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Cruise Line Recommendation for Alaska


twosometravel
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We are a New Zealand couple planning a cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage, about a week, in August 2019. We are in our 60's and active, friendly, enjoy good food and wine, travel and meeting interesting people. We don't have children or grandchildren and prefer our holidays to be reasonably child-free - if you get my drift. Silversea's "Silver Muse" came out tops in our research for all the above reasons but, and this may seem odd to some, I am worried about the dress-code. One of us is a VERY casual dresser (lives in shorts all year round) and whilst I can get him into a short-sleeved casual shirt and long pants there is no way he will ever wear a tie or feel inclined to cart a smart jacket away on holiday. Can anybody tell me whether "Silver Muse" is going to be too formal for us? Are there any other recommendations for small ships doing this route?

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We are a New Zealand couple planning a cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage, about a week, in August 2019. We are in our 60's and active, friendly, enjoy good food and wine, travel and meeting interesting people. We don't have children or grandchildren and prefer our holidays to be reasonably child-free - if you get my drift. Silversea's "Silver Muse" came out tops in our research for all the above reasons but, and this may seem odd to some, I am worried about the dress-code. One of us is a VERY casual dresser (lives in shorts all year round) and whilst I can get him into a short-sleeved casual shirt and long pants there is no way he will ever wear a tie or feel inclined to cart a smart jacket away on holiday. Can anybody tell me whether "Silver Muse" is going to be too formal for us? Are there any other recommendations for small ships doing this route?

 

You are worried about the wrong thing on an AK cruise. The main thing to consider when selecting a ship for AK is:

 

1) Itinerary

 

2) Port Times

 

3) Does it go to Glacier Bay

 

4) Everything else.

 

You might consider one of the really small ships that hold maybe 50 people. You will not get all of the ship board features that you will get on a larger ship but you will get a much better AK experience. You will also get into some of the ports that the larger ships can not get into. We did an AK cruise on such a ship and it was wonderful.

 

BTW - we just came back from a 35 day trip in New Zealand. We loved your country.

 

DON

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Totally agree with the above poster. If you are only going to Alaska once, you want to have Glacier Bay on your itinerary. If no kids and luxury on a smaller ship is your goal, consider delaying until Sept. and sail Crystal Symphony r/t Vancouver. Another option might be NCL in a Haven Suite. But no matter when you go, your husband won't be living in shorts in Alaska. If you are lucky, you might have a day or two warm enough... On most lines these days, a shirt with a collar will get you into the MDR (dining room) on gala/elegant/chic night. I can think of only two lines that still have 'formal' nights: Cunard and P&O. EM

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You sound a lot like my wife and me. We live in South Florida and I wear long pants and socks about once a year. We'll be cruising on the Silver Shadow from Seward to Vancouver this June - it's my first cruise ever. We chose Silversea because of the smaller ship, the high-end food and amenities and the itinerary. We added a Denali trip prior to the cruise. I expect the dress on board to be casual during the day and somewhat dressy in evenings depending on the dining venue. On Silversea, you can dress casually at all times at the hot rocks grill and there's also room service. That said, you wouldn't want to miss out on the great food at the other dining venues just because you didn't have long pants, a nice shirt and a jacket. It's been said that Alaska cruising is all about the excursions and we've lined up some great-sounding day trips. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great trip.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We did Princess to Alaska on our first cruise and there were very few kids (thankfully) on it. We went in late August on our anniversary when kids were probably starting school. (This is a plus of our anniversary being in late August.)

Princess wasn't terribly formal and we greatly enjoyed it!!!

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  • 4 weeks later...

HAL.Vancouver to Seward, train to Anchorage. Dinner in MDR requires long pants and a collared shirt (for men), no more, even on Gala nights. Dinner in Lido (buffet) forbids only swimwear.

 

Take the train up/bus back excursion in Skagway, whale-watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, I've only done totem shorex in Ketchikan. This itinerary does spend a day in Glacier Bay.

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