Help Alaska newbie please

[buttah75]

We're a family of 4, in our 40's (young at heart, though) with two sons, 12 and 16. We're trying to decide between Princess and Holland America, as they seem to have the best reputations, and we have friend who've been on both. We tend to like younger crowds, but not at the expense of nice accomodations. We're doing just a 7-day cruise from Vancouver - no land portion. What are the pro's and con's of each?

 

Also, with the Princess itineraries, unless I'm not getting something (it's late, so this is possible), it seems as though we'd have to fly into Vancouver and out of Whittier... or visa versa. Does this make things more complicated? The other cruises seem to be round trip Vancouver.

[mytime53]

If you do the one-way cruise, make sure you check Alaska Airlines for the flight between Anchorage and Vancouver. They are one of the few airlines that actually charges you 1/2 of a round-trip to do a one-way, instead of the double I've always found with other airlines when I needed a one-way.

[NancyIL]

Princess has no roundtrip cruises out of Vancouver in 2009. All of their roundtrips leave from Seattle. In 2009, HAL Volendam and Zuiderdam will go to both Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Bay on roundtrips out of Vancouver.

 

We did a northbound cruise on the Coral Princess last June, followed by a 9-day independent land trip in Alaska. I highly recommend doing both a cruise plus a land trip when you have any extra time. If you decide to do a one-way cruise, you book the air as a "multi-city" option rather than as two one-ways.

[GORDONCHICK]

If you don't have time for a land portion (even a day at the end or beginning), you may as well look at round trips. Don't ignore those out of Seattle. Figure out what you want to see and experience in Alaska, and find out which lines do that and go from there. Celebrity (my fav), RCCL, adn NCL all do round trip out of Vancouver. Princess and the other lines mentioned all do round trip out of Seattle. We travel with a budget in mind, and it's much less expensive to fly in/out of Seattle than even Vancouver.

[cole]

As I learned on this board, you really don't have to fly into (or out of) Vancouver. You can choose Seattle and there is a bus service that transports people to and from Vancouver to Seattle. When our family compared the air fare to either of those airports - the ticket for the bus trip (or even to rent a car from airport to airport) was a lot less than the difference in the ticket price per person.

As far as ships go, have not done Holland - but you can't go wrong with Princess. Our experience with that company has been that they are very customer service oriented.

Also, the flights out of Anchorage are almost all red-eye, so check flying into Anchorage, then out of either Vancourver or Seattle, whichever you choose.

To get the full Alaska experience, the complete trip rather than a round trip from Seattle is the way to go.

Enjoy!

[GORDONCHICK]

As I learned on this board, you really don't have to fly into (or out of) Vancouver. You can choose Seattle and there is a bus service that transports people to and from Vancouver to Seattle. When our family compared the air fare to either of those airports - the ticket for the bus trip (or even to rent a car from airport to airport) was a lot less than the difference in the ticket price per person.

 

There is also Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. But there is only one train each way each day. The train from Seattle up is a 7:30am departure (have to be there no later than 7) and from Vancovuer down is an early evening departure (5-6 ish I think)

 

A one-way cruise is the only way to go if your time and budget affords that. RTs are a great way to see Alaska as well.

[Toyz711]

i agree...i just don't see taking that long plane ride to/from anchorage (plus the tranfers to get to whittier or seward to catch the ship)...if you don't have at least a couple of days..to enjoy the surrounding.

with limited time, the round-trips are relaxing and very enjoyable. we did out of seattle and loved it.

[Budget Queen]

It sound like you are looking at two completely different itineraries?? A one way and round trip?? Do your homework. IF you don't have time for any interior Alaska touring, can you at least add a few days?? There are no flights out of Whittier, it would be Anchorage, which is much longer than Vancouver/Seattle and usually more costly. Determine the who story for your group. Either line does a good job in Alaska, although round trip Princess Seattle sailings are low on my list. If the itinerary for HAL does include both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm, that would be my choice, if you can't add those days to Whittier.

[O2B@C]

You might want to search the HAL and Princess forums on CC for threads comparing the two lines. I know there are some recent ones on the HAL board.

