1st time to Alaska - Completely overwhelmed - please help me choose a cruise!

[minniemom2009]

Hi All!

 

While I have cruised before many times before (Disney, RCCL, NCL, Carnival), I have only ever gone to the Caribbean.  I am trying to plan a trip for my father to cross Alaska off his bucket list and I am getting completely overwhelmed with all of the options!!  

 

There will be 8 of us on this trip - ages 18, 22, 23, 24, 46, 49, 68 and 69.  I'm trying to figure out - first of all - which ports are best to include in the trip and then of course activities to do at each.  I'm also questioning which port is best to leave from.  I personally do get seasick and although I initially thought it would be easiest to leave from Seattle (thinking flights would be easier to get there from the East Coast), I'm now reconsidering that since I've read the waters can be rougher leaving from Seattle. So I was thinking Vancouver might be a better option.

 

I then just saw there are a few cruises that leave from San Francisco.  The younger ones on the trip would LOVE to see San Francisco.  Admittedly, none of them are crazy about Alaska and have really only agreed to this trip to make their grandfather happy, so it would be nice to throw a little something in there for them - even though I do think they'll like Alaska once we get there.  I'm assuming the waters may be rought leaving from San Fran as well though - any input on that?  It also leaves less time for ports in Alaska.  

 

We're all very much interested in seeing wildlife.  Some of us are avid hikers and like some adventure.  My parents will probably want easier, not strenuous activities at the ports.  

 

We definitely have to travel in July.  I will only be getting home from another trip on July 5th, so I would preferably like to leave at least a week after that.  We also must return by August 8th because some of the kids will be heading back to college.  

 

With all that being said, can anyone give me a few pointers or maybe some things to definitely focus on and things to leave out just to try to narrow down the scope of what I'm looking for?

 

Several of us must eat a gluten free diet, so if anyone has input on that and which cruise line is best, that would be appreciated as well.  From what I'm reading, each cruise line has it's good and bad when it comes to accommodating special dietary needs.  

 

As far as budget goes, we certainly have one, but I haven't exactly put a number on it yet because I just don't know what to expect!  I'm thinking we'd like to stay below $15k for just the cruise part of the trip.  

 

Thanks so much for any input at all!  

[Gardyloo]

I can't comment on the dietary issues; that's an area for personal research I suspect.

 

As for the comfort question, both the Seattle and San Francisco departures travel on open ocean for much of the journey - west of Vancouver Island - while the Vancouver departures stay on protected "Inside Passage" waters for most of the trip.  (There's some open ocean crossing Dixon Entrance and of course crossing the Gulf of Alaska is on open ocean for one-way cruises to/from Seward or Whittier.)

 

That's the first question to resolve - round trip or one-way?  The round trips will only include the Southeast Alaska "panhandle," while the one-way trips, which terminate in either Seward or Whittier, will allow ground touring in Southcentral or Interior Alaska either before or after the cruise.  

 

Obviously, that's a time and budget discussion.  While both the round trips and one-ways are for seven nights, you need several days, maybe a week, in order to see much of anything on a land tour, and then of course you need to arrange for return transportation as well as any land arrangements.  

 

In terms of activities - hiking, wildlife viewing, etc., obviously you'll need adequate port time for any hiking excursions, and while there will be plenty of marine wildlife - whales, etc. - there are relatively limited opportunities to see a lot of terrestrial wildlife in SE Alaska, compared to, say, places like Denali NP farther north (although visiting Denali is currently restricted due to road closures in the national park.)  But not to worry, between the scenery and the history you'll still come back wanting more.

 

For those excited about seeing San Francisco, obviously they haven't spent much time in Vancouver.  There is so much to see and do in that beautiful city that you're going to have to use crowbars to pry them loose.  Trust me on this.

 

Anyway, all pretty general but I hope this gets the ball rolling.  

[CCJack]

8 hours ago, Gardyloo said:

I can't comment on the dietary issues; that's an area for personal research I suspect.

 

As for the comfort question, both the Seattle and San Francisco departures travel on open ocean for much of the journey - west of Vancouver Island - while the Vancouver departures stay on protected "Inside Passage" waters for most of the trip.  (There's some open ocean crossing Dixon Entrance and of course crossing the Gulf of Alaska is on open ocean for one-way cruises to/from Seward or Whittier.)

 

That's the first question to resolve - round trip or one-way?  The round trips will only include the Southeast Alaska "panhandle," while the one-way trips, which terminate in either Seward or Whittier, will allow ground touring in Southcentral or Interior Alaska either before or after the cruise.  

 

Obviously, that's a time and budget discussion.  While both the round trips and one-ways are for seven nights, you need several days, maybe a week, in order to see much of anything on a land tour, and then of course you need to arrange for return transportation as well as any land arrangements.  

 

In terms of activities - hiking, wildlife viewing, etc., obviously you'll need adequate port time for any hiking excursions, and while there will be plenty of marine wildlife - whales, etc. - there are relatively limited opportunities to see a lot of terrestrial wildlife in SE Alaska, compared to, say, places like Denali NP farther north (although visiting Denali is currently restricted due to road closures in the national park.)  But not to worry, between the scenery and the history you'll still come back wanting more.

