New to cruising and new to Alaska!!!!!

[Deacon23]

My husband and I have never been on a cruise. We are hoping to go on an Alaskan cruise and tour next year (July or August 2010).

 

I am afraid I have some very basic questions but need to get started on planning. I enjoy planning but just need help to get started.

 

First of all, we would prefer not to be on a really large cruise ship but having done some research it seems that it will cost us a small fortune to go on one of the smaller ships. Is that correct? We have been looking at NCL, purely because of the freestyle dining options. We do not want to be tyed to eating times, etc. Can anybody give us advice on either of these topics.

 

Also, regarding the land tour, I have read that it is a lot cheaper to book it yourself rather than use NCL. I am not nervous about this but do not know where to start! Is it simple to book the train ride in Canada? Can we also book a coach? Would we have to hire a car at all, we would prefer not to if possible?

 

I hope you understand where I am coming from and can give me some pointers in the right direction.

 

Any advice very gratefully received and thank you.

[Lookingforfacts]

Small ships like Cruise West are pricey. Coral/Island Princess are a little smaller then other ships (they fit through the Panama Canal) and don't feel as crowded. Princess gives you the option of selecting traditional dining or anytime dining.

 

CC posters favor doing your own land, but the cruisetours are convenient. You want to book your train or motor coach in advance. You don't need a rental car, but if you'll probably save money with a car rental if have 3 or 4 in your group. I'm not sure if you'll save much money if you only have 2 in our group.

 

You want to do a land tour. You'll need to book a one way cruise to/from Vancouver. Cruise lines are reducing the number of cruises out of Vancouver. Fares may be higher then this year.

[Deacon23]

Thanks for replying so promptly!!

 

I think I will look at NCL cruises and then try and book the rail journery separately.

 

Are there any things that I need to bear in mind when trying to arrange things myself? Do I use the same itinerary as the large cruise ships to make things simpler.

 

:confused:

[Yukon]

Are there any things that I need to bear in mind when trying to arrange things myself? Do I use the same itinerary as the large cruise ships to make things simpler.

 

Use them as a guide and then design one that gets you where you want to be for as long as you want to be there. Most of the cruiselines go to Denali Park, many to Fairbanks as well - is that what you want to see or would the Kenai Peninsula suit you better?

[Texas Tillie]

Have you considered looking at Holland America for the cruise? They have several ships in the 1200-1500 passenger range that sail Alaska. They also have "anytime" dining available - in fact that's the larger part of the dining room - the downstairs part.

 

Before you pick a ship, settle on an itinerary. Are you interested in glaciers? Several of the cruiselines don't go to Glacier Bay. Look at the time the various ships spend in each port. After you study what you might want to see/do in a port, see if that works with the time a ship will be there. Use the internet for your research. There are also many good books that give a lot of useful information on travel to Alaska.

 

Alaska is a magical place - enjoy making your plans!

[Lookingforfacts]

Sorry by previous post wasn't clearer. You want to do a land tour. That means you need a one way cruise that goes between Vancouver and Anchorage (Seward/Whittier). Currently NCL only has R/T cruises out of Seattle scheduled for 2010. NCL isn't an option for your itinerary.

 

You can look at Princess, HAL, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. I'm excluding the smaller (pricier) lines such as Regent.

 

I'm assuming you want to do an Alaska land tour. Other cruiselines may offer a Canadian landtour (Vancouver, Whistler....)

 

 

Thanks for replying so promptly!!

 

I think I will look at NCL cruises and then try and book the rail journery separately.

 

Are there any things that I need to bear in mind when trying to arrange things myself? Do I use the same itinerary as the large cruise ships to make things simpler.

 

:confused:

[Lookingforfacts]

I notice the OP is from the UK. I think you have different polices regarding price protection when cruise fares go down. One of the negatives of booking cruise line land tours is it is difficult (or impossible) to get a price reduction if the price of the cruise goes down. Cruise Line sponsored land tours may offer better (or worse) pricing then what's available in the US market. You have to do some research.

