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Alaska Cruise Line Recs


sivyaleah
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Hi everyone,

 

My BF and I (soon to be husband) are contemplating an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon May 2017, or thereabouts.

 

We will both be 58 at that time. Both of us are experienced cruisers and are trying to figure out which cruise line would be the best match for us on this particular trip.

 

Both of us dislike huge mega ships. We had been on the NCL Epic when it first launched and found it to be difficult to navigate, kind of impersonal and too crowded. We missed being able to take walks around the decks (there isn't much outdoor space other than the pool areas), and the interior had a claustrophobic feel; not a lot of windows for views either. Overall we've enjoyed being on NCL in the past but that one trip kind of turned us off.

 

I personally have some mobility issues. I am able to walk, have good flexibility but tire after being on my feet too long due to having had 3 surgeries on my knees in the past decade or so. Arthritis is no fun as many of you probably know. So, the size of the boat does matter somewhat since too much walking around will wear on me after a while.

 

We're low key people, not into partying at night, don't drink much though we like a decent beer now and then! We enjoy the evening entertainment but have been known to blow it off too. We're not socializers; prefer keeping to ourselves; eating alone, etc. We're not adverse to other company but making small talk for both of us is difficult (especially in the morning LOL) and besides, it will be our honeymoon so, you know :D

 

We're looking for very comfortable accommodations, possibly booking a suite this time around. Also, desire excellent dining and don't mind paying extra to ensure that. A ship with less children would be ideal too - a more mature crowd is what we're looking for. Do NOT want to have to dress up for dinners. Or at least, not too much.

 

FYI we've also cruised on Royal Caribbean and were not thrilled with the experience. So far, I'm thinking Holland, Celebrity or NCL might be best for us. NCL's Haven is very appealing; we'd love being able to access a private pool/lounge where no kids are guaranteed.

 

Looking forward to hearing pinions for those in a similar age group and mind set. Thanks for your input!

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Based on your comments you should check out Holland America. We are cruising to Alaska as well this summer for the first time. Think about itinerary as HAL has some wonderful Alaska ports and goes to Glacier Bay, which not all lines can do. The passengers tend to be more like you in that they don't like mega ships, and tend to prefer a more mellow entertainment. All the ships are quite a bit smaller than other main stream lines. Check it out. And congratulations!

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  • 3 months later...

Based on your preferences, Holland America would probably be a good fit. Definitely not a party ship. We sailed on the Amsterdam about 6 years ago on a 14 day RT Seattle trip with 8 ports. We were 52 at the time. It was almost the end of the first week before we actually had anyone under the age of 65 to 70 seated with us for dinner. Other than an evening movie and the piano bar, we found zero nightlife. Had gone up to the Crow's Nest after dinner and saw only about 5 ship guests up there. This was only around 9:00. On the upside, we had no problem having the laundry room to ourselves at that hour as everyone was in their cabins by then.

 

Knowing this, we would still sail on Holland America again. We still laugh today and say that we could have run up and down the halls naked at 9:00 every night and NOBODY would have seen us. No Hairy Chest contests pool-side either. If you can wait until about 5 or 6 weeks in advance (or less) you can usually book on HAL for a pretty good price. We had an OV cabin for our 14 day cruise and it only cost of $799/pp back then. Have cruised to Alaska 3 times now, and love it.

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Based on your criteria I would highly recommend HAL for your trip. Ironically my sailings to Alaska have both been on Princess but I think their ships might be bigger than you are looking for. HAL has a feeling of more upscale and is a generally older crowd. Both they and Princess have greater glacier bay access because they have been in that market longer. If you do the RT out of Seattle you also get the option of Sitka, an interesting port that many of the other lines bypass.

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So far, only one person has mentioned the ports. I think you need to consider why you want to visit Alaska, and what you want to see do there. If you think this might be your only visit, you really should consider a ship that cruises Glacier Bay. The only lines that do this regularly are HAL, Princess, and NCL. Carnival has an occasional visit at either end of the season. A luxury line may have an occasional visit. So, you should look at itineraries, and pay particular attention to times in port. I love Celebrity, and would cruise them now to Alaska, but only because I have done it twice on Princess, seen Glacier Bay four times, College Fjord twice, and Hubbard Glacier once (we missed it the second time due to fog). EM

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I don't think you'd be disappointed with either Holland or Celebrity. One of our Alaskan trips was on NCL, and I am not recommending it. It had shorter port times, and the ship felt very crowded. We had some cold and raining weather, and it didn't seem as if the ship was designed for all of the passengers to be inside.

 

Celebrity was an older passenger crowd and much more sedate. It was more formal and more expensive; however, for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it was fantastic. (Be careful if you book airfare through the cruiseline though. Celebrity didn't give us enough time for connections, and our luggage didn't catch up with us in Alaska for a few days).

 

While Glacier Bay is fascinating, I would vote for the line with the longest port times instead of picking a cruise only because it goes to Glacier Bay. You never know what you're going to see in Glacier Bay. I had one cruise where it was like watching paint dry...beautiful and quiet, but I'll have to admit that it actually got a little boring after awhile. Everyone was waiting for a glacier to calve, a whale to breach or some other OOOOOH moment, but it didn't happen. On our next cruise we did get to see a huge piece of a glacier break off, which was amazing.

