Is celebrity a must for alaska????+

[portcbob]

hi fellow cruisers.

researching an Alaskan cruise for 2020. I really love celebrity however I noticed their ships don't go into Glacier Bay. Is this a deal breaker and should we look for other lines that go there?????. I believe that celebrity does Hubbard glacier is that worth considering???. First timers to Alaskan coming from Aussie and just need to get it all right..

thanks for any recommendations.

[mek]

I personally love Hubbard better than any other glacier, but overall I think Princess does the best job with Alaska.  I've done Princess 2X and X 1X.

[sippican]

Princess (and HAL) are generally recognized as the leaders in Alaskan cruises. They have more itineraries, are lecensed to go into Glacier Bay and manage their own lodges (if you are considering the land portion).

[prim8keeper]

We just did Millennium this past summer from Seward down to Vancouver. We had an amazing time and I would not hesitate to sail on X again in Alaska, especially on this itinerary. We did look at Princess because everyone says they are the best in Alaska, but at the end of the day we went with X because the timing fit with our schedule better and because of the benefits we get being Elite, such as free laundry. That came in handy big time since we did our own land portion before the cruise. As far as doing a land portion with the cruise or on your own based on what we saw I would go it on your own if you are comfortable planning trips. We saw giant groups of cruisers multiple times getting on and off charter buses and each time we were off to join our small group tour. There is a ton of information out there, especially on the Alaska boards.

 

[NantahalaCruiser]

2 hours ago, mek said:

I personally love Hubbard better than any other glacier, but overall I think Princess does the best job with Alaska.  I've done Princess 2X and X 1X.

And Princess has cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage (Whittier) that go to both Hubbard and Glacier Bay.

Edited October 16, 2018 by NantahalaCruiser

[bigbenboys]

I do like Celebrity very much. We just loved Hubbard Glacier. We are looking to do our 5 or 6th cruise to Alaska. On this cruise my must are HG and Icy Strait Point to do zip-lining. 

[OCruisers]

3 hours ago, sippican said:

Princess (and HAL) are generally recognized as the leaders in Alaskan cruises. They have more itineraries, are lecensed to go into Glacier Bay and manage their own lodges (if you are considering the land portion).

The above is something you should consider before booking on X.

 

[Onessa]

I'd also take a look at the rest of the itinerary.  We've done a variety of cruise lines to AK -- our last we chose a smaller ship that stopped at some of the smaller (less congested and less commercialized) ports - Love Sitka and St. Pete.  Some of the other ports have just gotten crazy!

[4774Papa]

No, we did Alaska with NCL since they do Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.

[shipshape sam]

We sailed on Princess our first trip and HAL on second.  Looking though at Royal and Celebrity.  As for most trips, it comes down to itinerary, date and $$$ in what cruise line we sail on.  Never had a bad cruise on Princess, HAL, Royal and Celebrity.  Carnival, not so fast.  

[Miaminice]

Stay within the family and do it with Royal Caribbean's Radiance class. 
Nice size and ideal for the area plus better deals most of the time.

We love Celebrity but would not hesitate to do Alaska again with Radiance. Hubbard Glacier is great!
Read about our trip here: http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Alaska-Radiance-01---Vancouver/alaska-radiance-01---vancouver.html

Edited October 17, 2018 by Miaminice

[cw2go]

I've cruised Alaska multiple times with both X and Princess. My 100% honest opinion, go with your preferred itinerary over the ship or cruise line. I'd never in a million years say "Celebrity is a must for Alaska" and it's my favorite cruise line. I recommend Princess because it sails GB & Hubbard and sails to &  from Vancouver, especially for a first time Alaska Cruiser or A One Time Bucket List Tripper. 

 

Great info over on the Alaska forum, tons of repeat visitors who will help you narrow down the itinerary that best suits you. 

Patty

Edited October 17, 2018 by cw2go

[2Long2NxtCrz]

I haven't yet sailed on Celebrity, so I can't say it's a "must", but my brother and I took my mom and stepdad to Alaska with a pre-cruise land tour.  We did RC because the Radiance class is one of my favorite ships and the itinerary was spectacular.  It was the southbound: Seward to Vancouver, with our land portion 3 days up to Denali and back.

I know everyone says that Princess or HAL, but we couldn't have had a better experience.  The weather was great, we were in port for longer than any other ship, giving us time to do more than one excursion.  And, while I haven't seen Glacier Bay so I cannot compare, Hubbard was incredible!  We were so close!

Of course, our weather was amazing and that's not something you can predict.  We also lucked into being the last car on the Wilderness Express and got the leg from Talkeetna to Denali, which isn't the "usual" stretch.

I guess I'd say it boils down to itinerary and ship.  I wouldn't suggest doing the cruise on anything larger than the Radiance class and I'd definitely do a one-way, plus I suggest doing the land portion before.  It was a lot of traveling and it was nice to get to settle on the ship after that.

I think that whatever you choose, you'll have a great time.  Alaska is beautiful and I definitely look forward to taking my husband at some point in the future.

Good luck!

[portcbob]

Thanks people for all your kind info. It is appreciated. We will consider it all. Shame we're not going in 2019 as celebrity has just released Alaskan cruises with the 4 perks included for oceanview and above.

cheers Bob.

[Fogfog]

22 hours ago, portcbob said:

hi fellow cruisers.

researching an Alaskan cruise for 2020. I really love celebrity however I noticed their ships don't go into Glacier Bay. Is this a deal breaker and should we look for other lines that go there?????. I believe that celebrity does Hubbard glacier is that worth considering???. First timers to Alaskan coming from Aussie and just need to get it all right..

thanks for any recommendations.

