calling cruise veterans - advice on alaska

[bludiva]

@cflutist and anyone else who has cruise experience, i'd love your input. we're looking at 3 options for alaska:
- seattle r/t itinerary on one of norwegian's new ships (joy, bliss)
- land + sea itinerary on holland america (lots of options to choose from here but main reason we'd add the land portion is to see denali)
- vancouver r/t on windstar (star legend)

thanks in advance for any thoughts, advice, etc! i tried searching cruisecritic but found it hard to navigate.

 

[cflutist]

Have been to Alaska 7 times but only on Princess and Royal Caribbean.
We like Princess because they sail from our home port of San Francisco, no plane flights required, otherwise you will be leaving from Vancouver or Seattle.
Whatever you pick, choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay, that is the CBI/ACA of Alaskan Glacier destinations.
US Park Rangers will come on board to provide commentary. Very few cruise linws can visit Glacier Bay.
Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier are so so.
Hubbard Glacier is nice but not as visually stunning as Glacier Bay with its multiple glaciers.

Princess and Holland America have a pre or post cruise land portions available.

Know that Denali is visible only 50% of the time depending on the weather, but there is wildlife to see.

 

[Missy]

So I went on a cruise to Alaska a long time ago. In 1995 I think. We took Holland America MS Ryndam maiden voyage. It was amazing. I think Holland America is tops but you know that might have changed so look into it but it was the top cruise line to Alaska back in the 90s. We did land and sea 2 weeks. Really a trip of a lifetime. The scenery is crazy beautiful.

Choose a good time of year. I forget what month is mosquito season but I think late summer is a good time if memory serves me correctly. It's going to be a wonderful trip. It remains one of my favorite trips ever.

 

[bludiva]

that is the CBI/ACA of Alaskan Glacier destinations.

when you put it that way, we have to go....! =P

 

[bludiva]

So I went on a cruise to Alaska a long time ago. In 1995 I think. We took Holland America MS Ryndam maiden voyage. It was amazing. I think Holland America is tops but you know that might have changed so look into it but it was the top cruise line to Alaska back in the 90s. We did land and sea 2 weeks. Really a trip of a lifetime. The scenery is crazy beautiful.

Choose a good time of year. I forget what month is mosquito season but I think late summer is a good time if memory serves me correctly. It's going to be a wonderful trip. It remains one of my favorite trips ever.

thanks, Missy - we are looking at Aug/Sept and trying to decide soon! Holland America seems to have the most flexible & coordinated land/sea options still....

 

[Missy]

thanks, Missy - we are looking at Aug/Sept and trying to decide soon! Holland America seems to have the most flexible & coordinated land/sea options still....

I think that is when we went...August/September. Good weather and minimal bugs. I don't like bugs.

 

[LightBright]

thanks, Missy - we are looking at Aug/Sept and trying to decide soon! Holland America seems to have the most flexible & coordinated land/sea options still....

We did Holland America Inner Passage to Alaska last summer (July). It was very nice, but not a party/drinking boat. More like “adult” sophisticated activities. They had a classical quintet that did several live concerts daily. Beautiful top floor wrap around library (with coffee bar) overlooking the ocean for hanging out. Laid back but slightly upscale vibe. Very pretty boat, I thought, with good service. I’ve never been on a cruise before so I have no comparison. Restaurants were “ok” nothing really great. We brought our kids, they had a decent kids club, nothing special, but not terrible. I enjoyed it a lot, extremely memorable. We sailed in and out of Vancouver. We also spent a couple days in Vancouver which honestly had a lot to do with kids and was beautiful and more interesting than the Alaskan port cities. I would definitely recommend getting a balcony cabin for Alaska inner passage for a bucket list trip.

 

[bludiva]

We did Holland America Inner Passage to Alaska last summer (July). It was very nice, but not a party/drinking boat. More like “adult” sophisticated activities. They had a classical quintet that did several live concerts daily. Beautiful top floor wrap around library (with coffee bar) overlooking the ocean for hanging out. Laid back but slightly upscale vibe. Very pretty boat, I thought, with good service. I’ve never been on a cruise before so I have no comparison. Restaurants were “ok” nothing really great. We brought our kids, they had a decent kids club, nothing special, but not terrible. I enjoyed it a lot, extremely memorable. We sailed in and out of Vancouver. We also spent a couple days in Vancouver which honestly had a lot to do with kids and was beautiful and more interesting than the Alaskan port cities. I would definitely recommend getting a balcony cabin for Alaska inner passage for a bucket list trip.

good to know - we are debating Vancouver vs Seattle and will probably stay an extra day in either case to do some sightseeing. thanks!

 

[cflutist]

Here are 11,000+ Alaska Cruise reviews. Everyone has a different experience depending on expectations and the cabin category that they book.
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/regions/alaska-cruises/

We have been on 37 cruises and now tend to shy away from the larger ships. We like Silversea because it is a luxury cruiseline where everything is included, even a butler for every suite onboard.

