Regent vs. Silversea vs. ??

[beej210]

I'm a fairly seasoned cruiser and am planning a trip for myself and the girlfriend (both mid 30s). Normally with the mass market lines, I like Celebrity the best. I'm able to do a balcony room, add the unlimited speciality dining and the beverage package and I feel as though I have the best of both worlds.... great food plus lots to do on board. The smallest ship I was on was Windstar and I loved that too but mainly because the personalized attention was just so amazing.

 

So Alaska is bit of a different beast because the excursions are so pricey compared to other regions.

 

The 3 options I've looked at are:

 

- Regent with their included excursions

- Celebrity with my own excursions

- Silver Sea with my own excursions

 

The cost difference between the 3 is pretty minimal and I'm thinking this might be a great opportunity to try Silversea or Regent, but lately I've read some pretty bad reviews of the Silver Shadow and Seven Seas Mariner.

 

Can anyone weigh in on what they would do?

[TheCalicoCat]

If I were planning YOUR cruise, I'd pay more attention to the destination rather than the mode of transport.

 

None of those options goes to Glacier Bay, so none would even be on MY list of possible choices.

[Essiesmom]

Agree with the Cat. If you want a luxury experience, go with Crystal. For a luxurious experience on a mainstream line, go with a suite on HAL or Princess or the Haven on NCL. EM

[marazul]

Check Seabourn. After a few years gap they are cruising to Alaska again starting in 2017. And they do include Glacier Bay.

 

http://www.seabourn.com/luxury-cruise-destinations/Alaska

Edited September 12, 2016 by marazul

[Glaciers]

Check Seabourn. After a few years gap they are cruising to Alaska again starting in 2017. And they do include Glacier Bay.

 

http://www.seabourn.com/luxury-cruise-destinations/Alaska

 

Seabourn has some nifty 2017 Alaska itineraries although I didn't see Glacier Bay listed. I may have missed it. What sailings include Glacier Bay?

[CruiserBruce]

Seabourn has some nifty 2017 Alaska itineraries although I didn't see Glacier Bay listed. I may have missed it. What sailings include Glacier Bay?

 

Agree. Some neat routes, but none mention Glacier Bay that I can see.

[Chairsin]

Seabourn does have a visit to Glacier Bay in May of next year after crossing over from Japan. We are booked on the July 7 Seward to Vancouver 14 cruise and quite excited to finally be going to Alaska on Seabourn. In fact along with fiends in Australia who will also be on this cruise we have private excursions booked already in many of the ports. While I am sorry we won't get to Glacier Bay this cruise the rest of the itinerary is terrific.

 

 

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[Chairsin]

Haha -- they are certainly friends and not fiends!

 

 

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[marazul]

Seabourn does have a visit to Glacier Bay in May of next year after crossing over from Japan. We are booked on the July 7 Seward to Vancouver 14 cruise and quite excited to finally be going to Alaska on Seabourn. In fact along with fiends in Australia who will also be on this cruise we have private excursions booked already in many of the ports. While I am sorry we won't get to Glacier Bay this cruise the rest of the itinerary is terrific.

 

 

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Hi Chairsin,

we are following you on the next cruise.

Just curious. Where have you booked the private excursions in Alaska? Any info would be appreciated. We are just getting organized with this. SB has not posted any excursions yet.

Thanks for your help and hints, as usual,

M

[Troban]

We did the Regent in Vancouver to Alaska last year. We enjoyed it very much. I will tell you that you will be youngest by far on ship more than likely.

 

 

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[Chairsin]

Hi Marazul

 

Thanks to this very very informative Alaska board I had tons of information to plow through. We (and our friends cruising with us) are active and open to new things so that was the starting point. From there we culled information on tour operators and balanced tours offered against time in port and our interests. Here is what we have come up with so far:

 

Arrive in ANC and spend 4 nights at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. I have rented a car so we can explore the area and do a lot of hiking.

 

We then drive to Anchorage where we will meet up with friends and the next day I will drive us to the Knik River Lodge where we have booked a glacier helicopter ride/dog sledding on the glacier tour. From there we we will go to the Wildlife Conservation Center.

 

Next day we have booked Goldstar service on the Coastal Classic train to Seward where we will board the Seabourn Sojourn.

 

At Icy Strait we have booked a Whale watching trip with Glacier Winds.

 

In Juneau I have rented a car so we can go to the Mendenhall Glacier and hike for a couple hours. In the afternoon we have booked the float plane to take us on the glacier tour and then Taku Lodge for the salmon feast.This was booked through Wings Airways.

 

In Haines we are talking to a company about a Chilkat Eagle Reserve boat ride.

 

In Ketchikan we have tentatively booked a float plane flight to Anan Creek with Island Wings (this is subject to them securing the permits for Anan Creek for the 6 of us).

 

We are still looking at a few things in a couple of other ports.

 

We have never been big on ship tours -- even Seabourn's so we did not feel the need to wait to see what they will offer. The only thing we might consider there is if they offer something through their Ventures program that looks interesting other than kayaking. I spoke with Seabourn and they said they are still putting their excursions together and will not post them until this fall.

 

 

 

 

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Edited September 13, 2016 by Chairsin

[marazul]

Thanks, Chairsin!