Veterans-Here's your chance...PLEASE plan our last minute cruise

[UTVOLS]

HELP! Trying to plan a last minute July 2007 Alaskan cruise.. No time to plan.

We'll trust YOU!

First Timers to Alaska

Want to Hit the Highlights

4 adults mid 40's, casual, and relaxed people

Interested in NCL or Princess

Can do Round trip Vancouver or North or Southbound (no preference).

Not so interested in wildlife, but more so scenery...

Fjords or Glaciers? Which is more impressive?

 

What would you recommend?

PLEASE don't tell us that it depends on what excursions, and itinerary we want. We honestly don't care.

We will trust those who have 'been there and done that';).

 

PLEASE RESPOND!!!

 

[Toyz711]

NCL doesn't do 1-ways. only roundtrips..2 out of seattle, 1 from vancouver.

we did the NCL star last year, but that route will be done by NCL pearl this year. their relaxed dining is a plus for cruisng that area.

recommend the star for being a great ship, but really recommend the pearl for being a new ship and doing the route that includes glacier bay.

[Yukon]

PLEASE don't tell us that it depends on what excursions, and itinerary we want. We honestly don't care.

 

There's no such thing as a bad Alaska cruise. Since you don't care about the stuff that takes a cruise the next step, just pick anything.

[Toyz711]

just an idea, the glacier view from the ship are great.

but the scenery you see from the ship (other then glacier cruising on 1 day) is limited. if you just want to cruise, watch the water, watch the shoreline from the distance..any cruise will do.

if you just want ease of travel, check out the ships leaving seattle..can't get much easier then that. round trips are easier then 1-ways.

i would just figure out the budget and find the cabins that fit that budget. then grab it...ships do fill up and certain level of cabins go fast.

[Sunshine Gal]

 

HELP! Trying to plan a last minute July 2007 Alaskan cruise.. No time to plan.

 

 

 

We'll trust YOU!

 

 

 

First Timers to Alaska

Want to Hit the Highlights

4 adults mid 40's, casual, and relaxed people

Interested in NCL or Princess

Can do Round trip Vancouver or North or Southbound (no preference).

Not so interested in wildlife, but more so scenery...

Fjords or Glaciers? Which is more impressive?

 

What would you recommend?

 

PLEASE don't tell us that it depends on what excursions, and itinerary we want. We honestly don't care.

 

We will trust those who have 'been there and done that';).

 

PLEASE RESPOND!!!

 

 

 

 

Hi UTVOLS,

When you said roundtrip North or South, not sure if you are talking about doing a back to back cruise or cruising one-way and flying back. Have not been on NCL but have cruised to Alaska on Princess many times. Princess, I believe, only does the Inside Passage roundtrip from Seattle. To see the most I would recommend Princess North and South bound Alaskan cruises out of Vancouver, by far as your best choice to see the most of Alaska. Most of the Princess North and South bound cruises spend 1 day cruising Glacier Bay and 1 day cruising College Fjord. In my opinion, the one line that I would avoid would be Celebrity M-class ships as there is a propulsion problem that disrupts several cruises every year. If you are on one of these problem Celebrity cruises, trust me, these problems can make a big difference in what you will see in Alaska.

I would recommend one of the cruises from Vancouver as I feel to much time is spent getting from San Francisco and back on the round trip cruises.

In my opinion Glacier Bay is far more impressive than the Fjords, although the Fjords are beautiful and worth seeing. If you want to see Scenery I would recommend renting a car in Skagway and driving to Emerald Lake. It is one of the most scenic drives in the world.

Hope this helps.

[fantn]

From a fellow UT fan....

 

We are taking a princess cruise in June one way from Anchorage to Vancouver leaving Monday and arriving Monday. We chose this route so we could travel on Saturday morning. We have part of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning to explore Alaska on our own before the cruise. And on Monday have a shorter flight back to Tennessee from Vancouver.

 

We have booked the train in Skagaway, glacier helicopter trip in Jueaneu, and Float plane in Ketchikan during the cruise.

 

Good luck in your planning....

[fti]

There's no such thing as a bad Alaska cruise. Since you don't care about the stuff that takes a cruise the next step, just pick anything.

 

I agree with Yukon. I would take it two steps further..

 

1) book a round trip. why book a one-way cruise then just fly right back if you are not spending time in the interior?

