NCteacherlovescruising Posted July 11 #1 Share Posted July 11 We would like to book our first trip to Alaska. Which ports should we look for on the itinerary? We plan to do a land and sea combo. Which cruise line does this best? We’re thinking summer 2026. I’m a teacher so mid June-mid August timeframe. We would like to see whales and fjords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sambamama Posted July 11 #2 Share Posted July 11 The cruise lines that do Alaska best are HAL and Princess. Whales are hit and miss as all wildlife are. Your choices are Seattle or Vancouver departure. Vancouver is more scenic and more chances of whale sitings. The standard cruise is a 7 day RT Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway, and Ketchikan, with other variants. Many people go whale watching in Juneau. You should book a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay whatever else you choose as it's fairly universal that Glacier Bay is spectacular and only HAL and Princess do it. Your land tour is very hectic and early mornings, so decide if you want to be tired, and then do your cruise, or the other way round. Or if you have more time, just do the cruise, and do the land part on your own-that's pretty easy to do as well. But it may take longer that way-but you will see more, and have a better experience. That's what I am doing. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 12 #3 Share Posted July 12 I think your best option is a one way south bound out of Seward on either Regent or SilverSea. Spend your first week in the interior on your own and the second week cruising. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted July 12 #4 Share Posted July 12 7 minutes ago, zqvol said: I think your best option is a one way south bound out of Seward on either Regent or SilverSea. Spend your first week in the interior on your own and the second week cruising. I think there are plenty of options with out spending the $$$$ on Regent or Silversea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 12 #5 Share Posted July 12 Just now, Coral said: I think there are plenty of options with out spending the $$$$ on Regent or Silversea. You get what you pay for. You can go cheap or do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted July 12 #6 Share Posted July 12 32 minutes ago, zqvol said: You get what you pay for. You can go cheap or do it right. I just pulled up a few itineraries and they are not going anywhere that other lines are not going to. Granted, dinner and food may be better but the ports are similar. If I was to spend that much money - it would be on an expedition ship like National Geographic or Un-Cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas travelers4fun Posted July 13 #7 Share Posted July 13 (edited) We have cruised 6 times to Alaska. Have a 14 day (b2b) next week. We have been on several different cruise lines, but Princess is our favorite. Southbound is also more time in ports and does Glacier Bay and Hubbard. We leave out of Whittier. I know everyone has their favorite, but we wouldn’t miss Glacier Bay. Always book Jayleens in Juneau for whale watching. Harv and Marv would be our 2nd choice. Booked Temesco for Helicopter/glacier excursion. Was wonderful, but expensive. Worth every penny. Also have done Island Wings (Michelle)in Ketchikan flight seeing and landed on a beautiful lake. Excursions are pricey in Alaska, but certainly breathtaking. Hope you have a wonderful trip and fall in love with Alaska like we have…..our first trip was a bucket list and was only going to be a one time thing! Edited July 13 by Texas travelers4fun 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare dna1990 Posted July 15 #8 Share Posted July 15 Agree to doing LandTour first. Would be way too much after a relaxing cruise, and all the clothes/repacking to work with. Also agree with a one-way trip instead of roundtrip. Start your budget now. Everything is quite pricey. There are some super excursion companies suggested right here in this section, I think cruiseline tours will simply be slower, more $, and more crowded - all going to same attractions you can book easily on your own or with independent guides. If not booking a cruisetour for land portion, look into tours in the Kenai Fjords. My son did that and saw tons of wildlife and great scenery. We just did early July and saw plenty of whales in both Juneau and Icy Straight. Second the vote for Jayleen's. Lots of seals and otters in Icy Straight. To my knowledge most itineraries all center around the same main ports of Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan - then you have Seward/Whittier for the north end, Glacier Bay or Hubbard, Seatle or Vancouver, and maybe a Sitka thrown in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisetonowhere10 Posted July 16 #9 Share Posted July 16 One thing to think about is what you want to see/do and then determine