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Need advice - Alaska ex-Vancouver / Hubbard / Sitka on Infinity or Niew Amsterdam


Nstansall
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Hello fellow-cruisers, i am considering our family's first cruise to Alaska in July 2018. Currently stuck on choosing between:

Celebrity Infinity - ex Vancouver (i hear Inside Passage is stunning), with Sitka and Hubbard (hopefully in July we will get close to it)

or

Niew Amsterdam - ex Vancouver with Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay.

I read up a lot of the past posts, and can see the pros and cons, and so trying to weigh in the absolute pros and cons of itinerary and ship combination.

We have not cruised on HAL, but cruised on Princess (Diamond, Sapphire, Regal) and Celebrity (Solstice and Equinox). Generally preferred Celebrity to Princess (more elegant and food is better (IMHO)).

I see that Celebrity Infinity is older, so perhaps is not going to impress us like Solstice / Equinox did. NA has decent reviews, though i see comments that the food is not quite as good as Celebrity.

Looking forward to your comments to help me make up my mind :-)

Thank you!!

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Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Here is a link to my photo review of the Nieuw Amsterdam (2016) with staterooms, on board images, restaurants, etc.:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-nieuw-amsterdam-on-board-images/

 

Here is a link to the daily activities from Alaska 2016 on the Nieuw Amsterdam to give you an idea of what to expect:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/on-locations-specific-cruises/nieuw-amsterdam-alaska-2016-on-locations/

 

Hope this helps in your planning.

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Tracy Arm on Niew Amsterdam is a service call to drop off passengers that are going on the fjord excursion.
And relatively few ships have this small boat glacier excursion available. It's one of the factors that drove our decision to go with NA.

 

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

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As you compare itineraries, pay close attention to port times; are you in port long enough and at the right time of day for planned activities. ie ketchikan from 7am to 1pm is very limiting, esp if you planned on a bear viewing excursion while in port.

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Infinity:

Vancover - Inside Passage - Sitka - Hubbard - Juneau - Ketchikan - Inside Passage - Vancouver

NA:

Vancouver - Tracy Arm - Juneau - Skagway - Glacier Bay - Ketchikan - Vancouver

(presumably it does Inside Passage also, but the itinerary does not specifically say that)

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Infinity:

Vancover - Inside Passage - Sitka - Hubbard - Juneau - Ketchikan - Inside Passage - Vancouver

NA:

Vancouver - Tracy Arm - Juneau - Skagway - Glacier Bay - Ketchikan - Vancouver

(presumably it does Inside Passage also, but the itinerary does not specifically say that)

 

I know this isn't helpful at all... If HAL would drop Skagway and insert Sitka they'd have a pretty nice itinerary.

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I know this isn't helpful at all... If HAL would drop Skagway and insert Sitka they'd have a pretty nice itinerary.
Is there anyplace where anyone has seen port fees detailed? It would be interesting to compare how much it costs to dock at Skagway versus Sitka. It would still be only part of the story (the rest of the story being the profit gleaned from making port at Skagway versus Sitka.
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Tracy Arm on Niew Amsterdam is a service call to drop off passengers that are going on the fjord excursion. The ship does not sail up there like some ships. Ice can be a problem, so they never see Sawyer glacier, but Dawson instead. (think that is the name)

 

For Clarification, with the above. With HAL, Tracy Arm is a service stop as noted on some itineraries. In order to go in Tracy arm, the ship shore excursion must be purchased. There are 2 arms, Tracy and Endicott. a service stop itinerary does not sail either one. The Dawes Glacier is at the end of Endiicott Glacier and NO guarantee you will get there either.

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Hello fellow-cruisers, i am considering our family's first cruise to Alaska in July 2018. Currently stuck on choosing between:

Celebrity Infinity - ex Vancouver (i hear Inside Passage is stunning), with Sitka and Hubbard (hopefully in July we will get close to it)

or

Niew Amsterdam - ex Vancouver with Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay.

I read up a lot of the past posts, and can see the pros and cons, and so trying to weigh in the absolute pros and cons of itinerary and ship combination.

We have not cruised on HAL, but cruised on Princess (Diamond, Sapphire, Regal) and Celebrity (Solstice and Equinox). Generally preferred Celebrity to Princess (more elegant and food is better (IMHO)).

I see that Celebrity Infinity is older, so perhaps is not going to impress us like Solstice / Equinox did. NA has decent reviews, though i see comments that the food is not quite as good as Celebrity.

Looking forward to your comments to help me make up my mind :-)

Thank you!!

 

Both of these are great choices. I suggest YOU find out about the ports and determine WHAT you would do in each one- select activities, then rank those based on what YOU want out of your trip. I think it simplistic to simply make a selection based on a single day of glacier sailing. Consider EVERY day. Port time, tours, dates, price. I would think they all should be considered.

 

There is no bad choice. Alaska crusies are consistantly raved about.

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