We sailed Regent for Alaska and the small ship was wonderful...   There are advantages to smaller ships

[bigbenboys]

3 hours ago, Fogfog said:

We sailed Regent for Alaska and the small ship was wonderful...   There are advantages to smaller ships

I do agree a smaller ship would be nice. But Regent dress code. Not my cup of tea.

[Dancing Shoes]

I would not consider a cruise to Alaska that does not go to either Hubbard or Glacier Bay.  I did a R/T on HAL out of Vancouver that did go to Glacier Bay.  We had such a great time that I want to go back.  Planning 2020.  If you choose Hubbard, make sure you go later in the season.  

HAL doesn't go to Hubbard Glacier.  Decided on Celebrity and doing a one way S/B from Seward.  I looked at Princess and NCL.  Princess leaves from Whittier and I want to leave from Seward.  The train between Anchorage and Seward is suppose to be very very scenic.  

There is a lot to consider.  I recommend the book  by Frommer's called: Alaska Cruises & Ports Of Call. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

A lot will depend on what itinerary pattern you are looking to do, and what your priorities for the trip are.

If you are looking at the round trip cruises from Seattle or Vancouver for 7 days, then I'd lean towards the Celebrity Eclipse from Vancouver over any ship, on any line, from Seattle.  The Vancouver departures offer longer time in the AK ports and sail entirely in the inside passage.  The Seattle cruises feature two days cruising the open Pacific ocean and far less time in the inside passage and have a rather pesky evening call in Victoria the last night of the cruise..  Holland America also sails round trip from Vancouver, but many guests are boarding/disembarking in Skagway as part of their Yukon CruiseTour offerings, which creates a different onboard experience similar to European Interport Cruises.  That said, early indications are that the Konigsdam will replace the Nieuw Amsterdam in Vancouver for 2020, which would be relatively on par with the Celebrity Eclipse.  If you are looking at a one way I'd consider port times and the ports themselves over ship. 

Celebrity Millennium will be going through a MAJOR overhaul in early 2019 and will emerge virtually a new ship with a completely refreshed decor and dining and would be, from a ship perspective, my first choice on the North/South runs.  She does a 4 port itinerary with Hubbard Glacier vs Princess with 3 ports and 2 glacier experiences (Glacier Bay and either College Fjord or Hubbard).  So are ports or Glaciers more important, or is ship/decor more important? 

While Celebrity does not have the branded activities of the Princess "North to Alaska" programming they do have a dedicated onboard Naturalist as well as a port lecturer on each ship who will offer several lectures on the History, Culture, Wildlife, of the region.  These are different than the ubiquitous "port/shopping" talks hosted by the shore excursion/shopping staff and provide a more detailed look at the regions.

In the end a lot will depend on your personal preferences, what is motivating you to visit alaska, what itinerary pattern you are considering, etc

[Gaynors]

We are also planning our first and "bucket" list trip to Alaska and even though we love Celebrity - it was all about the itinerary  on this trip and Glacier Bay was a must, so we chose Princess.  We are giving up our Elite perks but that isn't what this cruise is really all about.  Princess does have self service laundry which we love and  it will especially helpful as we are doing a one week pre-cruise land tour on our own.

You just need to figure out what is most important to you and work with that - IMHO Princess offers a very similar product to Celebrity (I'm sure some will disagree but that is our experience).

 

Edited October 18, 2018 by Gaynors

[raks]

We did Alaska on the Millennium and it was amazing, Hubbard Glacier was jaw dropping. I cant compare it to Glacier Bay because I have not been there, we were also worried about not seeing Glacier Bay, but seeing Hubbard left us with no regrets.

One tip, We spent a couple of DYI pre- cruise nights in Anchorage & then Seward. In Seward we did a 6 hour day cruise out to the  Kenai Fjords, this was an incredible day of Glaciers up close calving almost right in front of us,  wildlife and incredible scenery, you can do this as a day trip via the train from Anchorage also. I highly recommend this day trip, you will see mother nature at her very best.

 

[portcbob]

Thanks guys for all your wonderful info.

 

cheers Bob.

[RobCaron]

weve done princess and celebrity - both very good

[shipshape sam]

13 hours ago, Gaynors said:

We are also planning our first and "bucket" list trip to Alaska and even though we love Celebrity - it was all about the itinerary  on this trip and Glacier Bay was a must, so we chose Princess.  We are giving up our Elite perks but that isn't what this cruise is really all about.  Princess does have self service laundry which we love and  it will especially helpful as we are doing a one week pre-cruise land tour on our own.

You just need to figure out what is most important to you and work with that - IMHO Princess offers a very similar product to Celebrity (I'm sure some will disagree but that is our experience).

 

 

We too have enjoyed the self service laundry on Princess, both for Alaska (land portion and then S/B sailing and 10 day partial Panama canal transit.

 

 

[hvsteve1]

On 10/17/2018 at 6:22 PM, bigbenboys said:

I do agree a smaller ship would be nice. But Regent dress code. Not my cup of tea.

We did Alaska on Seven Seas Mariner and it was outstanding. Dress code isn't that bad.  Try Cunard.  We've done two Cunard cruises and needed to bring extra luggage.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'm not a fan of the Princess (or HAL) lodges in Alaska -- you can do better DIY IMHO -- but I would not do an Alaska cruise without Glacier Bay on the itinerary.  Princess includes Hubbard as well, so you're not giving anything up.  Coral Princess is a relatively small ship in their fleet, which because of its Panamax design [long and narrow] has a very good Promenade Deck for viewing -- plus the fore and aft 'secret balconies' that also add a lot of public viewing space.