[buttah75]

Budget queen, I'm aware I was asking about two different itineraries. If you read my question, you'll see that WAS my very issue that I was asking about.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice. We really don't have time for a land portion, which is why we figured we'd get more at sea by doing the one-way. But I was confused about how the flights work, and how much hassle is involved planning air/connections around a one-way cruise. What's the best way to do it? Hence my posting.

 

The other reason we were leaning against Seattle, is that my husband gets seasick. We have taken one other cruise, and he was ultimately fine with his ear patch, so this time we'll get him started on it right away. But if the Seattle ride is rougher, I figured why make it potentially harder on him. Anyone?

 

Finally, I hadn't heard about Celebrity. How does Celebrity compare to these do as far as quality and age range? Wanting a slightly younger rather than older crowd is the other reason we were thinking of Princess vs. HAL.

[NancyIL]

Celebrity and RCI have 1 ship each that does one-way cruises in alternating directions. They have the same itinerary, with Celebrity being the more upscale cruiseline. Personally - I like their itinerary of 4 port towns and 1 glacier (Hubbard Glacier), but some here don't think RCI does as good of a job in Alaska as other lines - such as Princess or Holland America.

 

Princess does have an excellent itinerary on their one-ways. Princess docks in Whittier, which is a little over an hour from Anchorage. There are cruiseline shuttles between the pier and the airport, as well as private shuttle services like Alaskan Leopard (http://alaskanleopard.com/Tours/index.htm). Depending on which direction you cruise, you would fly into or out of Vancouver one way and into or out of Anchorage the other way. You book the flights as "multi-city" rather than two one-ways.

 

You didn't mention if you're planning to go this summer or next. If this summer, you can get some great last-minute bargains - especially on HAL and Princess one-ways.

[vbmom87]

Budget queen, I'm aware I was asking about two different itineraries. If you read my question, you'll see that WAS my very issue that I was asking about.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice. We really don't have time for a land portion, which is why we figured we'd get more at sea by doing the one-way. But I was confused about how the flights work, and how much hassle is involved planning air/connections around a one-way cruise. What's the best way to do it? Hence my posting.

 

The other reason we were leaning against Seattle, is that my husband gets seasick. We have taken one other cruise, and he was ultimately fine with his ear patch, so this time we'll get him started on it right away. But if the Seattle ride is rougher, I figured why make it potentially harder on him. Anyone?

 

Finally, I hadn't heard about Celebrity. How does Celebrity compare to these do as far as quality and age range? Wanting a slightly younger rather than older crowd is the other reason we were thinking of Princess vs. HAL.

 

Flights: If you do a one way, you do multi-city ticketing for your airfare. You would fly from your home town to one city and back home from another city. All the major airlines have the "multi-city" option on their websites. The choices are: one way, round trip and multi-city. I can't remember which airlines, but one required you to select something like "more options" to get to the page that allowed you to choose multi-city. However, most list it on their home page. Some refer to these plane itineraries as "Open Jaw." Open jaw flights tend to be more expensive. That is why so many people prefer the round trip if they are not going to do a land portion. There really is no hassle getting tickets for the one way. It is just more costly.

 

Seattle RT: Yes, there have been many threads about how rough the waters can be out of Seattle. My DH and I have been very seasick in the past. I would not consider a RT from Seattle for myself for this reason. I know we may still have some rough waters, but I am not going to knowingly make the choice for the rougher of the two options.

 

Age Range: It has been posted here that age range should not be an issue for Alaska. It has been said that all the cruiselines, even Carnival, will have an older crowd on their Alaska itineraries than you would have in the Carribean. If you are going in the peak of summer, when kids are off school, it sounds like all the cruiselines will have some children. Just don't expect an abundance of children.

 

Celebrity: We had considered Celebrity until I read about the POD problems some of their ships have. Apparantly when a ship has POD problems it has to travel slower. This sometimes means missed ports. Now, I know this is not an everyday occurence. However, I was not ready to take a chance on a once in a lifetime cruise and vacation to Alaska on a ship that has a known problem. There have been many posts on this on this board. I am not much of a risk taker, so I did not pursue the Celebrity tours.

