What cruise ship for Alaska Cruise

[dsck4]

We have been on three cruises two with RC and one on Carnival. What would be the best cruise ship to take an Alaskan cruise? We open to any. Also, is it better to go in May or June?

[CruiserBruce]

There is no possible right answer. "Best" means one thing to you, and probably another, totally different thing to me. But we don't know you, and what "best" means to you. Plus, if there was one "best" ship, the demand would be high, as would the price. You might not be able to afford it. That old supply and demand thing...

 

As to May or June, if you read down the board, you will find dozens of threads on weather and related info. Crowds will be less in May. June will be warmer, days will be longer. Crowds will be growing.

 

Ports and itinerary are important, perhaps more important than ship, particularly as it relates to Glacier Bay and time spent in each port.

Edited June 30, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[Sequim88]

Depends on budget and itinerary. We liked HAL a lot but it was a little more expensive than some of the others. Same with Celebrity (X). Currently RCI is our main line as a middle ground. Princess could be too. We picked HAL for the itinerary since no others did College Fjord.

 

Another factor is ship size. For Alaska a lot of onboard amenities and activities are wasted due to time spent looking at the scenery. Smaller ships can also get into passages the huge ships can't do. When we were on Veendam following much larger X ship the captain ducked into a narrow side passage with waterfalls and eagles so close you could swear you could reach out and touch them. We also got very close up to Harvard Glacier in College Fjord and also at Glacier Bay when other ships hung way back.

[Beachiekeen]

I am a cruise newbie so the regulars may laugh at this :) but we found this link and thought we would use it as a place to start.

 

http://travel.usnews.com/cruises/best-cruise-ships/alaska/

 

We are at the beginning of our search for next year and with the help of this list, researching the ships, looking at itineraries/logistics, and advice here and from friends who have been, we have narrowed it to either HAL or Princess. Since HAL allows smoking on balconies, we are leaning towards Princess.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Beachiekeen

[Coral]

Depends on budget and itinerary. We liked HAL a lot but it was a little more expensive than some of the others. Same with Celebrity (X). Currently RCI is our main line as a middle ground. Princess could be too. We picked HAL for the itinerary since no others did College Fjord.

.

 

FYI - Princess does College Fiords on North Bound routes.

[OCruisers]

Princess and HAL have been doing Alaskan cruises the longest and have a excellent reputations for providing excellent Alaskan cruises.

Both are allowed to sail in Glacier Bay ... :)

Edited July 1, 2016 by OCruisers

[donaldsc]

I am a cruise newbie so the regulars may laugh at this :) but we found this link and thought we would use it as a place to start.

 

http://travel.usnews.com/cruises/best-cruise-ships/alaska/

 

We are at the beginning of our search for next year and with the help of this list, researching the ships, looking at itineraries/logistics, and advice here and from friends who have been, we have narrowed it to either HAL or Princess. Since HAL allows smoking on balconies, we are leaning towards Princess.

 

There is a totally obvious problem with this article - they are rating the ships and not the AK experience on the ship. The article does not tell you anything at all about how well the lines do AK.

 

On any cruise to AK, the ship is the last thing that you should consider when deciding about your AK cruise. The most important factor should be the itinerary and the ports that you visit. Also consider total port time, port arrival time, port departure time and a bunch of other factors. After you do that, then worry about which ship you will be on.

 

DON

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• I vote for June.... warmer and dryer in Cascadia. There's a reason why it cost more and popular.
  
• I like HAL/Princess for the most sailings into Glacier Bay
  
• With young children.... DCL offers pixie dust snorting opportunities as a runner up.
  
• also think about how many days... 7 days return? 7 days one way? double -one ways with an extend stay in South Central Alaska? HAL offers a Yukon Denali experience where you travel between Skagway to Anchorage without a boat.
  

 

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[ppeckham]

I believe the original poster was asking which Princess ship was the best. We've gotten off topic slightly.

 

Back to the original question, it depends upon what you are looking for in the ship. I have sailed Grand class of ships to Alaska. I was looking for a larger balcony that was half covered and half open. The Grand class of ships have that. We had teens on the cruise with us so the teen program was important at the time. The ship had the amenities we wanted - covered pool, pizza area. The ship was quite large so we had a lot of passengers.

 

We are sailing to AK again in just a couple weeks. This time we are on the Coral. Slightly smaller ship this time. But we have a different group going. Technically no teenagers. However some of the guys in the group behave like children. ;)

 

I do recommend a northbound route. Before my first trip, my TA advised to take the northbound route. The views grow more spectacular as you head north. She was absolutely correct!

[CruiserBruce]

I believe the original poster was asking which Princess ship was the best. We've gotten off topic slightly.

 

 

Not sure where you might get that impression from. At no time does OP mention Princess. They mention RCI and Carnival. And "we are open to any".

[gpb11]

What would be the best cruise ship to take an Alaskan cruise?

 

The best ship to choose is the one that goes to the places you want to visit, leaves on a day/date that works well for you, and offers the cabin type you want at a price you can handle.

 

May vs June... I'll let others address that one, but will only mention that if travelling to Denali be very aware of the dates they open the deeper parts of the park road.

[dsck4]

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your input.

[jeffbrig]

Another factor that hasn't been mentioned is the type of cruise (1-way vs roundtrip), and the embarkation/debarkation port. Definitely look at ports of call, but there are some differences depending on if it's a roundtrip out of Seattle, or a 1 way from Whittier to Vancouver.

 

One reason I mention embarkation/debarkation ports is for airfare. You may happen to live in a city where you can get cheap flights to Seattle (domestic), but not Vancouver (international) or maybe even Whittier. Don't let something like that alone make your decision, but weigh the overall costs when comparing different cruise options.

 

In these examples taken from princess, you can see that even though the ports are pretty similar, the cruise path is quite different. Note that the 1-way spends a LOT more time in the inside passage, and the RT is forced to shortcut straight across the gulf. This difference is significant for both scenic viewing, as well as potential for rough seas. I've done both of these itineraries.

 

RT Seattle

 

1-way

[Sequim88]

One reason I mention embarkation/debarkation ports is for airfare. You may happen to live in a city where you can get cheap flights to Seattle

 

Or live in Seattle area and need no flight at all! Which sort of restricts to R/T itineraries and lines that sail from Seattle. Although Vancouver is only a couple hours away by car it typically has only one-ways which involve a flight to Anchorage or back from there. Compared to flying from former home in MN this will cut our cruise costs in half.

[Beachiekeen]

There is a totally obvious problem with this article - they are rating the ships and not the AK experience on the ship. The article does not tell you anything at all about how well the lines do AK.

 

On any cruise to AK, the ship is the last thing that you should consider when deciding about your AK cruise. The most important factor should be the itinerary and the ports that you visit. Also consider total port time, port arrival time, port departure time and a bunch of other factors. After you do that, then worry about which ship you will be on.

 

DON

 

Oh ITA. Like I said, we just used this as a starting point. The ship is still important to us in the end, but I agree that the other factors should come first on this type of a trip. There is alot to consider for sure.