Alaska cruises

[samantha1]

We are just starting to research an Alaska cruise, and was wondering which route is the best one for someone who has never been to Alaska. Also, which land tours have you all liked best.

 

Thanks

[ntvsdgrl]

I would also post this on the Alaska Board. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

There is one poster there named Budget Queen who is an Alaska expert plus there are others that have been there and can give you their opinions.

[GORDONCHICK]

Excursions will depend on your ports so until you've booked, that's up in the air. How much time do you have? Do you only have a week? Then a RT out of either Seattle or Vancouver may be your best option. If you've got more time and can do a land tour (I'd always advise on your own but some people like the cruiselines to take care of everything), then you can do a one-way with time in the interior (the best option if time and budget allow). What time of year are you looking at? Early in the season? Have Glacier Bay as your glacier option. Late in the season? I'd go with Hubbard Glacier every single time.

[olemissreb]

I've been planning my cruise for the last 2+ years! As a previous poster pointed out, there is an Alaska board that has given me great advice/insight during my planning. BudgetQueen, Mapleleaves and others are just fonts of knowledge!

 

As they told me,

 

1 - decide what is important to you - scenery, wildlife, glaciers. This will help you a little in choosing ports, Glacier Bay & Hubbard Glacier vs. just Hubbard Glacier.

 

2 - look at port times. I found that the one way cruises tended to have the longest port times. Roundtrip from Seattle, I think, seemed to have the shortest (but then again it's been 2 years so I could be way off on that).

 

3 - a ship or cruiseline should start to jump out at you at this point (did for me anyway). If the price is right book it!

 

4 - if you want to do a land tour, this is best with a one way cruise (you could conceivably do it with a roundtrip, but why spend the extra airfare?). If you decide to go with a cruise lines tour, be sure to know all the specifics about what a tour does and does not cover, times, etc. Doing a land tour on your own is easy to plan - time consuming yes, but to me a much better choice as we can see what we want, when we want. We can take our time driving anywhere and stop for wildlife or scenery if we want. Plus with the coupon books, you can probably do it cheaper than a cruisetour.

 

5 - Alaska is HUGE - remember 2 or 3 states of Texas can fit inside Alaska. You will NEVER see it all in one trip, so just plan on visiting as often as you can!:)

[jersey.girl]

I am also just starting 2 plan an Alaskan cruisetour. I am thinking of giving it 2 my hubby as a 60th bday gift. This wont B until 2015.

 

so far this is what I found....

NCL & RCCL have nice priced cruisetours.

Princess & Holland R the most expensive

best ships 4 wildlife R the smaller ships traveling inside passage.

june-aug R the best months [warmest] 2 C wildlife.

leaving Vancouver has more scenery.

 

Is all of the above true? I neva use a TA. I can use all of the advise U can give.

[jersey.girl]

Please suggest a cruiseline offering a cruisetour 2 Alaska.

I need a balcony. The #1 thing I would like is 2 C lots of wildlife.

What cruiseline do U suggest? Why?

Do U think ship or train is better to do 1st? Why?

Where do U think is the best place 2 leave from?

What is the best month 2 go?

Thank U in advance 4 your time in ans my questions. I love 2 plan trips. This seems like it is gonna B tough 2 plan since so much 2 do !!! I think its a good thing I started 2 plan now even though I still have 2 years 2 go!!!

[tmitchell82]

Please suggest a cruiseline offering a cruisetour 2 Alaska.

I need a balcony. The #1 thing I would like is 2 C lots of wildlife.

What cruiseline do U suggest? Why?

Do U think ship or train is better to do 1st? Why?

Where do U think is the best place 2 leave from?

What is the best month 2 go?

Thank U in advance 4 your time in ans my questions. I love 2 plan trips. This seems like it is gonna B tough 2 plan since so much 2 do !!! I think its a good thing I started 2 plan now even though I still have 2 years 2 go!!!

 

There is so much to do and see in AK. Best trip we have ever taken. As for seeing wildlife, there are a number of opportunities. Going into Denali is a good way to see wildlife. There are also opportunities to see bears up close at Anan Creek (45 minute flight form Ketchikan) after 7/1. Granted, we saw moose just of the side of the road while taking a break on the bus trip to Denali. And then there were the whales we saw in Juneau and from the ship.

 

IMHO, Glacier Bay is a must for 1st time cruisers to AK. Princess and HAL are the 2 lines with the most itineraries to Glacier Bay. For that reason alone, I would look at those lines. If you are doing a land tour, which IMHO is a must as well, I would do that first and then cruise. Just my preference, but it was nice to relax on the ship after running around on land. Only down side to the land tours is that you need 2 one way flights. Definitely spend a few days at Denali. Our land tour had 2 days at Princess's Denali lodge it was great to have the flexibility to do a few different things. We found it better not to be running from place to place everyday. We really enjoyed the train ride to the ship as well. Was nice to get let off right next to the ship. If you are doing the NB or SB cruise, you are either going to leave from Whittier/Seward in AK or Vancouver, BC. Depends on which way you are going and the line. There are links in my signature to our trip if you want to see any of it. We really enjoyed Alaska. Very different from a Caribbean cruise. I could have spent all day on deck just watching everything. Guess that is why we are going back this year.

 

Tim

[jersey.girl]

There is so much to do and see in AK. Best trip we have ever taken. As for seeing wildlife, there are a number of opportunities. Going into Denali is a good way to see wildlife. There are also opportunities to see bears up close at Anan Creek (45 minute flight form Ketchikan) after 7/1. Granted, we saw moose just of the side of the road while taking a break on the bus trip to Denali. And then there were the whales we saw in Juneau and from the ship.

