Which cruiseline is right for us for Alaska?

[marym933]

I am considering an Alaskan 7-day cruise in 2011. I'm not sure which cruiseline we should price. I am 58 my DH is 61. We love Carnival, hated Princess, liked NCL's POA. What have you younger retiree's thought of HAL? I would really like to go out of, and return to, Seattle since the airfare there is cheaper. Please give me your thougts on cruiseline and itinerary. Thanks to all my CC friends!!

[Texas Tillie]

If you "love" Carnival and "hate" Princess, I don't think you'll like Holland America very much as it is much more like Princess than Carnival. One thing you need to know - Alaska cruises are much different than Caribbean cruises and Carnival will be more subdued and more like Princess in Alaska than you might have experienced in the past.

[cb at sea]

When you cruise to Alaska, you're cruising for the destination, not the ship! Unlike the Caribbean, where every island is pretty much the same, in Alaska, most of your time will be spent ashore (or should be...it costs too much to sit on the ship!).

[not2old]

We went to Alaska last September on Royal Caribean's Rhapsody of the Seas r/t Seattle. It was a beautiful ship, not too big and easy to navigate. There was a nice mix of ages, very few children. The only part of the entire time was the ultra long cross country flights, wish I could just wiggle my nose and get us there without the flights-LOL!

[Sammy Sails]

CELEBRITY!!!!!!!!! TOP CHOICE The passengers tended to be our age or even older, but there were kids onboard,too.

We did an 18 day cruise /tour last year and it was great. They had a Naturalist on board who spoke, gave slide shows, and the was with us up in the Navigator Bar during the sail and pointed out Eagles, wahles, seals . The ship even lowered a life boat and brought an "iceberg" aboard. It was out by the pool and everyone took a picture.

One suggestion. If it's in your budget get a balcony. It was 32 degrees when we did the crusing thru the glaciers bay . We got so close that we were sprayed by the ice berg calfing! While the other 9 in my party froze up stairs, I called room service got a nice pot of coffee and watched thru the doors. About 15 min later the girls came down and took photos off my balcony. The boys eventually wandered down and were happy about the shelter the balcony offered as well as the hot coffee.

I" in a motorized scooter and they made it so easy for me to travel both on the ship and the bus and train. Everything was available to me and the able bodied did not mind the extra care and attention , because it put them closer to the action, too.

Happy trails to you.

[Roz]

It would help me to answer your question if you provided more information on what you like about Carnival but didn't like about Princess.

 

Roz

[marym933]

It would help me to answer your question if you provided more information on what you like about Carnival but didn't like about Princess.

 

Roz

 

Hi Roz! Sorry I haven't been back to the thread. We really enjoy the food in the MDR on Carnival. We did the any time dining on Princess. The food that was supposed to be hot was always cold and the cold food was hot. The buffet had some very strange items like tongue with verde sauce. There was a large group of over 300 that pretty much took over the ship. I know that can happen on any cruise and I'm sure it didn't help our experience.

 

We like the shows, comedians, and I like the casino (DH doesn't gamble).

 

I know any line we book will have a different atmosphere in Alaska.

 

I've been looking at the Carnival Spirit. She sails Tracey Arm. I've been reading that first time Alaska cruisers should see Glacier Bay. What do you think? Is August too late to see bears?

[dileep]

Agree with Sammy Sails that Celebrity would be a good choice. We had only a handful of kids on our cruise because they did not offer any special programs for Children.

 

The Infinity leaves from Seattle on Fridays. It is a great ship. The specialty restaurant is very good. We loved our balcony on Deck 6.

[Glaciers]

CB at Sea hit it on the head. Alaska cruises are much more about the itinerary and ports. You may want to look at the ports, excursions and your activity level and then decide what ships can accommodate that. The roundtrips are nice as they fit well with airfare although you’ll miss a good chunk of what Alaska is all about. Spending time in Seward and Denali are highlights that you will miss if doing a roundtrip.

[Okie1946]

Hi - My husband and I took the Alaska Cruise on HAL's Westerdam last year. We chose that cruise because of the destinations listed on the cruise. We went to Juneau - Glacier Bay - Sitka - Ketchican and Victoria, Canada. Wanted to go to Sitka most of all and that is why we took that cruise. We really enjoyed it - the ship did have a large population of older cruisers BUT there was a good mix of younger ones also. We enjoyed it so much we booked another one with HAL - this time on the Rotterdam. The only difference between this year and last year is the glacier - the one this year is going to Hubbard Glacier. We really enjoyed the one last year. There were a large number of activities on board ship (wine tasting, a pub crawl, daily team trival pursuit contests, daily bingo as well as seminars on animal towel folding and cooking seminars). The spa was amazing and if you just want to relax - there were plenty of places to just sit and watch the world go by. BY THE WAY - HAL has AMAZING BEDS!!!!

 

Which ever way you go, just be sure to go ashore and explore - it was a wonderful experience. We are going back again to see what we couldn't and didn't get to see the last time.

 

ENJOY!!!!!

[lakemurraykid]

I am considering an Alaskan 7-day cruise in 2011. I'm not sure which cruiseline we should price. I am 58 my DH is 61. We love Carnival, hated Princess, liked NCL's POA. What have you younger retiree's thought of HAL? I would really like to go out of, and return to, Seattle since the airfare there is cheaper. Please give me your thougts on cruiseline and itinerary. Thanks to all my CC friends!!

My DH and I have been to Alaska twice and both times on HAL. We were on the Noordam and Oosterdam and loved every minute of it. We are 65 and 62 years young. I will say that there were many retirees on both cruises and many with walkers and electric wheelchairs. But we decided we wouldn't let that deter our fun. Both cruises were definitely more sedate than what we've been accustomed to in the past, so we made our own fun. We recently were on the Eurodam to the Caribbean and had a blast. The ages were much younger than when we went to Alaska. I can't help but think that you will have a great time if you choose HAL. Both Alaska trips we did were out of Seattle as well. We live on the East Coast, so opted for Seattle as opposed to Vancouver because of the airfare. I hope you are able to go and have a great time. You will never forget the scenery in Alaska -- it's magnificent.:)

[marym933]

Hi everyone!! Thank you for all your suggestions! It can be mind-boggling with all the choices of ships and itineraries. Now for my next question. We are thinking of late August or September. Have you cruised during those months?? Tell me what you liked and didn't like about the month you choose.

 

not2old, I saw from your signature you did September. Can you help me??

[Glaciers]

The salmon are running in July & August which can mean more wildlife sightings. Glacier viewing can be better due to the ice being out from the glaciers allowing ships to get closer in late summer. The down side would be the weather that can be colder in September with rain.

 

The Alaska board has a lot on this topic.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Princess was great

[Pennyscandy]

We did a cruise tour on Princess. It was wonderful. The food was the best of any cruise food we've ever had. Everything was run perfectly. The train ride and lodges were great. Sorry you did not like Princess, but that's the one I recommend to my friends. Out of the 6 of us, we all said we would use Princess again if we went to Alaska again. We have been on Carnival and a cruise line called Commodore on the Caribe in 1978 so I can't recommend others. We all loved the elegance of Princess and 11 of us took it to the British Isles last summer.