Alaska with Celebrity

[Jo and Rob]

Advice please my cruise critic friends. :)

 

Which ship? I would like information about any experiences you have had in Alaska. We are currently looking at Summer 2014 which has the Millennium, Century and Solstice as cruise ship options. Any thoughts as to which ships would be better for the experience or is it all swings and roundabouts? (We have two children who will be 12 and 9)

 

Which Glaciers/ports? Highlights for us will be the scenery and potential wildlife Rob is a photographer. The Century and Millennium both go to the Hubbard Glacier and the Solstice goes to the Sawyer Glacier. The Millennium leaves from Seward Alaska, is it worth the extra flight to leave from there?

 

Any experience of Alaska cruisetours please? It may be completely beyond budget however there are options of cruisetours with Alaska. Would you say that the cruisetour "made your trip", what were the highlights? Would you let the cruise tour options determine which cruise you select or the other way round?

 

Any experience of Alaska in the Summer? We are restricted to school holidays. How does July / August compare to other times of the year? Is the climate similar all year round or will we be in shorts and t-shirts?

 

Thank you!

[BrusselsGirl07]

Hi there, I have not been to Alaska as yet (we are also going in 2014), but I have been researching for months now, reading guide books, searching the internet, reading Alaska online tourism sites, and of course, reading posts on Cruise Critic!

 

I picked Millennium as we wanted to do a land tour before the cruise to Denali National Park. Millennium is the only ship that goes to Seward. You can't fly to Seward, the closest airport is Anchorage. And after flying into Anchorage, we will be renting a car and driving up to Denali National park, and then heading down to Seward after that. Also we are doing a B2B starting and finishing in Seward, so will only need to book Anchorage return instead of open jaw flights (which in my experience will be cheaper, and the flights will already be costing us a fortune!).

 

I did look at the land tours, but figured I could plan and do this myself. I love planning vacations, and get quite excited about the holiday the entire year of planning. Just briefly, my plans are to fly into Anchorage and spend the night. The next day spend the day driving up to Healy stopping to enjoy the scenery and any wildlife we see. Staying at a B&B in Healy, and the next day doing a full day on the shuttles driving into Denali National Park. That night at the B&B in Healy again. Next morning drive to Talkeetna and fingers crossed do a flightseeing tour of Mt McKinlay with a glacier landing if it is not too cloudy. That night back in a B&B in Anchorage and the next day in Anchorage sightseeing and the B&B for the night. The next day we are getting picked up from Anchorage and doing a full day tour from Anchorage to Whittier along Turnagain Arm, stopping at various interesting places. That night in Whittier, and the next day a full day tour on Prince William Sound. Another night in Whittier then we get picked up again and taken to Seward, stopping to see a Husky Outfit and visiting Exit Glacier. A B&B in Seward for the night, then the next day a tour into Kenai Fjords National Park, whale watching. A visit to the Seward Sealife centre as well. One more night in a B&B in Seward and then we board our cruise.

 

There are some amazing sounding tours that you can do in each port. I was very overwhelmed at first as there are SO many, but after all of my research and reading I have pretty much got each port planned out already. We love nature, wildlife and photography as well, so all of the tours we have booked (or will book as soon as they start taking 2014 bookings) are to do with our interests. I have booked or intend to book mostly private tours. The only ship tour was for a snorkelling tour which sounded fabulous, but after contacting the vendor, found he only booked through the ship for cruise passengers. So booked that through the ship.

 

Alaska's climate is different for each season, quite cold and snowy in winter and a short summer. The cruise season is May to September and, with peak season mid June to mid-August. From my reading, you could have a cold and rainy week for your entire Alaskan cruise, or a mixture of warm and cold weather. Rain is to be expected though, and the key is layers. You can not predict what kind of weather you will have on your cruise.

 

I know I have no experience at all and you will get many responses from experienced Alaskan travellers, but thought you might be interested in hearing from someone planning their first trip to Alaska as well!

 

Good luck! Yvette

[epixx]

1. The ship should not be the concern for this trip, if you're coming all the way from the U.K. and Rob has a wildlife and scenery priority. The itinerary should be the biggest concern. The ships will have similar demographics and activities.

