Serenade to Alaska or better suggestion

[Outofhere]

I have been reading boards for weeks trying to decide. Has anyone taken the Serenade and what time of year? I'm leaning toward June since some have said there's a little less rain. We can only do 7 nights due to work schedules though we'll take one extra day to fly into Vancouver. Some have also said that a Princess cruise would be better because they have been doing it longer but I keep leaning toward Serenade. I know the advantage of doing a Southern cruise is getting to see more and I think if we were to decide that I might lean toward Princess but I'm not sure if we want to spend all that extra time flying. My husband is not a fan of sitting on planes all day - the trip to Vancouver from NY is probably all he can take. I finally convinced him to take this cruise (he prefers warmer vacations) and I want him to enjoy the trip. (I'm going to post this on the Alaska board too. I need as much feedback as I can get.)

[Fran Harp]

I have been reading boards for weeks trying to decide. Has anyone taken the Serenade and what time of year? I'm leaning toward June since some have said there's a little less rain. We can only do 7 nights due to work schedules though we'll take one extra day to fly into Vancouver. Some have also said that a Princess cruise would be better because they have been doing it longer but I keep leaning toward Serenade. I know the advantage of doing a Southern cruise is getting to see more and I think if we were to decide that I might lean toward Princess but I'm not sure if we want to spend all that extra time flying. My husband is not a fan of sitting on planes all day - the trip to Vancouver from NY is probably all he can take. I finally convinced him to take this cruise (he prefers warmer vacations) and I want him to enjoy the trip. (I'm going to post this on the Alaska board too. I need as much feedback as I can get.)

 

I am booked on the 7-day Alaska May 23, from Seattle, on the Rhapsody of the Seas with the great Captain Rune Loekling.....don't know if that would suit any better.

 

Fran in Toronto

[PH8]

I am a "warm weather" type of person.never thought I would go to a cold place like Alaska...........but we did ...

 

We went a May 30th cruise(serenade) and loved it....we had great weather and it was not as cold I thought........

 

I would do it again!!

[flpenguin]

We went on the Serenade the end of may 2006 and loved it. I hate the cold but the only time I was freezing was watching Hubbard Glacier and the scenery made up for it by a long shot. Only time we hit rain was our pre and post cruise time in Seattle and about the last hour before boarding in Ketchikan. I would go back in a minute.

[Sue L]

I did the Serenade on August 4th and the cruise was amazing. The Serenade in my opinion is the perfect ship to sail Alaska in because of the all glass so you can see the beautiful scenery practically anywhere on the ship.

 

I noticed you are from Long Island. So am I and we took Cathay Pacific Airline from JFK to Vancouver direct for 300$ per person which they still have. The airline is Hong Kong based but was really wonderful and they gave you pillows and blankets and hot food.

 

Show hubby the my pictures the link is in my signature.

[sailor moon]

We did the Serenade in June 2007 and loved it! We also did the Radiance 2 years before in June and loved it. The Radiance class ships are perfect for Alaska and the June timeframe was awesome in terms of weather and activities.

[emilygrace]

We did the Serenade in September 2005 and the weather was perfect! I think if you are considering an Alaskan cruise with a land portion (which it sounds isn't really possible for you, time-wise), then I might suggest Princess because they've got their own lodges and all. But for a cruise only trip to AK, the Serenade is wonderful. And since you're going in June you will have maximum hours of sunlight, so be ready for that!

[rclcruzer]

First, don't forget to post this on the ALaska boards, you will get so much help in your decision making process! Very helpful to me when I went.

We went on Serenade last June 30th, sailing out of Vancouver. Weather was good the entire cruise, only had one heavy rainfall and that was an night at sea, so no biggie. Juneau was a bit cold a drizzly, but did not hamper the beauty at all. I know I am in the minority here, and have posted this before while answering a question, but we did not care for Serenade that much, only because we ran into various odd things that put a damper on our cruise. The ship, although smaller than what we like, was so pretty with all the glass everywhere, just gorgeous. Our wait staff was amazing and the WJ had great food all week. Besides the ship, Alaska is surely a cruise not to miss. Should do it at least once in your lifetime. We are warm Caribbean cruisers, but we really loved Alaska. Don't forget your binochulars and camera! oh yes, like the previous poster, it did stay light out until about midnight, very neat!!

[Outofhere]

Thank you all for the positive input. I have been really worried that I would be picking the wrong Ship and the wrong time of year but now feel a lot better. We've only been on one cruise - Caribbean on the Mariner - and we loved it. The last few years we've done Las Vegas, Mexico and Punta Cana, so I'm so ready for another cruise and Alaska has been my dream. Who knows, after we've gone my husband may want to go back and have more time to do land and sea but for now I am so satisfied with cruise only. Thanks again.

[dirtgirl]

SueL, I always find you on these Serenade/Alaska threads!:p :D

 

I loved the Serenade too, and I was worried that I wouldn't like it because I like palm trees with my cruises. However, we had a great time! We went at the end of August (cheapest week of the summer), and only encounted rain a couple of times. We made sure we all had good rain jackets and rain pants just in case. We never needed the rain pants. I even sunbathed in my bathing suit on the Hubbard Glacier day!:eek:

[Sue L]

SueL, I always find you on these Serenade/Alaska threads!:p :D

 

 

 

That's because you are always on them also. I guess we love talking about the Serenade and Alaska:rolleyes:

[dirtgirl]

That's because you are always on them also. I guess we love talking about the Serenade and Alaska:rolleyes:

 

 

Who'd have thought I would be sold on Alaska, and WILL do it again someday?:rolleyes:

[dizbuster]

We cruised Alaska in June 2007 on Serenade and loved every minute of the cruise. We flew out of DC and the flight was long and very uncomfortable, but soooo worth it once we got to the ship. It was our frst cruise and has been our favorite cruise by far.

[Duhlina]

We did the Serenade to AK from Vancouver in Aug '06 and had a GREAT time. We actually got married in Juneau. It rained the day we got married, but other than that we had pretty nice weather. It was a little chilly, but not parka weather.

 

Now, we just got back from Hawaii on the Serenade and have vowed to not sail with RC again....it was COMPLETELY different than the service we had to AK.