Planning Trip in May or June of 2007

  • Thread starter jo from montana
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jo from montana

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We are a couple in our late 40's who are in the early planning stages for a trip to Alaska in May or June of 2007. This will be our first cruise. We are fairly conservative (not party animals), however, we are not really into playing bridge, either! No offense to any of you who do love this! We are wondering which cruise line would be the best fit for us. We are interested in doing the south to north cruise and adding a land tour onto this. Any advice you have for us would be greatly appreciated.
 
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jo from montana

Guest
We are a couple in our late 40's who are in the early planning stages for a trip to Alaska in May or June of 2007. This will be our first cruise. We are fairly conservative (not party animals), however, we are not really into playing bridge, either! No offense to any of you who do love this! We are wondering which cruise line would be the best fit for us. We are interested in doing the south to north cruise and adding a land tour onto this. Any advice you have for us would be greatly appreciated.
 
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BSeabob

Guest
I would think that the best itinerary...best price for you on
Celebrity or RCL
Holland America
or maybe Princess

would find you in a comfortable place. I have not done a land based tour of the north but those lines have been doing it for years.

I would also recommend that you do the land first and then relax onboard going south unless you have a specific reason for the other way around. Enjoy planning
 
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BSeabob

Guest
I would think that the best itinerary...best price for you on
Celebrity or RCL
Holland America
or maybe Princess

would find you in a comfortable place. I have not done a land based tour of the north but those lines have been doing it for years.

I would also recommend that you do the land first and then relax onboard going south unless you have a specific reason for the other way around. Enjoy planning
 
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jo from montana

Guest
Thanks for the information BSeabob! We will definitely look into doing the land tour first - that makes a lot of sense to us. (tu)
 
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jo from montana

Guest
Thanks for the information BSeabob! We will definitely look into doing the land tour first - that makes a lot of sense to us. (tu)
 
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halfdome86

Guest
I highly recommend opting for a ship that goes to Glacier bay. It's awsome. And if you can swing it find one that goes to College Fjord's as well. This will eliminate some lines such as Celebrity and could help narrow your search for a line and specific ship.

LInes such as HAL have a reputation for having very old passengers. This is not so much the case in Alaska. You'll find cruisers in your age brackett very easily. You'll also probably have many kids on your cruise when school's out.

If you like lying around the pools you might opt for a ship with a covered pool. You will get some rain on the trip and some chilly days regardless of what part of the summer you cruise.

IMHO a balcony is also a must for Alaska. You want to soak in as much scenery as possible. Of course you'll want to wander the decks as well, especially fore and aft to get the full sweeping views.

There are plenty of non party animal type of activities on the ships, including my favorite......sitting on the balcony with my feet up and watching the coast float by. :^)
 
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halfdome86

Guest
I highly recommend opting for a ship that goes to Glacier bay. It's awsome. And if you can swing it find one that goes to College Fjord's as well. This will eliminate some lines such as Celebrity and could help narrow your search for a line and specific ship.

LInes such as HAL have a reputation for having very old passengers. This is not so much the case in Alaska. You'll find cruisers in your age brackett very easily. You'll also probably have many kids on your cruise when school's out.

If you like lying around the pools you might opt for a ship with a covered pool. You will get some rain on the trip and some chilly days regardless of what part of the summer you cruise.

IMHO a balcony is also a must for Alaska. You want to soak in as much scenery as possible. Of course you'll want to wander the decks as well, especially fore and aft to get the full sweeping views.

There are plenty of non party animal type of activities on the ships, including my favorite......sitting on the balcony with my feet up and watching the coast float by. :^)
 
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chuckc54

Guest
Jo from Montana, my wife and I also are planning to do an Alaska cruise in 2007. The plan is to do the southbound after the land tour and hopefully a night in Vancouver because I understand it's a must see and who knows when the chance will come again. I think we have it nailed down to RCI but I'm not sure yet, have to see when the companies release the info on 2007 sailings, I called RCI and they said the end of April. Seems from what I've been reading, Jun-Aug is the best time to go. Let's exchange info as we find it.
This will be our second cruise, the first was on the Carnival Fantasy to the Bahamas and we loved it.
 
