Please give me your thoughts

[Tntt]

I know this board is filled with individuals who have cruised to various places, so I'm just seeking advice. In 2025 my spouse and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and we would like to celebrate it on a cruise.

 

We have also cruised alot but mainly the eastern caribbean, but we have never seen the western caribbean, however I also would like to sail Alaska. The issue I have with alaska is we would have to fly to seattle because we live on the east coast and we are looking at a 5 hour flight and neither one of us are fans of flying long distances and we know western caribbean will be warm and alaska may be cool and rainy  however , everyone is telling me an alaska cruise is worth it. So I am a little torn about should we book a 7 nt western caribbean or should I just book the Alaska cruise. Just curious about what my fellow cruisers think, what are the pros  and cons between these two cruises. What would you suggest if you were me? 

[Etta1213]

I grew up in PA with rough winters. For me, warm weather vacations hold a strong attraction. However, if your trip will be in summer, expect to accept possibly intense heat in the Caribbean. I've loved some Carib excursions, such as interacting with stingrays, the sea turtle sanctuary in Grand Cayman, the swim with dolphins, interact manatee, sea lion show in Cozumel's Chankanaab Park. 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Etta1213

[Mum2Mercury]

I'd go for the Western Caribbean.  

 

I tried to plan an Alaskan cruise, and I decided against it -- decided that Alaska should be a land-based trip for us.  Why?  For starters, we're also on the East coast, so the flight is long, and we'll probably only do this once.  But mostly, when I looked at excursions I saw so many things that we wouldn't be able to do on a cruise; that is, many of the things that interest us (like Denali National Park) are inland /not accessible on a shore excursion schedule.  

 

Last thought:  With global warming what it is, I think it'd be wise to make your Alaskan trip sooner rather than later.  Those glaciers aren't going to wait.  

[Ourusualbeach]

Save the Caribbean for a winter vacation.  Go for Alaska.  Or of you want to stick to the East Coast look for some of the cruises that visit Iceland.

[firefly333]

11 minutes ago, Tntt said:

I know this board is filled with individuals who have cruised to various places, so I'm just seeking advice. In 2025 my spouse and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and we would like to celebrate it on a cruise.

 

We have also cruised alot but mainly the eastern caribbean, but we have never seen the western caribbean, however I also would like to sail Alaska. The issue I have with alaska is we would have to fly to seattle because we live on the east coast and we are looking at a 5 hour flight and neither one of us are fans of flying long distances and we know western caribbean will be warm and alaska may be cool and rainy  however , everyone is telling me an alaska cruise is worth it. So I am a little torn about should we book a 7 nt western caribbean or should I just book the Alaska cruise. Just curious about what my fellow cruisers think, what are the pros  and cons between these two cruises. What would you suggest if you were me? 

I think it's worth doing Alaska once. It was fabulous scenery. We did have one day of a monsoon where I saw a glacier in a national park. Dont remember which one, but its rained hard. 

 

Also, as you say Alaska is a expensive cruise. The port fees are extra high as are the price of the excursions. 

 

I'm the opposite and have done western so much I dont get off the ship, cheap cruise from Galveston. My adventure bookings have new ports for me, bonaire, DR, some other. I hope it's worth seeing new ports. 

 

Set aside extra money to do alaska.

[Jasukkie]

If you were offering me a free cruise and I had to choose between those two I would definitely choose Alaska. I've done both and the scenery in Alaska wins for me. 

 

You know your wife and whether she is more of a beach, warm weather person, or more of a nature and scenery person. That should drive your decision.

[Jimbo]

To make our Alaska cruise worth while. We did a B2B cruise. Started in San Diego, A Pacific Coastal cruise followed by the Alaska Cruise from Vancouver

 

It was San Diego to Vancouver, 12 night cruise, then a 7 day cruise RT from Vancouver. Then we rented a car and drove to the Portland, Oregon area and toured around there for 3 days and then flew home from Oregon.

 

All of it was well worth the plane rides from Philadelphia to San Diego and from Portland to Philadelphia.

 

Is there any chance you can extend your vacation in anyway to do more then 1 cruise.

[broadwaybaby123]

As someone who lives on the East Coast as well, it depends on when you want to go.  I've never done the Alaska cruise but I know people who have been to Alaska and temperature wise, it's not bad in the summer months.  In the winter months, however, it can be brutal.

