Alaska Planning - best cruise and trip for first timer

[cusematt4]

Hi All,

 

We are planning an Alaska cruise for a milestone birthday - parents with adult kids.  RCL is our favorite line, but we are open to Celebrity, NCL or Princess.  We've been on Princess awhile ago which was fine but have heard decreased quality since Carnival's acquisition years ago. 

 

We want the best possible first-time Alaska experience, but we still also want to be on a great modern ship with good food and entertainment. 

 

Does anyone have any experience with RCL vs Celebrity vs NCL vs Princess for a cruise to Alaska?  If so, we'd appreciate any insight into your experience and knowledge.  Some questions we have include:

 

-What's the best way to go about choosing a cruise to Alaska for June, July or August 2024?  Princess seems to be one of few who go to Glacier Bay National Park.  Is this a strong recommend to have included if going for the first time?

 

-Is June vs July vs August a better time to go?

 

-If we were to go with Princess - any preference on ship (all have the same Northbound/Southbound itineraries):

Sapphire Princess vs Royal Princess

(Majestic and Ruby only do roundtrip)

 

-For first timers, is it better to do a one-way trip rather than round trip?

 

-For first-timers to Alaska, is a pre or post tour cruise, particularly with Princess Lodging/Tours a must?  Are their tours and lodges unique and is this what makes Princess so great for Alaska?

 

How would we go about even choosing a princess pre or post cruise tour?  Are these tours, trains and lodges exclusive to Princess?

Would we see different things than when cruising?  Options include:

-5 or 6 night Explorer Tour options - A balance of structure and time on your own, Explorer Tours feature rail travel with Denali National Park as a focal point, with some activities included on select tours.

-6 or 7 night Escorted Tour options - Travel through Alaska accompanied by a knowledgeable guide to provide local insight and handle all travel details. Some sightseeing and many meals included.

-1 to 4 night Denali Rail Tour options - Ride the famous Alaska Railroad route in glass-domed rail cars with overnights in Denali National Park, South Denali near 

 

 

-Is there any advantage to doing a Northbound (ending in Anchorage) vs Southbound (starting in ANchorage) trip?

 

The main difference seems to be related to times of arrival/departure from ports and College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), Alaska vs Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), Alaska

 

The itineraries would be:

 

Northbound:

 

Sat, Jul 20Saturday, July 20th 2024	Vancouver, CanadaView excursions in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday, July 20th 2024		04:00 pm
Sun, Jul 21Sunday, July 21st 2024	At SeaView onboard experiencefor Sunday, July 21st 2024
Mon, Jul 22Monday, July 22nd 2024	Ketchikan, AlaskaView excursions in Ketchikan, Alaska on Monday, July 22nd 2024	06:00 am	02:00 pm
Tue, Jul 23Tuesday, July 23rd 2024	Juneau, AlaskaView excursions in Juneau, Alaska on Tuesday, July 23rd 2024	08:00 am	09:00 pm
Wed, Jul 24Wednesday, July 24th 2024	Skagway, AlaskaView excursions in Skagway, Alaska on Wednesday, July 24th 2024	07:00 am	08:30 pm
Thu, Jul 25Thursday, July 25th 2024	Glacier Bay National Park (Scenic Cruising), AlaskaView excursions in Glacier Bay National Park (Scenic Cruising), Alaska on Thursday, July 25th 2024	06:00 am	03:00 pm
Fri, Jul 26Friday, July 26th 2024	College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), AlaskaView excursions in College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), Alaska on Friday, July 26th 2024	06:00 pm	08:30 pm
Sat, Jul 27Saturday, July 27th 2024	Anchorage (Whittier), AlaskaView excursions in Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska on Saturday, July 27th 2024	12:30 am

 

Southbound

 

