Carnival to Alaska

[slwillwin]

We are heading on a 8 day Southern Caribbean cruise in August but I'm already thinking of my next cruise. Alaska is calling and I am wondering if anyone has gone there with Carnival. If so, how was it? I know some lines are "experts" for that area but wondering if I should go with CCL. If you went, any itinerary suggestions?

[heatherhudson15]

My mom and I did the Alaskan cruise. Sailed on the Miracle in August 2014. It was beautiful. But for me, I prefer warmer climates when cruising.

Back to Alaska, sailing through the Fjord was stunning...icebergs passing by while looking at the lush surroundings. While in Juneau we did the plans excursion. We saw 5 different glaciers. So happy we did that!! I suggest a balcony cabin and bring your binoculars.

 

 

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[heatherhudson15]

Should say...PLANE excursion.

 

 

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[Piper934]

We've done 2 to alaska, one on Holland and one on rccl. The Alaska experience was no different on either, main cruise lines all do see same things, on ship experience obviously different. I would assume carnival no different.

 

Definitely agree to splurge on balcony, we saw whales and bears from there.

 

Ports I liked best were Juneau, Ketchikan and icy strait point. Personal preference not a fan of Victoria bc or Sitka. Hubbard glacier (cruising) is a most.

[nybumpkin]

I am by no means an expert - as you can see from my signature we've sailed only Carnival. The Alaska cruise was very good - the highlight for me was Tracy Arm Fjord, where you can book an excursion on a smaller boat that can take you much closer to the glaciers than the cruise ship can. If we go back though, we will book one of the cruises that does a one-way transit between Anchorage and Vancouver, which Carnival doesn't do. Maybe Princess or HAL. I want to do an add-on tour to Denali. With the Carnival cruise, I realized that we just scratched the surface of Alaska.

[Piper934]

If you have the time and can add the land tour, do so. That is a great experience. Denali was great.

[Essiesmom]

I have done Alaska twice on Princess (only because they were bargains), B2B cruises both times. Personally, I think Glacir Bay is a must, at least for your first time. Carnival only visits there very early in the season, and late. Most of the permits belong to HAL and Princess, to a smaller extent NCL and the occasional visit by a luxury line. EM

[draco_m]

I’ve done Alaska cruises three times. The Glacier Bay scenic cruising is much more spectacular and enjoyable than Tracy Arm. But they are all nice of course.

[nwcruiselover]

I’ve done Alaska cruises three times. The Glacier Bay scenic cruising is much more spectacular and enjoyable than Tracy Arm. But they are all nice of course.

 

I totally agree about Glacier Bay being much more spectacular than Tracy Arm. I have done 5 Alaska cruises (2 Carnival, 2 HAL and 1 RCL). Not that much difference between the lines, but I wouldn't do another Alaska cruise unless it included Glacier Bay.

[slwillwin]

My mom and I did the Alaskan cruise. Sailed on the Miracle in August 2014. It was beautiful. But for me, I prefer warmer climates when cruising.

Back to Alaska, sailing through the Fjord was stunning...icebergs passing by while looking at the lush surroundings. While in Juneau we did the plans excursion. We saw 5 different glaciers. So happy we did that!! I suggest a balcony cabin and bring your binoculars.

 

 

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Thanks! I also love the warm climate just looking to do something different. I toyed with going on the Mediterian but it gets expensive fast.

Edited February 21, 2016 by slwillwin

[Stokeset]

I love Carnival, but you'll likely miss Glacier Bay unless you go with another cruise line. No matter which you choose, if you can go later in the season, you'll likely see more calving from the glaciers. Awesome sight to both see and then seconds later, to hear the cracking sound of splitting ice! DH and I thought before our first Alaskan cruise that we would mark it off our bucket list and we'd move on to other cruises. Already considering when to go back for number # 3.

 

Met an 80 something year old man on our last Alaskan cruise who said he'd taken over 20 cruises to Alaska. Said he has to keep coming back for all the beauty. I fully understand how he feels. Hope you will too!

 

Liz

[Tapi]

More than focusing on the cruise line, look at the itinerary. Not all Alaska itineraries are the same, just like not all Caribbean itineraries are the same.

 

For example, sailing out of Seattle instead of Vancouver) could indicate that you won't be on the inside passage for part of your cruise, missing out on some beautiful scenery.

