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Thinking About an Alaskan Cruise for Next June - Who's Been?


CruzerDeb
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Hi all!

 

I'm way past-due for a cruise and, although I hugely favor the Caribbean, my mom (who I have NOT been able to talk into going on a cruise with me yet) would like to cruise Alaska. Tell me all about it!

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Hi all!

 

 

 

I'm way past-due for a cruise and, although I hugely favor the Caribbean, my mom (who I have NOT been able to talk into going on a cruise with me yet) would like to cruise Alaska. Tell me all about it!

 

 

 

Carnival has a very limited cruise itin, sailing round trip from Seattle. They have a couple of unique ones early and late in season.

 

That said, we had done it twice when it was one ways between Anchorage and Vancouver. Other that the Grand Canyon, the most spectacular sites we have seen. Would def recommend it. A big factor to consider is whether you will do a land package also.

 

 

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We've done the Carnival Spirit Anchorage to Vancouver once and HAL Nieuw Amsterdam (slightly larger than Spirit class) Vancouver R/T. Both were very good. HAL has more Alaska itineraries but if young kids are going I would probably avoid HAL. Princess has lots of choices as well. I think Carnival has mostly midweek departures which when we went was perfect but may not be for everyone. Alaska cruises are almost always higher in price among any cruise line but well worth it. It's definitely an awesome experience.

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The first time we did Hal because we wanted to do the land and sea combo. The second time a year ago in May we did Carnival from Seattle. Whatever you choose you won't be disappointed, Alaska will always be my favorite cruise and I've done many.

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We did Princess in 2002 and hardly a day goes by that we don't talk about that cruise! Do it, you won't regret it!

 

My tips:

Be sure to save on airfare that you book a round trip. We flew in and went out of Vancouver unlike my friends who flew into Seattle then had a long bus ride to Vancouver.

 

Our fave excursions were the whale watching and White Pass and Yukon railroad.

 

Get a balcony. It's worth it on this cruise!

 

Have fun!

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We are considering 2020 for Alaska. I know it will be pricey, especially after adding in excursions. I'd really like to do a dogsled in the snow and see whales. One thing we were wondering is for those ships that have a way to enclose the pools, are they heated? I can see filling from the ocean when they are in the Caribbean, but not Alaska. Or do people even hang out at the pool with all the scenery to see?

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We did it 2 years ago June.... it was sunny every day but one, and that one it only drizzled around the time of back-on-board. Had a fantastic time and plan to do it again. Nothing more thrilling that flying in a helicopter over the glaciers. Do it.

 

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Wow! Thanks for sharing. How cold was it on the glacier? The biggest thing that keeps me from going to Alaska is my fear of freezing & being miserable the whole time. The biggest thing that keeps me considering Alaska is to see & do things that I would never be able to do here.

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Glacier National Park is spectacular!

 

 

Just a little correction. Glacier National Park is in Montana, but it is indeed spectacular! [emoji6]

 

To the OP, I also consider myself a Caribbean cruise kinda person, but Alaska has been one of the most breathtaking cruises I’ve taken. Truly worth it. And I also agree about branching out and trying other cruise lines. Carnival has a huge presence in the Caribbean, but their presence in Alaska is very limited, with a somewhat mediocre itinerary. One thing that I learned about sailing in Alaska is that this cruise is mostly about what’s going on outside rather than inside the ship so chose your itinerary wisely.

 

 

 

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Wow! Thanks for sharing. How cold was it on the glacier? The biggest thing that keeps me from going to Alaska is my fear of freezing & being miserable the whole time. The biggest thing that keeps me considering Alaska is to see & do things that I would never be able to do here.

 

The glacier was very cold but they provide you with the clothing to put on over your clothes - boots, pants, jacket.

The rest of the cruise we took jackets but really didn't need them most of the time. It was 70s, until you went up in altitude. It all depends on what excursions you do.

