Alaska ships & itineraries

[yvonneh]

Which is the best ship to see Alaska: the Solstice, Infinity, or Millennium?

 

What are the best itineraries, or places to visit? Is Hubbard Glacier a must see? Tracy Arm? What about the best ports to mark and disembark?

 

So many choices, and I am not familiar with this area at all.

 

Any tips or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thank you~

[WestLakeGirl]

Start with reading the dozens of reviews you can find on .cruise Critic...they will tell you a lot

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Next year will be our 3rd Alaska cruise on Millennium. We like the itinerary and the fact that we can start or end the cruise in Alaska because it gives us a chance to explore the interior or spend time in Vancouver. There is a lot of information on the Alaska boards about the various ports and as WestLakeGirl says, there are a lot of reviews about the 3 ships cruising Alaska.

[Northern Aurora]

As someone who lives in Alaska I also suggest that you spend some time reading the Alaska Cruise Critic forum (located under Ports of Call). At the top of the index page you will find stickies with trip reports, and browsing through them will be very helpful. But it is also important to think about what YOU find interesting, and understand that the "best" itinerary for one person may not be the best for another.

[phoenix_dream]

My opinion about Alaska, especially for a first timer, is that it is all about the ports. You want to see the most posts, with the most time in ports. There are no bad ports in Alaska - of course everyone has their favorites. I would not choose for the best ship (all Celebrity ships are nice). Basically, the more time onshore Alaska the better. This counts ten times as much if you think this is a once only trip. And in that case, I would add a few days pre or post cruise to head into Denali via the Alaska railroad (at least one way - we have done bus one way/train the other). Nothing like it in the world.

[Mr. Click]

We did the northbound Millennium last month and yes, Hubbard Glacier was a high point of the trip. It was cold, foggy, gray skies but Captain Georgios got us within one half mile of the face of the glacier and it was just amazing. It was a great trip all around. We chose northbound because the time frame fit our needs. Post cruise we did an all day tour of the Kenai peninsula, overnighted in Anchorage and then pickup a rental car and drove out to Denali for two nights. I am already thinking about going back to spend more time at the Mendenhall Glacier and to see more of Denali. Yes, the ports are filled with tourist shops but if you step beyond that the scenery is just incredible. Click on the thumb nail of my Hubbard pano but keep in mind it had to really shrunk to fit here.. I already have a 36x12 canvas print arriving tomorrow...

Edited August 10, 2016 by Mr. Click