 

For the ports, on the other hand, you might want to schedule a once-in-a-lifetime excursion and still have time to walk around. The more time the better.

 

On our cruises, we've managed to do (so far): Skagway railroad; Misty Fjords flightseeing; whale watching (got to see bubble net feeding in early September, which was a real National Geographic moment); bus tour of Juneau that went to a salmon fishery; glacier helicopter; renting a car and driving to the Yukon territory (parallels the railroad, but also get to see some other things); Sitka Raptor Center...everything was fascinating, and I hope to go back someday to get to try out all of the excursion experiences. I loved Sitka, and wish more cruises visited it. It was a tender port and the big ships are just too big to get into it. (We had arranged to renew our vows in the Russian Orthodox church in Sitka ...talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience!).

Edited by Truluv
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  • 6 months later...

Alaska is all about the itinerary. We chose the HAL 2 week Alaska cruise to celebrate our 50th anniversary last August. It was round trip from Seattle. We chose it specifically because of the unique itinerary. We were not disappointed.

 

The ports were spectacular! We loved the small ship (Maasdam), fantastic crew, wonderful food and customer service.

 

We recommend HAL to everyone. Alaska is amazing and sailing on HAL makes it very special.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Another vote for Holland America. Did the 7 night RT out of Seattle on Westerdam{Approx. 1900 passengers] last July and thoroughly enjoyed it. Is sailing in May the only choice? Suspect a higher probability of bad weather than in Summer. Enjoy1

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For comparison HALs largest ships are about the size of RCCLs medium Radiance class ships.

 

Agree with the itinerary advice and definitely if a line is doing College Fjord - totally beats out Glacier Bay. HAL and Princess have the edge on Alaska and have been doing it the longest and have more access to Glacier Bay. Vancouver has the one-ways and Seattle the R/Ts (7 or 14 nt). Airfare is generally less to Seattle.

 

We went with HAL for this June for several reasons but the biggest was a positive experience with them for last Alaska cruise. Being a "hometown" company and sailing from Seattle also factored for us (no air!).

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  • 4 months later...

Holland America; the Amsterdam (NOT Nieuw Amsterdam), Zaandam, or Volendam; oceanview cabin on the Lower Promenade (or a Lanai on the Volendam). Pick your itinerary from the ones those ships are sailing.

 

P.S. the Nieuw Amsterdam is a FINE ship (we spent 23 days on her TransAtlantic & Mediterranean); she may be my husband's favorite so far. However she is much larger than the R-class ships I mentioned and has no cabins on the deck with the Promenade -- which is like having the ship's biggest balcony a few steps away.

 

P.P.S. most people do not spend much time in or around a swimming pool on an Alaska cruise. Just saying.

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  • 3 months later...

So glad I found this board and this thread!

 

We are in our 60's retired and avid cruisers.....unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how one looks at it, we have 20+ cruises under our belts but all on Carnival. I have wanted to branch out and try other lines but very skeptical,

 

We like Carnival for many reasons prices, we are casual cruisers, we don't do dress up, we aren't nite people, so it sounds like HAL is what we need to try. HAL also offers many of the itineraries that interest us, Alaska, Panama Canal etc.

 

We live a simple lifestyle, retired, full time in our RV traveling in the summer, chilling in Florida in the winter and cruising!

 

Susan

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This thread is quite old and the OP has probably already gone on their cruise. Since it has revived, I'll point out that Windstar's Star Legend has Alaska cruises in 2018. It is small enough to get around easily. Staterooms are large (all suites) and comfortable and there are plenty of comfortable public spaces. Open seating where you can get a table by yourself or share, whichever you prefer. Great food and service.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

We took the 14 day Alaska cruise offered through Holland America round trip from Seattle. Pictures tell the story better than I can. It will give you an idea of excursions you might like to take. You will probably go to some of the same ports we visited on our cruise.

 

Our Alaska 50th anniversary cruise

 

Cruising is a great way to travel!

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What are good excurrsions also anyone done the land railway

 

We did the Skagway train up-and-back in 2009 and train-up-bus-back in 2016. Both were excellent, but recommend the latter. The train does not stop for photo ops! (although you can hang off the platform between the cars and get great shots...) With the train+bus you get two viewpoints. We took the combined tour in 2016 that included the gold-camp which I thought was hokey but was the high point for a couple of our group of eight, so YMMV!

 

But for sure take the train!

 

In Juneau do some version of whale watching!

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What are good excurrsions also anyone done the land railway
Wich rail are you asking about?

 

If you are on a closed loop cruise from Seattle or Vancouver, Skagway is the only port with a rail excursion. If you do a one way, there are a number of rail optiions for the land part of the trip.

 

We took the longer train trip from Skagway which goes through Bennett Lake, with a stop there to look around, to Carcross. You can also take a shorter trip to Fraisier. The scenery I'll lovely. You can do bus one way and train the other (the only option with the longer train) so you get different views each way.

 

There's more info on the Alaska ports of call board.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app

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