Crowdsourcing an Alaskan cruise

Great experience or waste of money? Which one did you take? Would you recommend? What time of year did you go? Seattle or Vancouver to start?

Reach out to MEM. I am pretty certain she has done one.

Start in Vancouver.

I know of several people who went on Alaska cruises and all of them said theirs was absolutely awesome. Quick, before global warming melts the glaciers!

We went both ways we preferred Seattle. We stayed over and saw the city then left. When we went out of Vancouver it was Memorial Weekend Customs had 2 inspectors for all of us from the US.

Recommendations for cruise lines? Where to purchase?

We went almost a decade ago, during July. The weather was nice. We did round-trip through Seattle. It was really nice to do a couple of days in Seattle beforehand, because Seattle in July is perfection.

We went on Princess. It was nice.... we discovered we are not cruise people, but I don't think it had anything to do with the cruise line. I will say if you can swing it, spring for a balcony room because the views are really gorgeous--I think a cruise really is the best/easiest way to see that part of Alaska. It was too windy when we were supposed to dock in Vancouver so we ended up anchoring just off Vancouver, which I was PISSED about because I just wanted to get the heck off the boat and spend some unscripted time in a city instead of being on the boat or doing planned excursions (which were nice, but again, we discovered cruises are just Not Our Thing. If you want info on excursions I'll have to go through my photo album to jog my memory! Horseback riding, whale watching and kayaking were our favorites, but I can't remember which stops we did what).

I think if you either know you like cruises, OR really want to see that part of Alaska, it would be worth it.

I took my mother on one a few years ago and it was a great experience. It was Holland America, left from Seattle and went to Juneau, Sitka (our favorite), Victoria and somewhere else I'm forgetting. My one regret was that we didn't splurge on more excursions. The towns were more touristy than I'd expected, but our canoe trip through glaciers was incredible.

They are easy to book online, but I used Crown Cruise vacations to book and loved my agent, Debra Pfeffer. No clue if she's still there but she was great!

Even though we haven't gone yet I'll share what I know so far.

My in-laws are treating us to a Holland America cruise to Alaska in June. We are leaving from and returning to Seattle. We've been to Seattle and it is a great city to visit. We are not cruise people but this sounds like the best way to see the most we can in Alaska. The ship looks beautiful and the food sounds terrific - they are having a Le Cirque night! Two nights are formal nights, tuxedos and such.

The daily excursions look great, too. Did you know you may see narwals in Alaska? It would be a dream come true for me My only concern is that our older daughter and I suffer terribly from sea sickness. Twenty years ago I used a patch on a three day cruise in Greece and I suffered all the side effects. Maybe something better is now on the market?

I'd be interested in hearing about your decisions and experience!

The good news about an Alaska cruise is that most of it is in the Inner Passage, so there will be very limited ship motion. Also, new ships have a much improved set of motion control technologies, so you may have much less trouble than you did 20 years ago.

Having said that, hopefully someone here can give you advice about seasickness medications/preventatives. Have a lovely time.

Alaska advice: 1) pick a cruise that starts in Vancouver & ends in Seward/Achorage or vice versa. Rather than one that starts & ends in the same place. You'll get deeper into the glaciers and see more because no back-tracking. My preference is a Vancouver start because you build up to the beauty rather than down from it, if that makes sense. 2)Book a balcony cabin. 3)They only do this route June-early Sept do you won't have a lot of choice in timing. Mid-June-July are perfect-lots of daylight and nice and warm. It'll get cooler and darker in August and Sept.

Cruiseline: in order of preference for this route ( based on niceness of ship, food, service and quality of nature guides)- Princess, Celebrity, NCL. Disney pricing not worth it unless taking little kids. Celebrity quiter, more upscale & sedate, NCL most lively and fun, Princess somewhere in between.

