Please help me decide on which Alaska cruise for our first time

[jlynchtx]

Sorry for the long post…I am thinking about putting a deposit down on our first Alaska cruise for July 2022.  I was wondering if some Alaska veterans could help me out between 2 or 3 itineraries (and maybe a few other questions).

 

I am deciding between a roundtrip inside passage from Vancouver on Holland America, or a one-way trip on Holland America or Princess. We need keep it to 7 days and will not have lot of time for land trips before or after because it is hard for my wife and I to get off for my than one week at a time right now. Our 16-year-old son may come with us also.

 

Just from my research, my priorities are Glacier Bay, Skagway (train), and either Juneau or Ketchikan. It would also be nice to go to one more glacier area.  

 

The one I am leaning towards is a July trip on Koningsdam with Holland America. Starting in Vnacouver with round trip inside passage with stops in Tracy Arm Inlet, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan It seems like the roundtrip would makes things a little simpler for us now and maybe we can come back again and do more land-based activities next time.

 

The second choice is a one-way trip starting in Vancouver and ending in Whittier, or starting in Whittier and ending in Vancouver. These both have all the same main stops at Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan. This is where it gets more confusing to me because both Holland American and Princess offer remarkably similar cruises for these trips.

 

I tried to list my main questions below…

1.      What are the main differences between Princess and Holland America? Would that matter much? We are really going to see the sights and I am not overly concerned about the ship. Our 16-year-old son may decide to come if that makes any difference.

2.      Is there any difference in the shore excursions between these two lines? Or are they all about the same?

3.      It looks like if you travel Northbound, you make an additional stop at College Fjord (in addition to Glacier Bay) and if you travel Southbound, you make a stop at Hubbard Glacier instead of College Fjord. This seems to be true for both lines. Any favorite between those two stops?

4.      It appears that if we choose the round trip with Holland America, it makes an additional stop at Tracey Arm inlet in addition to Glacier Bay. But upon looking closely, it looks more like a drive by, and you must take an excursion to see the inlet? Is this worth the extra expense? If you do the excursion, how does Tracey Arm compare to College Fjord or Hubbard Glacier?

5.      How would the Tracey Arm inlet excursion compare to just going to see the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau? Much better?

6.      Is July a good time to ensure we see the glaciers? And time better than others?

 

I will stop here so this post does not get any longer… Thanks in advance!

[CruiserBruce]

Given your travel restrictions (and going in and out of Seward requires extra time and effort) I would do the Konningsdam round trip out of Vancouver. It has the best highlights in one cruise. Glacier Bay is always a drive by. I am not sure, but Tracy Arm, in this case, could be you go a little ways in, and those that want, can purchase a shore excursion directly off the ship into the Arm. Hubbard Glacier is great...but Tracy Arm is no slouch.

 

Generally, HAL and Princess will be far more alike than different. I wouldn't waste my time com paring them.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

Our 16-year-old son may decide to come if that makes any difference.

 

Your son may find more activities on a Princess ship than on a HAL ship.  But, both cruise lines have excellent programs specifically for children and youth.

 

3 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

Any favorite between those two stops?

 

Between Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord, I prefer Hubbard Glacier.

 

3 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

Is there any difference in the shore excursions between these two lines? Or are they all about the same?

 

Basically, no, there is little if any difference between their excursions.  Except, HAL may be a bit more expensive for the same excursion.  At least, that is what I found in 2019. when I sailed Northbound on Westerdam and Southbound on Coral Princess.

 

3 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

how does Tracey Arm compare to College Fjord or Hubbard Glacier?

 

I have been to all 3 areas along with Glacier Bay.  Tracey Arm is a scenic sail to get to the the glacier; how close the ship will be able to get will depend upon the ice conditions.  Of these three, I would rank Hubbard as #1 with Tracey Arm as #3.

 

3 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

Is July a good time to ensure we see the glaciers?

