Cruise lines for Seward or Anchorage to Vancouver

[NoobCruise]

I am looking at sailing the Seward or Anchorage to Vancouver route and am looking at the various cruise lines trying to decide which would be a better fit. We like the itinerary with Hubbard Glacier, Icy Straits Point, Skagway, and Tracy Arm since we haven't been there yet. I'm asking broad end questions just looking for opinions, and I know everyone's opinions on the same thing are different.

 

We sailed on Carnival Elation in 2003. It was fun but we like a little more class and a lot less party. It was a little too much spring break for us. We don't drink much and prefer a quieter relaxing vacation.

 

We sailed on HALs Westerdam in September and enjoyed it very much, although it would be nice to have a little more entertainment going on in the evenings. The ship seemed to get very quiet after 10pm unless you were in the casino. We're not looking for a big party, but some live music somewhere would be nice.

 

I'm currently looking at balconies on RCI Radiance of the Seas, NCL Sun, and Celebrity Millenium. I really like this itinerary, so I'm interested in opinions from anyone who has sailed any of them. Am I missing a cruise line?

 

Cigarette smoking is a bit of a concern because I have asthma. How bad is the smoking on balconies? Please don't start a smoking argument on the right or wrong of smoking. I'm simply asking how avoidable it is for health reasons. It was fairly easy to avoid on the Westerdam because I mapped out the smoking locations and was able to avoid them. Yes, I know Princess doesn't allow smoking on balconies, but I like the itineraries on these better.

 

How do the cabins compare in size and amenities? We're just looking at a standard balcony.

 

How's the service and friendliness of the crew?

 

How does the food compare? How are the desserts??? I was disappointed in HALs desserts which were bland and had a weird soggy consistency.

 

If you were choosing for this itinerary, which would you choose and why?

[Italy52]

We have cruised on RCI's Radiance of the Seas (4 times) and Celebrity's Millennium (4 times) to Alaska. For us, the lines are pretty close --- the deciding factor for us is no smoking in the cabin, on the balcony or in the casino on the Millennium.

 

We are Platinum on RCI and Elite on Celebrity and found the perks to be better on Celebrity.

 

Cabin sizes were very similar.

 

We love itineraries with Hubbard Glacier and Icy Strait Point included --- we like glaciers and whale watching. Tried to get into Tracy Arm on a Princess cruise once and had no luck. We are going on RCI in July and will attempt once more. Still, our glacier preference is Hubbard.

 

Crew was about the same on both lines.

 

We found HAL's food to be bland. Never found any complaints with RCI or Celebrity. We are not "foodies" and always seem to find something to keep us satisfied. We do like the pastries on the Millennium's Cafe Al Baccio (SP?) --- yum!

[NoobCruise]

We have cruised on RCI's Radiance of the Seas (4 times) and Celebrity's Millennium (4 times) to Alaska. For us, the lines are pretty close --- the deciding factor for us is no smoking in the cabin, on the balcony or in the casino on the Millennium.

 

We are Platinum on RCI and Elite on Celebrity and found the perks to be better on Celebrity.

 

Cabin sizes were very similar.

 

We love itineraries with Hubbard Glacier and Icy Strait Point included --- we like glaciers and whale watching. Tried to get into Tracy Arm on a Princess cruise once and had no luck. We are going on RCI in July and will attempt once more. Still, our glacier preference is Hubbard.

 

Crew was about the same on both lines.

 

We found HAL's food to be bland. Never found any complaints with RCI or Celebrity. We are not "foodies" and always seem to find something to keep us satisfied. We do like the pastries on the Millennium's Cafe Al Baccio (SP?) --- yum!

 

I didn't realize the smoking policy was so tight on the Millenium - +1 for Millenium!

 

We were booked for Tracy Arm in Sept and it was cancelled due to weather :(

 

I agree about HALs bland food. I even said "bland" in my review. We did always find something to eat, but it wasn't anything to gush about. It probably isn't a deciding factor as long as it's not horrible lol But great food would be a plus.

[Northern Aurora]

I didn't realize the smoking policy was so tight on the Millenium - +1 for Millenium!

 

Celebrity has an extremely restrictive smoking policy. We did two cruises with them in 2008; during the first one smoking was allowed on one side of the casino, but by November 2008 the casino was totally non-smoking. Years ago smoking was allowed on one side of an interior bar, but no more. Smoking is now prohibited in all inside bars.

 

On Celebrity smoking is currently prohibited in staterooms, on stateroom balconies, and in all inside venues and bars. Casinos are non-smoking. Smoking is allowed in the Sunset Bar (aft outside bar) on the port side, and in several other port outside locations (generally a maximum of three additional outside locations on the large S-class ships and but on some of the smaller ships I think that there are only two other outside locations to smoke).

 

My husband and I are both non-smokers. My husband in particular finds the smell very difficult to tolerate. We rarely even smell cigarette smoke on other passengers.