Seasickness: forget an experience you had 20 yrs ago on a 3 day cruise. The difference between a ship from then and now is like night and day. They are very stable and as was said, the seas are very calm for this route so you'll be fine. As a precaution, I always start 1 Bonine per day about 2 days before. No drowsiness or effects like you get from other brands. I also wear seasick and bracelets religiously when the ship is in motion ( little terry wristbands with a plastic acupressure point)

Is it worth it? Even if you don't generally cruise, this is one of those itineraries where it is. For the most part, unless you are doing some serious adventure travel, it is the only way to get into some of the glacier parks and you'll get a perspective you can get no other way. This cruise is about the scenery. The stops of Sitka, Juneau and I forget the other are pretty dull- endless shops and all three towns look the same. Definitely plan some adventure tours to get away from those towns- we did a helicopter landing on a glacier, a sled dog experience and a train ride. All were great.

We did a non-cruising Alaska vacation, so can't help with those choices. But we loved Sitka and Juneau (and pretty much everywhere else we went) ... mostly by avoiding the gift shops and tours run by the cruise lines and going with those run by locals.

What about Silversea and the Mariner/Navigator? Any feedback on these?

My husband was seasick for a good chunk of the trip -- felt fine once we got off the boat, so it wasn't an illness or anything. Not to scare you, but do take precautions if you need to.

Silversea is a much more upscale,refined and probably much more expensive. It will be much more luxurious, elegant, much better food ( but fewer choices of venues). It will be very dressy. It includes all drinks, tips and tours. More subdued entertainment but their nature guides will be higher quality. Most ships have a nature guide who come on to do talks about what you are seeing ( wildlife, glaciers). The ones on a line like Silverseas will be more personalized, better quality. To me, that's important on those cruises. And , yes, private local tours better than ship tours in some cases. In other cases, the ships will have same tours you buy locally. It all depends.

I am not a huge fan of RCCL anymore. The ships they use in Alaska are older, too big and I think they have had a serious decline in food and service recently. But, if they are MUCH cheaper, might be an okay alternative. Overall, I think Princess, Celebrity and NCl are better lines for your money. NCL has a package right now where you get unlimited beverage package free

We've done Alaska twice. Once as a 2-week land trip, the second time on a 7-day round trip out of Seattle. Very different experiences, but Alaska is an awe-inspiring place to visit. We sailed on the Princess Star - it was our first cruise & the one we compared other cruise lines against afterwards.

A lot depends on who is in your party & their ages. But I think there is something for everyone in Alaska & parts of it remind me of frontier days. Most likely, you won't see those places on a cruise though.

I have never gone, but I have relatives and friends who have and loved it.

Is there a cruise line that's not dressy?

The seabands are an accupressure device; worth every penny. I used them during pregnancy anytime I was standing. I get car, plane and boat sick fairly consistently. They help, a lot. Ginger - I like a tea. The best is fresh ginger in hot water. In a pinch ginger mints from Trader Joes or candied ginger help a little. Nothing fatty, no alcohol. I did take the "light" dramamine for a recent really rocky trip to Catalina Island. Rocky seas and an all night plane trip made the extra drugs necessary. On a cruise for our honeymoon, I did take the "red" pills taped to infirmary door. I was fine a couple of days into it.

An alternative approach to consider is the smaller, education-oriented cruises. Some years ago we had a family gathering on a Smithsonian sponsored cruise that sailed in and out of Juneau. The ship was much smaller than the major cruise lines’ vessels, which meant two things: it didn’t have the amenities of the big ships, but it was much more maneuverable. This ship had about 75 passengers and crew of about 25. There were also 5 or 6 lecturer types (the Smithsonian program) who knew about the geology, wildlife, sea life, etc. This ship sailed into inlets that the big ships never could, which let us get up close to glaciers and to follow whales quite closely. We stopped regularly to get off and hike, and also to paddle around in sea kayaks. On more than one occasion we saw otters up close, and in one inlet we paddled our kayaks around small ice floes with seals perched on top. There was one occasion when we were closely following a pod of orcas, and one of big cruise ships approached and wanted to get close, too. But the big ship had to yield right of way to us until our captain decided he was ready to move on. Again, this is a much more Spartan existence than on the big ships, but to me the experience was worth it.

