Which cruiseline to Alaska? First time

[willow572]

Hi,

I realise that this is all a matter of preference but I have never sailed on any of these large cruise ships before but we fancy a cruise to Alaska in Aug/Sept 2009 and have no idea which cruiseline to choose!

Have looked at Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess Cruises but can't really work out which would offer the best for us.

We are less interested in days at sea and would prefer to concentrate on the scenery, the trips and the wildlife. We are in our late 30's / early 40's and so don't necessarily want just jazz bars and piano type entertainment - something a bit more lively would be good occassionally and some more informal dining.

We also want to make sure that we get plenty of time for seeing the glaciers and as many different ports as possible.

Whale watching, bears, etc etc

 

Any advice would be hugely appreciated :)

[kellywhitehills]

Hi,

I realise that this is all a matter of preference but I have never sailed on any of these large cruise ships before but we fancy a cruise to Alaska in Aug/Sept 2009 and have no idea which cruiseline to choose!

Have looked at Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess Cruises but can't really work out which would offer the best for us.

We are less interested in days at sea and would prefer to concentrate on the scenery, the trips and the wildlife. We are in our late 30's / early 40's and so don't necessarily want just jazz bars and piano type entertainment - something a bit more lively would be good occasionally and some more informal dining.

We also want to make sure that we get plenty of time for seeing the glaciers and as many different ports as possible.

Whale watching, bears, etc etc

 

Any advice would be hugely appreciated :)

 

Carnival does an excellent job in Alaska..They have an on board naturalist which RCCL does not on all their cruises..If you choose and SB or NB cruise you will sail though College Fjord and your port time in Juneau allows you plenty of time to sail through TRACY ARM right up to Sawyer Glacier by small boat.Also while in Juneau you could see Mendenhall Glacier. You will also get to visit Sitka..Not all cruise ships go there..Its a pretty port!

 

Kelly

[Acemac]

Obviously I haven't been on many cruises, but I do live here..and I have cruised with RCL...which I think is a great all around value. We sailed on the Radiance of the Seas....it was a great ship...and the whole time on it..I realized how well it was built to be an Alaskan cruise ship..it seemed like everywhere we went we could see outside...I don't think you could go wrong on the Radiance in Alaska.