Which cruise line for Alaska?

[surgie]

Planning a summer 2016 Alaska Inside Passage cruise for myself and husband (in our 50s). If choosing between RCCL and Celebrity for that itinerary, which would you choose? We will likely only do this itinerary once and we want to splurge on a suite.

[knittinggirl]

Round trip Seattle, or Vancouver to Anchorage? On the Vancouver to Anchorage, princess goes to glacier bay, but you have that long flight from anchorage. If you're doing a closed circuit, then either royal or celebrity.

 

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[surgie]

I hadn't gotten that far in planning to decide RT or one-way.

[rilco33647]

We did Celebrity Solstice out of Seattle last spring. It was out 2nd time on that ship. We are both 50. It's a very classy ship. Alaska is all about the scenery and ports! It was amazing!

[FLACRUISER99]

We did Celebrity Solstice out of Seattle last spring. It was out 2nd time on that ship. We are both 50. It's a very classy ship. Alaska is all about the scenery and ports! It was amazing!

I love RCI & X but Alaska I recommend Princess or HAL.

[buckirj1]

I think the Rhapsody...well, it'll most likely be the Jewel OTS by then...has a nice itinerary: long port times so you don't have to get up so early, and a long daytime stop in Victoria. I'd pick that one, if I sailed RCI or X.

[alfaeric]

Not sure if this stays the same or not, but we just did an Inside Passage Seattle sailing on the Rhapsody. The itinerary was to take us to Tracy Arm Fjord, but due to ice, the captain took us, instead, to a different glacier.

 

When we arrived back to Seattle, we shared ride to the rental car place, and the other couple sailed on Celebrity, who attemped and failed to make the Tracy Arm- they didn't see glaciers.

 

I'm quite happy that we did.

 

One more thing- you may be tempted by a Grand Suite- but I will suggest to book one of the aft corner JS- the views off the balcony that wraps around the ship (a little) is utterly amazing. We spent a good 5.5 hours out there the morning we did the Mendenhal Glacier.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Round trip Seattle, or Vancouver to Anchorage? On the Vancouver to Anchorage, princess goes to glacier bay, but you have that long flight from anchorage. If you're doing a closed circuit, then either royal or celebrity.

 

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We took the last NB cruise on the Radiance of the Sea in 2012. [Vancouver to Seward]

 

You need to plan an Alaska cruise differently than other cruises.

 

Your first decision should be how long can you be on vacation? If you only have a week then do a RT. It is not worth doing a one-way cruise if you can not extend the vacation a few days.

 

If you can be away even a few extra days do a one-way cruise. [A RT cruise only goes into the AK panhandle. You will have a great time--but, miss most of the state]

 

After you make the one-way or RT decision you will have many less cruises to look at. Then-- look at the ports/scenic cruises each ship has and the length of time they are in port. What interests you most? We had a priority for a whale watch, wanted to ride the train in Skagway and wanted to see glaciers/wildlife. Some ports are better for these than others.

 

Some ships go to Glacier Bay. I have heard that is great. Royal does not go there. We went to Hubbard glacier. We thought it was great, too--but, we did not see Glacier Bay and can not compare. The Glacier Bay/Hubbard glacier decision will narrow the choices even more.

 

Then decide your price point. Keep in mind to plan for plenty of money for excursions. We had an inside cabin and did not miss having the balcony. It was too rainy and/or cool to use it much on our cruise. I love balconies, but we decided to put our money into the excursions. [everything is more expensive in AK] But, you said you wanted a suite--go for it. I am sure you will love it.

 

You need to spend a lot of time reading the Alaska port of call message board. Here is the link. It was HUGE help planning this cruise.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

 

AK and the Panama Canal are our 2 favorite cruises

 

Here is a good website to help you look at the ports:

 

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/juneau.html

 

edit: OK--reread this and it sounds preachy. I did not mean to be. :) It is just that I made some mistakes because I did not realize an AK cruise is different. I did a cruise and tour. I could have done that cheaper and tailored it to our tastes. However, the couple we were with was SO HAPPY that they did not have to deal with their luggage and the whole tour was planned.

 

YMMV

Edited July 16, 2014 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Lars2014]

I've done HAL, Celebrity, Princess and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity wins hands down in Alaska with HAL coming in second. Would not do Princess or Royal in Alaska again.

[negc]

I love RCI & X but Alaska I recommend Princess or HAL.

