Bigger or Smaller Ships for Alaska?

[donaldsc]

You need to define exactly what you mean by "big ships" and "small ships".  You can do AK on anything from a ship that holds 50 people to a ship that holds 5000 people which I call the Monstrosities of the Seas ships.  We also do not know your cruising history.  One thing that you should remember that AK cruising is different from cruising to places like the Caribbean.  If you take a Caribbean cruise the on-ship amenities can be important.  When you take an AK what is important is what is outside of the ship and the cruise itinerary.  AK itineraries can be tricky and you meed to read them very carefully.  

 

The biggest ship of our many AK cruises held about 2500 people and I felt that was bigger than I wished.  Our 1st AK cruise was on a ship that held 50 people and it was wonderful.  Since then we have done 2 more AK cruises on ships that less than 200 people.  They were also wonderful. 

 

There are 2 especially wonderful things about the small ships.  First of all their trips are sort of flexible.  If the ship is here and there is something really interesting over there the ship may be able to head over to the more interesting spot.  For example on one of our cruises there was a large pod of whales doing bubble feeding so we headed over to watch them for over an hour.  This would never happen on a large ship.  Second you will have short off ship expeditions on Zodiacs which will get you really close to to stuff that even the small ship would not get to.

 

My ideal ship size is less than 1000 people.  For example we have just booked a cruise to Spain, the Canaries and to northern Africa on a ship that holds 200 people.  I will admit that they are more expensive than the larger ships but I live to travel and I also can afford it.

 

Hope that this helps a bit.

 

DON

Edited May 23 by donaldsc

[Popsy_cruises]

3 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

You need to define exactly what you mean by "big ships" and "small ships".  You can do AK on anything from a ship that holds 50 people to a ship that holds 5000 people which I call the Monstrosities of the Seas ships.  We also do not know your cruising history.  One thing that you should remember that AK cruising is different from cruising to places like the Caribbean.  If you take a Caribbean cruise the on-ship amenities can be important.  When you take an AK what is important is what is outside of the ship and the cruise itinerary.  AK itineraries can be tricky and you meed to read them very carefully.  

 

The biggest ship of our many AK cruises held about 2500 people and I felt that was bigger than I wished.  Our 1st AK cruise was on a ship that held 50 people and it was wonderful.  Since then we have done 2 more AK cruises on ships that less than 200 people.  They were also wonderful.  

 

Hope that this helps a bit.

 

DON

Thanks Don. I’ve only ever cruised round the Mediterranean and I’m referring to the main cruise lines as those are the ones I’m familiar with. We’ve been told by one person it’s better to cruise on ships with a capacity of around 2000 and another said the bigger ships are much better, hence my post. But previous comments have established, the person who’s been adamant that the small ships are better has also got a lot of their information incorrect. It’s all personal preference but I’m interested to learn about other people’s experiences. 

[donaldsc]

7 minutes ago, Popsy_cruises said:

Thanks Don. I’ve only ever cruised round the Mediterranean and I’m referring to the main cruise lines as those are the ones I’m familiar with. We’ve been told by one person it’s better to cruise on ships with a capacity of around 2000 and another said the bigger ships are much better, hence my post. But previous comments have established, the person who’s been adamant that the small ships are better has also got a lot of their information incorrect. It’s all personal preference but I’m interested to learn about other people’s experiences. 

 

The people who gave you that info are not 100% wrong although I would say that looking at an AK trip they are mostly wrong.  For many trips to other places there may be something to what they say but not to AK..  There are WEB sites out there that talk about small ship AK cruises.

 

One more thing that I can not emphasize enough.  Large AK cruise lines are very good at writing up the tour description to make it seem as if you are getting something that is not quite what it will end up being.  Read the cruise descriptions very very carefully and come back to CC if you have any questions before booking.

 

DON

[CruiserBruce]

58 minutes ago, Popsy_cruises said:

Thanks Don. I’ve only ever cruised round the Mediterranean and I’m referring to the main cruise lines as those are the ones I’m familiar with. We’ve been told by one person it’s better to cruise on ships with a capacity of around 2000 and another said the bigger ships are much better, hence my post. But previous comments have established, the person who’s been adamant that the small ships are better has also got a lot of their information incorrect. It’s all personal preference but I’m interested to learn about other people’s experiences. 