The boat excursion at Tracy Arm fjord was chilly, as you are in a boat down on water surface zipping around the icebergs. But there is an inside to warm up if you need to, and hot chocolate, coffee, etc. We were out on the deck about 90% of the time, taking photos. See my other video:

Another excursion I HIGHLY recommend. Yes, the cruise ship comes down into the fjord, and you can see the glacier, but nothing like being right in front of the glacier looking UP at it. We were much closer, the ship was over a mile away at its closest point.

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We have done Alaska a half dozen times and it never gets old. Is it cold? Some times but it is also warm and sunny. Recommend the train trip in Skagway and also the helicopter trip. Both are superb and while pricey are a one time must do we think.

Enjoy

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I did the Sitmar Fairsky more than 30 years ago when I was kid. And the Norwegian Sun 11 years ago.

 

We're thinking of going next summer, but will likely do HAL because I really want to do Glacier Bay and Carnival doesn't have any itins to Glacier Bay. Also there is at least one HAL ship with weekend departures, which I greatly prefer.

 

Alaskan cruises are more about the ports, and less about what you get on the ship itself. Too cold to use the waterslides, anyway!

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Have done 2 Alaskan cruises, both on Carnival. I'm a warm weather girl in general, and first Alaskan cruise was not one I was necessarily looking forward to. But it was the most fabulous cruise ever! Booked it again 2 years later! Views are spectacular! Book a balcony as 90% of the time you have land on both sides with great views! Save up for excursions....they are pricey but they have some amazing excursions! Went once June and once in July. July was definitely a bit warmer but I wouldn't say either was cold except for at night. There isn't much pool use going on as it is a bit chilly for that. We generally wore capris with a tshirt and jacket. Jacket comes off if it gets warm. I personally thought the weather was fabulous!

 

Book it, you won't regret it!

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We are considering 2020 for Alaska. I know it will be pricey, especially after adding in excursions. I'd really like to do a dogsled in the snow and see whales. One thing we were wondering is for those ships that have a way to enclose the pools, are they heated? I can see filling from the ocean when they are in the Caribbean, but not Alaska. Or do people even hang out at the pool with all the scenery to see?

 

If swimming is important, you might want to consider the “Coral Princess”. It has two pools, one of which is covered, so it can always be used. Princess also has greater access to Glacier Bay NP, the highlight of any inside passage cruise.

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We took NCL round trip from Seattle and loved it! Totally different from Caribbean but the scenery is to die for. We saw bears, eagles, and salmon running. We explored Pikes Market in Seattle the morning of the cruise, very cool place.

 

We took an excursion to Emerald Lake, did some hiking, saw the totem poles, explored Victoria Canada, and walked Creek St. if you go to the Alaska port of call pages you will see all of these things.

 

We took the small boat excursion to the glacier and it was awesome, you could hear it cracking. This was the only pricy excursion we did ~250 a person. All excursions like helicopter and planes are super expensive, $300pp. So this is the one we picked to do since I’m not a fan of flying in those. It was chilly going close to the glacier, def bring heavier jacket and layers! We took a bus to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and walked the trail to Nugget Falls, another great experience cheap.

 

AND we had perfect weather, very unusual though.

 

 

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I've cruised Alaska 3 times on 3 different cruise lines: Norwegian, Princess, and Carnival. IMHO the best is either northbound or southbound, and not Seattle roundtrip. The best tip I can offer is to not go until you have financial resources to experience the more expensive excursions. Alaska is all about excursions if you want to get the most from your cruise. My favorite excursions have been the helicopter ride to Mendenhall glacier where they let you off to explore the glacier for an hour or so, Misty Fjord float plane, and the White Pass/Yukon gold train ride. Personally, although most of my cruising experience overall has been on Carnival, Carnival would be my last choice for cruising Alaska.

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Alaska was my favorite cruise to date.

 

Went on RCL Serenade of the Seas and did the last cruise of the season that September.