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BSeabob

Guest
Hey Chuckc
June would be my pick of time. Remember 21 June longest daylight. Over all weather is a crapshoot anyways as you will be in Alaska first and the cruise is on the northern coast right?

And your ar ecorrect about Vancouver. Check out the posts on the PAcific North West Forum
 
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PEB

Guest
June is a good time to cruise Alaska. For me personally if I was doing a land package I would go from north to south. The land portion can be hectic and you can rest on the cruise.

Princess and HAL have been in Alaska the longest. I personally prefer Princess but then in Alaska the cruise line or ship is secondary to Alaska and any line can do a good job in Alaska. The people that cruise Alaska are more interested in the sites then beaches and partying like in the Caribbean.

For what you suggest in your age and what you like to do I would suggest Princess but as I said Princess is my favorite line so take that into consideration. I have been on 5 different cruise lines and never had a bad time on any of them.
 
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JoleneMc

Guest
Planning Trip in July of 2007

We are planning a cruise in July 2007...our 25th wedding anniversary and are in the same problem stage. What cruise line, what is the best itenerary, where to stay the night before, etc.... We too are in our mid 40's and not party animals...we like the shows. Not much into gambling. Not wanting a ton of kids, but in July...that is not expected. Any advice would be great.
 
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chuckc54

Guest
Re: Planning Trip in July of 2007

We are taking a southbound cruisetour with Royal Caribbean, starting on the 16th of July, balcony room on the port side. Looked like the best one to us.
 
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JoleneMc

Guest
Re: Planning Trip in July of 2007

I think we will be on Royal Caribbean too, either Vision or Radiance of the seas. We will be going like the 20-21st of July. I have been reading as many reviews and stuff as I can. Just not sure which itenerary to take. I have read Glacier Bay is the best but do not see any for that one.
 
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Yukon

Guest
IMHO,people who say that Glacier Bay is the best haven't been to Hubbard Glacier, which is where the Radiance goes. In the past 2 years I've been on the vision once and the Radiance twice, and I'll definitely be going on the Radiance again (the Vision is a far inferior ship).

Murray
 
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JoleneMc

Guest
Re: Planning Trip in July of 2007

Have you taken many cruises? I am so lost on what to do. It is between the Radiance and the Serenade of the Seas. One goes from Seward Alaska to Vancouver...the other is from Vancouver back to Vancouver. The difference in places is the radiance goes from Seward, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, Inside passage, to Vancouver. The Serenade does the same but does not go to Icy Straigt or Ketchikan, it goes to Sitka...and it returns to Vancouver where it leaves from. They both are on the same "class" ship.

Anyone have any clues on which would be the better cruise?
 
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Yukon

Guest
Re: Planning Trip in July of 2007

Both of those itineraries are good - Icy Strait Point and Sitka are 2 of my favourite ports because they get less traffic than the other ports and don't have Diamonds International and other such non-Alaska shops. The advantage of the Radiance one-way (which costs more due to the airfare back from Anchorage) is really that you can add on land tours in interior Alaska or other adventures. We live in a tiny village an hour's drive north of Skagway, so getting to or from Anchorage to start or end of a Radiance cruise is a big part of the fun.

Murray
 
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travelingkatbird

Guest
:help I'm really new this. We are booked on NCL leaving Seattle 5-27-07, we do have a balcony suite (3 sisters taking Mother to celebrate her 85th birthday). We are in Juneau from 2pm to 10pm. We are wanting to get helicopter ride to the glacier, will we have enough time? We have been told to book the excursion online directly as it was cheaper than the cruise line. Any recommendation? Thank you. travelingkatbird
 
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