Sat, Jun 1Saturday, June 1st 2024	Anchorage (Whittier), AlaskaView excursions in Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska on Saturday, June 1st 2024		08:30 pm
Sun, Jun 2Sunday, June 2nd 2024	Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), AlaskaView excursions in Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), Alaska on Sunday, June 2nd 2024	03:00 pm	08:00 pm
Mon, Jun 3Monday, June 3rd 2024	Glacier Bay National Park (Scenic Cruising), AlaskaView excursions in Glacier Bay National Park (Scenic Cruising), Alaska on Monday, June 3rd 2024	09:15 am	07:30 pm
Tue, Jun 4Tuesday, June 4th 2024	Skagway, AlaskaView excursions in Skagway, Alaska on Tuesday, June 4th 2024	07:00 am	08:30 pm
Wed, Jun 5Wednesday, June 5th 2024	Juneau, AlaskaView excursions in Juneau, Alaska on Wednesday, June 5th 2024	06:30 am	04:00 pm
Thu, Jun 6Thursday, June 6th 2024	Ketchikan, AlaskaView excursions in Ketchikan, Alaska on Thursday, June 6th 2024	10:00 am	06:00 pm
Fri, Jun 7Friday, June 7th 2024	At SeaView onboard experiencefor Friday, June 7th 2024
Sat, Jun 8Saturday, June 8th 2024	Vancouver, CanadaView excursions in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday, June 8th 2024	07:30 am

 

 

Apologies for the lengthy post.  Thanks so much for any insight, advice and help.

[NothingBeatsBaseball]

I did a northbound one-way on the Sapphire Princess in June 2023. I am far from a cruise regular. I've only gone on two, and the other one was a Holland America 10 years ago Alaskan cruise. 

 

These are a few of my thoughts:

- If you enjoy planning trips, then planning the land portion isn't very difficult. I enjoyed finding the VRBOs, finding the spots I want to go, etc. I'd recommend doing your own research, doing some of it via train, rent a car for the days you need it, and go for it. The Princess Cruises don't go to a place like Hatcher Pass and it was my wife's favorite place on the trip.

- I thought Glacier Bay was awesome when we did it 10 years, this time around... I don't know, perhaps because I did it before, I wasn't as impressed. (I don't think most people would agree with me on this.) I mean it's great, we enjoyed our day in it but I've moved on from feeling it is a must. My group thought College Fjord was awesome and wished we had more time in it. 

- Yes 10 years apart... but if we had to choose between our experience on Holland America 10 years ago or Princess last month, we'd go with Holland America. We didn't like the food much on the Princess cruise. You need to prepare for a tech experience with the Medallion App that doesn't work half the time with Princess. We knew that going in and were ready. I considered NCL as well but didn't want to dock in Ward Cove, and I am happy I avoided that.

- I was told ahead of time one risk is if you get sick on a northbound cruise... it might put you out of commission for the land portion. I didn't listen to that advice and once my kiddos got sick the second to last day of the cruise, we all got a little sick during the land portion. It impacted everything I hoped to do. I doubt your adult children are licking the elevator lol so you might be okay, but something people consider.

- Our mini suite had an extra large balcony as it was the last one on the Emerald deck starboard side. It was great. Even with all our little complaints on the Princess ship, we had a great time and the big covered balcony was a big reason why. Port time was good for Juneau and Skagway. Ketchikan was a little early like the northbound one you list there, but the berth we had was great so it was easy to get to downtown. 

- If you haven't been to Vancouver, if you can spend some time there that is definitely worth it. We stayed at the Times Square Suites which was perfect for my family. 

[cusematt4]

Thanks so much for all of the info, really appreciate it.

 

a few additional questions that I’d also appreciate any insight on -

 

-Someone has mentioned the below - any idea what this means?  Does anyone know pros and cons to each a north and south bound itinerary?

 

Southbound is also preferable as you’ll be cruising this mostly in the day/evening whereas going Northbound it will be at night.

 

we we’re originally leaning start in anchorage with a pre cruise land tour and then do the one way to Vancouver. What does this mean - daylight during the day vs at night?  We would be fine ending in anchorage and doing a post cruise tour if that makes more sense or could be better or more optimal.

