Planning cruise to alaska

[fedman990]

First time cruiser for family of 4 with 2 kids late teens. Want to go from seattle roundtrip early august-on a somewhat on a budget. What would you recommend?

[TheCalicoCat]

First time cruiser for family of 4 with 2 kids late teens. Want to go from seattle roundtrip early august-on a somewhat on a budget. What would you recommend?

 

Choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. It is a World Heritage site for a reason.

 

What do you wan to see? Plan according to what you want to see or do in AK.

 

The White Pass RR can be booked on any cruise that goes to Skagway.

Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier can be done on any cruise ship that goes to Juneau. (Whale watching also in Icy Strait Point)

The Alaskan Lumberjack show and creek street can be done on any ship that visits Ketchikan.

 

Seldom visited ports include Sitka where you can visit the Raptor Center & Fortress of the Bears - &/or see the Russian part of AK's history.

 

As for the teens, have them at least sign up for the teen club/zone - so that they can join in on the scavenger hunt, etc. later & to meet the other teens - so they can hang out elsewhere. (They may feel that it isn't cool...)

Edited January 3, 2017 by TheCalicoCat

[jeraud]

We did this in 2015 and we're still talking about it-- https://www.alaskaexcursions.com/glacier-safari-2/

It was an amazing once in a lifetime experience. Includes a boat ride, canoeing, hiking & being right at the face of an amazing glacier.

 

 

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[fedman990]

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you recommend certain cruise lines for alaska cruises? Also what kind of deals would you suggest looking for. None of us really drink that much.

[SuperCrewBear]

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you recommend certain cruise lines for alaska cruises? Also what kind of deals would you suggest looking for. None of us really drink that much.

 

Check this one out:

 

Norwegian Pearl 7-Day Alaska with Glacier Bay from Seattle

 

The Pearl is a pretty nice ship, has a great spa you can get passes for and this cruise in August visits Glacier Bay - Glacier Bay should be at the top of your list. I think the Pearl is supposed to do a dry dock soon so it should be in great shape for you.

 

Good luck!

[TheCalicoCat]

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you recommend certain cruise lines for alaska cruises? Also what kind of deals would you suggest looking for. None of us really drink that much.

 

HAL, Princess in that order only the sailings that include Glacier Bay. (If one of the other lines has a Glacier Bay permit, by all means include them in your pot of cruises to choose from.)

 

That is my opinion - 1,000's if not 10,000's of other people cruise on the other cruise lines & have a wonderful time.

[TheCalicoCat]

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you recommend certain cruise lines for alaska cruises? Also what kind of deals would you suggest looking for. None of us really drink that much.

 

Deals - aka cheap cruise fare?

 

You may find reduced rates for 3rd & 4th person in the cabin. But by & large the cruise lines do not have a reason to offer discounts on the AK cruises. (& Alaska may be exempt of those sales - I couldn't get a special on my trip...) Holland America is adding another ship to meet the current demand as it is.

 

I think the going rate is probably $800 per person on the low end (+taxes, port fees, gratuities, flight, pre-cruise hotel, etc.) & the excursions in AK are expensive.

[fedman990]

HAL, Princess in that order only the sailings that include Glacier Bay. (If one of the other lines has a Glacier Bay permit, by all means include them in your pot of cruises to choose from.)

 

That is my opinion - 1,000's if not 10,000's of other people cruise on the other cruise lines & have a wonderful time.

 

Thanks!

[jeraud]

We did the Pearl out of Seattle. You should have balcony on this trip. National Park Service rangers come aboard at Glacier Bay and narrate. They do it in the Spinnaker but it's broadcast throughout the ship. The ship stops and pivots 360 degrees so both sides get the great views.

 

 

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[Ashland]

Absolutely no reason to not consider RCI either...regardless of what other's suggest....you have options...explore them.

[Cruise_More_Often]

HAL, Princess in that order only the sailings that include Glacier Bay. (If one of the other lines has a Glacier Bay permit, by all means include them in your pot of cruises to choose from.)

 

That is my opinion - 1,000's if not 10,000's of other people cruise on the other cruise lines & have a wonderful time.

NCL also cruises to Glacier Bay.

[sherryf]

Absolutely no reason to not consider RCI either...regardless of what other's suggest....you have options...explore them.

 

OP wants to sail round trip from Seattle. RCI has the weakest itinerary out of Seattle of any I've seen. Only 2 Alaskan ports rather than the usual 3. I think they are in Victoria longer than most other cruises, but for me, that's not worth losing an Alaskan port. I cruise to Alaska for ALASKA, not Victoria.

