I am considering an Alaskan Cruise this fall with my wife. Any recommendations as to which cruise line and/or itinerary you would recommend?
I have been hunting up there once and would like to see the sites along the coast as well. Other recommendations as to enjoying Alaska would be appreciated - I do not plan on hunting this time around.
Not sure Alaskan residents would really like the cruise folks showing up in their beautiful state so please be patient with my question -- I am also interested in cruise lines that respect the locals as best they can
I can't recommend a cruise line but it rains a lot more in the fall up here, FYI. Hence, you may not get to see the beautiful views that our state may offer, from the ship or on land tours.
Went 2 years ago with the family. No cruise for us. We are not cruise people.
Flew into Anchorage and rented an RV. We are still talking about the FANTASTIC vacation that we will never forget. I highly reccomend doing the same. Let me see if I can find the write up that I posted.
If you want a cruise experience, I think all of them will give you pretty similar ones. So pick whatever you want.
If it were me wanting to see southeast ak I'd book a ferry ticket and my own itinerary. You'd see more and smaller places and would be a degree removed from the bulk of other tourists.
Or if I had to choose a cruise company, maybe "uncruise." They at least try to be different than the big ships.
Also, Hardballer is right -- the earlier in the summer the better in terms of weather.
It's been a while, but even when my folks lived up here they took the cruise a couple of times and loved it each time.
They always did Holland America cruises, no matter where they went.
Seattle to Seward was their choice. Though I've had other family do the shorter trip that just went to the panhandle and back to Seattle and liked that to.
You could do everything Sakoluvr did and a lot more by taking the cruise to Seward and then renting a car and spending another week or two driving around the road system.
If you make it to Anchorage, look me up.
A few years ago we did a Princes Cruise that consisted of 7 days or so on land, from Fairbanks to Seward then 7 days on the water from Seward to Vancouver. They run the same Cruise in reverse going from Vancouver to Fairbanks. We flew into Fairbanks and stayed in 3 different Princes resorts and had one glass domed train ride to get to Seward. Princes did a great job on the land portion of the trip and I enjoyed it very much.
The ship stopped at Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan over the 7 days at sea.
This was my first cruise and most likely my last. Each stop at the three ports was interesting but any time spent on the ship is boring. If you like to be around crowds and eat a lot cafeteria type food, or eat at one of the restaurants where the service is poor you may enjoy the ship, I did not.
Another cruise line other than Princes may have a better on ship experience.
Thanks everyone! I will be looking around at options. My trip will need to be at the end of August or early September so maybe Alaska is not the place to go.
The RV trip through AK would be completely awesome! I will have to look at that, again, maybe next year.
Thanks everyone! I will be looking around at options. My trip will need to be at the end of August or early September so maybe Alaska is not the place to go.
The RV trip through AK would be completely awesome! I will have to look at that, again, maybe next year.
If you choose that route, research what area you want to see most. Not possible to see all of Alaska in one trip, even just the road system
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I've not done Alaska but have been on several cruises. Holland America is a step above many others in the same price range, IMHO. Choose your itinerary first, then see who can come closest at your price point.
If you don't like set meal times or having to play "dress up" for dinner, take Norwegian. Try to find a smaller ship, too. We went about 13 years ago when they were still using smaller ships (relatively). Now, some of the cruise lines are sending their megaships that used to be used just in the Caribbean.
I used to ride the ferries when I was sea kayaking on the AK-BC coast and always had a great time. I was young and never booked a cabin just camped out on the comfortable chaise lounges on the covered and heated back deck. I did not have to dress up for meals which is good as all I head with me were my standard trail gear consisting of carharts.
I am looking at taking my wifeto AK on the ferry and will get a room as she likes more creature comforts than I, she will only be with me one way I may skip the room on my solo trip and do the back deck again for the sake of nostalgia, saving the money is not a bad thing either. One nice thing about the back deck is claustrophobia is not an issue, I have spent some time in very small berths in the bowels of ships that were not very comfortable.
Good.thread here. The wife and I have been kiciking around a cruise or some sort of Alaskan trip. My biggest stipulation is that it falls during the salmon run so that I can get a little good fishing done up there. She wants to go salmon fishing too,she just don't know it yet !
look into the small ship companies, Uncruises, Linblad, Allen Marine etc. Much more intimate with nature and not shopping! The MIL did one and loved it!
We did a bus tour 6 years ago. Globes travel. Highly recommend. Did the first week of the season over Memorial Day. Saw huge amount of wildlife. Anchorage, Valdez, Fairbanks, Denali, Seward……. 10 days. I think you see much more of Alaska from a ground tour than a cruise. Many side trips included,,,,,whale watching etc, plus chances for optional activities
Another vote for Norwegian cruise line. Their open dining plan is great, and they are offering many perks for free that used to be high-priced, like a full alcoholic beverage plan.
If this is your first cruise or not, I highly recommend you book through a travel agency. They know not only all the discount tricks but the many other perks, AND if anything happens to cancel your trip, they do all the legwork and paperwork to get your refunds. We booked our whole family on Norwegian Alaska last year for our 50th anniversary, but COVID cancelled it all. Our agent not only got us full refunds from Norwegian but also got our travel insurance premium refunded!
Edit to add: If you don't do Alaska, I can also recommend the Norwegian cruise in Hawaii. Seven days and stops on four islands, plus a night in Honolulu. The scenery is fantastic, the side tours are great - and you'll soon learn why you'd never want to live there.
My wife and I did 2 trips with this company
https://northwestnavigation.com/They were both absolutely fantastic. I recommend them most highly. Great people, food was amazing and the places they can get with their smaller boat is really cool.
The first trip was a 3 day 2 night trip in the San Juan Islands in August of 2008 and then we did a week long trip with them in July of 2010. On the 2010 trip we flew to Ketchikan and boarded the boat and cruised up to Juneau.
The owners came to visit us a couple years later and stayed a couple nights with us when we lived in Walla Walla Washington. We would not have invited them had we not thought the world of them.
Budget makes a huge difference. You can get a no frills one week cruise on Princess for less than half of what a week will cost on Regent Seven Seas. A lot of the difference is due to Regents being all inclusive- booze, shore excursions, no tipping, airfare include, etc. Princess will charge extra for everything above room and board. Also Regents ships are smaller-750 passengers instead of 1500-2000.