Best Itinerary & Cruise Line for Alaska

[taylortime05]

We'd like to go to Alaska next summer.  It would be me (59)  and hubby (63).   I'm just starting my research.   We've sailed with Royal, NCL and mostly Celebrity.  We'd like to have 5 days or more land tour before the cruise.  Which cruise line do you recommend for an Alaska cruise and why?   Which Itinerary do you recommend and why?  I'd appreciate any other tips you could provide.  

 

Thanks

Edited October 3, 2021 by taylortime05

[tallnthensome]

I would look at the Alaska forum for that. 

[RICCruisers]

I suggest you look closely at Princess. 

[Cg52]

Look for a cruise that goes into Glacier Bay. 

[rotoal]

7 minutes ago, taylortime05 said:

We'd like to go to Alaska next summer.  It would be me (59)  and hubby (63).   I'm just starting my research.   We've sailed with Royal, NCL and mostly Celebrity.  We'd like to have 5 days or more land tour before the cruise.  Which cruise line do you recommend for an Alaska cruise and why?   Which Itinerary do you recommend and why?  I'd appreciate any other tips you could provide.  

 

Thanks

We are booked on Celebrity for next summer, Vancouver rt on the Eclipse.  We plan to add on a package - the idea is to fly into Fairbanks, take the train to Denali, spend a couple of days in Denali, take the train to Anchorage and then fly to Vancouver for a couple of days before our ship leaves.   The idea of a package that we can design appeals to us, and the thought that we "must" cruise on Princess, because they know what we want to see, is a bit less appealing.

 

In doing some of my research, we decided that we would prefer the Gold Star train cars in the front of the train to the Wilderness Express cars in the back of the train.   

[taylortime05]

1 hour ago, tallnthensome said:

I would look at the Alaska forum for that. 

Thank you, I will definitely review it.  

[taylortime05]

1 hour ago, RICCruisers said:

I suggest you look closely at Princess. 

I will definitely look at their Itineraries and their forum.  I've heard that Princess is the line to take for Alaska.  We're comfortable on Celebrity but I'm definitely willing to try another line too.  We've been on Royal, NCL and Celebrity and we've been happy with all of them.  

Thank you!

[taylortime05]

1 hour ago, Cg52 said:

Look for a cruise that goes into Glacier Bay. 

Thank you! I've read that Celebrity does not go to Glacier Bay but I'm not sure why.  

[taylortime05]

1 hour ago, rotoal said:

We are booked on Celebrity for next summer, Vancouver rt on the Eclipse.  We plan to add on a package - the idea is to fly into Fairbanks, take the train to Denali, spend a couple of days in Denali, take the train to Anchorage and then fly to Vancouver for a couple of days before our ship leaves.   The idea of a package that we can design appeals to us, and the thought that we "must" cruise on Princess, because they know what we want to see, is a bit less appealing.

 

In doing some of my research, we decided that we would prefer the Gold Star train cars in the front of the train to the Wilderness Express cars in the back of the train.   

Thank you for all the info.  I've just started my research but I will keep all your tips for reference. 

[Cg52]

21 minutes ago, taylortime05 said:

Thank you! I've read that Celebrity does not go to Glacier Bay but I'm not sure why.  

It is a protected area so only a few cruise lines can go in. But it is spectacular. It costs more for the ships to go in. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Cg52

[kathynorth]

Definitely spend lots of time reading the Alaska forum. You’ll see all sorts of pros and cons for round trip vs. open jaw, glacier bay vs. Hubbard glacier, celebrity vs princess, etc. We’ve taken 2 Alaska cruises, one on Celebrity (Hubbard) and one Holland America (Glacier Bay). We definitely have our preferences, as do others. For us, our Vancouver to Seward sailing with Hubbard viewing was definitely the Alaska experience we were looking for. Cruising Glacier Bay was a nice afternoon, but not the wow experience we were expecting based on reviews we had read. A friend recently asked for our suggestions before booking a cruise to Alaska. In my opinion the itinerary is more important than the cruise line. I suggested open jaw from Vancouver to Seward or reverse. Hubbard and Icy Straight Point were awesome and should try to be included. Then add on 5 nights before or after (depending on starting point) to DIY visit the typical stops you would visit if on a cruise tour. We took a cruise tour on our Celebrity cruise and it was awesome, but in hindsight we could have easily done this on our own.

