Which line for Alaska in Sept?

[Ninjachyck]

Hello everyone!

I'm hoping some of you can offer some opinions - my husband and I are looking to take an Alaskan cruise in September of this year - either a 7 day or 10 day length. Any recommendations on cruise lines that do this well? Good ports, good routes etc....Or any lines we should stay away from?

 

Thanks!:)

[Toyz711]

best alaska information is on the alaska boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

but before you ask questions, i suggest you read a few of the post.

are you interested in a round-trip: they leave from either seattle or vancouver.

or a 1-way: going between vancouver and either seward or whittier. do you have time for a land-tour of mainland alaska? (if so then a 1way is the only way to do that)

if glacier views is of interest....for 1st timer alaska cruisers, i and many other, suggest a cruise that does glacier bay (especially for round-trip cruises).

i did sept 2006 on the NCL star (back when it did glacier bay, it doesn't now). we got everything from rain and sleet to sunny and warm. sept has the best chances for RAIN, but less crowds. if you go prepared and know what to expect, sept can be great.

[Ninjachyck]

Thanks for the info, I will definitely check out that board!

[RetireeWannabee]

It's also important to determine your priorities. Cost, ports, activities, glacier viewing, wildlife, what?

 

With your priorities set and your basic budget in mind and number of days you can alot to the trip, it will become a fairly easy matter to determine which line, ship and sailing will be the best fit.

[Ninjachyck]

It's also important to determine your priorities. Cost, ports, activities, glacier viewing, wildlife, what?

 

With your priorities set and your basic budget in mind and number of days you can alot to the trip, it will become a fairly easy matter to determine which line, ship and sailing will be the best fit.

 

Cost isn't a huge issue, as we are looking for a balcony room. Again, ports, we are not particular - unless of course there are definitely ones we shouldn't miss. We are big hikers/nature/wildlife people, so that would be great, as would the glaciers.

 

The most we could probably give to the entire trip is 11 days, as we will be leaving a 5 month old at home with grandma - not sure she can handle more than that! :D

[anjoliza]

I went in Sept. '07 on An Inside Passage Cruise on HAL's Zaandam.

 

I loved the itinerary - we were to cruise Tracy Arm, then go to Juneau, then cruise Glacier Bay, then Skagway, then Ketchikan.

 

We had a medical emergency so we had to miss Tracy Arm - too bad but understandable. We went straight to Juneau and had a bit of time to wander around before my excursion, which was a photo safari - went with a professional photographer on a boat to watch whales - saw lots, it was amazing. Then we went to the Mendenhal Glacier. We walked in thru a forest like setting - very nice.

 

Glacier Bay was amazing.

 

Skagway was pretty cool as well. Went on an 8 hour excursion up to the Yukon - took a bus up the Klondike highway and had a bbq chicken lunch at this post in the Yukon, then went to Fraser,BC where we caught the White Pass Summit Railway back to Skagway. Can highly recommend this tour.

 

Was very disappointed in Ketchikan - we were to go on a tour of the Misty Fiords but the ship was a half hour late docking and the tour left WITHOUT us!!!!! Even tho it was booked thru the ship! They just plunked us in another tour that was going out to see crab pots and then have a crab lunch - lunch was delicious but this wasn't what I wanted to see. I was really looking forward to the Misty Fiords. THEN, they ended up charging me $6.00 extra because the crab tour was more expensive than the original one that I had picked. Needless to say, I was not impressed.

 

I would say that a Balcony is a must. There is so much to see and it is all right outside of your balcony door.

 

Didn't spend a whole lot of time doing ship stuff but all in all, I was disappointed with HAL. Maybe my expectations ere too high but it certainly didn't meet them. The food was very disappointing as well. I was at a table of 6 and we all agreed that it was below par.

 

The Carnival Spirit was following us along for the most part although I did not see them in Glacier Bay, but maybe you want to look into that one. Otherwise, I think Princess would be a good bet.

 

Hope this helps!

[RetireeWannabee]

We did Princess Southbound. With time to devote to a land tour, you might check into their package deals - they have been doing Alaska longer than most others. I think HAL is the other that's a long-timer there.

 

If you can spend a couple days in Denali, that would be a fabulous use of time and money. Doing the land tour before the cruise would be my suggestion as they can really keep you hopping on the land portion so you can relax more on the cruise leg of it.

 

The southbound has a full Glacier Bay day and that was a major highlight of the trip, and I enjoyed the broadcast commentary from the naturalist. Having that commentary was a major reason we chose Princess as glaciers and wildlife were our priorities and Princess seemed to fit that best (for us). And the Anytime Dining so we could maximize our time in port and go have dinner at our leisure.

