which line?

[Mrs. Pharlin]

I am planning an alaskan cruise for next summer with my myself, my sister (both mid to late 20's) our mother (early 50's) and our grandmother (early 80's), being from BC we would prefer to either embark or disembark from Vancouver. This will be my second cruise (diamond princess honeymoon in 17 weeks), but thier first. looking for recomondations on whcih line to book, along with the land excursions, sis is a wildlife biologist and wants to explore.
thanks.

the soon to be
Mrs Phar

[Budget Queen]

Are you looking at a one way or round trip. With a one way- consider a ship that has College Fjords and I give an edge to Seward. With the interest- take advantage of a Kenai Fjord boat tour- fits great into the arrival/departure day of Seward. Add at least 5 days for interior touring. Getting all the way there - take advantage. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] If going round trip- then Vancouver is excellent. Look at ports, time in ports, glacier- Glacier Bay my preference, route, price. Budget fully for costly tours- you get only half a trip without them. Any trip will be a compromise. Get together with your group and rank preferences and go from there. Be very willing to split up on your tours- that way everyone gets there preference. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Mrs. Pharlin]

we would want to go one way, more places and time to explore, being from BC we are used to seeing mountains and wildlife, i really want to explore the glaciers, and grandma will be very diapointed if she doesn't see at least one bear

[santaharry]

I agree with Budget Queen. Holland America and Princess are perhaps the only ones that give the Glacier Bay and College Fjord experience. The princess iteneraries do allow you the abilit to take the Goldbelt tour to the Tracy Arm out of Juneau and this combines whale watching, sight seeing and 2 glaciers for a day trip.
The Princess tours are now out of Whitter whereas the HAL arrive in seward. The trip from Seward to Anchorage is perhaps one of the prettiest trips I have made and is a definite highlight.
Allow at least 4-5 days inland and keep up with this board for what to do in Denali. We have been only once at the early part of the season and it still was impressive. Fairbanks is a must and be sure to ride the riverboat.
with some planning you can do a lot, and stay away from the preplanned tours so you can get to see the locals. The people there are very interesting and friendly. They also are for the most part very well informed and want to share information on their state with tourists.