Travel

[ruthbe]

We are planning an Alaskan Cruise.  What cruise line would you recommend?  thanks a bunch.  Also what side trips?

[patbz]

Have cruised to Alaska twice; once on Princess and once on RC.Both cruises were delightful and well worth it.  We are big time cruisers and have taken many but we're not made of money so we cut where its insignificant to us.  We always now book inside cabins ( just go there to sleep); once we booked a balcony to Hawaii but wasn't worth extra cost.  As for excursions, we booked our own once we left the ship ( always at least several vendors by time we left the dock). One thing that many do that we didn't was the Yukon train trip. Instead we took a small van that coveted most of same sights plus more local stuff at a great discount. We also walked to museums and shopped, and ate. We are going again next Summer with our Grands and it'll be their first cruise so dining, buffet and onboard activities have these preteens psyched.

[Kachina624]

I've taken two Alaskan cruises. One was on Princess which I would not recommend. 

The second was on a smaller ship that held about 80 passengers.  It was wonderful and very nature-oriented.  Smaller vessels can go places a big ships cannot go.  Every night at dinner the captain (a woman) chose a scenic cove in which we anchored with views out big picture windows.  There was not non-stop eating but meals were sumptuous with snacks and beverages always available.

Our small ship cruise line is no longer in business but others similar are.  I'd definitely see a travel agent for advice based on your interests. 

The only side excursions we took were a whale watching trip in Juneau and we rode the train up White Mt. Pass in Skagway which was well worth it.  For the whale watching, we went to a kiosk on the dock and signed up for half the cost of the excursion in a much nicer cabin cruiser.  The excursion boat was nearby and was overloaded, with just a canopy.  People got very cold.  Most ports had kiosks for various side trips. 

[Meowingkitty]

Back when there were travel agents ours suggested Holland America because few to no kids. They were right. I think of the three cruises we took with them I could count the number of kids on one hand. Thoroughly enjoyable. 

[PickyPicky3]

Any cruise decision is based on budget.

I agree with @Kachina624 that the smaller the boat, the better. 

I agree with @patbz  that inside cabins are fine, but I always choose a deck where there is access to the outside in case I need some quick fresh air.

We rented a car and drove up to Denali, which was beautiful. If you're going to visit the interior of Alaska, your cruise cannot start and finish in Vancouver. Ours was one-way Alaska to Vancouver, so we flew to Anchorage a week before departure.

[kaydee50]

In September we will be taking our 4th Alaska cruise, 14 days r/t from Vancouver on Holland America.  All our Alaska cruises have been with HAL and we've enjoyed every one.  We are now in our mid 70s and HAL does attract an older demographic.  

As a previous poster mentioned, we've taken and will be retaking the railroad tour in Skagway.  We've also taken a whale watching tour from Juneau.  We book all our tours through the cruise line.

Also as a previous poster mentioned, either rent a car or take a tour to Denali that the cruise line offers.  It is a must see.  The first cruise we did to Alaska was from Vancouver to Seward.  We took the train to Anchorage, rented a car and drove around for 9 days.  That was great!

We do "open seating" so we have dinner whenever we want.  We also enjoy their Italian restaurant, Caneletto.  

Bon Voyage!

[Kachina624]

My cruise package included a trip to Denali, which should not be missed.  We were there 2 days, as I recall.  Went by train from Fairbanks then on to Anchorage.  We had a rare clear view of Mt. Denali, got to visit the sled dog kennels, saw moose, a grizzly and tons of caribou. 

[PickyPicky3]

I also got to see Mt.Denali's peak -- for about 20 minutes. That in turn allowed me to observe many tourists doing a happy dance.

[Kachina624]

@PickyPicky3    We flew from Anchorage to Fairbanks on a rare clear day when Denali was fully visible.  We were quite low over it and the pilot did a fugure 8 in the big airliner so everybody got a good view.  Even the flight attendants were agog and pressed up to windows. 

Must not happen often.  It was a thrill and a beautiful mountain, 20,320ft.

[LindaSal]

@Kachina624   Hey how about that?   We are both in the 30% club!!!   As you know the summit of Denali is under cloud cover 70% of the time.   We were fortunate to visit Denali National Park in the summer of 2018.  We stayed a week at one of the few lodges 90 miles into the park and did several mountain hikes with guides.  One of them we sat on the summit of our climb, ate our picnic lunch and gazed at the summit of Denali in clear view for a complete hour........even our guide was amazed.

It was the trip of a lifetime and we've been blessed to have traveled a lot in our lives.