the best place to do that. We have bear, moose, etc at home so not really a “sell” for me. On my first Alaskan cruise I wanted to see orcas (living on the East Coast I’ve seen regular variety whales — very cool up close but not something I needed to do in Alaska) and we did an awesome excursion in Vancouver and saw tons of orcas. Friends who were traveling with us from another part of the country really wanted bears…by all means, go for it. I spend my spring/summer chasing them away — they will literally make entry into houses/garages where we are. So, look at what people suggest and then plan your time. Some of my best excursions round 1 was just hiking for free…this time around I’m only doing that. Everyone has different bucket list (and budget) needs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted July 19 #10 Share Posted July 19 Take the time to UNDERSTAND the luggage logistics for a land/sea cruise before you sign on the dotted line. As a photographer who loves gear, I won't do a land/sea cruise ever because of the limits on what you can bring as carry-on during the land portion. If you're more towards the "toothbrush and some undies in a backpack" kind of person, you're probably fine. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokie Posted July 22 #11 Share Posted July 22 On 7/11/2024 at 10:45 PM, sambamama said: The cruise lines that do Alaska best are HAL and Princess. Whales are hit and miss as all wildlife are. Your choices are Seattle or Vancouver departure. Vancouver is more scenic and more chances of whale sitings. The standard cruise is a 7 day RT Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway, and Ketchikan, with other variants. Many people go whale watching in Juneau. You should book a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay whatever else you choose as it's fairly universal that Glacier Bay is spectacular and only HAL and Princess do it. Your land tour is very hectic and early mornings, so decide if you want to be tired, and then do your cruise, or the other way round. Or if you have more time, just do the cruise, and do the land part on your own-that's pretty easy to do as well. But it may take longer that way-but you will see more, and have a better experience. That's what I am doing. This is NOT accurate - Cunard also do Glacier Bay (not all itineraries though - so double check). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 23 #12 Share Posted July 23 (edited) On 7/11/2024 at 2:45 PM, sambamama said: The cruise lines that do Alaska best are HAL and Princess. Whales are hit and miss as all wildlife are. Your choices are Seattle or Vancouver departure. Vancouver is more scenic and more chances of whale sitings. The standard cruise is a 7 day RT Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway, and Ketchikan, with other variants. Many people go whale watching in Juneau. You should book a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay whatever else you choose as it's fairly universal that Glacier Bay is spectacular and only HAL and Princess do it. Your land tour is very hectic and early mornings, so decide if you want to be tired, and then do your cruise, or the other way round. Or if you have more time, just do the cruise, and do the land part on your own-that's pretty easy to do as well. But it may take longer that way-but you will see more, and have a better experience. That's what I am doing. Totally incorrect. Lines such as HAL and Princess do a very adequate job covering the mass market cruises to AK. The cruises are OK and you do stop at the ports that most people consider important stops in AK. However nobody who has ever done much AK cruising would ever say that they are the best. To really do AK you have to take one of the small ships w 500 passengers or less which will take you to ports that the big ships do not go into. Even better are the really small ships w 50 passengers or less which also get you into places that the big ones don't hit and then put you on a zodiac to get even further in. I have been on HAL or Princess ships to AK when I went w family and especially w grandkids and a good time was had by all but nothing will beat AK on a 50 passenger small ship. Some day I would like to do AK on an 8 passenger trawler yacht. DON Edited July 23 by donaldsc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted July 24 #13 Share Posted July 24 On 7/22/2024 at 10:49 AM, Blokie said: This is NOT accurate - Cunard also do Glacier Bay (not all itineraries though - so double check). NCL also does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinbadThePorter Posted July 24 #14 Share Posted July 24 On 7/12/2024 at 10:49 AM, zqvol said: You get what you pay for. You can go cheap or do it right. Everything is better at $900 to $1000 per night. Me, I'll stick with cheap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted July 25 Author #15 Share Posted July 25 On 