Choosing an Alaskan Cruise

[samandryanmom]

There are two Princess cruises on June 13, 2020. One leaves from Seattle (Roundtrip) and one from Anchorage (Southbound). Both go to Glacier Bay. The Roundtrip is on the Grand Princess and the Southbound is on Ruby Princess. The roundtrip is about $600 more but I think flights to Anchorage will be more expensive than into Seattle. After the cruise, we are driving down the West coast so we want to end up in Vancouver or Seattle. We have cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean before but never Alaska. I'm reading that the only two cruise lines that can go to Glacier Bay are Holland and Princess so I've narrowed the search to those two lines.

 

We are in our late 40's and will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. I will welcome any thoughts and opinions.

[Lindaru]

I can only speak to the Ruby Seattle round trip one as it was our 25th wedding anniversary cruise and my first and only one so far.

 

If you love port stops, you will love this one as your second full day will be Juneau, third day Skagway, fourth day Glacier Bay (lovely views from the Promenade deck where we viewed it), fifth day Ketchikan and last day is Victoria, B.C.

 

We would do this cruise again.  We did ours in mid-May and only encountered one rainy day which was in Ketchikan, so I would think in mid-June you would have even warmer and nicer weather, but hope to see postings from others here who are more experienced.

There are a lot of activities and excursions you can go on with this one.  When we get a chance to cruise again (will have to save up again), we may repeat this cruise or we may do the one that is round trip Vancouver, B.C., as it goes to Hubbard Glacier and Sitka.

 

A side note, it will be a beautiful ride down the west coast.  Are you going Highway 101?  One of our land vacations is usually the west coast of Oregon down to Lincoln City and Newport.  Lots to do there, too!

 

[cherrytwist]

Hi! We're doing the Ruby next summer out of Seattle. I wanted a roundtrip because I think it's easier flight-wise. Where are you flying from? We're coming from Southern California and the flight to Anchorage would be a lot longer than to Seattle (both in terms of distance and flight time, since there are fewer flights to Anchorage). A roundtrip flight won't matter for you since you're driving afterwards, but depending on where you're coming from, flying to Seattle might be a lot easier and shorter than Anchorage.

 

We also wanted a Glacier Bay cruise, so the options are more limited, like you said. It's been a very long time (20 years?) since I've been on Holland America, but the last cruise I took with them had a much older demographic, so I steer clear of HAL since we have young kids. But maybe it's changed since then?  

Edited September 30, 2019 by cherrytwist

[martincath]

Firstly, while personally I do agree that on your first cruise aiming for Glacier Bay is a very sensible choice (it's the closest thing to a guaranteed glacier experience that exists on RT cruises) even with that requirement you've restricted yourselves more than you need to. Princess & HAL have never had exclusive rights - they just have more slots than any other line. In the most recent allocation (which starts with summer season 2020) some new lines will be allowed in for the first time (or the first time in many years), and if you consider ALL trips into GB in summer Princess/HAL have fewer than the rest combined (about 45% of the total) so there are actually more 'not Princess/HAL' trips available.

 

That said, Princess is a solid pick for Alaska as they seem to generally do the best job in terms of on-board programming, having various Alaska-themed talks and activities. Since you're considering one-way cruises, you obviously aren't aware of any issues preventing you entering Canada so you should also look at Vancouver RTs, not just Seattle. Assuming you do an RT cruise, you'll spend more time in Alaska leaving from Vancouver due to no need for the Victoria stop that all Seattle trips require - these are generally very poor as they cut short your day in the prior AK port so that Victoria can be reached, and yet the time actually spent in Victoria is often just 4-6 hours and ends at 11pm-1am so most tourist attractions are closed before you even get off the ship! Plus, Vancouver means both the BC and Alaska Inside Passages are sailed - and with long evenings that's a lot of gorgeous scenery, unlike Seattle trips where you will see nothing on the first and last days as you'll be out on open ocean.

