Haines or Icy Straight???

[Marie321]

I need help in deciding on a trip please. I am considering these options:

 

FriJul17Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:00pmSatJul18At SeaSunJul19Ketchikan, AK 7:00am3:00pmMonJul20Haines, AK 10:00am11:00pmTueJul21Juneau, AK 7:00am6:00pmWedJul22Sitka, AK 7:00am4:00pmThuJul23Hubbard Glacier, AK (Cruising)7:00am11:00amFriJul24Anchorage (Seward),

 

This is on Holland Ryndam

 

 

Or

 

FriJul24Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:30pmSatJul25Inside Passage (Cruising)SunJul26Ketchikan, AK 7:00am3:00pmMonJul27Juneau, AK 8:00am9:00pmTueJul28Skagway, AK 7:00am8:30pmWedJul29Icy Strait Point, AK 7:00am5:00pmThuJul30Hubbard Glacier, AK (Cruising)7:00am11:00amFriJul31Anchorage (Seward), AK 3:00am

 

The above is on Celebrity Millenium

 

The main difference is do we want to do Haines/Sitka or Skagway/Icy Strait.

 

We have visited Sitka and Skagway before. We are partial to Sitka, but Skagway is enjoyable also. We've never been to either Haines or Icy Straight. We've cruised Holland before. Never Celebrity. Although I think the lines are comparable. The Holland cruise is cheaper by about $300, so we are leaning towards that one. So would Icy Straight be $300 better than Haines????

[SEPyle]

Marie321, I've sailed on both lines and have visited both Icy Strait and Haines, so I guess I'm qualified to give you an informed answer. With that said; as always this is CruiseCritic and we all have our preferences, and opinions. Those opinions are of course subjective and quite biased based on our own preferences.

 

With the above disclaimer noted, I have to say I vote for a definate: Go with the Celebrity choice/Icy Strait!

 

We first visited Icy Strait in May of 2005; then again in August 2006. We love it SO much there we decided spend 3 nights pre-cruise there prior to our Southbound on Holland American's Volendam so we could visit new ports/areas including Haines; College Fjord; and Glacier Bay. We loved Haines and Glacier Bay, but even with these great area; I still say go with Icy Strait.

 

Here's why, and possibly this isn't a biggie for you...Whale Watching out of Icy Strait is incredible. The Whale Watching excursions (either thru the cruise line, or with some top-notch independent operators go to Pt. Adolphus, which is the best area for whale watching in Alaska. The other day I was talking to a vendor that operates out of Gustavus and he said they see breaching on just about 70% of excursions to Pt. Adolphus. Also in Icy Strait we had an incredible encounter with whales including bubble net feeding...an amazing experience right there in Hoonah! Even if Whale Watching isn't your thing, to me there's so many other things to do in Icy Strait and that's why this year we decided to stay for an extended time in this great area! Here's a link to our pics while in Icy Strait/Hoonah this August:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/TASharon1/HoonahAK#

 

Now I'm going to confuse my above comments. With all I said, I really did enjoy our visit to Haines. Both Haines and Hoonah are great off the beaten path ports that aren't overcrowded and overun with tourist shops like Diamonds International etc. We chose a native tour and went to Klukwan. We had a native of Klukwan as our guide and really enjoyed this opportunity to hear his incredible stories and see the beautiful scenery on the way to his village. We enjoyed our day and loved Haines.

 

Now here's the real subjective part. I've not mentioned this before because I know prefered cruise lines are such hot topics. We all have our favorites and up till now, I've only experienced Celebrity in Alaska. Now I can comment on Holland America, and again; my opinion only! We prefer Celebrity, and I know Holland America is very respected in Alaska; but I still give Celebrity the edge! Besides the great Martini's on Celebrity:D, we simply enjoy the food on Celebrity as well as the ambiance of Celebrity. One last thing. A biggie for me is the Inside Passage. This year we didn't leave Ketchikan (going Southbound) till 8pm. Last time on Celebrity, we had an incredible Inside Passage day, leaving Ketchikan earler with beautiful scenery from early am till sunset. I really think the difference may be a combination of the speed of the ships (the Millie is a bit faster) and the time they leave Ketchikan...we were in prime areas during the day!

 

Hope this all makes sense; and again - only my opinion!

[Marie321]

Thanks so much for your input. I had already read about your stay in Hoonah and I enjoyed your write-up very much!

 

Anyone else with input?

[greydog]

For us Inside Passage viewing is a highlight - would not do AK cruise without it. Unfortunately, our 1 time from ISP on ship excursion (250 people) we saw very little wildlife/whales - would certainly do small-vendor wildlife excursion next visit. Have not been to Haines but did rental car drive from Skagway 65 miles 1-way to Emerald Lake that was a great sightseeing day and very cost-effective. Good Luck.