Seattle round trip but with who??

[dnb09]

Hi All~

We (Dh, myself and my 70+yr old parents) are trying to put together a May 2009 Alaska cruise. This will mine and Dh's first cruise. We pretty much have decided on Seattle round trip (seems to be least $$ to fly to for us) but having a tough time choosing which on cruise line to go with. We obviously want the best itinerary we can at the most reasonable price.

 

Any suggestions for us first timers would be very much appreciated...please,please please!!

Thanks to all of you for the great wealth of info. here on this board! :)

[brunolvr]

Hi All~

 

We (Dh, myself and my 70+yr old parents) are trying to put together a May 2009 Alaska cruise. This will mine and Dh's first cruise. We pretty much have decided on Seattle round trip (seems to be least $$ to fly to for us) but having a tough time choosing which on cruise line to go with. We obviously want the best itinerary we can at the most reasonable price.

 

Any suggestions for us first timers would be very much appreciated...please,please please!!

 

Thanks to all of you for the great wealth of info. here on this board! :)

 

 

If you want to cruise round-trip out of Seattle, I would choose the NCL Pearl because she goes to Glacier Bay. But most agree don't go too early in May because of the weather.

[azrose]

My choice for next year (Sept 2009) out of Seattle was Holland America Zaandam for the same exact reason---GLACIER BAY---but I also wanted SITKA since this is trip #2 to Alaska and wanted a "new" port (ilo Skagway--which we loved--but made a choice for something new!!) Soooo....just another option.....

[lovesublime]

I have to second the NCL Pearl roundtrip out of Seattle. I also agree to not go too early in May-the weather may be bad. We did this trip in the last week of may last year and it was fantastic. We loved Glacier Bay!

[NancyIL]

I would choose any HAL ship out of Seattle - whether it goes to Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier.

[CowPrincess]

Any HAL ship that goes to Sitka, would be my recommendation. When you are looking at itineraries for the various cruise lines, check how much time you have on land, in each port. Some cruise lines seem to spend less time in port than others.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Agree with Cow Princess - Sitka is our favorite port! We've only cruised to Hubbard (twice!) which was spectacular - more so on our Sept. 06 cruise then our first week of June cruise this year, but magnificent just the same! Want to try Glacier Bay on our southbound in 2010. HAL is perfect, in my opinion - best beds around! And the service is fantastic - the crew is a lovely bunch!

 

Whichever line you choose - read these boards closely - the posters are so knowledgeable and helpful! You'll learn a lot! Happy sailing!:D

[Poconolady]

We have done both Princess and Holland America out of Seattle, in fact we just returned from the Westerdam earlier today. Our choice is Princess (we did the Golden last year in May). We just seemed to enjoy Princess more, food, service, crowd etc just appealed to us more. HAL has Glacier Bay which was phenominal, but Tracy Arm was georgous too (however even at the end of May the ship did not make it to the face of Sawyer Glacier) > I would decide which is most important to you--glaciers, wildlife, scenery, etc, and then look for the best offer that you can find. As mentioned, Sitka is a cute little village, but Skagway has the railroad or the drive up the Yukon highway. Since this is everyones first adventure to Alaska go for the best deal. then next time you can try a different route. (And believe me, you will be hooked, you won't be able to wait for the next time!)

And yes, it is more economical and also time effecient to fly in/out of Seattle. The only drawback with this is that one whole day is spent in open ocean and is not the least bit scenic, and it can be rough. This past week it was just a little rocky, however the last day cruising toward Victoria was quite rough, when that is generally smooth as silk.

[Budget Queen]

Overall in May, I would pick either a HAL or the NCL Pearl sailling. One point as well, if going before third week, you can hit the humpback migration with good sighting potential, IF You invest the time with a front viewing and a good pair of wide angle binoculars.

[dnb09]

Thanks for the replies!! :)

 

It appears the most popular ones are HAL, NCL or Princess and ones that includes Glacier bay!

 

We'll have to make a list of pros and cons for each one of those and see which one is the winner for us!

 

I imagine I'll be back for lots more help!:o

 

 

THANKS AGAIN!:D

[vbmom87]

I have only been on one cruise, a HAL one-way from Vancouver that included Glacier Bay and College Fjords with enough time in Juneau to also include the Adventure Bound all day Tracy Arm cruise.

 

I will say this much. Don't use food as a criteria, because everyone has a different idea of what good food is. An earlier post on this thread suggested that Princess had better food. I can't tell you how many people I ran into on my HAL cruise who told me that they much preferred the food on their HAL cruise. We thought the food was great, but had no comparison.

 

I would consider itinerary first. We wanted a lot of time in ports and we wanted a one way so we could do a land tour also. Although we could have saved some money going out of Seattle, we did not even consider that option. My DH and I had a very bad experience with seasickness on a ferry going across Lake Michigan. (I had never been motion sick in my life until that experience.) As it was, we were blessed with very calm seas out of Vancouver, but there were a few times I felt queasy in spite of taking Bonine. Ginger root did alleviate the problem, but it did make me very happy we did not risk a trip out of Seattle. Another consideration was the viewing. If you look at some cruise routing maps you will see the differences. We were after the more scenic viewing we would get out of Vancouver.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks for the replies!! :)

 

It appears the most popular ones are HAL, NCL or Princess and ones that includes Glacier bay!

 

We'll have to make a list of pros and cons for each one of those and see which one is the winner for us!

 

I imagine I'll be back for lots more help!:o

 

 

THANKS AGAIN!:D

 

I do not recommend the itinerary of round trip Princess. In May, you will not get any glacier view. IF you book a Tracy Arm itinerary, And have glaciers as a priority, be certain to book glacier tours, with flightseeing an excellent choice.

