Alaska Cruise - Help !!!

[Clio1610]

We are considering an Alaska cruise for Summer 2013 - but I could do with some help.

 

We have only cruised with RCI 5 times (2 x Caribbean & 3 Med)

 

So, What are the 'Must Do's' and which route is the best ? We would probably like to visit either Vancouver or Seattle, but we need help with that too !!!

 

Itineraries for 2013 should be out soon I hope !!!

 

Thank you in advance for any advice or tips you can offer !!!

[mapleleaves]

you should post your question on the Alaska forum. It's a frequent question so look thru past threads before posting.

My advice is .... RESEARCH in order to make the best choice for you. Borrow Alaska travel books from the library. Better yet, buy one that is specific to Alaska cruises, ie Ann Vipond's 'Alaska by Cruiseship". The book will provide info on all the ports and sights/activities available.

Also, look at the REVIEWS, specifically member reviews of ships and ports.

(The most scenic route and calmest goes on the inside of Vancouver, between the island and the mainland.)

[Urban trekker]

Another thing to keep in mind is that some cruises are round trip and others are one way.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[lamchops]

We are considering an Alaska cruise for Summer 2013 - but I could do with some help.

 

We have only cruised with RCI 5 times (2 x Caribbean & 3 Med)

 

So, What are the 'Must Do's' and which route is the best ? We would probably like to visit either Vancouver or Seattle, but we need help with that too !!!

 

Itineraries for 2013 should be out soon I hope !!!

 

Thank you in advance for any advice or tips you can offer !!!

 

This is my preference:

1) I would choose Vancouver over Seattle :) it's only a short trip to Whistler. 2-3 days minimum stay to get a flavour of the city.

2) Book a round trip cruise

3) make sure the cruise goes through the "inside passage" between Vancouver Island & BC

4) insure the cruise goes to Glacier Bay

5) don't book for May as it is generally rainy

 

Come support tourism at a Commonwealth nation. ;)

[Semi Retired]

Shore excursions are quite expensive for this region. If you like seeing sights of interest, then sometimes a one way out of Vancouver or Seattle that is combined with tour is cheaper. (Alaska Cruise Tour Package) You will cruise 7 days, then do a 4-6 day train/coach (some also have river boat segment) tour through parts of Alaska and staying at their beautiful lodges. Then you fly home. Or you could do same in reverse.

[gdisney]

Yeah, there's so many choices, you really have to research stuff. But if you've never been to Alaska, you really can't go wrong where ever you go as the scenery and towns are great everywhere. Excursions can be pricey, but most towns are walking friendly and you can book stuff ashore easily.

 

For me personally, I consider budget as far as how to get in and out of there. I would go out of Seattle over Vancouver anytime, just cause it's a lot cheaper for me to get there. I wouldn't likely do a one way just because the airfare is pricey that way. But that's just me.

[chipmaster]

As another poster mentioned search this forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

Most of the cruise do leave out of the Seattle and Vancovuer or end there for the one ways. Than there are of course the roundtrips.

 

IMHO roundtrip is easiest but if you can swing the one way its far superior in that you save the extra sailing day for scenic in Alaska. A nice perk leaving from Vancouver is sailing the "inside" east of Vancouver Island instead of West out of Seattle.

 

I'd say pick a cruiseline that sails Glacier Bay or Hubbard over Tracy Arm. The difference is huge in what you'll see with respect to scenic cruising.

 

FWIW HAL and Princess will offer the most sailings for the iconic locations, RCCL much less.

 

We are considering an Alaska cruise for Summer 2013 - but I could do with some help.

 

We have only cruised with RCI 5 times (2 x Caribbean & 3 Med)

 

So, What are the 'Must Do's' and which route is the best ? We would probably like to visit either Vancouver or Seattle, but we need help with that too !!!

 

Itineraries for 2013 should be out soon I hope !!!

 

Thank you in advance for any advice or tips you can offer !!!

[Smokeyham]

We are considering an Alaska cruise for Summer 2013 - but I could do with some help.

 

So, What are the 'Must Do's' and which route is the best ? We would probably like to visit either Vancouver or Seattle, but we need help with that too !!!

 

 

There are so many great options for Alaska, it can be a bit overwhelming to start with. Here are the list of critieria which we developed. Some of the critieria on our list only surfaced after we read information on CruiseCritic.

