First Alaskan Cruise?

[JAN1]

We want to go on an Alaskan cruise with a land tour either before or after. This will probably be our only time visiting Alaska and want to see as much as we can. What cruise do you recommend to see the most of Alaska? Should we do a land tour before or after the cruise and for how many days? Thinking about a 7 night cruise with either a 3 or 4 night land tour. Which itinerary would you recommend and also when is the best time to go? We are a couple in our 60's and have been on Carribbean cruises before. We will probably take an interior cabin because the outside cabins seem very costly. Any excursions you can recommend? Thanks. Probably going sometime this summer? What is May or September like??

 

JAN1

[crystalspin]

Hi Jan!

I will give you MY opinions (with a few facts). First let me say, we cruised with my mom in an inside on the Holland America Statendam (a ship no longer sailing to Alaska) in June of 2009. We took the 7-day northbound and SELF-DROVE for another 2-weeks! And it all was wonderful!

 

HOWEVER. We are going back and taking her *and* her sister, this June. Some members of the party cannot take long enough away to do land-sea so we are doing a 7-day roundtrip out of Vancouver on the HAL Volendam, and splurging on excursions and a bit on our cabins -- We'll have two adjoining rooms on the promenade (see below).

 

Between 2009, we have sailed on HAL two additional times, Norwegian Cruise Line once, and Princess not at all. I (57) and my husband (68) are very comfortable on Holland American ships! You should probably take your questions over to the Princess section of Cruise Critic and get some opinions there to balance mine!

 

What cruise do you recommend to see the most of Alaska? It should be a cruise that includes scenic cruising in Glacier Bay. HAL and Princess have the most but not all of the permits to sail Glacier Bay (which is a national park and for which a park ranger will board the ship and provide narration). Additionally, you should embark (or disembark) in Vancouver, because only then to you cruise the narrow part of the very scenic Inside Passage.

 

Should we do a land tour before or after the cruise and for how many days? Thinking about a 7 night cruise with either a 3 or 4 night land tour. On HAL, on the lowest priced cabins, cruising before land tends to cost $100pp less than land then sea... and I would prefer it that way, myself! Starting from Vancouver, then Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway in that order -- you are getting more and more wild and "Alaskan" as you would conceive to be. And then followed by the land portion where you are surrounded by it!

 

Which itinerary would you recommend and also when is the best time to go? For you I would recommend this itinerary: D6C -- 11-DAY DOUBLE DENALI CRUISE FIRST ON THE MS ZAANDAM. (The Zaandam is the same class ship as the Volendam, and it the ship we cruised South America on.)

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/SpecialOffers.action?destCode=AAT

 

...We will probably take an interior cabin because the outside cabins seem very costly. If you click on that link and choose May 22 for the date, you will see that the cost of an oceanview guarantee is the same as an inside!!!

 

Now, that is a guarantee, which means you let the company choose your room/cabin. The "guarantee" is that you'll get an obstructed-view OR BETTER. If you actually get the obstructed or partially obstructed view -- then you are on the Lower Promenade deck with the Promenade or boardwalk that circles the ship right outside through a nearby door! Now, some of those rooms have noise issues, so take earplugs! OTOH if you don't get an obstructed or partially obstructed view, you'll probably be on a quieter deck (Main or Dolphin with cabins over and under you).

 

Any excursions you can recommend? Our favorite most thing we did in 2009 was the marine wildlife viewing small boat cruise we took in Seward -- and almost didn't take as I kept thinking -- we're going to get off 7 days on a ship and go back out on the water??? We were so glad we did! Even if you see a whale/dolphin/sealion/etc from the cruise ship, seeing them from practically sea-level is so much different! Since on the cruise-tour you will not have time to do that in Seward (and we won't get to Seward this year ourselves) -- it looks like Juneau has the best whale-watching. THEY GUARANTEE YOU WILL SEE A WHALE, or at least some of your money back! HAL offers several excursions that include the whale-watching.

 

Thanks. Probably going sometime this summer? What is May or September like?? May is colder than June is colder than July and (early?) August... but late May through mid July has the most daylight hours. By the time you get to Denali, it will basically never get dark, just dim. It's not midnight sun, but nearly! September I think it's getting chilly again and it's half-light half-dark by September 21.

 

Just a by-the-way, reviews of the train-ride in Skagway for 2015 reported 70F degree weather in June! Historically unusual, but we are living in unusual times. (The train is another recommended thing to do -- you can ride up and back or train up and bus back, or bus up and train back -- we did the first in 2009 and still trying to decide for this year.)

Edited January 8, 2016 by crystalspin

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I strongly recommend that you do the land portion first. You will spend long days on the buses and/or train. You also get the longest flights over with and then can rest on the ship.

Then do the cruise our of Seward or Whittier -- depends on which cruise line you choose.

Don't know what ports you will finally decide on -- but do try to book a cruise that goes to either Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier.

Skagway -- the train is fantastic. The first time we did the train ride was in 1989 and it was in the 80's. They were having a heat wave. Have done the train ride as well as the combination train and bus ride.

Juneau -- whale watching.

Sitka -- Wild life and sea otter excursion -- saw lots of whales as well.

Ketchikan -- Totem Bight, Saxman Village, a walk to Creek Street.

If you decide on not doing the land portion, consider HAL's 14 day cruise out of Seattle which goes to ports like Kodiak, Homer and Anchorage which other cruise lines don't do.

[thinfool]

We want to go on an Alaskan cruise with a land tour either before or after. This will probably be our only time visiting Alaska and want to see as much as we can. What cruise do you recommend to see the most of Alaska? Should we do a land tour before or after the cruise and for how many days? Thinking about a 7 night cruise with either a 3 or 4 night land tour. Which itinerary would you recommend and also when is the best time to go? We are a couple in our 60's and have been on Carribbean cruises before. We will probably take an interior cabin because the outside cabins seem very costly. Any excursions you can recommend? Thanks. Probably going sometime this summer? What is May or September like??

 

JAN1

 

May and September pose problems for access to interior Alaska points of interest. Some tours into Denali National Park are not available in those time slots. September especially can be cold, rainy and the daylight period has become very short.

 

With few exceptions, all Alaskan cruise itineraries are 7 days. Trips that include land tours ALL end or begin in Vancouver. You will need passports.

 

Interior cabins work well for Alaska as many people find they spend a huge amount of time 'up on deck' to enjoy the scenery that totally surrounds the ship.

 

Princess or HAL would be the only companies that I would consider for a first time Alaskan cruise. It is easy to book an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay with either line. They also both have several choices of land/sea tours.

 

Cruising before or after the land portion is a personal choice. We cruised before, but will do the opposite if we go again.

 

If possible, allow an extra day or two for exploring Vancouver and Victoria in your plans.

 

If your plans are to go in 2016, don't wait too long to book as ship/room/tour selection diminishes daily.