Planning for 2015 - I'm overwhelmed - where do I start?

[lmkucala]

We're planning a trip for August of 2015 and after browsing this forum a bit I still have no idea where to start. All I've discovered so far is we should probably pick a ship based on itinerary - i.e. where we want to go - but so far I don't even know how to decide that! I need to decide on:

- ship

- itinerary

- where to start/end

- where we should spend an extra 3-4 days before or after cruise

 

Here's what I do know:

- we will take a 7 day cruise (myself, DH, and DS who will be almost 12)

- we will extend for a few days (3-4 maybe?) before or after - open to either a cruisetour or booking tours on our own which I expect may be better

- we're open in terms of leaving and arriving from Seattle, Vancouver, or wherever is best (our home base is Minneapolis if that makes a difference)

- we like to hike, see wildlife, and a variety of sites

- we have never been to Alaska before, and don't expect we will have an opportunity to repeat this trip at least in the near future

- we like a variety

- obviously never been to Alaska - have been to Seattle before so no desire to spend time or stop there unless it's most practical

 

Is there a "starter" guide or site somewhere that can help me at least get started? I don't feel like I even know enough yet to ask smart questions here about anything specific!

 

Thanks!

Lisa

[April7901]

The first decisions I tried to make were:

 

-Round-trip or One-way?

Did I want to leave and return to the same city? Or did I want to go further up into Alaska (i.e. Denali, etc) and incur the additional flight expense?

 

-Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm?

These may only be relevant if thinking about a RT from Vancouver or Seattle (which was ultimately what I sort of decided on), but this was the next point I made.

 

Do you have a preferred cruise line? Would you be willing to change lines based on itinerary? For me, I really like NCL and wasn't really willing to consider another line, so that narrowed down my ship and itinerary options very quickly.

 

The cruise port reviews are fairly good here on CC. I also use Cruise Diva for port reviews.

 

If you're *really* stuck, there are a couple of great books out there on cruising in Alaska that can help with decisions. I settled on these two:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-By-Cruise-Ship-Edition/dp/1927747031/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411416937&sr=8-3&keywords=cruise+alaska

 

http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Handbook-Mile---Mile/dp/0979491576/ref=la_B00J7Z6CHO_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411416972&sr=1-1

[bedford5]

I am in the middle of planning our Alaska adventure for august 2015. The date was easy to pick as this was the best time for our group to travel.

As for itinerary, pick a cruise that includes the glaciers, hubbard or glacier bay. These are spectacular. Our first Alaska cruise departed and ended in seattle and didn't include either glaciers. We learned quickly and sailed a southbound cruise from seward Alaska to Vancouver. WOW!!! Hubbard glacier was amazing. Its been 5 years and we are booked to do another southbound cruise.

Our group is from California and we are flying in a few days early to do some sight seeing. We felt it easier to do the land tour first and recover after on the cruise. We only have 3 days prior to the cruise, so we are doing a DIY land tour. We want to see anchorage, denali, and spend a day before the cruise in Seward. Very easy to book the rental car, hotel. These are all available to book now. We chose Royal Caribbean because it is the cruiseline we are most familiar with and like, so why fix what isn't broken!

Anyways, hope this helps, and read the reviews that are on here. There are a lot of great ideas and tips that I have booked! (Thanks Budget Queen!). Good luck and have fun planning. Alaska is Amazing!!!

[lmkucala]

I am in the middle of planning our Alaska adventure for august 2015. The date was easy to pick as this was the best time for our group to travel.

As for itinerary, pick a cruise that includes the glaciers, hubbard or glacier bay. These are spectacular. Our first Alaska cruise departed and ended in seattle and didn't include either glaciers. We learned quickly and sailed a southbound cruise from seward Alaska to Vancouver. WOW!!! Hubbard glacier was amazing. Its been 5 years and we are booked to do another southbound cruise.

Our group is from California and we are flying in a few days early to do some sight seeing. We felt it easier to do the land tour first and recover after on the cruise. We only have 3 days prior to the cruise, so we are doing a DIY land tour. We want to see anchorage, denali, and spend a day before the cruise in Seward. Very easy to book the rental car, hotel. These are all available to book now. We chose Royal Caribbean because it is the cruiseline we are most familiar with and like, so why fix what isn't broken!

Anyways, hope this helps, and read the reviews that are on here. There are a lot of great ideas and tips that I have booked! (Thanks Budget Queen!). Good luck and have fun planning. Alaska is Amazing!!!