[Jasukkie]

11 minutes ago, Etta1213 said:

I grew up in PA with rough winters. For me, warm weather vacations hold a strong attraction. However, if your trip will be in summer, expect to accept possibly intense heat in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean tends to not get the intense heat that we get in US summers. It's the risk of hurricanes that would make me leery of booking there in the summer/early fall.

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

As someone who lives on the East Coast as well, it depends on when you want to go.  I've never done the Alaska cruise but I know people who have been to Alaska and temperature wise, it's not bad in the summer months.  In the winter months, however, it can be brutal.

There isn't any large cruise ships that do Alaska Cruises in the Winter.

[OCSC Mike]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I tried to plan an Alaskan cruise, and I decided against it -- decided that Alaska should be a land-based trip for us.  Why?  For starters, we're also on the East coast, so the flight is long, and we'll probably only do this once.  But mostly, when I looked at excursions I saw so many things that we wouldn't be able to do on a cruise; that is, many of the things that interest us (like Denali National Park) are inland /not accessible on a shore excursion schedule.  

 

Could not agree with this more (probably already posted this to you at some point).

 

I'm OK with doing an Alaskan cruise (there are still good excursions in the cruise ports and it's cool to see glaciers from the ship) but only after a land portion like we did in 2018... 10 days DIY traveling from Fairbanks to Seward with many stops including 2 nights in the back of Denali National Park.

 

To the OP... We normally sail around the Caribbean on the cheap since PC is an hour drive for us. We've been to most ports several times, both eastern and western, but we don't care. We sail as much for the ship and CocoCay as anything (though we do usually have an excursion or two planned per 7-night cruise). Alaska is the one place I would splurge on (and we definitely did).

 

If you can afford to do a land portion along with some expensive excursions, go to Alaska. If that's something that you may be in a better position to do in the future, then I'd wait and do the Caribbean. The only caveat to waiting is that I agree that global warming is a factor to be considered.

[Dcoy]

If you have the time and money, think about Amtrak to Seattle.  We did it several years ago from Chicago. We don’t like flying either.  Just make sure you arrive in Seattle a day or two before cruise. Our train arrived 4 hours late due to hitting a truck crossing the tracks. 
 

After the Alaskan cruise, we took the train back to Chicago. Great views and time to relax after the cruise. We were celebrating our 50th and splurged for a bedroom on the train. 

[Etta1213]

3 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

The Caribbean tends to not get the intense heat that we get in US summers. It's the risk of hurricanes that would make me leery of booking there in the summer/early fall.

I remember browsing shops in a port, then getting in a line late in the afternoon to get back on the ship. For some reason, the line was long and barely moving. We stood in full sun. I had a tough time with it. I think it depends on one's health/stamina too.

[Jimbo]

11 minutes ago, Dcoy said:

If you have the time and money, think about Amtrak to Seattle.  We did it several years ago from Chicago. We don’t like flying either.  Just make sure you arrive in Seattle a day or two before cruise. Our train arrived 4 hours late due to hitting a truck crossing the tracks. 
 

After the Alaskan cruise, we took the train back to Chicago. Great views and time to relax after the cruise. We were celebrating our 50th and splurged for a bedroom on the train. 

Total time on a Train from East Coast is probably around 75 hours, so pretty much 3 days each way for a total of 6 days. Think I would still opt for the plane flights over that.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Jimbo

[Mum2Mercury]

22 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

If you were offering me a free cruise and I had to choose between those two I would definitely choose Alaska. I've done both and the scenery in Alaska wins for me. 

If you were offering me a free cruise, I'd take the Alaskan too, as it's fairly significantly more expensive -- but for my own dollar I stand by what I said above!  

13 minutes ago, Dcoy said:

If you have the time and money, think about Amtrak to Seattle.  

I've taken the train a couple times, and it's been a good experience.  It's much slower, of course, but the seats are larger /more comfortable than planes, and you get two electrical outlets between each two seats.  The conductors couldn't have been more helpful.  Two suggestions:  bring your own food, as Amtrak's food is bad and expensive; bring Clorox wipes for the bathroom (longer trips, they get used more).  