 

With any cruise choice, look at ports, time in ports, route, ship naturalist, price. Budget for costly excursions, you get half a trip without them. :)

[deadzone1003]

HAL or NCL ships that go to Glacier Bay are the ones to consider. If you are interested in going to Tracy Arm on a day cruise, then Westerdam is your only choice. Tracy Arm in May has alot of ice and some snow, but no problem for those Adventure Bound ships. Only problem would be how well will your parents hold up, the day cruise is about 9 hours in total.

[whale-watcher]

The 14 day Princess roundtrip out of Seattle DOES include Glacier Bay (plus a lot of other scenery), as well as visits to smaller unspoiled ports such as Valdez and Kodiak with some amazing and unique touring/excursion options..we were on a similar itinerary out of Vancouver this year, and thought it was fantastic.

 

The Pacific Princess will be sailing this itinerary next year; note that this is a smaller ship (less than 700 pax). This was a perfect size for us, and there was none of the crowding or lining up associated with larger mass-market cruise ships...truly a relaxing vacation if you can spare the time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have sailed 3 cruise lines in Alaska -- the majority have been on HAL.

 

Just this past May we did our first cruise for that month and first Alaskan cruise out of Seattle. It was the second week of May -- we had some very ROUGH weather. Lots of rain.

[Cruising Carol]

Do consider sailing out of Vancouver. We also have used 3 cruiselines for 5 cruises to Alaska. Only one was out of Seattle. We were so disappointed in the lack of scenic cruising. We seemed to dart in to inside passage ports or go through scenic portions at night. We said then (2002) never again out of Seattle. We will be on our 6th cruise this month - out of Vancouver! There are options for getting to Vancouver from Seattle if the cost of the flight to Seattle is much cheaper.

[born2cruize]

Next year will be our third Alaska cruise and two have/will be from Seattle. While others place a high priority about sailing the inside passage between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia we do not (probably because we live in the Pacific Northwest already :) ).

 

As others have said look at the itinerary, look at times in port. An if possible look at an accurate map of the itinerary. If you want to travel the inside passage both ways then a trip out of Vancouver is the most logical. Seattle cruises MAY offer a inside passage either going or returning to Seattle but not both. However, once you approach Ketchikan you will be in the inside passage. We are on the Pacific Princess next year and we gave up time in ports to visit two new ports and return to Seward. Plus it also goes to Glacier Bay. We look for cruises that are different from the run of the mill.

 

Last year we did a cruise in mid-May on Celebrity from San Francisco to Vancouver. We got lucky, the weather was terrific except the day we were at Hubbard Glacier. The weather was so bad and so much icebergs that the Captain turned the ship around before we really got close to the glacier.

 

But since no one has developed a weather machine you are depending on Mother Nature no matter what time of year you go. Look at the reviews from this year.

[hal2008]

Few things to consider:

 

a) Inside Passage - Vancouver departure assures you Inside Passage both ways but with Seattle departures you may not get it either way (it is beautiful with ship navigating through narrow waterways giving ample opportinity to observe beautiful vistas and wild life)

 

b) Rough Sea - MOre frequently than not, you wil encounter rough seas from Seattle compared to Vancouver (as you are in open Pacific)

 

c) Although most post on this board will lead you to believe that flying in/out of Seattle is easier/cheaper, in reality it may or may not be true. Check it out using few carriers from your originatin point. In recent analysis, a month ago, flying non-stop to YVR was cheaper by $500 for a family compared to even 1-stop to SEA.

 

 

Also, while HAL is a dominant player in Alaska route, NCL has advantages if you prefer

a) newer ship (Pearl)

b) love freestyle cruising

c) have kids (HAL's program was terrible)

[dnb09]

Oh No, after talking with DP's...we are leaning toward the least popular Princess Star. :confused: Oh man, planning this is much tougher than I thought it would be!

 

I am of the mind set though that since this is our 1st time cruising to anywhere we are most likely going to be impressed with just about anything! Also this most likely will NOT be our last cruise...well, hopefully won't be anyway!:D

 

Thanks for all the help!

[seychellesdream]

Your scenario sounds so similar to ours. First time cruisers with parents in their mid 70's.

 

We chose a RT cruise from Seattle on HAL Amsterdam. We went to Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria. We went the first week of July. My parents loved it. Us younger folk had a great time too ;)

[dnb09]

Your scenario sounds so similar to ours. First time cruisers with parents in their mid 70's.

 

We chose a RT cruise from Seattle on HAL Amsterdam. We went to Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria. We went the first week of July. My parents loved it. Us younger folk had a great time too ;)

 

We want to do the White Pass in Skagway which was one of the reasons we picked the Princess Star.

 

Glad to hear you ALL loved it...I am hoping we will too!

 

Just hoping that mid May (Mother's day to be exact) won't be too cool for us. Unfortunatly it's the best time for me to go.

[vbmom87]

We want to do the White Pass in Skagway which was one of the reasons we picked the Princess Star.

 

Glad to hear you ALL loved it...I am hoping we will too!

 

Just hoping that mid May (Mother's day to be exact) won't be too cool for us. Unfortunatly it's the best time for me to go.

 

If interested in Vancouver, HAL does a roundtrip that includes Skagway.

 

As far as weather, you never know. You could get lucky. Just be well prepared for the cold and rain.

 

As you said, being first time cruisers you will have nothing to compare it to, so you will likely enjoy whatever you see and do.