Best Alaska Cruise

[ElvisAndretti]

:confused:

 

We have just returned from our very first cruise aboard the Carnival Ecstasy. We had a great time and we are now pretty sure we can do the Alaska cruise without going stir crazy or getting seasick or whatever.

 

So which line should we choose? Carnival was great but I don't want to miss out if another line has more to offer. We had a particular itinerary we wanted for the first cruise and they had it. In Alaska it looks like the ports are pretty much the same, so we want to know who has the best ship?

 

Thoughts?

[Ashland]

Everyone has their favorites...mine RCI...However whatever cruiseline you end up doing it will be an amazing itinerary..after all it's Alaska :)

[paul929207]

Princess and HAL are the dominent cruise lines in Alaska. Each has about 6 ships there each summer.

[fleckle]

:confused: In Alaska it looks like the ports are pretty much the same, so we want to know who has the best ship?

 

Thoughts?

This is not the answer you want, but the honest answer to your question is that it depends on what features are important to you.

 

Best ship is very subjective, much like asking who has the best restaurant or best music or best car or best of just about anything else.

 

The best ship for me may not be the best ship for you.

 

For an Alaska cruise, the itinerary can also be an important consideration as well as the ports and the ship. The routing can make a big difference in the experience you have.

 

Where do you want your cruise to start and end?

Do you want to do any sightseeing in interior Alaska? If so, where?

[chipmaster]

Sometimes you sail because of ship for food, entertainment, service etc.

 

IMHO Alaska is all about so much more than the ports. Almost every line hits the same big 3 ports so that isn't the important thing! If you get a ship that is your favorite but miss Glacier Bay or Hubbard then you miss the biggest and most important thing.

 

So I would say find sailings that meet your budget and have Glacier Bay as the scenic is the most important thing!

[Keith1010]

Sometimes you sail because of ship for food, entertainment, service etc.

 

IMHO Alaska is all about so much more than the ports. Almost every line hits the same big 3 ports so that isn't the important thing! If you get a ship that is your favorite but miss Glacier Bay or Hubbard then you miss the biggest and most important thing.

 

So I would say find sailings that meet your budget and have Glacier Bay as the scenic is the most important thing!

 

I agree. To me Alaska is very much about the ports.

 

I would start by looking over the itinerary. Figure out where you want to begin and end the cruise. Some are R/T and do the Inside Passage. Others are North or South Bound allowing you to see some other areas.

 

I would try to find a cruise that includes Glacier Bay and if not Glacier Bay than Hubbard.

 

As you work the itinerary then see which cruise lines do the itineraries you are most interested in.

 

Then find the line you think will work for you based on your budget and your likes and dislikes.

 

The three cruise lines that have been doing Alaska for a very long time are: Princess, Celebrity and Holland but there are certainly many others out there as well.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done quite a Alaskan cruises -- HAL, Princess and NCL.

We enjoyed the cruises on HAL and Princess the best.

Ports are important to us. We check to see how long the ships will be in port.

Also we check to see which ships go to which glaciers. We prefer Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Tracy Arm is a little iffy as many times the ships can rarely get in close - out of 4 times we only made it there once. Only once we were not able to get up close to Hubbard.

[olemissreb]

I'll verify what everyone else has said - decide first what is important to you. Do you want a one way (Northbound or Southbound)? Roundtrip? Roundtrip from Seattle may be the cheapest, but do you sacrifice seeing some of the true beauty of Alaska (Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, short port times). Look carefully at the port times as well as itinerary.

 

What is important to you on the ship? Lots of activities? Relaxation? Look at all the ships that fit your requirements from above and then start pricing them out. One important thing to remember is the excursions will be more expensive than in the Caribbean. You will need to look at what you might want to do and add that to the cost of the cruise. There are ways to go independent and cheap and still get a great experience (or so I've read).

 

Having just gone through this whole exercise, I can give you a little insight as to how I arrived at my decision. I first thought I would just do a round trip, but when I looked at port times, I wasn't really happy with the amount of time (or lack) spent in port. I also discovered that the Northbound port times are also a little shorter than Southbound times. During all of this, I was able to convince my DH to do a week inland so we could go to Denali National Park and other sights. This helped me narrow things down to a Southbound cruise.

