Small Ship cruising in AK

[new2alaska]

Does anyone have experience with the small ship cruises of Glacier Bay or Cruise West?? They are not cheap cruises and i cannot seem to find alot of travelers' reviews. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

[puffin2620]

I forgot to mention an excellent source of information on small ship cruising in Alaska is Frommer's Alaska Cruise Guide. It reviews all the small cruise ship lines (as well as large ships). Some of the reviews can be accessed on their web site.

[steamboats]

Hi,

 

You will find some general reviews and some passenger reviews in the river & canal section of this website

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/river.cfm

 

There are two threads on the "other cruiselines" board too:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=65591

 

about Glacier Bay Line

 

and

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=146273

 

about American West Steamboat Company

 

Hope this was helpful.

 

steamboats

[new2alaska]

Thank you for the help. As for anyone else--if you have any first-hand knowledge of the AK cruises on the small ships--glacier bay, cruise west or clipper--please let me know! thanks!

[wolfie11]

I consider the small cruises far superior to the big ships if you're going to Alaska to look at scenery and wildlife. You will be with a small group of people for a week, and will soon get to know everyone on board. The staff are friendly and know you by name, you will have a naturalist on board to answer any questions, and the ships get really close to wildlife. The food is excellent as well, much better than most of the cruise ships standard fare. If you want Vegas shows, casinos, and shopping you will be better off with a big ship. The disadvantages of the small ships is that the rooms tend to be small and somewhat dingy and the ships are older. My favorite ship is the Yorktown Clipper, although I also like the Spirit of 98. If you are really into learning about the natural history of Alaska, Linblad is the best. They have several naturalists on board and a videographer to record the cruise.

[new2alaska]

Reading all that i have on the cruises--i am a small ship cruiser. I am a bit worried about sea-sickness, but i have been assurred that these ships stay pretty close to the coastlines and don't rock.

For the cruise--i was down to cruise west on Endeavor or Spirit or Clipper on Yorktown. Its going to come down to price and schedule. I know Cruise West has early booking discounts, but I am still waiting for information from Clipper on whether they have any kind of discounts. Plus, CW includes excursions/port charges/tips in their pricing whereas Clipper only includes port charges--the rest is additional.

What did you think of the Food on Cruise West? A couple of reviews were pretty negative on the non-seafood meals. The Clipper line has gotten really good reviews (from what i have seen) on the food.

[JohnQ]

New2alaska

The small ship cruise experience is from my research far superior to the main cruise lines in terms of overall experience, ports, ability to go in closer to everything, some excursions included, etc. But the downside is that the cheapest small ship offer is about 3 times higher than the best deal on a larger ship, there are less food choices, no shows, could be rougher in stormy seas, and there are fewer shops and spas on board!!! When I hit the lottery, or get my $10,000 bonus upon retirement (sure!!!!), I will treat myself to one of these. Check out the review sections for Cruise West or the others for first hand review. Write us a nice review when you get back.

[new2alaska]

John Q

I know about the price--that is why i have been trying to find anyone with first hand knowledge of the ships---i hate the thought of spending 6k for a vacation only to come back saying it wasn't that good.

The cruise critic review was pretty negative about the food on cruise west (unless you went with the seafood dishes).

everyone has said the same thing--that the small ships are the way to get really up-close and personal with the location. Loss of casino, spa, etc doesn't really bother me-i've done large ship and I think i am in the minority that can say i will not cruise again if my only option is large ship. So i guess what i am looking for is a little luxury, good food, good lectures, while doing more of an adventure cruise of hiking and seeing what the place has to offer.

[wolfie11]

The only problem I've ever had with the food on Cruise West is that there's way too much of it! A lot of the quality of the food has to do with the chef. I think the food has gone way downhill on the big cruise ships - I hated the food on the Dawn Princess last year. The small ships have very limited galley space, so they only offer a couple of choices at lunch and dinner. I'll admit there were a few meals when I didn't like either of the choices, but then you can always order a steak or grilled chicken. Of course, meals are often interrupted for whale watching or bear sightings. One evening we grabbed our desserts and ate them on the deck while watching a bear fishing in a salmon stream on the beach - not something that ever happens on a cruise ship!