Alaska Cruise

[Rebels82]

For those of you that have gone to Alaska, would you recommend Oceania or another line?  Which ports are a must to visit? Thanks.

[mexicobob]

1 hour ago, Rebels82 said:

For those of you that have gone to Alaska, would you recommend Oceania or another line?  Which ports are a must to visit? Thanks.

Been to Alaska on Carnival and the land/cruise option on Princess which was outstanding. Very highly recommend this. Not available on Oceania. All of the large ships go to the same places so no real difference. The combination of going to Denali, the train rides, the Princess lodges, never touching your luggage etc combined with the cruise would make the  Princess cruise/ tour my first choice. Our cruise/tour sold out a year in advance.

 

Glacier Bay while not a port, would also be highly recommended.  Doubt if Oceania would be allowed to go there.

 

Very highly recommend any tour in any port that involves an airplane or helicopter as in landing on a glacier. Expensive but sell your house if need be to go on one of these tours. You will remember it on your death bed.

 

 

[alcpa1]

We were supposed to have been on O in Alaska right now so I can't address how they handle the great state.

One of the things I did like about our O itinerary was the longer day in Sitka. The stop there was longer than any other itinerary I checked. 

You will get better cuisine on O, especially compared to Princess. And for the most part the ships are smaller which is another plus for us.

Even though HAL and Princess are the most experienced Alaska cruise companies we avoid both lines. RCI and Celebrity also offer land trips.

What I would highly recommend is a southbound itinerary. You can explore Alaska up to Fairbanks and Denali independently. A little research goes a long way. Southbound itineraries sail from Whittier or Seward which are both within beautiful drives or train rides from Anchorage. Most of these itineraries end in Vancouver, another plus. Vancouver is almost 1,300 miles south of Anchorage which makes the trip home easier.

Most of the port stops are indeed the same. There are some longer itineraries than stop in Haines and along the Canadian coast. Don't rule out a sailing from LA or San Francisco. Those sailings stop in Astoria, Oregon which is an absolutely charming stop especially if it's on a Sunday market day.

The Alaska boards might address many of your questions about the state. Do look carefully at the times in each port if you are comparing cruises.

It's a glorious place and think about this booking as your first Alaskan cruise.

 

 

[Harters]

We were due to do a 7 day cruise on HAL last year but got Covid-cancelled. We'd arranged the trip with an agent in the UK as a package, which also included flights, and several days in Canada. It was a birthday present to myself for my 70th. Fully appreciate that HAL does not have the elegance of O, but it was a matter of balancing that against what was a not inconsiderable cost of the whole holiday. There was certainly "stuff to do" at the ports - Ketchikan, Juneau & Skagway - although these are small places and my guess is they are swamped if there's a couple of ships in port.

 

Truth be told, the need for the birthday present has now passed and I'm doubtful that Alaska will be featuring in my future plans. It's a long, long flight to get to Vancouver. And the jet lag on the return trip would be horrendous.

[PhD-iva]

In 2018 we took Celebrity on a 7-day southbound Alaska cruisetour which included a 3 day land tour to Denali. Our time was constrained to 10 days max. This was not enough time to be able to encompass such a large area. While the land tour was very enjoyable, we spent most of each day on a bus traveling to the next destination. Alaska’s interior requires more time to be able to take it in. 
At Glacier bay, the O ship ahead of us got closer to the ice than our larger ship could. 

[marieps]

We did Alaska on Regent Navigator and were able to get into the opening of Tracy Arm.  From there a pontoon excursion brought us close to the glacier.  Outstanding.  In Ketchikan we found a spot upriver so shallow you can walk out on the rocks and be surrounded by salmon.  Very unique.  

[Jancruz]

I have been to Alaska 7 times once on a paddle boat cant remember the name but out of business (awful) except that we saw a pod of whales, on Regent, on Celebrity and Oceania..I liked O best because of the size and service..in Ketchikan dont miss their all you can eat crab excursion..I have done it twice and cant wait for a third time..

Jancruz1

[marieps]

9 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

I have been to Alaska 7 times once on a paddle boat cant remember the name but out of business (awful) except that we saw a pod of whales, on Regent, on Celebrity and Oceania..I liked O best because of the size and service..in Ketchikan dont miss their all you can eat crab excursion..I have done it twice and cant wait for a third time..

Jancruz1

Hey Jan,

Is that the one where they shack the chairs on the table to win the highest pile of shells contest?

[Jancruz]

5 hours ago, marieps said:

Hey Jan,

Is that the one where they shack the chairs on the table to win the highest pile of shells contest?

Yes..LOL..but oh is it delicious..my problem is I cant eat that much..always wanted a doggie bag but they wont let you!!

Jancruz1

[marieps]

1 hour ago, Jancruz said:

Yes..LOL..but oh is it delicious..my problem is I cant eat that much..always wanted a doggie bag but they wont let you!!

Jancruz1

Yep, did it.   For a ship excursion it was pretty awesome.

[Mrshoffy]

On 6/1/2021 at 5:14 PM, Rebels82 said:

For those of you that have gone to Alaska, would you recommend Oceania or another line?  Which ports are a must to visit? Thanks.

We were booked on a southbound Oceania cruise last year. We chose this itinerary as we wanted to include a land package prior to sailing.

Since 0 did not offer this option in 2022 we booked Silversea instead. My friend did this same sailing and absolutely loved it. 
Although it may be a little pricier it includes everything!

[honumaui]

First Alaska cruise added a land tour on Oceania..Fabulous..Land tour was outstanding..only 4 couples..like a private tour.  We had to fly into Anchorage and Oceania flew us back to Seattle to catch the 7 day cruise. But 7 days is not enough to see all the wonderful ports, Also did a 2 week Alaska cruise on Windstar. Loved that too, there were only 200 pgs. and they did zodiac tours from the ship.  Booked Oceania again for this year but had to change it to 2022 thanks to covid!  Chose Oceania again because we liked their 10 day itinerary better. Also did the crab fest too. Loads of fun. Alaska is awesome.