 

Do you have any available time to spend on land in AK first? If not, it does seem like you'll spend more time and money on flights to get to the one-way - these may add an extra Glacier viewing day, and even if they don't you have the chance to take a small boat tour around fjords & glaciers before boarding as long as you have at least one night pre-cruise, but personally I'd be inclined to skip the one-ways unless you can take at least a few days to get inland pre-cruise. You may want to weigh up how 'bucket listy' each option is - the post-cruise road trip or actually seeing more of Alaska than the wet coastal parts that just look like a less-metric BC 😉

Edited September 30, 2019 by martincath

[Negril60]

In 2006 we cruised the Northbound Rt from Vancouver to Whittier on the Diamond Princess. Everything about it was perfect except boarding in Vancouver which was a nightmare. The flights back to Ohio from Anchorage or Vancouver are rough.We wanted to book form next May for our 15th anniversary. We flipped back and forth many times on which to do one way or round trip from Seattle. Seattle is easier and cheaper, a bigger selection of airlines and flights. In the end we booked the Southbound from Whittier on the Grand. We really liked College Fjords also. 

[LoriPhil]

Love the cruises either SB or NB, as you cruise through the true inside passage with its transit east of Vancouver Island instead of going west, which happens on the Seattle RT itinerary.  Have sailed both, and would elect the SB out of Whitter for scenery, viewing the Hubbard Glacier which is amazing, and then Glacier Bay. 

[Wishing on a star]

I would def do Southbound on Ruby. As mentioned, the route thru the inside channel is better.  You get to see farther North. And,  do a glacier cruise from Whittier before boarding!  Being out there close up on a smaller boat is amazing. 

[peety3]

I can't speak directly to the Anchorage/SB itinerary, but we've done the NB twice, the Seattle RT/Tracy Arm Fjord twice, and the Seattle RT/Glacier Bay once. I do feel the NB/SB itinerary is more relaxing as the events are more spread out, RT/GB is not too crazy, and the RT/TAF is a serious case of hurry-up/wait/hurry-up/wait/hurry-up/get-out (board fast, at sea a day and a half, four stops in <60 hours, 49 hours at sea, quick stop in Victoria, short sleep and disembark). That said, we live 40 minutes drive from the Seattle cruise terminal so it's a no-brainer for us: the logistics of Vancouver and Anchorage just don't make sense when we can do it with a ride from a friend.

[samandryanmom]

3 hours ago, Lindaru said:

I can only speak to the Ruby Seattle round trip one as it was our 25th wedding anniversary cruise and my first and only one so far.

 

If you love port stops, you will love this one as your second full day will be Juneau, third day Skagway, fourth day Glacier Bay (lovely views from the Promenade deck where we viewed it), fifth day Ketchikan and last day is Victoria, B.C.

 

We would do this cruise again.  We did ours in mid-May and only encountered one rainy day which was in Ketchikan, so I would think in mid-June you would have even warmer and nicer weather, but hope to see postings from others here who are more experienced.

There are a lot of activities and excursions you can go on with this one.  When we get a chance to cruise again (will have to save up again), we may repeat this cruise or we may do the one that is round trip Vancouver, B.C., as it goes to Hubbard Glacier and Sitka.

 

A side note, it will be a beautiful ride down the west coast.  Are you going Highway 101?  One of our land vacations is usually the west coast of Oregon down to Lincoln City and Newport.  Lots to do there, too!

 

I think my husband is looking more forward to the west coast drive. Is 101 the Highway on the ocean? If so, yes. He's in charge of scheduling that portion!! I understand the saving up part!!!

[mek]

If I'm looking at the correct itinerary, the southbound Ruby itinerary includes Hubbard, which IMO is the most beautiful glacier.  It also appears to have longer time in Ketchikan.

I have cruised Alaska on three different lines and overall I think Princess does the best job - they bring the Alaskan experience on board - and serve King Crab legs in the MDR.

Edited September 30, 2019 by mek

[samandryanmom]

3 hours ago, cherrytwist said:

Hi! We're doing the Ruby next summer out of Seattle. I wanted a roundtrip because I think it's easier flight-wise. Where are you flying from? We're coming from Southern California and the flight to Anchorage would be a lot longer than to Seattle (both in terms of distance and flight time, since there are fewer flights to Anchorage). A roundtrip flight won't matter for you since you're driving afterwards, but depending on where you're coming from, flying to Seattle might be a lot easier and shorter than Anchorage.

 

We also wanted a Glacier Bay cruise, so the options are more limited, like you said. It's been a very long time (20 years?) since I've been on Holland America, but the last cruise I took with them had a much older demographic, so I steer clear of HAL since we have young kids. But maybe it's changed since then?  

We live in Northern Louisiana, close to Dallas so probably flying out of Dallas. We'll be flying home from San Francisco. Our kids are older (19 and 23) but they won't be along this trip.

