Alaska cruise in May? Any good?

[Fourseventeen]

Looking to book Alaska as my Platinum cruise. Debating to do May 24th 2011 or save 100.00 and do May 10th 2011? Anyone does a cruise in May. I am looking to book on Carnival Spirit. June cruise prices jump like crazy so I am really wanting to do May if the time of year is good. Anyone able to offer any input to help me decide?

 

Also...doing the 7 day from Seattle round trip...what side of the ship would be best to book my balcony on, port or starboard? I usually book on port but of coarse want the best side to view the glaciers and wildlife

[tee_harbor]

Looking to book Alaska as my Platinum cruise. Debating to do May 24th 2011 or save 100.00 and do May 10th 2011? Anyone does a cruise in May. I am looking to book on Carnival Spirit. June cruise prices jump like crazy so I am really wanting to do May if the time of year is good. Anyone able to offer any input to help me decide?

 

Considering all the money spent on a cruise, I can't see a $100 is going to make that much difference when you're under a pile of bills. Go later. May is actually great, if cooler. It's generally dry weather (disclaimer, weather never assured in Alaska) That early in May, you might still get snow. If you'd like that though...

 

Also...doing the 7 day from Seattle round trip...what side of the ship would be best to book my balcony on, port or starboard? I usually book on port but of coarse want the best side to view the glaciers and wildlife

 

Starboard. We keep all the animals and glaciers on that side. :D

[Fourseventeen]

100.00 def wont change my mind as to when to take the cruise. June on the other hand would cost me 400.00+ more to go instead of May so that would be a big factor considering thats 400.00 towards the plane tickets we need to get to Seattle.

[Putterdude]

Earlier in May is likely going to be wetter and cooler than later on in the month. As you will be embarking in Seattle it really won't matter much which side you are on.

[Fourseventeen]

thanks for the info putter

[LEtue]

100.00 def wont change my mind as to when to take the cruise. June on the other hand would cost me 400.00+ more to go instead of May so that would be a big factor considering thats 400.00 towards the plane tickets we need to get to Seattle.

 

Have done 3 cruises in late May and loved them all. However, the R/T Seattle trip was the least enjoyable. If possible try to do a R/T from Vancouver to experience the continuous scenery of the inside passage. We still fly to Seattle and travel by Amtrak to Vancouver or you can opt for bus transfers.....

 

Enjoy your trip!

[NancyIL]

Frankly - Carnival Spirit's itinerary is pretty mediocre. It goes to Tracy Arm, is in Juneau from 7-3, and doesn't get to Victoria until 7:30 p.m. Choose another ship if this is your first trip to Alaska!

[Coral]

Frankly - Carnival Spirit's itinerary is pretty mediocre. It goes to Tracy Arm, is in Juneau from 7-3, and doesn't get to Victoria until 7:30 p.m. Choose another ship if this is your first trip to Alaska!

 

I agree. It may be time to try a different line to see if you like other lines or if in fact, Carnival is your favorite. Either way, you will get a better itinerary.

 

On a side note, May 24th is usually a good date. I wouldn't go with the earlier date. Prices may still fluxuate in the next several months.

[misterchatter]

Our first cruise was to Alaska, almost 7 years to the day. Our was a 14 day Pacific Coastal Alaska cruise. This covered from San Diego up to Hubbard Glacier. We encountered rain in Seattle and Victoria. Other than that, the temps were in the 60's as we headed north to Alaska. This time in May, we will be doing a land tour as well as the cruise. We just wanted to go farther north.

[mr green]

Lets put it this way. I have put in some 45 days on an Alaskan cruise in May, and have had two days of rain. Two weeks in Sept. I had twelve. May while being a tad cooler is the dry month!

 

john

[tetleytea]

The biggest drawback of May 10th over May 24th, IMO, are the excursions and merchants. There is a statistical bell curve of when everybody opens shop, and May 10th is towards the bottom of it, whereas May 24th is towards the top.

[cruzn single]

We have been to Alaska on Inside Passage cruises twice in early May (both times were on ship on Mother's Day). This past summer one day was extremely rainy (Juneau), but that still didn't keep us from doing what we wanted. I enjoy wearing my warmer clothes, because we live in desert Southwest, so don't get to wear winter clothes too much. We have not had a problem with sailing in May, and as a matter of fact, we will be in Alaska cruising again in 2011 in about the same time frame.

 

Whatever you decide, ENJOY!

[LindaKE]

Our first Alaskan cruise was the 2nd week of May (2003). We had beautiful, sunny weather, but it never got above the mid 40s with a constant stiff wind. However, we rank it as our favorite cruise. The cold went with the scenery we were seeing. Since we were doing cruise ony, we didn't find much that was not open, but inland things may open later (like Denali). We decided that it might be worth a little higher fare this time going in early June hoping for some warmer weather. Supposedly, after the 3rd week of May it generally warms up.

 

If you are flexible about cruise lines, you should consider a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. The glaciers are the height of an Alaskan cruise. Tracy Arm is often iced over, so you may not get in far enough to see a glacier on the Spirit's itinerary.

[Ashland]

The end of May on the northbound RCI Radiance out of Vancouver (the sailout under Lions Gate bridge and past Stanley park is not to be missed) to Seward was one of the best...And one of the highlights was the RCI Train Transfers (GrandView Train) the train was right next to our ship and in a little less than three hours we were pulling into the Anchorage Airport (just make sure your return flight is no earlier than 1:30pm)...You won't be sorry you opted for this amazing itinerary !!!! Enjoy !!! :)

[Fourseventeen]

Thanks for all that info guys and gals. Ideally wanting to stick with CCL on this trip as this would be my platinum cruise with CCL and that would put my wife in line for Platinum for our Panama transit cruise Dec 2011. Ill look into the R/T from Vancouver though that trip discouraged me a bit because of the airline pricing. Whats this train all about?