 

2) wait until after the final payment is due for your cruise dates (usually about mid April). You will find some last minute bargains as the ships try to fill up empty cabins from those who had a deposit down but canceled. You will have to monitor it closely since there are not that many bargains to AK but definitely some. And if you really don't care that much about the ship, etc it seems like this would fit you perfectly.

[UTVOLS]

Thanks for all your help! It's not that we don't care, we just don't know what to care about!! I am usually an obsessive vacation planner and start the process a year in advance. We have always wanted to do an Alaskan cruise, but there are so many choices---I am getting overwhelmed!! Right now, we just don't "get" Alaska:confused:

 

We are considering 7 cruises on either Princess or NCL with 6 different itineraries. I know this may seem like a dumb question, but some itineraries say "cruising Inside Passage" and some say "at sea". What's the difference? I've read that you want to get a balcony but if you really can't see the shore except from a distance is it really necessary? In my mind, I see the inside passage as a narrow passage with mountains on either side. What is it really like? I live on the prairie so to me anything is a mountain!

 

Also, on the one way trips the cruise either begins or ends in Whittier. How far is that from Anchorage? What can you do for a couple of days there? And how do you get from Whittier to Anchorage? Is it included in the cruise price or do you take a train?

 

We are looking at this cruise as kind of a scouting trip. We know we can't do everything and are planning on going back later to do a land tour as well. We appreciate all the help we can get!!:)

[NancyIL]

I didn't respond earlier because I'm not an Alaska "veteran." However, if you're who I think you are, I told you what we are going to do on another message board. :)

[UTVOLS]

Thank you Nancy...

Even though you may not be a veteran, the research you have done has been most helpful.;)

 

 

fantn...thank you and Go VOLS! Your 'extra days' plan are a great idea, but not too overwhelming. Thank you for sharing.:)

 

Sunshine Gal...

Thank you for the taking time to post such great info....I especially appreciate your overview of the Fjords and Glaciers. Renting a car to Emerald Lake sounds right up our alley and easy to do also.:p

 

 

 

 

[Toyz711]

if you look at a map that shows seattle up to juneau...you will see that there are some islands (like barrier islands), when you are between these islands and the main shore..you are in the "inside passage". this is the part of alaska that runs south along Canada.

at sea or open sea, usually refers to the time some ships sail around vancouver island on the west or the time ships sail from whittier around to icy straits. (glacier bay area)

skagway/juneau/ketchikan are all in the "inside passage", along with some other nice communities. any ship that goes to these ports, sails the inside passage.

for anchorage, homer, steward, whittier and other communities, you would be on the main (large) secton of alaska. you would need a land excursions to see this area.

go to your local library and get some travel books on alaska, really, you would learn so much and make it easier on yourself.

[UTVOLS]

Thank you Toyz,

But your explanation was soooo easy to understand and it saved me a trip to the library:p.

 

p.s. We used to live in Corinth MS, so we are familiar with your neck of the woods.

"It's a small world".

[Toyz711]

we like fishing up at pickwick dam, love those stripped bass!

but i have lived in lots of places, so i related to just about anyone.

i am a california girl who has lived in arizona, texas, florida, north carolina and now mississippi! i have gone from fishing the pacific ocean to fishing the tennessee river (and at time the ole miss)

 

here's some links with lots of information and things to read about.

these websites are treasures for the traveler.

 

http://www.traveljuneau.com/

 

http://www.skagway.com/

 

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/

[Budget Queen]

My opinion. IF you truely want an excellent sailing experince consider HAL. They offer a top itinerary- round trip Vancouver with Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm. HAL is above and beyond with their ship cpts. who go all out for the passengers, unlike some cruiselines who go through motions only. :)

 

HAL has excellent ship naturalists, who can really enhance your trip. Get to know him/her and get spotting tips, etc.

 

Sailing by glaciers is breathtaking. :)

[Travel_Queen]

I am a woman in my forties who has cruised over a dozen times through the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Greek Isles...but have ALWAYS wanted to see Alaska. One of the problems I had never done so before is that none of my freinds my age when I was in my twenties and thirties and even now wanted to go to Alaska. Too cold, too many "old people", and other "excuses". So, I did what any single, self sufficient woman does...I booked a cruise to Alaska on my own. Yes I paid double, yes I sometimes ate dinner alone....but I enjoy my own company, and I meet people easily.

 

After much research, I decided on NCL because of their free style cruising..which meant I could eat when I wanted and with whomever I wanted..and this was a good decision..because I met people throughout the cruise usually from excursions and then usually was invited to have dinner with them...and then you meet the rest of their group..and so on.

