Which line for an Alaska cruise if you like Windstar

[new_cruiser]

I have been doing my research as well as reading the helpful suggestions here. I've narrowed down the list of contenders.

Seabourn is $7 K and Regent nearly $6 K.To be fair, Seabourn is 11 days where the rest of the prices are for 7 day, but I don't particularly like the Seabourn itinerary so to me the extra days aren't an advantage.

 

Also in that price range is Lindblad (National Geographic). If we were going for that price, I'd choose Lindblad. We are traveling with another couple and that may more than they are comfortable with.

 

Crystal prices are pretty reasonable for these cruises. They are about the same as Oceania and Oceania doesn't have ones that terminate or begin in Alaska - all their trips in the time period start and terminate in Seattle or Vancouver. So Oceania is out. The Crystal itinerary is very good. It includes both Hubbard and Glacier Bay as well as Skagway.

 

HAL is in the running too. As rafinmd pointed out, the HAL balcony cabin is about the same price as the Crystal ocean view. The HAL itinerary is quite good too. Actually, at the moment, a Crystal ocean view is $2585 and a HAL balcony is $2943. HAL ocean view is $1676.

 

Also under consideration are two of the very small ship lines for Juneau to Sitka cruises. Un-cruise and Alaskan Dream Cruise. They are in the $3500 to $4000 range (about the same as a Crystal balcony). Much smaller ships and small cabins but great itineraries, most excursions and activities included and a lot of flexibility for wildlife viewing.

[new_cruiser]

Our current short list:

 

Crystal Northern Wonders on Crystal Serenity, Vancouver to Anchorage/Seward

 

HAL Glacier Discovery Northbound on ms Zaandam (or Noordam), Vancouver to Anchorage/Seward

 

Un-cruise Northern Passages and Glacier Bay on Wilderness Discoverer (or Wilderness Explorer) , Juneau to Sitka

 

Alaskan Dream Cruise Glacier Bay and Island Adventure on Admiralty Dream (or Chichagof Dream), Juneau to Sitka

 

Much less likely: Lindblad Exploring Alaska's Costal Wilderness on Sealion or Quest, Sitka to Juneau

Edited October 30, 2016 by new_cruiser

[rafinmd]

A couple of additional comments after looking at your final options. I looked at Northern Wonders. I noticed that Crystal offers a Denali extension. It is quite expensive. When I was on Crystal last summer I was wait listed for the corresponding extension and never cleared. The reason was that the tour was limited to 25 people. On Crystal you should not be part of a big group and their personal service extends to their relationship with land providers.

 

With Crystal on your short list I'll recommend that you have a look at a thread on their forum with a wealth of information for Crystal Newcomers;

 

Some Thoughts For First Time Crystal Cruisers

 

Holland America will offer a greater variety of options for tours at the end of the cruise, and also the possibility of starting on land and having the cruise to relax and recover from a busy land trip.

 

I haven't sailed with Uncruise but did with Cruise West and the expedition vessels offer a unique experience.

 

I don't think you can go wrong here but I found Alaska addictive and what you miss on your first trip can become the focus of subsequent trips.

 

Roy

[new_cruiser]

We are booked!!

 

We chose Crystal Northern Wonders. I really liked the itinerary which includes Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier and Skagway. It was a good price for a luxury line, not that much more than HAL.

[su-arizona]

We have cruised several times on both Windstar and Oceania, and if you enjoy Windstar, you will enjoy Oceania.

 

Oceania sails a small ship (Regatta - max capacity 684 guests) to Alaska so it is more compatible in size to the Windstar ships. The food is excellent (better than Windstar, we think) service not quite as good as Windstar, but still very good. Prices are very comparable, although if you want airfare it is included in the Oceania cruise fares (though you can purchase cruise-only).

 

We have not cruised on Regent, the higher-priced sister to Oceania. It is all-inclusive, unlike Oceania or Windstar. We don't drink enough to make it worthwhile, and dislike butler service - not our thing. Regent is significantly more expensive than either Oceania or Windstar on standard type cabins.

 

If you are interested in comparisons of Regent vs Oceania, it's a much-debated topic on the Oceania boards.