 

Just looked up the Vancouver R/T cruise...its only 6 days but it does the inside passage as opposed to tracy arm fjord on the 7 day.

[Ashland]

Thanks for all that info guys and gals. Ideally wanting to stick with CCL on this trip as this would be my platinum cruise with CCL and that would put my wife in line for Platinum for our Panama transit cruise Dec 2011. Ill look into the R/T from Vancouver though that trip discouraged me a bit because of the airline pricing. Whats this train all about?

 

Just looked up the Vancouver R/T cruise...its only 6 days but it does the inside passage as opposed to tracy arm fjord on the 7 day.

Sorry for any misunderstanding, I was speaking about the oneway 7 night Northbound cruise out of Vancouver BC that ends in Seward but you then take the cruiseline train transfers to get to the Anchorage airport using the Grandview Train, you can google it for pictures and info...We used Alaska airlines outbound to Vancouver connecting through Portland and a nonstop from Anchorage on the return and actually got a great rate and even upgraded for $100pp to first class on the return flight day of travel at the Anchorage airport as Alaska is one of the few carriers that offer this day of travel upgrade..Good luck with whatever works out best for you !!!

[Putterdude]

Thanks for all that info guys and gals. Ideally wanting to stick with CCL on this trip as this would be my platinum cruise with CCL and that would put my wife in line for Platinum for our Panama transit cruise Dec 2011. Ill look into the R/T from Vancouver though that trip discouraged me a bit because of the airline pricing. Whats this train all about?

 

Just looked up the Vancouver R/T cruise...its only 6 days but it does the inside passage as opposed to tracy arm fjord on the 7 day.

 

You will see a lot more scenery on a 6 day rtn out of Vancouver than a 7 day rtn return out of Seattle. Here is a link to the Amtrak sked. http://www.amtrakcascades.com/

[Fourseventeen]

K only thing im seeing with CCL that does the inside passage is a 6 day out of Vancouver and ending in Seattle, WA. May 4th 2011. Link below. Plane flights for that time going from PHX to Vancouver BC pre cruise and from Seattle WA to Phoenix AZ post cruise are actually cheap....375.00 per person for both flights.

 

http://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/ProductView?embkCode=YVR&durDays=6&sailingID=56354&itinCode=GLA&sailDate=5/4/2011&shipCode=SP&subRegionCode=A

[Texas Tillie]

K only thing im seeing with CCL that does the inside passage is a 6 day out of Vancouver and ending in Seattle, WA. May 4th 2011. Link below. Plane flights for that time going from PHX to Vancouver BC pre cruise and from Seattle WA to Phoenix AZ post cruise are actually cheap....375.00 per person for both flights.

 

http://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/ProductView?embkCode=YVR&durDays=6&sailingID=56354&itinCode=GLA&sailDate=5/4/2011&shipCode=SP&subRegionCode=A

 

I think what people are trying to say is that the Seattle round trips are no where nearly as desireable as the Vancouver round trips because the first and last days are in the open ocean - thus giving you 5 days with "scenery". And, of the Seattle round trips, the Carnival is one of the least desireable because it just does Tracy Arm (that's a crap shoot on whether or not you'll actually see a glacier at all) and the times in ports aren't as good. Bottom line - you'll probably have a "better" cruise if you are willing to look at other cruiselines.

[Coral]

K only thing im seeing with CCL that does the inside passage is a 6 day out of Vancouver and ending in Seattle, WA. May 4th 2011. Link below. Plane flights for that time going from PHX to Vancouver BC pre cruise and from Seattle WA to Phoenix AZ post cruise are actually cheap....375.00 per person for both flights.

 

http://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/ProductView?embkCode=YVR&durDays=6&sailingID=56354&itinCode=GLA&sailDate=5/4/2011&shipCode=SP&subRegionCode=A

 

I wouldn't do that itinerary or that date. Can you pick up a different, cheap Carnival cruise at some other time and do Alaska differently.

 

May 4th is way too early to do Alaska. Plus, your itinerary doesn't have any glaciers on it. IMO, it is not worth doing Alaska on this itinerary.

[NancyIL]

While a Vancouver departure is more scenic, just changing the Seattle cruise to one that goes to Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier will be a great improvement. HAL still has a roundtrip from Vancouver that goes to Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm, but most cruises departing from Vancouver do one-way cruises.

[Fourseventeen]

I think I seen that Carnival has a Glacier Bay cruise in Sept...ill look into that option and post it up later.

[ridethebigboat]

Have done 3 cruises in late May and loved them all. However, the R/T Seattle trip was the least enjoyable. If possible try to do a R/T from Vancouver to experience the continuous scenery of the inside passage. We still fly to Seattle and travel by Amtrak to Vancouver or you can opt for bus transfers.....

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Linda,

 

I know it has been a while since you posted this reply but I wanted to ask you about the Vancouver - Seattle cruise. Do you have any insite for this, my first Alaskan cruise. Do's and don't? If I do this particular itenerary which is the plan, is one side of the boat better than the other? You seem to have experienced this itenerary before so I am hoping you are still around and have some advice.

 

Thanks!:)

[sandykay65]

we just got home from the May cruise to A;aska and was awesome. Was cold but still awesome. Was rainy in a couple of the ports but just take rain gear with ya and keep those cameras covered.

[bluejbird]

I took the Diamond Princess Alaskan cruise last May and had a fabulous time. I don't know if we lucked out but the weather was great and the scenery was beautiful. We cruised from Whittier to Vancouver. We experienced Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay.

I've posted a lot of beautiful pics and some video here

http://www.realliferealstories.com/TRAVEL-Topics-ESOs.html

if you want to take a look.