Your opinion requested - which cruise line for Alaska and why?

[emory2001]

I apologize that I couldn't tell which forum to post this in, because there are specific cruise line forums and then port of call forums, but my question requests opinions on multiple cruise lines for Alaska.

 

I'm considering a family Alaska cruise for 2018. Husband and I cruised Alaska on Princess for our honeymoon in 2000, and I have only cruised Royal since. For this cruise, I'm open to different cruise lines and interested in experienced opinions. I'm mostly considering Princess, Royal, Holland America, Celebrity, and Norwegian. I have heard "Princess is best for Alaska," but I don't really know why. Our Princess cruise for Alaska was great, but given my experience with Royal on other cruises, I don't know that Princess was far and away better, if at all.

 

What was your favorite shore excursion and which cruise line was it with? (I know there are independent excursions, but for the most part I tend to stick with the official cruise line ones).

 

Which ports of call did you stop in and which did you like best and least?

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading on the board would answer a lot of your questions.

 

It is commonly said Princess and Holland America are the "best" for Alaska, as they have the most ships there (about double anybody else), which gives a larger selection of routes and ports. Plus, Holland America and Princess have the vast majority of permits for Glacier Bay, which is a very popular destination.

 

So, that is the reason for their "best" status, which is totally subjective.

[blondie from arizona]

Looks like you posted this in the right place. I am fairly loyal to Royal, but when others ask me about Alaska, I wonder the same thing. It is funny that I heard Princess is the cruise line NOT to take to Alaska because they put forth less effort to get to the glaciers. If there is a lot of ice flow, they won't go. This is only what I heard; I have no actual knowledge of this. Also, if you are going all the way up (toward Anchorage), Princess docks in Whittier, while the others dock in Seward. This is a pretty big difference that you need to be aware of.

 

And, since you have done so many Royal cruises, I would stick with Royal to get the points. At some point you are going to get to Diamond and that alone is a big deal. We love our Diamond lounge time, even though we are not heavy drinkers.

 

Good question. I hope you get lots of responses.

[NancyIL]

I choose the itinerary I like. My Alaska cruises have been on the Coral Princess (one-way north) in 2007, HAL Veendam (one-way north) in 2008, Golden Princess (round trip from Seattle) in 2009, and HAL Amsterdam (14-day roundtrip from Seattle) in 2011. The 2009 cruise on Princess was booked because it was super cheap, and not because it had the best itinerary.

 

I have back to back cruises booked on Radiance of the Seas for May 2017. I love the May 17-26 9-night northbound itinerary: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/9NightAlaskaNorthernGlacierCruise-RD09A005?currencyCode=USD&sCruiseType=CO&sDateMin=2017-05-01&sDateMax=2017-05-31&sailDate=05%2F17%2F2017 I booked the following 7-night southbound cruise because I am boarding the ship in Honolulu, and can't legally disembark in Seward. However, had we not been doing the Hawaii repo cruise May 5-17 - I would've kept the NCL Sun's 14-night cruise: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/14-day-ultimate-alaska-from-san-francisco-SUN14SFOASTKTNJNUSGYICYSITPRRNNOVAN?numberOfGuests=4294953449&state=null&sailmonths=4294953392&destinations=4294961386&itineraryCode=SUN14SFOASTKTNJNUSGYICYSITPRRNNOVAN

[emory2001]

Also, if you are going all the way up (toward Anchorage), Princess docks in Whittier, while the others dock in Seward. This is a pretty big difference that you need to be aware of.

 

When I took Princess in 2000, we docked in Seward at the end and took a bus to Anchorage to fly home. What happens when you dock in Whittier?

[gpb11]

You have the cart ahead of the horse.

 

The most important thing IMHO is to decide on where you want to go, what you want to do, when you want to travel, and what your budget is for the trip.

Then narrow down to the different itineraries and ships which meet these goals, including times in ports.

