Alaska Cruise Help

Hi, our first cruise was on Carnival to Mexico and we didn't have the most fun (too many kids and horrible food). We like the idea of cruising and want a better experience.

We are thinking of Alaska and need a comparison of Holland America, Norwegian CL, and Celebrity, and any other option worth noting. Key features are great food, few kids, and quiet spaces to read. Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

Nick

First Alaska cruise I would recommend either HAL or Princess going northbound or southbound to/from Vancouver. Both have itineraries that include Glacier Bay.

There will be families on any Alaskan sailing but not likely as many as you would have had going to Mexico.

Small ship with UnCruise, Alaskan Dream or a bit larger but smaller than most the main lines, Oceania. Very few children, if any, and the food on all three of these is excellent.

Both UnCruise and Alaska Dream overnight in Glacier Bay.

NCL offers north/south bound to/from Vancouver with itineraries that include Glacier Bay.

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Holland America would be a good choice. ,,,,smaller ships

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Another vote for Glacier Bay for best experience for glacier seekers. Another vote for Vancouver with extra days to explore.

I've always thought the food on Carnival was quite good, to be honest.

Knowing when to cruise is key - school breaks (especially Spring!) and during the summer will see plenty of families with kids and shorter cruises (five-days or less) tend to see rowdier crowds, at least imho.

Some things to keep in mind to avoid kids is to cruise when school is in session and longer cruises (10-14 days +) tend to attract less families.

We are cruising to Alaska on HAL the first week of September - smaller ship, older demographic, laid back events/atmoshphere and kids will be in school/getting ready to go back to school. And for Glacier Bay

JMHO and YMMV

Here is a link to a pros/cons of the different glaciers in Alaska. This site also has posts about the various ports and a packing list. Whichever cruise you choose, you will have a great time. Alaska is amazing. If you don't want a lot of kids, Holland America or Celebrity are your best choices. There will still be kids, but not as many as NCL or Princess....last time we sailed Princess to Alaska, I got run over by strollers!

https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/pros-and-cons-of-hubbard-glacier-glacier-bay-and-tracy-arm-fjord/

You didn't like Carnival's food? It's what they do best! We have gotten a little bored with the Caribbean and decided to do Alaska. We are going on the Radiance of the Seas in July, Northbound, Vancouver to Seward. It cruises Hubbard Glacier. Hopefully, since we have never seen a glacier at all, we won't be unhappy that it doesn't cruise to Glacier Bay.

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Just booked our very first cruise. Did a lot of research and decided on round-trip Alaska out of Seattle on Holland America. The smaller ship, going to Glacier Bay and Sitka put Holland America ahead of the competition. Would have loved to go on an even smaller ship but paying for five people ruled that out.

Best of luck!

You didn't like Carnival's food? It's what they do best! We have gotten a little bored with the Caribbean and decided to do Alaska. We are going on the Radiance of the Seas in July, Northbound, Vancouver to Seward. It cruises Hubbard Glacier. Hopefully, since we have never seen a glacier at all, we won't be unhappy that it doesn't cruise to Glacier Bay.

 

 

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Hubbard is great if you actually get close. It was disappointing on my first cruise on RCCL as we had to miss it due to conditions so we didn't have any other glacier on the cruise.

It has been years since I have done Carnival but most people like Carnival's food.

We'll be in Seward for 3 nights and will do the hike to Exit Glacier from the visitor center. I'm thinking about Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. We have a balcony stateroom on the starboard side, so we should be able to sit and watch.

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To avoid kids, you have to cruise when the kids are in school. That means May or September. We, too, wanted to avoid kids, so we chose to cruise in May because I had read that May is the driest month for the ports on an Alaskan cruise and that things are livlier at the beginning of the season as opposed to the end.

We cruised on the HAL Noordam from May 21-28. I counted no more than 10 children on board the ship (and only 2 of them were school-aged; most were babies or toddlers.) Also, the only rain we encountered was a light morning shower in Ketchikan and rain in Seward (but we left immediately for Anchorage which was dry.) The weather was gorgeous in Vancouver and Glacier Bay.

As a Grandma, I like children. They liven things up. We are cruising in a July because two people in our group are teachers.

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Never had a lot of kids in May/first of June. Most kids I had was on RCCL in July (these were annoying kids).

As a Grandma, I like children. They liven things up. We are cruising in a July because two people in our group are teachers.

 

 

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Great answer.

I came to the board looking for the best Alaskan cruise for kids...