Best cruise

Looking for recommendations for 2a 2c aged 12 & 7. Best company to book through for an Alaskan cruise with or without land based tour. Departure point Scotland Uk, willing to travel or fly to departure point. Any help gratefully received. Thanks from Michelle

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As discussed in a very similar thread just down the board, there is no "best" that fits everyone. A little research on the board to help you narrow down this very broad question would be very beneficial. Not every cruise line does the land tour portion, for example. Glacier Bay is a much desired area for sailing, but not every cruise line goes there.

We are not allowed to mention or discuss travel agents, if that is implied in your question.

My advice is to get a travel agent who specializes in Cruises to help you. Ask friends for recommendations.

There is no best that fits all. There are many factors including cost, size of ship, and on board amenities just to mention some examples.

If there was there would not be as many cruise lines sailing Alaska.

Keith

As discussed in a very similar thread just down the board, there is no "best" that fits everyone. A little research on the board to help you narrow down this very broad question would be very beneficial. Not every cruise line does the land tour portion, for example. Glacier Bay is a much desired area for sailing, but not every cruise line goes there.

 

 

 

We are not allowed to mention or discuss travel agents, if that is implied in your question.

I agree with CruiserBruce. You can narrow down your choices by identifying the cruise lines that has itineraries covering your ports of interest.

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Thank you very much. I wasn’t looking for TA as I know that’s a big no no. A little more research to do on my part. Currently sitting with brochures ( I know yep old style ) from Royal and Fred Olsen. Nothing jumping out at me yet. Thanks again

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A little perspective....Alaska cruises come in two configurations....one-way and round trip.

Round trip cruises sail primarily from Seattle....a few from Vancouver. Vancouver is a better port as the sailings transit the scenic Inside Passage for a greater distance than the Seattle sailings. Seattle sailings spend at least a day (each way) in the open ocean west of Vancouver Island, out of sight of land.

One way cruises always start or end in Vancouver. (northbound, southbound)

No ship from RCL or Celebrity will include Glacier Bay as they have no permits to enter.

Princess and HAL have the lions share of developed infrastructure for the Alaska market, tho other lines do an adequate job, too.

Thanks thinfool, currently looking at Hal and have just had a look at Princess. Glacier bay is a game changer for the cruise line we eventually choose. Thanks so much

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Alaska is very port intensive. Be sure and budget in $$ for excursions. For instance, a flight seeing tour to see Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan will cost approx. $220.00 per person. A shuttle bus to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau is $45 per person. The train in Skagway is approx. $90 a person.

I chose Holland America R/T out of Vancouver. They have 2 ships. Happy planning.

Take a look at excursions to see what interests you. Then you can also decide what month to go. If you wanted to do a bear watch excursion, the window maybe 3 weeks for optimum viewing.

Cunard is doing some nice Alaska cruises in 2019. You might want to look at those.

Thanks for all the fantastic tips and for taking the time to reply. Onwards with the planning i go. Xx

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For my 2 cents, Alaska is one of the rare spots where there is a dramatic difference in how to go about it.

As people have said, Alaska is very port intensive. The ports really matter, along with how much time you get in them. That's why I think a one-way trip is FAR better than a round trip itinerary.

I do think Glacier Bay is best, but I don't think it's quite as dramatic a difference btw the glaciers as it is btw a 1-way vs round trip. For your first time, I really would highly recommend a 1-way trip with a stop at Glacier Bay. Then, on your second time back to Alaska, then consider the convenience of a round trip or maybe a cruise to Hubbard or Tracy Arm or even what ship you're on. This will be my 3rd trip to Alaska, so I'm not quite as concerned about the itinerary and just wanted to be on a brand new big ship on a round trip itinerary. Otherwise, I would have definitely picked a 1-way as my round trip itinerary sucks (I only plan to do a whale watching excursion and even that is a bit difficult to work out because my time in port is so limited).