Alaska-ship, itinerary, cabin, your suggestions

[LSauls7537]

We are planning on Alaska this year for our 25th Anniversary. I know this is the best place for great answers.

We are flexible with dates

Want a balcony cabin

Prefer North to South with land first (gear up to start vacation and chill out as the cruise goes on)

Want cabin to see the most scenery (i.e. port, starboard)

 

I did a lot of reading on Alaska, but there is SO much info, it's just put me in a total state of confusion.

 

Like Princess as they have their own rail cars and don't tender...but, am flexible if I'm all wet on that statement.

 

Cost is a priority as we're flying from Orlando.

 

All your sage suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Pam in CA]

Coral or Island Princess as they have far fewer passengers and there are forward and aft public deck viewing areas.

 

The cabins are essentially identical so the pricing differences are primarily based on deck and location. If it were me, I'd book a Caribe balcony cabin on the port side, either forward or aft, the reasoning being that the Caribe balconies are larger and are half-covered/half-uncovered (they are deeper so if it's raining or drizzling, you are more protected) and being forward or aft, you are steps away from the viewing areas. I wouldn't pay more for a cabin mid-ship or on a higher deck.

[2little time]

We are planning on Alaska this year for our 25th Anniversary. I know this is the best place for great answers.

We are flexible with dates

Want a balcony cabin

Prefer North to South with land first (gear up to start vacation and chill out as the cruise goes on)

Want cabin to see the most scenery (i.e. port, starboard)

 

I did a lot of reading on Alaska, but there is SO much info, it's just put me in a total state of confusion.

 

Like Princess as they have their own rail cars and don't tender...but, am flexible if I'm all wet on that statement.

 

Cost is a priority as we're flying from Orlando.

 

All your sage suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I agree with Pam on the Caribe deck balcony for the partial coverage. As for the land tour, the Denali Explorer is wonderful. Don't spend less than two days in Denali as it is wonderful. The Princess packages and transportation is very organized. For the cruise portion, either side of the ship is wonderful as scenery is on both sides. We were on the Island and absolutely loved it.

[fishywood]

Agree 100% with Pam. Coral or Island have less crowds, all the same amenities--and the Voyage of the Glaciers is far, far superior to the round-trip Inside Passage cruises. I've said this repeatedly but it still rings true: the excuse that a non-round trip cruise is less convenient and (potentially but not a given) more expensive is just that--an excuse! Particularly to be avoided is the 10-night Sea Princess round trip from San Francisco: you will see less of Alaska then on any 7-night cruise, the ship has far fewer dining and entertainment options (is the old Russian guy who plays the xylophone still on there?), the weather is guaranteed dreary on the sea days in and out of SF, the brief service call at Victoria BC to meet the legal requirement of a foriegn port is a useless tease. For the same cost you can have a 7-night northbound on Coral or Island followed by three nights in Denali National Park.

[katisdale]

I agree with going on the Island or Coral southbound after you finish the land portion. We did a seven day land tour that included Denali, McKinley and Copper River. It and the cruise were both outstanding. To save $ on airfare, remember that you can save money by flying home from Seattle rather than Vancouver. We paid about $35 each for the transfer from Vancouver to Seattle and $125 for a hotel room near the Seattle airport but saved $325 each on the flight cost home.

[GweninTX]

Amen for the Coral Southbound! We had a Caribe balcony aft and it was WONDERFUL! I cannot express how much we loved it! Only 2,000 passengers, great crew and wonderful naturalist onboard. No sea sickness as you are only in secluded waters. Great food - I could go on and on - book it now!

[Kirsten T]

Another vote for Coral/Island VOTG southbound BUT strongly recommend a category BE veranda cabin on Emerald deck aft, particularly cabins E624-708. Same cabin as the Caribe deck cabins mentioned earlier but the Emerald BEs are built into the ship's superstrucure so they're fully covered and have extra tall headroom. They're also grouped in 2, 3 or 4 depending on location with full steel bulkheads in between so there's less wind and rain, particularly when the ship's in motion. Aft of 708 there may be a little more vibration from the aft thrusters and minor noise from the Universe Lounge a deck below, but both would be minimal.

 

If you can spring for a mini-suite, the aft Dolphin minis are fully covered.

 

Check out the deck plans/photos on the definitive Coral/Island site:

 

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

 

For the land portion, going Princess is certainly the easiest option. If you don't mind a bit of work, Alaska Rail offers excellent packages as well, for perhaps a little less money. We booked our Denali portion last summer with AK Rail and had an excellent experience (Princess, HAL and Celebrity rail cars were simply tacked onto our train; all seats in our AK Rail dome car faced forward and I believe the ship cars are club seating, some forward and some back, but that was the only difference I know of.)

 

Check out the Alaska port of call board for excursion options. We used Chilkoot in Skagway and just toured independently in Juneau and Ketchikan. Saw everything we wanted to without breaking the bank.

