SportTourer

Coral, that one is not good for us.  Too long, no Glacier Bay, no time behind Victoria Island, and a long open ocean run to start the trip.  We want to minimize time in the ocean in order to maximize scenery.

Thanks all, great info, please keep it coming.  Crew News, we got aft staterooms on a one way on Princess many years ago and loved them!  So I, like you, are sold on being in the back of the boat!  It appears that our itinerary is going to be serviced mainly by Koningsdam and Volendam, is there a big difference between these ships?  Thanks again!

My wife and I are planning an Alaska cruise for our elderly mothers in 2020.  Neither mother is wheelchair bound, but each tires easily, so we are not all that interested in shore excursions.  The ladies prefer to just watch the scenery pass by the windows,.  I was originally going to book a one way cruise but have ditched that idea for various reasons.  I am now focusing on a RT out of Vancouver so that we get the most out of the Inside Passage.  Glacier Bay is a must for us. Does that narrow us down to Princess and HA, or are there other lines with access to GB?  Looking at the maps on cruise line websites, it appears that HA takes a more "inside" route (which I assume would be calmer and more scenic) on the southbound run leaving Glacier Bay, whereas Princess runs out in open water.  Am I correct on that point?  If so, props to HA.

Any other items I should be considering here?  The ladies don't care about fine dining, they will be happy in the buffet, so specialty restaurants are not our focus.  They would feel more comfortable with an older crowd (ie not many kids), and, perhaps obviously, they don't care about go cart tracks and rock climbing walls etc etc.

Thanks, all!

I am looking to book an Alaskan cruise for the summer of 2020.  It has been ages since I cruised there, the last time I used a travel agent that was able to get me a better deal on the cruise than I was able to get by booking directly with the cruise line.  Is that still the case?  I don't mind doing the work of booking it myself, but if there are discounts that are available through TA's that will save me some money, I will go that way.  Many Thanks!!!

13 hours ago, Cheryl H said:

What a wonderful birthday present.  I cannot speak to smaller lines and ships.....but we did our first Alaska cruise as a northbound out of Vancouver.  It seems to me the flight times offered home from Anchorage were all redeyes.  Flying home after an exhausting week, on a very late flight was hard on me and I was just 46 at the time.  That's the one thing that I would have done differently....taking the long flight to Anchorage first and then cruising southbound.  Once you decide on a cruise line, you might call their special needs number about whether wheelchairs are available or not.  We were with a friend in a wheelchair on a cruise once, but she brought her own.  Happy Birthday to your mother.

We will probably spend a night in Anchorage before flying home.  I like the northbound route because the scenery gets better as you travel.

1 hour ago, VennDiagram said:

 

Can you describe what a "smaller ship" means to you?  50 pax? 500 pax? 1000 pax?

By smaller ship I mean one of the ships that can get into more remote areas.  It would still have to have a deckplan and cabins that would be wheelchair friendly.

My wife and I are planning an AK cruise for the summer of 2020 as a 90th birthday present for my mother.  My 79 y/o mother in law will be joining us.  We plan to cruise one way northbound out of Vancouver.  Considering the age of the ladies, we will need a ship with easy access, and probably with wheelchairs available.  They are both fairly mobile but that could change at any time, give their ages.  Their main desire is sightseeing.  Fine dining, entertainment, etc are not priorities.  We are open to the idea of a smaller ship that could get us in to more remote places.  Given these metrics, what lines and ships should I be looking at?  Thanks in advance!