[sassyredhat]

We are going Sept. 9, 2010 on Sea Princess. It isn't a cruisetour, but just letting you know we'll be there ! :)

 

This is a 10 day cruise departing from San Francisco, if you're interested.

 

Pat

[PMJ]

We just got back from 4 days in Denali,followed by a one-way cruise from Seward to Vancouver. It was easy to do. We flew into Anchorage and rented a car and drove to Denali. Spent 3 nights there, then drove to Seward and took HAL. Their Anytime dining was great. We ate in the dining room most nights, and could make reservations 2 days in advance. So we weren't locked into the same dining time every night; could pick depending on our schedules.

 

You could also fly into Fairbanks and rent a car, go to Denali, and then to Seward for the cruise. Just depends on what all you want to see. The one way rental from Anchorage to Seward, 5 days, unlimited miles, was 670 for an Explorer. Much cheaper than the train (for four of us anyway) and we could stop wherever we wanted.

[mountainhouse]

Though it would be round trip, Seattle, Princess has a smaller ship doing a 14 day cruise. This year is was Pacific Princess which holds 675.

 

[msd360]

Just finished our first cruise this month. I booked the land portion and most excursions independently. See my itinerary below for details. The Denali lodge was a splurge but well worth it. Another highlight was the Kenai Fjords cruise, where we saw whales, so didn't do whale watching in other ports, but independent options abound in Juneau and ISP. You can check out a few of the 600 pictures we took here.

[poolwife]

How can I see your pictures? Please put in a link to them. Sounds great! WE are going to Alaska again on August 28 and am so looking forward to our 4th trip there.

[sujay]

hi

i am off on a first cruise to alaska in 2 weeks time. we are a party of 13, including a 5 year old. we chose holland america due to recommendation of the cruise advisory service - you can find their advert in the daily mail on saturday! they are the only cruise line to get the permits for glacier bay, and are smaller ships. we also chose any time dining, as we too dont want to have set dining times.

we've booked cruise only as some of the party are travelling at different times etc but holland america do packages which include flights etc...

looking forward to the cruise, everyone says how great alaska cruises are.

we are sailing from vancouver, spending week there before hand. doing the inside passage for 7 days. wont see the national forest or anchorage, but if we enjoy it we can go again.

good luck with the planning, i booked our cruise last may! and its come round very quickly.

[hollon]

I have a question - I'm planning on alaska next summer and I was wondering if the rccl's sernade(sp?) isn't going to be in alaska anymore? Also, Carnival Spirit is a good price but the itininary isn't very good is that correct? Why do they say Princess or Holland is better for alaska? Thanks JOY :)

[Yukon]

I have a question - I'm planning on alaska next summer and I was wondering if the rccl's sernade(sp?) isn't going to be in alaska anymore? Also, Carnival Spirit is a good price but the itininary isn't very good is that correct? Why do they say Princess or Holland is better for alaska? Thanks JOY :)

 

The Serenade is in the Caribbean, based out of Puerto Rico next summer.

 

The Carnival Spirit "could be" a poor itinerary IF glaciers are a high priority for you, because it goes to Tracy Arm, not Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. Other than that, it's the standard ports.

 

Some folks say that Princess or Holland is better for Alaska but obviously lots don't - my best Alaska experience so far has been on RCI (though my wife preferred our HAL).

[Lookingforfacts]

they are the only cruise line to get the permits for glacier bay, and are smaller ships. we also chose any time dining, as we too dont want to have set dining times.

 

Princess has permits for Glacier Bay. I think one or two RC also have permits. Just look at the ships itinerary, if Glacier Bay is listed the ship has the permit.

 

Some folks say that Princess or Holland is better for Alaska but obviously lots don't - my best Alaska experience so far has been on RCI (though my wife preferred our HAL).

