Recommend an Alaskan Cruise

[gailwinters]

We are considering a cruise to Alaska this year. I would love any information about a preferred cruise line. We want to do the inside passage, but haven’t decided if we want to do a round trip or one way, so we’re open to either right now.

 

[Souschef]

We did an Alaskan cruise round trip from LA NO airports. We selected Princess because we wanted to cruise Glacier Bay. I have attached our trip story. Happy to answer any questions.

 

[gailwinters]

Wow! Thanks for linking this. Looks fabulous and it’s inspiring me to get busy planning!

 

[Teacher Terry]

While seeing Alaska was great it was the only Princess cruise we have taken and it was awful. So many things were wrong with the ship such as it was leaking water through the light fixtures in the hallway, half the bathrooms were out of service, tether boats were leaking, staff was rude, etc.

It was so bad that I wrote a letter to Princess and never got a response. I have taken 5 cruises on royal Caribbean that were great. We chose Princess because it left from San Francisco and we didn’t have to fly.

 

[Romer]

20 years ago we did an inside passage on Princess roundtrip out of Vancouver. It was fun.

This year we are going the full way from Anchorage(Seward) to Vancouver on Celebrity Summit in May.

You only get to see half the stuff on a roundtrip cruise

 

[f35phixer]

We did silver sea in Alaska. Had wonderful time. Did 3 day pre excursion in Denali, took the train up and back. Would seriously think putting that in there. Saw all the creatures you’d expect in Alaska. Maybe best memory was seeing the whales bubble netting maybe six different times….

 

[Lucie]

We did a Mediterranean cruise on Azamara. We haven’t taken the Alaskan cruise yet, but it sounds amazing. We love the cruise line. The ships are small (less than 600 people) so they can get into smaller ports, and there’s no waiting in line. The food is amazing. (Drinks and tips are included).

If you decide to go with Azamara, PM me for a $200 referral code.

 

[levindb]

When we did our Alaskan cruise back in 2015, if you left from a US port, you had to return to that same port. If you left from Canadian port (Vancouver) you could do a one way cruise...so you did not have to float by the places you had already been.
For us, we took AMTRAK from Seattle to Vancouver, then Holland America to Seward (7 day) then rented an RV in Alaska for 4 weeks to see a lot of what there was to see (amazing look into a lot of Alaska)...never stayed in any hotel rooms.
Snorkeling, white water rafting, kayaking, Denali, walking on glaciers, visit the bears in Katmai...so much to see, you will need a lot more than 7-10 days

 

[VanWinkle]

We did a Mediterranean cruise on Azamara. We haven’t taken the Alaskan cruise yet, but it sounds amazing. We love the cruise line. The ships are small (less than 600 people) so they can get into smaller ports, and there’s no waiting in line. The food is amazing. (Drinks and tips are included).

If you decide to go with Azamara, PM me for a $200 referral code.

Their website doesn't show an Alaskan Cruise available.

 

[donheff]

We took a big ship cruise through the Inside Passage in 2008 or 2009 when the crash made prices cheaper than staying home. We enjoyed it but prefer smaller ships with more outdoor activities. In particular, we would like to get up close to whales. If we were going this year we would go with Uncruise Adventures. We took their Sea of Cortez trip and loved it. Small boat, good food, good educational presentations, excellent outdoor activities, somewhat utilitarian cabins. Their Alaska trips sound excellent.

 

[CaptTom]

We did an Alaska cruise last fall. It was great, for someone who's never been to Alaska. Of course I'd love a more immersive trip there, but this is all we had time for.

There are so many variables and personal preferences that I'd have a hard time recommending anything without more specifics. Do your homework, based on what you prefer, and go!

The only thing which really surprised me came on disembarkation day in Vancouver. We had to get on the bus to the Vancouver airport. There was another line for those going to Seattle. Huh? Our whole itinerary was planned around having to depart from Vancouver. Couldn't get a direct flight home from there, and the available flights were inconvenient.

I have no idea how they got those other passengers the 125+ miles to Seattle from the Vancouver cruise terminal. But I would have investigated that option had I known it existed.

 

[friar1610]

Took an Alaskan Dream cruise about 10 years ago. Small ships so they can get up close to things (calving glaciers, whales, nature on the shore, etc.) that the big ships cannot get as close to. Captain also has more discretion on varying the itinerary based on what’s going on (whale activity, for example) than the big ships with their tighter schedules. Meals were excellent. Activities were interesting and varied. Again, a few shore activities in places where the bigger ships can’t go. Would do it again!

https://www.alaskandreamcruises.com...=alaskan dream cruises&utm_content=Branded KW

 

[athena53]

If we were going this year we would go with Uncruise Adventures. We took their Sea of Cortez trip and loved it. Small boat, good food, good educational presentations, excellent outdoor activities, somewhat utilitarian cabins. Their Alaska trips sound excellent.