 

I was under the assumption it’s light out in Alaska for around 20 hours a day in June - August.  Is this not the case for both north and south bound trips?

-the north and south bound itineraries are the same for the most part minus the times and one sea day.  the length in each port is the same but the times differ - early morning vs afternoon.  Does anything in the above north vs south itinerary stand out time wise that may make a difference or that we should consider?

 

-besides arrival time differences, the other north vs south itinerary difference is

College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), Alaska vs Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), Alaska

Is either of the above preferable?  What’s the difference?  Is there a reason why this differs in the north vs south itinerary ?

 

-Is there a way to tell which ships would take the inside passage route?  Is this at all related to or explained by the above Hubbard glacier vs college fjord?  Is it definite that Royal Princess wouldn’t go through the inside passage based on size?

 

We were leaning towards Royal Princess  since we’ve never been on that class but if sapphire may result in a more scenic route we would go with that ship.  
 

Is there a way to tell if sapphire definitely would / does take the inside passage route and that Royal Princess definitely doesn’t and wouldn’t based on size?  Or could a sized ship such as royal princess take the inside passage route as well?  Even if Royal Princess definitely doesn’t and sapphire may take that route, we’d likely give it a chance and go with sapphire if the possibility it may take this more scenic route.

 

Would the inside passage route not be stated as part of an itinerary so we could plan accordingly for a sailing that both takes this route and goes to glacier bay?

 

Thanks so much.

 

[stuckoncruising]

I'm also very interested in this topic and OP has covered every question I had as well so it saves a duplicate post! 

[deelightfull]

It is my understanding that cruises that leave from Vancouver tend to cruise the inside passage, and cruises that leave from Seattle don't.  But I wouldn't swear to that. 

 

There are about a billion trip videos on YouTube.  I'd start with one possible trip and see what you can find from other people experiences, see if it's helpful.

[dd57]

If the cruise is going on the inside Passage, it is done at night when leaving from Vancouver and during the afternoon and early evening when leaving from Alaska.  It is spectacular.  We did northbound first and of course saw nothing.  We were amazed on our southbound trip.

[Gardyloo]

Lots of questions, the responses to which are all over the place on this board, but for what it's worth...  Note these are personal opinions from a former Alaska resident.

 

When:  No one answer.  Many people feel the weather in SE Alaska (where the cruises go) is better earlier in the season than later, but basing a cruise - or any Alaska activity for that matter - on the weather is something of a fool's gambit.  If the cruise is glacier-intensive, e.g. one that includes both Glacier Bay and a Hubbard Glacier drive-by, then later in the season is often better because there's less chance of sea ice or big icebergs keeping the ships at too great a distance from the glacier face, which can occur earlier in the season.

 

One way or round trip.  It comes down to time and money.  The one-way cruises, which depart or arrive in Vancouver, not Seattle (due to US maritime law) really are suited for travelers who can spend some time (I'd say a week minimum) in Southcentral Alaska (Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula, Denali etc.) These days could be spent on a tour arranged by the cruise line (which IMO tend to be very poor value) or on a do-it-yourself basis with a rented car, but in any case they will add a fair amount of cost - land arrangements plus additional airfare to return from Anchorage or Fairbanks.  If one doesn't have the extra days, then (again, IMO) the round trips out of Vancouver are superior to those from Seattle as the Seattle vessels sail on open ocean west of Vancouver Island, where the seas are rougher and the views are nonexistent.  The Vancouver departures (in the vast majority of cases) stay on protected waters east of Vancouver Island - more scenic and calmer seas.  I will also say that doing a round trip doesn't mean an inferior experience.  Vancouver (and Seattle if that's the choice) are superb places to visit, each with a huge range of activities and experiences, including many that can't be had in Alaska.  A few extra days in either city before or after a round trip cruise can be very rewarding.

