Alaska Itinerary Choice/Pointers

[limu1]

I'm in the early stages of planning a family (2 adults, 10 yo, 12 yo) cruise and tour to Alaska. Does anyone have any feedback regarding if one of these itineraries is better than the other, please? Or perhaps some pros/cons to share.

 

Option A, NCL Bliss, AFT (pre cruisetour Fairbanks/Denali/Anchorage) Ports: Seattle, Sitka 11-6, Juneau 7-1:30, Endicott Arms/Dawes, Icy Strait Point 7-3, Ketchikan 6:30-1:15, Victoria 8p-11:59p), Depart Seattle

 

Option B, NCL Jewel FWD (pre cruisetour Fairbanks/Denali/Talkeenta) Ports: Seward, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point 9-6, Juneau 7a-8p, Skagway 7-5, Ketchikan 1-8, Inside Passage, Depart Vancouver

 

We are not going to do anything physically adventurous. A mild, long hike is doable, but nothing requiring strength/balance.   I know the ships are night and day but would appreciate any feedback if one itinerary is "better" than the other. I'd love to hear others' feelings on these ports/land stops.  (In terms of land tours, it'll be our first time exploring Alaska and I am choosing to be carted around/not think over freedom to explore. I'm the planner of the family and want to go with the flow and not do the herding of the children/husband). Thank you!

[SirTomster]

On Option B, you do not go to Glacier Bay?  That is weird.   I have only one 1 cruise and it was to Alaska and we were lucky enough to have picked an option that included Glacier Bay.

 

Glacier Bay is awesome.  It was the highlight of my cruise and we are going again next year and I will not do a cruise that does not include Glacier Bay.  In this case, our cruise next year will be a Southbound just like your Option B with Glacier Bay and not Icy Strait Point.   So anything that includes Glacier Bay is a must for me.  YMMV

 

I am confused about your Option A since you say you are doing a Denali tour.  If you do Option A, are you flying to Alaska, do the tour, then fly to Seattle to do the RT cruise?  Seems weird.

 

Another plus on the one-way trips to me is that you get more time in the ports vs the RT from Seattle or Vancouver from what I saw.   

 

A negative with the one-way trips is that you are out in the ocean more.  So more changes of rough seas and potential sea sickness.   

 

Hope that helps from someone who has only done a single cruise but is currently going nuts planning his 2nd.

[limu1]

I need to double check Glacier Bay. 

We'd be flying into Seattle and spending a couple of days there and then flying to Fairbanks. 

[donaldsc]

50 minutes ago, limu1 said:

I need to double check Glacier Bay. 

We'd be flying into Seattle and spending a couple of days there and then flying to Fairbanks. 

 

Glacier Bay is a for sure glacier.  I do not see a for sure glacier on either of your cruises.  Neither Endicott/Dawes of Hubbard are for sure.  Hubbard is spectacular but many cruises do not get in.

 

DON

[Anita Latte]

I am very confused by your planning... Are you saying that you are planning to do a pre cruise tour up in Alaska but are considering a cruise departure port of Seattle? That seems very odd to me. I get wanting to just let someone else do the planning and so please don't misunderstand that my questioning has anything to do with doing a cruise tour...it completely has to do with the logistics. It just seems very odd to me to think about that almost 4 hour flight back to Seattle...

 

I think a lot of time is wasted doing the RT Seattle. It's basically like being out to sea to get to Sitka. IDK how the viewing is and I know that you run the risk of rough seas. The port stop in Victoria feels like a big why bother and I hear about many people just staying on the ship when they have that late night 4 hour stop. Also the other port times seem to be a bit short...

 

The downside on the one way is that FWD cabin. We had a FWD cabin on our one way from Vancouver to Seward and from Hubbard to Seward was a ROUGH day. DH is prone to motion sickness and so we sent him down to a lower deck midship to escape the packing chore that day because he was not doing so well at all. 

 

Depending on the time of year...I have read about the risk of not being able to get into Disenchantment Bay to have a closer view of Hubbard. IDK if that ship would offer a smaller boat excursion that would have a better chance. ALSO...your time in Juneau may be long enough to do the Adventure Bound day cruise which I've heard many good things about, which would be another way to have some glacier viewing. ALSO...if you leave from Seward and depending on your timing there, like if you have enough time there...there are several Kenai Fjords cruises available that will go out for some glacier viewing...or other excursions that can get you closer to glaciers.