7/19/2024 at 12:06 AM, peety3 said: Take the time to UNDERSTAND the luggage logistics for a land/sea cruise before you sign on the dotted line. As a photographer who loves gear, I won't do a land/sea cruise ever because of the limits on what you can bring as carry-on during the land portion. If you're more towards the "toothbrush and some undies in a backpack" kind of person, you're probably fine. What limits? I'm definitely not a toothbrush and some undies kind of gal! But we were planning on booking a cruisetour. On 7/22/2024 at 11:49 AM, Blokie said: This is NOT accurate - Cunard also do Glacier Bay (not all itineraries though - so double check). Without even checking, I'm most certain Cunard would not be in our budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted July 25 Author #16 Share Posted July 25 I just asked dh what he wants to see. (This is his bucket list cruise, not mine, although I'm sure I will enjoy it too!) He said he doesn't know. lol Whales, glaciers, and bears. Fjords would be a nice bonus. We're thinking land and sea cruisetour. We're looking at Princess now, but will probably check others as well. I see Glacier Bay is highly recommended and in our "price range" that is only available with Princess and Holland, correct? I think someone else said NCL does it as well. Are their itineraries open yet? I know I can check myself, didn't know if anyone knew off the top of the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokie Posted July 25 #17 Share Posted July 25 12 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: I just asked dh what he wants to see. (This is his bucket list cruise, not mine, although I'm sure I will enjoy it too!) He said he doesn't know. lol Whales, glaciers, and bears. Fjords would be a nice bonus. We're thinking land and sea cruisetour. We're looking at Princess now, but will probably check others as well. I see Glacier Bay is highly recommended and in our "price range" that is only available with Princess and Holland, correct? I think someone else said NCL does it as well. Are their itineraries open yet? I know I can check myself, didn't know if anyone knew off the top of the head. I'd recommend comparing the prices of all of the different cruise lines that cover the route you're interested in, and don't assume anything. For example, the Alaska cruise we are taking in September on Cunard was several hundred pounds cheaper than the NCL equivalent, which really surprised me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carolina_yankee Posted July 25 #18 Share Posted July 25 6 minutes ago, Blokie said: For example, the Alaska cruise we are taking in September on Cunard was several hundred pounds cheaper than the NCL equivalent, which really surprised me! 26 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: Without even checking, I'm most certain Cunard would not be in our budget. Cunard is definitely not as expensive as its reputation. I’ve routinely seen very competitive pricing for standard balcony or ocean view cabins. You just have to be up for the “lifestyle” part of the cruise, which generally comes down to dressing for dinner and some types of entertainment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 25 #19 Share Posted July 25 35 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: I just asked dh what he wants to see. (This is his bucket list cruise, not mine, although I'm sure I will enjoy it too!) He said he doesn't know. lol Whales, glaciers, and bears. Fjords would be a nice bonus. We're thinking land and sea cruisetour. We're looking at Princess now, but will probably check others as well. I see Glacier Bay is highly recommended and in our "price range" that is only available with Princess and Holland, correct? I think someone else said NCL does it as well. Are their itineraries open yet? I know I can check myself, didn't know if anyone knew off the top of the head. If you do a one way cruise and are in Whittier as a beginning or end point I think you will find that you see plenty of glaciers and from a closer distance on the 26 Glaciers tour. I am one who is not a fan of Glacier Bay, but as most cruises are roundtrips from Vancouver or Seattle that is about as far as then can get. The further north you go the better the scenery (at least IMHO). NCL does one ways that begin or end in Whittier and won’t break the bank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted July 25 Author #20 Share Posted July 25 6 minutes ago, zqvol said: If you do a one way cruise and are in Whittier as a beginning or end point I think you will find that you see plenty of glaciers and from a closer distance on the 26 Glaciers tour. I am one who is not a fan of Glacier Bay, but as most cruises are roundtrips from Vancouver or Seattle that is about as far as then can get. The further north you go the better the scenery (at least IMHO). NCL does one ways that begin or end in Whittier