is that Avis wins on most things except price and number of larger vehicles.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1167808

WOW, this looks 'interesting' but thinking that I would slow down...LOL.

Not his nature, others went through a lot slower but he asked the guide if they had to and they said, 'no', so....

DD did this and had a great time, enjoyed the ride, road was bumpy, did not do the swim at the cave, but really enjoyed the history the guide shared. Planned to get muddy and didn't slow when they saw this 'puddle'

 

In the afternoon, we did another excursion, HAL's Klondike Rock Climbing and Rappelling, that was a very high priority for the kids. We were joined by 4 other people and were able to complete 2 climbs per person. After the climbs, we went to a separate cliff for rappelling (once per person). Not surprisingly, the kids loved this excursion, but, somewhat suprisingly, the adults did, too! The guides were really fun and interesting, and the excursion was very well run.

We did this excursion (through NCL) a few years back and our kids really enjoyed it. We also lucked out because they split into a small group with just me and the kids and we got to do several climbs including one that was extra challenging.

 

Pictures and a couple of short videos can be found here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roseoftexas/sets/72157601870682473/

our family did this through Cozumel water sports, sorry to hear that they arent offering it themselves any longer. In addition to being a bit more, I think they offer a slightly abbreviated tour with the cruiselines.

 

There are some pictures from our cruise here...

 

This is a short excerpt from our Conquest review (see my signature)

 

Finally in Cozumel we elected to do a speed boat and beach escape offered via Cozumel water sports. The tour in a bit out of the way at the north end of island. They provide taxi service both ways rather than corral everyone on to a bus. The location before and after the power boats had a pool, volleyball, and other activities to keep you busy. We had a good time on the boats. We spent at least an hour in the boats, with a stop in the middle at a secluded beach to swim and snorkel (although not as much to see as in Grand Cayman). Afterwards, they provided lunch with chicken fajitas. The place was in good shape (although they could use a new deck) and for someone just looking for some fun on a budget, it served the purpose.

If I understand, I can turn on my cell phone and make or receive a "regular" cell call under my normal Verizon plan as long as my phone doesn't show roaming?

 

For example, if I'm on the ship in Seattle at 12:30 pm (sail away not until 4 pm), I shouldn't have a roaming signal? My daughter could call me on my cell phone from the airport when she arrives at 12:30 pm and I should be able to take the call without extra Princess charges?

 

And then call me again when she's through registration so I can meet her as she boards?

 

yes, when sitting at the pier, you should have no issues using the phone, since you could just as easily be walking down the street next to it.

 

In fact, we did the Pearl a few weeks back and we had a normal Verizon signal all the way through Puget Sound (people who have boats, use their phones from their boats).

 

However, once you get away from 'civilization', you'll be on roaming (the ship cell tower) and charges will apply. And while it will work close to Alaska ports, it won't take long to switch off once you leave until you back.

I am not as hip as the younger generation on this, how do you know when the ships system is on? My daughter will want to text on our northbound cruise and inland on our cruisetour if it's available, if there is a charge beyond our normal plan she knows the phone is off and in the safe like most cruise. HELP! BTW were with Verizon

 

Your phone should show roaming and/or a network of celluar at sea. When you first switch to the ships network, if you have text, Verizon should send you a message with the rates.

 

Once you on shore, when you do have coverage, it should be regular verizon service.

 

For Verizon on the ship, text messages outgoing are 50 cents each while incoming messages are 5 cents each. Details are here http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Cruise_Ships/index.html

I have Tmobile on my work phone and just got back from an Alaska cruise. We had coverage in every port with no problem. The only thing is that I couldnt check voicemail in some (it wasnt recognizing that it was me calling and wasnt sure how to enter it manually).

 

As for rates on the ship, T-mobile runs $4.99 a minute on HAL, NCL, and Princess. The specific list and data and text rates can be found at http://www.t-mobile.com/International/RoamingOverview.aspx?tp=Inl_Tab_RoamWorldwide