 

Transfers from Seattle: We are cruising from Vancouver this June. It is our first cruise and first trip to Alaska. I briefly looked into transferring from Seattle to Vancouver via train, bus, and car. In the end, we just didn't think it was worth it. The savings were not that great in our case. I know others seem to do it without much trouble. Our flight will be 5 hours to Vancouver. It will be nice to just get there and be at our destination. We are planning on visiting in Vancouver for a couple of days.

 

HAL vs. Princess: These were the two lines we narrowed it down to last year for our upcoming trip. I think either would be a good choice. If you have absolutely no time for land, then you might consider Princess. The drive from Whittier to Anchorage would be shorter than the drive from Seward to Anchorage. However, if you wanted to take the scenic train ride from Seward to Anchorage, you could do that with a ship transfer.

 

I hope this helps you some. I know how overwhelming all these decisions can be. I will say that I did a lot of research before I made my choice. I still feel good about our choices. I ended up picking a one way that included Glacier Bay and College Fjords. Glaciers were important to us, so that is why we chose this itinerary. I suggest you continue to research the ports and try to decide which ports/glaciers your family would enjoy the most. You can do searches on these boards that will give you volumes of information on each port and glacier. Then I think a cruise decision will just fall into place. One bit of advice I listened to was to pick a cruise with long port times. I am so glad I listened. There is so much to do in the ports that if you are only there a short time, you won't be able to do all you want to.

[mdeane]

Just IMHO with teens going I would look into RCI. They do a fantastic job for families and the kids really enjoy it. The counselors are college grads and really connect with the young people. Perhaps other ships do as well but I can vouch for RCI. Just a thought and I second doing the one way if at all possible. I found good airfare into Anchorage and out of Vancouver for July.Just have to watch the fares night and day. Good luck.

[buttah75]

Thank you SO MUCH everyone. I feel like I'm starting to understand all the choices a little better.

 

It's so frustrating that the "search" feature is down, though, hence my not being able to find out more before posting.

 

We are going THIS august (last minute, I know), and we are most strongly considering the Princess Vancouver/Anchorage (or visa versa) trip with Glacier Bay and College Fjords. It sounds like one of you took that exact same trip.

 

Is RCI Royal Caribbean?

[buttah75]

Thank you SO MUCH everyone. I feel like I'm starting to understand all the choices a little better.

 

It's so frustrating that the "search" feature is down, though, hence my not being able to find out more before posting.

 

We are going THIS august (last minute, I know), and we are most strongly considering the Princess Vancouver/Anchorage (or visa versa) trip with Glacier Bay and College Fjords. It sounds like one of you took that exact same trip.

 

Is RCI Royal Caribbean?

[buttah75]

So much to learn and decide. What is that people believe makes RCI not as upscale? At least in the photos, the staterooms look just as nice (and possibly bigger for the money). Also, is RCI the same RCCL? I'm guessing they're both Royal Caribbean? I checked out Celebrity, but they don't have the "free choice" dining that we're very attracted to.

 

Thanks in advance. My head is now swimming. And I wish the SEARCH feature was working, so I could do proper research here!

[NancyIL]

So much to learn and decide. What is that people believe makes RCI not as upscale? At least in the photos, the staterooms look just as nice (and possibly bigger for the money). Also, is RCI the same RCCL? I'm guessing they're both Royal Caribbean? I checked out Celebrity, but they don't have the "free choice" dining that we're very attracted to.

 

Thanks in advance. My head is now swimming. And I wish the SEARCH feature was working, so I could do proper research here!

 

Yes - RCI/RCCL = Royal Caribbean. RCI is testing the "anythime dining" concept, and it will eventually be available fleetwide - but I don't know if it will be available on Radiance of the Seas this August. At the top of the screen, click on "reviews" and you can read about RCI vs. Celebrity. Celebrity is more formal than RCI, and many people think Celebrity has better food. I loved RCI, and I'm not that picky about food. :)

 

All 4 of the Princess ships doing one-ways in Alaska have the same itinerary: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and College Fjord. We were on the northbound Coral Princess that departs on Mondays, and sister ship Island Princess also cruises on Mondays from the opposite direction. The larger Diamond and Sapphire Princess cruise on Saturdays.

 

I LOVED our Princess cruise, and would happily sail on the Coral Princess again. I am cruising to Alaska again this summer with friends, and chose the HAL Veendam to see some different ports and a different glacier: Ketchikan, Haines, Juneau, Sitka, and Hubbard Glacier.

