Alaska or Mediterranean Cruise??

[jormot]

Looking at options for our 10 year anniversary. If you have been on both which did you prefer and why? I know they are apples & oranges but I'm curious what others have to say about their experiences.

[kendon]

For romance, the med cruise. For adventure, Alaska. What kind of couple are you? My husband and I always find romance in adventure. Happy anniversary! Enjoy which ever you choose. :)

[jormot]

We like both actually but enjoy something different. We've never been to Europe but have never gone to Alaska either.

[shredie]

Yes, apples and oranges. Med cruises are generally more port intensive with little relaxing on the ship time. (I like sea days.) Alaska can be full of ports if you plan it that way, but there will be at least a few more sea days. I've done Alaska several times but the Med only once. Do you want quiet time or lots of interesting tourism? That's about how it seemed to me.

[Cruise Junky]

Hands down Med. Not sure if it's because I'm surrounded by Mountains and wildlife, but Alaska holds no appeal for us.

[ggprincess2004]

A Med cruise is so port intensive - fantastic but not at all relaxing, as you will want to see everything and do everything - so long days in port going flat out, followed by exhaustion.

 

An Alaskan cruise can have a somewhat more relaxed pace. While you will probably want to do a lot each time you are in port, you will also have the day in Glacier Bay on board the ship, and a less hectic pace overall.

 

If you have enough time to do a Med cruise, you probably have enough time to do either a northbound and then a southbound Alaskan cruise, or start with an Alaskan land tour and then a southbound cruise.

 

For an anniversary, I would choose Alaska, but that is just me. It's not quite as exhausting. But the Med is very memorable. Whether you embark in Venice, Rome or Barcelona, I do recommend a few days touring the embarkation city before the cruise (and time to get over the time difference), and if it's a different disembarkation port, a few days there afterward to see the city and catch you breath.

 

Tough choice!!!! Either one will be great.

[OldSeaDog]

I tend to agree with ggprincess. We've done both (Alaska several times) and just did an extended family anniversary cruise to Alaska. It was fantastic. But, we did enjoy the history in our Med ports, and our anniversary along the way--it ended up feeling incidental, rather than a highlight of the cruise.

 

That said, how about a Hawaiian cruise for your anniversary? Nice relaxing sea days on each end (plenty of time for that couples massage, etc.), romantic settings in the Islands, plus the weather can't be beat for Ultimate Balcony Dinner at sea watching the sun go down. Very romantic!

Edited August 23, 2014 by OldSeaDog

[travellovers2]

We're in our mid/late 40's. We loved the cruise to Alaska, but nothing like a med cruise!!! Last Fall we sailed out of Venice and went to Dubrovnik, 5 Greek Islands (you will love Santorini and Oia), Istanbul, Kusadasi and Naples (we visited Capri, beautiful place!!). We took the Ruby Princess. :D

 

Whichever one you choose, they both have beautiful ports, but out of the 20 cruises we have taken, sailing out of the Venice was the best and most memorable! Happy Cruising!:)

[Coveguy4]

If you are feeling energetic the Grand Med is a must do! If you want more leisure and less activity, go to Alaska. I've done the Med twice and its exhausting, so much to see and so port intensive. Alaska was relaxing for me, beautiful scenery and much slower pace.

[northernsw]

From my perspective, both trips will be the adventure of a lifetime. If you choose Alaska, you will see natural wonders that will amaze. You will have the opportunity to see incredible wildlife up close, you will be able to stand atop glaciers, see the tallest peak on the continent, in short, you will have an amazing experience. On the downside, not much in Alaska is especially historically old.

 

If you choose the Med, so much of what you will see is old. In some cases, thousands of years old. I found Pompei amazing, same for Rome. I absolutely love Venice, and Barcelona is a blast. But, you are not going to see much in the way of wildlife.

 

Some folks have made the point that a Med itinerary is not particularly relaxing, and this can be true, but the same can also be said for Alaska with its 19-20 hours of daylight. The joy of cruising is that you can vacation at whatever pace you wish.

 

I have not yet seen mention of weather. In the peak of summer, the Med will be hot, Alaska will not. If you are from northern climates, you may find the summer heat in the Med to be miserable, while in Alaska, you may be the only one in the pool.

 

We live in Alaska, and our first cruise was an Alaskan cruise. If the price was right, we would happily do another. We have also sailed the Med twice and would go again in a heartbeat.

 

For us, our Med cruises were transatlantics. This means shoulder season so we beat the heat, and we got to pack as much activity into the port stops as we could with a six day relaxation period on the crossing.

 

No matter what you choose, you will have a great time!

[Cruise Junky]

Another consideration if you want a bit slower pace in Europe is Greek Island cruise

[Coral]

Do the Med when you are young.

 

Alaska will be there later.

