Cruise to Alaska in 2007

[Shade58]

My husband and I will be taking our first cruise in July or August (when is best?) And we have never been to Alaska. We want to go for a 7 day cruise, and a pre-cruise landtour for 3 or 4 days, we have a total of 14 days to work with. We want to take a southbound cruise to Vancouver, from - I don't know yet, (where?). I know we are in the very early stages of planning. When will they let you book for 2007? We are going with friends who live somewhere else, who also will be bringing other couples. We won't have enough for group, since you need to get 8 staterooms. Is it best to have one person book the cruise? Do you go to a Travel Agent, or book online, or directly with the cruise company? We will, I'm sure, want to do different things at the ports, like bike or hike or whatever, but we pretty much want to see the same things on the ship, we are all in our late 40's, there will be NO kids. We all want balcanies, want a casino, good shows at night instead of there just being dance clubs to go to, but of course we want bars. Exercise and Spa, with pools and hot tubs. As far as dining, we're not into dressing formal, since none of us has any formal wear, but we are willing to go out and buy something for a night or two. (Any suggestions on what to buy? something easy to pack)

We want to see Glacier Bay, and I need your help in what all else is worth seeing for our first cruise there. There is so much to choose from, and not knowing what the places are, its hard to pick.

As far as our landcruise part before our cruise, is it best to buy the package from the cruiseline? We definitely want to see Denali Park.

What else in your opinion would be best to see?

Which cruise line and itinerary would be best for us in your opinion, knowing all above?

Thanks for all the information you can give me. I would like any links that you would think helpful also.

Thanks so much again...this is a GREAT Board!!!

Shade

[Budget Queen]

My opinion only, use your entire 14 days for your travel in Alaska. 3-4 days is not enough time. If you just want to see Denali park you ideally need 2 nights there, a night in Anchorage on each side plus allowing 6 hours each way in travel time. Finally you need the Park Shuttle to at least Fish Creek into Denali Park- most of a day.

 

There is plenty to see in between and the other "highlight" in Alaska is Kenai fjords boat tours, a must do in my opinion. Homer is certainly worthwhile as well, so is Fairbanks, Valdez- you get the idea. Take advantage of being all the way there. You can see and do more if you go independent with rental cars, so much to see and do. On any cruisetour- be certain you understand fully what you are purchasing, most do not. Factor in everything- again ideally you need a 7 day add on or there is too much time in transit.

 

I like Seward over Whittier since it fits nicely with my Seward touring priorities. Only HAL goes to Glacier Bay, out of Whittier- only Princess. So you have narrowed down your choices to two lines to consider. Research fully what your port priorities are. All are worthwhile, request visitor guides for more information.

 

However in your cruise selection be aware that the ship entertainment may not be as plentiful as on Caribbean sailings. There is way more outside the ship that is entertaining. :) I never go to shows in Alaska since my priority is the scenic sailing, and being up early. All have casinos- it will be closed in Glacier Bay. :) So several factors to consider- ports, time in ports, both include Glacier Bay, College Fjords is a must on the one ways in my opinion. Both have ship naturalists. price- budget fully for costly excursions, you get only half a trip without them.

[Drink-in-Hand/Toes-in-Sand]

Before our trip to Alaska I did LOTS of research--and kept an eye on this board. :) We ended up taking a round-trip cruise from Seattle and it worked out well. Next time around we plan to take a land tour, and I agree wholeheartedly with Budget Queen to go for it and take the maximum amount of time that you have to see and do everything.

 

Sadly, I felt like the shore excursions in Alaska were overpriced. However, since we figured it might be our first and only trip to Alaska we decided to throw caution to the wind and booked the excursions we wanted to take--regardless of the price. Once we were on the ship having the time of our lives I'm so glad that we did. We have no complaints about what we chose and have wonderful memories to boot. In talking to other passengers on the ship, some folks that compromised only for price reasons were regretting that decision. So don't make that mistake! You only live once.

 

In Juneau, we did a 4 hour glacier hike and helicopter tour and I can't say enough good things about the crew, the guides and the pilots. We also went to the top of Mt. Roberts and if it's not raining that day I would recommend that. There's a shop and hiking trails that aren't too challenging.

 

The White Pass Railway excursion in Skagway was great. It's a train ride with some narration on the Gold Rush Trail of 1898. Not much to see (except fabulous scenery) but I learned a lot of things that I didn't know and got some fabulous pictures to boot. We did the "Skagway Extravaganza" which encompassed the train ride, a bus ride down the mountain to Liarsville camp for a salmon bake and "show", a little gold panning and then a trip to the Red Onion Saloon for a drink. There aren't a lot of choices in Skagway to start with and we felt like a taste of everything there was to offer was just right. I'd have been sorely disappointed to have confined my excursion to the Red Onion (yikes!).

 

In Ketchikan we had a quiet day highlighted by the Lumberjack Show. Really corny, but what fun! Those guys are great athletes. The other people around us were really into the show and seemed to be enjoying it.

 

My advice would be to pick one "big" excursion while in Alaska and several more cost effective options. A trip full of "ho hum" excursions may leave you with a few regrets. Don't let that happen! You've got plenty of good recommendations here on this board. Good luck!