 

This sounds like an amazing trip right here/above. I might just copy this or something along these lines! I like the idea of a few days of DIY sightseeing before getting on the cruise, and this seems like a very good variety.

 

Thanks for the tips!

[mapleleaves]

If you have the time, I'd suggest a one-week cruise NB or SB in order to spend several days in Alaska for land travel. If you can't afford more time, a RT cruise, based out of Vancouver.

 

Vancouver because the ships sail between the mainland and Vancouver Island so more scenic and less chance for rough sea. Seattle departures sail on the west side of Vanc Island therefore ocean scenery and a greater potential for rough seas.

 

As for an itinerary I'd choose Glacier Bay every time. But that's me. There are only several ports so it's easy enough to research. There are a few books specific to Alaska cruises; Ann Vipond has Alaska by Cruiseship, Fodor has Alaska Ports of Call. The books discuss cruiselines, ships, itineraries, ports, excursions, DIY activities, etc. They will be a great resource. Perhaps your library has them or can get them for you. Pick up some other Alaska travel books as well in order to learn more about the destinations.

 

Another great resource are the trip reports listed in the STICKYS above. Many of them are photo journals so they include fantastic photos from the trip. If kids are included, the first line will usually indicate a family cruise. (If you look at the 2013 list, start with reply #45 where the reports are sorted by cruiseline/ship). There is a report still in the works on the front page .... look for a thead by brusselsgirl.

 

When you narrow down your choices, look carefully at port times. Make sure you're in port long enough and at the right time of day to accomplish planned activities. Also,, if you have specific priorities, like bear viewing, be aware that there are specific windows of time and those peak times vary by location.

 

The books and trip reports will get you started. Have fun with the research and planning ... it's half the fun !

Edited September 22, 2014 by mapleleaves

[AryMay]

I can sympathize! I was in the same predicament last year! I know I was so confused that I was ready to forget the whole trip and just plan another cruise to the Caribbean…something I am much more familiar with. But...although it was overwhelming at first, I am so glad we made the trip!

 

Cruise Critic is a wealth of information. As has already been suggested, begin by reading some of the reviews from this summer and maybe even a year or two back. There is a “sticky” post at the top of this page that has links to these reviews all compiled nicely together.

 

As a fellow Minnesotan, I will also give a plug for my review from our cruise this summer. It has a lot of information on what we did plus tons of photos since those were the kind of reviews that helped me so much with my planning. Here is the link. But I must warn you…it is very long! Get a cup of coffee and settle in! And…I would be happy to try and answer any questions you may have after reading it!

 

Click on this link to get to my review: Alaska Photojournal – Coral Princess + DIY Land Tour May 28 – June 9, 2014

 

Basically I looked at my trip planning as a puzzle and after lots of reading and research the pieces slowly but surely came together to make a wonderful trip with memories to last a lifetime!

 

 

[bonvoyagie]

OK, most all of AK will satisfy your likes of wildlife, hiking etc.

 

While it probably does not matter, I would do a Northbound cruise and then spend your 3-4 days exploring the interior. I would make sure that the cruise includes Glacier Bay and perhaps Hubbard Glacier. I would look at availability of flights - you might find that flights to Anchorage are more convenient for you than flights from. Also some people would rather make their longest flights first - some prefer to do them last.

 

You will land in either Whittier or Seward - and your flights will be out of Anchorage. BTW there are lots of things to do in both of these ports. And you can easily spend several days exploring just the Kenai Peninsula.

 

The other option is to head straight for Denali and see that area.

 

I believe that Princess is the only line to offer a cruise tour that offers a train ride directly from the port to Denali 11hrs of train ride- the usual AK RR requires an overnight stop in Anchorage.

 

Doing a one way cruise you will either start or end in Vancouver BC - Something to consider in your flights would be to arrange a RT out of Seattle and take the train or bus between SEA and VAN. Then book a single flight between ANC and SEA. - I hope that made sense :D.

 

Some websites that might help you are:

www.cruiseportinsider.com

www.alaskatravel.com

www.travelalaska.com

 

Good Luck

[MpwdMom]

I can sympathize! I was in the same predicament last year! I know I was so confused that I was ready to forget the whole trip and just plan another cruise to the Caribbean…something I am much more familiar with. But...although it was overwhelming at first, I am so glad we made the trip!

 

Cruise Critic is a wealth of information. As has already been suggested, begin by reading some of the reviews from this summer and maybe even a year or two back. There is a “sticky” post at the top of this page that has links to these reviews all compiled nicely together.

