Alaska Cruise Options - Need Your Help

[lomo]

I am thinking about booking a cruise in May to Alaska and need some advice from others who have cruised HAL. I cruised to Canada/New England in August on the Maasdam in an S Suite and loved it (yes, I am hooked). Now, I am looking to book an S Suite in May to Alaska, as they are reasonably priced. I have been on a cruise to Alaska before on Celebrity, so I have seen Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Glacier Bay. The two cruises I am looking at are the one that goes round trip out of Seattle on the Westerdam and the one that goes one way out of Vancouver to Anchorage on the Statendam. Can anyone help me with some advice or suggestions on which option to take?

 

Also, I was wondering if anyone has done a land portion and what their thoughts were about it? Has anyone booked this portion on their own?

 

Everyone was so great and so helpful when I was planning my Canada/New England cruise. This board is the greatest.

 

Thank you,

[Stevesan]

Which cruise you take makes little diffference as to ports visited. They are very similar. But I would advise avoiding any that go outside. The Inside Passage cruises are far more scenic and don't encounter heavy seas that the Pacific is prone to.

 

The open jaw air fares, either Seattle/Anchorage or Vancouver/Anchorage are reasonable compared to R/T. Of course, you can avoid those by sailing B2B cruises.:) I mention Seattle/Anchorage because the air fares into Seattle are often much less than Vancouver and you avoid the zoo at the Vancouver airport. The drive from Seattle to Vancouver is easy on weekends (avoid Seattle traffic during drive times), and the scenery is gorgeous. Spending a day or two in Vancouver is a great way to begin/end an Alaska cruise.

 

You should investigate doing a land tour on your own. A little research will reveal that hotels and transportation are far less expensive than the add on charge from the cruise lines. The same for shore tours. Local tour operators have been in business for many years. Using independents not only saves a few bucks, but you usually get a better experience.

 

If I may, One more word of advise: Look up posts by Karen16 on Cruise Mates Alaska message Board

http://cruisemates.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=26,

or Budget Queen on Cruise Critic. Both are the same person. BQ is very knowledgeable about Alaska and Alaska cruising. You'll get some great tips from her.

[Budget Queen]

HAL is an excellent line, but are you sure you sailed Glacier Bay with Celebrity?? Was it several years ago, they have had permits for about the last 5.

 

I completely agree- more inside sailing is superior for Alaska touring and the one way an excellent option with HAL. Be certain to add time in Seward- it is a gem of a city not to be missed- at least a day. I am a clear independent Alaska tour advocate and in my opinion only, way superior to the cruisetours. Alaska is just a wonder with planning your priorities, not as much on a fixed point to point group travel. Head over to the Alaska board, spend some time reading, you will quickly get the highlights and must dos in Alaska.

 

A big consideration- with a one way cruise, add enough time for interior travel. Ideally at least a week, this is a common mistake too many people make in touring Alaska, not enough time and what little they have there- too much in transit.

 

The most popular tour areas are probably Denali Park and Seward. Be sure to include time at both. If you care to look, here are some photos from my recent visit, http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

[Stevesan]

If you care to look, here are some photos from my recent visit, http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

 

Wow - excellent photos, especially the bear pix. What lens did you use?

Bet you didn't get these as part of a tour group!:)

[Time2sail]

Alaska is so beautiful and I really appreciate your letting us see some of it through your camera lens. We can hardly wait to go back--Denali is awesome and it will be included on our next visit.

 

Still pondering your August cruise on the Volendam--what a wonderful cruise on one of HAL's most beautiful ships! Hope your CC voyage will be your best one ever:)

[Budget Queen]

Wow - excellent photos, especially the bear pix. What lens did you use?