 

This book was helpful in initially figuring out where we wished to visit: https://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Ship-Anne-Vipond/dp/1927747031

 

I chose our "must do's" and narrowed down when we wished to travel. That really helped cut down the zillions of choices into a much more manageable set.

 

As mentioned, Holland America and Princess both have a significant presence in Alaska. Makes sense as they're both owned by Carnival Corp and operate the joint Holland America Princess Alaska Tours tour compand. See http://www.hollandamerica.com/welcometohal/AboutUs.action

 

Still, they're by far not the only lines on which people have had trips of a lifetime.

[cruiser2015]

You have the same transportation issue from Whittier. It's just a little closer to Anchorage than Seward. If you're flying out from Anchorage, you need a bus or train to get there.

 

We just sailed on Radiance northbound (July 1). Didn't have that problem as we booked a 4 day ground tour and flew home from Fairbanks. Loved the cruise, by the way (we are also Royal fans). Hubbard Glacier was spectacular.

 

You do have another option - a R/T sail from Seattle or Vancouver - no Seward to airport issue. Also will be cheaper air. Just a question of the itinerary choices.

[emory2001]

Thanks for the book recommendation. I will check that out.

 

The cruise line question is what I wanted to ask though. I've done enough cruising that I know how to budget for them, and Alaskan cruises are only offered in the summer. I do have more questions about each line, which I will reserve for the specific cruise line forums.

 

I don't currently have preferences on the ports of call within Alaska, which is why I'm interested in others' experiences as part of my research. I do remember loving Glacier Bay, so if that becomes a priority I will know to book Princess or Holland America. But for those who have had magnificent Alaska cruises without going to Glacier Bay, I'm interested in hearing about those too. These are the kind of information I'm looking for.

 

On my 2000 cruise we went to Ketchikan, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway, and Seward. I'm open to visiting the same or different places.

[emory2001]

You have the same transportation issue from Whittier. It's just a little closer to Anchorage than Seward. If you're flying out from Anchorage, you need a bus or train to get there.

 

We just sailed on Radiance northbound (July 1). Didn't have that problem as we booked a 4 day ground tour and flew home from Fairbanks. Loved the cruise, by the way (we are also Royal fans). Hubbard Glacier was spectacular.

 

You do have another option - a R/T sail from Seattle or Vancouver - no Seward to airport issue. Also will be cheaper air. Just a question of the itinerary choices.

 

Thanks, I'll look into this.

[maggieworkman]

This was a question I had also. I will tell you what I decided. However, I haven't gone on the trip yet (August 2016), so I can't say if it was the best decision.

 

I chose the Norwegian Pearl. It is a round trip out of Seattle that goes to Glacier Bay.

 

1. I wanted to go to Glacier Bay. So it left only a few cruise lines for when I wanted to travel. (Some lines like Carnival and I think Disney have a couple cruises at the beginning of the season and the end of the season that go to Glacier Bay. However, I am a teacher and our school has classes until mid-June and we go back early Sept.)

 

2. I picked Norwegian instead of Princess or HAL for a variety of reasons.

-As much as I am a lover of dressing for dinner every night on cruises, I felt with Alaska it might be nice to not have to bring formal clothes or a lot of dresses since we had to bring more Jackets, etc.

-I decided HAL was too "mature" for us (40 somethings). This may be correct or incorrect, but it was my opinion based on readings and looking at pictures, etc.

-My husband and I like the spa with the heated tile loungers and thallaso pool. The Pearl has a great looking spa.

-My husband and I like piano bars. While I don't think NCL has piano bars (except a few ships that have Howl at the Moon) like Carnival, the Pearl does have a piano player and the Dailies that I have read show "Sing a long with ..." so I think it might satisfy us.

-Princess was more expensive at the time I booked.

 

3. I chose a round trip instead of one way for a couple reasons.

-The main reason was that I was thinking about flying standby with airline privileges of my brother. I thought it would be easier to get to Seattle than Anchorage! In the end I found reasonable tickets so I am not doing this anyway.