I was about to mention them! I haven't taken them recently (since 8/21) because I've taken most of their itineraries and now the Single supplement is sky-high and they're not cheap to begin with, but I love their business model. Up close and personal with nature, the ships they use in Alaska are US-flagged vessels so they can go within Alaska and not have to hit Canada, crew paid according to US labor laws. Many have advanced degrees in fields like Marine Biology. Minimal if any additional costs other than the gratuity you specify at the end of the trip. That includes alcohol but this line doesn't tend to attract the party-till-u-you-puke types. Ships can get in and out of areas that the big ones can't and you don't have to walk the length of multiple football fields to get to the dining room or squint at whales from a deck 6 stories up.

OK, I'll end my commercial here but I LOVE small-ship cruises.

 

[cathy63]

I recommend adding at least some time on land, whether you do it yourself or as an add-on with the cruise company. Alaska is such a huge state and it's really worth getting into the interior.

We are usually DIY travelers, but we did a Princess tour in Alaska back when we were both working and were just too busy to plan it ourselves. It was kind of nice to have someone else manage the details. The Princess lodge at Denali was great and we were able to spend a whole day going deep into the park. Our tour also took us to Prudhoe Bay via the Dalton Hwy, and it was pretty amazing to be that far north on the summer solstice. It looks like they don't do that itinerary any more, but they have several others that look great. We flew to Anchorage and did the land tour before cruising back to Vancouver and flying home from there.

 

[Plantman]

We did Alaska in June 2018. Did a Vancouver to Seward cruise seeing both Glacier Bay and Hubbard glacier. I thought Hubbard was much more impressive. Took a shuttle bus from Seward to Anchorage airport to pick up our rental car. Saved several hundred dollars versus a Seward car rental. We then proceeded to spend 1 night in Talkeetna and 2 nights in the Denali area. We then backtracked to the Kenai peninsula. Seward for 2 nights and 1 night in Homer. Finished up with 2 nights in Anchorage. You could proceed to Fairbanks instead of the Kenai peninsula. We enjoyed both the cruise and the land tour and feel that a trip without both aspects would be lacking.

 

[cathy63]

When we did our Alaskan cruise back in 2015, if you left from a US port, you had to return to that same port. If you left from Canadian port (Vancouver) you could do a one way cruise...so you did not have to float by the places you had already been...

That's still the case. The Passenger Vessel Services Act prohibits ships that are flagged outside the U.S. from carrying passengers between two U.S. ports unless they've also visited a "distant foreign port" on the journey. There are no distant foreign ports between Seattle and Alaska, so one-way cruises to/from Alaska have to start or end in Canada. The WA and AK governments have been asking Congress to make changes to this rule for a long time.

 

[qwerty3656]

We did a 1-way cruise and then spent another week in Alaska (near Denali). Had a great trip.

 

[pacergal]

We did a Norwegian cruise RT out of Seattle with our kids many years ago.
It was beautiful, had a bit of rain, mostly sun, tons of wildlife seen from our balcony.
Take binoculars!
It was lovely.

 

[gailwinters]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a lot of research to do!

 

[Sunset]

We did Carnival. Had a balcony in the middle of summer

In the Tracy Arm Fjord , it was so cold had to wear jackets and hats, but fantastic to be on the balcony seeing the icebergs float by and so close to land. However, Carnival lies about how close the ship will get to the glacier, and we missed signing up for a boat excursion to see the glacier from the water.
With binoculars, we could see part of it miles away...

There is a train ride from one of the ports (Skagway ?) , phone the train to see the track is all fixed , as our train ride went only 1/2 way due to repairs on a bridge.

Binoculars are a must !

 

[CaptTom]

I was skeptical of the train excursion, too. Turned out to be one of the best choices. I probably took a thousand photos, from the platform outside the train car.

To me, a balcony is always worth it, even if you have to wear a jacket. I can see the inside of a bar or casino any day.

 

[CaliKid]

We did the 7 night on Princess last summer - Ank-VAN. Was great. Whole family enjoyed. Saw Glacier Bay among other highlights. Boat not too big which was nice. We also did some touring on our own up around Anchorage the week before the cruise. Worked great - saw the bears up close, etc....