Alaska Cruise

[Harbie]

Never been to Alaska and have always cruised on Carnival..any suggestions Carnival vs Norweigan

[gerryl12]

If you like Carnival you will like NCL. They are similar in a lot of ways.

Personally my choice would be Princess but I don't know your situation, likes, dislikes, children, etc.

[my_crib_too]

I've never been to Alaska but I like the Princess cruise and tour options. Seems like you get to see a lot more of Alaska that way. If I ever go to Alaska, I'd like to see Denali, Mt. McKinley, Fairbanks, Prince William Sound.

[Jldevlin]

Never been to Alaska and have always cruised on Carnival..any suggestions Carnival vs Norweigan

 

You need to decide which port you want to be in and out of ...you can do Vancouver and back or Seattle and back or a combination of the two. Then your ports ... although I think you cannot go wrong with any of them .We did alaska last year and even though we live in vancouver and see mountains and water all the time it was an amazing cruise and we would do it again in a heartbeat !!!!!

[mickeysgal]

I've spent a lot of time researching our cruise. You may want to hop over to the Ports of Call board...Alaska.

 

From what I gathered there, I wanted to make sure that the cruise we picked visited either Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay. Itineraries that include these seem to be the most preferable. NCL goes to Glacier Bay. Carnival doesn't go to either of these two. That doesn't mean you wouldn't have an amazing time on Carnival's itinerary.

 

Again, searches on the Alaska board may help you decide.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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[omc329]

I've done both Carnival and Norwegian. I would sail either again, but have a slight preference to Norwegian.

 

Norwegian has a great new Alaskan itinerary for 2013 that we have already booked ourselves on. It will be a one way from Vancouver to Whittier with stops at both Glacier Bay AND Hubbard Glacier. They are going to have cruisetours for those who wish to book them as well. We'll be going it on our own when we reach Whittier.

 

The new itinerary is on an older ship, the Sun. I've never been on it, but the biggest plus I see is that it still has a good observation lounge for the colder weather days. It also still has a real promenade.

 

I just thought I would throw the idea out there. Recently NCL was having issues with their site and our cruise disappeared briefly. It set me to thinking what I would do for an alternative, and I couldn't find a single alternative in our price range that I really liked even half so well.

 

At any rate, if all that is holding you back is trying a new line, go for it. You never know if you don't try it once. That was my feeling when I took our first NCL, and low and behold, we just kept using them!

 

Besides, from what I read on the Alaskan board, itinerary first and foremost, cruise line second.

[palmyrafan]

I've spent a lot of time researching our cruise. You may want to hop over to the Ports of Call board...Alaska.

 

From what I gathered there, I wanted to make sure that the cruise we picked visited either Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay. Itineraries that include these seem to be the most preferable. NCL goes to Glacier Bay. Carnival doesn't go to either of these two. That doesn't mean you wouldn't have an amazing time on Carnival's itinerary.

 

Again, searches on the Alaska board may help you decide.

 

Good luck!

 

 

We have been to Alaska twice on NCL Pearl. We saw Glacier Bay on 1st trip and Sawyer Glacier the 2nd trip. Our favorite by far was Glacier Bay.

 

On our 1st trip to Alaska in 2009, the Park Ranger/Conservationist that was on the ship said that they were considering closing Glacier Bay to cruising or to limit it to only 2-3 cruise ships per year due to the glacial melt and how fast they were receding.

 

Regardless of which cruise line you choose, if given the option of going to Glacier Bay, I would certainly take it before they decide to close it for good.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[bonvoyagie]

First - how much time and money do you have? If you have around 2wks and a good budget you can do a cruise tour that includes a land tour of the Anchorage - Fairbanks area - or a one way cruise and tour the interior on your own (my preference).

 

With less time and $$ you can do a 7 day RT from either Seattle or Vancouver BC. Pick a trip that includes Glacier Bay - see it before it is gone. There are only three lines allowed in this year - Princess, NCL and HAL so that limits your selection. We are on the Pearl in June - hoping for nice weather - this is our third trip to AK with NCL and the first time seeing Glacier Bay.

 

Someday we will do the interior - either in our own RV or fly and rent one or use the AK RR for transportation with maybe a SB cruise to relax afterwards.

[dinoman]

My Alaska cruise was on HAL. I didn't choose NCL because HAL offered a better itinerary and a cruise date that fitted me at that time. Having been on Celebrity, NCL and HAL I prefer NCL to the other two therefore I will cruise with them again in Nov this year.

 

I think Alaska cruise is all about routes and ports. If NCL and Carnival both offering the same itinerary, go for NCL.

[4774Papa]

I have noticed that it costs about $200 more pp to fly in to Vancouver than Seattle. What is the best method of travel to go from Seattle to Vancouver?

[OneWiseCruiser]

Our best advice is don't decide on a cruise line separately from the over-all value represented by the cruise. In other words look more for the best deal than which cruise line. We have been to Alaska twice, both times on Holland America. We did the two-week cruise and land tour the first time. We have done many cruise vacations and have found, HAL, Celebrity, Disney, Norwegian, and also Princess cruise lines to offer compatible exciting cruise opportunities. My wife is somewhat claustrophobic and as such has to have an outside cabin or a balcony / verandah. For Alaska, you really don't need a verandah even if your cruise is in July. We have sailed out of Vancouver and also out of a port accessed via Anchorage. We absolutely recommend staying over at least one extra night in Vancouver as it is one of the best cities in the world. There is much to do and enjoy in that city. I have traveled for business al my life and seen most major countries and cities of the world. Alaska is my number one favorite place that I have ever been. We are always ready to go again.

[bonvoyagie]

Getting from Vancouver BC to Seattle can be done on Greyhound Bus or Amtrak Cascades - but that might eat up the airfare savings.

[dinoman]

I have noticed that it costs about $200 more pp to fly in to Vancouver than Seattle. What is the best method of travel to go from Seattle to Vancouver?

 

You may wish to consider a R/T Seattle cruise, which I think is cheaper than R/T Vancouver, if my memory serves.

[4774Papa]

You may wish to consider a R/T Seattle cruise, which I think is cheaper than R/T Vancouver, if my memory serves.

Yes, but we are also considering a Canadian Rail trip from Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer.

[bonvoyagie]

You could fly to Seattle, do a RT AK cruise, take the bus or Amtrak to Vancouver BC and do your Rocky Mountineer excursion and fly home from Vancouver BC - or Amtrak back to Seattle to fly home.