 

The ship itself was not hugh by today's standards, but had all the basic elements, such as a spa, gym, casino, evening shows...and the best part, a front lounge that looked out 180 degrees, so you could have a nice drink and watch the beautiful scenery outside or a whale or two. Of course, being out on deck and watcing the scenery go by is unbelievable. Of all the cruises I've been on, I think the Alaska one is the only one where literally the scenery comes to you!

 

In addition, I received a nice upgrade, so I had a floor to ceiling window, and although its true you don't spend much time in the cabin, its nice on those days at sea when you go back to your cabin to not miss what's going on outside, I saw a few whales while getting ready for dinner a couple times. The other thing is that since Alaska is a summer destination, I've never had so much daylight on a cruise before. Alaska in July, the sun goes down at 9:30 and is up again at 3:30 a.m.!

 

I took excursions at all the ports, and these were well run and worth the money. The only bad thing compared to the other cruise lines, NCL doesn't spend the same amount of time in port, so after the excursion, you don't have much time for checking out the port town or shopping. A lot of PAX had been to Alaska many times, and spent all their port time in the port itself, all within walking distance of the pier.

 

I think you will enjoy any of the cruise lines, as the scenery remains the same.

 

Enjoy your planning and your trip!!

[BJS]

First not to dispute Budget Queen who is very experienced on cruising Alsaka but I would not choose HAL. Why? We did cruise with them to Alaska and felt the majority of the cruisers were "senior". As a result the activities, entertainment, etc. was geared to that age group. Yes, we are seniors but did meet a couple in their early 40s who were very disappointed that there were not more younger people and especially more activities, entertainment and music geared for their age group. That was the 3rd HAL cruise for us and all of their cruises had a much older group of people with entertainment and activities geard to a very senior age group compared to the 18 Princess cruises we have been on. Naturalists are also on the Princess ships and can greatly enhance your cruise if you attend their lectures or personally speak with them.

 

We took two RV tours to Alaska spending a couple of months there and feel getting out of the port cities is the only way to see Alaska. We have booked a Princess cruise, Inside Passage round trip from Seattle again, for May. This is an easy 7 day trip that does give you opportunity to see other things rather than just the shops in town. We'll be flying to Taku Lodge out of Juneau, taking the train to Bennett Lake out of Skagway, and doing a cruise/fly to Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan. Should these things interest you they would give you great scenery and an opportunity to get away from the crowds and experience the true Alaska. Yes, the port cities can be interesting but when there are two or three ships docked at the same time you can not even get a taste of what Alaska is like in these towns.

 

We had a suite on the HAL cruise and did use the balcony in Glacier Bay but saw very little cruising the Inside Passage. We have also taken the ferry from Skagway to Prince Rupert and saw nothing for several days because of the fog. This time we are taking advantage of great low cost inside cabin rates and putting the savings towards the "pricy" excursions.

 

Princess has "anytime" dining and you can also choose when and where you wish to dine.

 

Fjords can also have glaciers so you can have the same experience. Here is a quote from the Princess web site about Tracy Arm Fjord

Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska (Scenic Cruising)-Located 50 miles southeast of Juneau, this spectacular glacier-carved fjord has sheer vertical walls that clearly showcase nature's artistry. Linger in this magical place to watch blocks of ice calving off the glaciers towering faces.

Keep in mind that many people visit glaciers and never see them calve.

 

No matter what you decide have a fabulous trip to a beautiful area of our country.:)

 

 

.

[Seabee]

 

fantn...thank you and Go VOLS! Your 'extra days' plan are a great idea, but not too overwhelming. Thank you for sharing.

 

 

Who is going to be watching y'alls trailers back in the hills while y'all are in Alaska? :D

[UTVOLS]

Who is going to be watching y'alls trailers back in the hills while y'all are in Alaska? :D

 

Hey Pa from Alabama,

It ain't our trailers we're worried about....who's gonna be feedin' our dawgs?....and won't our barefeet git frost bit up yonder in Alaska?

 

I also done used a black marker on my computer screen to blacken out a couple those teeth on the smiley guys you done plastered everywhere...makes me feel more at home:D.

****************

 

Ease up now, People,,,,Some of us Southerns take no offense to a little ridicule now and then, and surprisingly we have an uncanny ability to laugh at ourselves.;)

 

 

 

 

[cjnky]

ROFL!! And we can laugh at the Yankees slang too, can't we!! :D I'm just across the border from you in KY - so can understand! ;)