[journeycollector]

We did Princess round trip from Seattle in June. Loved the whole experience!

 

Booked an inside cabin to save money and didn't regret it--we spent most of our time exploring the ship anyway. During scenic cruising through Glacier Bay we had great views from the higher decks.

 

More info about our experience here: https://travelontheside.com/2017/01/02/thoughts-on-cruising-alaska-trip-in-review/

[Ashland]

OP wants to sail round trip from Seattle. RCI has the weakest itinerary out of Seattle of any I've seen. Only 2 Alaskan ports rather than the usual 3. I think they are in Victoria longer than most other cruises, but for me, that's not worth losing an Alaskan port. I cruise to Alaska for ALASKA, not Victoria.

 

Thanks for "your" opinion but nothing wrong with giving the OP some options....The port times in Juneau, Skagway & Victoria gives plenty of time for excursions adding another port isn't always what ALASKA is necessarily about...for us it's cruising...True I wouldn't opt for the Seattle route I much prefer the Northbound's we've done going "to" ALASKA "not" sailing away from it...but that's "my" opinion...the choice is for the OP.

[TheCalicoCat]

NCL also cruises to Glacier Bay.

 

I wasn't trying to say that they don't, NCL is just one a cruise line that I would choose/recommend in AK. (Ditto Carnival - I do understand that the have some permits as well.) The OP asked for an opinion, I gave mine. As for the lines that do not have permits (RCCL) I could not recommend that as an option.

 

I'm in the "If you are only going to take 1 AK cruise then go to Glacier Bay, it is a World Heritage Site for a reason." crowd.

 

Akin to going to Paris, France, but not seeing the Eiffel Tower.

 

Full disclosure, I've been on far more Carnival & RCCL cruises that any other line & have no problem with sailing on them in the Caribbean.

 

Again, 1,000's if not 10,000's have enjoyed their AK cruises on cruise lines that I would not recommend - so my opinion didn't matter to them. :)

 

The OP asked for opinions, if you feel that fill in the line cruise line, etc. is great/awesome/the best choice/your only choice for AK what have you, please "sell" that line, so that the OP can have your POV too. (Do recall that they have limitations - Seattle RT - so Northbound or Southbound aren't viable nor is a Vancouver RT & budget, so Disney isn't viable either.)

Edited January 4, 2017 by TheCalicoCat

[Sequim88]

We picked HAL out of Seattle because they are based in Seattle with HQ downtown. So a little more local insight.

 

OP does not show where coming from but being on a budget flying in and out of Seattle would be a lot less than with a one-way. Adding a day or two of touristing in Seattle area might offer some interesting things for the teens depending on interests. Hotels though can be a deal breaker. Staying near airport and taking Link light rail downtown is a lower cost option then cab to port on embarkation day. Speaking of which NCL docks at Pier 66 downtown and the others are at Pier 91 a couple miles north at Smith Cove which really does not make much difference unless staying downtown. Search the West Coast Departures sticky thread at the top for Seattle FAQs.

 

Most R/Ts stop at Juneau and Ketchikan and then either Sitka or Skagway. More to do (and spend money on) at Skagway but if weather is nice Sitka is spectacular beautiful.

 

HAL's ships have a retractable glass roof over the pool to keep it usable in bad weather - good for teens on sea days. Typically 1st whole day from Seattle is a speed run outside Vancouver Is. all day.

 

There are a lot of good options for getting to sights in ports via taxi with four people the fare split works out a lot less than than formal excursions - especially through cruiseline. Or even city bus in Juneau to several places to/from Mendenhall Glacier (walking last mile or so to visitor center) as a budget option. At quick stop at the salmon hatchery at DIPAC might be interesting for the kids and not pricey. Glacier Gardens is also reasonable when done on own.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Sequim88
tpyos

[4774Papa]

Choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. It is a World Heritage site for a reason.

 

What do you wan to see? Plan according to what you want to see or do in AK.

 

The White Pass RR can be booked on any cruise that goes to Skagway.

Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier can be done on any cruise ship that goes to Juneau. (Whale watching also in Icy Strait Point)

The Alaskan Lumberjack show and creek street can be done on any ship that visits Ketchikan.

 

Seldom visited ports include Sitka where you can visit the Raptor Center & Fortress of the Bears - &/or see the Russian part of AK's history.

 

As for the teens, have them at least sign up for the teen club/zone - so that they can join in on the scavenger hunt, etc. later & to meet the other teens - so they can hang out elsewhere. (They may feel that it isn't cool...)

 

Glacier Bay is awesome. We used Viator for our Whale Watching and Mendenhal Clacier in Juneau and saved $$.