First Cruise, Alaska Ship Choices and Tips?

[Fog123]

Hi,

 

We have decided to do an Alaskan Cruise with another couple. This will be a first cruise for all four of us.

 

Two of us are turning 50 this year and one slightly older and one slightly younger. Two of us are avid travellers, the others enjoy travelling but have 4 kids so don't do it as often as they would like. All of us love birding and scenery. None of us are smokers. We are all used to getting up at 5:00 am and going to bed correspondingly early. None of us are interested in partying. Two of us are plain eaters, the other two are more adventurous though one would prefer to be gluten free. We are casual rather than fancy.

 

One of us is a teetotaler, one of us would probably have a glass of wine at dinner, and the other two might drink a bit more but not hugely so.

 

One of us has a bad back so we have decided to do a Vancouver round trip 7 day cruise to limit flying (he's 6'4" and will be flying first class while the rest of us do cattle car). We live in the Toronto area.

 

We've also decided to upgrade to a balcony.

 

Our choices are the HAL Zaandam, the Celebrity Century, and the Island Princess. All four are similarly priced though the Century is about $750 more per couple (but comes with Concierge Class).

 

Is the concierge class worth it?

 

We've been reading about the ships and think that we're leaning towards the Century or the Zaandam. We are concerned that the Princess might be too active, but maybe we need to look more.

 

I've been reading the forums and each seems to have its pros and cons.

 

A question, if we're moderate in our tastes, what can we expect the additional bill to be like at the end of the cruise from the ship? I'm asking about the not-really-obvious costs that a newbie like me might not know about. Ship excursions are something that I can figure out on my own.

 

I guess I'm looking for anyone who would say "if I were you based on your information I would choose... or stay away from ...".

 

We're going in with an open mind and looking forward to it. Hoping to make the decision in the next week or so.

 

Thanks much for your help. Suggestions, encouragement, etc., all appreciated.

[Fog123]

You folks at Cruise Critic were instrumental in the success that was my mother's Scandinavian cruise a few years ago. Through you I learned to book a private tour in Russia, and other trips that I wouldn't have known about. Mom still talks about the trip, particularly Russia.

 

I will always speak of the forums proudly because of that.

 

Thanks so much.

[puppycanducruise]

My husband and I did our first cruise on the Volendam ( a sister ship to the Zaandam) in 2001 - we loved it.

We have only sailed with HAL, so I cannot offer any advice on comparisons. We like the size of the Volendam, about 1400 passengers and it's easy to learn your way around (important on a first cruise). There are lots of open decks and lounges to watch the scenery. I really enjoyed sitting in the Crow's Nest and watching the scenery sail by.

Remember to bring binoculars.

We have always enjoyed the food on HAL. The staff is excellent.

I would recommend that you fly to Vancouver the day (or so) before the cruise and enjoy that lovely city - no need to be stressed by flying in the morning of the cruise.

Have a great cruise.

[thinfool]

Many first time cruisers to Alaska feel it important to include Glacier Bay.

 

None of your choices include Glacier Bay. (Celebrity has no permits to enter Glacier Bay)

 

You mention the Island Princess. This ship is not doing round trips. Only one-way northbound or southbound 7 day itineraries. (It does tho, include Glacier Bay)

 

The Pacific Princess does round trips out of Vancouver. It includes Glacier Bay.

 

The Pacific Princess is one of two Princess ships that offers a 'small ship' experience.

[puppycanducruise]

I forgot to add, that the Volendam sails roundtrip out of Vancouver (on Wednesdays) and it includes Glacier Bay.

More choices!

[AmberCascades]

We were on the Century last year and we loved it. We were very busy with the ports so we didn't stay up late and we were up early every morning. We had Milos Radakovich (sp?) as the naturalist and he was so funny and interesting. We went to his lectures every day. The Century isn't a party ship, but there was a lot of entertainment around the ship if you wanted to go listen to jazz in this area or the guitar soloist in that area, etc.. We enjoyed the nightly shows and then retired soon after that. I believe there was dancing somewhere if someone wanted to stay up later and do that. My husband is celiac and he had no problem with gluten free options. We advised the special needs desk ahead of time so they would be prepared with GF options and we really enjoyed the food. The crew was also very friendly and made us feel like we were special guests. We thought Hubbard glacier was amazing and we got within 1/2 mile of it. We haven't seen Glacier Bay so can't say if one is better than the other. If you've never been to Alaska I'm sure you'll be awestruck no matter which itinerary you choose.