 

For those excited about seeing San Francisco, obviously they haven't spent much time in Vancouver.  There is so much to see and do in that beautiful city that you're going to have to use crowbars to pry them loose.  Trust me on this.

 

Anyway, all pretty general but I hope this gets the ball rolling.  

Agree on Vancouver... A great city to catch a cruise.   Stay downtown for a night or two then walk to your ship.   Beautiful views of the harbor from downtown.  

[Alsmez]

I haven't been to Alaska yet, but I planned a 2020 trip for myself and DH (40s and active/outdoorsy) my parents (late 70s and not very active/outdoorsy) that was canceled due to Covid. I found that there were plenty of options at every port to suit our differing activity levels. I planned a couple of lower-activity excursions for all of us (i.e. whale watching in Icy Strait Point, Totem Bight in Ketchikan), and split up when they wanted something more low key (i.e. they were booked on the White Pass train trip for Skagway while DH and I were planning to do flightseeing with a glacier hike). There really wasn't a single port that didn't offer something for everyone.

 

I will say that my parents were not up for a land tour of the interior, so we only considered itineraries that stayed in SE Alaska. DH and I really want to see the interior and will absolutely do a one-way with land tour someday. Since this is a bucket list trip for your dad, I would find out first and foremost whether he wants to see the interior - all of your other decisions will cascade from that. 

[disneyochem]

As much as I love SF (have lived in the Bay Area for years), I have to agree with the suggestion to sail out of Vancouver.  Vancouver is a lovely city (it reminds me of SF) with lots to do for all ages.  My kids (who are 24 and 26) really enjoyed the nightlife and activities available (biking, hiking, kayaking).  
 

We’ve sailed from all three ports numerous times (SF is our home port) but prefer Vancouver.  SF is fun to sail from but, for the first couple of days can be rough.  Also your time in the ports is shorter than a cruise out of Vancouver.  The SF sailings are 10 days—more sea days.  Sailing out of Vancouver through the inside passage will be calmer than sailing from Seattle and SF.  Just be sure to pick a cruise line whose ships will be small enough to do so.  The cruise through the Inside Passage is spectacular and, IMO, not to be missed.  
 

I have celiac disease and have to eat gluten free.  While all cruise lines will accommodate my needs, I’ve found that Princess is the best for me.  Consistently applied protocols and good food!  Vancouver is also fantastic for eating gf—there are a number of restaurants and bakeries that are gf!  We always go to Juke Fried Chicken—yum!  Here’s a like to gf options in Vancouver and San Francisco:  https://wheatlesswanderlust.com/gluten-free-vancouver/

 

Each port will have good trails for hiking—easy to strenuous. I use the app AllTrails.  Juneau and Icy Strait Point are good for whale watching (in Juneau, Harv and Marv; Glacier Winds in ISP).  The salmon will be running in July so opportunities to see bears at numerous ports.  We like Above and Beyond Alaska in Juneau for some unique experiences—we did the kayak and glacier trek this past summer with the kids on our family cruise.

 

Enjoy planning—there’s lots of information about what to do in Alaska.  I would first determine a departure city, a cruise line and then start looking at activities.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by disneyochem

[minniemom2009]

Thank you all so very much!  This is all incredibly helpful 🙂 I've asked my dad numerous times for his input, but I think he's just so excited to finally go that he keeps saying he's fine with whatever, which should make it easier for me, but in some ways it makes it more stressful.  I want to be sure I am planning the best trip for him!

 

It sounds like Vancouver is definitely the best port to cruise in/out of.  I've been to Victoria in the past and absolutely loved it, but he has never been to western Canada and I'm sure he would love it.  Just knowing the best port to leave from definitely helps to narrow things down.  Again, I appreciate all the input!

[Alsmez]

8 minutes ago, minniemom2009 said:

he keeps saying he's fine with whatever, which should make it easier for me, but in some ways it makes it more stressful.

 

100%. My mother did this to me when I was planning our trip and it drive me nuts, particularly because I knew quite well they were NOT fine with whatever, if whatever involved any significant amount of physical activity. I had to be very explicit with them about the logistics of the land tour and the types of excursions we could expect before they finally, definitively said no land tour. The length of the flight to Anchorage was also a dissuasion. 😉

[Northern Aurora]

I am really late to this discussion, but just several comments from someone who actually lives in Alaska.

 

Given the issue of potential seasickness definitely depart from Vancouver.  We have been on over 60 cruises, and several times on Pacific Coastal cruises the seas have been rough north of SanFrancisco.  We have been to Antarctica, crossed Cape Horn three times, been in the North Atlantic in the remnants of a nor'easter and definitely have experienced worst seas north of San Francisco than we experienced in those situations.

 

You will be traveling during a very popular time with higher prices.  Your budget for the cruise portion of this trip may determine which cruise line.  

 

All of the ports have a variety of excursion options.  I expect all of ;your family will find something appealing to their interests.