My sister and her husband go on various Lindblad/Smithsonian trips and one of them was to Alaska years ago. That's the only way they would go. Not cheap by any means but it's the only way they want to travel as tomcarlson described above.

doulamomma said:

Is there a cruise line that's not dressy?

Yes. NCL has done away with a dress code ( other than the basics like no flip flops, tank tops) and doesn't even do dress up night anymore. Princess will have dress up nights ( if you want) and slightly more rigid dining room policy ( like collared shirt, no jeans). Silverseas will be very dressy with multiple formal nights and a business casual type dress code in dining rooms.

tomcarlson said:

An alternative approach to consider is the smaller, education-oriented cruises. Some years ago we had a family gathering on a Smithsonian sponsored cruise that sailed in and out of Juneau. The ship was much smaller than the major cruise lines’ vessels, which meant two things: it didn’t have the amenities of the big ships, but it was much more maneuverable. This ship had about 75 passengers and crew of about 25. There were also 5 or 6 lecturer types (the Smithsonian program) who knew about the geology, wildlife, sea life, etc. This ship sailed into inlets that the big ships never could, which let us get up close to glaciers and to follow whales quite closely. We stopped regularly to get off and hike, and also to paddle around in sea kayaks. On more than one occasion we saw otters up close, and in one inlet we paddled our kayaks around small ice floes with seals perched on top. There was one occasion when we were closely following a pod of orcas, and one of big cruise ships approached and wanted to get close, too. But the big ship had to yield right of way to us until our captain decided he was ready to move on. Again, this is a much more Spartan existence than on the big ships, but to me the experience was worth it.

The other downside is the motion on a smaller ship will be much more felt than on a large ship.

Lived in Anchorage for 4 years. Since then have done two cruises. Experience of cruising is completely different from a full Alaskan experience. The port towns are tourist shopping destinations. If this is the only option to visit Alaska then by all means take one of the major cruises as you will not be disappointed in the scenery or animals. Skip the towns and sign up for some excursions- dog sledding on a glacier (not the mud track), salmon or halibut fishing, kayak the waterways, etc.

If you want a fulsome experience, fly to Anchorage, rent a car - see the town, northern lights and other sites, take the train ride up Mt McKinley and a must is a visit to Denali National Park. Follow with a short flight to SE Alaska (Juneau, Sitka or Ketchikan) and take an Un-cruise adventure. Luxury, small and will take you places the big ships can't enter. Another very nice small luxury cruise is Regents line. SE Alaska has a terrific ferry system among the islands, not luxury but you will meet spirited Alaskans and see amazing natural sites. If you have time, visit Manasuka valley and amazing farms, and visit a real Eskimos village (recall one near Palmer) and not the recreated totem pole-lumberjack shows.

Most of all enjoy the trip.

I can't speak for the cruise option, but we did a 10 day tour of southeastern Alaska with a travel company called Mountain Travel Sobek. It was truly incredible. Hiking, kayaking, rafting, biking, visiting a bear sanctuary, whale watching, etc. We did do a one day boat cruise of Glacier Bay, which was amazing. There was a fair amount of travel via small planes (including one sea plane). My only experience with cruise ships was when one docked in one of the towns we were visiting and we were overrun by people. I much preferred the quieter, small group aspect of the tour we were on.

We stayed in B&Bs along the way, so it certainly wasn't roughing it either.

