Alaska Cruise - 5, 7 or 9 night

[Jadeey]

Experienced Alaska cruisers, would you recommend the 5, 7 or 9 night for a first time trip to Alaska. (Noting we are also inexperienced cruisers, this will only be our second - our first being just a 4 night which we LOVED).

I'm tempted by either the 7 or 9 so we get to see more, but being fairly inexperienced I'm wondering if the 7 or 9 will feel too long.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Experienced Alaska cruisers, would you recommend the 5, 7 or 9 night for a first time trip to Alaska. (Noting we are also inexperienced cruisers, this will only be our second - our first being just a 4 night which we LOVED).

I'm tempted by either the 7 or 9 so we get to see more, but being fairly inexperienced I'm wondering if the 7 or 9 will feel too long.

Well, for me, longer is always better.

I think if you LOVED your previous 4 night cruise, you'll probably be fine with a longer one. Many people use the shorter cruise to see if they'll even like cruising, and it seems you've passed that requirement.

On the longer cruises there are different menus and shows each night, so no repetitions there.

 

[xavier2001]

I wouldn't do 5 unless you are West Coasties and plan to go to Alaska many times. We did the 7 this summer and it was almost too short, had the 9 been offered we probably would have done that.

 

[bcwife76]

We were originally booked on the 5 night (we live in Vancouver) but recently changed to a 7 night at the end of August. I'd love to do the 9 night but it's SO much more money than the 7 nights.

It's also worth noting I booked the 5 night on opening day. The prices have really skyrocketed on that cruise and now I'm paying just a slight bit more for our 7 night cruise (in the same category room) as we were for our 5 night. The value really is not there for the 5 night Alaskan but it's still a good sampler cruise for Alaska. HAL does a 5 night cruise every year. Several of them in fact I believe.

 

[Geomom]

I'd say 7. The 5 nt only has 1 port (Ketchikan), the 7 nt has 3 ports--and our favorite excursion was from Skagway (Chilkoot Charters--Yukon train/bus combo with dog cart ride. We did the 7nt this past August--our first ever cruise. It actually did feel too short for us. The 9 nt is pricier than it should be as it is a different itinerary for Disney, so it has higher demand.

 

[Jadeey]

Thanks all, this is probably a once in a lifetime for us because we are coming from New Zealand (so travelling to anywhere is crazy expensive) and have a travel bucket list as long as my arm. Sounds like the 5 night would just leave us wanting more.

 

[lklgoodman]

We went on the 7 night a few yrs ago. I would love to go on the 9 night one, especially since the Wonder is getting updated.

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• skip the 5 day..... Ketchikan is just across the AK border.... you are missing so much. The ratio of sea days over port days is silly.
• 7 day as a minimum, 9 day is a bonus!
• try to go before mid-August. August starts to statistically get wetter and September is best for storm chasers. There's a reason why it's cheaper.

 

[saxmangeoff]

Especially if coming from NZ, don't do the 5-night. As noted above, you do get Tracy Arm and Ketchikan, which are both great, but you miss Juneau and Skagway, both of which I liked better than Ketchikan.

I'm pretty sure you'll have to bring your own Marmite.

 

[Jadeey]

I'm pretty sure you'll have to bring your own Marmite.

Don't worry, I'm used to bringing a jar wherever I go

 

[disneyholic family]

if you're flying all that way, then go for the 9 night...
when we visit disney world, we always go for 3 weeks for the same reason.....after spending soooooooooooo long traveling to get to the states, we'll be damned if we'll leave too soon!!

we went to alaska a year ago.....we originally were thinking DCL, but they didn't offer a one way cruise..
since we wanted to visit mainland alaska as well, that meant we had to find another cruise line that offered a one way cruise..
we ended up doing a 7 night southbound cruise on Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas...loved it..and LOVED alaska!!!

my dream is to rent a place next time and stay in mainland alaska for a month or so....then end the vacation on a cruise...
probably in my next lifetime..

 

[wl1117]

We did the 7 night this past August...if I could do the 9 night tomorrow I would! We loved Alaska. My husband and I both thought it was our favorite itinerary (we've done Bahama's 3&4 nighters, and Eastern and Western Caribbean 7 nighters). I agree with Shmoo, the longer the better!