 

But are glaciers a big motivation for you? It could all depend on what it is you are really hoping to see while you are there. 

[MississippiMom]

2 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

But are glaciers a big motivation for you? It could all depend on what it is you are really hoping to see while you are there. 

@Anita Latte, I appreciate you asking this question.  We are at the very, very beginning of the research for an Alaskan cruise in two to three years.  Yes, we would like to see glaciers, but (people might freak out when they read this next part) do we really need to spend THAT much time staring at them?  It seems like every time someone is on this board asking for itinerary recommendations, the "you must go to Glacier Bay" pops up, but, maybe, that's not the most important part of that family's priorities.  I can see the financial appeal of taking the cruise you can afford.  Or being realistic enough to know that your family really enjoys the activities offered by a specific cruise ship.

 

For me, the reality is that I hesitate to book a cruise line we have never tried before.  I'm leaning toward a one-way (Southbound) RCCL or NCL for Alaska, with a pre-cruise self-guided tour in Anchorage and Denali.  I'm sure I will change my mind hundreds of times before we ever book anything, but I would love to find the posts that do NOT focus on the glacier viewing.  I want to know more about the different port stops and the port excursions.  This former Northern Exposure viewer and The Proposal watcher can't help but really want a Sitka stop.

[Anita Latte]

5 minutes ago, MississippiMom said:

Yes, we would like to see glaciers, but (people might freak out when they read this next part) do we really need to spend THAT much time staring at them?  It seems like every time someone is on this board asking for itinerary recommendations, the "you must go to Glacier Bay" pops up, but, maybe, that's not the most important part of that family's priorities. 

I want to know more about the different port stops and the port excursions.  This former Northern Exposure viewer and The Proposal watcher can't help but really want a Sitka stop.

@MississippiMom I agree with you wholeheartedly. You have to begin wherever you do with your planning. When we took our AK cruise, it wasn’t anything we had researched out at all…I was just looking and found an affordable option with a cruise line we had cruised on before and I didn’t look anywhere else because I like and know the ship we sailed.  I didn’t worry about whether or not we had the best itinerary etc., DH and I sat there and looked at our hotel points and airline miles and other travel rewards to figure out that we could actually go. I agree that the important thing is to go and just make a trip that makes yourself happy…not worrying about if it’s the best in the eyes of anyone else.

 

People have definite Glacier Bay love…but as with anything, I’ve read about foggy days and no one being able to see much of anything. People are like that with the railroad in Skagway. There are many things people consider must do…as if anything in AK is a must do for everyone. GOING is the must IMO.

 

I love your reason for wanting to stop in Sitka! Lol…I’ll share that the first time we went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom DS was most excited to see naked mole rats…that’s like the first thing we did after getting a fast pass. It was because we were big Kim Possible fans…he was thrilled. To each their own kwim?

 

Apologies to the OP… not meaning to hijack your thread if it feels that way.

[cmmaxwell03]

Hi @limu1  Happy to see another planner getting started.  I have been part of another planning thread on the Alaska forum and it could be helpful. It covers a few different cruise lines but the planning discussions are pretty good.

 

Our cruise leaves out of Seward next month.  We chose a southbound cruise leaving from Seward for a few reasons:

• Boarding is Seward is easy peasy.  It is much less crowded than boarding in Seattle or Vancouver.
• Southbound sailings will normally go through the Inside Passage during daylight hours as opposed to those that head northbound and usually go through the Passage overnight.

 

We prioritized itineraries with Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage.  Seeing Glacier Bay is obviously going to be an experience. And since it was included, we plan on skipping Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau to do something else we are interested in.  Our reason for choosing to go through the Passage was for 2 reasons...It's beautiful and the waters are more calm.  I spent a LOT of time reading through random posts here on CC and found that most people that did not sail through the Passage reported rougher seas between Seattle and their first port in AK.