 

IMHO, Glacier Bay is a must for 1st time cruisers to AK. Princess and HAL are the 2 lines with the most itineraries to Glacier Bay. For that reason alone, I would look at those lines. If you are doing a land tour, which IMHO is a must as well, I would do that first and then cruise. Just my preference, but it was nice to relax on the ship after running around on land. Only down side to the land tours is that you need 2 one way flights. Definitely spend a few days at Denali. Our land tour had 2 days at Princess's Denali lodge it was great to have the flexibility to do a few different things. We found it better not to be running from place to place everyday. We really enjoyed the train ride to the ship as well. Was nice to get let off right next to the ship. If you are doing the NB or SB cruise, you are either going to leave from Whittier/Seward in AK or Vancouver, BC. Depends on which way you are going and the line. There are links in my signature to our trip if you want to see any of it. We really enjoyed Alaska. Very different from a Caribbean cruise. I could have spent all day on deck just watching everything. Guess that is why we are going back this year.

 

Tim

Thanks so much 4 your suggestions.

I think that U R 100% right & it is best 2 cruise on ship last. After all the running around it is good 2 just relax. This is deff a great idea & I am deff gonna take your advise on this.

Thanks 4 all your other suggestions I have lots 2 think about...

[jersey.girl]

There is so much to do and see in AK. Best trip we have ever taken. As for seeing wildlife, there are a number of opportunities. Going into Denali is a good way to see wildlife. There are also opportunities to see bears up close at Anan Creek (45 minute flight form Ketchikan) after 7/1. Granted, we saw moose just of the side of the road while taking a break on the bus trip to Denali. And then there were the whales we saw in Juneau and from the ship.

 

IMHO, Glacier Bay is a must for 1st time cruisers to AK. Princess and HAL are the 2 lines with the most itineraries to Glacier Bay. For that reason alone, I would look at those lines. If you are doing a land tour, which IMHO is a must as well, I would do that first and then cruise. Just my preference, but it was nice to relax on the ship after running around on land. Only down side to the land tours is that you need 2 one way flights. Definitely spend a few days at Denali. Our land tour had 2 days at Princess's Denali lodge it was great to have the flexibility to do a few different things. We found it better not to be running from place to place everyday. We really enjoyed the train ride to the ship as well. Was nice to get let off right next to the ship. If you are doing the NB or SB cruise, you are either going to leave from Whittier/Seward in AK or Vancouver, BC. Depends on which way you are going and the line. There are links in my signature to our trip if you want to see any of it. We really enjoyed Alaska. Very different from a Caribbean cruise. I could have spent all day on deck just watching everything. Guess that is why we are going back this year.

 

Tim

 

Tim,

Your Videos were awesome.

I can't wait to start planning my 2015 Alaskan cruise

[tmitchell82]

Tim,

 

Your Videos were awesome.

 

I can't wait to start planning my 2015 Alaskan cruise

 

 

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed them. I am still trying to work on thrones from last summer. I want to go back again.

 

Tim

[marco]

There are SOOOO many land options to do in conjunction with an Alaskan cruise. We think (and a LOT of folks concur) the best land options are with either HAL or Princess. For us, the land tour part of the trip was as, if not more impressive, than the cruise itself.

[UPGrandma]

But on "Island" in August.

 

Thanks for the videos, looking forward to the glaciers. Did land tour in '96 and have to agree that pictures and videos don't do the mountains and glaciers justice. Hope our weather in Glacier Bay is as good as yours. I think I could see our cabin from some of your photos.

[janetz]

There are some great threads on the Alaska board for first time Alaska cruisers doing research. ;)

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

Edited January 12, 2014 by janetz

[Lerin]

You'll get the biggest bang for your buck on a 1 way Princess or HAL cruise tour. They go to Glacier Bay and have been doing Alaska for a long time. They have it down to a science.

[deladypilot]

We have done 2 Alaskan cruises and have a 3rd booked. It is so beautiful and every turn is a photo op. Our first cruise was on NCL Star and it was R/T Seattle. It was a wonderful trip and we had a spectacular time. This past summer though we did 1 one from Vancouver to Whittier on NCL Sun. Both ships were great for Alaska but I really loved the Sun as it had an observation lounge at the front that you could stay warm inside while sailing through Glacier Bay.

 

We now have another Alaskan cruise booked for 2015. This one will be a 10 day sailing from Seattle and disembarking in Vancouver.

 

I think what is most important is looking at what your interests are. All cruise lines are pretty much traveling the same beautiful places an you will see lots of wildlife on any of them. Our trip on the Sun did Glacier Bay where we had the Ranger climb on board and give a talk, as well as Hubbard Glacier. Our trip on the Star did Sawyer Glacier. They are all wonderful but as most here will say, Glacier Bay is just breath taking so if you can fit that in, then I would do that.

 

Some of the excursions we have done and would recommend are a Helicopter Walkabout in Juneau where you actually land on the glacier and get to walk around. It is awww inspiring., Whale watching in Juneau with Harv & Marv was wonderful. We did a jeep tour into the Yukon in Skagway back in 2011 and had a great time. We did a horseback ride in Skagway this past year and although it was beautiful and the tour guides were great, it was a bit boring to me as I am an experience horseback rider. This past year in Ketchikan we did a charter fishing trip and had a wonderful time.

 

Each of the towns have great history that you can do on your own. If you spend some time looking up the tourism sites for each, you can find walking tour maps and they are available at the visitors centers in each town as well.

 

No matter what you decide, cruise line, R/T or 1 way, you will not be disappointed