Alaskan Cruiseline recommednation for cruise/land tour

[cruisincup]

Planning to book a summer 2021 Alaskan cruise with family of (kids 21, 21, 18 and 11). Only done Caribbean cruises previously so REALLY looking forward to this.. Looking for recommendations on best cruise line/ship for this cruise. Also thinking we will do one with a land tour so that is a consideration as well. If not too much to ask would welcome details on what you like about the ship/itinerary you recommend. Thanks in advance!

[CruiserBruce]

Have you done any research on the Alaska board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

 

Lots of great info and experienced cruisers there. You need to define "best" as it means many different things to different people. Some reading over there will reveal many of the key sites, like Glacier Bay.

[leaveitallbehind]

IMO Princess probably does Alaska the best, in part as they have permits for Glacier Bay, which is a highlight Alaskan destination, that most cruise lines are not permitted to enter.  They also have very good land cruise tours that coordinate prior to or post cruise.

Edited January 23, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, cruisincup said:

Planning to book a summer 2021 Alaskan cruise with family of (kids 21, 21, 18 and 11). Only done Caribbean cruises previously so REALLY looking forward to this.. Looking for recommendations on best cruise line/ship for this cruise. Also thinking we will do one with a land tour so that is a consideration as well. If not too much to ask would welcome details on what you like about the ship/itinerary you recommend. Thanks in advance!

We used Holland America for our cruise/tour.  And I'd totally do it again in a heartbeat.  Princess and HAL have been "doing" Alaska longest and really have great options.  

 

While I love the HAL trip we took, I'd seriously consider Princess (after comparing itineraries and costs) over HAL now.  Mostly due to the lack of entertainment choices on HAL now.

[WatchHill]

Having done AK 7 times, and cruised with NCL, Crystal, Princess, HAL and Celebrity, go with Princess!  IMO, it's  not difficult to plan your own land portion. Fly into Anchorage, spend the night at a hotel that will also hold your BIG suite cases for a few days [we've done this with one of the Marriott properties] and then do a road trip using a well planned tour. I used Mile Post magazine and with another couple, shared driving and narrating, stopping at points of interest. Let me say, I HATE bus tours, dislike waiting for others who get lost, can't return on schedule, and have interests other than what a tour operator might think is interesting to tourists - plus I like to keep my own schedule and not be in a parking lot with tour buses when I can sneak a better view of the Presidential Range when I hike along a secluded path. 

 

For your "group" rent a large SUV, taking only the overnight luggage. We made our first stop in Wasilla, picked up fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, wine, water, Windex and paper towels [mosquitoes/bugs]. Using the guide book, we stopped at pints of interest along the route [can't get lost, only one BIG circle route], and checked in to Denali Grand lodge for a few days. We did the school bus trip into Denali - moose, mountain goats, and bears! From there we headed to Fairbanks, Marriott screwed up on the hotel and sent us to Westmark - best alternative hotel for a couple of nights. We did the river boat, great!  From there, we did what most never do, we continued onward to North Pole - tacky, but fun community, lots of Christmas decor items that they shipped home for us. Then headed through the glacial ice fields, hit an ice storm in late May, saw the pipe line, stopped at a few hunting lodges for snacks and had dinner at Delta Junction - OMG, it was akin to stepping back a few decades at the local diner.  Great food - primarily frequented by truckers. We ended the day in Copper - at a B & B that was spectacular, wonderful folks who had telescopes on their upper deck so we could see the volcanic activity in the Wrangel range. The following day, on the road, stopped to see musk ox, ugly critters, and back to the starting point hotel in Anchorage. We spend two nights there, drove to Aleyska, checked out a few local brew bubs, and the morning of the cruise, got a cab to AK RR, and dropped luggage and onto the train. I booked the train independent of Princess = snagged the 4  fwd seats so we got the best vies ever going into the tunnel.

 

Looking at what we spent for the above, a full week, it was far less $$$ than a few night's big bus tour and we saw and did so much more. 

 

I've also done the Rockies, post Celebrity cruise, but that's another story.

 

Darcy