Please help plan an Alaskan cruise

[Munchkin]

My parents are absurdly generous. Thanks to them, I''ve been to dozens of countries. Now, they are in the early stages of planning an Alaskan cruise for them, their adult children and our SOs.

This summer we took a cruise on the Med and discovered that, while we disliked cruising in the past, it can be a great way for 6 adults to travel together happily. Each couple did their own thing during the day and we all spent the evenings together. We had a blast.

For next summer, my Dad plans to finally take the trip to Alaska he has wanted for years! They want to plan a cruise again due to the reasons above. Again, however, we did not like cruising in the past and thus, have little experience comparing cruise lines. I''ve only ever been on Royal Caribbean. I''ve reviewed trip advisor/cruise critic but thought I would turn to my favorite online community for advice!

We would like the following: 7 nights, assigned dining time/table, really good gym, at least one day just cruising, personal service. At this point we are naive enough to not even know where we specifically want to visit, we simply want to narrow down the cruise lines. I have heard, however, that leaving from Vancouver is prefererable to Seattle and that Hubbard is not to be missed. Any thoughts?

Please feel free to chime in with good and bad experiences!
Thanks!

 

[scarleta]

Munchkin:": "7 nights, assigned dining time/table, really good gym, at least one day just cruising, personal service"

You get all above on most of the cruise lines.

What do you parent''s like to in in Alaska? What do they want to see in Alaska beside cruising?Alaska has lots to offer.Sometimes you can get 2 weeks and that is what I would look for if possible.
As for cruise lines they have similar ports for 7 days duration.In 7 days you get to go and come back can''t see too many ports and yes they will be spending lots of time cruising.
Do they have preference for balcony ? your budget etc.
They all offer lots of activities on different ports.You can spend far more $ on land excursions.If they have to get to Vancouver most cruise lines will offer air , accommodation and cruise, but the connections are not the best.Check Princess Cruise lines also.Look for passenger to staff ratio.You want 1 to 2 at least.
Do they want a bigger ship or smaller ?The bigger the ship the more activities and services ,but on the ship with less people and good service they will most likely not wait in long lines to leave the ship at ports.
You want accommodation in mid ship especially on smaller ships.If you have many requests you may want to book it soon because the balconies mid ship book fast.Season for Alaska is not long so the sooner the better.You can''t go wrong if you book with a reputable company.
Good luck what a nice gift.

 

[diamondfan]

not much to add just wanted to say it is a great family thing to do and I have ALWAYS wanted to see the glaciers and stuff. Alaska is supposed to be just incredible from a cruise ship.

 

[LuckyTexan]

My aunt works at Princess up there. Let me know how you like it... I may have to call in a favor! LOL!

 

[panda08]

Date: 9/7/2008 10:11:28 PM
Author:Munchkin
My parents are absurdly generous. Thanks to them, I''ve been to dozens of countries. Now, they are in the early stages of planning an Alaskan cruise for them, their adult children and our SOs.


This summer we took a cruise on the Med and discovered that, while we disliked cruising in the past, it can be a great way for 6 adults to travel together happily. Each couple did their own thing during the day and we all spent the evenings together. We had a blast.


For next summer, my Dad plans to finally take the trip to Alaska he has wanted for years! They want to plan a cruise again due to the reasons above. Again, however, we did not like cruising in the past and thus, have little experience comparing cruise lines. I''ve only ever been on Royal Caribbean. I''ve reviewed trip advisor/cruise critic but thought I would turn to my favorite online community for advice!


We would like the following: 7 nights, assigned dining time/table, really good gym, at least one day just cruising, personal service. At this point we are naive enough to not even know where we specifically want to visit, we simply want to narrow down the cruise lines. I have heard, however, that leaving from Vancouver is prefererable to Seattle and that Hubbard is not to be missed. Any thoughts?


Please feel free to chime in with good and bad experiences!

Thanks!

My family and I took a seven day Alaskan cruise last summer with Celebrity. It was fabulous! We sailed from Vancouver on the Infinity in the Inner Passage. Gosh, I''m trying to remember the exact details... We all stayed on the same deck. I had a stateroom that had a balcony, which was really great, especially on the days we were sailing. I''m trying to remember what it''s called but we had upgraded services, sort of like business class. We got priority check in and baggage handling, nice robes, and fresh fruit everyday and some other extra amenities I can''t think of right now. My brother and his family had a one bedroom suite, which was REALLY nice and they had butler service. I used the gym every day. I though it was pretty nice and spacious, with most of the equipment you''d want. They offer fitness classes for $10 extra. I took a mat pilates and a spinning class. I thought they were okay but I was used to doing pilates on a reformer and had taken some hard core spinning classes before

We had assigned table and dining times, but I think that''s pretty standard. We had that when we took a caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. We went to Hubbard Glacier, which was cool but you can only see it from a distance, as the cruise ships can only get so close.

Overall, we had a great time. Cruising to Alaska was much more expensive than to the Caribbean. The cost of the cruise is more expensive and so are the excursions. But we did some fab excursions, my fave was taking a helicopter on top of Mendenhall Glacier to a dog camp and mushing the dogs on a sled. I thought Celebrity''s food was better than Royal Caribbean though not by much. The service was wonderful, warm and friendly. I would definitely cruise with Celebrity again.