-The one way on NCL was on the Sun which was a boring ship to me lacking some of the features I wanted.

 

 

My real deciding factor was Glacier Bay. Then it came down to price. The other things came into the mix on a lesser scale.

 

Maggie

[Heather1972]

I learned about Alaska cruises while on NCL Epic in spring of 2014. Of course NCL is biased, but at the time they had the newest ships to cruise Alaska. I don't know if that is still true. But with that and being able to see Glacier Bay, we chose NCL Pearl for our upcoming cruise. It's been 20 months in the making. We can't wait to go.

[emory2001]

I think I am narrowing it to NCL and Royal, for some of the reasons mentioned here. I posted in the HAL and Celebrity forums as well, with some more ship-specific questions, and people have said there are fewer kids on those ships, and reiterated what I have heard many times that HAL has an older crowd.

 

I loved Glacier Bay, but my aunt, who may go with us, went on Royal's Radiance of the Seas last year and went to Hubbard Glacier but not Glacier Bay, and she said it was magnificent and she could do it again.

 

I could do either, and I'm not too particular about the itinerary because I feel like any Alaska itinerary is going to be exquisite, so it may come down to whether NCL or Royal is cheaper. We may also do a land tour before or after.

 

What I'm seeing right now is NCL a little cheaper, in part because Royal doesn't seem to have any specials going on right now, which is unusual for them. It doesn't quite matter yet though, as the 2018 schedules aren't out yet.

 

Thank you for all the input!

[mapleleaves]

Pay attention to port times ....ensure that you're in port long enough and at the right time of day for planned activities. People often whine about the 7am -1pm time frame.

If you have specific priorities, like fishing or bear viewing, there are peak periods of time for those activities, and that time frame can vary for each port. ie many people cruise late May for the drier weather and snow on the mountains, but they are too early for peak fishing and bear tours.

There are hundreds of trip reports posted in STICKYs near the top of the page. The first line usuallly indicates the cruiseline, ship, itinerary and date. Read enough of them and you'll find that the lines/ships are more alike than not.

[Sequim88]

Another factor I did not see mentioned above was ship size. With the trend to ever larger mega ships with lots of entertainment and dining options the ships have become destinations of their own - which is really lost on an Alaska cruise because even "sea days" (inside passage) are the destination. Especially on the one-ways that do the actual Inside Passage smaller ships can do side passages that the large ships can't. They can also get closer to glaciers. HAL tend to have smaller ships.

 

A related factor is finding out what other ships will be in the ports being visited. A bunch of very large ships in a port at the same time can overwhelm some of the small towns with more cruise visitors than residents.

 

We selected HAL on a Seattle R/T for next year partly for airfare reasons (none!) but also for ship size. Plus a little nostalgia factor from our prior anniversary cruise. I'm sure HAL may have changed some in 15 year (all lines have) but we viewed the service on HAL as being a solid step higher than RCCL (which is not bad at all in our book).

[Budget Queen]

This was a question I had also. I will tell you what I decided. However, I haven't gone on the trip yet (August 2016), so I can't say if it was the best decision.

 

I chose the Norwegian Pearl. It is a round trip out of Seattle that goes to Glacier Bay.

 

1. I wanted to go to Glacier Bay. So it left only a few cruise lines for when I wanted to travel. (Some lines like Carnival and I think Disney have a couple cruises at the beginning of the season and the end of the season that go to Glacier Bay. However, I am a teacher and our school has classes until mid-June and we go back early Sept.)

 

2. I picked Norwegian instead of Princess or HAL for a variety of reasons.

-As much as I am a lover of dressing for dinner every night on cruises, I felt with Alaska it might be nice to not have to bring formal clothes or a lot of dresses since we had to bring more Jackets, etc.

-I decided HAL was too "mature" for us (40 somethings). This may be correct or incorrect, but it was my opinion based on readings and looking at pictures, etc.

-My husband and I like the spa with the heated tile loungers and thallaso pool. The Pearl has a great looking spa.