 

2. The least desirable itinerary for scenery and wildlife is the Solstice. This ship is the only one of the 3 that leaves from/returns to Seattle, which necessitates 2 days of open sea, i.e., non-scenic, sailing. The Century has a very good itinerary, especially for scenery, as it departs from Vancouver and most likely sails between Vancouver Island and the mainland, which is very scenic. For glacier viewing, the Solstice itinerary is the least desirable because most cruise ships that transit Tracey Arm never get close enough to see the glacier. If you really want to see the glacier on a Tracey Arm itinerary, you should take the ship's excursion on the small boat. This excursion will cost you approximately 200 USD pp. The big advantage of the Millenium itinerary is that (1) you can visit Seward, AK, and (2) you can spend extra time on land in Denali. These 2 locations are absolutely fantastic for anyone interested in scenery and wildlife. Seward offers the Kenai Fjords 6 or 9 hour boat tours, which provide an amazing array of marine wildlife, and Denali has the land wildlife, if you take the time to actually get into the park. Your big decision is whether you want to invest the time (a minimum of 5 extra days) and expense in the land trip. If not, I recommend the Century itinerary.

 

3. Cruisetours in Alaska. These are generally not recommended for families. You'll spend a ton of extra money, and there likely won't be any other kids on the trip. They are extremely inflexible, which is a major disadvantage with kids. Can you drive on the right side of the road? If so, you're much better off renting a car and planning your own family trip. With either the do-it-yourself or the cruisetour, plan for at least 2 nights in Denali, and plan to take the park shuttle to Eielson, rather than the Natural History Tour (which does not even get into the park) or the Tundra Wilderness Tour (which does not even reach Eielson Visitor Center and costs 3 times as much as the park shuttle). Also, I believe your kids might be able to go free on the park shuttle.

 

4. We have been to Alaska 3 times in August with our kids. We've worn shorts and t shirts on some days, and fleece sweaters, rain coats, and rain pants on other days. You definitely need to be prepared for wet, wet, wet weather.

 

Have a great trip.

[Jo and Rob]

Thank you so much for your replies so far. Loads to think about. I look forward to future comments.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

There is a lot of information on the Alaska Boards about ports and excursions.

 

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

 

We were in Alaska 2 years ago in August/September on Millennium. We had good weather most of the trip. Temperatures were in the 60. We did a land tour with Celebrity and there were no children on that part of the trip. Maybe because it was later in the year for Alaska travels.

 

Mary Lou

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I would echo the advice that in Alaska it's all about the itinerary, not the ship. And you need to be prepared for all kinds of weather. If you want to do a land tour, do it on your own. I highly recommend Hubbard Glacier. In August, you should be able to get fairly close to the glacier. Probably the most cost effective itinerary would be the round trip from Vancouver.

 

Good luck with your planning and research! Alaska is awesome.

[Cpamomma]

My husband and I were on the June 7 sailing of Millie from Anchorage to Seward. It was awesome!!! My DH and I are also photographers (hobby). We spent 8 days post cruise on our own in Alaska. We did not want the restrictions of a cruise tour, so we rented a car and did it on our own. We also rented a car for the day when the ship was in Skagway. We drove into the Yukon and saw beautiful scenery and three huge black bears. For us it was a much better option than the train ride into the Yukon because we were able to stop when and where we wanted. At the end of the cruise in Seward, we went on a small boat (held 12 passengers) and went on what was supposed to be an 8 hour tour of the Kenai Fjords. It ended up being 9 hours because we kept running into pods of orcas:). After Seward, we spent one night before driving up to Denali. We stopped on the way in Talkeetna for a small (tiny) plane flight over Denali and landing on a glacier...awesome! We spent 3 nights in Denali which was really amazing. We headed back down to Girdwood for 3nights after Denali. It was really beautiful around there. It was perfect for us to use as a central place to explore that area and also be fairly close to Anchorage for the day we flew home. We loved this trip. I am sur that you and your husband will also love it! I will post photos if I ever figure out how to :rolleyes:

[Lois R]

Hi Jo, I remember when you did your fantastic Eclipse review:)....hope

you will do the same for your Alaska cruise too:D:):D

 

Oh, I have been to Alaska 3 times and loved each one! I have sailed

from Seattle and from Vancouver....both were wonderful:)

[Leesie6351]

Hi-- we were on the Millenium in May and had a pretour of the Canadian rockies and post tour to Denali and Fairbanks. Unfortunately, the tours were overpriced and not well run. You can actually sign up for the same tour on your own through the same company Celebrity used-- Brewster Vacations.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and Alaska experience but we did not find the millennium to be up to Celebrity standards in terms of food and entertainment. Service was excellent.

 

the pre and post tours are way overpriced. As others have advised, look at posts in the ports section of cruise critic or do some online research.

