Alaskan Cruise

[Carole]

jiminyC_fan,

Who did you book through - sounds like great rates. I don't know where to start looking for rates for the land/sea cruises.

Thanks,
Carole

 

[nikkistevej]

OP, our family (Me, DH and two teens) did our first Alaskan cruise last summer and I did a lot of planning. We chose NCL Pearl for several reasons and # 1 was the itinerary included Glacier Bay. # 2 was great pricing, # 3 was the option for anytime, casual dining and finally it was filled with other families.

On cruise critic website be sure to check out the NCL boards too to give yourself a fair comparison.

We did r/t out of Seattle for 7 days and while I would have loved to have done a one way itinerary the cost for flights back is huge. Flying into Seattle from Boston we had flight options of Delta, Jet Blue, etc. Doing a one way gave us very few flight options and the cost was huge!! Perhaps if we lived on the West Coast but for us it was a great first cruise and taste of Alaska. We know we will go back.

We stopped in all the same ports as Princess & Holland America and the Pearl is a very new ship with lots of activities for families and children.

Also, with a more casual dress code, we could pack a little less which is a factor for families, particularly with the size of any cabin. Alaska's summer weather really varies so you'll need to bring a fair amount already.....decide if more formal attire is really right for you.

You will need a passport so plan for that but it really doesnt take long to get them.

Every cruise line has it's fans but we really weren't locked into any particular line. I'm glad we chose NCL and our day at Glacier Bay was the highlight of our cruise.

Enjoy.

Sorry to hijack the thread- but my family and extended family are doing the Pearl next year to Alaska- and I have been on cruise critic doing lots of research. What excursions(if any) did you do in the ports?

 

[nikkistevej]

I have read some pretty good reviews from the NCL Pearl, and it is round trip from Seattle, goes to Glacier Band and it looked a little less expensive than the others. We are getting an oceanview- can't do the balcony- because I want to take some really good excursions, that are pretty expensive.

 

[tigercat]

My husband, Mum, Dad and 2 of their's and our's friends went on the Regal Princess. It was really great. We had a suite (unbelievable deal) and we were all really happy that we did. I spent more time on my balcony that trip than I did any other cruise. For my parents it was great because my Dad could sit on a chair in the room and see out the balcony door. My Mum could go out there for a break from my Mum. We saw a lot from our balcony and it was good that we had it because I wouldn't have been able to see anything off the from of the ship. I am a little on the short side and my husband was up on deck happy that I was on our balcony seeing the same thing as him. We took a private tour in Skagway up to the Yukon. It was great. As for Skagway and Juneau our friends and I went shopping while my husband did some bike tours. My parents stayed on the ship. I really would love to do this cruise again as I spent most of my time looking after my parents so I really didn't get to see much. Maybe in a couple of years.
tigercat

 

[jiminyC_fan]

jiminyC_fan,

Who did you book through - sounds like great rates. I don't know where to start looking for rates for the land/sea cruises.

Thanks,
Carole

Hi Carole, I booked directly with Holland America. Not sure if I can post their web site here but you need to check them out. They are ALWAYS running a sale. We sailed on the Statendam. I loved the ship. It's smaller than the Magic and Wonder. It was heaven! I believe it had 1200 passengers. I'm glad that we did not do a roundtrip. I think we saw more of Alaska the way we did it. Believe me, you can pay a lot more but ours was 50% off. Prices vary between HAL ships as well. The Statendam was built in the 90's so I was a bit apprehensive that it would disappoint us since we have only sailed DCL. The only thing that we needed to overlook was the rust around the window. Not a biggie. I would be happy to answer any of your questions or point you in the right direction. Just PM me.

BTW, the same company owns Princess, Holland America and Carnival. We did not know that until we sailed.