 

Princess and Holland include Glacier Bay. Many of their itineraries include a day of Glacier Bay cruising. Other cruise lines don't have permits. Obviously Glacier Bay isn't important for everyone. I suspect some passengers don't realize the difference when they book.

 

Some of the people who say Princess and HAL are better are looking for an inside passage, one way cruise, with Glacier Bay cruising.

[hollon]

what is the difference between glacier bay and hubbard and which one is better? Also, tracy arm and inside passage? which one is best - since I've never been I know I won't be disappointed - but want to make the right decision because I don't know when I'll go back because of price. Do you think you have to do a landtour?

[msd360]

How can I see your pictures? Please put in a link to them. Sounds great! WE are going to Alaska again on August 28 and am so looking forward to our 4th trip there.

 

Click on the word "here" in my previous post, or...

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/msdeason/Alaska

[Texas Tillie]

what is the difference between glacier bay and hubbard and which one is better? Also, tracy arm and inside passage? which one is best - since I've never been I know I won't be disappointed - but want to make the right decision because I don't know when I'll go back because of price. Do you think you have to do a landtour?

 

The Hubbard Glacier is one HUGE glacier - the face is 7 miles wide! Because of the size of the glacier the calving sound it makes is quite something to hear. The trip into the bay, to the face of the glacier and out again is about 4 hours. Glacier Bay is a National Park - for a reason. None of the glaciers are the size of the Hubbard, but there are numerous ones to see. The trip into the bay, to the face of several glaciers and out is about 9 hours. Tracy Arm is a fjord with 2 smaller glaciers at the end. The problem is that many ships never make it to the glaciers because of ice in the water.

 

Land tour - I'd say is "necessary" to say you've really "seen" Alaska as much of what you see around Denali is much different than what you see from a cruise. Also, the land part can be done on your own - not through one of the cruiselines - thus making it a little "cheaper". Alaska is part of the USA and there are only about 4 main roads in the state - hard to get lost! (Well, except it's so easy to "get lost" in the beauty of Alaska!!:p:D:p:D)

[msd360]

what is the difference between glacier bay and hubbard and which one is better? Also, tracy arm and inside passage? which one is best - since I've never been I know I won't be disappointed - but want to make the right decision because I don't know when I'll go back because of price. Do you think you have to do a landtour?

 

Hubbard is a single monolithic glacier about 4 miles long and 300 foot face. Depending on weather and ice coverage, large ships may or may not get very close to the face of the glacier. On our July Millennium cruise, we were very close and the navigation of the large ice field was fascinating to me. Glacier Bay (not been there yet) contains several smaller glaciers and spectacular fjord scenery and wildlife. When ships go to Glacier Bay, they generally pass close to Pt. Adolphus, which is a known hangout for humpback whales. Both locations are great. You will find polar opinions on both sides throughout this board.

 

All ships sailing to/from Vancouver pass through the Inside Passage, which is between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Some Seattle based ships will go through Juan de Fuca Strait and around the west side of Vancouver Island, exposed to the Pacific Ocean and potentially rougher seas. These ships may stop at Victoria. The west side of Vancouver Island is very scenic, but ships that take this route may not stay very close to shore.

 

Tracy Arm is a fjord, the end of which is the terminus of the twin Sawyer Glaciers. Some ships that do not have Glacier Bay permits choose this location instead, however few large cruise ships can navigate the dense ice fields to closely approach the glaciers. Small boat cruises of Tracy Arm can be found in Juneau.

 

Juneau with a busy airport is also a convenient base for Glacier Bay exploration completely independent of Inside Passage large ship cruises. This is how I plan to visit Glacier Bay on a future vacation.

 

We chose an independent land cruise that cost at least as much as the cruise, but IMO was well worth it. Denali and Kenai Fjords were highlights of our vacation and I highly recommend both. It is possible to have a great experience in these places spending less than we did.