 

As a fellow Minnesotan, I will also give a plug for my review from our cruise this summer. It has a lot of information on what we did plus tons of photos since those were the kind of reviews that helped me so much with my planning. Here is the link. But I must warn you…it is very long! Get a cup of coffee and settle in! And…I would be happy to try and answer any questions you may have after reading it!

 

Click on this link to get to my review: Alaska Photojournal – Coral Princess + DIY Land Tour May 28 – June 9, 2014

 

 

AryMay! I loved your photojournal! As soon as we booked the Coral Princess for next May, I found your review and was completely taken with everything. It was beautiful - your pictures, attention to detail (giving prices for even ordinary expenses) advice on everything...(I've committed to memory "Make sure your camera is set to correct date and time!") and your all around good humor and sensible nature. I am even considering buying your camera after you said you mostly used the auto setting.

 

My husband & I and my sister & her husband have cruised the Caribbean several times, but this is our first trip to Alaska. Please know that you have added to our enjoyment in planning it! Thank you!

 

 

[Maeshel]

I have never cruised to Alaska ( if you don't count the Alaskain Marine Hiway system), but have a sister that has lived up there for 25 yaers. I have been to Alaska 9 times now. The state is big, I believe 10x the area of Texas, that it is hard to see everything in one trip. I still find things to see.

If it is once in a lifetime I would definitely check into a one way cruise with a land/sea option.

If you are planning a few days in Alaska, check out Alasaka Railroad. Take the train from port to Anchorage. Next day take it from Anchorage to Denali. If time permits you can take it up to Fairbanks and explore that area. Fly back home from there. You will see a lot of the country that way.

If you port at Whitter there is a Glacier boat tour, I believe it was called 21 Glacier tour, which was great.

 

I keep thinking of other things. If you are going to rent aa car and drive your self you may want to buy the Milepost book. They have a website. The book has routes mapped out. As the name implys, it list milepost enroute with things to see and do.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Maeshel

[EatSleepCruise]

You sound like us last year, before we booked our Alaskan Cruise on Celebrity Solstice that we just returned from earlier this month. The ship was amazing and the trip itself truly memorable!

 

 

We have plans to go back to Alaska in a few years to do it again and take a different route, as this traveled route trip from Seattle, and only did Tracy Arm. Celebrity Solstice is the largest ship in Alaska, so if you are looking for a mega ship in the region, this is your best bet. They do offer cruise tours, if you are interested.

 

Next time, we will definitely do something one-way, and leave from Vancouver as many have already suggested, on a smaller ship.

We love Royal Caribbean, and I know many people like the Radiance of the Seas Alaskan cruise that leaves from Vancouver. It was on our list, but did not sail late in the season.

 

Other popular ships are Princess and Holland America, and we saw them during our recent Alaskan cruise. I have not sailed on any of their ships, so we would want to check those boards to get more information.

 

Cruise Critic is the ULTIMATE guide. Start with the Alaska Cruise destination page and go from there.

 

Also, ask questions on these forums. So many awesome cruisers are here to help with the cruise planning, as that is half the fun of the vacation!

[plumie]

We just got back from a 7 day southbound cruise. The first time we cruised we did a RT Seattle which made more sense for the flight price wise. If however, you can swing it, I highly suggest a NB or SB cruise - you see so much more! We didn't do Glacier Bay this time, though we hit Hubbard and Tracy Arm Fjord and I thought they were both incredible. Hubbard is awesome because you can see it calve repeatedly (awesome. I can't even describe it) and Tracy Arm Fjord is just beautiful. You may or may not get to see Sawyer Glacier at the end, but the cruise to it is the best part in my opinion.

 

We did a total of 6 nights in Alaska prior to our SB cruise - 2 in Anchorage and 4 in Fairbanks to see the aurora borealis (saw it 2 out of our 4 nights. I have a trip report somewhere here - I think it may still be on the front page - if you're interested in photos) and then the 7 day cruise to decompress, especially since the second day was going to be a sea day. I like sailing SB because you get the LONG flight over with initially, and because you're excited about GOING on vacation, you (or I) don't mind it as much. I much prefer the shorter flight at the end when I'm sad about going home. If you could do a few days AHEAD of a SB cruise in Alaska, I would highly recommend it. My big regret for this last trip was we didn't get to go into Denali (though we did see Denali!), but our priority was the Northern Lights, so we didn't schedule any time in the park.

