Alaskan Cruises

[mrschrod]

Hi all,

 

I wanted to get some opinions on what are the best Alaska cruises. My parents have never been on a cruise before, but have expressed interest in taking an Alaskan cruise. Since I have only ever cruised with Carnival, and have only taken cruises to the Caribbean, I wanted to get your input on what company does the best Alaskan cruises, what are the best ports, what are the best activities for these ports, etc.

 

Any information you have/your experiences on these cruises (types of people onboard) would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

[poz222]

That's a LOT of info you are requesting? Have you started researching (reading posts here about Alaska cruises)? I would start there to give yourself a basic overview, then come back and ask specific questions based on that. It will narrow it down.

[Essiesmom]

The cruise lines with the longest history in Alaska are Princess and HAL. Those two lines also have the most permits for Glacier Bay, which many consider to be a 'must' for a first, or maybe an only cruise to Alaska. Carnival does have a few Alaska cruises that visit Glacier Bay, usually at the beginning or end of the season, although they did have a couple in July this past summer.

When considering Alaska, you have to decide on your itinerary. Not so much the ports, as most cruises visit the same three: Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. but you need to decide if you want to do round trip from Seattle or Vancouver, or one way north or south from Vancouver. There is lots of advice on the Alaska Ports of Call board. EM

[easyboy]

You can post on the Alaska Port of Call Forum for more suggestions based on actual experiences on most cruise lines.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?55https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?55

 

 

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[mrschrod]

Didn't even know there was a specific forum devoted to that. Thanks for the info!

[Missileer]

We have done both Carnival and Princess to AK and would recommend either. We have always done the Inside Passage to The Sawyer Glacier. Ports are Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican. All are fun and have there separate charms. Recommend the train trip at Skagway. We have also done a helicopter trip at that port which was a high light.

Enjoy.

[A&Jfamily]

Princess. Hands down. Book a ship with a Caribe deck with the expanded balcony

 

 

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[nybumpkin]

One thing they might want to consider is whether they want to add a land package to their cruise to visit Denali. Lines like Princess that do one-way cruises beginning or ending in Vancouver have that add-on available. Good friends of ours did that on Princess last year to celebrate their 30th anniversary and loved it. Since Carnival's cruises mostly do closed-loop cruises, the add-on land tour isn't available - but we loved our round-trip Seattle cruise and did a few days in Seattle pre-cruise.

[winddawn]

The cruise lines with the longest history in Alaska are Princess and HAL. Those two lines also have the most permits for Glacier Bay, which many consider to be a 'must' for a first, or maybe an only cruise to Alaska. Carnival does have a few Alaska cruises that visit Glacier Bay, usually at the beginning or end of the season, although they did have a couple in July this past summer.

When considering Alaska, you have to decide on your itinerary. Not so much the ports, as most cruises visit the same three: Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. but you need to decide if you want to do round trip from Seattle or Vancouver, or one way north or south from Vancouver. There is lots of advice on the Alaska Ports of Call board. EM

 

I agree with this. I've cruised to Alaska three times on Norwegian, Princess, and Carnival. Carnival is my very last choice to cruise to Alaska. I did Vancouver round-trip, Vancouver to Anchorage, and Seattle round-trip. The Seattle round-trip cruise was on Carnival.

 

My preference is to do a northbound or southbound versus doing a roundtrip from either Vancouver or Seattle.

 

You'll experience much more in the way of scenery on a northbound or southbound than you will on a roundtrip that starts and stops in the same port.

 

Just my opinion. But considering most people only have the option to experience an Alaska cruise once, and it is truly the cruise of a lifetime, I'd pick a northbound or southbound vs. a roundtrip from the same port like Carnival offers.

[ETHS1965]

We had the same questions before booking our cruise to Alaska. Carnival posted a special Journeys to Alaska, round trip from Long Beach. It had almost all of the sights that I had found on the "must see" lists. The most incredible sight that we saw was our day sailing Glacier Bay. Not to be missed! To see some of the interior, we took a Carnival excursion up to the White Pass, then went into the Yukon and British Columbia before returning to the ship. I would recommend this trip if Carnival offers it again.

[Dancing Shoes]

I cruised to Alaska back in the 70's on a R/T out of Vancouver with my parents. Wanted my husband to see the Inside Passage. Where to start??? I bought a book by Frommer's called Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call back in 2010. You can still get copies on Amazon, may be used.

 

It covers all major cruise lines and a breakdown of ports. Much info is still valid today. It helped me narrow my trip down. We aren't adding a Denali trip at this time. Going R/T out of Vancouver on Holland America because I like a smaller ship and it goes to Glacier Bay. Also, you can take an excursion prior to Juneau that goes up Tracy Arm. Happy planning.

[Budget Queen]

The cruise lines with the longest history in Alaska are Princess and HAL. Those two lines also have the most permits for Glacier Bay, which many consider to be a 'must' for a first, or maybe an only cruise to Alaska. Carnival does have a few Alaska cruises that visit Glacier Bay, usually at the beginning or end of the season, although they did have a couple in July this past summer.

When considering Alaska, you have to decide on your itinerary. Not so much the ports, as most cruises visit the same three: Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. but you need to decide if you want to do round trip from Seattle or Vancouver, or one way north or south from Vancouver. There is lots of advice on the Alaska Ports of Call board. EM

I disagree with several points. The "years" claim is put out which in my opinion, means nothing. None of the major cruise lines are new to Alaska. Glacier Bay is ONE day, and I caution against, claiming it is a must.

 

Your port information is inaccurate- There are 6 possible inside passage Alaska ports. Each VERY different from the other. I ALWAYS suggest people take a close look at each and determine what activities they would choose. THEN rank their .preferences. This goes a long way toward finding the right cruise.

 

I will caution repeatively the trend toward jumping into bookings and shooting yourself in the foot, because you dismissed some of the selections. There is NO perfect cruise. But certainly multiple options- that ALL get rave reviews.

[Rockinrobin50]

Princess. Hands down. Book a ship with a Caribe deck with the expanded balcony

 

 

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I agree. We have been on 3 Alaska cruises, 2 on Princess and 1 on HAL. We didn’t care for HAL. We did a one way Vancouver to Seward, a round trip from Seattle and a round trip from Vancouver. We are doing another round trip out of Vancouver on Princess in May 2018. The Vancouver round trip goes inside Vancouver Island with more scenery and smoother sailing. The one out of Seattle was a little rougher. It depends on if they are doing a land package with the cruise or not. If not then the round trip is the best bet. The balcony cabins on the Caribe deck, as mentioned, are an excellent choice. As far as excursions, there are too many great ones to do in one cruise so you will have to narrow it down to what they like and how fit they are. I hope this helps a little.

[xlxo]

I wanted to get your input on what company does the best Alaskan cruises, what are the best ports, what are the best activities for these ports, etc.

What about best month? Best weather?

 

http://www.alaska.org/advice/best-time-to-visit-alaska