 

Good luck

[wwcruisers]

Just referencing the pool facilities of the three ships X has in Alaska:

Both Millie and Solstice have nice indoor pools. Solstice has a beautiful solarium with a large (heated) pool and two hot tubs. And Millie has one of the legendary T-pools, in a nice indoor enclosure with teak loungers. Unfortunately, they took Century's T-pool out, during her '06 refurb. Now, she has NO indoor pools or jacuzzi's at all -- definitely a drawback in cold / rainy climates (if that sort of thing matters to you).

[Lanz]

Leesie we too are doing the Canadian Rockies pre Millie, we leave Sat. Can you share any tips with us. We searched and searched for info on this tour, you're the first we've found. Thank you

[AndyB]

Hi Jo, I remember when you did your fantastic Eclipse review:)....hope

you will do the same for your Alaska cruise too:D:):D

 

When I saw "Jo and Rob" I was so excited, hoping you had just finished an Alaska cruise with Celebrity and were posting fantastic video and commentary like you did from the Eclipse! Oh, well, we will have to wait.

 

We are sailing on Century tomorrow from Vancouver, so I'll be happy to report back on this cruise. We've had gorgeous weather pre-cruise in Vancouver, but forecasts are for mid 60's and wet for much of the week. More soon!

 

Andrea

[Jo and Rob]

Andy B thank you! We are off to the Baltics in the Summer so hopefully Rob will do a video again.

 

wwcruisers - yes information about the ships (and pools) is really useful. Thank you. What is a T pool? Is it open to all, just adults or for extra payment?

 

A pre-tour would definitely be fantastic but the cost of the flights alone looks extortionate so we will see. I am really interested in reading about your experiences though so keep them coming! If you go independently how do transfers work?

 

Leesie 6351 - was your pre-tour with Celebrity? Thanks for the heads up that it was not good value. What happens about meals? Do you stay in hotels where you are obliged to spend a fortune on meals or can you eat more economically if you choose to? Was Brewster locations the reason it was disappointing and if so would you advice we steer well clear?

 

Cpamomma - your cruise sounds like the Millie one I'm looking at. Can you tell me the timings of length of journey to get to the ship please from Anchorage. From the UK they would fly us into Seattle first and stay overnight before the flight to Anchorage. It sounds like you had the trip of a lifetime.

 

Happy Cruiser the only Vancouver roundtrip is on Century. It looks like the same itinerary as Millie except if misses out Seward and doesn't have an indoor pool so lots of things to think about. Can you tell me why you would recommend a round trip from Vancouver rather than having different ports for embarkation and disembarkation?

 

Chezmarylou - thank you for the link, I will definitely check it out!

[themutis]

What is the general consensus about the value of a balcony on an Alaska Cruise. Will it be warm enough to sit out there (We are looking at the last week in August or the first week in Sept).

 

We just receive an email about a two day sale and the inside rooms are so cheap - so I'm trying to get a feel for how much we will be missing if we don't have a balcony.

[LRene]

Hi Jo and Rob - after many trips to Alaska, I have to agree with those that don't recommend a cruise tour with kids. Alaska is extremely easy to navigate on your own if you are comfortable renting a car and driving on the right. The Kenai peninsula area has a lot to offer and see and the Alaskan people are very friendly.

 

You can also navigate on your own from Anchorage to Denali and from Anchorage to Seward via the train. It's a very scenic ride but heavily used so make reservations early. http://alaskarailroad.com/Destinations/Anchorage/tabid/132/Default.aspx

 

We sailed the southbound route on the Millinnium this year but after a week in the Kenai on our own, we decided not to cruise Alaska anymore. We've done several cruise routes and we love the area so much, we'll be back next year for a land trip only. It's our hope to spend extended periods of time there in the summers after we retire.

 

Planning can be half the fun so enjoy the planning for what will surely be a memorable family vacation!

[ncgolferette]

I too have been trying to decide between the Celebrity millenium and Century for Alaska along with the Radiance of the Seas. Have ruled out the Century due to the hours the ship is in many of the ports - arriving at several in the early afternoon whereas the other ships dock in the morning and still stay into the evening.

 

DH and I are taking the family - SS, MS with DIL and two grandsons ages 10 and 8. Just don't know if RCI will be better for the kids although we love Celebrity.

[ByThePond]

Balcony. An Alaska cruise is all about the scenery. We did Century round trip from Vancouver and the cruise is through the Inside Passage so fairly close to shore. As long as it is not too overcast, you have wonderful cruising scenery. As others have said, be prepared for any weather and sitting on the balcony can be comfortable. At Hubbard Glacier, the ship gets close and then rotates slowly so any point on the ship with an outside view is good.