 

But Cruise Critic was the biggest planning tool we used. Once we narrowed down which dates we wanted (early September) then it was a matter of which glaciers we wanted to see (narrows down which cruise lines). Then it's just a matter of preference as to which cruise line suits your cruising style. Then I hit up the forums here for trip planning as well as Tripadvisor for each of the ports/cities we were visiting for ideas and how to spend each day.

 

Best of luck to you! Trip planning is half the fun!

[leeroyboy]

We're going in June 2015, 4 days on land and 7 day cruise, southbound. We fly into Anchorage and will go to Denali and Talkneeta and Alyeska. We are not independent travelers so we booked everything thru Royal Caribbean. Though during our time in Anchorage, Denali, etc we will have time to ourselves and have done some research on the different places to see what we will do while we're there. We did do Princess 10 years ago and thought we'd try Royal Caribbean this trip. We like going southbound though because when you are on the land portion whether you do it independently or thru the cruise line you figure you are in and out of hotels and suitcases and pretty active, so the southbound cruise let's you relax and enjoy the last 7 days before you go home. The first time we did 7 days roundtrip cruise only and flew into Vancouver, the last time and this time we are actually flying into Fairbanks (the last time we went 10 years ago) and this trip we are going to Anchorage. Yes, it's overwhelming but believe me it will be worth it once you get it together. Good Luck.

[LEtue]

I would definitely recommend that you choose a southbound itinerary that includes Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay and one of the Princess ships. HAL is another great choice.....

 

This will give you great viewing and plenty of port time. It will work well for the pre-cruise plans you have to Denali and if you make future trips - you can do alternate ports with other cruise lines that can't enter Glacier Bay.

 

Check out the Coral, Star and Grand Princess and see if one of the sailings works for you :)

 

Have fun planning!

[lmkucala]

Thanks everyone for all of the tips! I'm definitely thinking North or South bound on Princess, we 3-4 days on land (independently - will rent car, etc.). I like the idea of doing the land portion first, and therefore doing a Southbound cruise after. The only thing that has me leary about this is the comment that as you go North the sites get better and better, and part of me likes the idea of working up to things, as opposed to maybe being disappointed as we go South because the best is further North?

 

I'm sure it's all beautiful so maybe there is enough variety regardless of whether we go Northbound or Southbound!

 

Decisions decisions!

[LEtue]

Having done both I don't think you could possibly be disappointed with either - especially since this is your first trip.

 

Also consider your air/hotel/tranfer needs. I like to get the long flight over and relax on the southbound trip. Flying home from Vancouver gets me home the same day with no overnight flight :)

 

Consider the whole trip and make it work for you :) You will have a wonderful trip no matter what you choose :D

[donaldsc]

Try the library. They probably have lots of books on AK.

 

DON

[B-n-A]

Since you have extra days consider flying into Fairbanks for a land tour to Denali with a south bound cruise either into Vancouver or Seattle and for the land portion try to find one with the train rather than the same places by bus. We can give you lots of reasons why and other info if you like. Not necessarily seasoned Alaska tourists, but a cruise out of Seattle and back wasn't enough so we just completed the tour above.

[plumie]

I've never done a NB cruise, but I actually was not disappointed in the scenery going SB. We debarked in Vancouver and I actually thought it was very pretty scenery the last sea day sailing towards Vancouver. It certainly didn't go unappreciated that it got warmer the further south we sailed. We'd already spent a week and a half frozen at that point and welcomed the sun. Also, there were whale sightings on the last sea day (before hitting Vancouver) and that was very exciting.

[dadroy]

One of the big things I would compare is how long you are in each port. I just randomly checked two cruises. One on NCL and one on Royal Car..

 

IN Juneau, one was docked 7 am to 1:30---The other was there 8am to 9 pm. Duh, 13 hours to me is better than 61/2.

 

When I did the Panama Canal, the NCL and Holland America ships visited the same ports every day. The NCL ship came in an hour or two behind the HAL ship, and left an hour or two earlier at EVERY port. That was why we did Holland on that trip. Over the 14 night trip, it added up to about 20 more port hours.

[travgurl]

I have done a lot of planning for a group of 10 for next July. After all of the research we decided to travel on Holland America on the Oosterdam. The itinerary is what sold me on that choice. We are doing to cruise tour beginning in Fairbanks for the land portion and then cruise out of Seward and finish in Vancouver. We are arriving a day earlier so we will have an extra day in Fairbanks and staying extra nights in Vancouver. Our ports of call will Juneau, Skagway and Ketchican. I already have excursions privately booked at two of the ports and the other we are going to explore the town. The cruise will take us to Glacier national park and down the inside passage. We are looking forward to our trip!