[mrobstad]

I did a 12 day Med end of July/early August. It was the trip of a lifetime, but it was so hot, I'd go to Venice from 9 am-noon, go in the pool til 3 pm and back to Venice. Pompeii was even hotter....despite the heat, WOW, what a trip!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[baggal]

Do the Med when you are young.

 

Alaska will be there later.

 

Ditto.

[Tiffany's mom]

Hands downs the Med. After 30 cruises we did Alaska and land tour this summer. Lots of rain and cold(fog). It was ok saw some wonderful sites, but the Med is great. Try the Island Princess out of Venice. Venice is our favorite port in Europe. Go early and spent a few days in Venice. Our 50th anniversary is next year and we are doing the Island out of Venice. The sailway is so special. The cruise ends in Barcelona, we will spent 2 nights there and join the Emerald to Fort Landerdale.

 

What ever you choose have a great one.

 

Pam

[lake5298]

How about the Caribbean? Sunshine, romantic beaches, lovely blue sea?

 

Alaska is fascinating.

 

Med can be hard work if you want to see everything - or relaxing in nice weather.

 

Hard choice - but you do have plenty more anniversaries to look forward to in order to go to the other destinations…..

[Love.II.Cruise]

For our anniversary we are doing the 15 night Hawaiian cruise - lots of sea days, but we are going to be super busy in Hawaii!

 

As others have said, the Med can be really port intensive and not as relaxing. I would go with Alaska and do the Med the year after. ;)

[dorisis]

Med for history and culture. Alaska for scenery and wildlife.

[eclue]

Have done both....going back to Alaska next week, but the Med is a trip of a lifetime.....Istanbul is like no where else in this world...planning to do it again.

my vote for you is the Med.

eclue:)

[-Lew-]

Med cruises are port intensive to be sure. Consider a westbound TA which combines a Med cruise with many sea days crossing the Atlantic during which you can recuperate.

 

Upon arrival in the US, you have a much shorter flight home than flying from Europe.

 

Lew

[Coral]

I do echo the comments about the Med being hot. If you can go off season (end of Sept, October), it would be more enjoyable - at least for me it would be.

[Steviewonder1]

We did the Med last October on the Ruby and it was wonderful. Not hot and not crowded. September in the Med is crowded and hot. We saw a ton of places we had only read about growing up in History class. Nothing like setting foot on these many wonderful places. We have done Alaska 3 times and all have been wonderful also. Never had a bad cruise. Planning for the British Isles next year.

[ckr]

Looking at options for our 10 year anniversary. If you have been on both which did you prefer and why? I know they are apples & oranges but I'm curious what others have to say about their experiences.

 

Like others have said , Alaska is about nature, Med history. Lots depends on time and money. If you do Alaska I would do land tour as well. If Med tack on some extra days. We did Denali in Alaska and thought it was a highlight, as was Rome precruise. Another consideration depending on the Med cruise is the entry and sailaway in Venice. Not sure of the exact date but but they will be stopping the sail past St Marks for large cruise ships. If Venice is a port you want to see do the Med first. The glaciers are melting but not as fast (I hope). Both are great cruises.

[pppatpc2]

The two best trips I've taken. You can't go wrong either way. We went to Alaska in July and did the Princess Grand Mediterranean at the end of September and had great weather for both. I'm guessing whichever you chose the other will remain on your bucket list. The Med requires more time and money, so if you have both now, I would do it since you never know what life brings. That being said, the beauty of Alaska is incredible. I always suggest to people that you do that trip South to North, because the scenery just keeps getting better. Whichever you choose, I wish you a very happy anniversary!

[Bruin Steve]

Easy: Mediterranean.

 

Alaska has some spectacular scenery...but the towns are very pedestrian...very American...not much but cheap souvenir shops...Sure, there's a little bit of culture--some Native Alaska stuff...history doesn't go back very far...architecture is nothing to see...food, language, cultuure pretty much "American"...But, yes, the scenery is spectacular...and you can do the helicopter/glacier landing thing, some whale watching and some "flightseeing", white river rafting, horseback riding, etc.

 

The Mediterranean, OTOH, has thousands of years of history, archaeology, culture and architecture...Every down has different culture, different food, different languages...Depending on your exact itinerary, you can see everything from ancient archaeology (Pompeii, Ephesus, the Pelopenese, the Roman Forum and Coliseum, etc.) to the Medeival (Rhodes, Malta, Corfu, Dubrovnik) to the Renaissance (Florence, Venice, etc.). You can visit large, beautiful thriving cities (Rome, Barcelona), small towns (along the Amalfi Coast or the Cinque Terre or Provence or Croatia) and enchanting islands (Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Capri)...Every stop has lots to see and do and every port is distinctive and memorable...

 

No question, for me, the Mediterranean wins hands down. No contest.