 

[lorimay]

We have done the 7 night, I would definitely do the 9 night if I had a choice. Longer IS always better.

 

[NancyIL]

I would choose the 9-night. In fact, I'll be on a 9-night one-way cruise next May on Royal Caribbean.

 

[jetskigrl]

I'm booked on the 5-night but I wouldn't recommended it for a first cruise to Alaska. We did the 7 night in 2014 so this is a repeat for us. My kids were divided (one wanted another cruise, the other wanted to see more of Vancouver). So we are doing 4 nights in Vancouver followed by the 5-night cruise - best of both worlds.

But for a first timer, at least the 7 nights so that you will get to see all 3 ports. If you can swing it financially, that 9-night cruise looks amazing and would be my first choice (but then we wouldn't have been able to add in the time in Vancouver). If you enjoyed your 4-night cruise then I don't think you will have any problem with the 7 or 9 night one.

 

[anricat]

We were so sad to get off the ship after our 7-night. I'm going to be honest, when they announced the 5-night, I literally said to my husband, "What's the point?" I just can't imagine going and doing only one port.

If they had offered the 9-night when we went last year (and it was in our price range, which, it potentially might not have been) we would have definitely gone for it. If you can afford the 9-night, I would book it. But definitely at least the 7-night.

 

[jrabbit]

the 9 night cruise adds a port stop in Icy Point Straight and another sail up to a glacier. We do have the 9 night booked for next year. Several years ago we did the 7 nights - and as others say .... length matters!!

from what I've read, Icy Point Straight is a true cruise port - it was created / built for sole purpose of having cruises stop here - so it might be more like EPCOT - an exaggerated / sanitized version of the real thing vs. Skagway and Ketchikan which have preserved their colorful past for tourists - otherwise they really would no longer be cities...

 

[NancyIL]

the 9 night cruise adds a port stop in Icy Point Straight and another sail up to a glacier. We do have the 9 night booked for next year. Several years ago we did the 7 nights - and as others say .... length matters!!

from what I've read, Icy Point Straight is a true cruise port - it was created / built for sole purpose of having cruises stop here - so it might be more like EPCOT - an exaggerated / sanitized version of the real thing vs. Skagway and Ketchikan which have preserved their colorful past for tourists - otherwise they really would no longer be cities...

Icy Strait Point is a cruise port built by the cruise lines, but the town of Hoonah, Alaska is VERY genuine and non-commercialized. it's a great port for whale watching.

Unlike Tracy Arm, which is a long fjord leading up to the twin Sawyer glaciers - Hubbard Glacier is a HUGE tidewater glacier. It's very impressive - when you can get close enough to see it.

 

[Dug720]

the 9 night cruise adds a port stop in Icy Point Straight and another sail up to a glacier. We do have the 9 night booked for next year. Several years ago we did the 7 nights - and as others say .... length matters!!

from what I've read, Icy Point Straight is a true cruise port - it was created / built for sole purpose of having cruises stop here - so it might be more like EPCOT - an exaggerated / sanitized version of the real thing vs. Skagway and Ketchikan which have preserved their colorful past for tourists - otherwise they really would no longer be cities...

I would definitely consider it - but ONLY for the extra glacier day. I would totally use ISP as a ship day. We went there on the Radiance a couple of years ago and I was bored out of my mind - I took the shuttle into Hoonah and walked around a little to see the eagles and their nest. As for the created bit, YAWN. Unless you're into zip lining there really isn't that much to do there. I was back on the ship after an hour.

 

[NancyIL]

I would definitely consider it - but ONLY for the extra glacier day. I would totally use ISP as a ship day. We went there on the Radiance a couple of years ago and I was bored out of my mind - I took the shuttle into Hoonah and walked around a little to see the eagles and their nest. As for the created bit, YAWN. Unless you're into zip lining there really isn't that much to do there. I was back on the ship after an hour.

Hoonah is definitely the Real Alaska, and not a tourist trap like much of Ketchikan and Skagway. If your only plans there are to walk around town, you'll probably be disappointed. If anyone on the 9-night cruise wants to do a whale watch - do it in Icy Strait Point rather than in Juneau. There are a lot of other things one can do in Juneau.