-My husband and I like piano bars. While I don't think NCL has piano bars (except a few ships that have Howl at the Moon) like Carnival, the Pearl does have a piano player and the Dailies that I have read show "Sing a long with ..." so I think it might satisfy us.

-Princess was more expensive at the time I booked.

 

3. I chose a round trip instead of one way for a couple reasons.

-The main reason was that I was thinking about flying standby with airline privileges of my brother. I thought it would be easier to get to Seattle than Anchorage! In the end I found reasonable tickets so I am not doing this anyway.

-The one way on NCL was on the Sun which was a boring ship to me lacking some of the features I wanted.

 

 

My real deciding factor was Glacier Bay. Then it came down to price. The other things came into the mix on a lesser scale.

 

Maggie

 

Fact- you would have found the SAME demographics of passengers on NCL as you are going to get on the Pearl. Middle aged and above are going to be the bulk, no matter what line you sail, even Carnival. Same with dining. HAL has the open seating just like NCL, no problem with the similar attire.

[Budget Queen]

I have sailed all the lines in Alaska, with the exception of Disney. Carnival, HAL, Princess, RCI, NCL all, again, since 5-15 (I'm not done this season). You aren't going to get many cruisers who do this. But you ARE going to see rave reviews about all the cruise line. There is a LOT of "I heard", stuff, with a "shut off", that frankly- usually isn't accurate. I would suggest, keeping options open and don't be so quick to cross ideas off your list.

 

I see this frequently based on costs. I caution to look further at what that "cost" buys you, In my cases, the value is the experience, not the money. :) Good example of this on trip advisor today with someone, claiming there was "nothing" in Seward. The next post ranting about the costs of kayaking and it being ridiculous. Well guess what, that "cost" caused the poster to sit on a bench doing nothing staring at the marina, and me, I was kayaking among ice and harbor seals, deafening silence, enjoyed the transit which was a wildlife jackpot and on a tour for hours. A tremendous value for that cost and my time.

 

Determine where you fall, I don't care what cruise ship I am on, they are merely meals, lodging and transportation for me. Some, are very intent on shows, cabins, ship activities etc. Determine what is important for your trip.

 

I do suggest, taking a good, close look at the details, of ports and determine, your activities BEFORE choosing a ship. There are only 6 inside passage Alaska ports, unlike the Caribbean, there aren't any repeats, each is very different from the other, and equally worthwhile to visit. (my opinion)

 

What people sometimes forget, who haven't been on a lot of Alaska cruises, are the wide range of sailing experiences. And will expect their trip and what they say will be repeated and is usual, it may not have been. But I can state- your trip will offer you a fantastic experience that will be unique.

[emory2001]

Pay attention to port times ....ensure that you're in port long enough and at the right time of day for planned activities. People often whine about the 7am -1pm time frame.

If you have specific priorities, like fishing or bear viewing, there are peak periods of time for those activities, and that time frame can vary for each port. ie many people cruise late May for the drier weather and snow on the mountains, but they are too early for peak fishing and bear tours.

There are hundreds of trip reports posted in STICKYs near the top of the page. The first line usuallly indicates the cruiseline, ship, itinerary and date. Read enough of them and you'll find that the lines/ships are more alike than not.

 

Thanks for the tips!

[emory2001]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice! I'm excited to plan this trip.

[geoherb]

2. I picked Norwegian instead of Princess or HAL for a variety of reasons.

-As much as I am a lover of dressing for dinner every night on cruises, I felt with Alaska it might be nice to not have to bring formal clothes or a lot of dresses since we had to bring more Jackets, etc.

HAL has done away with "formal" nights and replaced them with "gala" nights where men are not required to wear jackets in the main dining rooms. We're heading on the Amsterdam next month. I found out about this change after booking--when I started frequenting the HAL board.

 

Our previous cruises were on Princess ships. The dressed code on them still requests men wear coats and ties on formal nights in the main dining room--but it's not strictly enforced on most ships.

