Alaskan cruise, which ship/itinerary would you choose?

[BigB0882]

We are booked! Got 3 rooms on Deck 8, all aft balconies Concierge Class 1. We have one room between us because it is an Accessible room so they couldn't give us that one and we completely understand but it doesn't really matter. Very excited!!! Thanks for all the help and advice!

Edited January 16, 2016 by BigB0882

[ClaudiaB]

You won't regret it. Our first aft cabin was a concierge.

 

Head on to the Roll Call and start having conversations with people on your exact cruise.

 

Geaux Tigers!!!

[Flafun888]

Appreciate this thread and following with interest, as I'm in the same boat - just starting to plan for a May or Sept 2017 1st ever Alaskan cruise. Will be spending lots of time in the Alaska forum. :)

 

Quick question. I understand the advice re: fewer sea days, but I actually want a couple of sea days to enjoy the classic cruise part of trip too.

 

Someone said they'd avoid Seattle because those were rough sea days. Has anyone done the Seattle to Seattle itinerary and had relatively calm/good sea days? My DH is prone to seasickness, but had my heart set on Seattle as I've always wanted to visit. We both work full time, so given other vacations throughout the year, 7 day cruise plus 2-3 extra days in Seattle is all we can do time-wise right now. Hopefully we'll go on other Alaskan cruises later.

 

Debating between the 7-day Princess Ruby Inside Passage/Glacier Bay cruise and something on X. Would welcome any advice.

[K.T.B.]

Appreciate this thread and following with interest, as I'm in the same boat - just starting to plan for a May or Sept 2017 1st ever Alaskan cruise. Will be spending lots of time in the Alaska forum. :)

 

Quick question. I understand the advice re: fewer sea days, but I actually want a couple of sea days to enjoy the classic cruise part of trip too.

 

Someone said they'd avoid Seattle because those were rough sea days. Has anyone done the Seattle to Seattle itinerary and had relatively calm/good sea days? My DH is prone to seasickness, but had my heart set on Seattle as I've always wanted to visit. We both work full time, so given other vacations throughout the year, 7 day cruise plus 2-3 extra days in Seattle is all we can do time-wise right now. Hopefully we'll go on other Alaskan cruises later.

 

Debating between the 7-day Princess Ruby Inside Passage/Glacier Bay cruise and something on X. Would welcome any advice.

 

I've sailed in and out of Seattle with Carnival and there were no issues that I noticed. These is some slight rocking of the ship, but it's much less than in the Caribbean. And, IMO, Glacier Bay is a GORGEOUS place to visit if you get the chance. Totally serene. I know nothing of Princess, but if itinerary is more important to you than the ship, I would opt for that.

[rjrpar]

Just remember, everyone is different. You need to determine what you want to see. We were in Glacier Bay and it was interesting for a couple hours but I would not be anxious to see more glaciers. We prefer the history of Alaska, you need to make your own decision

[Flafun888]

I've sailed in and out of Seattle with Carnival and there were no issues that I noticed. These is some slight rocking of the ship, but it's much less than in the Caribbean. And, IMO, Glacier Bay is a GORGEOUS place to visit if you get the chance. Totally serene. I know nothing of Princess, but if itinerary is more important to you than the ship, I would opt for that.

 

Thanks, Kevin. That's reassuring to hear, although I know the weather and sea conditions are always an unknown. Would you mind telling me when you sailed?

[Flafun888]

Just remember, everyone is different. You need to determine what you want to see. We were in Glacier Bay and it was interesting for a couple hours but I would not be anxious to see more glaciers. We prefer the history of Alaska, you need to make your own decision

 

Honestly, never having been before, I'm not too picky at the moment. I think we'd enjoy whatever ports there were and whatever there was to see. But candidly, I haven't done much port research yet to answer your point intelligently and I tend to research things to death! I do really like X - but I keep hearing good things about Princess for Alaska - plus their rates for the 2017 7 day inside glacier one from Seattle are fairly reasonable and seems to get good reviews. I guess I'm leaning a little bit in that direction but knowing me, that can change on a dime, as I continue researching what CC folks have to say.

[K.T.B.]

Thanks, Kevin. That's reassuring to hear, although I know the weather and sea conditions are always an unknown. Would you mind telling me when you sailed?

 

Beginning of May one time and beginning of August another. The weather is always an issue. Just expect there to be rain some of the time.

[need2cruisesoon]

Honestly, never having been before, I'm not too picky at the moment. I think we'd enjoy whatever ports there were and whatever there was to see. But candidly, I haven't done much port research yet to answer your point intelligently and I tend to research things to death! I do really like X - but I keep hearing good things about Princess for Alaska - plus their rates for the 2017 7 day inside glacier one from Seattle are fairly reasonable and seems to get good reviews. I guess I'm leaning a little bit in that direction but knowing me, that can change on a dime, as I continue researching what CC folks have to say.