and won’t break the bank. We really want to do a land and sea tour, which I don't believe NCL does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted July 25 #21 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: I just asked dh what he wants to see. (This is his bucket list cruise, not mine, although I'm sure I will enjoy it too!) He said he doesn't know. lol Whales, glaciers, and bears. Fjords would be a nice bonus. We're thinking land and sea cruisetour. We're looking at Princess now, but will probably check others as well. I see Glacier Bay is highly recommended and in our "price range" that is only available with Princess and Holland, correct? I think someone else said NCL does it as well. Are their itineraries open yet? I know I can check myself, didn't know if anyone knew off the top of the head. Princess 2026 is now open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted July 26 Author #22 Share Posted July 26 22 minutes ago, Coral said: Princess 2026 is now open. We booked it! 😌 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markeb Posted July 26 #23 Share Posted July 26 I just came back to ask how much of the trip you'd settled on. Sounds like you have. FWIW, you don't need a cruise tour in Alaska. You can do pretty much anything yourself. Just takes a bit more work, but gives you more freedom. We did an on-our-own trip to Denali in May, for instance, and had an extra half day on the way back to Anchorage in a rental car and did the out and back 15 mile drive to Savage River. That's when we saw this guy... Wouldn't have seen him on a tour. He wasn't there the day before when we were on the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Just something to keep in mind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted July 26 #24 Share Posted July 26 16 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: What limits? I'm definitely not a toothbrush and some undies kind of gal! But we were planning on booking a cruisetour. Princess FAQ on cruisetours On the land portion, you get a "hand-carry tote/backpack" and a "join me tonight" luggage. Think "personal item" and "checked bag", which means you don't get a "carry-on" suitcase during the land portion. That's probably fine for most people (especially if you know that going into the trip and have packed accordingly). I generally cruise Alaska with more photography gear than could function with just a "hand-carry tote/backpack", and would not enjoy having to ship some of my best equipment "to the other end" during the land portion. (And yes, you can certainly have one or more items of luggage that meet you at the other end of the land tour, so if you're doing land first, it'll meet you at the cruise ship. If you're doing cruise first, it'll meet you at the airport at the far end of the land tour.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted July 26 Author #25 Share Posted July 26 14 hours ago, markeb said: I just came back to ask how much of the trip you'd settled on. Sounds like you have. Yes we booked the cruise tour our TA recommended. 14 hours ago, markeb said: FWIW, you don't need a cruise tour in Alaska. You can do pretty much anything yourself. Just takes a bit more work, but gives you more freedom. We did an on-our-own trip to Denali in May, for instance, and had an extra half day on the way back to Anchorage in a rental car and did the out and back 15 mile drive to Savage River. That's when we saw this guy... Wouldn't have seen him on a tour. He wasn't there the day before when we were on the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Just something to keep in mind. We like the ease of going through the cruise line. I’m sure you could have a better experience diy. Hopefully we get to see some cool wildlife. 45 minutes ago, peety3 said: Princess FAQ on cruisetours On the land portion, you get a "hand-carry tote/backpack" and a "join me tonight" luggage. Think "personal item" and "checked bag", which means you don't get a "carry-on" suitcase during the land portion. That's probably fine for most people (especially if you know that going into the trip and have packed accordingly). I generally cruise Alaska with more photography gear than could function with just a "hand-carry tote/backpack", and would not enjoy having to ship some of my best equipment "to the other end" during the land portion. (And yes, you can certainly have one or more items of luggage that meet you at the other end of the land tour, so if you're doing land first, it'll meet you at the cruise ship. If you're doing cruise first, it'll meet you at the airport at the far end of the land tour.) We don’t have any photography equipment to carry with us. We just use our phones. I’m sure I can make that work since we can have another bag waiting for us when we get to the ship. Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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