[samandryanmom]

3 hours ago, martincath said:

Firstly, while personally I do agree that on your first cruise aiming for Glacier Bay is a very sensible choice (it's the closest thing to a guaranteed glacier experience that exists on RT cruises) even with that requirement you've restricted yourselves more than you need to. Princess & HAL have never had exclusive rights - they just have more slots than any other line. In the most recent allocation (which starts with summer season 2020) some new lines will be allowed in for the first time (or the first time in many years), and if you consider ALL trips into GB in summer Princess/HAL have fewer than the rest combined (about 45% of the total) so there are actually more 'not Princess/HAL' trips available.

 

That said, Princess is a solid pick for Alaska as they seem to generally do the best job in terms of on-board programming, having various Alaska-themed talks and activities. Since you're considering one-way cruises, you obviously aren't aware of any issues preventing you entering Canada so you should also look at Vancouver RTs, not just Seattle. Assuming you do an RT cruise, you'll spend more time in Alaska leaving from Vancouver due to no need for the Victoria stop that all Seattle trips require - these are generally very poor as they cut short your day in the prior AK port so that Victoria can be reached, and yet the time actually spent in Victoria is often just 4-6 hours and ends at 11pm-1am so most tourist attractions are closed before you even get off the ship! Plus, Vancouver means both the BC and Alaska Inside Passages are sailed - and with long evenings that's a lot of gorgeous scenery, unlike Seattle trips where you will see nothing on the first and last days as you'll be out on open ocean.

 

Do you have any available time to spend on land in AK first? If not, it does seem like you'll spend more time and money on flights to get to the one-way - these may add an extra Glacier viewing day, and even if they don't you have the chance to take a small boat tour around fjords & glaciers before boarding as long as you have at least one night pre-cruise, but personally I'd be inclined to skip the one-ways unless you can take at least a few days to get inland pre-cruise. You may want to weigh up how 'bucket listy' each option is - the post-cruise road trip or actually seeing more of Alaska than the wet coastal parts that just look like a less-metric BC 😉

I'll have to do more checking. What other cruise lines will have access to GB? I thought Princess and Holland were the only ones. But I've only been researching for a few days. I'm thinking we would fly into Anchorage on Wednesday before the cruise on Saturday. It sounds like a cruise south that ends in Vancouver might be the best option as we would like to see Vancouver as well.

[martincath]

8 minutes ago, samandryanmom said:

I'll have to do more checking. What other cruise lines will have access to GB? I thought Princess and Holland were the only ones. But I've only been researching for a few days. I'm thinking we would fly into Anchorage on Wednesday before the cruise on Saturday. It sounds like a cruise south that ends in Vancouver might be the best option as we would like to see Vancouver as well.

As of tomorrow, the list will be: NCL, Cunard, Seabourn, Viking, RCL (plus many small 'tour boats' under 100 tons - the big cruise ships are faced with much tighter restrictions). Since you do have time to do some land touring, I think you're right to focus on Southbound one-ways.

 

NB: that if you rent a car in Vancouver you'll almost certainly pay a premium for dropping it off in SF - there's enough one-way rental traffic to Seattle to keep prices competitive, but any further and you can expect drop fees, higher daily rates, or both - so I'd make this a 'planes, trains, and automobiles' trip (hopefully minus the traumas that Steve Martin faced😉) and take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver for the next leg. If you want to see Seattle, there are two daily trains that far - if you skip Seattle for further south you'll either have to transfer in Seattle or take the morning Cascades, which runs down to Eugene. Portland or Seattle should both give you plenty choice in car rentals to drive the coast.

 

I'd concur with Lindaru above that the 101 makes for a beautiful drive, and I can understand why they keep coming back to the Oregon coast - further south, when the 101 starts heading inland after Eureka, what you miss of ocean views is more than made up for by the redwood forests (do take the detour along Avenue of the Giants!), and if you're into kitschy roadside attractions there are a few worth deviating for in OR/northern CA but also some right on the 101 (driving through a tree for example!)

[samandryanmom]

I appreciate everyone's advice. I have put a hold on the June 13th sailing of the Grand Princess, Southbound. I think it ticks all of the boxes that we want. Right now, I have a hold on an Oceanview obstructed cabin that was just short of $100 more than an inside cabin. The balcony is close to double the cost of the obstructed oceanview. On our previous Caribbean cruises, we've had balcony and inside cabins. We never seem to spend a lot of time in them and instead in the public areas of the ship. I'm not sure if it will be the same on this cruise. I would much rather have more money for excursions and other parts of the trip.