[Cpamomma]

Balcony. An Alaska cruise is all about the scenery. We did Century round trip from Vancouver and the cruise is through the Inside Passage so fairly close to shore. As long as it is not too overcast, you have wonderful cruising scenery. As others have said, be prepared for any weather and sitting on the balcony can be comfortable. At Hubbard Glacier, the ship gets close and then rotates slowly so any point on the ship with an outside view is good.

 

I agree that the balcony was very worth it. We went in June and the weather was very warm. It was actually in the 90's in Denali. It was very unusual weather for Alaska. My advice is to be prepared for any weather and you will be fine. We did the northbound cruise, ending in Seward. We took our time driving to Anchorage from Seward, so I can't say how long it would take. You also have to consider weather, traffic and road repairs. I would give it at least 3 hours.

 

One thing to consider when choosing which cruise is best for you is to consider the route. There are round-trip cruises, northbound cruises and southbound cruises. We wanted to spend some time in Alaska (8 days) after the cruise, so the northbound cruise was best for us. Another choice is spending some time in Alaska prior to the cruise and then take the southbound cruise. To me, a round trip cruise to Alaska would not work. Doing a round trip would mean that you would miss some of the best parts of Alaska.

 

I got a ton of information on Alaska on trip advisor. The people on the Alaska forum were extremely helpful. With the advice we received, we were extremely comfortable on our own during the land portion of our trip. It was a really amazing trip.

[wwcruisers]

JOandROB -- The best way I can describe the Millie-Class Thallasotherapy pools is: imagine a giant salt-water hot tub. They are SO relaxing! No extra charge, but both the T-pool and the Solstice Solarium are adults-only areas. I think they may make limited exceptions to that rule on cruises where the outdoor pools are closed, due to weather.

[RichYak]

Happy Cruiser the only Vancouver roundtrip is on Century. It looks like the same itinerary as Millie except if misses out Seward and doesn't have an indoor pool so lots of things to think about. Can you tell me why you would recommend a round trip from Vancouver rather than having different ports for embarkation and disembarkation?

Century and Millennium itineraries are nowhere near the same. Look at the times in each port. Happy Cruiser said r/t Vancouver would be most cost effective, likely due to cheaper flights to/from the same airport. Round trip itineraries sacrifice number of ports, port times, and the ability to do a land tour.

 

Here is how I think you should proceed. Research each port to see what you would like to accomplish and how much time you need to do so. Perhaps there is something you don't want to miss in Skagway or Seward. Well, now you've ruled out Century.

 

My guess is, if photography is a priority, Seward will be a must. Perhaps even Denali, though you will need a lot of extra time for that.

 

Again, start with the ports and itinerary and the "which ship" question will answer itself. Lastly, do consider other cruise lines. In Alaska, which line really is less important.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Happy Cruiser said r/t Vancouver would be most cost effective, likely due to cheaper flights to/from the same airport. Round trip itineraries sacrifice number of ports, port times, and the ability to do a land tour.

 

 

That's exactly what I meant. Open jaw plane tickets could raise your cost considerably, particularly since there are 4 of you. So it all depends on your budget. Otherwise, I would choose by itinerary.

[CarolinaJoy]

I just returned from a trip on the Celebrity Millenium. We left Vancouver on Friday, June 21st. I loved it. I really recommend the trip.

 

We ended the cruise in Seward Friday morning and took a bus from Seward to Anchorage. It was the Alaska Cruise Transfer bus and we booked it ourselves. They met us at the port and we went right to the bus. Very easy and cost maybe $35-$40 per person. (My brother booked that so I'm not certain.) It took a little over 3 hours and the scenery was beautiful. No complaints at all about the trip.

 

You may want to investigate that even if you are planning to rent a car. We tried to rent a car in Seward to drive to Denali then drop it off in Anchorage. It would have been very expensive to do that. (Fortunately, a friend of mine who lives in Anchorage wanted to go to Denali with us so that was solved.)

 

Jo, if your husband is a wildlife photographer, you have to go to Denali National Park! To travel that far and not see it would be a real shame. We stayed in the Denali Park Hotel, just north of the park. It was a great, if simple, budget option. I'd stay there again. Denali is hard to even describe. From the Tundra Wilderness Tour we took, we saw two grizzly bear cubs playing while their mom watched. The guy on our bus with a good zoom lens got amazing photos. I didn't, but just to see those bears was such an experience.

 

We saw several moose just driving home from dinner to the hotel in Healy.

 

We booked the open jaw tickets and they ended up not being any more expensive than roundtrip. We went Washington, DC to Seattle, took a train to Vancouver, then flew Anchorage back to DC. Hopefully you could find good fares.