[dsw39]

I didn't realize the smoking policy was so tight on the Millenium - +1 for Millenium!

 

We were booked for Tracy Arm in Sept and it was cancelled due to weather :(

 

I agree about HALs bland food. I even said "bland" in my review. We did always find something to eat, but it wasn't anything to gush about. It probably isn't a deciding factor as long as it's not horrible lol But great food would be a plus.

 

We prefer NCL for freestyle dining and usually a lower price than other lines. We are doing b2b from Vancouver. The port times on the return are shorter than the north bound leg. The last time we were in Alaska, we went to Tracy's Arm and missed the glaciers as it was to late in the day.

The opportunity ti visit Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier are the main reasons for this trip. Icy Strait looks like an interesting new port and we look forward to whale watching there. Food has deteriorated on all cruiselines over the years. NCL is just fair for their offerings. We have sailed the Sun all over the world and find it to be a very comfortable ship.

Dave

[Budget Queen]

We prefer NCL for freestyle dining and usually a lower price than other lines. We are doing b2b from Vancouver. The port times on the return are shorter than the north bound leg. The last time we were in Alaska, we went to Tracy's Arm and missed the glaciers as it was to late in the day.

The opportunity ti visit Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier are the main reasons for this trip. Icy Strait looks like an interesting new port and we look forward to whale watching there. Food has deteriorated on all cruiselines over the years. NCL is just fair for their offerings. We have sailed the Sun all over the world and find it to be a very comfortable ship.

Dave

 

This ship does not go to Seward. It ports in Whittier.

[Budget Queen]

I have sailed all the major lines in Alaska with the exception of Disney. Alaska is not the Caribbean with ship activities. Demographics are similar on All lines. Last year sailed both Princess and HAL. For some, it may be what is outside the ship, that is important. Ports, time in ports, route, glaciers, price etc are all important in my selections- but I am very flexable, and can be since I go so often. Would not be the case for many people. So I suggest, take your time, don't jump into the first booking deal that comes along, a better one is likely to follow. :) Especially those first timers, or infrequent visitors, it's all great.

[seaver]

I have been on about 30 different ships over the years and RCI Radiance of the Seas is far the one with the most glass and the feeling your on a ship,which in my opinion is perfect for a Alaskan cruise.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We took the Radiance of the Seas this past summer. [NB] We loved it. We did not notice lots of pax smoking. The casino was the only place I noticed it. [They had one smoke free night in the casino].

 

I did a "Live" thread on our cruise. You can look at photos of the ship. Radiance does not go into Glacier Bay. We loved Hubbard Glacier. Here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232

 

 

Are you going to add on days? Do yourself a favor and add on days for Seward and/or Denali.

[NoobCruise]

I have sailed all the major lines in Alaska with the exception of Disney. Alaska is not the Caribbean with ship activities. Demographics are similar on All lines. Last year sailed both Princess and HAL. For some, it may be what is outside the ship, that is important. Ports, time in ports, route, glaciers, price etc are all important in my selections- but I am very flexable, and can be since I go so often. Would not be the case for many people. So I suggest, take your time, don't jump into the first booking deal that comes along, a better one is likely to follow. :) Especially those first timers, or infrequent visitors, it's all great.

 

As always, thanks for your sage advice Budget Queen! The itinerary and what's outside the ship is absolutely what's most important to us. The rest are details and fluff. I have noticed Celebrity and RCI seem to have several hours longer in port than HAL. That's a big plus. As far as flexibility, unfortunately DH doesn't have that luxury. He has to put in for vacation several months in advance and often ends up working on the phone on vacation anyway :( That's one of the nice things about cruising. The phone is turned off and into the safe and we don't even take our computers.

[NoobCruise]

We took the Radiance of the Seas this past summer. [NB] We loved it. We did not notice lots of pax smoking. The casino was the only place I noticed it. [They had one smoke free night in the casino].

 

I did a "Live" thread on our cruise. You can look at photos of the ship. Radiance does not go into Glacier Bay. We loved Hubbard Glacier. Here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232

 

 

Are you going to add on days? Do yourself a favor and add on days for Seward and/or Denali.

 

I'm leaning towards the Millenium now, but I think we'll have an amazing time on either so if I see a great deal on the Radiance of the Seas, I'll jump on it.

 

I was emailing DH info and itineraries yesterday. Last night he emailed back that he's looking at a land trip. He wants to see Denali. So I'm not sure if it will be a DIY add on, or if we'll only do the land trip and skip the cruise. I would like to do another cruise, but I planned our last Alaska adventure so he's planning the next one. I'm just giving him little nudges along the way ;)

 

I'm going go read your review right now :) I missed it last summer. Your first post was on the day I woke up very sick. The next few days were spent scrambling to finish packing and we set sail on Sept 1st, so it looks like we were sailing Alaska at the same time, except we did roundtrip out of Seattle to Glacier Bay. We sure got lucky with weather :)