Alaska HELP!

[purplemusik]

I'm looking into going to Alaska and I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the choices! I don't know which itinerary is best. What port to go out of. If we should go northern or southern or which ports are "must sees". ANY help ( and I mean ANY ) would be appreciated so I can at least have a starting point!

[Thrak]

Unless you are doing a land tour why not consider a RT rather than a northern or southern sailing? We did Alaska (Glacier Bay route) on a 10 day RT out of SF.

[Colo Cruiser]

You really can't go wrong with any Alaska iteniary, where do you want to cruise from?

 

San Fran

Seattle

Vancouver

Whittier

 

The Island and Coral are the best ships for Alaska with only 1900 passengers. But they sail 7 day one way cruises to/from Vancouver.

Glacier Bay is a must see. Can't really go wrong with Tracy Arm either.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[ggprincess2004]

A few questions to help narrow down things:

 

How much time do you have to vacation? a week, 10 days, two weeks, more??

 

Do you have to fly to a port - such as Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco, or can you drive from where you live?

 

Do you also want to do a land tour, are thinking of also doing a land tour, or just want to cruise?

 

If you can answer these questions I think I can get you started on narrowing down the rest of things.....I did a whole lot of research (including extended conversations with very experienced cruisers) before we took our first Alaska cruise. We've done a number of them now.....with some variety, so I think I can help.

Edited July 26, 2014 by ggprincess2004

[jsiegel]

Check the itineraries with special focus on how long the ship will be in each port. Some of the itineraries have limited times in ports, such as the Golden out of Seattle. It is there only early morning in Ketchikan and late night in Vancouver, not so good for first timers to Alaska (and Canada)

 

Jackie

[purplemusik]

A few questions to help narrow down things:

 

How much time do you have to vacation? a week, 10 days, two weeks, more??

A week or so is what we were looking at

 

Do you have to fly to a port - such as Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco, or can you drive from where you live?

We live in FLorida so we would 100% have to fly :)

 

Do you also want to do a land tour, are thinking of also doing a land tour, or just want to cruise? I wasn't even thinking about a land tour! omg more options! I'm not against a land tour...what does that consist of? Sorry, I'm WAY out of the loop when it's not Carribean.

 

 

If you can answer these questions I think I can get you started on narrowing down the rest of things.....I did a whole lot of research (including extended conversations with very experienced cruisers) before we too our first Alaska cruise. We've done a number of them now.....with some variety, so I think I can help.

 

I'm so excited but so overwhelmed! I'm a huge planner and researcher but I feel like I don't even know where to start with this so I appreciate your responses!

[cdngrl]

if its in your budget, consider doing 14 days. a northern then a southern from vancouver. as you're flying across the country, i always want to make it worth my while. i do b2b in the caribbean because it takes so long to get there.

 

I've had more success seeing glaciers in glacier bay than in tracy arm.

 

if its possible, try to fly a day or 2 before the cruise. see some of the sights, get on the local time and not stress about making the ship.

 

happy planning!

[ggprincess2004]

With a week, IMHO you would do best with a round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver (if they are going RT out of Vancouver). Choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay for your first cruise to Alaska (it probably will be someplace you will want to cruise again). You don't really have the time to include a land tour, but in the future if you do, my recommendation is to do the land portion first, then hop on the cruise ship.

 

OK, so fly in a day ahead of time. Period. It's pretty easy going into SeaTac to get a hotel with a free shuttle close to the airport - then you can return there in the morning and grab a Princess transfer to the pier - or get a hotel near the pier and enjoy an evening in Seattle pre-cruise, which ever you flight fits best.

 

If going out of Vancouver and back, we still fly into SeaTac (price of flights) and take the Princess transfer bus up to the pier in Vancouver the next morning.

 

The reason we don't do one ways is the cost of airfare to/from Anchorage. We might as well stay on the ship and head back to Vancouver....it's a few bucks more but it is more cruising.

 

Now, if you have a few more days, some will say take a 10 RT out of San Francisco. I have mixed feelings about this, we have done it and loved it, but we booked it because DH needed to be in SF ahead of time for business anyway. To be in SF and not have time to enjoy the city is a shame, but you do get more days cruising, just not in Alaska.

 

So I think we are probably down to looking at which ships are going RT out of Seattle and/or Vancouver (not sure if any do) - this summer or next summer? and include Glacier Bay in the itinerary.

