Alaska Cruisetours - Need Advice!!!

[MAXXMOM]

We are in the planning stages of a 10 or 11 day Alaska Cruisetour for 2008 - I think we'll go on Royal Carribean - our favorite ship - Radiance - but I'm looking for advice on the following:

Should we do the land tour first or last?

What month has better weather? Our friends have gone in August but I read that June has better weather?

Is there a specific land tour we should choose -- need recommendations?

Is is better to book airfare with the cruise or do it yourself.

 

We're experienced cruisers - mostly Carribean and Panama Canal and coming from a cold climate (New England) - Alaska has not really interested us til recently......

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks

 

Maxxmom

[cjnky]

Are you sure you want a cruisetour? That's what I had originally planned, but the more I read this forum, the more convinced I was to do it on my own. It's really quite simple, and you get to do more of what YOU want WHEN you want to do it. Good Luck!

[fti]

We are in the planning stages of a 10 or 11 day Alaska Cruisetour for 2008 - I think we'll go on Royal Carribean - our favorite ship - Radiance - but I'm looking for advice on the following:

Should we do the land tour first or last?

What month has better weather? Our friends have gone in August but I read that June has better weather?

Is there a specific land tour we should choose -- need recommendations?

Is is better to book airfare with the cruise or do it yourself.

 

Maxxmom

 

I would agree - planning your own land tour gives you greatest flexibility, allows you to see more and costs less. However, if you are convinced that a cruisetour is for you, take one that gives you TWO nights at Denali NP. If you are only there for one night, you won't see much. But seriously consider doing it on your own. You have LOTS of time to plan.

 

Weather is a crapshoot - look at all the posts just on the first couple of pages about weather. Can vary greatly. end May to end August can be great or terrible. Earlier or later than that can be much more iffy.

 

Re: booking air on your own or via cruiseline - check both. Generally looking this far ahead, people can do better on their own. Set up fare watchers (travelocity, farecompare and others), and especially be looking in the fall when airfares between the continental US and AK tend to dip.

 

Re: NB or SB cruise, that depends on you. You will get varied opinions here. Some say SB to get the long flight to AK out of the way first (good reason), some say SB to get more daylight when cruising toward Vancouver (another good reason), some say SB because the landtour is so "hectic" and to relax on the cruise (bad reason - if your land tour is too hectic booked on your own, you didn't book it right!). Some say NB so you get continued better scenery as you travel north on the ship (good reason).

[NancyIL]

Whatever you do, if you're on a northbound cruise (especially), plan to fly to Vancouver the day before your ship sails. A bunch of people missed the May 30th Carnival Spirit out of Vancouver because of cancelled/delayed flights the day the ship sailed, and they were not allowed by law to catch-up with the ship at a later point.

[Chenega]

Having worked ships both ways, I'd go with northbound since it's nice to allow the anticipation to build as you sail north through the inside passage and into Alaskan waters. However, after all the touring up here, a SB cruise would certainly be relaxing. Still, I think NB is better - personal opinion.

[Budget Queen]

Not sure if you are looking at 10/11 days total?? Frankly, this is not enough time for both a cruise and interior Alaska touring. All the time is in transit and little at destinations. Be FULLY aware of WHAT you are purchasing, most people are not, then find out it is not what they wanted and too late to fix. Factor out EVERYTHING in the land portion- are these areas you really want to go . With cruisetours- you also have to add "wasted time". Waiting and more waiting, loading/unloading buses. These also are fixed point to point travel, missing everything in between that can be gems.

 

Plenty of people like cruise tours- maybe you??? But again it is VITALLY important for you to do your homework. :)

 

As already mentioned- independent- is superior in making the best use of time, going where you wish and for how long. :) Cheaper too, seeing twice as much.