[GORDONCHICK]

So much to learn and decide. What is that people believe makes RCI not as upscale? At least in the photos, the staterooms look just as nice (and possibly bigger for the money). Also, is RCI the same RCCL? I'm guessing they're both Royal Caribbean? I checked out Celebrity, but they don't have the "free choice" dining that we're very attracted to.

 

Thanks in advance. My head is now swimming. And I wish the SEARCH feature was working, so I could do proper research here!

 

RCI=Royal Caribbean International, the parent company of RCCL (Royal Caribbean Cruise Line), Celebrity, and Azamara.

[mrgoins]

With regard to flying into Vancouver and out of Anchorage, when booking your air fare tell them you need an open jaw ticket. This is a round-trip ticket but with different origination point for the return leg. It is cheaper than 2 seperate one way tickets. If you are using frequent flyer miles it only counts as a single round trip. I do this frequently for business and it isn't a big deal, but you will probably need to call the airline and talk to an agent, as booking tickets on-line that way is next to impossible (for me anyway).

 

You can arrange your airport transfers to & from the ship through the cruise line so you wouldn't have to worry about how to get to Anchorage from Whittier, etc.

[NancyIL]

With regard to flying into Vancouver and out of Anchorage, when booking your air fare tell them you need an open jaw ticket. This is a round-trip ticket but with different origination point for the return leg. It is cheaper than 2 seperate one way tickets. If you are using frequent flyer miles it only counts as a single round trip. I do this frequently for business and it isn't a big deal, but you will probably need to call the airline and talk to an agent, as booking tickets on-line that way is next to impossible (for me anyway).

 

 

You can book "multi-city" tickets on most airline web sites. If using FF miles - you'll probably have to call. At this late date, I doubt there would be many FF seats available for Aug. 2008, unless one has a lot of miles to burn.

[Namvet4]

Quick question... Do any of the cruise lines offer back to back on their northbound/southbound trips? And if they do, are the fares combined for a better rate? (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question ) Thanks in advance for the answers!

[NancyIL]

Quick question... Do any of the cruise lines offer back to back on their northbound/southbound trips? And if they do, are the fares combined for a better rate? (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question ) Thanks in advance for the answers!

 

You can do b2b cruises on any ship. Holland America does have lower prices on their 14-day (two 7-day) cruises in 2008, but their web site doesn't show 14-day cruises for 2009: http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/FindCruises.action?destCode=A&durationCode=3&portCode=&dateCode=8_2008&shipCodeSearch=

 

Another option is to go north on one ship, spend a few days in Seward or Anchorage, and do a southbound on a different ship with a different itinerary. In 2008, you could take HAL Veendam north on a Friday to Seward, spend the weekend in the area, and return on the Coral or Island Princess on Monday from Whittier.

[Budget Queen]

 

The other reason we were leaning against Seattle, is that my husband gets seasick. We have taken one other cruise, and he was ultimately fine with his ear patch, so this time we'll get him started on it right away. But if the Seattle ride is rougher, I figured why make it potentially harder on him. Anyone?

 

QUOTE]

 

Sorry, but you have plenty of potential for rough sailing with a one way, since you have a sea day sailing across the Gulf. None of the ships go coastal any more. It would be important to be well prepared with preventive measures.

 

For airfare, you are going to be looking at "multi city" options on booking sites. If going north, you need to add tranfer time to the airport, then a 2 hour window.

Going out of Vancouver without US Direct, flights after 1pm are needed. If flying out of Seattle, don't consider anything before 4pm.

[Budget Queen]

Quick question... Do any of the cruise lines offer back to back on their northbound/southbound trips? And if they do, are the fares combined for a better rate? (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question ) Thanks in advance for the answers!

 

This season, HAL had $1000 rates for the b2b's in May into June. Otherwise, you will be paying the fare of each usually, with no discounts.

[Namvet4]

Thank you NancyIL and BudgetQueen....Planning for 2009 season.

Will continue checking all cruise line websites for 2009 itinerary offers for any B2B . . .Appreciate, as always, hearing from those with first hand knowledge and opinions. Thanks ! :)