Which Cruise Line?

[cruiselover09]

My mother, my aunt, and I were thinking about going on a cruise to Alaska next year around May. Which cruiseline do you recommend?

[Budget Queen]

Do your homework, way before you start looking for a ship/cruiseline.

 

There are many significant decisions you need to make. Head to your library and take out Alaska By Cruiseship along with other Alaska travel books. Find out about ports, glaciers, routes.

 

Decide first- are you going one way ( I only do this, myself, with at least another week of interior Alaska touring), or round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver. Seattles cruises are the least scenic.

 

Then make your choices, looking at ports, time in ports, glacier, route, price. Budget for costly excursions, in my opinion, you get only half a trip without them. :)

[diane.in.ny]

Ship size is something to think about. Cruise West has some fantastic Alaska itineraries with only about 100 pax per boat. One gets quite up close and personal to the landscape.

 

Or do you want a larger ship with more on board options?

 

Personally I love the smaller ships. And even when on a larger one, I like the number of pax to be under 1000.

[negc]

Most people will respond to your question by recommending their favorite line or the line that they sailed Alaska on. Their preferences may or may not match your own. Follow BudgetQueen's advice and research each of the lines that sail in Alaska, investigate the itineraries they offer and read up on each of the ports of call. Check out each cruiseline's brochures, compare prices and routes, and see which dates best fit your schedule. You should also compare one way and round trip itineraries to see which offers you the best opportunities to fully appreciate the great land that is Alaska. Once you have done all that and have narrowed your choices to a smaller number of ships or lines, you can ask more specific questions about each and someone here is sure to be more than willing to answer them for you.:)

[jkmcmom]

some other items to consider - have any of you all cruised before? if so, were you happy with the cruiseline? do they go to Alaska? are the benefits of being a return passenger worth a consideration of that line?

If you've never cruised before, as Budget Queen said, read up, decide what you want from your experience, then which cruise line will fit your needs & wants. Check out the cruiseline websites - look at their staterooms - will this meet your needs & wants?

No matter which cruise you take, Alaska will be stunning!

[psyfi]

The key with Alaska is to decide what you want to see, then choose your cruise accordingly. For us, we wanted both Hubbard and glacier bay so we chose a southbound Princess that offered both glacier days. Others would prefer a fourth port (we have 3 days in port). One ways offer an opportunity to see more of Alaska with a land tour extension, round trips may have less expensive airfare.

[cruiselover09]

Is Glacier Bay something to see or not? We were thinking of going on Norwegian Cruise Line. We are trying to find something not that expensive. I went last year to the Bahamas on the Carnival. It was a nice ship but I want to try a different Cruiseline for experience. My mom has not been on a cruise before.

[AlanAllyn]

For a first-time Alaska cruiser, I think Glacier Bay is a must.

[loanin]

Another big thing to consider is the age group of the people particular to the cruise line. There is nothing more miserable then to be on a cruise ship with eveyone NOT the same age group. Also the activities are targeted to that age group. Whether it for the young or the older age group, it is an important factor. As I was told Holland is really nice and it attracts the older age group. I went on another that definately targeted a much younger group. I have also cruised Princess before and found it to be the right atmosphere for me but that doesn't mean for everyone.

[Budget Queen]

Another big thing to consider is the age group of the people particular to the cruise line. There is nothing more miserable then to be on a cruise ship with eveyone NOT the same age group. Also the activities are targeted to that age group. Whether it for the young or the older age group, it is an important factor. As I was told Holland is really nice and it attracts the older age group. I went on another that definately targeted a much younger group. I have also cruised Princess before and found it to be the right atmosphere for me but that doesn't mean for everyone.

 

You are making general comments for areas OUTSIDE of Alaska. I am assuming your above references are not for sailing Alaska?? Or have you? Alaska cruising has similar ages sailing on ALL the major lines there. Middle aged and above is the bulk, but plenty of families. Carnival, ranks the same with demographics sailing Alaska, in no way can it be compared to the "party ships" sailing the Caribbean.

 

"Activies" aren't anywhere in the numbers of ships sailing the Caribbean either.

 

There aren't any ships that aren't suitable for ALL age groups that currently sail Alaska.

 

It may be an advantage to look at itinerary with a cruise selection, considering ports, time in ports, route, glacier, ship naturalist, price, rather than who else may be assumed sailing.

[Budget Queen]

If you want to sail NCL, the Pearl does offer Glacier Bay, but the Star, offers the "necessary" Tracy Arm boat tour, that is superb. :)

[cruiselover09]

We were thinking about going with a group of people? What do you suggest?

[negc]

You are making general comments for areas OUTSIDE of Alaska. I am assuming your above references are not for sailing Alaska?? Or have you? Alaska cruising has similar ages sailing on ALL the major lines there. Middle aged and above is the bulk, but plenty of families. Carnival, ranks the same with demographics sailing Alaska, in no way can it be compared to the "party ships" sailing the Caribbean. ....

 

There aren't any ships that aren't suitable for ALL age groups that currently sail Alaska.

 

 

Our experience is admittedly limited and almost ten years old but when we did an Alaskan cruise tour with Princess, the average age of the HAL passengers who were on the HAL tour was noticeably higher than that of our fellow Princess passengers. We were sailing in late May, early June, so there were very few families represented but other than than the demographics on our sailing pretty much matched your description.:)

[Budget Queen]

Our experience is admittedly limited and almost ten years old but when we did an Alaskan cruise tour with Princess, the average age of the HAL passengers who were on the HAL tour was noticeably higher than that of our fellow Princess passengers. We were sailing in late May, early June, so there were very few families represented but other than than the demographics on our sailing pretty much matched your description.:)

 

Your experience is way out of date. This is not the current trend. And you are referening to one trip. I first sailed Princess in 94, and most of the ship was over 70. This has nothing to do with today.

[Casey12]

Your experience is way out of date. This is not the current trend. And you are referening to one trip. I first sailed Princess in 94, and most of the ship was over 70. This has nothing to do with today.

 

Having sailed both lines to Alaska in the past few years, the age was significantly higher on HAL. Significantly higher.

[negc]

Your experience is way out of date. This is not the current trend. And you are referening to one trip. I first sailed Princess in 94, and most of the ship was over 70. This has nothing to do with today.

 

I admitted as much in the first sentence of my post. However that one Princess sailing was in 1998 and most of the ship was well under 70 and it appeared that the HAL ship's passengers were well over. I am glad to hear that it is trending downward and will be interested to see what we experience this June.:)

[Rosieo]

I would say to definitely go to Glacier Bay. We were on HAL last summer and we found it had all age groups on it. Kids to the elderly. We fit into the younger age group and felt very comfortable on HAL. Go with the ship with the best itinerary.

[alpal1993]

Having sailed both lines to Alaska in the past few years, the age was significantly higher on HAL. Significantly higher.

 

Our cruise will be bringing the average age down DH is 43 and we also have several children on our cruise LOL