 

Does that help narrow things a bit?

[purplemusik]

With a week, IMHO you would do best with a round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver (if they are going RT out of Vancouver). Choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay for your first cruise to Alaska (it probably will be someplace you will want to cruise again). You don't really have the time to include a land tour, but in the future if you do, my recommendation is to do the land portion first, then hop on the cruise ship.

 

OK, so fly in a day ahead of time. Period. It's pretty easy going into SeaTac to get a hotel with a free shuttle close to the airport - then you can return there in the morning and grab a Princess transfer to the pier - or get a hotel near the pier and enjoy an evening in Seattle pre-cruise, which ever you flight fits best.

 

If going out of Vancouver and back, we still fly into SeaTac (price of flights) and take the Princess transfer bus up to the pier in Vancouver the next morning.

 

The reason we don't do one ways is the cost of airfare to/from Anchorage. We might as well stay on the ship and head back to Vancouver....it's a few bucks more but it is more cruising.

 

Now, if you have a few more days, some will say take a 10 RT out of San Francisco. I have mixed feelings about this, we have done it and loved it, but we booked it because DH needed to be in SF ahead of time for business anyway. To be in SF and not have time to enjoy the city is a shame, but you do get more days cruising, just not in Alaska.

 

So I think we are probably down to looking at which ships are going RT out of Seattle and/or Vancouver (not sure if any do) - this summer or next summer? and include Glacier Bay in the itinerary.

 

Does that help narrow things a bit?

 

 

YESSSSSSSSS Thank you SO much!!!!! I'm so excited. It's going to be myself, my Grandma, and my 9 year old daughter :D

[ggprincess2004]

2015 the Crown is doing the 7 day RT out of Seattle and includes Glacier Bay as well as the stop in Victoria as well, which is great.

 

The Golden is doing the 10 day RT from SF, and alternating Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm.

 

Everything out of Vancouver is NB and SB, no RT's.

Edited July 26, 2014 by ggprincess2004

[purplemusik]

2015 the Crown is doing the 7 day RT out of Seattle and includes Glacier Bay as well as the stop in Victoria as well, which is great.

 

The Golden is doing the 10 day RT from SF, and alternating Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm.

 

Everything out of Vancouver is NB and SB, no RT's.

 

 

My grandma just asked me if I'd rather do Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. You said Glacier Bay right? :)

[ggprincess2004]

Glad to help you get your arms around the options - have a great time and if you have more questions as you move forward with planning, you already know you'll get lots of input at Cruise Critic!

 

Bon Voyage!!!!

[ggprincess2004]

My grandma just asked me if I'd rather do Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. You said Glacier Bay right? :)

 

Glacier Bay !!!!!!!-(you can only get Hubbard on a NB or SB one-way itinerary.)

[Thrak]

My grandma just asked me if I'd rather do Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. You said Glacier Bay right? :)

 

Glacier Bay will guarantee an up close glacier experience. Tracy Arm is very often a miss as far as getting to Sawyer Glacier as the ice prevents the ship from getting very near. Many (many) cruises don't make it to the glacier. For your first Alaska trip do Glacier Bay.

 

Glacier Bay was our first cruise ever and it hooked me on cruising. :)

[I object 2]

YESSSSSSSSS Thank you SO much!!!!! I'm so excited. It's going to be myself, my Grandma, and my 9 year old daughter :D

 

How exciting for all of you! You'll love Alaska no matter which cruise you choose.

 

Princess has an excellent kid's program. You might consider checking it out once on board. We took our 8 and 10 year granddaughters on their first cruise this summer (Caribbean Princess) and they had a blast. They could choose to go all day or just part of the day, choosing what activities they wanted to participate in (face painting, t-shirt coloring contests, ping pong tournaments, disco night, pajama party, movies, science projects (build your own roller coaster) etc. The youth staff are awesome.

[ggprincess2004]

Princess brings National Park rangers on board in Glacier Bay and among other things they do a Jr. Ranger program for the kids.

[detype]

Just return yesterday from 7 day round trip Alaska cruise out of Vancouver on HAL Zuiderdam. Leaving from Vancouver you enter the scenic Inside Passage. Less open water than leaving from Seattle. Our itinerary included Tracey Arm, Juneau, Skagway, ( highly recommended Frontier explorer tour into Yukon out of Skagway!! )

Glacier Bay day 4 and Ketchikan the following day. Return to Vancouver via the inside passage. I have done this itinerary twice and think it is wonderful.

