Alaska questions

R

ROCK

Guest
Just got back from the Carribean now Alaska is my goal destination.


1) Which Cruise Line is best sailing from Seattle?

2) Are cruises round trip or one way?

3) What is the best month to cruise?

4) What is the cheapest month to cruise Alaska?

5) What are must see's in Alaska?
 
B

BSeabob

Guest
1) depends on your budget
2) both
3) June
4) that depends too but generally first cruise of the season and the last ones.
5) The inside passage.

all personal thoughts . Seattle will find you on a cruise that spends more time "Outside" just because of the time/distance thing and a short stop somewhere in Canada that will likely be too quick to do anything at because of "Legal and money" issues for the cruise line. Unless you travel on one of the upscale lines of course.
 
S

Snowblower

Guest
1) Which Cruise Line is best sailing from Seattle?

I have sailed NCL and Princess in Alaska. Of those two, prefer Princess. I have had friends sail Holland America and was told that they were very good too.

2) Are cruises round trip or one way?

Both, cruises out of Seattle are usually round-trip. The one-way cruises usually travel between Vancouver and Seward/Whittier

3) What is the best month to cruise?

Have gone four times to Alaska. Every time traveled in May, all cruises had wonderful weather, just a little cool. Late August into September is when I have heard many complain about poor weather.

4) What is the cheapest month to cruise Alaska?
May & September by far

5) What are must see's in Alaska?
Glaciers...

If I were only allowed to make one trip to Alaska my choice would be one of the one-way trips (Vancouver and Seward/Whittier. For the sights is so much better that the round-trip cruises from Seattle. Only problem is that it is more expensive because of the one-way airfare.
 
L

lbeck

Guest
If I were only allowed to make one trip to Alaska my choice would be one of the one-way trips (Vancouver and Seward/Whittier. For the sights is so much better that the round-trip cruises from Seattle. Only problem is that it is more expensive because of the one-way airfare
Click to expand...
How much more expensive? And is there a best way to mitigate that expense??

We're thinking that booking the airline separately might be a good deal. I've gotten pretty good at using Travelocity.com and some other sites to book a cheap air fare. I know that there is a risk if you don't show up when the ship sets sail, but we're planning on a land tour of the Pacific NW so we would likely flyi and rent a car a few days prior to the cruise, and spend the last night close to the cruise terminal to be sure that we don't miss the boat.

Are there airlines that specialize in the one-way trip back?

We're in the Raleigh-Durham area and cruises with air fare tend to be $800+ per passenger more than the cruise alone. I know that I can beat that price.
 
D

DoctorB

Guest
I cruised on Princess this year in Alaska for the first time and I certainly would not recomend them. The service was lacking, to say the least.
 
H

Howie

Guest
DoctorB I also cruised Alaska on Princess this year and had outstanding service. I do not doubt that you did not have service that satisfied you but that can happen on any cruise line. When you have as many crew members as are on any ship there are bound to be a few that provide not the best service. This is also why there are different cruise lines to cater to different type of people. I would never hesitate to cruise on Princess. I have also cruised on other cruise lines so I do know they do cater to different people and the service differs in different ways.
 
D

DoctorB

Guest
From others I have talked to, the service on Princess has been declining ever since the buy-out a few years ago.
 
H

Howie

Guest
I do not doubt some say the service is declining on Princess and that you did not enjoy the service DoctorB I just disagree because I have been using Princess off and on for qutie a while now and I did not find that the service had declined at all. We had great service on the Dawn Princess in Alaska this year and even saw some of the staff from past cruises we had been on with Princess. To me there is always a chance of good and bad service on any ship due to staff changes and I may be fortunate but I had great service on Princess and will without a doubt cruise with them again. I will cruise with other cruise lines also but I have no regrets of sailing with Princess. I have been on back to backs on various cruise lines and one week had great service and the next week the service was still good but not as great because of some staff changes.
 
C

cruisegary

Guest
Some great answers here, and way more from people that posted over the past few months. Scan through some old posts for additional information.

As to the one way airfare thing, it is more of an Anchorage problem than one way. No airline really specializes in one way, just different sales and pricing schemes from time to time.
 
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