12 minutes ago, Etta1213 said:

I remember browsing shops in a port, then getting in a line late in the afternoon to get back on the ship. For some reason, the line was long and barely moving. We stood in full sun. I had a tough time with it. I think it depends on one's health/stamina too.

I remember long lines to get back on the ship years ago, but that hasn't been the case in our recent cruises.  I've wondered if it's been chance or something else. 

 

In fact, on our last cruise they had tents to shade guests from the sun and offered ice water as we drew near the ship.   

Edited August 3, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[dd likes to cruise]

A number of the cruise companies offer an Alaska cruise with Land portion also. That is what we did. On Royal, Vancouver to Steward. Plus 3 days land tour to Denali and Fairbanks. Really enjoyed it. Flew home from Fairbanks. 

[Jasukkie]

11 minutes ago, Etta1213 said:

I remember browsing shops in a port, then getting in a line late in the afternoon to get back on the ship. For some reason, the line was long and barely moving. We stood in full sun. I had a tough time with it. I think it depends on one's health/stamina too.

For sure, I'm heat intolerant myself. I should have said there's about a 10 degree difference in the temperature between the coldest and warmest time of the year in the Caribbean, so they don't have the extremes of 100 degree temps the way we can have in the mainland US.

[CruisinBanka]

Go for Alaska. It’s usually a once and done bucket list destination.  You can do Western Carribean anytime, as they are easier to access from East Coast and a better winter destination anyway. To compensate for the long cross country flight consider a B2B Alaska cruise as we did. 

[budmeister]

Alaska. It is a mind- enhancing experience. It is not that cold in June or and July. I once thought I could not handle the flight time, but I really wanted to go to Europe once in my life and found that I survived the 7-8 hour flight. I am glad I went. 

 

The Caribbean is a very nice, relaxing vacation but very ordinary in terms of eye- opening experiences,  and will always have lots of options, many inexpensive compared to other choices. 

[Ret MP]

Like many, Alaska is a one-and-done for us.  We did Alaska in May 2022 on the Ovation from Seattle.  We flew from Atlanta to Seattle with 2 stops on the way.  I hated it, I'm not a flyer.  The scenery is fantastic in Alaska, for sure.  We've done the eastern & western Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, and Alaska.  I really don't think there is much difference between the eastern and western Caribbean.  But, I will admit that we aren't big excursion goes and don't experience much beyond the ports in the Caribbean.  Except that, I've had enough of Cozumel,  far too many, for us, itineraries for the western Caribbean go there.  But, as usual, it's all in what you and only you, and your traveling partner(s), want.  Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy yourself.

[HicksRA]

How many sand beaches do you need to see?  
Do Alaska…

[Ozark_Kid]

May of 2022 we had our Hawaii cruise canceled.   We replaced it with Alaska.  I was not sure I would like it because I don't like cold.  After cruising Alaska I would say it was probably our favorite cruise.  We are cruising Alaska again June 2024.

 

Here is a live review I did during the 2022 Alaska cruise. 

[cruisegirl1]

Make a celebration special, go someplace else besides the Caribbean. 
 

Alaska is lovely. A Mediterranean cruise is a great way to get a taste several cities/countries. 
 

M

 

 

[Ret MP]

11 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

May of 2022 we had our Hawaii cruise canceled.   We replaced it with Alaska.  I was not sure I would like it because I don't like cold.  After cruising Alaska I would say it was probably our favorite cruise.  We are cruising Alaska again June 2024.

 

Here is a live review I did during the 2022 Alaska cruise. 

We were on the same cruise.  Enjoyed flying my drone at the top of Mt. Roberts and at Nugget Falls.  Great Footage from Nugget Falls.  My drone wouldn't handle properly from Mt. Roberts so I landed and went to Nugget Falls.  Something interfered with the GPS I guess at Mt. Roberts.   

[FLCruiser97]

My vote is for Alaska also. We have done Eastern, Western, Southern Caribbean. That is our go to cruising as we live in Florida but we did Alaska once and Boy, what a different type of cruising. I knew a retired Alaska Coast Guardsman who once told me that if God had put His footprint anywhere on Earth it would have been in Alaska. The scenery was beautiful. And we did not feel that the temp was too cold.