[Fog123]

Thanks so much for the replies.

 

You're right, it's the Pacific Princess that goes round trip, not the Island Princess. A typo on my travel agent's part.

 

Unfortunately the Pacific Princess doesn't do Glacier Bay for the dates that we're choosing. Instead it's the Tracy Arm Fjord, but from what I've been reading that's supposed to be spectacular in different ways.

 

Didn't realize the Volendam also went, and it goes to Glacier Bay. As you say, more choices.

 

So Glacier Bay is a must see relative to the other scenery that we'd see?

 

Thanks again for your help and enthusiasm.

[WisconsinFan]

Glacier Bay is amazing. It is a National Park and as mentioned before has a limit on the permits. HAL and Princess seem to get the most permits. It is a whole day cruising this bay. We saw mountain goats, eagles and wonderful scenery.

 

We enjoyed the service HAL provided as well. We are not in the typical HAL demographic and found it to be a wonderful cruiseline.

[perkydebrajean]

NCL also does Alaska cruises out of Seattle or Vancouver and they go to Glacier Bay. It's also more of a casual cruise line with no set formal nights so if you are flying then you don't have to worry about bringing formal clothes with you. They do have a designated "dress up or not" night where photographers will be out and you can choose to dress up as fancy as you want or not. And you will not be banned from the MDR on that night if you choose not to dress formally.

[Lerin]

Hi,

 

 

A question, if we're moderate in our tastes, what can we expect the additional bill to be like at the end of the cruise from the ship? I'm asking about the not-really-obvious costs that a newbie like me might not know about. Ship excursions are something that I can figure out on my own.

 

There really are no hidden costs on a cruise, though many will try to convince you otherwise. Everything that has an additional fee is clearly marked as such (gratuities, taxes, specialty dining, drinks, photos, spa, excursions, laundry, transfers...). And many of those things you can pay in advance so there is no big surprise on your last day. Aside from taxes and gratuities, they are all optional as well.

 

The only additional and unwritten cost would be additional tips. Such as for room service, or if you feel an employee goes above and beyond the expectation. Some people bring a stash of $1s or $5s to cover this. This of course is optional.

 

 

 

Based on your tastes it would seem HAL would best fit your needs, however any of them will be fine.

Have fun :)

[Hydrokitty]

Hi,

 

I guess I'm looking for anyone who would say "if I were you based on your information I would choose... or stay away from ...".

 

If it were me, I would choose Celebrity and avoid HAL, but I had a very bad experience on Holland America when we went to Alaska and I would not recommend them to anyone. Celebrity was fantastic through the Panama Canal last year. We were concierge level with a balcony and while I don't think Concierge is worth it, except for priority boarding, the balcony was wonderful. Like you, we don't party and drink wine with dinner but prefer the quiet time on our balcony. As for shore excursions in Alaska only one I would say is not to be missed is the Yukon RR, which takes pretty much the whole day, and include a very tasty box lunch. Some of the most popular excursions include helicopters to glaciers and adventure excursions like them. Our friends went on a couple and loved them. We had already done glacier hiking in Iceland and helicopteing in Hawaii and while they were fun, I didn't feel the need to do it again. All of the excursions were available on the ship and you will have many many tour guides lined up at the pier just waiting for you to come buy and book an excursion. They usually cost a lot less but the flip side to that is, if they get you back late, the ship may or may not wait for you. Alaska was wonderful and all of the land tours were outstanding. My problem with HAL was a cabin that vibrated all the time (you had to hold on in the shower) and food that was at best mediocre and at worst gave me food poisoning.

[Flatbush Flyer]

If you want a small ship experience (hundreds vs thousands of passengers), excellent food with no charge for specialty restaurants, free non-alcohol beverages and itinerary that covers inside and outside passages from Vancouver to Seattle, take a look at Oceania Regatta. Though base cabin prices will be higher than HAL or Celebrity, the right dates, OBC, air credit, and other TA provided perks may surprise you when you do the cost comparison. Regatta is getting some dry dock improvements this spring in time for summer in Alaska.

 

 

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[Cruisin' Chick]

We went on Princess for our Alaskan cruise, round trip from Seattle. Our cruise went through Tracey Arm Strait and not Glacial Bay. Both Princess and HAL seem to have the reputation for being the best at the itinerary even though there are some very small ships that can get into more inlets (they aren't mass market cruise lines so they would cost more money).