Larger ships have more to do, but more crowds.

Some cater to families, such as Disney, Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean.

Some cater to older folks, Holland America, Cunard, and Princess.

Luxury lines are Seaborne, Regent, Silversea and have smaller ship and upgraded cuisine and service.

Oceania is in between Mass Market lines and the luxury lines, non-alcoholic beverages are included, but not alcohol. We are sailing on a 20-day cruise to Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, and the Faroe Islands next month in their penthouse suite.

Expect to pay for Internet access unless you book a top Suite, or sail on a luxury line, same goes for complimentary laundry and alcohol.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Pretty sure the only ones guaranteed Glacier Bay are Princess and Holland America. I read a million reviews on Cruise Critic, and I think we will probably use Holland America. We aren't looking for a party boat or kids boat! lol! The ship Eurodam out of Seattle was about the best choice of HA as it is a fairly new ship.

 

[bludiva]

@cflutist thanks! i have been trying to sort out if a smaller ship makes sense for this trip or not, that's helpful. hard to figure out all the various pricing and taxes and add ons and amenities to compare apples to apples

@diamondseeker2006 norwegian also has an itinerary that does glacier bay, that's the one we are looking at. i sailed on them once before and liked the relaxed approach, so that's probably what we'll do if we go the big ship route. plus the observation decks on their 2 alaska ships look pretty sweet.

 

[Austina]

We went to Alaska 3 years ago. We always cruise with Oceania in a penthouse suite. They’re including more things in their O Life options. We like smaller ships so can’t comment on Princess, HA, Celebrity.

I see you’re going later in the year, we went in May and it was a dead loss, didn’t really see any wildlife apart for a million bald eagles!

 

[bludiva]

We went to Alaska 3 years ago. We always cruise with Oceania in a penthouse suite. They’re including more things in their O Life options. We like smaller ships so can’t comment on Princess, HA, Celebrity.

I see you’re going later in the year, we went in May and it was a dead loss, didn’t really see any wildlife apart for a million bald eagles!

I honestly don't really know what we can expect at that time of year....we did Iceland a couple of years ago in the fall and enjoyed it even though the weather wasn't cooperative. I think the scenery alone should be enough for us but can't help hoping for some whales and/or northern lights

I saw a couple of options for Oceania but they're sold out for the dates we're looking at....the next tier of ships is out of budget. Maybe next time...

 

[cflutist]

Pretty sure the only ones guaranteed Glacier Bay are Princess and Holland America. I read a million reviews on Cruise Critic, and I think we will probably use Holland America. We aren't looking for a party boat or kids boat! lol! The ship Eurodam out of Seattle was about the best choice of HA as it is a fairly new ship.

Plus airfare to Seattle is cheaper than Vancouver.

 

[cflutist]

We went to Alaska 3 years ago. We always cruise with Oceania in a penthouse suite. They’re including more things in their O Life options. We like smaller ships so can’t comment on Princess, HA, Celebrity.

I see you’re going later in the year, we went in May and it was a dead loss, didn’t really see any wildlife apart for a million bald eagles!

Yeah, May is early in the season so less children onboard.
If you take a float trip down the river in Haines you will see tons of eagles along the banks and in the trees.
If you want to see whales and maybe orca, then take a shorex to Auke Bay in Juneau. Allen Marine will do it with 50 pax on board, while the small research vessels have only 20.
In Skagway, you can take the train or bus up into the Yukon and Canada. You can also hike the Chilkook Trail like our 49ers forefathers did.
Oh, and be prepared for Diamonds International in every port. You can have fun with them because they are not cut centric.
Princess also has the Pacific Princess (680 pax) that was also a previous R-ship from Renaissance cruises that went bankrupt, Oceania and Azamura also have some of those ships. Their Owners suite is very nice, 900 sq ft, with two bathrooms. We are sailing on her again in 2020 around Tahiti for the fourth time.

 

[cflutist]

Once you have visited Alaska, an even more beautiful and bucket list cruise would be to Antarctica on a small ship like Silversea Cloud where you can go ashore on the continent. Our best cruise ever.

 

[LightBright]

Cflutist thanks for all the info! Your Antarctica Cruise looks like it was stunning!

 

[cflutist]

Cflutist thanks for all the info! Your Antarctica Cruise looks like it was stunning!

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/antarctica-cruise/ushuaia-to-ushuaia-1927.html

 

[Dancing Fire]

$22K per person?

 

[cflutist]

$22K per person?

Yes, if you want a balcony. Deck 4 was affectionately known as "aquarium class".
Websailor needs a balcony so he can take photos. Chinstrap penguin

 

[bludiva]

Once you have visited Alaska, an even more beautiful and bucket list cruise would be to Antarctica on a small ship like Silversea Cloud where you can go ashore on the continent. Our best cruise ever.

