Jewel or Pearl first Alaska Cruise

[1WANDERLUST]

First time to Alaska on a Cruise

Does anybody have any opinion on which is the better itinerary of these 2 ships?

Any other advice on Alaska cruise appreciated?

We plan to sail in July for our 35th Wedding Anniversary

[Tapi]

Can you share the itineraries?

 

If one of them goes to Glacier Bay, that would be a plus for me.

 

Have you also considered other cruise lines and other itineraries?

 

 

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[cm5VTfam]

Both of those ships are roundtrip from Seattle. The Pearl does Glacier Bay. If you want to see more of Alaska, you might want to consider a one way cruise out of Seward or Vancouver then explore with a DIY land tour.

[1WANDERLUST]

Pearl has Glacier Bay NP? Is that the best in your opinion.

Jewel has Sawyer Glacier?

Thanks

[1WANDERLUST]

I had dismissed the one way cruise on the grounds of the logistics? My husband also has a competition the week after the cruise near Calgary so did not really have the time to add too many days to a land trip? However maybe we should reconsider?

[cm5VTfam]

I am taking my first Alaska cruise in August. I did lots of research, comparing ships, cost, itinerary, and dates. It all depends on what's important to you individually. Example: the Pearl was just recently renovated, Jewel in 2014. Both ships are about the same size. In the end, we wanted to see more of Alaska so a one way allows you to rent a car and plan additional places to see. And yes, it takes some planning and research!!! If you're looking at NCL then the Sun does one way trips in the inside passage from Vancouver or Seward.

[Tapi]

A roundtrip cruise from Seattle is an excellent way to see Alaska for the first time while keeping it as simple as possible. The convenience of sailing roundtrip from Seattle was a big deciding factor for us as well. But do understand that you will sacrifice port time as well as a more in-depth experience in favor of that convenience.

 

Roundtrip itineraries tend to have less port time simply because the ship has to spend more time at sea to cover the distance from/to Seattle. Another thing to consider is that you may miss a day of two of sightseeing because your ship may take a route out on the open ocean west of Vancouver island instead of through the inside passage (on our cruise out of Seattle we did exactly that and didn't get to enjoy any of the breathtaking scenery until day 3 going into Juneau).

 

A one way cruise will involve a bit more planning and, most likely, pricier airfare. If you're planning on making this Alaska cruise a once in a lifetime experience, I would highly recommend that you consider the one way cruise and,if time and budget allows, combine the cruise with a pre/post land portion into Denali. However, if you're planning on taking future cruises to Alaska, the roundtrip from Seattle will provide a great way to sample what these cruises have to offer and help you decide what to do for a subsequent cruise.

 

As mentioned before, we chose the roundtrip from Seattle for our first Alaska cruise for various reasons (convenience, budget considerations, as well as simplicity since we were traveling with a large group that included very small children). But for future Alaska cruises, we will definitely select a one way with a land tour to Denali. Even though we truly enjoyed our roundtrip, we feel as if we missed out so much.

 

About Glacier Bay, you'll get several opinions, but the consensus is that Glacier Bay is a must, specially if it's your first or only visit. You'll be able to pull up right to the glaciers. On the Sawyer Glacier itinerary, you may not have as much luck. Tracy Arm, which leads to Sawyer Glacier is a narrow path and many times ships are not able to go in. And if they do so, they may not be able to make it to the glaciers and you'll have to either watch from miles away or spend extra on a small boat excursion that can take you closer.

 

 

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[jimsig]

We choose the Pearl over the Jewel as it did Glacier Bay. If you would like you can read my trip review here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2379752

 

There are also other trip reviews sorted by year up in the pinned are near the top of the Alaska Forum.

[232271]

We always do round-trip out of Vancouver. You miss scenery out of Seattle.

 

 

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[InternetAgeTraveler]

Perhaps more than most places, matching itinerary not ships to your likes is key with Alaska. Glacier Bay is a big thing to most people and top on my list. We did the Pearl twice because it goes there. It does have shorter days in most ports other than Skagway but we still had time to do things we wanted in them.

 

See review in signature as well as photo from both cruises.

[creosotegirl]

Choose the one that has Glacier Bay.