 

Next decision was which cruise line - RCI, Princess, or Celebrity. I quickly eliminated Princess because I discovered that there is more to do in and around Seward than Whittier (where Princess sails from) and I've read that the train ride from Anchorage to Seward is spectacular for it's scenery. While everything I've read says that Alaska is more laid back than a Caribbean cruise, I decided that RCI still has too many activities onboard for me to be able to truly relax after a busy week inland and busy excursions in port. That left Celebrity. Added bonus is Celebrity's very restrictive smoking policy. My kids will be 17 & 13 at the time of sailing, so I didn't think the kids program would be as important as it was when we sailed the Caribbean 2 years ago.

 

So now I'm booked for the cruise and am just biding my time before I can book our airfare (which I'm hoping will be free), hotels (hoping to get one free), trains and all of our tours.

 

Hope this helped a little. If you are still stuck between ship A and ship B, read some of the reviews here on the CC boards and that may be the nudge you need. Good luck! Maybe we'll see you on our cruise next year?

[Jana60]

I agree. To me Alaska is very much about the ports.

I would try to find a cruise that includes Glacier Bay and if not Glacier Bay than Hubbard.

As you work the itinerary then see which cruise lines do the itineraries you are most interested in. Keith

 

I agree with the above. I am going on my first Alaska Cruise on June 13th. I was told by about half the people I know to make sure I see Glacier Bay. I was told by the other half to make sure I see Hubbard Glacier. I researched and found out that Princess Cruise lines itinerary from Whittier (Anchorage) to Vancouver is the only one that includes BOTH Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Airfare is a little higher when going and coming from different ports so figure that in your budget but they have inner rooms for this Itinerary for as low as $499 per person. I usually prefer Carnival because there is so much more night life and party aboard and Princess pretty much closes down at midnight other than 1 disco but in this instance I want to be up early to see these beautiful Glaciers and scenery. This itinerary includes Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchican.

[ElvisAndretti]

I'll verify what everyone else has said - decide first what is important to you. Do you want a one way (Northbound or Southbound)? Roundtrip? Roundtrip from Seattle may be the cheapest, but do you sacrifice seeing some of the true beauty of Alaska (Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, short port times). Look carefully at the port times as well as itinerary.

 

What is important to you on the ship? Lots of activities? Relaxation? Look at all the ships that fit your requirements from above and then start pricing them out. One important thing to remember is the excursions will be more expensive than in the Caribbean. You will need to look at what you might want to do and add that to the cost of the cruise. There are ways to go independent and cheap and still get a great experience (or so I've read).

 

Having just gone through this whole exercise, I can give you a little insight as to how I arrived at my decision. I first thought I would just do a round trip, but when I looked at port times, I wasn't really happy with the amount of time (or lack) spent in port. I also discovered that the Northbound port times are also a little shorter than Southbound times. During all of this, I was able to convince my DH to do a week inland so we could go to Denali National Park and other sights. This helped me narrow things down to a Southbound cruise.

 

Next decision was which cruise line - RCI, Princess, or Celebrity. I quickly eliminated Princess because I discovered that there is more to do in and around Seward than Whittier (where Princess sails from) and I've read that the train ride from Anchorage to Seward is spectacular for it's scenery. While everything I've read says that Alaska is more laid back than a Caribbean cruise, I decided that RCI still has too many activities onboard for me to be able to truly relax after a busy week inland and busy excursions in port. That left Celebrity. Added bonus is Celebrity's very restrictive smoking policy. My kids will be 17 & 13 at the time of sailing, so I didn't think the kids program would be as important as it was when we sailed the Caribbean 2 years ago.

 

So now I'm booked for the cruise and am just biding my time before I can book our airfare (which I'm hoping will be free), hotels (hoping to get one free), trains and all of our tours.

 

Hope this helped a little. If you are still stuck between ship A and ship B, read some of the reviews here on the CC boards and that may be the nudge you need. Good luck! Maybe we'll see you on our cruise next year?

 

 

Thanks for the tips, I'm going to have to go look at itineraries again. I really didn't pay much attention to the amount of time in each port, major overisght.