 

The Alaskan cruises are not known for being ones for partying on. They are more port intensive which means that passengers will tend to go to bed earlier to get up earlier (and certainly on the glacier cruising morning, everyone will be up bright and early).

 

As with all of the mass market lines, you can put in a request for gluten-free meals on Princess (I think they ask for a six-week minimum notice so they can get the items, but someone who has done this can let you know how far in advance. You can also get this info on the Princess website along with the fax or email address for sending in your request. You can also ask for low-fat and other types of diets. I know that when I asked for a low-cholesterol diet for hubby, the head waiter would come over every night with the next day's menu. Hubby would select his entree and that would be brought up for the next dinner.

 

No matter which cruise line and ship you select, be sure to take the advice of one poster above and get to Vancouver at least a day ahead of your cruise. In fact, I would book this flight myself and not go through the cruise line (many times they use consolidators and you might not get the best flights). Stay at least one day in Vancouver (I so want to see this city as I've heard it's great) and you'll be relaxed for your cruise. On some cruise lines, you can bring some wine and/or soda (Princess is one), and you can do a little shopping there to bring on beverages.

[Fog123]

All of this is such wonderful advice. We looked into the Oceana and are requesting a price quote. Now if we can just persuade the other couple to upgrade...

 

I will likely be flying to Vancouver a few days before and combine work with pleasure. Also pleasure in that I'll get to visit my favourite chocolate store, Chocolate Arts, yumm.

 

Fell free to continue with the suggestions, this is exactly the type of advice I was hoping for. Husband is getting very excited about the trip and these posts are helping.

 

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[Flatbush Flyer]

If you travel for work a lot and have Marriott points, look at the Marriotts in Vancouver and Seattle (at or near the waterfronts) for great pre/post hotels.

Also, if you fly through SFO this summer, note that two runways will be closed for safety upgrades, necessitating a larger precautionary time cushion between flights.

 

 

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[Teeara]

I didn't see that you mentioned WHEN you were planning on going. I would recommend NOT going in the month of May. We went the first week of May and it rained nearly every day and it was COLD.

 

My mother went in July and the weather was perfect, although they told her on the ship that the week before it had rained quite a bit (but not cold).

 

If you like to shop, do it in KETCHIKAN if you are stopping there. We liked the shopping there better than Skagway or Juneau.

 

Since you're planning on a RT it doesn't really matter which side of the ship you book your cabin on since you'll eventually see both sides.

 

If you like photography, book a photo safari out of JUNEAU. I was on Diamond Princess and the ship-sponsored tour was fantastic. Saw humpbacks, seals, hawks, sea lions and a killer whale longer than our boat went gliding by a scant 10 feet away from us! Best money I ever spent on a cruise.

 

Not sure what you mean by "too active" for Princess, but I have never found a Princess cruise to be "too active". Royal Caribbean and Carnival offer much more onboard ship, but Princess is much more sedate in comparison.

 

Just remember that you don't have to do everything that is offered onboard ship! One of the great things about cruising is that once you've been on one cruise you'll probably want to go on another one. That's when you start doing some of the things you might've missed on your other cruise.

 

Oh, and bring some extra $$$ to book a future cruise while you are still onboard the ship. You don't have to pick the exact cruise, but they usually give discounted deposit rates (only $100 pp rather than $250 pp for a balcony).

 

Good luck in your planning and have a lovely cruise!

 

Theresa

[Fog123]

You're right, we forgot to mention it. We're looking at the first or second week of July for travels.

 

I like the idea of the photo safari. Thanks for that advice.

 

Right now our idea of ship activity is to sit on our balconies and watch the world go by.

 

So wonderful.

