What is the Best HAL Ship to book Alaska

[mcrcruiser]

Although we have been to Alaska 5 prior times ,we are thinking of another cruise  to Alaska  .We would want to go all the way to Seward of Whittier   because we then could rent a car  & do our own tour  . 

What ship is HAL's fleet would be the best choice for that cruise  .We need a fully accesable handicap balcony cabin  

 

 TIA

[Tennessee Titan]

Dependess on what youu want. Intimacy (less venues) book a small one. More places to eat, entertainment (limited at best) book a larger one....

[3rdGenCunarder]

Start by checking itineraries to see which ships go where you want to. By "rent a car and do our own tour," do you mean a tour for the day, or ending the cruise and doing a post-cruise tour on your own? 

[OlsSalt]

Best ship is the one that does a 14-day Alaska cruise. And reaches deeper north and out to the Aleutians.

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Start by checking itineraries to see which ships go where you want to. By "rent a car and do our own tour," do you mean a tour for the day, or ending the cruise and doing a post-cruise tour on your own? 

We rent a car post cruise for the interior . So much to see 

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

Best ship is the one that does a 14-day Alaska cruise. And reaches deeper north and out to the Aleutians.

 When will HAL have that 14 night Alaska Cruise  .We know they were doing a very long & pricy Alaska cruise but are they also doing a 14 night cruise  in to Alaska ?

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Titan said:

Dependess on what youu want. Intimacy (less venues) book a small one. More places to eat, entertainment (limited at best) book a larger one....

We like a ship not too crowded & perhaps the better one is the Zaandam with the lower wrap around promenade for viewing  .Alaska is all about  the viewing  probabilities not the ship imo .so a smaller ship with the promenade covered could really be the best ship for Alaska  in the event of inclement weather .You got me thinking 😁

[OlsSalt]

9 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

 When will HAL have that 14 night Alaska Cruise  .We know they were doing a very long & pricy Alaska cruise but are they also doing a 14 night cruise  in to Alaska ?

 

Several scheduled - 14 days - out to Kodiak Is - Vancouver to Vancouver

[mcrcruiser]

3 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Several scheduled - 14 days - out to Kodiak Is - Vancouver to Vancouver

Thanks we will check them out  .Then we would not be able to drive post cruise Alaska . However ,we always wanted to drive  to Calgary Canada  Lake Louise   & come sown into Montana from Glacier National Park  ,This could even be better 

[Dutchman48]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Although we have been to Alaska 5 prior times ,we are thinking of another cruise  to Alaska  .We would want to go all the way to Seward of Whittier   because we then could rent a car  & do our own tour  . 

What ship is HAL's fleet would be the best choice for that cruise  .We need a fully accesable handicap balcony cabin  

 

 TIA

Since you mentioned you want to depart in Alaska and self tour your options are limited.  Due to the PSVA act you need to depart from Vancouver and not Seattle. I believe that narrows it down to the Nordam and Nieuw Amsterdam. Both ships have 7-day one-way cruises and would have no trouble with Handicap Balcony cabin.

 

There are a few other options but they are HAL's Land & Sea cruises that you could extend on your own after they end.

[Roz]

I'm booked on a 14-day Alaskan cruise on the Noordam that leaves Vancouver on Sept. 17, 2023.  It goes out to Kodiak but not Dutch Harbor.

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, Roz said:

I'm booked on a 14-day Alaskan cruise on the Noordam that leaves Vancouver on Sept. 17, 2023.  It goes out to Kodiak but not Dutch Harbor.

We are all booked up this year .We are looking for 2024 Alaska. We have sailed on   Noordam once from SD to Sydney  .That was a very nice cruise  .We will see if they have that  on 2024 .Another thing that HAL once did was stop in Haines & in Haines in September there is a Bald Eagle rookery where thousands of them gather .There is a ferry that runs from Skagway to Haines   about 45 minutes each way  . 

[CNSJ]

 There are so few 14 day cruises....assuming a seven day gig:   I suggest Vancouver as embark/debark port.  The cruises that use Vancouver will transit the scenic inside passage and have less time in what may be rougher seas if that is an issue.  

 

As for specific ships, the Vista Class (Noordam/Westerdam/Zuiderdam/Oosterdam) and Signature Class (Eurodam and N. Amsterdam) have the most open public areas for viewing Glaciers and wildlife.  

[P&PNH]

We sailed N. Amsterdam from Whittier to Vancouver last May, and it was a wonderful ship for viewing the sights.  You could go the opposite way north. Our friends on board had a handicapped balcony and it worked out great for them. They moved the ship so both sides had viewing of glaciers etc.  

[dreamer321]

I believe HAL sails into Whittier, AK, not Seward, AK.  Double check if you will be able to rent a car there. There is a limited availability there. It's a tiny town and they may not have a rental car suitable for your needs. You may need to take a ship transfer to Anchorage and then rent there.

 

Bon Voyage

[DaveOKC]

We are sailing again on Volendam to Alaska this Sept.  I like this size ship for Alaska as it seems to get up closer to the glacier in Glacier Bay.  Plus it runs a Wed-Wed route, which seems to result crowds in ports and cheaper airfares to/from.  The wider wrap around deck is also a plus.

[OlsSalt]

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

We are sailing again on Volendam to Alaska this Sept.  I like this size ship for Alaska as it seems to get up closer to the glacier in Glacier Bay.  Plus it runs a Wed-Wed route, which seems to result crowds in ports and cheaper airfares to/from.  The wider wrap around deck is also a plus.

 

Excellent choice - for all the reasons stated.

[dreamer321]

On 2/18/2023 at 10:25 AM, mcrcruiser said:

... We would want to go all the way to Seward of Whittier   because we then could rent a car  & do our own tour  . 

What ship is HAL's fleet would be the best choice for that cruise...

If you want to disembark the ship in Alaska then rent a car to tour on your own you need a one-way cruise from Vancouver, BC to Whittier, AK.  The only two HAL ships that meet that criteria in 2023/24 are Noordam and Niew Amsterdam.

Edited February 23, 2023 by dreamer321