The Joy or The Bliss for Alaska Inside Passage???

[zqvol]

They are both too big for Alaska and neither of them does a true inside passage because they sail to the west of Vancouver Island well out to sea. NCL, while it may have the youngest fleet in Alaska, has the worst fleet in Alaska. The ships are too bug, which over crowds the tiny ports, and they don't allow you to get close enough to the glaciers to really see. If you are spending the money for Alaska you need to look at other lines, and if you are considering the Haven you definitely need to look at Silversea  or Regent instead of NCL.

[BirdTravels]

We loved the Bliss. It sailed the exact same route that that the Jewel has been sailing. We have an Alaskan cruise booked on the Joy next year. 

 

One big ship does not over crowd a port. It is the 6 other ships in port at the same time that cause the crowding.

 

We have sailed on other cruise lines and they are all the same. How close you get to the glaciers depends on the amount of ice in the water. Nothing to do with the size of the ship. No cruise line is not going to risk damaging their cruise ships by running them in the icy waters close to the glaciers. They can not afford having ice foul a thruster or azipod. Three years ago, we got up really close to the Dawes glacier on the Jewel when there is little ice in the water. This year, with [literally] tons of ice in the water, the Bliss had to stay about 5 miles back on our cruise.

 

While we like the cruises that start in Vancouver, the last couple of days getting up to Seward or Whittier are pretty boring. And getting from Seward to Anchorage and then getting a flight out of Anchorage is a pain.  

Edited November 25, 2018 by BirdTravels