Alaska Cruises

[sscruising]

Hi:

We are thinking of taking a cruise to Alaska in 2005 and would like imput from experienced Alaska cruisers about which route, type of cabin, what to see, best yet cheapest week to go, etc.
Thanks for your help!

Sandi

[nyrfan]

While you might get some good info here, I'd suggest posting this post on the Alaska boards. You’re bound to get better replies there.

We did Alaska June'02 and loved it by far our favorite cruise. Whatever you do make sure you get a balcony!!

[I]<p style="font-family:lucida calligraphy;font-size:110%;color:black">Felix K. ~~ [email="fk89@yahoo.com"]fk89@yahoo.com[/email]</p>[/I][I]<p style="font-family: palatino linotype;font-size:120%;color:black">[B]Carnival[/B]: Inspiration, Aug’97 - Fascination, Nov‘98
[B]Princess[/B]: Sea, Nov‘99 - Dawn, Nov‘00 - Grand, Nov‘03
[B]RCCL[/B]: Adventure, Nov‘01 - Radiance, June & Nov’02 - Monarch, May’03
[B]Next Up[/B]: Star Princess, Nov’04 [/I]

[caviargal]

I am leaving for my 4th Alaska cruise in 3 weeks. I have sailed in June, September and August.

June and August were very nice and September it rained all 7 days. Alaska is unpredictable, but I would advise you to avoid May and September.

Early June has some very good prices. We did a Cat Z GTY on Vision for 624pp and got an upgrade to Cat. L, a large inside. The cheapest balcony on this sailing was 1739pp and it was just way beyond our budget but I do believe a balcony is a particular treat in Alaska. I did have one on my first Alaska cruise and we used it very often.

I have taken the R/T Seattle route, R/T Vancouver and this time am doing a southbound from Seward to Vancouver. I am not sure how different it will be as the ports are the same, just the cruising areas are different. I have heard this is a better way to see Alaska but cannot tell you for sure.

I like to visit Vancouver and for me it is a high point of my trips in this area so if you do chose an itinerary that gives you a chance to spend a couple of days there, don't miss out.

CG

RCI(37),NCL(12),Princess(1),HAL(2),Celebrity(3), Carnival(2), Eastern (13),Radisson(2), Star Clippers(1),Home Lines(2), Costa(5),Big Red Boat (6), Dolphin (1), Commodore (2), Others (11)

[kbt2]

We did the Northbound route, from Vancouver to Anchorage. We went late May into the first week of June. And we only had one misty day out of the entire cruise. Make sure if you do north or south bound trips that you get a balcony on the appropriate side of the ship, so as to enjoy the land more.
I can't tell you the least expensive time, as I do not know.
But, will say...it is an incredible cruise!! My fav so far!

Kim
Dawn Princess
Regal Princess
Grand Princess
Mercury - Celebrity
Windward - NCL
Monarch of the Seas
Voyager of the Seas
Sovereign of the Seas

[jstducky]

sscruising:

ALASKA! i love it! its by far and away my favorite cruise destination of all time. i've been twice and am looking at going a third time in 2005 as well!

just a warning, once you start with Alaska, you'll be hooked and you'll want to go back again! there is just no way to see everything you want to see and do everything you want to do in just one trip to Alaska. even 20 trips wouldn't be enough for me!

anyhow, what route to take depends on 1) how much time you have, 2) how much money you have, and 3) how much you want to see.

i've done both the northbound and the round trip 7 days.

most people tend to take the roundtrip tours for their first alaska cruises. with a roundtrip tour, the best place to start off at is Vancouver. I there are some that begin in Seattle, but then you have to take a day to stop off in Victoria, so choosing a trip that starts in Vancouver is a better choice. Victoria you can do on your own during a pre- or post cruise stay. Anyhow, if you start at Vancouver, you'll stop at Juneau, Skagway/Haines, and Ketchikan along the way. Also depending on the cruise line, you'll sail through Glacier Bay National Park, go to Hubbard Glacier or go to Sawyer Glacier. IMO Glacier Bay National Park is the way to go, but only a limited number of cruise ships is allowed passage through Glacier Bay each day (it is 1, i beleive). Anyhow, the roundtrip route is a great way to get a glimpse at what Alaska has to offer. Also it usually ends up being cheaper because you embark and disembark in Vancouver so that means you can buy rountrip fare out of Vancouver.

