Alaska Cruise

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

I can plan a WDW vacation in my sleep, but this cruise thing has my head spinning with all the different choices

I sure agree with you! There are just so many choices that are very confusing to me. As of right now I'm leaning towards a round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver but talk to me in an hour and it could all change.

Thank you to everyone for your insight and input.

Elise

 

[CPM]

I sure agree with you! There are just so many choices that are very confusing to me. As of right now I'm leaning towards a round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver but talk to me in an hour and it could all change.

Thank you to everyone for your insight and input.

Elise

LOL I probaboy changed mine at least three times before I finally decided for sure!!

 

[Beth76]

I sure agree with you! There are just so many choices that are very confusing to me. As of right now I'm leaning towards a round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver but talk to me in an hour and it could all change.

What you need to do is start pricing the different cruises that you're considering. Either do it yourself online or through a TA. Pricing might help you make a decision. When I went 3 years ago, Princess didn't have affordable balconies (only suites) so that knocked them out of the running. But my parents just got back from Alaska on Princess and they got a great deal.

This is how I narrowed down to RCI.
1. Princesss was knocked out because lack of balconies (a must for Alaska IMO)
2. I really wanted to go out of Vancouver so that knocked out Norwegian.
3. I didn't even consider Carnival or Holland America (sorry Binny it looks like an old person's cruiseline)
4. Finally narrowed down to Celebrity and RCI. I figured RCI was more family friendly which would probably mean more people our age (we were 27 at the time).

 

[CPM]

2. I really wanted to go out of Vancouver so that knocked out Norwegian.
3. I didn't even consider Carnival or Holland America (sorry Binny it looks like an old person's cruiseline)
QUOTE]

You shuld consider CCL. They do a great job with Alaska and the Spirit is the most popular of all their ships. According to all reviews they have the best naturalist on board too. Cabins are as large as DCL. Their bedding is to die for. I have always loved the food, much better than DCL IMO. I found the cabins on RCI to be too small, and less storage space.

 

[TLHB70]

1. Princesss was knocked out because lack of balconies (a must for Alaska IMO)

I agree that a balcony is a must for Alaska!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sitting on our balcony on glacier day was fabulous!!!!!!

 

[Tracey1974]

We did ours on the Norwegian Sun- the ship was only 18 months old when we sales in 2003 so it was almost new. What I liked was that you can eat pretty much whererever and whenever. They did have a few restaurants that you just paid $10 extra (like Palo on DCL).

We have 11 rolls of film we took and I just wish we had a digital camera back then! We took a train ride up the Yukon for a 2 hour trip up the mountains to Canada and also took the Mendenhall Galcier tour. I highly recommend it- we went on a last minute whim with friends and it is my 2nd favorite vacation next to Disney!

 

[Syrreal]

Balconies- YES!!! Every day each time we would go outside on our balcony we would see whales (and this is NOT an exageration )

 

[PigletsPal]

We are going next Sept. still looking at all the options and boy is there alot to decide on..........LOL

 

[twinz]

I work at a Cruise wholesaler, and we sell cruises to Alaska...I can tell you that Holland America will probably be your most expensive, and they tend to cater to an older crowd. Celebrity...not too bad, but I think your best bet would either be Royal Carribean or Norweigan Cruise Lines. The best thing about NCL (Norweigan) is that they have "freestyle" dining...which means, no set dining times, no set table...eat when you want, and who you want to eat with. Also I can say BOOK EARLY, I do not know HOW many people I had calling in June looking for an Alaskian cruise for the summer...ummm no luck they were pretty much all sold out.

BETH76, Norweigan does have a ship that goes out of Vancouver...next year it will be the Norweigan Sun (or is it the Star?), can't remember...SAD since I sell 99% of NCL cruises at work! LOL, but take my word NCL DOES have Cruises out of Vancouver, and they are VERY popular with Canadians.

 

[binny]

see now I dislike the freestyle dining myself. My clients dont usually care for it either.

I agree the balconies are a must for Alaska.


While HAL does cater to the older crowds their new ships have a great teen programme. The new teen clubs are very nice!

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

While HAL does cater to the older crowds their new ships have a great teen programme. The new teen clubs are very nice!

Do Alaska cruise get a lot of teens? My kids are 16 and 17 so I want a ship that will have a fair amount of kids their ages. Also what do you think of Royal Caribbean and Carnival, especially the teen programs>

 

[bekkiz]

I like Royal Caribbean because there seems to be lots to do. We don't have kids (and we went in May, when there aren't a lot of kids) but we're in our 20's and I think there is lots that would appeal to teenagers.

There's a rock climbing wall and mini-golf and a good food place where they serve burgers, chicken strips etc up with all of the rec stuff.

That isn't to say other cruiselines don't have good teen programs--but I think shipwise, the RCCL ships are top notch.

 

[TLHB70]

see now I dislike the freestyle dining myself. My clients dont usually care for it either.

I dislike freestyle dining also. If you hit a dining room/eating area at peak time then you will most likely not have a table. I like having an assigned time and knowing I will have a place to sit. DH and I always request a table for two or four (depends on if kids are with us), and we have always had our own table.

I can tell you that Holland America will probably be your most expensive, and they tend to cater to an older crowd.

I guess they may cater to an older crowd since binny worked for them and agrees. However, I can assure you that on our HAL Alaskan cruise there was a big mix of ages! I can see that the longer cruises (weeks and months long) would have all "old" people since they are retired. However, the shorter 7 day or 10 day cruise will draw a wider variety of ages. We are in our mid 30s and there were plenty of couples there our age.
Like I said earlier, though, DH and I are not partying people so we didn't miss the partying scene at all. We liked the atmosphere on board a lot. Sure, there was a casino, a dance club or two, and lounge. However, there were also quiet areas that we enjoyed. Again, we just don't party. We go to bed pretty early on our trips (10 or 10:30) and get up early to get an early start on the day. So we just liked the atmosphere on HAL. We will definitely sail HAL again!