 

Choice of cruise line.  Most regular cruisers will tell you that it's all about the ports of call - which ones, how long in port, how many other ships present - that makes the biggest difference.  Of course people have their favorites, and there are lots of anecdotal stories about which line is more kid-friendly, or which one tends to attract an older crowd, blah blah.  The fact is that Alaska cruises are very port-intensive, and many cruisers really use the ship as a comfortable hotel and that's about it.  The only way to know what suits you is comparative shopping.

 

Other ships in port.  In my view this is one of the most important criteria to use in deciding on a cruise.  Skagway, population 800 counting dogs, is a very different experience when 4 or 5 ships, each carrying 2000 - 3000 passengers and 1000+ crew, are in port the same day, vs. when there's only one or two.  You can imagine the scene.  This is a valuable site to see who else will be there - 2023 Schedules | Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska (claalaska.com)

 

I'll stop here.  There's no substitute for doing your own homework on a possible Alaska cruise, and fortunately there are many, many resources to help.  Look at trip reports, Youtube videos (a great way to see what parts of a cruise might be like) and so many other resources your head will be spinning.  It's all good.  Happy planning!

 

 

[oaktreerb]

Plan the land tour for your family.  You don’t need to travel with a large group.  If you start in Vancouver you will learn a lot about Alaska as you sail north.  Glacier Bay is a National Park with several glaciers and rangers will board your ship to narrate that day.  Hubbard Glacier is a huge glacier and may have the option of a closer to the glacier small boat excursion.  College Fjord is a fjord with several glaciers and wildlife sightings and will probably be available on Princess and Holland America.  

 

Skagway is a national park and gateway to the Yukon and Gold Rush history.  There are a lot of good hikes in Skagway.

Juneau is the seat of government and very scenic with possible small boat excursion to Tracy Arm (may have transfer from cruise ship option). Mt Roberts Tram has scenic views, Mendenhall Glacier will be crowded but opportunity for short hikes.  Juneau is also boarding for floatplanes out to Taku Glacier Lodge for Salmon lunch.

Ketchikan sign your group up for the Bering Sea Crab fisherman’s tour.

 

Princess and Holland America have been in Alaska for many years and often get the best docking locations in Juneau and Ketchikan.  

 

Look online for Alaska visitor’s bureau information.  There is a lot there.  Rent a car and plan to drive but have your hotels booked in advance.  TravelAlaska.com is helpful.  Plan your car rental way in advance from a location in downtown Anchorage.  

 

Try to get rooms together so you can open the divider between your verandas to make a larger viewing area.

 

For scenic viewing, the days are longest around the summer solstice in late June.  Plan for all kinds of weather including rain.  Bring good walking shoes.  Layer your clothing with a water repellant outer layer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bbodb1]

I'd like to tag along here as well since I am looking at an Alaskan Cruise as a possibility in late May - early June of 2024 as well.  

 

In my initial reading, and watching tips for travelers, I had mentally narrowed the choice of lines to HAL or Princess.  As I have watched more videos and read reviews, I am starting to sour on Princess but as is noted in this thread, I too have a LOT of reading to do!

Edited July 16, 2023 by bbodb1

[rwmiller]

Adding my 2 cents. If you go in July or early August the salmon are running which opens up excursions to view bears fishing. We did one in Ketchikan that was amazing. 
 

We have only done round trips so can’t comment on that. Our cruise have been on Princess and HAL. Both have a long history cruising Alaska and have infrastructure there that the other lines do not. We have had great lectures on board to build your knowledge of what you will seeing. 
 

Bob

[vswan]

I've cruised to Alaska 4 times and will doing my 5th later this month. Have gone on Princess, Celebrity, 2 on HAL and will doing NCL this month. Have done 1 NS, and 1 SN, and will be doing my second round trip Seattle next. (This time I'm going with my 14 year old grandson and felt NCL and round trip Seattle was the best option for just the two of us.)

