New to planning Alaska

[rako]

Hello Wonderful friends,

I have cruised before on Princess/RCL/Carnival - but mostly to mexico, bahamas etc. This is the first time I am looking into Alaska -and I can say, I am very overwhelmed with all the information. I am not able to see the differnce between south bound/north bound or the land tour. This is the only summer we can go on vacation (next summer is going on a oversees vacation) and the next is the SAT summer for my daughter. I am going thru all the threads in this.

 

We have 7 days for the cruise and around 4-5 days for land. can someone share their itinerary or experience with me ?

Planning on August 2nd week.

 

Thanks a lot in advance

from an OverWhelmed Cruiser.

[mapleleaves]

Have no idea about your budget, where you want to go on the land portion, what your interests are, your physical abilities, kids? etc etc.

Read thru trip reports from last yr to see what others have done and enjoyed.

There are hundreds of them posted near the top of the page.... the first line usually indicates the cruise line, DIY land or cruisetour. There's a current one from InternetAgeTraveller that will be helpful.

[reallyitsmema]

Hello Wonderful friends,

I have cruised before on Princess/RCL/Carnival - but mostly to mexico, bahamas etc. This is the first time I am looking into Alaska -and I can say, I am very overwhelmed with all the information. I am not able to see the differnce between south bound/north bound or the land tour. This is the only summer we can go on vacation (next summer is going on a oversees vacation) and the next is the SAT summer for my daughter. I am going thru all the threads in this.

 

We have 7 days for the cruise and around 4-5 days for land. can someone share their itinerary or experience with me ?

Planning on August 2nd week.

 

Thanks a lot in advance

from an OverWhelmed Cruiser.

 

Are you looking at cruising the second week of August this year? If that is the case, I would search on a travel agent site to see if you can even get availability on any cruise line. If you are only talking two people, then you will likely be able to get a cabin.

 

We did a 4 night cruise tour in May, followed by a southbound sailing of Radiance of the Seas, visiting Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straight Point and Ketchikan. We chose southbound so that we got the longer flight over at the beginning of the trip. We also wanted our cruise tour prior to the cruise since we knew we would be able to relax more on the ship.

[JT1962]

If you are looking at August this year, I agree with the above post that a Travel Agent experienced with Alaska may be best. Flights may be the biggest issue at this late date.

 

As far as suggestions, I prefer a one-way Northbound itinerary from Vancouver to Seward / Whittier. This gives you the chance to explore Vancouver for a day or two before the cruise and Seward / Anchorage / Denali after the cruise. I also like the feeling of sailing to Alaska, where the scenery gets better each day.

 

Do some research here, TripAdvisor and other websites on the main Alaska ports. Find things you want to do in those ports, then find the itinerary that spends the most time in those ports. That is more important than the specific ship or cruise line, in my opinion.

 

Alaska is an amazing place and you will have a great time regardless of what you choose.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DukeASUGirl]

I'm with the others who feel you're late in the process. August 2 is just a month away, and these ships rarely sail with empty berths.

[soozles]

Just to play devils advocate, when we went to Alaska, we booked it about a month in advance because life stuff was happening. We still got a balcony room, and got a great deal. We did a RT from Seattle just because I only had a week, and didn’t have time to fly to or from Anchorage and then go right back to work.

[reallyitsmema]

Just to play devils advocate, when we went to Alaska, we booked it about a month in advance because life stuff was happening. We still got a balcony room, and got a great deal. We did a RT from Seattle just because I only had a week, and didn’t have time to fly to or from Anchorage and then go right back to work.

 

OP asked about either a northbound or southbound cruise with a 4-5day land tour. RT Seattle does not meet that criteria at all. If it had, I would have pointed out the fact that Explorer is on this weeks Going, Going, Gone sale for the week the OP is considering cruising.

[Gardyloo]

I'm just going to throw out an idea with which some are bound to disagree, but here goes.

 

With only four days for land arrangements in southcentral/interior Alaska, and given the late timing, I'd actually suggest you consider a round-trip cruise from Seattle or (preferably) Vancouver, and use the extra days to explore either the Seattle or Vancouver areas, both of which offer tremendous - and accessible - options. With just four days you'd be severely limited to what you could see on land; for example Denali takes a minimum of three days and there's no guarantee of actually seeing the mountain (clouds obscure it half the time.)

 

This would save on airfare, and potentially on things like car rental, hotel costs, and might make for an overall more relaxing time of it. Just consider some options:

 

- Mt. Rainier or Olympic National Parks in Washington

- San Juan Islands (US) or Gulf Islands (BC)

- Whistler or the BC "Sunshine Coast"

- Victoria and Vancouver Island

 

Just sayin'.

[DukeASUGirl]

I'm just going to throw out an idea with which some are bound to disagree, but here goes.

 

With only four days for land arrangements in southcentral/interior Alaska, and given the late timing, I'd actually suggest you consider a round-trip cruise from Seattle or (preferably) Vancouver, and use the extra days to explore either the Seattle or Vancouver areas, both of which offer tremendous - and accessible - options. With just four days you'd be severely limited to what you could see on land; for example Denali takes a minimum of three days and there's no guarantee of actually seeing the mountain (clouds obscure it half the time.)

 

This would save on airfare, and potentially on things like car rental, hotel costs, and might make for an overall more relaxing time of it. Just consider some options:

 

- Mt. Rainier or Olympic National Parks in Washington

- San Juan Islands (US) or Gulf Islands (BC)

- Whistler or the BC "Sunshine Coast"

- Victoria and Vancouver Island

 

Just sayin'.

I agree. The round-trip itineraries tend to have more last-minute availability, as well.

[Dancing Shoes]

Our sailing on August 15th on HAL is just about sold out. It is a round trip from Vancouver. You may have to settle for any cabin if you are able to find something. Good luck.

[JimAOk1945]

We have taken 3 Alaska cruises all during the 2nd week of August. They were on Star Princess (round trip Seattle with 3 port calls), Radiance of the Seas (southbound from Seward to Vancouver with 4 port calls), and Holland America Maasdam (14 days round trip Seattle 8 port calls and 2 glacier viewing).

 

Seeing pictures might help you make a choice. My wife took tons for her website. I'll insert a link below to the Travel section where you can view the pictures at your leisure.

 

Nancy's Oasis Travel Slide Shows

 

Alaska is amazing!