Enjoy!!

[satxdiver]

Glacier Bay is a must and is beautiful. Don't miss it. We have done both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm (had to turn back like many others!). We have done the NB out of Vancouver and a RT out of Seattle. Both were great. We did a self guided tour in AK going to Anchorage, Denali NP (Mt McKinley), Talkeetna and Fairbanks but that requires up to a week more. For those who have never been to AK, you are missing a fantastic time. It was awesome.

 

Skagway is where most pax take the train up through the pass to the Canadian border and the Yukon - don't miss it. Juneau offers a trip to the Mendenhall glacier just outside the town. Ketchikan has the old part preserved along the creek and an excellent program on the Native Americans that live in the area along with a sample of their totem poles. Ketchikan receives over 200" of rain each year so expect to get wet. It also is the sight where they were going to build the "bridge to nowhere".

 

Be sure to take a good set of binoculars as you will need them. Best cabins are the ones with a balcony so that you can go outside anytime day or night. Speaking of day/night, expect long daylight hours and very short nights. Anchorage in the summer gets 15-20 hours of daylight depending on the month you go.

[kennicott]

It appears to me that most commentary here, relative to your OP, relegate your visit entirely to Southeast Alaska (Which many call our "Panhandle"). Nothing wrong with that, but you appear to want to visit "Alaska" not just a small portion of our coastal area. Hey, I was born and raised in Southeast, but today live in Central Alaska, so I certainly do not want to disrespect the magnificent beauty of Southeast proper and/or a little further up the coast, Prince William Sound.

 

I would suggest you consider a week long cruise throughout Southeast that then takes you into Central Alaska via the Gulf of Alaska , terminating or beginning in the ports of Whittier or Seward which are close to Anchorage (very few cruise lines visit the port of Anchorage directly and if so, as only an intermediate port of call), many confuse Whittier and Seward as being ports at Anchorage itself, not anywhere close---(look at a map). Then branch out throughout the major portions of Alaska, even better, take in Canada's Yukon, specifically, Dawson City.

 

Anyway, my recommendation to you is to get yourself a copy of the "Milepost" (www. themileppost.com). Now I understand you are probably not going to drive much of Alaska yourself if at all, but this publication will provide valuable insight and appreciation of what is up here from a sea voyager's land visit standpoint. You can get a copy down at your local library for free most likely, don't worry about outdated copies, things don't change that much.

 

Welcome to Alaska.

[cruisequeen4ever]

You must do an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay; it's spectacular and unique. I recommend doing a Cruisetour that combines a 7 day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise with a land tour to Denali.

 

 

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[KruzeKrazy!]

Most every poster has great suggestions that are right on. For first-timer Alaska cruisers do a RT out of Seattle or Vancouver (Seattle is a little easier customs-wise and there tend to be more flight options and lower fares).

 

Any Alaska cruise will be great so don't sweat it. Most will include Ketchikan and Juneau (and Victoria if out of Seattle) with the other stop varying a bit and the difference of Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm.

 

GB is the best first choice even if you get to the end of Tracy Arm (which we have). Between the two if I could only see one it would definitely be GB - more majestic, more glaciers, and more consummate Alaska.

 

And, yes, if you do Skagway do the train.

[WEGL81]

We did the Voyage of the Glaciers NB from Vancouver to Whittier last year. For our first cruise to Alaska it was awesome. We only had the day before the cruise in Vancouver, though, and wish we had planned more time there. We also flew from Florida so one way flights to Vancouver weren't too bad, but one way flights back from Fairbanks were steep and we had to arrive in Tampa the next day at that. We did the 14 day cruise tour. Unfortunately, it rained for the better part of our land tour so we missed out on a lot. I know you're only going for a week, but it takes a day to fly out there and another day to fly back. Haven't considered any RT just because we didn't want to spend time cruising back over areas we had already cruised on the way there. Another thing is if you do eventually decide to do a land tour, be prepared to spend a lot of time in busses going from one place to another. It all looks great when planning to go to 4 different lodges in a week long land tour until you realize you have to unpack anbd pack 4 times (plus your luggage gets beat to h***).

 

If we had it to do over again and knew the weather was going to be so bad on the land tour, we would've done a back-to-back Vancouver-Whittier inside passage. This kind of goes against our RT philosophy, but seeing Glacier Bay twice is not a bad thing.