 

I have gone in May, July and August. There is no bad time to go. Things change and you see different things each month. Weather can be iffy any month. If a ship with more kids is not something you would like I would choose May or late in August when families are getting ready for school. I like July or early August for most likely warmest weather. Rain can happen at anytime. I have worn long pants and jackets one day and shorts and tank tops the next. You just never know and have to be prepared for it all.

 

Things to keep in mind are port stops (how many ships are in/what the port times are). My favorite stop is Sitka and it is usually not available on a NS/SN, but I feel that those are preferable for a first timer. Both Princess and HAL have very established networks, and the experts HAL brings on are exceptional.

 

The first time we went we booked an excursion for each day through Princess. Went salmon fishing in Ketchikan, rode the train in Scagway, and did a rain forest tour in Juneau. Should have gone to the glacier or whale watching in Juneau.

 

No matter which line and date you choose, there is no bad cruise to Alaska.

[cabland]

When we cruised Alaska in 2018, I researched the heck out of everything - see my attached cruise doc.  I would have liked to do a land + cruise option, but it was an extended family trip (my parents and siblings) and not everyone could afford that much time away (and wasn't sure how my elderly dad would handle it) so we did a roundtrip.  Your ports preference should be driven by what you want to do.

 

I quickly decided I wanted to leave from Vancouver for the "true" inside passage experience and also decided I was all about the glaciers.  So, to maximize the glacier experience I chose one of the Holland America routes that, on the way to Juneau, stops at the mouth of the Tracy Arm Fjord and you can hop off onto an excursion boat that heads into the Fjord (you see Sawyer glacier at the end of it) - the small boat then meets back up with the cruise ship in Juneau.  Once in Juneau, I knew I wanted to see Mendenhall glacier...and no better way to do that than by helicopter!  Since helicopter excursions are often canceled due to weather (like my brother's was TODAY - he is on a cruise as I type this), I had the next port (Skagway) as my backup helicopter plan.  Finally, our ship also went into Glacier Bay on this trip - so we effectively had THREE glacier days on this simple roundtrip.

 

Research the ports and decide what you want to see and do and budget for excur$ion$...they can exceed the cost of the cruise itself!  Example ($270 for Tracy arm, $350-$600 for helicopter ride to glacier, $210 for Bering Sea Crab tour, etc. - all prices are per person).  Whatever you do, don't just hang out in the port towns...you need to get into the interior somewhat to really see Alaska best.

 

As to time of year, we did July in 2018 and then did a month earlier in June this year.  We had a mix of sun and rain on both trips, but overall our June trip was a bit better weather when it mattered most to us - on Glacier Bay day and on our Skagway day (note: we drove to Emerald Lake - spectacular views on that drive).  Unfortunately, you don't get to pick the weather as much as you would like.  I did like seeing a bit more snow on mountaintops this time around...conversely, it was cooler on our balcony and we used it less than our July trip...pick your poison!

 

 

Alaskan Cruise - v7 - de-identified.docx

[Ileneilene123]

On 7/18/2023 at 6:54 PM, cabland said:

I was all about the glaciers.  So, to maximize the glacier experience I chose one of the Holland America routes that, on the way to Juneau, stops at the mouth of the Tracy Arm Fjord and you can hop off onto an excursion boat that heads into the Fjord (you see Sawyer glacier at the end of it) - the small boat then meets back up with the cruise ship in Juneau.  Once in Juneau, I knew I wanted to see Mendenhall glacier...and no better way to do that than by helicopter!  Since helicopter excursions are often canceled due to weather (like my brother's was TODAY - he is on a cruise as I type this), I had the next port (Skagway) as my backup helicopter plan.  Finally, our ship also went into Glacier Bay on this trip - so we effectively had THREE glacier days on this simple roundtrip.

