hjd36

Definitely train for the Rockies, not coach or car.

Also, need to leave plenty of time to allow for emergencies when flying in to catch a tour/cruise. OH doesn't worry about such things but I do..

Thank you all for your very helpful posts.

I have to be back at work on Wednesday 10 August which is why we must be home by Tuesday 9th (and ignore the jetlag). It is just possible I could push return to work to Thurs 11th but wouldn't bank on it.

The itinerary with the Island Princess in the middle looks very interesting; so does the Celebrity Infinity (our only previous cruise was on the Infinity so we know what to expect there!) Costings for the 2 cruises are similar.

It's not that we are not interested in mainland Alaska, but it is not top priority.

I have costed it all and sent to OH for his perusal. That may take some time... but I shall keep checking back on this thread.

Sorry, been busy with other stuff away from my pc!

Definitely the train ride, not driving. Doesn't have to be the full trip, but there aren't really any shorter rail trips that I could see.

The cruise is the main thing - spending time in Alaska before/after is not the priority.

So - we want to do the cruise, the Rocky Mountaineer and spend some time in Vancouver.

Thanks for all your comments/suggestions so far!

Thanks - I'll look at Princess too. Unfortunately DH works in a school and they break up for the summer on Fri 22 July - non-negotiable!

I know every other post is a "which cruise/which itinerary" - so is this one!

DH and I want to go on an Alaska cruise next summer. We live in the UK. We want to spend some time in Vancouver, and we want to do a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer.

We have cruised once before, on Celebrity Infinity in 2013, to the Norwegian Fjords.

This is likely to be the only trip we do to Alaska so we want to make it the best one! Money is not the deciding factor, although we don't want to pay more than necessary.

The problem is the dates.

Due to our work commitments, the earliest we can fly out from UK is Saturday, 23 July, and we need to be home no later than Tuesday, 9 August. Rather limits our options!

We are probably not particularly interested in wilderness/outdoors stuff; definitely whale watching, maybe seeing brown bears, especially seeing the glaciers.

Looks like Glacier Bay is one of the best stops, but Celebrity don't go there. We are not fixated on going with Celebrity but we found them a good fit on our previous cruise. HAL do Glacier Bay but we are put off by smoking being allowed on balconies - we don't smoke, and don't want other people's smoke when we are on our balcony! Of course we may be wrong about this.

Is a round trip better than a one way one?

I hope some of you knowledgeable people will be able to help. This is a trip of a lifetime so we want it to be the best we can make it. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for the update. Were Fusion and Deja Vu still the bands?

Ian Crewell just took over as CD moving from Eclipse.

Yes, Fusion and Deja Vu.

Just back from Infinity and we had the following:

Master: Michael Sympouras

Hotel Director: Mark Zeller

Cruise Director: James Cox

Food & Beverage Manager: John-Paul Lamb

Executive Chef: Malcolm Scott-Avis

Guest Relations Manager: Bosco Pires

Not sure re the rest but Fiore Strings were the string threesome.

Hope someone can update the chart.