Bet you didn't get these as part of a tour group!:)

 

 

Thank you for the kind words. :) These were taken with a Canon S2 Powershot, recommended by Murray (Yukon), arrived a couple days before I left- good reading on the long flight- instruction manual. :)

 

 

Correct- no tour group, I went to mile 85 Wonder Lake on the Shuttle bus. Had a snow white out all though Toklat, but clear on the way back out. Touch and go if the bus would be turning back part of the trip. :)

 

Yes please do consider the group CC cruise- I chose it due to the superior itinerary routing and 2 glacier sailings. :)

 

http://cruisecritic.com/interests/groups.cfm?ID=87

[lomo]

Thanks BudgetQueen and Stevesan for your replies. You have definitely given me lots of good information and will be researching a lot this weekend. I think the round trip Seattle cruise appealed to us, because of how easy it is to fly in and out of Seattle. I'm not real interested in flying into Seattle and driving to Vancouver, because we did that the first time and it was long with lots of traffic, especially near the border. I have been thinking about doing the land tour for a long time. I am happy to hear that you can plan these things independently, (we take very few shore excursions through the cruise line).

 

I would be interested to hear about some of the things that you all have planned independently, especially on how you got around and from place to place. I don't want to rent a car, so I was interested in knowing how you put things together. I loved the pictures on your website, BudgetQueen. And, FYI, we went on Celebrity about 6 or 7 years ago. I still have the itinerary from them and it says Glacier Bay on it.

 

Thanks again and I would appreciate any help or suggestions.

[lougee1043]

we live in portland and could have driven to seattle but i chose the r/t out of vanc because i personllly felt that glacier bay would be more spectatular then hubbard glacier

 

getting around at ports is never a problem -- most excurisions booked thru the cruise line or independently will generally pick you up at the pier or tender dock

[Budget Queen]

As you know, if you want to do a land tour, you have to sail out of Vancouver, but you could fly on an open jaw flight in or out of there if you don't want a Seattle transfer.

 

A car rental interior Alaska is definately superior since you can stop and see what you want. Without on you are limited to the train or bus, which require more time, at least a week so as to not have all your time in transit. If Denali Park is a priority- it's a top attraction, you need at least 2 overnights there and the Park SHUTTLE bus to at least Fish Creek.

 

Seward is also a must do with the top attraction a Kenai Fjords boat trip, a far easier option without a car is to have a cruise that goes to Seward and not Whittier. A lot of back tracking involved and more days needed.

[lomo]

Thanks BudgetQueen. I am just beginning to research all that Alaska has to offer, so I'm sure that I will have many more questions between now and the time I go.

 

I do hear quite a bit about the boat tour of Kenai Fjords. It sounds interesting, but I was wondering how smooth the boat trip is. I can get seasick, but always have my wrist bands and take ginger pills so I don't get seasick. So far, (knock on wood), I have not gotten sick. I cannot take Bonine or Dramamine as they both make me very drowsy, even if I take a third of a pill the night before. Since these boat trips are about 6 hours, I wanted to know how smooth it is. Also, what does the 6 hours cover -- it seems like a long time.

 

Thanks again

[Budget Queen]

Thanks BudgetQueen. I am just beginning to research all that Alaska has to offer, so I'm sure that I will have many more questions between now and the time I go.

 

I do hear quite a bit about the boat tour of Kenai Fjords. It sounds interesting, but I was wondering how smooth the boat trip is. I can get seasick, but always have my wrist bands and take ginger pills so I don't get seasick. So far, (knock on wood), I have not gotten sick. I cannot take Bonine or Dramamine as they both make me very drowsy, even if I take a third of a pill the night before. Since these boat trips are about 6 hours, I wanted to know how smooth it is. Also, what does the 6 hours cover -- it seems like a long time.

 

Thanks again

 

 

Sorry, then the Kenai Fjords boat trips aren't for you. Just about a given for some rough sailing. I have seen sick passengers on EVERY trip.

 

Also no guarantee on your cruiseship and don't count on smooth sailing there either on a one way, you have to cross the gulf. 3 out of 12 of my Alaska cruises encountered rough sailing, one time lasted 3 days. NO way to predict, you are on the water. :)