Best ship to Alaska?

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PattiCake

Guest
Hi there. I'm new to this forum.

I'm thinking about taking a cruise to Alaska in a few years when my fiance and I turn 40. His bday is in August and mine is in November. I think August would be a better time to go.

My question is:

What is the best cruiseline to take? How many vacation days would we need to go (including cruise and other travel involved). We live in New York.

Going to Alaska has been a dream of ours and we have a few years to save for it.

Thanks

Patti
 
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halfdome86

Guest
Welcome aboard (no pun intended)

Asking what's the best ship is a loaded question. For every cruise line you'll get many opinions from past travelers that it is the best....or worst. It's all personal opinion.

I'll say this however. I found NCL to be less formal than the other lines I've sailed on (NCL, RCCL). I had no problem with the Freestyle cruising and in fact enjoyed it. Many don't. So if you want to share a table and have the same waiters every night than NCL probably isn't for you.

The cruise lines don't sail in November so August will have to be it. We've sailed in August and it was great. But the weather is tricky up there.

Like you're doing, I saved for a long time for our first Alaskan cruise. I paid less attention to the cruise ships at first than I did to other items. My two "MUSTS" were a balcony and visiting Glacier bay. I can't imagine going on an Alaskan cruise without a balcony. You will hear from others that don't think it's as important. I must admit that we don't gamble or get into a lot of the ships programs (napkin folding, art auctions, etc) and spend a great deal of time on the balcony just watching the incredible scenery go by. Focusing on our "musts" helped narrow to certain ships and eliminate others. This helped a great deal.

Awsome isn't a strong enough word for Glacier bay. I admit we haven't been to Hubbard (next month) or College Fjords. Photos do not do Glacier Bay justice.

Most cruises, whether inside passage or the one-way trips between Seward and Vancouver, take 7 days. There are a couple that do 10-11 days from San Francisco.
Most ships stop at Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. A few substitute Sitka for Skagway.

Of course if you decide to add land packages you'll need more time.

Get in the cruiseline websites and request brochure's. They are full of information and photos. Ignore the pricing except as a guideline as to differences between cabin types.

I also suggest going into Expedia or Yahoo travel or MyTravel and pull up Alaskan cruises. You'll see all the ships available now and even next year. There is a place to check where you can compare cruises side by side.

When the time comes I also suggest you find a Cruise Specialist travel agent. You'll read about many in these Message boards. And get a few quotes. The specialists I've gotten quotes from have better pricing than booking thru the cruise lines directly. And they can usually supply a cabin location to help you choose as well.

Keep reading these boards....you'll learn a lot......and get confused a lot. ; ^ )

IMHO you're making a good decision going on an Alaskan cruise
 
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AnnW

Guest
June through August are "peak" times for travel to Alaska. You'll find that the Alaska travelers are generally a bit older and more sedate than, say, those that do Caribeean cruises. Cruises to Alaska start as early as May, but end in late September -- so November wouldn't be an option! The early cruises and later cruises have the possibility of running into very cold and/or snowy weather! The first time we went to Alaska we went around June 21-- summer solstice..and were in awe at the 22 hours of daylight! This time we're going in late August and early September.

You'll not find very many kids on Alaska cruises...and the ones who are there seem better behaved, and more involved in the "nature" aspect of Alaska cruises.

Princess lines has long been involved in Alaska, and has some priority in getting access to now-restricted areas like Glacier Bay. You'd need to travel to Vancouver at least from New York, if you're going southbound to northbound. I'd schedule at least two days travel -- one to get to Vancouver, another to allow for any travel glitches, and time to get accustomed to time zone changes. Most basic Alaska cruises are 7 days -- Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage), or the reverse, although now there are some round-trip cruises that don't go as far north as Seward, and begin and end in Seattle, and/or San Francisco. Crystal Cruises --a very upscale cruise line -- has a round-trip out of San Francisco that sounds wonderful, if your budget allows it!

The BEST way to see Alaska is to arrange to do a land tour, of 5-7 days. Generally the best way to do this is to fly into Fairbanks, and travel from there, to Denali national park, for example, or othr such areas. And then eventually travel down to Seward to catch your ship, and travel down the coast to Vancouver.

Vancouver is a lovely city! Of course, living in New York, it might not be as special to you as it was to us lowly midwesterners :), but it is very upscale, cosmopolitan, with plenty to do. Depending on how much time you have, a day..or more..in Vancouver, certainly wouldn't be a waste of your travel time or budget!

Alaska is awewome, whether you spend 7 days or 15 days. We're going again, and I' hope not for the last time! (We're going on Princess for our second cruise -- a great line, in my opinion!)
 
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rhc3po

Guest
And then there's small ship versus large ship. My wife and I went on the Yorktown Clipper because we wanted low-key comfort, and scenery. We loved it, and would repeat that cruise exactly, anytime.

We went back to Juneau a year later and were there when my in-laws came through on their first Alaska cruise. We toured their ship (Seven Seas Mariner) and had dinner aboard. A beautiful ship, and not at all my style, but it suited them, and they are now frequent cruisers.

We're sailing on the Nantucket Clipper in two weeks, so you can see we like the small ships. There's a lot of choice, and the Internet is a HUGE help. I had a lot of fun watching webcams showing our destinations while planning our trip, and had a good feel for the weather we'd have.

However you get there, you are going to love Alaska!

--Bob
 
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chirk

Guest
Peter, I'm curious how you would now compare Hubbard and Glacier? We're trying to decide between Princess and Celebrity.

Thanks.
 
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Kay C

Guest
My husband and I have been to Alaska the past 4 summers on a cruise, and we will be going again in May. We have been 2 xs Celebrity, 1 x RCCL, and this will be 2X on Princess. We preferr Celebrity, but Princess is so close. We have been to Glacier Bay, and Hubbard. We saw more of the glacier calving @ Hubbard( in August), but Glacier Bay is also beautiful. After all, it is a National Park. I would suggest the north or south bound route over a round trip out of Vancouver. The scenery is more awesome.
 
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halfdome86

Guest
I found that Hubbard and the Glacier next to it (name slips my mind) calved more than the Margerie or others in Glacier Bay.

However, as impressive as Hubbard is, we felt that Glacier bay is much better. We've been to Glacier twice and luckily had terrific weather. Hubbard once an it was overcast but not too bad. Hubbard is beautiful....Glacier Bay is stunning.. IMHO.

Next Alaskan cruise for us we will attempt to visit Glacier Bay again.
 
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