The key to this issue is the definitions of "better" which are so totally subjective. It might be based on entertainment, it might be based on service, food, or so many other things. 

[edinburgher]

20 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

21 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Glacier Bay scenic cruising is by permit only and my understanding is that the daily number is limited and pre-arranged well in advance, not issued on the day, but others may be more knowledgeable than me.  And local rangers board to give commentary and that too would be pre-arranged as the number of rangers would need to tally with the number of ships.  I simply don't understand how a "small ship" could turn up unannounced and expect to enter simply because it is "small".  As before, HAL and Princess usually have more allocated permits than some other lines. I think your friends are possibly confused about Glacier bay regulations.😉

Lots of unclear info here. 

I don't know which parts of the above are "unclear".  I pointed out that GB entry is by advance permit only and that numbers are capped. Also pointed out that rangers must board for commentary and that even "small" ships cannot  enter without a permit. I also stated that HAL and Princess  have more permits than some other lines. I don't think any of that would be considered "unclear" to most members reading it. Just because I was unable to quote statistics as you did, doesn't IMHO make  any of that "unclear"

 

And yes, the OP was correct in saying I was being kind about the statements made by their friends. I had carefully worded the post as I didn't want to actually insult their friends as it wasn't clear at that time that they were not actually close friends at all.

Edited May 24 by edinburgher

[Heidi13]

22 hours ago, Popsy_cruises said:

Thanks Don. I’ve only ever cruised round the Mediterranean and I’m referring to the main cruise lines as those are the ones I’m familiar with. We’ve been told by one person it’s better to cruise on ships with a capacity of around 2000 and another said the bigger ships are much better, hence my post. But previous comments have established, the person who’s been adamant that the small ships are better has also got a lot of their information incorrect. It’s all personal preference but I’m interested to learn about other people’s experiences. 

 

My favourite Alaska cruises were my first seasons working on the original Princess ships - Island Princess and Sun Princess (Spirit of London). They had about 700 pax and we rarely had more than 2 ships in port. Lots of space aboard the ships and ports weren't crowded. Unfortunately, those days will probably never return.

 

As a pax, in Alaska, we have sailed on Sun Princess, Island/Coral Princess and Diamond/Sapphire Princess. The Sun Class had the worst pax/space ratio, so were the most crowded. The other 4 ships were larger, with Diamond/Sapphire having a few more pax and Island/Coral having less, providing better pax/space ratios onboard, so less crowding. Also did one cruise with RCI, on Radiance, as I knew the Captain. Didn't enjoy that one, which was my only Alaska cruise that didn't visit Glacier Bay.

 

Another consideration for mega ships, is which prime viewing areas are restricted to Suites/Elite pax, etc and/or additional fee areas. With Princess, once they introduced the Sanctuary, those prime areas required an additional fee. In Glacier Bay, it was a significant charge. For photographers, what open decks are available that don't have glass screens. On Island/Coral, I didn't use the upper fwd decks because of the high screens, preferring the fwd decks below the Bridge.

 

Personally, I now prefer ships with a max of 1,000 pax and pax/space ratios of > 50. Unfortunately, none of the mainstream lines meet this criteria, so if sticking to my preference, I am limited to premium/luxury lines. 

 

If looking for an exceptional BC Coastal/Alaska experience, seeing most of the Inside Passages, your other option is checking out the local ferry schedules. Alaska State ferries operate from Washington State, up the BC Coast to Alaska. Although BC Ferries no longer provide service from the Lower Mainland, they have a daily daylight sailing between Port Hardy (north tip Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert). It alternates north/south daily through the summer. The route is spectacular, having completed it way too many times, both by cruise ship and ferry.

[Coral]

Outside of the 2 large cruise ships per day - there are tour vessels/small cruise lines who can also visit:

 

https://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/tour.htm 

 

The next most popular activity is to see the bay on a tour vessel. These smaller boats carry 50-150 passengers. Most operate like small cruise ships and visit Glacier Bay as part of a longer Alaskan itinerary. There is one daily tour boat that departs from Glacier Bay Lodgein Bartlett Cove during the summer months. Learn more about tour vessels in Glacier Bay.