 

Know up front that it's a lot of money; you will add up all the fares, fees, charges etc. and have heart palpitations. This was the most expensive vacation we've ever taken, but it is 100% completely worth it. Trust me. We took my in-laws, stayed 2 days in Vancouver (terrific city!), did Denali independently after the northbound Island cruise, and cannot WAIT to go back. Book early for the best choice of cabin and be prepared to have the time of your life. Alaska is AMAZING!

 

Cheers, and happy new year -

Kirsten

[trikeman]

I also agree with Pam. You might consider going during the 24 hours of day light which starts in June. It 's really nice if you wake up in the middle of the night. You can look out and watch the mountains going by and some times see whales or other wild life along the shore.

[Merlinite]

If you get to Denali, be sure to try the Mt. McKinley margarita at Salmon Bake, across the road from the lodge. yum!

 

We did 11 days, Fairbanks to Vancouver on the BEAUTIFUL Diamond Princess.

[shepp]

I've said this repeatedly but it still rings true: the excuse that a non-round trip cruise is less convenient and (potentially but not a given) more expensive is just that--an excuse! Particularly to be avoided is the 10-night Sea Princess round trip from San Francisco: you will see less of Alaska then on any 7-night cruise, the ship has far fewer dining and entertainment options (is the old Russian guy who plays the xylophone still on there?), the weather is guaranteed dreary on the sea days in and out of SF, the brief service call at Victoria BC to meet the legal requirement of a foriegn port is a useless tease. For the same cost you can have a 7-night northbound on Coral or Island followed by three nights in Denali National Park.

 

Well, whatever. Granted, I've sailed the Sea 10-dayer twice in large part because I live in San Francisco. And yes, I prefer the Island to the Sea.

 

But it would seem fair to point out that the one actual extra on the Voyage of the Glaciers is Hubbard Glacier or College Fjord. And that though the SFO sailing costs more (and is three days longer), roundtrip MCO-SFO is generally much cheaper than a MCO-Vancouver/Anchorage-MCO open jaw, and the OP said cost was a priority. (You do seem fairly cavalier about spending other people's money). On my useless tease day in Victoria last time (which is admittedly too short), I had a lovely visit to Butchart Gardens, the time before had a rewarding sight-seeing walk around downtown.

 

And as far as "guaranteed dreary," check out the photo I took on a sailaway to Alaska a few years ago. Dreary indeed.

[mlmalone3]

Glad to hear so many good things about the Coral as we are booked Southbound July 2. We have booked our 1st balcony and are soooo looking forward to it. We are doing the land tour on our own this time, spending 5 nights before boarding the Coral. Excited about spending time in Denali and Anchorage area. We too are flying out of Seattle back to DFW. We have the Princess Transfer booked, hoping for less hassel with luggage,and getting back into USA and just enjoy the ride. Good luck with your planning!

[Budget Queen]

My point will be, to be very informed in what you are looking at in terms of interior Alaska touring. Princess does have some very poor cruisetours, and I don't give any edge to their rail cars, which for some, are a "surprise" as they are assigned table seating, with two riding backward.

 

I also never plan my trips, to "relax" on the cruise portion. My port days are filled with well planned touring, of my interests. There are hundreds of opportunities for some excellent touring to take advantage of, if you choose to.

 

Go for as long as you can afford. Determine, where you want to go in interior Alaska, before you jump into any booking. Really find out about areas, along with touring, time in transit and actual time at the destinations. This is far less than ideal on short cruisetours, which I specifically mean less than 5 days (which in my opinion would never be a choice. :) )

[5326jan]

Southbound Coral or Island with a caribe balcony or dolphin mini. Use this great website for a guide in selecting the type balcony you want, for privacy and coverage: http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

 

First and foremost, buy a decent pair of binoculars for everyone in your party and keep them with you at all times! We spotted our first moose leaving the airport! No one on the Princess transfer bus had binoculars, they were in checked bags underneath!:rolleyes:

 

Spend a day or two with a rental car in Anchorage and drive down the Seward highway with a picnic lunch. Shop for your wine and provisions. Pack them in the bag you will carry on the land tour, not the bag that will go directly to the ship. :eek: (Be sure to read up on that so you're clear that you only take a carry on with you on the land portion.) Jeans/slacks, layers, with a waterproof outer layer is fine.

 

Spend at least 2 days in Denali, we didn't like McKinley very much, but in fairness, it did pour the whole time we were there. Take the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali, not the Natural History Tour that is included. There is a Subway sandwich shop across the street from Denali. If you're taking the train to Whittier, buy a picnic before you leave... it's a 24/7 store. There is food available on the train, but the sandwiches worked well for us.

 

You'll have a great time!:D

[Budget Queen]

 

Spend at least 2 days in Denali, Take the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali, not the Natural History Tour that is included. D

 

Even better since it goes farther at 1/3 the cost (NO additional funds needed from the refund of the NHT) is to take the shuttle bus to Eielson. From Mid August- I only recommend Wonder Lake, the fall colors are spectacular. :) It does require some mobility effort on the individual's part, but doable by many. Read up on the details, if of interest. http://www.nps.gov/dena

[paksey]

We are thinking of booking our first Alaskan cruise. Does it really make a difference which side you are on?. It looks like all the balconies are booked on the land side, which makes sense, but does it really matter that much?