 

Also, as others have said, Glacier Bay is absolutely spectacular, but only a limited number of permits are issued every season. Carnival only gets 2 permits, on shoulder cruises, but not the rest of the season. Cruise lines like Princess, Holland America and NCL have the bulk of those permits.

 

You can roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver, or you can sail one way from Vancouver to Seward or vice versa. If you do the one way, not only will you get to see much more of Alaska, but you'll spend much more time in port. Many times you'll also get two full days of glacier viewing at two different locales. On the roundtrips, many times you're in port only half a day because the ship spends more time traveling to and from these destinations.

 

Watch out for Tracy Fjord, many times advertised in conjunction with Sawyer Glacier. It's a narrow fjord which is many times missed if the conditions aren't right or for technical issues. And even if you get to go into Tracy Arm, chances are high that you won't make it all the way to the glaciers. You will then need to spend extra on a small boat excursion that can take you closer. Other Glacier viewing areas, like Glacier Bay, are more open so your ship will most likely sail right up to the glaciers!

 

There are many ports of call in Alaska, and needless to say you can only visit 3-4 in one week. Some, like Juneau and Ketchikan can be found on almost every itinerary. Other ports of call, like Sitka, Prince Rupert, Wrangell, Icy Strait Point, etc are not as frequently visited but they can easily be the highlight of your cruise. For us Sitka was an absolutely hidden gem.

 

Do lots of research, not only about the ship but about the ports (I literally researched for 3 years before we actually sailed to Alaska) and be ready to spend considerably more than for a comparable Caribbean cruise.

 

IMHO, Carnival does a great job in the Caribbean but they'd be my last choice for an Alaska cruise. The itinerary is mediocre, it's a roundtrip, and the midweek departure is less than ideal.

Edited February 21, 2016 by Tapi

[winddawn]

We are heading on a 8 day Southern Caribbean cruise in August but I'm already thinking of my next cruise. Alaska is calling and I am wondering if anyone has gone there with Carnival. If so, how was it? I know some lines are "experts" for that area but wondering if I should go with CCL. If you went, any itinerary suggestions?

Alaska is a great alternative to the Caribbean. I'm taking my third Alaska cruise this year. The first two were on Norwegian and Princess, and this third one will be on Carnival because I got a great casino rate. I've never done the Seattle roundtrip option before, and with Seattle airfare being so much more reasonable coupled with Carnival's great offer, this was a no-brainer for me. I did Vancouver round-trip once and Vancouver to Seward once, so this Seattle round-trip will be new for me. I'm looking forward to Tracy Arm since I haven't done that yet, and as others suggested, the Explorer catamaran excursion is the way to go there.

 

I'm excited to be taking my third Alaska cruise this year, and can say Carnival's offer is way better than what I paid the first two times.

 

I hope you have a wonderful Alaska cruise!

[kingoftheicedragons]

Sailing Alaska has a different feel to it than the Caribbean does. You will always be in sight of land in Alaska. It's also going to be much colder. I can't stress that enough. Granted, we sailed at the end of August, but we needed hats on gloves on if we wanted to spend much time up on deck. If you're used to spending a lot of time by the pool with a lot going on there, you likely won't find that on an Alaskan cruise.

 

Carnival does offer a naturalist on board to point out wildlife--mostly in the form of whales. There was one night after supper where the naturalist came on over the speaker because we were sailing through a pod of humpback whales, including some juveniles. She was quite active talking about the humpbacks on both sides of the ship, and we were running from side to side to see them. The lesson in this is--always have your camera close by if sailing in Alaska--even when you go to dinner. We didn't have ours with us (and no smart phones at that time, either), so we missed out on some great close up pictures of humpbacks.

 

We did a closed loop cruise, with stops in Ketchikan, Skagway, and Juneau, as well as sailing a fjord--I can't remember which one, maybe Tracy's Arm, but keep in mind, some of the fjords may not be accessible. Carnival will do their best to get you into a fjord, with an excursion available to get closer to the glaciers if you're interested. We didn't do this, and you could still see the glacier.

 

I won't say that a balcony is required in Alaska (keep in mind, it's going to be cold on your balcony anyway), but you definitely want at least an oceanview cabin for views.

[BenjiRodney]

We did RCCL in 2012 and Carnival in 2015, enjoyed the Legend in Alaska must better than RCCL.

 

 

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