[mek]

2 hours ago, samandryanmom said:

I appreciate everyone's advice. I have put a hold on the June 13th sailing of the Grand Princess, Southbound. I think it ticks all of the boxes that we want. Right now, I have a hold on an Oceanview obstructed cabin that was just short of $100 more than an inside cabin. The balcony is close to double the cost of the obstructed oceanview. On our previous Caribbean cruises, we've had balcony and inside cabins. We never seem to spend a lot of time in them and instead in the public areas of the ship. I'm not sure if it will be the same on this cruise. I would much rather have more money for excursions and other parts of the trip.

If you are willing to settle for an OV obstructed, then unless you can get one of the cabins between the lifeboats where the views can be very good, why don't you do a guarantee?  We did this several weeks ago on Grand Princess and ended up with a Premium OV.  Not saying you will get something that good, but there is always a chance you will get an OV.  We saved $1,000 by booking the guarantee vs a balcony.  I've cruised to Alaska 5 times and contrary to popular opinion, I don't think a balcony is  necessary in Alaska.  The best views are up on the open decks.

[jackydroid68]

I did the Southbound cruise this summer. You get more time at ports and view the beautiful scenery around Anchorage/Whittier. I don't know about next year, but this summer a flight from Seattle to Anchorage was just $70.

[samandryanmom]

It's on front of ship with no life boats. A guaranty is letting them pick the cabin, right? I'll check that too.

[GettingMyShipTogether]

we debated r/t vs. one way and the airfare ended up being only slightly more to anchorage, the flight was longer/less convenient though. we looked at NCL which goes into glacier bay also, HAL, and Princess. i think Royal Caribbean goes there also but not as often, and some other lines that were out of our price range. The port times helped us narrow it down but choosing was overwhelming. 

 

the 1 / Pacific Coast Highway is gorgeous! wishing you a great trip! 

[NMTraveller]

My thoughts and opinions are this.

 

Do a one week cruise and then a one week land tour.  I would not miss Denali or the train.

[mek]

1 hour ago, samandryanmom said:

It's on front of ship with no life boats. A guaranty is letting them pick the cabin, right? I'll check that too.

Yes, a guarantee is booking a certain category and then letting the cruise line assign your cabin. When booking guarantees it is important to look at all cabins in that category to make sure you can live with any cabin in that category because if that isn't acceptable, then a guarantee isn't for you. Remember if you book an OV obstructed guarantee on Grand Princess, there are cabins where the view is totally blocked by a lifeboat, but it is always possible to get one with a fairly unobstructed view or an upgrade to an OV or even better.

Edited October 2, 2019 by mek

[nooptere]

3 hours ago, jackydroid68 said:

I did the Southbound cruise this summer. You get more time at ports and view the beautiful scenery around Anchorage/Whittier. I don't know about next year, but this summer a flight from Seattle to Anchorage was just $70.

$ 70 ??? You might want to check that. Sounds like only the baggage fees. 🤣

[donaldsc]

On 9/30/2019 at 10:44 AM, samandryanmom said:

There are two Princess cruises on June 13, 2020. One leaves from Seattle (Roundtrip) and one from Anchorage (Southbound). Both go to Glacier Bay. The Roundtrip is on the Grand Princess and the Southbound is on Ruby Princess. The roundtrip is about $600 more but I think flights to Anchorage will be more expensive than into Seattle. After the cruise, we are driving down the West coast so we want to end up in Vancouver or Seattle. We have cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean before but never Alaska. I'm reading that the only two cruise lines that can go to Glacier Bay are Holland and Princess so I've narrowed the search to those two lines.

 

We are in our late 40's and will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. I will welcome any thoughts and opinions.

 

Where did you get that idea.  Try typing "which cruise lines go to glacier bay" into Google.  I am not saying that you shouldn't go on HAL or Princess but your information is wrong.

 

DON

[BarbinMich]

On 9/30/2019 at 5:34 PM, samandryanmom said:

I think my husband is looking more forward to the west coast drive. Is 101 the Highway on the ocean? If so, yes. He's in charge of scheduling that portion!! I understand the saving up part!!!

Sometimes the US 101 is on the ocean, but mostly it's inland.  Calif 1 goes along the ocean most of the time.