Any clear winner?

[skittl1321]

13 hours ago, Ixtoras said:

You might want to take a look at that again.  On the NCL site, the cruise may be titled "Alaska: Glacier Bay, Skagway & Juneau" but it actually visits 4 ports plus a day cruising Glacier Bay.  The itinerary includes Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria BC.

 

 

 

 

Victoria hardly counts though...

I'm cruising on Encore, and incredibly excited about it, but the port times are super short.  I wish they could have extended them a bit. But Victoria is clearly just to meet a legal requirement, and Ketchikan is super short.

Edited September 27, 2023 by skittl1321

[fredflint]

22 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Uncruise and Maple Leaf Adventures come to mind. I'm hoping when I get to Alaska I'm on one of these company's ships.

By smaller I meant of those ships a 3000 passenger ship cannot usually go the same as a 2000 passenger ship.  I have been twice once on a 1000 passenger ship and the other was over 2000 we were able to get further up into the bays.  That is the reason to go later too, if you want to save money and go off season later is usually better.  I went the end of June and in May  June was a much better cruise.

[BBlake43]

20 hours ago, Pitzel said:

We have done Alaska on RCCL Serenade of the Seas (2008) and on RCCL Quantum of the Seas (2022). A couple of reasons why we picked those ships/itineraries:

- The Serenade was going to Glacier Bay at the time and, as a smaller ship, it can get REALLY CLOSE to the glacier. Amazing day.

- The Quantum is designed for cold weather cruises. The 270 has massive glass windows, the North Star provides an amazing view from high above the ship, and there is an enclosed pool and solarium. Also, indoor skydiving was amazing!

While we didn't go to Glacier Bay on our sailing, we did get to Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria. I greatly prefer those ports to Skagway (which is a one-and-done port for me...especially now that there are issues with the Yukon railway) or Ice Straight Point (which was essentially built for the tourists.

Also, RCCL docks in downtown Juneau, whereas some other cruise lines dock outside of downtown. This location makes it much more convenient to walk around or go to the Roberts Tramway, plus it is closer to many of the excursion sites, minimizing travel time.

I went on the Bliss last September and couldn't imagine any size ship getting much closer to the glacier than we got