Alaska Cruise in May/June 2016 Seattle RT- which cruise line/ship?

[flgirl1087]

Hi!

My husband and I are planning a cruise to Alaska in May/June of 2016. We have cruised in the past on Carnival. We definitely have chosen the Glacier Bay itinerary and our dates are flexible. Round trip out of Seattle.

The questions we have are about which cruise line or which ship is the best for us. I am 28 and he is 35. We have no children traveling with us and this is a once in a life time trip. Also, if a balcony is worth the money or if a ocean view works just as well. We have only had ocean view rooms on previous cruises which went to Bahamas and Caribbean.

 

Which cruise line do you recommend? We have considered Carnival, Holland America, Princess, and Norweign.

Thank you in advance!

[Budget Queen]

Oh no!!!!!! Never give a "once" claim for Alaska :) :) :) I did the same thing, yikes.

 

I suggest, you take a look at port times, and determine what touring you wish to include, looking for ideal timing and availability. Although the most popular itineraries go to Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway- there can be differences in the port times.

 

Determine- if you would the advantage of a ship naturalist? RCI and NCL do not have them.

 

The other difference is going to be glaciers. Tracy Arm is better seen with an add on tour. it is pretty frequent for cruise ships not to get past Sawyer Island, which gives only a distant, partial view of the South Sawyer Glacier. In May- ships can substitute Endicott Arm and the Dawes glacier, which does give a better glacier look from cruise ships.

[TheCalicoCat]

Many will disagree, but Balcony is not necessary especially if you are choosing that instead of the add on Tracy Arm excursion - my FAVORITE hands down.

 

we sailed inside with 3 people & were fine. You can do the viewing in the public areas & easily go from port to starboard to see what is on the other side...

 

As far as cruise line goes, we chose the smallest ship, which happened to be a HAL ship - we were comparable ages to you & were not the only "youngsters." we are also early birds so we were not actively looking for excitement:p

 

(We took a Carnival repo cruise Tampa back to Baltimore - the median age was 81!)