Alaska cruise questions

[txjudy54]

We are leaving on a Carnival cruise next Sunday out of Galveston and may be interested in booking an Alaskan cruise while we on board. Does Carnival have Alaskan cruises, what is the best port to leave from since we will have to fly, and what cruise would be best - inside or outside passage? One more question, what are the months for Alaskan cruises? I know this is a lot of questions but thanks for any help. I am just so confused but really want to do an Alaskan cruise.:)

[wings34]

We are leaving on a Carnival cruise next Sunday out of Galveston and may be interested in booking an Alaskan cruise while we on board. Does Carnival have Alaskan cruises, what is the best port to leave from since we will have to fly, and what cruise would be best - inside or outside passage? One more question, what are the months for Alaskan cruises? I know this is a lot of questions but thanks for any help. I am just so confused but really want to do an Alaskan cruise.:)

 

I'm not sure about 2015, as the details for that season are not out yet, but for this year, the Carnival Miracle is doing Alaska cruises from Seattle until September (Normal season is May-September, with the earlier months being more cold and wet). This is the only Alaska option Carnival has right now. Most of the cruises until the end of the season are 7 days leaving on a tuesday with this itinerary: Tues: Embark @ Seattle; Wed: At sea; Thurs: Tracy Arm Fjord; Fri: Skagway; Sat: Juneau; Sun: At Sea (this used to be Ketchikan, but they had to remove this port because the ship has an issue where it can not reach top speed); Mon: Victoria, Canada; Tues: Seattle. The ones at the end of the season are a bit different, I'm not sure exactly what they are, though I know that some may visit glacier bay instead of the fjord, and leave from or end in Vancouver. Hope this helps!

[Tapi]

Carnival does offer Alaska, but only with one ship, a midweek departure, not the best itinerary, and often priced higher than other cruise lines that are more established. Shop around. There are better options.

 

 

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[andy.capitan]

Carnival hasn't announced what ship or itineraries they will be doing in 2015 but have said they will be there. The schedule is supposed to be released in a week or two. Besides Carnival, CCL also has Princess and Holland America cruising in Alaska.

 

May is drier than September, but September can be the prettiest time.

 

Air is usually cheaper for Seattle departures vs Vancouver.

 

Peak times are June, July, and August with more families and kids.

[mississauga]

We did the first cruise of the Alaskan season this year Apr 28- May 6. It was 8 days. Vancouver to Seattle and had great weather. High 60's to low 70's in all the ports. It was nice that we were the only ship in each port as I hear it can get pretty crowded when there are a few ships docked.

 

Weather is unpredictable as I hear it is cooler now and raining on some days there. We packed for cold and rain and did not need all that stuff. Just dressed in layers and as it got warm, we took the layers off.

[Christina M.]

The 2015 Alaska dates are due out on 05/26/14. We are looking at the first curise out of Vancouver and we will fly in to Seattle and take the train up to Vancouver. We have found a hotel 2 blocks from the cruise pier. We have to fly in too and for us the longer the cruise the better.

The first cruise does both the inside passage and Glacier Bay. I have looked and differnt cruise lines and for what we want Carnival has the best.

[ss70chev]

We did a Alaskan cruise a few years ago with RCL. It was in early June. We had an oceanview cabin with window ledge on a low floor. I spent many early mornings (around 4 am) watching the whale out of the window sitting on the ledge. It was too cold to be outside on the deck while we were at sea, but very warm in port. I will always cherish those mornings watching the whales. I can honestly say it was one of my best cruises. The ship had no bearing, the scenery was beautiful.

[bluetardis]

I'm booked for Alaska in Sept for 8days. I leave from Seattle and return to Seattle. The other option is Starting in Vancouver BC and ending in Seattle.

[sailingwithfriends]

The problem I see with Carnival's Alaska cruises is that they are closed loop. I would prefer to begin in Seattle or Vancover and then end in Alaska. That way we could do a land excursion for a few days and fly back from Anchorage or Fairbanks. (or vise versa and start in Alaska with the land portion first,then cruise.)

[thinfool]

The problem I see with Carnival's Alaska cruises is that they are closed loop. I would prefer to begin in Seattle or Vancover and then end in Alaska. That way we could do a land excursion for a few days and fly back from Anchorage or Fairbanks. (or vise versa and start in Alaska with the land portion first,then cruise.)

 

One-way, north or southbound cruises always will start/end in Vancouver. This due to the PVSA which prohibits foreign flagged vessels from transporting pax from one US port to another US port.

 

Princess has been doing it longer than anyone else, with Holland America a close second. Check them out.

 

And if Glacier Bay is important for your itinerary, no Royal Caribbean or Celebrity vessel has permits to enter. Carnival has a few. Princess, HAL and Norwegian have the most.

[bride123105]

I think it is kind of fun to take the first or last cruise of the year which will start/end in a different point (Vancouver vs. Seattle) and take the Amtrak train between the two points.

 

May might be the best month with less rain and less bugs. But if you want to see the salmon run late summer would be better for that.