 

[taylortime05]

10 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

Definitely spend lots of time reading the Alaska forum. You’ll see all sorts of pros and cons for round trip vs. open jaw, glacier bay vs. Hubbard glacier, celebrity vs princess, etc. We’ve taken 2 Alaska cruises, one on Celebrity (Hubbard) and one Holland America (Glacier Bay). We definitely have our preferences, as do others. For us, our Vancouver to Seward sailing with Hubbard viewing was definitely the Alaska experience we were looking for. Cruising Glacier Bay was a nice afternoon, but not the wow experience we were expecting based on reviews we had read. A friend recently asked for our suggestions before booking a cruise to Alaska. In my opinion the itinerary is more important than the cruise line. I suggested open jaw from Vancouver to Seward or reverse. Hubbard and Icy Straight Point were awesome and should try to be included. Then add on 5 nights before or after (depending on starting point) to DIY visit the typical stops you would visit if on a cruise tour. We took a cruise tour on our Celebrity cruise and it was awesome, but in hindsight we could have easily done this on our own.

 

Thank you so much for all this info!  I'm excited to do my research so I can get a cruise booked.  We were on the  Equinox 9/17 sailing and it was so nice to cruise again.  

[Dancing Shoes]

Doing a land tour before the cruise will have you sailing southbound.  This seems to be the popular way, for people arriving in Anchorage,  so they can take the train over to Seward.  We are doing this with Celebrity next summer.  Seward to Vancouver.  No Glacier Bay, but Hubbard Glacier.  You can always do a land tour on your own, and catch the ship in Seward.  

 

If you decide to do a round trip, leave from Vancouver.  We did this on Holland America's Volendam.  They go to Glacier Bay and some sailings  offer the Tracy Arm small boat excursion too.

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

We'd like to go to Alaska next summer.  It would be me (59)  and hubby (63).   I'm just starting my research.   We've sailed with Royal, NCL and mostly Celebrity.  We'd like to have 5 days or more land tour before the cruise.  Which cruise line do you recommend for an Alaska cruise and why?   Which Itinerary do you recommend and why?  I'd appreciate any other tips you could provide.  

 

Thanks

 

Holland America and Princess are the giants for Alaska.  They have well developed land tours including dedicated lodging and train cars.  However you may want to look into doing the land portion on your own.

 

My preference would be to select a sailing that includes Glacier Bay.

Edited October 4, 2021 by mahdnc

[Z'Loth]

Pre-Covid? The recommendation was that you depart from Vancouver, BC instead of Seattle, WA. Per the laws related to cruising, foreign-flagged had to make at least one stop at a non-US port. For ships departing from Seattle, that meant a very short stop at Victoria, BC. That's kinda bad since Victoria has some nice places to visit. Vancouver, BC already qualifies as a foreign stop. 

[DrKoob]

As someone who lives in Seattle we have been to Alaska eight times. The best cruises of all (unless you are traveling with kids) have been on HAL from Vancouver. While HAL and Princess have both been doing Alaska about the same number of years, HAL has all the best glacier reservations. But if I can give you one BIG piece of advice, sail out of Vancouver, not Seattle for so many reasons. I have a flyer that shows you why Vancouver is better. The only thing I would add is that Seattle is a mess right now. Hopefully it will improve by next summer but living in a suburb, we won't even go into the city anymore. Just Google Seattle problems and you will see what I mean. 