 

Yes.  There are mitigating circumstances that sometimes causes problems for how close the ship can get to any of the glaciers, however.  That can happen anytime of the cruise season, though.

[oaktreerb]

7 day round trip on Koningsdam would be my choice.  No reason to go all the way to Whittier if you don’t have time to continue your trip to see Alaska.  The service stop at Tracy Arm is definitely worth the money.  You will transfer directly from the Koningsdam to a smaller ship which will take you into Tracy Arm.  You will be able to see the glaciers and ice in the water close up.  You will see waterfalls and maybe see a bear walking near the shore.   You may also see a whale or two along the way.  You will meet your ship in Juneau.

 

Holland America will probably have less small children board.  Holland America is likely to have older children and multigenerational families traveling to Alaska.  Holland America has activities for different age groups of children.   Teenagers generally find each other if they want to hang out.   The pool is covered.  

[oaktreerb]

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau does not compare to Tracy Arm.  Mendenhall is a city attraction, Tracy Arm is nature.

July is a great time to go.  The best glacier experiences would be Glacier Bay (park rangers come onboard to narrate the experience).  The Tracy Arm excursion brings you up close to the glacier experience.  Any time is good for seeing the glaciers.

[jlynchtx]

Thanks for all the input! 

[don't-use-real-name]

Alaska is so B-I-G that taking 10 - 20 or more cruises and land packages and you will only

begin to see and be awed at this the very last frontier.

 

So don't knock yourself out silly trying to craft a complete first time cruise package.

 

A 7 day cruise with 3 or 4 ports and 2 glaciers should be the starting point.

For the most part this will be all in southeast coastal Alaska -

Seattle or Vancouver (February 2022)  starting points

 

Ports -

Ketchikan

Juneau

Icy Strait Point

Sitka

and rounding out with Victoria (after February 2022)

 

Glaciers -

Glacier Bay

Mendenhall

Tracy (Sawyer) or Endicott (Dawes)

 

Cruises to Anchorage - 7 days and then multiple days with land tours

Ports of Seward and Whittier

Are the launching points for land tours and the Alaska interior (think Mt. Denali) 

 

*** option the reverse of this can be done

 

With a base first time cruise trip to Alaska you will be better able to gauge what to

do on subsequent cruises

 

And there is always Cruise Critic here for more advice.

[jlynchtx]

  I think I am going to go with Holland America out of Vancouver in July of 22. I like all the stops and times. The price is also quite a bit cheaper for a balcony room than Princess (which gives me more money for shore excursions). 

  Now I just need to decide when to book it. When is too early and too late to book an Alaska cruise? I have no idea how fast the balcony cabins usually sell out. Maybe nobody knows in 2022 since things will be (hopefully) back to normal. 

  The only thing that makes me nervous is the Vancouver part. Canada is so slow with vaccine rollouts and are STILL under lockdowns, it makes me even wonder if they will allow cruising next year. 

[Eileen G]

I have done all three of those cruises, north and south bound on the Coral Princess and RT Vancouver on the Volendam. All of them were fantastic. If you can't spend extra time in Alaska I wouldn't go up to Anchorage. The flights are much longer and the port is far from Anchorage. You can't just get a cab to take you to or from Anchorage. Make sure to fly in the day before your cruise. You don't want to miss the ship and Vancouver is a beautiful city.

[oaktreerb]

3 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

  

  Now I just need to decide when to book it. When is too early and too late to book an Alaska cruise? I have no idea how fast the balcony cabins usually sell out. Maybe nobody knows in 2022 since things will be (hopefully) back to normal. 

  

Just make sure you book a refundable fare.  With a refundable fare you can watch the fares and call to have the booking refared anytime before final payment.  Fares tend to fluctuate depending on how well the cruise is selling and which promotion is in place at the time.  It’s hard to say if the veranda’s will sell out.  July is a popular time for cruises.  You can book a veranda guarantee or choose a stateroom.  Guarantees are usually cheaper but if you book early you may want to choose a cabin.