Alaska Cruises - What is main draw?

[John73]

I'm just honestly curious here since I live in Seattle and a Vancouver or Seattle departure cruise could be easy to do. Even a Seward departure might be workable depending on Alaska Airline's fares.

 

What is the main draw for an Alaska cruise? Is it the shore excursions? or more just in the scenery of the cruising? If more in the scenery, is port or starboard the better option for a balcony cabin? If any Celebrity Tuesday specials come up in June/July/August my calendar is open enough to take advantage of them, just curious as to what to look forward to if they do come up (and curious if they even come up at all on Tues Specials).

[kitty9]

Scenery, wildlife and great excursions. Those things are what draws me to Alaska.

[smellywax]

Scenery and excursions but budget for a balcony, once in a life time excursions...like a misty fjords float plane in Ketchikan (we used island wings 3 x), Glacier landings etc. I enjoyed my cruise out of Seward more so than Seattle. Out of Seward we were able to do a precruise Kenai Fjords day cruise where we saw orcas, humpbacks, puffens, glaciers ...A LOT and it was amazing. We actually just want to go to Alaska next time instead of a cruise. As far as port side v starboard...it depends on the direction and even so, you will always have beautiful scenery whether it's looking for whales or eagles and bears on the shore.

[derf5585]

A chance to see Alaska before Global Warming melts the snow and ice and becomes the breadbasket to the world.:rolleyes:

[alcpa1]

You have some wonderful scenery in the Seattle area but there is something so spectacular about driving from Skagway to Emerald Lake in September as the "Black Snow" falls with the sun shining through the snow and onto the ponds reflecting the changing colors of the trees, or catching your breath as Hubbard Glacier calves. Alaska's not bad in June either as the days warm and you walk through the streets of Sitlka or whale watching in Juneau.

I'd definitely recommend you start in Seward. If you decide on expediency and cost and sail from Seattle you will spend more than a day at sea and not sail totally in the Inland Passage.

The best cabins for Alaska are the aft cabins but they are usually gone the day the schedules open. If you can't get an aft it really doesn't matter which side your cabin is on since you will probably want to be on one of the open decks when you sail through the glacial bays or if your itinerary calls for Icy Straits your best vantage point is aft on the Lido or higher.

I hope you do book soon as there are limited cabins as people are returning again and again to Alaska.

I hope this has helped.

[ILoveScotland]

I had never thought I'd want to cruise to Alaska, but DH did. So, we went. We chose Royal Caribbean's Radiance which does a 7 night north or south bound. We chose north and went from Vancouver to Seward.

 

My sister lives in Seattle, and DH's daughter lives south of Olympia, so we flew to Seattle for a family visit and took Amtrak up to Vancouver to start the cruise.

 

All I can say is that the scenery was spectacular, and I would do it again in a heart beat, because there were so many shore excursion options we couldn't choose them all.

 

My favorites: whale watching out of Juneau and the train to White Pass out of Skagway. DH was in a wheelchair, so that limited a lot of what we could do, but even so it was worth it all.

 

Were I ever to do it again, I would do a cruise tour so I could go north of Anchorage for a few nights. Since we were on our own, we stayed in Seward one night and Anchorage two and then flew home.

[Bridge Maven]

I had never thought I'd want to cruise to Alaska, but DH did. So, we went. We chose Royal Caribbean's Radiance which does a 7 night north or south bound. We chose north and went from Vancouver to Seward.

 

My sister lives in Seattle, and DH's daughter lives south of Olympia, so we flew to Seattle for a family visit and took Amtrak up to Vancouver to start the cruise.

 

All I can say is that the scenery was spectacular, and I would do it again in a heart beat, because there were so many shore excursion options we couldn't choose them all.

 

My favorites: whale watching out of Juneau and the train to White Pass out of Skagway. DH was in a wheelchair, so that limited a lot of what we could do, but even so it was worth it all.

 

Were I ever to do it again, I would do a cruise tour so I could go north of Anchorage for a few nights. Since we were on our own, we stayed in Seward one night and Anchorage two and then flew home.

 

I Love Scotland, my husband and I took an Alaskan Cruise on Celebrity Infinity in 2001 but did not do a land tour. So we are going to do an Alaskan Cruise tour this summer on Radiance of the Seas which will include Denali and a few other small towns in Alaska.