 

1. We wanted to have the most glacier viewing time possible (i.e. seeing both Hubbard and Glacier Bay).

2. We didn’t to spend the last night of the cruise tied up at a dock (i.e. tied up in Victoria, then leaving at midnight for a very short hop to Seattle. Why? Because, to us, it makes it feel like the cruise is already over, as opposed to still being at sea with the ship moving, and with all of the passenger on board. This basically ruled out an out-and-back.

3. The on board experience is important to us, and we wanted a fun ship that appealed to us. We wanted a ship with some fun amenities, but not overwhelmingly large.

4. We wanted to cruise through the passage between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia, as opposed to going west of Vancouver Island.

5. Some of our group wanted the opportunity to do pre-cruise exploration of the interior of Alaska. What we read is that it is better to do this before your cruise, so you can relax and “recover” from a busy schedule on land.

6. We wanted a voyage with perhaps a few less kids on board.

Based on all of this, we chose the Princess’ “Voyage of The Glaciers” southbound for the first week in September. The Sapphire Princess and the Diamond Princess both have this voyage, and Sapphire’s’ dates best met our needs.

We chose the beginning of September because many schools will be back in session, and also because it is shoulder season the costs were slightly lower than the July/August sailings.

However, we know that we are gambling a bit with the weather (possibly cooler/rainier), but we are OK with that. Also, we learned that some experiences, such as flying to a dog sled camp, may have ended by that time of year. Again, not a factor for us – but you might want to research what is important to you before you decide on your cruise dates.

Also, we are paying more in airfare because we have we don’t have round trip tickets to just one airport (Seattle or Vancouver). A way to reduce costs is to take a shuttle bus from Vancouver to Seattle Airport (for the southbound route). Princess provides this transfer, and even with the $50 cost of the bus, we are still saving $150 in airfare costs.

Hope this helps. We found the posts on the Alaska forum to be incredibly helpful. It helped us to develop our list of criteria.

[gdisney]

We didn’t to spend the last night of the cruise tied up at a dock (i.e. tied up in Victoria, then leaving at midnight for a very short hop to Seattle. Why? Because, to us, it makes it feel like the cruise is already over, as opposed to still being at sea with the ship moving, and with all of the passenger on board. This basically ruled out an out-and-back.

 

Yeah, I hadn't considered this when I booked our current cruise, and I think it's the one downside of our itinerary. We're basically faced with a choice, visit/explore the last port of call or enjoy the last night on board ship. Oh well, it is what it is, too late now! Good list of criteria btw :)

[biker1972]

Alaska has both a coastline and an interior. If you are interested in more than the coastline, it is necessary to do some kind of a tour inland. The cruise line' cruise tours do this almost seamlessly for you. If this is a one time only trip, a bucket list experience, or a do it up royally vacation you might consider a B2B cruise with a land tour in the middle. Start in Vancouver, sail north, tour inland, then catch a Southbound cruise; either the line you went north on or a different one. Then you won't miss any of the coast and increase your chances of having some good weather. Princess is the largest hotelier in Alaska and would be a good place to start your research. You can also set up land tours on your own or through the Alaskan Railroad or a bus line. It is a big area worth visiting.

[Smokeyham]

A back to back (B2B) with a land tour in between would be great, especially if you can get some different ports on the way back, though there is so much to do each port that going back to a port would still be fun!

 

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[Jon54]

I've recommended Alaska to several folks and I tell them all:

1) Be sure to take in the entire Alaskan coastline. If you do a roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver, you will miss some wonderful scenery up north.

2) Take a camera with a nice zoom lens

3) Take a pair of "good" binoculars. You have a chance to see some amazing things from the ship and the difference in "good" and "cheap" will mean you will miss some wonderful sights. You can buy a good pair of glasses for $300+. If $ is no hinderence, get some Sworovski's or Zeiss but you are looking at $1,000+.

4) In Juno, take Capt. Larry's whale tour. He is not offered by the cruise lines but it is worth it. You will be on a purple jet boat and the other whale watching tours follow Capt Larry.

5) I wish we had done a land tour before our trip. The chance to see Denali is a regret I've had for nearly 10 years now. Of course, it will insure that we go back.