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Do you have a favorite Alaskan cruise?

clifffaith

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Cliff has been agitating for an Alaskan cruise and just sent me a Worldmark email with a cruise on the Norwegian Joy for $1822 per person, 7 days next June. The two cruises we've been on have been river cruises with about 200 passengers, so I am disinclined to want to be with a couple thousand people. But thought I'd ask folks I "know" what they've enjoyed.
 

WinniWoman

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My brother chose the UNCRUISE for Alaska. I think there was about 80 people on it.
 

DaveNV

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We did a Holland America cruise to Alaska last year. Booked through Costco Travel. It was great. Yes, lots of people, but HAL attracts a more mature adult crowd, so it wasn’t bad. I’d do it again.

Check itineraries: The cruise that left from Vancouver BC had better inport times than the cruise that left from Seattle.

Dave
 

pedro47

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The best cruise lines for Alaska right now IMO, I would select Princess, NCL or HAL mass market cruise lines because they travel deeper into glaciers area’s than my favorite cruise lines Celebrity Cruise Lines.

Celebrity make a major change with their Alaskan cruise itineraries this year. You can read more about this change on the CC website or the Celebrity website.
 

tompalm

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We have done five Alaskan cruises. Celebrity is the best within their price class. But if you decide to do a land tour out of Anchorage and go up to Denali or other parts of Alaska, Princess is the way to go. They own tour buses, lodges and have other assets to combine the sea and land tours.
 

pedro47

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Cliff has been agitating for an Alaskan cruise and just sent me a Worldmark email with a cruise on the Norwegian Joy for $1822 per person, 7 days next June. The two cruises we've been on have been river cruises with about 200 passengers, so I am disinclined to want to be with a couple thousand people. But thought I'd ask folks I "know" what they've enjoyed.

To the OP, you may want to check the Cruise Critics website for more information on this topics IMHO.
 

clifffaith

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We have done five Alaskan cruises. Celebrity is the best within their price class. But if you decide to do a land tour out of Anchorage and go up to Denali or other parts of Alaska, Princess is the way to go. They own tour buses, lodges and have other assets to combine the sea and land tours.

Perfect, just the kind of input I was looking for! I figure we'll do Alaska once, so do it "all" and throw a Worldmark stay in Seattle or Vancouver, depending on the departure point. Cliff, who is the instigator, just said "do you think we can afford it?" We can afford a lot of things before we get moved to the "old folks home" where I'll have to pay for my upkeep for 30 more years, so make a list because the answer is going to be "timeshare trips only" once we get moved. Better pencil that trip to London and Paris in again too.
 

pedro47

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If you are going to London, Paris, Europe or Italy may I suggest a reposition cruise with Celebrity Cruise Line from Fort Lauderdale to Europe, Rome, Italy or to England. The food and service are outstanding on their ships. The individual price of the cruise will be base upon the cabin you select.
After the transatlantic cruise then you can book a timeshare vacation. Why, because you already in Europe.
 

AnnaS

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An Alaska cruise was on our bucket list for a while.

We have decided and are booked with another couple (my son's in-laws) on the Royal Princes June 2020 - Land tour first and the southbound cruise to Vancouver. Total 10 Nights. I try not to expect too much so I won't be disappointed. I will try not to compare it to our 8 DCL cruises :). I will be satisfied if it meets my expectations.

Trying to read up on the Royal Princess ship - also on cruise critic.com.
 

Passepartout

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Choose either Holland America or Princess for Alaska. Those are the only lines that go into Glacier Bay. And THAT'S why you cruise to Alaska.

Jim
 

Brett

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I'd also vote Princess Cruises for Alaska.
Not that I've been on one but Princess Cruise buses are all you see going up to Denali and they have a large lodge/motel there
 

pedro47

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A Second vote for Princess Cruises Lines for Alaska, just to go Glacier Bay.
 

Talent312

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Choose either Holland America or Princess for Alaska. Those are the only lines that go into Glacier Bay. And THAT'S why you cruise to Alaska.

I concur.
We went NB from Vancouver and were in Glacier Bay during the eclipse. Erie.
We did a 5-day land tour with Princess after the cruise. We had a great time.
.
 

tompalm

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Perfect, just the kind of input I was looking for! I figure we'll do Alaska once, so do it "all" and throw a Worldmark stay in Seattle or Vancouver, depending on the departure point. Cliff, who is the instigator, just said "do you think we can afford it?" We can afford a lot of things before we get moved to the "old folks home" where I'll have to pay for my upkeep for 30 more years, so make a list because the answer is going to be "timeshare trips only" once we get moved. Better pencil that trip to London and Paris in again too.

Most of the cruises that go one way start in Vancouver and end of in the Anchorage area or vice versa. But definitely check out Vancouver, it is one of my favorite big cities to visit. It is very expensive and busy during the summer cruise months, so plan your trip in May or September. I like May better because the days are longer and the snow has not melted as much from the mountains that you will see during the cruise. May is still high price, but it is a lot better than the summer months.