for the one way trips (northbound and southbound), this trip is really best for those who have more time to really explore parts of alaska's interior. if you're gonna do a one way trip, it is highly recommended that you add a land excursion (which can be purchased through any cruise line) into the interior of Alaska, specifically Denali national park. if you do a southbound trip, do the land tour before you get on the boat, and vice versa if you do the northbound trip. this way you'll really get a feel for Southeast Alaska and see a lot more of the awesome beauty of the land outside of what you see from the ship. of course, the one way trips are more expensive. they usually call at Sitka (a russian fishing village) rather than Skagway/Haines and conclude at Seward/Anchorage. Because they will start/end in Vancouver and start/end in Anchorage, air fare will be more expensive. Also if you add the land tour, that adds costs as well. So it really depends on what you want to do and how much time and money you have.

As for time of year to go? I think that it tends to be cheapest at the beginning (May) and end of the season (late August/beg September). However, if you are a nature person those times of the year are not the best times to choose. Often times in May, the weather will be colder and the wildlife will not be as abundant as some of the whales are still migrating. Towards the end of the year, weather may also be a problem as well, also there is less daylight hours towards the end of the season. Both times I have gone it has been in July. The weather has been great (not that it can't rain in July, but it tends to be less). The temps are actually pretty warm (in Ketchikan last time I went it was hot!). And for me, most importantly, the wildlife is abundant!

As for things to do. If you are a nature person, definitely go whale watching. The best place would probably be Juneau. Also if you end up in Skagway/Haines, take the White Pass railroad excursion. And if you can afford it, definitely look into helicopter excursions that fly you over the glaciers and land you on top of the glaciers! its a once in a life time experience!

i hope that some of this info was helpful! whatever itinerary or time of year you choose to go to Alaska, you will not be disappointed!

jstducky!
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[dougp26364]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sscruising:
Hi:

We are thinking of taking a cruise to Alaska in 2005 and would like imput from experienced Alaska cruisers about which route, type of cabin, what to see, best yet cheapest week to go, etc.
Thanks for your help!

Sandi<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

We've done both the northbound and the roundtrip cruises. Both were wonderful. Both were similar but different.

If I were take a one way trip again, I think I would take the southbound cruise rather than the northbound cruise. On the southbound, they sail through Misty Fjords which we thought was stunning. The northbound cruise does not do this.

The one way cruises also have a stop at Sitka. If you go northbound, you'll also have the option of doing the Portage Glacier tour which we thought was nice. Not something I'd do a second time but it's worth doing at least once.

If you go northbound, we found the selection of flights home limited to flights later at night. Thus we ended up spending some time walking around Anchorage which was nice. Unfortunately, we also spent a lot of time sitting around at the airport waiting for our flight. Next time I'd get a hotel in Anchorage and just spend the night there if I could find an early morning flight out.

The RT from Vancouver was less expensive on the flight and not stopping in Sitka wasn't missed by us. Plus, I believe the RT cruises are on Radiance class ships. A class we have yet to sail on but look forward to sometime in the future. I really enjoyed sailing on Vission but would love to do Alaska on a Radiance class ship with all that glass.

One must for Alaska is a good set of binoculars. There's so much to see but a lot of it will be at a distance.

As for rooms, we've had both an outside cabin and a balcony. From the balcony we had unobstructed views of Hubbard Glacier, which was great for my wife as people tend to get in her way. We could also stand on the balcony and watch the black and white dolphins playing in the ships wake one night as we cruised the inside passage. The first night out I was able to watch a humback whale breach repeatedly behind the ship while waiting for my wife to dress for dinner. Something I'd have never seen from the outside or inside cabin. We were able to have morning coffee watching the landscape of Alask slide by without competing for a table with a view. In short, I will never do Alaska again without a balcony cabin. We were able to see so much more than on our first trip.

If you're taking one of the cruise the sails Misty Fjords, I recommend either late seating or skipping dinner in the dining room that night. Early seating is during the time the ship sails through Misty Fjords and you'll miss a lot. Another reason for sailing a Radiance Class ship IMO. You can make reservations at one of the specialty restaurants that night that allows you time to view the fjords and still have a great meal. Of course, you could always eat at your leasure in the Windjammer. You could possibly even get a good window seat in the Windjammer and enjoy seeing the fjords while eating.

Future cruises
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Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05
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Explorer OTS - Eastern Caribbean 11/04

Past cruises
Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03
Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02