First cruise to Alaska questions.

[dvpaintboy]

We are diamond plus but have never made it to Alaska. There are many RCCL that cruise there but which has the must do stops. Going to book for May cruise and will be chilly. Is it warm enough to get value out of a balcony. Not interested on land tour add on at this time. Thanks 

[steveru621]

4 minutes ago, dvpaintboy said:

We are diamond plus but have never made it to Alaska. There are many RCCL that cruise there but which has the must do stops. Going to book for May cruise and will be chilly. Is it warm enough to get value out of a balcony. Not interested on land tour add on at this time. Thanks 

 

Sorry, but a land tour to Denali is the only way to enjoy Alaska.  Roll your own.

 

[reallyitsmema]

12 minutes ago, dvpaintboy said:

We are diamond plus but have never made it to Alaska. There are many RCCL that cruise there but which has the must do stops. Going to book for May cruise and will be chilly. Is it warm enough to get value out of a balcony. Not interested on land tour add on at this time. Thanks 

 

We have sailed Alaska twice in May and absolutely used our balcony.  We went in 2018 and 2022.  Last year it was 80 when we were in Skagway and 70 when we were in Juneau.  We also had warm days on our 2018 cruise.  I would suggest bringing layers and pack at least one pair of shorts.  We did not bring winter coats and never regretted not having them.  Coldest days were when we went to the glacier and even then we wore a long sleeve shirt, polar fleece 3/4 zip and a waterproof shell over it.  

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

Do the balcony so you have unobstructed views of the glaciers as you sail past. No one in your way to block the sites or ruin your pictures. We put on our coats, hats and gloves and used the blankets from our room. We loved every minute of our personal viewing space!

[LeeW]

Most of the time you are sailing is at night, but we do use our balcony on Alaska cruises.  We also like smaller ships like Radiance, which has a glassed-in swimming pool.  Waves in pool can be impressive.

[time4u2go]

19 hours ago, dvpaintboy said:

We are diamond plus but have never made it to Alaska. There are many RCCL that cruise there but which has the must do stops. Going to book for May cruise and will be chilly. Is it warm enough to get value out of a balcony. Not interested on land tour add on at this time. Thanks 

Princess (and a few others) has the one must do stop: Glacier Bay National Park.  RCCL does not go there.

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by time4u2go

[time4u2go]

19 hours ago, steveru621 said:

 

Sorry, but a land tour to Denali is the only way to enjoy Alaska.  Roll your own.

 

So true!

[reallyitsmema]

11 minutes ago, LeeW said:

Most of the time you are sailing is at night, but we do use our balcony on Alaska cruises.  We also like smaller ships like Radiance, which has a glassed-in swimming pool.  Waves in pool can be impressive.

 

Ovation and Quantum have two indoor pools.  There is a family pool with a retractable roof and also a pool in the Solarium.

[OCSC Mike]

19 hours ago, steveru621 said:

Sorry, but a land tour to Denali is the only way to enjoy Alaska.  Roll your own.

 

Agree 100%. We won't go back until we're ready to pay for another long land portion like the 10 days we did on our only Alaska trip in 2018 before a southbound cruise.

[vacationlover_mn]

20 hours ago, dvpaintboy said:

We are diamond plus but have never made it to Alaska. There are many RCCL that cruise there but which has the must do stops. Going to book for May cruise and will be chilly. Is it warm enough to get value out of a balcony. Not interested on land tour add on at this time. Thanks 

I feel like a balcony is a must!  Pack layers.

[neverbeenhere]

Alaska balcony requirement.... NO

 

Plenty of space above to see the sites. You can't normally sit on your balcony for long during the day or evenings. Ships have great locations for viewing both inside and out.

 

The excursions are where it's at in Alaska. Fjord/Glacier is only part of one day and usually very cold.

 

Save the cash, do more on land.

[OCSC Mike]

13 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Alaska balcony requirement.... NO

 

Plenty of space above to see the sites. You can't normally sit on your balcony for long during the day or evenings. Ships have great locations for viewing both inside and out.

 

The excursions are where it's at in Alaska. Fjord/Glacier is only part of one day and usually very cold.

 

Save the cash, do more on land.

 

Agree with all of this.

[time4u2go]

20 hours ago, Weluv2cruise2gether said:

Do the balcony so you have unobstructed views of the glaciers as you sail past. No one in your way to block the sites or ruin your pictures. We put on our coats, hats and gloves and used the blankets from our room. We loved every minute of our personal viewing space!

Agreed.  Nothing beats sitting on your own balcony, watching glaciers and wildlife go by.

[reallyitsmema]

22 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Alaska balcony requirement.... NO

 

Plenty of space above to see the sites. You can't normally sit on your balcony for long during the day or evenings. Ships have great locations for viewing both inside and out.

 

The excursions are where it's at in Alaska. Fjord/Glacier is only part of one day and usually very cold.

 

Save the cash, do more on land.

 

Why can't you sit on your balcony for long?  We used ours for hours.

[time4u2go]

43 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Agree 100%. We won't go back until we're ready to pay for another long land portion like the 10 days we did on our only Alaska trip in 2018 before a southbound cruise.

I also agree.  The land portion was perhaps better than the cruise portion, in my opinion.

[neverbeenhere]

24 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Why can't you sit on your balcony for long?  We used ours for hours.

 

As we are West Coasters, we have been on many many Alaska Cruises. Each cruise is different, but many trips have been "shrinkage" cold during most days and evenings.

[kitkat343]

21 hours ago, steveru621 said:

 

Sorry, but a land tour to Denali is the only way to enjoy Alaska.  Roll your own.

 

The road is currently being repaired, and people considering a land tour should research when Denali is scheduled to be accessible.  

 

We sailed in late May and the weather was quite lovely.  Weather in Alaska can be unpredictable anytime, so bring layers and be prepared for rain and cold.

[shipgeeks]

We sailed in May-June.  We had a balcony, but only used it once, for an hour or two, the entire 10 days. I would absolutely book an OV if we did AK again. We spent all our waking hours, while in transit, on the upper open decks, or in a lounge with all windows.

Our cruise had cold weather (but mostly sunny) the entire time. Long pants, long sleeve jersey, wool sweater, down jacket; sometimes a rain jacket over that. Hat, gloves, warm socks, warm shoes.

 

[budmeister]

I would take a balcony if I was not skipping any excursions due to price. You can dress warm there just as well as on deck. 

 

We went in June and wore everything from shorts and tees to hats and gloves. Our excursions were long days, so the weather varied a lot.

 

We had an inside room, and enjoyed the expansive views views from the open decks.  While  a balcony is always nice, I do not think we could have gotten the big picture views from it, and of course only side views. We spent a lot of time on deck watching the seals and coasts.

 

If you have to choose, spend the money on expensive excursions. We did everything we wanted to, even helicoptering or some kind of sea plane over the glaciers. They look nothing like I expected when seen in real life! We hiked, canoed, and walked across sand beaches up to waterfalls at the edges of glaciers. We also did the dog sledding. 

 

Go on the long excisions, they are fabulous!  Normally we are 4 hour excursion people, we like to relax, but Alaska is another world and worth the long days.  

 

Enjoy