[Essiesmom]

One of the nicest things about cruising is that you can do as much as you can handle...or nothing at all. You can eat continuously, or not at all. You can sleep until noon, or not at all. (Your cabin steward will hop that you leave it at some point so that he/she can empty the trash and refresh the towels...). As to gluten free, this is becoming so common that all one needs to do is speak to the maitre'd or head waiter the first night and they will take care of you. I have sailed Alaska twice, both times round trip back to back cruises on a Princess ship. The only excursions I have booked have both been in Anchorage, first time because I started and ended there, so took a tour on the way to the airport, since all flights from there are rather late. The second time we did a tour on our turn-around day. Would not hesitate to do it again. EM

[Hydrokitty]

If you can swing it, spend a few days in Vancouver and visit Butchart Gardens.....magnificent displays and very nice restaurant (cafeteria style)..we stayed at Pacific Rim hotel which is at the pier and had wonderful views, although the restaurant was quite pretentious and pricey. Plenty of other choices nearby. We took a short bus tour of the city for orientation and booked an all day excursion to Butchart.....ferry is a mini-cruise itself....what I liked most is no tour guide of the gardens...so you can spend your time about 4 hours doing whatever you please. PP correct about Ketchikcan...it was one of the best ports, along with Haines.

[travelbuddies]

I was wondering if there are a lot of tour companies & taxis waiting at the ports in Alaska wanting to sign you up for a tour?

Edited March 12, 2014 by travelbuddies

[Fog123]

I think we're narrowing it down. While we're drooling over the Oceania cruise, it works out to be about $3000 more. Husband and I are tempted, but our travelling partners have 3 kids in university and may not feel so generous.

 

It looks like Holland. The Zuiderdam and the Volendam both go to Glacier Bay which is a plus. Not sure which ship we'll land on, or what the final decisions will be. But we're looking forward to it.

 

And something may still come out of the blue that puts us in a different direction all together. We'll see.

 

Thanks so much for your help and feel free to continue to offer advice. It's all been very much appreciated.

[SA71]

If you can swing it, spend a few days in Vancouver and visit Butchart Gardens.....We took a short bus tour of the city for orientation and booked an all day excursion to Butchart.....ferry is a mini-cruise itself....what I liked most is no tour guide of the gardens...so you can spend your time about 4 hours doing whatever you please.

 

Butchart gardens is in Victoria, on Vancouver island...probably a 3.5 hr transit each way from the city of Vancouver (2 hr on a ferry and 1.5 hr driving).. Doable...but a really long day!!

 

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[Hydrokitty]

If you can swing it, spend a few days in Vancouver and visit Butchart Gardens.....We took a short bus tour of the city for orientation and booked an all day excursion to Butchart.....ferry is a mini-cruise itself....what I liked most is no tour guide of the gardens...so you can spend your time about 4 hours doing whatever you please.

 

Butchart gardens is in Victoria, on Vancouver island...probably a 3.5 hr transit each way from the city of Vancouver (2 hr on a ferry and 1.5 hr driving).. Doable...but a really long day!!

 

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I thought I mentioned that it was an all day excursion. We actually spent 4 hours in the gardens and the rest was travel time on the ferry. I think we left around 8 a..m and returned about 6 p.m. Ferry is not what we usually think of as a ferry, this is actually a very nice ship with restaurant and several lounges. Regardless of the long day Butchart is well worth the trip.

[Hydrokitty]

I was wondering if there are a lot of tour companies & taxis waiting at the ports in Alaska wanting to sign you up for a tour?

 

ABSOLUTELY!!! There will be dozens of them. Some of them have what look like permanent kiosks set up and if you don't approach them, they may approach you. I have never used one because I am paranoid about not getting back to the ship in time and if you booked a private excursion and the bus breaks down, or something else delays you back, the ship may or may not wait for you, whereas if you're on a ship excursion they will. As other posters have said, you can save a lot of money arranging your own tour and guide and the guide will tailor an excursion based on exactly what you want. The downside is you have no one to complain to if you're dissatisfied.

[Lulubelle45]

My 2 cents here, although I haven't done Alaska (will be this August on Century) I've sailed 2 Pacific coastal cruises on NCL Pearl AND HAL Zaandam. I'm in my early 50's and think the one best to fit your taste would be HAL. The food was amazing and ship very laid back as it gears to older clients. You can also take your own wine on board to have in your cabin, as much as you wish, which cuts down on the bat tab. They offered happy hours 2/1 drinks. NCL will charge you a fee even if you consume in cabin.

I'm traveling with a group so Celebrity wasn't my choice but I doubt I'll be disappointed. Cruising is the best part!

 

I would suggest doing Butchard Gardens if your port city is Victoria, otherwise you are looking at a long and costly day trip from Vancouver. It is worth it! 1 1/2 from Vancouver to ferry terminal 1 1/2 hr ferry ride and from the terminal to the gardens add 1/2 more, ferries run hourly in summer. See bcferries. Com

Good luck!

 

 

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