Here's the website, and I highly highly recommend it.

http://www.mtsobek.com/?trkcode=MTS101713

OrangePurse said:

If you want a fulsome experience, fly to Anchorage, rent a car - see the town, northern lights and other sites, take the train ride up Mt McKinley and a must is a visit to Denali National Park. Follow with a short flight to SE Alaska (Juneau, Sitka or Ketchikan) and take an Un-cruise adventure. Luxury, small and will take you places the big ships can't enter. Another very nice small luxury cruise is Regents line. SE Alaska has a terrific ferry system among the islands, not luxury but you will meet spirited Alaskans and see amazing natural sites. If you have time, visit Manasuka valley and amazing farms, and visit a real Eskimos village (recall one near Palmer) and not the recreated totem pole-lumberjack shows.

That's pretty much what we did a few years ago. When we did our flight to SE Alaska, we flew to Juneau but then took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry to Sitka, so we did both of those cities and we really enjoyed them. I must say that we tried to avoid the cruise ship crowds AND the cruise line tours/tourist shops and stuck with those run by locals instead.

Other than the loop to SE Alaska (no roads in and out - must go by plane or boat), we rented a minivan at the Anchorage airport for our group of six people. But we also wanted to experience the Alaska railroad, so various members of our group would take the train while the rest rode in the van for different segments of the trip. (The van was VERY tight for six people plus luggage anyway and the train gave a different experience. Also, one of our kids was prone to motion sickness and did better on the train.) That worked out quite well for us.

When I was a child, my family did a driving trip to Alaska (from Texas!) and we took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Seattle all the way up the "inside passage" to Haines. I would love to do that again, but without a car, so we could hop on and off at the various stops along the way. If you want to take a car or have a sleeping room on those ferries, you pretty much have to have advance reservations, but if you just want to get on and off, you can do so on impulse.

I went twice, first time out of Vancouver with Holland America, second out of Seattle with Norwegian. The Holland ship was smaller, nicer and with better food, but Norwegian was adequate. The most important part were the views and excursions anyway.

Both Seattle and Vancouver were great places to leave from as well.

As some said, skip the touristy towns and do excursions. Take the White Pass train out of Skagway, that was the highlight of both trips, it winds up and up through fantastic scenery - it takes about 1/2 day. Also, float plane around the Misty Mountains, and salmon fishing out of Ketchikan, helicopter over the Mendenhall Glacier out of Juneau, and whale watching anywhere they have a small boat from.

I can't recommend this trip enough, I am so looking forward to taking my kid once she is old enough.

My coworker and her husband are going in May. They are flying to Anchorage and doing a 3 day land tour. Then cruising to Vancouver and doing another 3 day land tour.

I was extremely lucky to be treated to a Lindblad Expeditions cruise by my parents, and it was absolutely unforgettable. Lindblad is one of the smaller, nature-focused lines. The food was all delicious, using lots of local ingredients, but it's not a dressing for dinner experience in any respect. One night we feasted in crab legs bought that day from one of our port stops. The boat only carried 70-80 passengers, so it was very intimate and we could access many areas the large cruise liners couldn't go. We spent very little time at port cities. Most stops were to enable us to take zeppelin boats to land to get out into nature. There was a team of naturalists that led daily kayaking, hikes, zeppelin rides among the icebergs, etc. They were so enthusiastic to help us discover Alaskan wildlife that one night at about 2:30 am, one of the naturalists made a loudspeaker announcement to all of the cabins to let us know that there was an unusually large pod of whales that could be heard singing and invited those who were willing to forgo some sleep up on deck to listen on a special in-water microphone. I believe Lindblad tours are quite expensive, but I can't imagine having had this kind of experience any other way.

This is all great information. Let's see: our first visit so I am fine with a larger, though maybe not gargantuan, ship (especially as seasickness is an issue). I love the idea of going one way from Vancouver to points north and flying back, but would do a round-trip to Vancouver as well. Lines to look at include Princess, Holland America, Silversea (if we could afford--but we aren't formal people so veering away from that), and Llinblad (smaller boat but Tom Carlson points out the advantages). Poking around, it seems like much of June/July is sold out already! How is May or September?