Hope this helps. We have done four of our cruises out of Vancouver and four out of Seattle. The four out of Seattle were to get on big ships with our grandkids so they could do all the fun stuff. The best have been on HAL or Celebrity (but they don't have the cool glaciers) out of Vancouver.

 

Jim

[mahdnc]

10 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

As someone who lives in Seattle we have been to Alaska eight times. The best cruises of all (unless you are traveling with kids) have been on HAL from Vancouver. While HAL and Princess have both been doing Alaska about the same number of years, HAL has all the best glacier reservations. But if I can give you one BIG piece of advice, sail out of Vancouver, not Seattle for so many reasons. I have a flyer that shows you why Vancouver is better. The only thing I would add is that Seattle is a mess right now. Hopefully it will improve by next summer but living in a suburb, we won't even go into the city anymore. Just Google Seattle problems and you will see what I mean. 

Hope this helps. We have done four of our cruises out of Vancouver and four out of Seattle. The four out of Seattle were to get on big ships with our grandkids so they could do all the fun stuff. The best have been on HAL or Celebrity (but they don't have the cool glaciers) out of Vancouver.

 

Jim

 

What does "all the best glacier reservations" mean?

[Dancing Shoes]

47 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

What does "all the best glacier reservations" mean?

Permits to go to Glacier Bay.  

[mahdnc]

2 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Permits to go to Glacier Bay.  

 

If that is the case, I would say that Princess and Holland America have a similar number of permits--especially for the high season: 2022 Glacier Bay cruise ship calendar

[Baron Barracuda]

Love X but after a ton of research we chose Princess for Alaska.  If you're going for the wildlife you will want to maximize the land portion of the trip (especially Denali) and Princess seamlessly  integrates the land and sea segments.  Flew into Fairbanks and spent 6 days on land including 2 in Denali. Stayed each night in a Princess lodge.  Our tour included meals which was helpful.  Eventually reached Seward where we boarded ship bound for Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican and Vancouver.  Recommend them heartily.

[TennesseeNationVol]

My husband and I did our first Alaska cruise, on Celebrity,  in July, and it was the cruise of a lifetime! We cruise a lot, to us (3 times a year), and always on Celebrity and in the Caribbean before Alaska. The cruise was wonderful. Our excursions were wonderful. It was the perfect trip! From Seattle, 7 days. 

[LGW59]

21 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

Thank you so much for all this info!  I'm excited to do my research so I can get a cruise booked.  We were on the  Equinox 9/17 sailing and it was so nice to cruise again.  

Don't rule out Oceania, happy planning.  FWIW, Seattle is still a great and wonderful city!

[bobby3334]

I had a wonderful time on Celebrity millennium about a month ago from Seattle on the inside passage stopping at a Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. A friend just got back from a similar cruise and a great experience on celebrity millennium with slightly different stops. Great Cruises!  Mike

[earlydiner]

We have been to AK on Princess, Holland America, and Celebrity twice. The ship experience we felt was best on Celebrity (Eclipse and Millennium).  Been to all the glaciers mentioned here and we felt the Hubbard Glacier was best hands down.

 

[DrKoob]

16 hours ago, MaverickPrincess said:

My husband and I did our first Alaska cruise, on Celebrity,  in July, and it was the cruise of a lifetime! We cruise a lot, to us (3 times a year), and always on Celebrity and in the Caribbean before Alaska. The cruise was wonderful. Our excursions were wonderful. It was the perfect trip! From Seattle, 7 days. 

If you loved Alaska from Seattle, you will love it even more from Vancouver. 

16 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Don't rule out Oceania, happy planning.  FWIW, Seattle is still a great and wonderful city!

Seattle may be a great and wonderful city to you but it is getting worse by the day. Before you come here, see the Instagram account @Seattle.looks.like.s_hit (insert the H in that). Here's something from The Seattle Times yesterday.This kind of stuff is happening every day. BE AWARE AND VERY CAREFUL in Seattle.