 

 

Their contract with the National Park is different than the large cruise lines. I am sure they have arrangements setup for their access as well. It is outside of the 2 ships per day that cruise ships have to go by (that is also pre-arranged and negotiated for 10 year blocks).

Edited May 24 by Coral

[wolfie11]

On 5/23/2024 at 6:23 AM, Aquahound said:

Ice is the factor determining how close ships get to glaciers.

Yes.  The captain and pilot maneuver the ship through the ice to get closer to the glacier.  However, the ship needs a clear spot where there’s no ice to do 360’s so everyone gets to see the glacier.  Smaller ships have a smaller turning radius and can utilize smaller ice-free areas potentially closer to the glacier.  

[wolfie11]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:05 AM, Glaciers said:

Unless you're looking at much smaller ships like the ones offered by UnCruise, Alaskan Dream & Lindblad, most of the main line ships including their smaller ships go to the same areas and are port intensive. The three mentioned, particularly UnCruise & Alaskan Dream spend more time in remote areas of SE Alaska. They provide an exceptional experience.

I would not recommend Alaska Dream Cruises.  I was on them a few years ago and they are really old (80’s), very basic, and not well maintained.

[wcook]

Large ship pro: You are going on an Alaskan cruise

Small ship pro: You are going on an Alaskan cruise

 

pretty much any cruise you take is likely to be spectacular. Now, if you want you can look at every possible detail and obsess over picking the “perfect” cruise. But even in that case, large vs small isn’t really the distinction. 

[SomewhereGirl]

These pictures were taken from the promenade deck on NCL Encore as we sailed into Glacier Bay.  That little boat is Uncruise (or something similar).  They launched kayaks off the back and the passengers were able to paddle over the shore by this glacier.  Now THAT is a perspective you won't get from any mainstream cruiseline.

 

Someday...

[Coral]

22 minutes ago, SomewhereGirl said:

These pictures were taken from the promenade deck on NCL Encore as we sailed into Glacier Bay.  That little boat is Uncruise (or something similar).  They launched kayaks off the back and the passengers were able to paddle over the shore by this glacier.  Now THAT is a perspective you won't get from any mainstream cruiseline.

 

Someday...

There are some great Un-Cruise reviews on this board. It looks amazing.

[Glaciers]

5 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

I would not recommend Alaska Dream Cruises.  I was on them a few years ago and they are really old (80’s), very basic, and not well maintained.

I did read a review from someone who also noted the vessel they were on was a bit dated.  We’ve been out with them twice as well as UnCruise and didn’t notice much of a difference between the two. I’m not familiar with vessels in general so maybe Alaskan Dream’s are older? Not sure you can put a blanket over the entire line based on one outing. The main difference we did notice was that Alaskan Dream put more of an emphasis on Alaska Native Culture. We’d certainly go with them again but prefer UnCruise.

[wolfie11]

32 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

I did read a review from someone who also noted the vessel they were on was a bit dated.  We’ve been out with them twice as well as UnCruise and didn’t notice much of a difference between the two. I’m not familiar with vessels in general so maybe Alaskan Dream’s are older? Not sure you can put a blanket over the entire line based on one outing. The main difference we did notice was that Alaskan Dream put more of an emphasis on Alaska Native Culture. We’d certainly go with them again but prefer UnCruise.

It’s not the age, it’s the maintenance.  We got moved to another boat because the one we were booked on wouldn’t pass US Coast Guard inspection.

[donaldsc]

10 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

I would not recommend Alaska Dream Cruises.  I was on them a few years ago and they are really old (80’s), very basic, and not well maintained.

 

My first AK cruise was in the ship that is named the Alaska Dream which was neat because it is a catamaran.  However it was a bunch of years ago and it is now owned by a different company (Alan Marine) that has a long history of running AK cruises so my information on the current condition of the vessel is out of date.  You might check out the internet for reviews.

 

DON