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 :)

[Stout93]

We did the Carnival Spirit Northbound and stopped at 4 ports and 1 glacier. From what I've seen, the majority of the itinerarys are either 4 ports and 1 glacier stop or 3 ports and 2 glacier stops.

 

I guess it depends on what you want to do. When we go again, we'll probably do the 4 ports and 1 glacier stop. We liked getting off the ship and tooling around...

[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 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 :)

 

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

[GORDONCHICK]

They all do a really good job in Alaska, so you need to decide what ports you want to see and narrow it down that way first. I will tell you, Celebrity doesn't have a buffet in the evening, so if that's an option you'd like to have - keep that in mind.

[Chat Noir]

Your first decision to make is if you wish to sail one-way or round-trip?

 

If you have time to visit interior Alaska, nearly all the one-way cruises are fabulous. Different, but fabulous.

 

If you don't have time to visit interior Alaska, there are some wonderful round-trip cruises from Vancouver and even Seattle... then, there are not so wonderful round-trips.

 

Once you decide this, your options will begin to narrow considerably... and planning gets a bit easier.

[willow572]

... then, there are not so wonderful round-trips.

 

Thanks to everyone for your advice so far.....am interested in above quote? What makes some better than others? The ports or the cruiseline?

 

We are not looking to tag on a land trip at the moment so cruise only is our preference with maybe an extended stay of a couple of nights at one end or another.

 

If we did this, would people recommend Seattle or Vancouver?

[Toyz711]

seattle (round-trips only): has some great cruise, look for ports and decide where you want to go. minus is that these cruises are in open sea the 1st night and part of the 1st day. chance of rough seas. i did the NCL star out of seattle...loved that ship....but that route is now done by the NCL pearl, i recommend the route the pearl is doing.(glacier bay)

vancouver...ships leaving from here do what they call the "true" inside passage. meaning that they go up between vancouver and vancouver island...then into the "normal" inside passage.

some find flights to seattle are cheaper...but the if you leave out of vancouver, you have to arrange transers.

even with a couple of extra days, you can still do a 1-way cruise...taking your couple of days to see things around seward? 1-way cruise are still 7 days...but you would need a 3-way flights...between your home, vancouver and anchorage.

[deadzone1003]

For 2009, Holland America is running an interesting round-trip from Vancouver where the Volendam or Zuiderdam will visit both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm plus Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. For a roundtrip this cruise would have to be considered the tops in scenery. The demographics for Alaska are a bit older than the Carribbean. The social life is virtually nil. But, people go to Alaska to see Alaska, not for the cruise experience itself.

[NCCruzQueen]

Take a look at Regent Seven Seas. The Mariner (max. 700 pax) all suites have balconies and does a week cruise of the Inside Passage. Vancouver, B.C. to Seward or visa versa. A day or two in Anchorage pre or post is a lovely addition. I've cruised what is now Regent for 16 years.

[Kamloops50]

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 :)

 

If you like a quieter ship with some entertainment and quiet nightlife

consider Holland America. We tried RCL in Jan 08 and preferred HAL .

It is a personal preforence. My son & wife (25) went on Celebrity and

enjoyed themselves. They don't really care for really wild nightl;ife.

 

:cool::cool:

[Chat Noir]

....am interested in above quote? What makes some better than others? The ports or the cruiseline?

 

 

Ports/glaciers, my opinion. I would not choose a round-trip cruise (typically those from Seattle) where Tracy Arm is the only glacier sailing for a first time Alaskan cruise. I would choose an itinerary with Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. Given that Hubbard is iced-out on occasion, Glacier Bay is my first choice. However, to confuse things, Tracy Arm is simply fabulous via small boat, and some of the sailings that only offer Tracy Arm as the glacier sailing do offer an added excursion you can purchase through the cruiseline. This excursion typically gets you quite a bit closer to the glaciers (some ships barely see them, or don't make it at all) and the small boat experience is fabulous.

 

Just go into your booking knowing the port options and the glacier sailing options. Also go knowing you can't and won't be able to see/do it all in one sailing!:)