Yessss! This is on my to-go list for the future when we can take a longer trip

 

[Austina]

Just wanted to mention that the port of Vancouver was an absolute shambles. There were 3 ships in the day we were embarking, and they were woefully understaffed. There was a mix up with our booking, (won’t bore you with the details), but we struck lucky and one of the port agents took pity on us, and walked us through the crew immigration with our cases, otherwise there were people who had spent 5 hours, yes 5 hours, trying to get through immigration. Some passengers just abut managed to board before we set sail.

I don’t know if this is usual for Vancouver, but it was chaos on that particular day. Shame really because we enjoyed a few days in Vancouver before the cruise, and stayed in the hotel directly attached to the port terminal for convenience.

 

[bludiva]

Just wanted to mention that the port of Vancouver was an absolute shambles. There were 3 ships in the day we were embarking, and they were woefully understaffed. There was a mix up with our booking, (won’t bore you with the details), but we struck lucky and one of the port agents took pity on us, and walked us through the crew immigration with our cases, otherwise there were people who had spent 5 hours, yes 5 hours, trying to get through immigration. Some passengers just abut managed to board before we set sail.

I don’t know if this is usual for Vancouver, but it was chaos on that particular day. Shame really because we enjoyed a few days in Vancouver before the cruise, and stayed in the hotel directly attached to the port terminal for convenience.

i've read a few accounts re: vancouver processing taking a very long time so all other things being equal i'd probably opt for seattle r/t...still sorting through options today

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Plus airfare to Seattle is cheaper than Vancouver.

Oh yes!!! When I ckecked airfares the difference was amazing! We will definitely do Seattle!

Your Antarctica trip looks like the trip of a lifetime! Wow!!!!!

I wish you'd post a thread on your favorite cruises! It helps so much to have recommendations! There are far too many options!

 

[cflutist]

@diamondseeker2006

I don't know if I am the right person to ask but cruising is very individual. Hubby likes landscape and wildlife photography so we like to go places with scenic beauty, or that are convenient from San Francisco (Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, California Coastals).

Our all time favorite cruise was to Antarctica. We liked Silversea so much that we booked a cruise to the Russian Far East and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and the Bering Sea for 2020.



Our next favorite cruise was an 18-night to the Land of the Midnight Sun on the Pacific Princess in an Owner's Suite at the back of the ship. We sailed up the Coast of Norway and spent 9 days above the Arctic Circle where the sun did not set (there were blackout curtains in the suite). It was a practice run for Antarctica.

Our other next favorite were 3 cruises to French Polynesia, 10-nights aboard the Tahitian/ Ocean Princess (680 pax) round trip from Papeete Tahiti. We visited Bora Bora, Moorea, Huihine, Raietea, Rangiroa (snorkel capital of the world), Marquesas, and the Cook Islands. Returning again in October 2020.

Hubby wanted to sail on the Royal Clipper (170 pax) with real sails to the Caribbean, so we did that and got seasick for the first time. It was a very charming ship with rich woods and teak decks.

Cruising is very much like diamond shopping when it comes to loyalty benefits. For example once you buy a diamond with HPD or WF, it only makes sense to take advantage of their trade-in programs.

Cruiselines have different loyalty perks.
We cruised mostly with Princess because after 5 cruise credits (hubby already had 2 with his ex) you get some free Internet minutes depending on the length of the cruise. After 15 cruise credits, you get complimentary laundry which really helps lightening your luggage load. I am not familiar with the Royal Caribbean perks, or Holland America. We have seen cruising evolve since we started cruising in 2001.

The Mass Market lines have been nickel and diming more and more now which is annoying me. They try to keep the base fares low, but make it up by charging for things that used to be included, e.g. soda, fresh squeezed orange juice, brewed coffee and espresso drinks. We do get around some of that by booking suites, but it seems that the older that I get, the more that I don't like crowds. We prefer the smaller ships now.

 

[bludiva]

after an inane amount of research we went with a slightly different option, a princess 7 day starting in whittier. we plan to get there a few days early to do some hiking. it's on a larger ship than ideal for alaska but i found a forward facing balcony room which i'm hoping will be a good experience. vancouver is at the end so hopefully that won't be too chaotic.

thanks Cheryl & everyone for your advice! and any other suggestions you may have re: being on the ship itself are most appreciated!

 

[bludiva]

Pretty sure the only ones guaranteed Glacier Bay are Princess and Holland America. I read a million reviews on Cruise Critic, and I think we will probably use Holland America. We aren't looking for a party boat or kids boat! lol! The ship Eurodam out of Seattle was about the best choice of HA as it is a fairly new ship.

fwiw i ended up booking through costco, if you happen to have a membership they looked to have some good freebies for holland america.