I know this is an older post but I am planning our first HAL inside passage cruise & am deciding that “I am all about the glaciers” too & have questions. I would love to do both the Tracy Arm excursion & the Helicopter Landing on Mendenhall Glacier but not sure if this could work logistically. I am glad to see that you made it work (I think?). How did you do that?  The Zaandam has the Tracy Arm service call 9-9:30 am, with the ship then continuing to Juneau, staying in port until 10pm. I think the Tracy Arm excursion is 6 hrs and then we meet the ship in Juneau. Wondering if we would actually have enough time to then take the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Landing excursion after we return from Tracy Arm? 

[cabland]

I think our helicopter was around 4 or 5pm so we definitely had time for both.   Heck, we were going to do the same thing this past June, but my knee centered right before the trip and we had to skip Tracy Arm this time around (total bummer as I watched the boat pull up alongside us from our balcony).

[Ileneilene123]

1 hour ago, cabland said:

I think our helicopter was around 4 or 5pm so we definitely had time for both.   Heck, we were going to do the same thing this past June, but my knee centered right before the trip and we had to skip Tracy Arm this time around (total bummer as I watched the boat pull up alongside us from our balcony).

Very helpful. Sorry about your knee, though. 
Did HAL allow you to book both the Tracy Arm & the Heli excursions through them? Somewhere on the Board someone posted that HAL said the timing was too close, so they had to go through a 3rd party for their Heli excursion. 

Also, you mentioned having a back up plan for the Heli excursion in Skagway. Did you actually book that too & then cancel it? 
PS. Your planning document is super impressive — I like your style! 

[cabland]

We booked all of the excursions through Hal in 2018 (and most in 2023).  HAL will let you book if there isn't enough overlap, BUT what I found this past year is the helicopter time slots initially showed only earlier in the day, but they progressively added more and when the later afternoon slots opened up I booked them.  So for 2023, I grabbed the tracy arm slot early, and then got the helicopter slot a month or so later.

I did not book the "backup" Skagway slot ahead of time in 2018...just rolled the dice and it worked out.  Same for our June 2023 cruise (note: that review is on here as well).  In 2023, I was less concerned about cancelation just because I had done it once already so figured I would be less bummed.  As an aside, my brother and his wife did have their Juneau helicopter flight canceled this past Summer (with no Skagway backup)...you just never know!!

 

Finally, we canceled Tracy Arm this year once we were on board (my knee gave out the day we left Dallas)...but had to do it by 5 pm the day we boarded in order to get a refund.  Not sure a pre-booked  "Skagway backup" would have helped there if both days had been good weather...I might have ended up paying for two copter rides!

[cabland]

Here is my 2023 review:

Koningsdam Alaska - 2023

[cabland]

And my 2018 review:

2018 Alaska Cruise

[Ileneilene123]

7 hours ago, cabland said:

We booked all of the excursions through Hal in 2018 (and most in 2023).  HAL will let you book if there isn't enough overlap, BUT what I found this past year is the helicopter time slots initially showed only earlier in the day, but they progressively added more and when the later afternoon slots opened up I booked them.  So for 2023, I grabbed the tracy arm slot early, and then got the helicopter slot a month or so later.

I did not book the "backup" Skagway slot ahead of time in 2018...just rolled the dice and it worked out.  Same for our June 2023 cruise (note: that review is on here as well).  In 2023, I was less concerned about cancelation just because I had done it once already so figured I would be less bummed.  As an aside, my brother and his wife did have their Juneau helicopter flight canceled this past Summer (with no Skagway backup)...you just never know!!

 

Finally, we canceled Tracy Arm this year once we were on board (my knee gave out the day we left Dallas)...but had to do it by 5 pm the day we boarded in order to get a refund.  Not sure a pre-booked  "Skagway backup" would have helped there if both days had been good weather...I might have ended up paying for two copter rides!

Thanks for telling me the ins/outs. Especially about HAL adding additional excursions times as the cruise approached. Very helpful! Also thanks for posting links to your reviews. I’m getting so excited for this cruise now!