 

Our first cruisetour in Alaska was on Princess (Dawn Princess) and we enjoyed it very much. Our second was on RCI (Radiance of the Seas) and we thought that every aspect of the RCI cruise tour (train cars, lodging, dedicated tour guide, excursions included, and itinerary ) was superior to what Princess provided. Both lines have been operating in Alaska for enough years that I don't believe that Princess of HAL'a longevity there gives them any significant advantage.

[molly2kit]

I have done HAL, Celebrity, Disney and Princess to Alaska. They were all wonderful. Have done Vancouver return, one way to Anchorage and Vancouver to Seattle. In hindsight, Disney was more about characters and not so much about Alaska but I was with my 2 grandkids and we all had fun.

 

IMO you can't go wrong, no matter who you cruise with - I do prefer the scenery on a route on the inside of Vancouver Island and last year was the first time in Anchorage which I loved.

 

The next time I go....I want to fly to Anchorage first, do my own tour with a rental car first and then cruise south.

 

It is a great place to cruise and I would do it every year if I could.

[cjdixon4]

I haven't booked an Alaska cruise, but many of my friends have. None of them have booked through RCCL; they typically use Holland or Princess and speak highly of them. In fact, I don't see a lot of reviews of Alaska itineraries in the Royal threads.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I love RCI & X but Alaska I recommend Princess or HAL.

 

ditto. Was going to say the same thing.

 

Bill

[SamboniMan]

I've done both the Rhapsody of the Seas and the Golden Princess...both round trip from Seattle and with the Tracy Arm itinerary. Princess was SUPERIOR to RCCL in EVERY possible category. We are looking into maybe going again next summer and aren't even considering RCCL. I think we've narrowed it down to Princess or Celebrity this time around.

Edited July 16, 2014 by SamboniMan

[FLACRUISER99]

Our first cruisetour in Alaska was on Princess (Dawn Princess) and we enjoyed it very much. Our second was on RCI (Radiance of the Seas) and we thought that every aspect of the RCI cruise tour (train cars, lodging, dedicated tour guide, excursions included, and itinerary ) was superior to what Princess provided. Both lines have been operating in Alaska for enough years that I don't believe that Princess of HAL'a longevity there gives them any significant advantage.

My last trip on Rhapsody 5/16/14 left a lot to be desired. No naturalist on board, poor speakers, no information on the wildlife to be spotted, in fact no one even said anything about Seymour Narrows. If it wasn't for the great crew and Captain Rob giving us a wonderful trip to see the glacier it wouldn't of had many redeeming features. This was my 1st Alaska an RCI 5th Alaska trip overall and I would rank it #5.

[tidygirl]

If at all possible do some land portion along with your cruise! We did a motorhome rental for several days then a cruise we would have missed so much only doing the cruise! We took our kids late teens and young adults and they say the same thing.

[Onessa]

We've done several AK cruises - all either NB or RT. Two RCCI, one HAL, one Princess, one NCL, and two with two different lines that are no longer in operation.

 

My favorite was RCCI on Radiance of the Seas. That ship (Radiance-class) is designed for the inside passage! There is so much to see and Radiance has the glass through which to view it.

 

The Glacier Bay vs Hubbard Glacier debate will rage forever. Hubbard is HUGE, Glacier Bay is several glaciers. Eitherway it is a lot of gorgeous scenary! :)

 

I would book primarily based upon itinerary (that is where RCCI tends to be at a disadvantage, it that it does not cruise to my favorite port - Sitka). And then by size of ship (bigger is not always better).

 

For itinerary check ports and time in ports. If you can hit one or more of the lesser-visited ports (like Sitka or Petersburg or Wrangall or the like) put that up a bit higher on your list. Ketchikan, Skagway and even Junuea are getting way too touristy. I prefer NB over RT, and cannot imagine a SB - but that is me. The inside passage just seems to get more and more enchanting and beautiful as you head north. See if you can get a cruise that is scheduled to dock at most ports (tendering just wastes time)

 

I'd stay clear of the megaships. On RCCI for example, I'd go no larger than Radiance class!

 

But all likes do a great job in AK.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

. . . In fact, I don't see a lot of reviews of Alaska itineraries in the Royal threads.

 

This is a link to the NB Radiance cruise we did. There are lots of pictures.

 

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

[cjdixon4]

This is a link to the NB Radiance cruise we did. There are lots of pictures.

 

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

 

 

Thanks Dragon, I'll check it out!