 

Other ports on our cruise were Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan. Juneau was my favorite - too much to do, not enuf time. Mendenhall Glacier is there and the visitor center is quite informative. Then the dog sledding on a glacier. If you like nature, this is something you will want to experience. It was mind-blowing.

 

Juneau is also a great port for whale watching. We didn't do an excursion but watched whales from our balcony the evening we departed Juneau. Might have missed them had the naturalist not told us about it.

 

We saw A LOT of bald eagles in Juneau also.

 

In Ketchikan, we were booked for a Misty Fjords floatplane excursion, but the winds prevented it so we went to Saxman Village and learned about totem poles and I took part in a Beaver Clan dance. It was a lot of fun and next time I would go to the other major totem village but my priority would still be the plane landing in the fjords.

 

Skagway has the wheeled dog carts and the train. Both were fun and interesting but for my purposes, Skagway isn't somewhere I need to return to. I will say, when the carts took off, we laughed our butts off. it was the funniest thing and I just don't know why. It was truly interesting to talk to the musher and play with the puppies but we also had that on the glacier and I would choose the glacier dog sledding over the wheeled carts.

 

There are a zillion excursions for hiking and biking and bear watching and salmon fishing. Remember that it doesn't have to be offered thru your ship for you to take such an excursion. I was thinking that Sept was good bear-watching, we just didn't position ourselves to take advantage of that.

 

You might check a few lines/itineraries/cruisetour packages to see what the ports are and head to the Alaska section of this board to see which ports might best fit your interests. Pick the cruise tour that includes most of your Wish List!

 

Good luck! You will love Alaska! And in September, if you're a shopper, you can get some awesome deals.

[Putterdude]

For my money it is a 7 day Inside Passage trip out of Vancouver, but I am a bit biased. You do have scenery 24/7 (ok not at night) what you miss going up you have a chance of seeing on the way down. There are plenty of hikes in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway and if you choose the right cruise line there is a fabulous trip into see the Hubbard Glacier. This is all done with very little exposure to the open waters of the Pacific. Plus you can spend a day or two hanging in Vancouver pre and post cruise.

[sassyredhat]

For my money it is a 7 day Inside Passage trip out of Vancouver, but I am a bit biased. You do have scenery 24/7 (ok not at night) what you miss going up you have a chance of seeing on the way down. There are plenty of hikes in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway and if you choose the right cruise line there is a fabulous trip into see the Hubbard Glacier. This is all done with very little exposure to the open waters of the Pacific. Plus you can spend a day or two hanging in Vancouver pre and post cruise.

 

I'm with putterdude. We did the same itinerary with HAL, portside balcony. We loved it. It's my favorite cruise so far.

 

Pat

[TravlGrl]

For my money it is a 7 day Inside Passage trip out of Vancouver, but I am a bit biased. You do have scenery 24/7 (ok not at night) what you miss going up you have a chance of seeing on the way down. There are plenty of hikes in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway and if you choose the right cruise line there is a fabulous trip into see the Hubbard Glacier. This is all done with very little exposure to the open waters of the Pacific. Plus you can spend a day or two hanging in Vancouver pre and post cruise.

 

Does the Inside Passage out of Seattle offer the same views as the Inside Passage out of Vancouver?

[BaileyandBella]

I had a hard time deciding. Then someone said "In Alaska, there is so much beauty to see, and wildlife.....you don't want to have to run off to dinner if you are watching something special".

 

That made the choice for NCL much easier. :) With NCL, you can eat whenever you want.

[Putterdude]

Does the Inside Passage out of Seattle offer the same views as the Inside Passage out of Vancouver?

 

No it does not, the Vancouver trip is vastly superior from a scenery point of view. Please go to message # 8 in this thread where I explain why. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=729221

[RetireeWannabee]

That's kinda why I did a southbound - to see as much as possible. We did a daycruise in Prince William Sound precruise and saw a lot of wildlife we didn't see anywhere else on the cruise.

 

My thinking was, I don't expect to get to Alaska ever again, I'm going to see as much of it as possible.

 

Open jaw air wasn't too bad.

[Atomica]

I'd get an Alaska brochure from each cruise line, sit down, and go through each of them. See what itineraries you like and what ships appeal to you, then check prices. That can quickly narrow the list down!

 

Personally, I thought Holland America did a fantastic job when we went on the Zuiderdam in 2006. I've only ever done 7-day Roundtrips from Vancouver. I would never do a R/T from Seattle because you miss out on so much of the Inside Passage, which is still a hilight for me, even after three trips to Alaska.

 

Sailaway from Vancouver is also a special event, as the port facilities at Canada Place allow people to come and watch the ships leave, and sailing under the Lions Gate Bridge and past Stanley Park is special in its own right.