[ElvisAndretti]

I agree with the above. I am going on my first Alaska Cruise on June 13th. I was told by about half the people I know to make sure I see Glacier Bay. I was told by the other half to make sure I see Hubbard Glacier. I researched and found out that Princess Cruise lines itinerary from Whittier (Anchorage) to Vancouver is the only one that includes BOTH Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Airfare is a little higher when going and coming from different ports so figure that in your budget but they have inner rooms for this Itinerary for as low as $499 per person. I usually prefer Carnival because there is so much more night life and party aboard and Princess pretty much closes down at midnight other than 1 disco but in this instance I want to be up early to see these beautiful Glaciers and scenery. This itinerary includes Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchican.

 

I was leaning towad HAL or Celebrity based on recommendations of folks that have been there. But on our recent trip on Carnival we would have missed out on stuff if were it not for some of the younger folks on board. We met interesting people of all ages, but after dinner the only people around were the younger (by younger I mean early 30's) people who wanted to stay up late and whoop it up.

 

I'm not sure how important that will be on an Alaska cruise, our interest is more aimed towards learning about history and wildlife and seeing sights. So we may not have a lot of energy left for late night goings on.

[ElvisAndretti]

We have done quite a Alaskan cruises -- HAL, Princess and NCL.

 

We enjoyed the cruises on HAL and Princess the best.

 

Ports are important to us. We check to see how long the ships will be in port.

 

Also we check to see which ships go to which glaciers. We prefer Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Tracy Arm is a little iffy as many times the ships can rarely get in close - out of 4 times we only made it there once. Only once we were not able to get up close to Hubbard.

 

I've heard about Tracy Arm before, I will certainly take that into account when we choose. Thanks.

[sherryf]

I'm not sure how important that will be on an Alaska cruise, our interest is more aimed towards learning about history and wildlife and seeing sights. So we may not have a lot of energy left for late night goings on.

 

Depending on your itinerary, you may have some very early mornings. For example, Ketchikan is often just half a day, maybe 7 AM to noon or 1, making it necessary to be up and out early if you want to do anything. I tend to be a night owl by nature, but on an Alaskan cruise, it's not uncommon for me to be in bed by 11, and I am usually exhausted by the last day after going, going, going all week. There are certain things I will stay up late for, but I can't do it every night.

[GORDONCHICK]

Something that people can tend to forget - the time difference! It's a big deal for so me - my DH has a hard time getting adjusted and is hungry for dinner about 4pm Alaska time. Keeping this in mind may be helpful when choosing a dinner seating if doing traditional dining. The time zone also comes into play for the early morning port days.

 

Aside from the glacier viewing day, the focus should be on the ports and the amount of time in port. First, figure out your budget - for both time and money. If both allow, a one-way cruise and a land trip would give the most time in Alaska. If not, then a round trip from either Seattle or Vancouver. If the cost of airfare difference on flying to Seattle vs Vancouver is an issue, mark off the more expensive one (usually Vancouver for most). These parameters will help you narrow down the choices.

[my3boysmom]

OP please let us know what you decide and why! I am hoping to do this cruise next.

[dmwnc1959]

Celebrity Cruises has the absolute best ships because I have cruised them and I know what I am talking about.

 

No, wait.

 

Princess has the best ships because I cruised them as well. They are the absolute best.

 

Wait a minute.

 

I also cruised Holland-America and it was really great as well. They are the best cruise line.

 

This may sound like some of the comments you've already received, huh?

 

I personally have cruised Alaska only five times on Princess, HAL, Celebrity, and Cruise West. There are people on here and over at the Alaska Boards that have cruised Alaska upwards of fifty times.

 

The itinerary and the amount of time you spend in port are the most important aspects you should be looking at first.

 

After you find the best itinerary that suits your needs, THEN narrow it down to a ship whose on boards service and amenities fits your needs.

 

Not all cruise lines visit the same ports, and not all ports are the same. If you really think so, then you haven't done enough homework. :cool:

 

Please take a few minutes and go back and read these threads. They are absolutely priceless when it comes to your question regarding BEST....

 

Best cruise line for Alaska

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1555001

 

Princess or Celebrity Alaska cruise???

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1553188

 

Why is everyione saying thet Princess or HAL is the way to do Alaska?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1612497

 

Which cruise would be best for us in Alaska?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1617910

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

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