 

This was my first celebrity cruise and I enjoyed it. In Alaska, the ship is not the star of the show. You're frequently in port, the scenery during the cruise is unbelievable, and most mornings start with an early arrival. The service was outstanding and the food was very good. The entertainment was not my cup of tea but we found plenty to do. I'd go again in a second.

 

Please let me know if anyone has any questions! I'd love to help.

[ncgolferette]

I just returned from a trip on the Celebrity Millenium. We left Vancouver on Friday, June 21st. I loved it. I really recommend the trip.

 

We ended the cruise in Seward Friday morning and took a bus from Seward to Anchorage. It was the Alaska Cruise Transfer bus and we booked it ourselves. They met us at the port and we went right to the bus. Very easy and cost maybe $35-$40 per person. (My brother booked that so I'm not certain.) It took a little over 3 hours and the scenery was beautiful. No complaints at all about the trip.

 

You may want to investigate that even if you are planning to rent a car. We tried to rent a car in Seward to drive to Denali then drop it off in Anchorage. It would have been very expensive to do that. (Fortunately, a friend of mine who lives in Anchorage wanted to go to Denali with us so that was solved.)

 

Jo, if your husband is a wildlife photographer, you have to go to Denali National Park! To travel that far and not see it would be a real shame. We stayed in the Denali Park Hotel, just north of the park. It was a great, if simple, budget option. I'd stay there again. Denali is hard to even describe. From the Tundra Wilderness Tour we took, we saw two grizzly bear cubs playing while their mom watched. The guy on our bus with a good zoom lens got amazing photos. I didn't, but just to see those bears was such an experience.

 

We saw several moose just driving home from dinner to the hotel in Healy.

 

We booked the open jaw tickets and they ended up not being any more expensive than roundtrip. We went Washington, DC to Seattle, took a train to Vancouver, then flew Anchorage back to DC. Hopefully you could find good fares.

 

This was my first celebrity cruise and I enjoyed it. In Alaska, the ship is not the star of the show. You're frequently in port, the scenery during the cruise is unbelievable, and most mornings start with an early arrival. The service was outstanding and the food was very good. The entertainment was not my cup of tea but we found plenty to do. I'd go again in a second.

 

Please let me know if anyone has any questions! I'd love to help.

 

Did you notice many children aboard? Want to take the grandsons next summer (ages 10 and 8) and not sure whether to book celebrity or RCI.

[Dorset Cruiser]

Do what we did Jo. Fly to Calgary, hire a car and drive to Vancouver. Such a great trip with some stunning scenery - Lake Louise etc. then a week cruise on Golden Princess from Seattle which allowed us to experience a couple of days in Seattle. After the cruise we did Amtrak to Vancouver for a couple of days sightseeing before our flight home. Have to say we were a little underwhelmed with Alaska. True some stunning scenery but thought the towns were a bit too touristy with lots of similar shops and nothing much else. Just my opinion but we found the Canadian Rockies much more to our taste, although glad we experienced Alaska.

[celebrity]

Andy B thank you! We are off to the Baltics in the Summer so hopefully Rob will do a video again.

 

wwcruisers - yes information about the ships (and pools) is really useful. Thank you. What is a T pool? Is it open to all, just adults or for extra payment?

 

A pre-tour would definitely be fantastic but the cost of the flights alone looks extortionate so we will see. I am really interested in reading about your experiences though so keep them coming! If you go independently how do transfers work?

 

Leesie 6351 - was your pre-tour with Celebrity? Thanks for the heads up that it was not good value. What happens about meals? Do you stay in hotels where you are obliged to spend a fortune on meals or can you eat more economically if you choose to? Was Brewster locations the reason it was disappointing and if so would you advice we steer well clear?

 

 

 

 

 

Cpamomma - your cruise sounds like the Millie one I'm looking at. Can you tell me the timings of length of journey to get to the ship please from Anchorage. From the UK they would fly us into Seattle first and stay overnight before the flight to Anchorage. It sounds like you had the trip of a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Cruiser the only Vancouver roundtrip is on Century. It looks like the same itinerary as Millie except if misses out Seward and doesn't have an indoor pool so lots of things to think about. Can you tell me why you would recommend a round trip from Vancouver rather than

having different ports for embarkation and disembarkation?

 

Chezmarylou - thank you for the link, I will definitely check it out!

 

Jo and Rob, I have no advice for you but love, love, love your reviews and videos. I truly hope that you do the same on the Baltic and Alaska cruises.