[txjudy54]

We are really thinking about the first of September. How is the weather then?

:)

[arby70]

We are really thinking about the first of September. How is the weather then?

:)

 

We went on Celebrity at the end of August going in to the first week of September in 2003. We ended up with some light rain in Skagway and Juneau and gorgeous sunny weather in Ketchikan. Ketchikan gets tons of rain so we lucked out there. I don't think you can predict the weather for any particular time of year; just be prepared for some rain.

 

One thing about it, it's gorgeous no matter what the weather. I do know that we stayed in Vancouver, B.C. for a week prior to the cruise, and the weather was sunny and beautiful the entire time. So, if you plan on seeing your embarkation port too, it may be a great time of year for that too.

[evandbob]

The problem I see with Carnival's Alaska cruises is that they are closed loop. I would prefer to begin in Seattle or Vancover and then end in Alaska. That way we could do a land excursion for a few days and fly back from Anchorage or Fairbanks. (or vise versa and start in Alaska with the land portion first,then cruise.)

 

We are using Princess Cruisetours this August, flying into Fairbanks on a Monday and land touring into Denali, Talkeetna and down to Anchorage on a Friday before cruising 7 nights SB: Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Vancouver.

 

Since Princess has been doing Alaska the longest and has some of the best lodges, we felt it was the optimum choice.

[cruizinator]

I think it is kind of fun to take the first or last cruise of the year which will start/end in a different point (Vancouver vs. Seattle) and take the Amtrak train between the two points.

 

May might be the best month with less rain and less bugs. But if you want to see the salmon run late summer would be better for that.

 

We just returned from 10 NCL cruise..departed Vancouver 5/8 and ended in Seattle 5/18. We took Amtrak to Vancouver.

Had exceptional weather..rained in Juneau late afternoon/evening. No rain at any ports thereafter. It was was 70+ in Skagway..and the swimming pool area was packed.

We've been to Alaska twice in September and had decent weather...but can get pretty wet then. Great time to see salmon in Ketchikan.

We plan on doing the same cruise next May. Alaska is amazing!!

[Hendricks Clan]

Your best options for Alaska are Holland America, Princess, or Norwegian. Those three are the best when it comes to Alaska due to the number of ships, itineraries, and the above mentioned lines are the only ones that have weekly calls to Glacier Bay. Carnival is not the best option for Alaska, and is not comparable price wise with HAL, Princess, or NCL...who have great deals for Alaska.

[Skywench]

Carnival does offer Alaska, but only with one ship, a midweek departure, not the best itinerary, and often priced higher than other cruise lines that are more established. Shop around. There are better options.

 

 

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The Tuesday-Tuesday schedule is one of the things that I like about Carnival's Alaska cruises. For people like me that don't work the "normal" 9-5, M-F work week, it's great. I only have to make sure I have one weekend off work instead of two like most other cruise itineraries.

[txjudy54]

Just a few more questions. If I booked a cruise that started in Seattle and ended in Vancover and wanted to take Amtrak back to Seattle, how long is the train ride? Also how do I get from the Amtrak station back to the airport?:)

[mapleleaves]

Just a few more questions. If I booked a cruise that started in Seattle and ended in Vancover and wanted to take Amtrak back to Seattle, how long is the train ride? Also how do I get from the Amtrak station back to the airport?:)

 

Go to Amtrak.com to find the schedule for the amtrak-cascade route during the time of your travel. Amtrak runs trains AND buses between Van and Seattle so pay close attention to the schedule details.

The train takes about 4 - 4 1/2 hrs.

From Seattle train station to the airport the most convenient method would be by taxi, $40 is the max rate from downtown to SeaTac.

flatrateforhire.com charges $29.

 

If you can easily manage your luggage to walk a few blocks you could also use the city bus or the Light Rail for about $3.

[kGCAL]

Princess, NCL, HAL are the most established lines for Alaska cruise

[JimAOk1945]

We have done two different Alaska cruises. The round trip on the Star Princess from Seattle was nice but I think we enjoyed our southbound cruise on Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas from Seward to Vancouver even more.

 

If you like Carnival you will probably enjoy going on a Royal Caribbean Alaska cruise. Shop around.

[bride123105]

If you can easily manage your luggage to walk a few blocks you could also use the city bus or the Light Rail for about $3.

 

Yep, that is what I did. The lightrail to Amtrak station is not too bad of a walk if you can manage the luggage.

[plattwear]

We are leaving on a Carnival cruise next Sunday out of Galveston and may be interested in booking an Alaskan cruise while we on board. Does Carnival have Alaskan cruises, what is the best port to leave from since we will have to fly, and what cruise would be best - inside or outside passage? One more question, what are the months for Alaskan cruises? I know this is a lot of questions but thanks for any help. I am just so confused but really want to do an Alaskan cruise.:)

 

TXJUDY54- I am from Texas too :-) We just got back from our first cruise to Alaska. I recommend Seattle and the Inside Passage. That is what we did. I LOVED Seattle and we arrived a day early to visit the city.

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise :-D