 

I researched a lot like you.

We are booked on Solstice 6/3 out of Sea-Tac.

For me half the vacation (trip) is the itinerary the other half is the ship. Most people seem to care more about the itinerary with Alaska but you can't go wrong with a S Class ship for the whole experience. I just don't want to take a chance with an older ship from another cruise line.

Thats my take.

[BigB0882]

I obviously haven't sailed Alaska since I started this thread but if you want to see Seattle but don't want to sail out of there you can do that. Fly into Seattle and take a train to Vancouver which is supposed to be very beautiful and only takes a few hours. We are considering doing this ourself.

[TeaBag]

The scenery between Vancouver Island and the mainland is breath taking. You only see that sailing out of Vancouver. Solstice sails up the west side of Vancouver Island in open seas which can be rough as others have pointed out. I agree Solstice is a lovely ship and we love the lawn. Having said that we are a month away from a long cruise on Millennium out of Singapore. She will go into drydock the day we disembark.

[alcpa1]

Alaska excursions are not nearly as exhausting as those in many parts of the world. One reason could be the weather - even on warm days warm does not equal hot. Another is the relative proximity of attractions to the ports. You will not be on a bus for hours on end and if you are in transit you will glory in the mountains and flora of the region. (I think the longest excursion we have taken in Alaska was to Carcross, Canada and we kept our eyes glued to the windows since the landscape and even the weather was constantly changing and thrilling us.) Don't forget that any glacial experience is in essence a sea day!

I love the idea of spending a couple of days in Seattle and transferring to Vancouver to board. That could be a win win for you both.

[SheriffJoe]

Solstice is BY FAR the nicest mass market ship sailing Alaska and you can actually see MUCH more of Glacier Bay by doing a flight seeing tour out of Skagway, ships see a VERY small portion of Glacier Bay but a flight seeing tour takes you all around it in an hour or 2.

[fleckle]

Appreciate this thread and following with interest, as I'm in the same boat - just starting to plan for a May or Sept 2017 1st ever Alaskan cruise. Will be spending lots of time in the Alaska forum. :)

 

Quick question. I understand the advice re: fewer sea days, but I actually want a couple of sea days to enjoy the classic cruise part of trip too.

 

It depends on what you mean by "a couple of sea days to enjoy the classic cruise part of trip" because you will get a couple of days on the ship just cruising along without a port stop whichever Alaska cruise you book.

 

The ship spends those days just cruising along either northbound or southbound to get you up to Alaska, or to get you back down from Alaska.

 

The significant difference is which route your ship takes on those days of cruising.

 

In other words, we know that we will be staying on the ship on those days regardless of which route it travels, but if we choose a ship that cruises out in the Pacific Ocean on those days, we are going to miss out on a lot of great scenery.

 

[bwaz]

We sailed Solstice RT out of Seattle last July. That was the best and most efficient choice for our large family group. I agree with Sheriff Joe about Glacier Bay. We took a flight seeing tour and it was purely spectacular. Please consider the small boat voyage out of Tracy Arm. Whales, glaciers calving, wildlife- we saw so much and it was comfortable, and warm. In 2002 we sailed out of Vancouver on RC Radiance. I thought Seattle as a port was just as enjoyable and beautiful in its own way. We stayed at Inn at the Market and got a lot out of our two days in Seattle.

[FlorenceItaly]

Absolutely positively as one that fished those waters - do the Millennium as you get Skagway and Hubbard Glacier - it is the best - better than glacier Bay IMO. Then spend a night or two in Seward and do a Kenai Fjords full day tour. Probably the best boat tour I have been fortunate to do. Easy connections Seward to Anchorage and if you like you can see part of the main part of Alaska too!

 

I agree about the Kenai Fjords tour. It was one of THE highlights of the cruise! I did it post cruise(Holland America) since I had a late afternoon/early evening flight out of Anchorage.

[varoo]

Absolutely positively as one that fished those waters - do the Millennium as you get Skagway and Hubbard Glacier - it is the best - better than glacier Bay IMO. Then spend a night or two in Seward and do a Kenai Fjords full day tour. Probably the best boat tour I have been fortunate to do. Easy connections Seward to Anchorage and if you like you can see part of the main part of Alaska too!

We agree also as we love the wonderful Kenai Fjords tours, plus all the other advantages you get by taking those leisurely Millennium cruises.

 

Sometimes if you get lucky, your captain will take the Millennium up through a narrow, even more scenic inside passage channel on the northbound leg.

 

If you don't want to travel into the Alaska interior, you can enjoy a longer round trip cruise on the Millennium by getting right back on the ship at Seward after your Kenai Fjords tour and riding it back down to Vancouver.

 

 

Or for different experiences with somewhat different itinerary, you can switch cruise lines and ride a different ship back to Vancouver.

 

Edited February 15, 2016 by varoo