Alaskan Cruise?

[Oracle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Oracle]

My wife put out the suggestion of going on an Alaskan cruise next May. It will be our 30th wedding aniversary. Is late May too early for an Alaskan cruise? I have always wanted to do an Alaskan cruise, but my mobility is limited, so we will be spending most of the time on the ship. I was thinking of a seven day cruise with balcony room to maximize our views of the coastline. Any suggestions of a cruise line?

[vlariano Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vlariano]

I've been to Alaska once on Princess and really enjoyed it. It depends on your itinerary which cruise line would work best for you. Some go into Hubbard Bay and others to Glacier Bay. Some go Round Trip from Vancouver, some RT from Seattle, and others from Anchorage to Vancouver, and Vancouver to Anchorage. My next Alaskan cruise will be with Celebrity and I'm looking forward to that also. You don't get to see as much when you do a RT from Seattle or Vancouver. I've read on the cruise boards that some people like May cruises, but it will probably be colder than later months. I went in September and it was beautiful most of the time, but it's hard to predict. Everyone says to Layer, layer,layer -- that is the key for Alaska.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

As said by previous poster May could be a bit early for some folks, the weather will probably be a bit chilly then, but if you plan on just the cruise or a land portion also. The cruises that either start or end in Vancouver I think cover the most territory. The inside passage is just fantastic, each day the stuff you see is better than the stuff you see the day before.
We sailed on Princess and we had a great time. We did a land portion up to Denaili Parkand Fairbanks which was also a lot of fun but the cruise itself was well worth it. We went in late August and the weather was great.
However you do it you will have a great time, Alaska is a great place with lots to see.

[swampfox Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swampfox]

more questions re: an Alaska cruise

We have been thinking of a cruise to Alaska with friends in August of 2007-it would be our first time there. My travel agent offered 2 options. The first is 8/10-17 on the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas and the other is on a brand new ship of the Norwegian Cruise Line called the Pearl from 8/19-28. Both are RT from Seattle.
We are traveling from the East coast so one question I have is, considering the distance and expense of flying and then cruising, is this enough time for such a once in a lifetime trip. Should we be looking for something longer (even at additonal expense?)
And, is an inside cabin a good way to save a little money to spend on all the fun things we would want to experience on the trip?
Thanks fo any tips you can offer

[mschatz Member Find all posts View Profile Close mschatz]

I think you'll be fine

My wife and I went on a Holland America Inside Passage Alaskan cruise a number of years ago. We both thought Holland America was a great in-between cruiseline We went the very last sailing in the fall (September). It was chilly. If your idea of fun is sitting by the pool, that probably won't happen.

It was a beautiful trip and would do it again in a second. An inside cabin seems like a bad way to save money for an Alaskan cruise. You are going there to enjoy the beauty of the country.

[hope54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hope54]

Being from the Northwest, I would suggest doing an Alaska cruise in August or September. That is your best chance for clear skies. Alaska never gets very warm, but not having clouds and rain is a plus.

One suggestion I have is to cruise one week, then spend a week in the Seattle region. There are many 1 and 2 day loops you can make in any direction for some spectacular scenery.

Hope

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Mom and I are sailing Princess in Sept. Works out better for us than May, but I woulda done that, too. Be prepared for anything, as far as weather.

We're doing a southbound from Whittier, overnighting in Anchorage pre-cruise, and Seattle post-cruise (too expensive to fly out of Vancouver). I can't take much vacation time (and don't have the funds), so will only be able to squeeze in a day cruise in Prince William Sound (26 glaciers!) and sightseeing in Vancouver post-cruise. I'm secretly hoping this is NOT a "once in a lifetime" but "first".

I chose a one-way because of the Glacier Bay and time in ports. Southbound seemed better for late season and I liked the itinerary better. The round trips from Seattle have a lot more sea time and a lot less port time, plus, you don't go as far. I wanted to cover as much as possible. And the open jaw air wasn't as bad as I thought from Indy.

Princess and one other line have naturalists on board so we will be following that poor chap around with no plans to watch the scenery from the cabin. So I planned to book an inside cabin so that money could be spent in port, but, when I went to book, oceanview was same price, so what the hey.

I don't expect to spend much time in the cabin, anyway, so that's not where I wanna splurge. We're going dogsledding on a glacier and that excursion is not cheap, even booked privately. No way I would trade that experience for a private balcony, but that's just me. Getting to go to Alaska at all is a dream come true so my money and time is best spent experiencing Alaska, not sleeping in a bigger room with a bigger window. to each his own.