Alaska 2013: 10 days vs. 7 days

[kidz_rn]

Cruise Critic News Item:

 

"The 'biggest mistake' Oceania made with Alaska in 2011, according to CEO Frank del Rio, was focusing on long itineraries (10 -14 days) rather than week-long cruises. “There's a reason why [other cruise lines] aren't doing 10 – 14 day itineraries. No one wants them.” As a result, from late May of 2013, most of the Alaska voyages Oceania's Regatta sails will be seven-night trips between Vancouver and Seattle, by way of Sitka, Wrangell and Ketchikan (and scenic cruising in the Tracy Arm fjord). There will also be a sprinkling of longer cruises offered."

 

Who says "no one wants" a 10-day Alaska cruise? If we are flying from the East Coast to Seattle for what will likely be our one and only lifetime Alaskan cruise, why -- if we can afford it -- wouldn't we want 10 days of sailing instead of 7?

 

Guess I'll just have to look into the "sprinkling of longer cruises offered"!

[LHT28]

Who says "no one wants" a 10-day Alaska cruise? If we are flying from the East Coast to Seattle for what will likely be our one and only lifetime Alaskan cruise, why -- if we can afford it -- wouldn't we want 10 days of sailing instead of 7?

 

Guess I'll just have to look into the "sprinkling of longer cruises offered"!

Didn't you like any of the 10 day ones Oceania is offering?

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/searchresults.aspx?available=0&regionid=alaska&days=8.10

Lyn

[kidz_rn]

The San Francisco ones are out, May is too early, June is graduations & weddings month.

 

Looks like July 12-22 is our best bet.

[LHT28]

The San Francisco ones are out, May is too early, June is graduations & weddings month.

 

Looks like July 12-22 is our best bet.

Oh well better luck next time

[Love.II.Cruise]

I am kinda surprised by the lack of interest in cruises to Alaska that are more than 7 nights. We love to sail longer than 7 nights and typically try to do nothing less than 14 nights.

 

Last July, we did Alaska and felt our only option at that time of year was for a 7 night cruise (not Oceania). We spent some time in LA for a wedding, then did 3 nights in Anchorage, and then the cruise. It worked out okay. Next time I would do 2 back to back cruises in Alaska.

 

I understand many people love to do one week on land (or less) and another on a cruise, and I think this is why so many cruise lines just stick to max 7 nights.

 

Princess tried to do 14 night cruses on their smaller (bought R ships) and it didn't work. I would have sailed this had they not discontinued it.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We did the 10-day on Regent this May, San Francisco - Vancouver, and I loved that extra time. But, most of their itineraries throughout the summer are also 7 nights. But they are one-way itineraries, Vancouver-Anchorage, which make for more ports. The Oceania 7-day trips seem to only have Sitka and Ketchikan, plus Tracey Arm. Regent also stops at Juneau and Skagway, plus they do the Hubbard Glacier sail.

[bobndee]

We did Alaska last year - independent touring inland around Denali, etc. followed by a 7 day cruise to Vancouver. There's so much to see away from the coastline that we really wanted to go there, too.

 

I think that's why several lines offer "cruisetours" that combine a cruise with land tours. Princess and Holland America, if not more, have their own train cars they hook onto the Alaska Railroad trains for land tours for their guests. The combined packages can be anywhere from 10 to 14 or more days.

[hondorner]

This is probably one of the really, really rare times that I disagree with Frank. I don't think the longer cruises were the reason why Oceania had such a difficult time their first time in Alaska (2011). We sailed on the 12 day cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver and thoroughly enjoyed it, wishing only that it was a little longer! We got to see small ports and fjords that most cruise lines miss.

 

I think the problem is two-fold: a different demographic typically sails Alaska (families with kids), and they don't have the longer vacations or greater budgets needed for the longer cruises. And, the "traditional" Alaskan cruise lines (Princess, Celebrity, Holland America and Regent for luxury), and their traditi0onal 7 day cruises, have such a lock on the first thing a guest thinks of in Alaska.

 

I think Oceania's typical demographic (50 to 70, well-travleled, comfortable financially, empty nesters, retired with enough flexibility to handle the longer voyages) would be as thrilled with the longer cruises as we were. But, it's a tough market to crack, and will probably take a long time to build the reputation that the traditional cruises have. I'm not sure Oceania is willing to commit the resources to that long fight, considering the limited season and number of berths, even though I believe they would be successful in the long run.

 

Oceania tried the longer cruises in 2011 and was not satisfied with the results; they're trying to bump heads with the traditional 7 day cruises in 2014, and I'm not sure they'll be any happier, considering the "

Alaskan Juggernauts" they'll be up against.

 

The former Oceania Insignia will be rreturning from charter in April, 2014, just in time for the Alaska season; I wonder if that has any impact on their decision to return to Alaska?