 

Weather was perfect...we were in shorts at the pool bar.

 

Ports were closing for the season so got some really great deals on good quality sweatshirts, hoodies, etc....$5 each. I still wear them....13 years later...LOL Only time I ever had to buy a suitcase to pack my treasures to come home.:D:D

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We took the small boat excursion to the glacier and it was awesome, you could hear it cracking. This was the only pricy excursion we did ~250 a person. All excursions like helicopter and planes are super expensive, $300pp. So this is the one we picked to do since I’m not a fan of flying in those. It was chilly going close to the glacier, def bring heavier jacket and layers! We took a bus to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and walked the trail to Nugget Falls, another great experience cheap.

 

I didn't know the importance of taking the small boat excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord and I really regretted it when I saw people's photos. It looked amazing!

 

Some cheap experiences we did:

  • Hiked up Mt. Roberts in Juneau (and then took the tram down -- it's free to go down if you buy something in the gift shop -- saves the $25 tram fare!)
  • Took bus to Mendenhall Glacier and explored on our own
  • Took White Pass Railroad to first stop right out of town in Skagway and then hiked through the woods to the glacier, then turned around to catch the train back into town
  • Days of '98 show in Skagway (cheesy gold rush fun!)

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We flew into Fairbanks at the end of May last year, then Denali, the double-deck train to Anchorage, then Seward where we took the Kenai Fjord excursion before getting on HAL for the cruise to Vancouver.

 

Highly recommend cruisetour. HAL and Princess have similar land portions. The HAL lodging at Denali is next to the Princess one. double-deck

 

loved Denali (perfect weather two days), the train and Kenai.

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I live in Juneau. I know a poster above said they were in shorts in September, but this is NOT normal. September can be rainy and 50s. Come in July or August (NOT April, May, or September), bring a rain coat, and be prepared to go outside no matter the weather. If your cruise is going into Tracy Arm, you will get many similar sights to Glacier Bay. Excursions here are very costly, even for locals. That said, you will not get the most out of your Alaska experience if you stay close to the ship on port days. In Juneau, a splurge would be Taku Glacier Lodge, and budget would be hiking Mt. Roberts (go past the cross toward the ridge if it’s nice out), buy a beer at the tram bar at the top to ride down for free. The Mendenhall Glacier is very popular with tourists, but if you are also doing Tracy Arm you don’t really need to endure the bus ride there and crowds. Check out bike tours with Cycle Alaska. Alaska Pedicab is amazing for a narrated tour around downtown, and the Alaska State Museum is very well done. My recommendation for Alaska cruisers is always to take one of the cruise lines that goes all the way to Seward and then offers the land tours afterward. Southeast Alaska (cruise area) is vastly different than Southcentral and the Interior, and if you’re coming all the way up here already, you really should make the most of it.

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We just spent 10-days on land traveling from Fairbanks to Seward before a 7-night SB RCI Cruise. Do it! We had only cruised in the Caribbean prior to this & we already want to go back.

 

Stay tuned for my insanely long trip review if you’re interested, but in the meantime, I couldn’t agree more about doing a land portion (we much preferred doing land first though) as well as going for some more expensive excursions as the ones we took were some of the highlights of our trip. You’ll love Alaska no matter what but certain things can’t really be done on the cheap.

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Wow! Thanks for sharing. How cold was it on the glacier? The biggest thing that keeps me from going to Alaska is my fear of freezing & being miserable the whole time. The biggest thing that keeps me considering Alaska is to see & do things that I would never be able to do here.
There are pinned threads on this forum with links to trip reports from each year. You can find out in as much detail as you want about the Alaska cruise experience on various ships & itineraries.

 

There are also lots of threads on what clothes people took to be comfortable on a cooler cruise. With adequate clothing, you won't be cold and miserable. It doesn't require that much - it is summer in Alaska, not mid-winter.

 

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