[loliola]

Island or Coral, definitely. If cost is a concern, consider booking one of the four midship Dolphin BD regular balcony cabins under the midship bumpout - D418, D419, D501, or

D502. I think you get the most bang for your buck with these - balcony is 7' x 9' and 2/3 covered, quiet convenient location between minis and full suites, we had one for Panama Canal and loved it; realized it would be excellent to do Alaska again in one of these!

[Alaskanb]

My choice is northbound Island Princess (or Coral). I wanted to adjust to cooler weather before Alaska.

[Assateague Island Princes]

OP - you might want to think about HAL's 14 day AK sailing, roundtrip Seattle. Yes, its a 14 day cruise, but it visits some really interesting little visited ports like Kodiak, Homer, and ISP, plus it has a long port time in the city of Anchorage itself (7am-11PM). I've done this cruise twice - May 31, 2010 when it included Skagway instead of ISP and Glacier Bay instead of Tracy Arm. Then I sailed the same itinerary this past Aug. 5th - so adding the port of ISP and glacier sailing to Tracy Arm, both of which I had never been to before, was really a nice treat for me! Both sailings include Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BCand as well. Also, both sailed east of Vancouver when heading north for those amazing views. Now I know this year, it isn't supposed to sail east of Vancouver on the way up, but I still think this is an amazing itinerary with some good port times, plus I adore Sitka, Kodiak and Homer, and could live in any one of those three ports - happily:D.

 

Just something to consider....save the cruisetour itinerary for NEXT time (and there WILL be a next time;)) and then do the land portion on your own, once you've become familiar with Alaska and what it has to offer. Really simply to plan and do, renting a car and setting your own agenda for the land portion, instead of being herded onto busses and trains with a slew of others with no time to stop where you want when you want. Again, just a suggestion for consideration.

[drwalt]

Saw that you were concerned about airfare to separate ports. We just booked from Detroit to Vancouver for $195 one way! We're going out of Fairbanks to return and have been watching the fares for that, but if you watch the fares, you might catch a deal like ours. I saw it on a Sunday night and then it was gone until just after Midnight on Wed. morning. I think I heard somewhere to check airfares at 12:15 AM on Wed. because that's when they post their specials. Good Luck!

[aidansaunt2004]

We're looking at Alaska as well and we've had to eliminate every cruise that doesn't begin or end in Seattle/Vancouver. For both of us to fly from Ohio to Seattle it's $600. For both of us to fly one way to/from Seattle and the other flight to/from Alaska it's between $1200-$1500! We simply can't afford that :( I wish Carnival would go to Glacier Bay other than the 1st and last cruise of the season. HAL's Westerdam gets decent reviews but the decor looks kind of bland. I know we're not cruising for decorations but I really like how Carnival "mixes" it up and has bright colors etc. Originally I liked the idea of the Island Princess until I researched flights. Now, I'm not quite sure what we're doing. Carnival's inside room for the two of us comes out to be about $1750 and an inside room on HAL is $2100. That's a pretty big difference.

[Alaskanb]

Where in Ohio are you flying from? Have you asked the guys on the air travel component of CC for advice. Here is what I found out of Cleveland. You need to choose the multi destination option and not two one-ways. I chose June 1 with a return two weeks later and the cost per person is about $650. There are several airlines with similar prices.

7:00 am Depart Cleveland (CLE)

Arrive Seattle (SEA) 2:05 pm

Fri 1-Jun

Duration: 10hr 5mn

American Airlines 1567 / 545

Connect in Dallas (Dallas-Fort Worth Intl.)

 

11:25 pm Depart Anchorage (ANC)

Arrive Cleveland (CLE) 1:05 pm +1 day

Fri 15-Jun

Duration: 9hr 40mn

American Airlines 6803 / 4198

Connect in Chicago (ORD)

[aidansaunt2004]

It would be Dayton, Ohio. I just checked the Seattle prices again and they've went down by about $50 total. I did the exact same search with Anchorage instead and it was $600 a person instead of $299. I sat here and compared the Golden Princess and the Carnival Spirit and as of right now we're leaning toward the Spirit because it goes to Glacier Bay (both do), but instead of going to Victoria you have an extra sea day and go through the inside passage which sounds kind of neat.

[Alaskanb]

I used Expedia, other search engines will do as well, and put in multi-destination going from Cleveland to Seattle then on the next line Anchorage to Cleveland with the different dates. You get lots of options. IMHO $650 is a good price for a round trip fare. Are you going through the Inside Passage at night or during daylight hrs?

[aidansaunt2004]

Carnival doesn't list the hours when it will be going through the passage. It's just listed for the last day as "cruising the inside passage". $1200 for airfare isn't in our budget so I think we'll have to stick with an itinerary that ends or begins in Seattle/Vancouver. We would be able to use Amtrak between Seattle and Vancouver. I was using a pretty popular search engine to get the prices I did for airfare as well. We're looking to go at the end of August or the beginning of September.

[Alaskanb]

Oh--I see now. I think lots of things are a bit of a shock price wise when you start to plan an Alaska cruise.