Number of Alaska cruises taken?

In addition to my 3 cruises and two booked, I've driven from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back once, visited Anchorage a couple more times, one included flying to Fairbanks for a couple of days.

I used to have a boyfriend there. When we did the Whittier to Vancouver cruise, they (he and his wife) picked us up at the hotel, took us to their house for breakfast and then drove us to Whittier, making the same stops the transfer tours do.

17 cruises to Alaska! Never get tired of it.... such beauty! I'm just a hop,skip, jump from Vancouver BC.

After doing only Alaska cruises - consider doing a one-way north cruise to disembark e.g. Whittier - #1 train through auto/train tunnel to Anchorage - get rental car - highly recommend getting a copy of Alaskan Milepost Guide - 2 overnights in Anchorage Hotel (#2 explore city & enjoy some great seafood - #3 drive south to Steward (so much to see and do along the way - good Steward restaurants) - #4 - drive north on US3 via Wasilla to Talkeetna (a step back to the 1930's) overnight at the Lodge - explore the town - take a glacier landing flight and/or fly around Mt McKinley summit absolutely wonderful - 2 nights here is way better - #5 drive north to Denali - 2 nights best - prefer Grande Denali Lodge over other properties - do full day Denali Wildlife Bus Tour - #6 - drive north to Fairbanks - stay depends on how much you plan to see & do for example highly recommend the Fly Up/Drive Down Fairbanks/Prudhoe Bay Arctic Circle Tour returning to Fairbanks via Rt11 (aka Haul Road) & Rt2 - very exciting drive. And do not miss a visit to the small town of North Pole just outside Fairbanks and the famous Santa Claus House - send a North Pole postmarked card right from the store - #7 Return flight out of Fairbanks International Airport. A great cruise + exciting drive trip for those that like to experience more for less on their own.

It's more than that, you fly over GBNP across the mountain range to the Pacific. Jaw dropping gorgeous scenery. For extra the pilot offered a beach landing or a glacier landing which we declined. You do get to see a ship if there is one by a glacier.

 

 

 

 

I researched on line to find who is doing flight-seeing out of Skagway. I did not book ahead of time but when I got to Skagway and the weather was perfect and I never use the word perfect. I call about 7:30AM and they picked up, they fly a 4 seater and it already had a couple so I filled up the last seat. I don't know if you should book a flight like this in advance. The weather can be iffy in the area. Having numbers to call last minute work that time and I got a thrill to remember the rest of my life.

 

framer

Awesome! Thanks for the recommendation and tips. I really think we're gonna do this.

We've done two (RCCL & X). Enjoyed both. Albeit a few years apart....:):):)

Bob

We've done two (RCCL & X). Enjoyed both. Albeit a few years apart....:):):)

 

Bob

So April will be your first Princess? Does that also mean your first visit to Glacier Bay?

Five so far, with the sixth coming up next May. I'd go there every year if DH was as much an Alaska lover as I am.

It was great but I only went once.:eek: It’s just to nice leaving Boston & New Hampshire in the summer.

Tony

We've done 4 Alaskan cruises, starting with the old Celebrity Horizon back in Jun 1996, then HAL Statendam in May 2004, HAL Volenam in Sep 2005, and Star Princess in May 2014. The latter was 12 days RT from San Fran, the others were 7 days RT from Vancouver. Might have done more if we didn't live so far from the departure ports. There is so much to do in each port, that it won't be like the "same old thing" on your second cruise. Each cruise was a little different. The Horizon cruise ended with a 3-4 night post cruise trip, which started with flying to Fairbanks from Anchorage (very scenic) and then working our way back south on a HAL train, visiting Denali along the way. So we really started off with a bang, so to speak. :D We didn't visit Glacier Bay on that one, however; Celebrity was going to Hubbard Glacier instead. We spent time in Anchorage pre-Statendam cruise and post-cruise time in Vancouver and in SF. The Statendam stopped in Sitka (don't think Princess ever does even though it's a tender port) and we visited College Fjord on both the Horizon and the Statendam. I would think a Princess ship would visit it if going to or coming from Whittier. Once the Star P got to Alaska, it was the typical 7-day itinerary, but we did stop in Victoria on the way south. So there are lots of ways to cruise Alaska. BTW the snow cover on the mountains is spectacular in May. Glacier Bay was dismal in Sept.--virtually no snow cover and it was a very gray, low-ceiling day.

I'm going on the Grand Princess next August - 10 days out of San Francisco. One of the ports will be Sitka. Looking forward to it as our last 2 Alaska cruises did not make a stop there. Will be fun to see a new port.

As to the OP question - we've done 2 cruises to Alaska - both on Princess. The first included a 6-day land tour starting in Fairbanks and the 2nd we just did the cruise. One of the reasons we love doing Princess is the Glacier Bay cruising. We were told that only 2 ships per day are allowed in the Bay (and Princess includes it on a lot of its sailings). This was such a scenic place to see!!

My husband and I went on two Alaska cruises, 2009 and 2011, both round trip out of Seattle.We loved both of them. He had a cousin in Olympia that we would visit before and after the cruise. We were planning a land/cruise trip for 2017, our twentieth anniversary year. He passed away in 2015, so it was not meant to be. I just booked an Alaska Cruise for June 2018 for me and my son. We will be sailing in and out of Seattle. We will spend two days sightseeing in Seattle before the cruise. We are both very excited about the trip. I am really looking forward to showing him Seattle.

We will not go to Alaska, too cold and lousy weather.

We will not go to Alaska, too cold and lousy weather.

Been nice weather both times we were there. But okay, whatever turns you on, that'll leave a stateroom for someone else!

Tom

15 Alaska cruises. Now that we live in Arizona, try to go at least once a summer to get away from the heat. We never get tired of the scenery and always find something new or old to do.

Weather is different ever time we go with the past summer being the best in a long time with no rain and mostly sun the entire week on a Seward to Vancouver itinerary in early August.

For what it's worth, if anyone's a little more adventurous, you can take the Alaskan ferry system up north from Washington state to multiple places in Alaska. For some sailings, it goes as far north as Haines. Others, it goes to Seward, just south of Anchorage. You can drive a car on to the ferry as well. Many of us Alaskans do this when moving up from the lower 48. The ferry goes to the same places, and is fantastic. It's like doing a cheap cruise that's somewhat more spartan. Certainly no crystal stemware and room service.

If you drive your car on, once you get off you can venture out and explore Alaska and Canada. Highly recommended.

We will not go to Alaska, too cold and lousy weather.

Yes... except when it's warm and sunny.

We will not go to Alaska, too cold and lousy weather.

I’ve done two and just booked a third for next year. Can’t wait!

Only done one, on the Island Princess. It was great and we’d love to do another. Every port was a lot of fun and I’d like to revisit them. We did a few excursions so would pick some different ones next time.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

One cruise to Alaska with Princess and it was a wonderfull cruise but we prefer the Caribbean.

Looking forward to our first in 2018!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

10 so far ... all on either Celebrity or Princess. Looking to book our 11th one for Sept 2019 as soon as the itineraries are released. I plan a trip up to Alaska at least every other year ... it is our absolute favorite itinerary of all the cruises on which we've sailed.