There is lots to do in Vancouver and people are friendly. If you have time, take a ferry trip over to Victoria and another day drive up to Whistler. You can spend a week in Vancouver and not be able to see all the great things the city has to offer.
 

sdbrier

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I’m not sure of their itinerary, but after doing a westbound crossing last summer I’d love to do another Cunard ship. It was awesome.
 

clifffaith

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I got myself on the Princess Alaska cruise mailing list. Also occurred to us to wonder if they (or anyone) reposition Mexican cruise boats up to Alaska. We live right here at LA Harbor, with Long Beach just over the bridge. Kill two birds with one stone that way, see Alaska and take a cruise out of our own harbor for the first time each.
 

Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
If you decide on Princess, check out the Pacific Princess. I know that ship does Alaska cruises.

We did a Mediterranean cruise on that ship last month & loved it. It had only about 650 passengers. It was refurbished in the last several months. It was easy to get around the ship, food & service were impeccable, and everyone was so nice.
 

artringwald

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If you like pictures, here's some from our Coral Princess cruise with land tour in 2010.

https://artringwald.smugmug.com/Travel/2010-Alaska/

We just signed up for another Alaska cruise on the Star Princess next August to celebrate our 50th anniversary.
 

artringwald

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Before you go, you might want to get a good tour book. We like Alaska By Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Cruising Alaska:

https://smile.amazon.com/Alaska-Cru.../ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

There's a section near the back that describes the various companies that do Alaska cruises. The section on Viking is short because they recently started offering Alaska cruises. They have smaller ships, no kids, and include much more with the base cruise fare. What they include that others charge extra for are:
  • One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call
  • Free Wi-Fi (connection speed may vary)
  • Alternative restaurant dining at no extra charge
  • Beer, wine & soft drinks with onboard lunch & dinner
  • 24-hour specialty coffees, teas & bottled water
  • Self-service launderettes
  • Port taxes & fees
  • Ground transfers with Viking Air purchase
We have tried Princess and Viking, and like both, but for Alaska we chose Princess.
 

Glynda

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Brewster Green (two weeks).
Cliff has been agitating for an Alaskan cruise and just sent me a Worldmark email with a cruise on the Norwegian Joy for $1822 per person, 7 days next June. The two cruises we've been on have been river cruises with about 200 passengers, so I am disinclined to want to be with a couple thousand people. But thought I'd ask folks I "know" what they've enjoyed.

I would suggest not taking a Seattle to Seattle Alaskan cruise as the ships don't go as far up the inside passage as others.
 

Fredward

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We took a Princess Cruise last August, leaving from Vancouver, cruising for 7 days followed by a 4 day land package. We left the boat, walked over to the train station and got the most beautiful glass top train ride for 8 hours to their Denali Lodge. I selected from their array of options based on the longest train ride, rather than tour busses. The land package was probably the best part of the trip for us- got to see lots of animals, incredible scenery, and breathe in incredibly fresh air. Possibly the best part was that I was following prices on Vacations to Go and saw that they had reduced their fare by 50% late in May then called Princess. We were able to get a balcony cabin for far less than we ever expected- around $1900 a person, including the land portion. I would do it again tomorrow!
 

Firepath

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I got that Worldmark "special" too and didn't think it was a very good price. We just booked an Alaskan cruise for next summer on Celebrity since my husband is all about the food, and from reviews I've read they are one of the better lines for food. We use an on-line travel agent to book cruises and let them find us the best deals. We did an Hawaiian cruise last month and it was really nice.
 

IngridN

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Very timely post. DH and I looking at an Alaska cruise with land for 2020 or 2021. He is looking at the Costco Princess offering, however, I shudder to think of an Alaska cruise with 2500 passengers and am advocating for a smaller ship. I've asked him to research this and do a separate land portion, however, he likes the idea of doing both portions with the same company.

For those who have done Alaska with Princess, how well do they handle shore excursions with that many people?

For those that have done Alaska cruise and land with a much, much smaller boat, how did you handle the land portion? Do those cruise lines have partnerships with land vendors?

When's the best time to go? We were looking at summer, however are advised that July is when the mosquitoes come out. I like the May suggestion with longer days that one poster mentioned.

Cruise Critic is our next stop. Many thanks for your input.

Ingrid
 

clifffaith

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If you like pictures, here's some from our Coral Princess cruise with land tour in 2010.

https://artringwald.smugmug.com/Travel/2010-Alaska/

We just signed up for another Alaska cruise on the Star Princess next August to celebrate our 50th anniversary.

Beautiful photos! Re: Viking -- we get brochures in the mail at least once a week it seems, ever since we took a Danube cruise with them. Loved the small group and the Viking service. I'd forgotten they do Alaska; we have been eyeing some of their ocean cruises as well as St. Petersburg/Moscow River cruise.
 
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