[ILoveScotland]

Bridge Maven, the Radiance class is my favorite of all the ships I've cruised on, and that's because of all the glass. That was especially true on the Alaska cruise, because everywhere you turned, there was a view which could be seen.

 

Enjoy Denali. I hope to get there one day. DH now lives in a nursing home, so I'm going solo these days, but I'm still traveling as much as I can.

[skandls]

We did a 7 day Vancouver to Vancouver. OK nice cruise. Then some friends wanted to go on an Alaska cruise. We did A Princess Vancouver to Anchorage with a land tour to Denali. It was fabulous. College Fjord was spectacular. And the land tour was something every US resident should see. Walk on a glacier, take a 'mining train' on the old gold miner trails. A part of the USA that you won't see unless you make an effort to cruise/tour Alaska.

[FlyingHonu]

I like it when the ship turn on its side next to the glacier.

[John73]

Sounds like its definitely something to keep an eye on. As for now, a Med cruise on Solstice in a Balcony stateroom seems more affordable (including airfare) on a Tuesday special so my Alaska interests may have to wait a bit. If only I could count on a Celebrity Alaska cruise to come up on a Tuesday special....

[Shooraq]

Definitely the scenic beauty. The landscapes, the wildlife, the simplicity of the earth. A photographic vacation indeed.

 

For instance, to see numerous bald eagles is a treat for me.

 

Sailing close to the glaciers is breathtaking.

 

This isn't a "hot weather, go the the beach" kind of trip - it's meant to inspire you and respect Mother Nature. :D

[Bridge Maven]

In addition to what has been previously mentioned, seeing the Hubbard Glacier calving, with all the accompanying sounds taking place, makes one appreciate the awesome power of nature.

[ILoveScotland]

In addition to what has been previously mentioned, seeing the Hubbard Glacier calving, with all the accompanying sounds taking place, makes one appreciate the awesome power of nature.

 

I couldn't agree more, nor could I believe how close our captain got the Radiance to the Hubbard. Who knew a big ship could get that close.

 

He turned the ship 360 degrees so everyone got a good view. He also blew the ship's horn several times and had the passengers on deck scream loudly to encourage the calving. It worked.

[ILoveScotland]

Definitely the scenic beauty. The landscapes, the wildlife, the simplicity of the earth. A photographic vacation indeed.

 

For instance, to see numerous bald eagles is a treat for me.

 

Sailing close to the glaciers is breathtaking.

 

This isn't a "hot weather, go the the beach" kind of trip - it's meant to inspire you and respect Mother Nature. :D

 

Your last statement is so true. This is not a cruise to a tropical isle. It's a trip that happens to be on a ship, and it allows you to see incredible sights. I'm so glad I went and hope to go again.

[miched]

A chance to see Alaska before Global Warming melts the snow and ice and becomes the breadbasket to the world.:rolleyes:

 

Yeah! Global warming sucks. Glaciers once covered Michigan and since they melted all we have left is the Great Lakes. :eek:

[phoenix_dream]

Scenery that can truly be called 'magestic', wildlife, vast untamed frontiers...once in a lifetime shore excursions. The list goes on. I also like that the towns you visit are clean and safe, which cannot always be said of some of the islands you visit in the Caribbean.

[Lois R]

Scenery that can truly be called 'magestic', wildlife, vast untamed frontiers...once in a lifetime shore excursions. The list goes on. I also like that the towns you visit are clean and safe, which cannot always be said of some of the islands you visit in the Caribbean.

 

That is always the word I use when describing Alaskan scenery

"Majestic":D:):D

[Infi]

Scenery and wildlife. The landscapes while cruising the Inside Passage especially are beautiful, and the glaciers are amazing. There's just nothing like it.

[shipshape sam]

For the Halibut. :)

[Shooraq]

Your last statement is so true. This is not a cruise to a tropical isle. It's a trip that happens to be on a ship, and it allows you to see incredible sights. I'm so glad I went and hope to go again.

 

My friends/family thought my DH and I were crazy to do an Alaskan cruise as a honeymoon trip. My thought is, everyone does the Caribbean or Hawaii for a honeymoon - why not be different and creative. No regrets- the cruise was wonderful, the photos amazing, our honeymoon memorable.

 

A cruise to Alaska honestly made me proud to be American and enjoy this frontier. I'm definitely going back down the road and doing one of thosees cruisetours where you take the train thru the mainland.

[SixOneTwo]

The lumberjacks.