 

As others have recommended, itinerary is the first thing we look at (along with whether a particular cruise is affordable). Our upcoming cruise is round-trip from Seattle. It goes to Hubbard Glacier instead of Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm. But we've been to both before and gong to Glacier Bay wasn't a high priority this year. I hope that now that DH has retired (officially today), that we'll be able to take multiple cruises to Alaska each summer.

[Budget Queen]

Fact- you would have found the SAME demographics of passengers on NCL as you are going to get on the Pearl. Middle aged and above are going to be the bulk, no matter what line you sail, even Carnival. Same with dining. HAL has the open seating just like NCL, no problem with the similar attire.

 

Correction= should be comparing passengers on HAL and NCL. And adding to this, Carnival isn't going to be a "party ship" either. Often, gets crossed of lists with this wrong assumption.

[Sea Turtle]

In Alaska I've cruised Princess once and Carnival on a back2back but both were back in the early 2000s so keep that in mind when reading my thoughts. I would cruise either of these lines again in Alaska.

 

Princess was one of the small ships from the Sun Class which no longer sail in North America to my knowledge. emory2001, I just reread your first post and see you were on Dawn Princess in 2000. I was on Ocean Princess which was their newest ship at the time in Sep2000. Favorite memories:

 

 

--the on-board Naturalist truly added to my enjoyment of my first Alaskan cruise which was northbound from Vancouver to Seward (same itinerary as your Dawn cruise)

 

--after a full day of viewing Glacier Bay up on deck (inside cabin) I spent the last hour in the hot tub with a glass of champagne as we slowly left the Bay behind. I was the only one out on the pool deck at first but then was joined by some shipboard friends I had met a day or two prior.

 

--Ports of call: Ketchikan – float plane to Tongass National Forest to watch bears at salmon stream; Juneau – afternoon whale watching tour – it was through the cruise line and was an incredible experience but after that cruise I have booked and will continue to book this excursion independently for smaller passenger count; Skagway – pilot's choice helicopter tour with two landings (one on a glacier, one on top of a waterfall) which I booked independently.

 

Carnival Spirit I chose after being on her for 24 days in the eastern Caribbean followed a one-way crossing via the Panama Canal. I liked the layout of the ship and knew the decks would be pleasurable for viewing Alaska. And, the price couldn't be beat. It was cheaper for me to do a back2back Vancouver with a turnaround in Seward than it was for me to do a northbound one way and fly back out of Anchorage. I was living in Florida at the time so not having to do that flight back from Anchorage was a bonus in itself. Favorite memories:

 

--Ketchikan – lazy, warm spring day just walking around town after taking a free-trolley ride and ended the day with a seafood lunch on shore

 

--Juneau – whale watching again on the northbound and Mendenhall Glacier on the southbound

 

--Cruising – all the wildlife (sea otters, eagles, whales) I saw every day from my balcony

 

--Seward – amazing full day spent with a local couple. I had booked this independently and there was I believe a four-person minimum so I recruited a couple from my ship who were also back2back cruisers and then a second couple who would be boarding the ship that day for the southbound had also booked independently. It was a day filled with a walk on a glacier, summer dog sledding, lunch at a restaurant in what seemed like the middle of nowhere with the best salmon ever, and miles of beautiful countryside. I also stopped at the Seward aquarium and visited with some ailing sea mammals who were being nursed back to health in hopes of a return to the wild. And, got to see Puffins for the first time—awesome!

 

--Skagway & Sitka – another lazy, warm spring day just walking around town and talking to locals. Wish I had done a water/wildlife excursion in Sitka after all the adventures that were shared by shipmates at dinner.

 

On these three cruises the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay was a big draw for me no matter what the weather. Stunning scenery. So those two were a must have for my next cruise.

 

When it came time to book Alaska again for May 2017, I looked at all the major cruise lines and the smaller ones but quickly realized they were out of my budget since I'm taking my nephew and his Mama this time. Obviously, Princess and Carnival were at the top of my list because of familiarity.