 

In regards to your pre cruisetour....any chance you like planning enough to skip what's offered by the cruise line?  I know you mentioned you might not want to do the planning but it could be worthwhile to review feedback on those cruisetours here on the forums and then decide if you want to plan it on your own.  I do not know the prices offered but I enjoyed planning our pre cruise portion and including on the items that I thought we would enjoy to experience.  We were not interested in going to Denali after I had read so many others talk about the experience being hit or miss.  We are heading to Anchorage a few days before and then heading to Seward via the Alaskan Railroad. We opted for the Gold Star class so that we could have the train car with the glass dome.  I also splurged and we are doing a helicopter flight/dog sled excursion out of Anchorage with a company called Alaska Helicopter Tours.  I thought it might be worth it to have a 'flight' excursion that was in a little different climate as opposed to those that are offered along the coastline.

 

Not sure if Youtube is your thing, but I have found a wealth of knowledge regarding Alaska, cruises, pre cruisetours, and excursions.  I liked watching videos of the excursions to see what to expect.  NCL has their own channel that discusses excursions so that could be helpful...but possibly biased.

 

Sorry for the long ramble...I LOVE to plan trips.  Probably missed my calling as a pro travel planner but then I would not get to experience the results of my planning 🙂 The forums are a great source of information and so many experienced travels are eager to help you plan and share their experiences.  I recommend making a list of topics to search for in the Alaska forum and the NCL specific forum.

Edited August 14, 2023 by cmmaxwell03

[limu1]

Such awesome information, thank you, everyone!

 

Yes, I understand the Seattle confusion- and it is confusing. I love DH with all my heart but the man refuses to take a flight that includes a layover and we can't fly direct to Fairbanks.  Our preferred local airport is Newark, NJ so I figured we can fly direct to Seattle and hang out there for a couple of days. The kids haven't been there so I'd love to show them the city and stay a couple of nights.  From Seattle we would fly to Alaska... this way happy husband, happy wife, happy life, haha! 

[Szt]

8 hours ago, MississippiMom said:

@Anita Latte, I appreciate you asking this question.  We are at the very, very beginning of the research for an Alaskan cruise in two to three years.  Yes, we would like to see glaciers, but (people might freak out when they read this next part) do we really need to spend THAT much time staring at them?  It seems like every time someone is on this board asking for itinerary recommendations, the "you must go to Glacier Bay" pops up, but, maybe, that's not the most important part of that family's priorities.  I can see the financial appeal of taking the cruise you can afford.  Or being realistic enough to know that your family really enjoys the activities offered by a specific cruise ship.

 

For me, the reality is that I hesitate to book a cruise line we have never tried before.  I'm leaning toward a one-way (Southbound) RCCL or NCL for Alaska, with a pre-cruise self-guided tour in Anchorage and Denali.  I'm sure I will change my mind hundreds of times before we ever book anything, but I would love to find the posts that do NOT focus on the glacier viewing.  I want to know more about the different port stops and the port excursions.  This former Northern Exposure viewer and The Proposal watcher can't help but really want a Sitka stop.

I’m totally with you! To me,  Glaciers are like the Grand Canyon- you look at it, think wow, it’s beautiful! That lasts about 5 minutes. Then, what’s next? Seeing wildlife and quaint towns is more interesting. 

[AKJonesy]

On 8/11/2023 at 3:14 AM, limu1 said:

(In terms of land tours, it'll be our first time exploring Alaska and I am choosing to be carted around/not think over freedom to explore.

Do I understand this comment to mean that your are doing the pre or post cruise WITH NCL provided by NCL?  The downside for this is the very long bus ride between DNP/Anchorage or Seward depending on your itinerary.  I advised my friends against this when they came and when I asked about the pre-cruise, they said too much time in the bus.  I know that some people don't mind the bus trip but with kids, IDK.  I won't comment on other options if this is what you plan on doing.  I totally get taking all of the planning and just turning it over; the planning can really get overwhelming. 

[limu1]

Yes,  the land tour is through ncl. I need to learn more about this bus ride. For me it's not a deal breaker,  but it may be for dh and the kids.  The kids just did great on a road trip- but we had the freedom to stop for the bathroom when needed.  I will have to find out the length of the bus ride and if there's a bathroom on board. Thank you for bringing this point up!