 

I quickly ruled out Carnival due to the dates. I then was convinced a repeat of the northbound on Coral Princess would be ideal to show my family Alaska for their first time. But dreaded that trek out of Anchorage back to the east coast. Even for my family who reside in CA the return out of Anchorage would be a full day. NCL never quite made the running even though they offer great extras. My sister had a poor customer service/dining/cabin experience on NCL Pearl which was the total opposite of my one NCL cruise on Epic where the customer service was superb. I just wasn't willing to risk her disliking the journey from the get go due to a prior bad experience. Besides, Victoria was involved in all the itineraries I saw for them. And, we both agreed the included meals were the worst of all our cruises. Specialty dining very good!

 

Then I discovered Celebrity Solstice and HAL Nieuw Amsterdam. Celebrity was axed because the first day is on the outside of Vancouver Island (too big of a chance for rough weather) and the last night is the obligatory 5-6 hour stop in Victoria. I had done that on a ferry out of Seattle years ago so wasn't keen on repeating that night-time short stop even though it did mean the day would be spent on the Inside Passage.

 

Coral Princess and HAL NA ran a tight race for a couple of months. Until I asked my 25-year old nephew which he would select. He chose HAL because via the photos he had seen he thought HAL looked more refined and he wanted an elegant and new shipboard experience for his Mama and Aunt (knowing we had both sailed Princess but not HAL). And, he knew that it would allow me to visit an area I had yet to see—Tracy Arm—so hoping I can snag a booking on the shipboard sponsored excursion for the day there.

 

Okay, so I've written a novel. Trust this is the type of information you reached out for in your initial post emory2001.

 

Enjoy your planning/decision! :cool:

[gpb11]

HAL has done away with "formal" nights and replaced them with "gala" nights where men are not required to wear jackets in the main dining rooms.

Correct. OP is making a poor assumption. Khakis and a polo or dress shirt was middle of the road on men. On the evening I wore a sport coat and bow tie I was a full step above most other men. We skipped gala night and ate on Lido simply because we were tired and grabbed a quick bite at Lido, so I can't say what the reality was, but walking around we saw a mix of sport coats and dress shirts with no jacket.

 

Here's the text copied from our boarding docs for Noordam this year:

Clothing

Daytime

dress is casual. Pack appropriately for the climate in which you’re sailing. We suggest clothes that can be layered and possibly a raincoat, waterproof hat or umbrella for time ashore. Shirts/cover-ups and footwear are required at all times in the ship’s interior.

 

Most evenings

smart casual attire is appropriate. Pool/beachwear, distressed jeans and men’s tank tops should be left to daytime and poolside.

 

Gala Nights

evoke the grand traditions of cruising as guests dress to impress for special events on board, including a five-course gourmet dinner in the Dining Room. For gentlemen, jacket and tie are appropriate, collared shirt and slacks are required in all restaurants

except

those on Lido Deck which permit jeans, shorts and T-shirts.

 

There is a LOT of "I heard", stuff, with a "shut off", that frankly- usually isn't accurate. I would suggest, keeping options open and don't be so quick to cross ideas off your list.

 

I see this frequently based on costs. I caution to look further at what that "cost" buys you, In my cases, the value is the experience, not the money. :) Good example of this on trip advisor today with someone, claiming there was "nothing" in Seward. The next post ranting about the costs of kayaking and it being ridiculous. Well guess what, that "cost" caused the poster to sit on a bench doing nothing staring at the marina, and me, I was kayaking among ice and harbor seals, deafening silence, enjoyed the transit which was a wildlife jackpot and on a tour for hours. A tremendous value for that cost and my time.

Yes, great example of taking others reports with a grain of salt. The Kenai Fjords tour we did in Seward was one of the top highlights of our trip. No it wasn't cheap, but it forged far more memories than sitting at the hotel or wandering around town.