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Alaska cruise for 1st anniversary - which ship ?

Alaska cruise for 1st anniversary - which ship ?

Old Feb 11th, 2007, 06:43 AM
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Alaska cruise for 1st anniversary - which ship ?

Getting ready to book an Alaskan cruise for our 1 yr anniversary. Wife is late 30's and I am late 40's. We are well traveled, however, this will be my 1st cruise and wife's 3rd (all Carnival). We like soft adventure so this is a perfect destination. Where I am getting stuck is which of these 3 ships should we go on: HAL Noordam, Princess Golden or Norweigan Pearl ? Wife wants to see Seattle before & after cruise so that has eliminated going out of Vancouver ( I know it's the better routing and would be my preference).

I am just about to book on the Noordam, but am having second thoughts that the ship personality may be geared towards the older folks. We do like staying at nice places and appreciate good service, however we do like to have a variety of activities along with people close to our own age to meet. Whatever ship we choose, we will be booking a Jr or Mini Suite, so $ wise we are talking all in same range.

Help me choose the right ship for our 1st yr anniversary. I've done hours of research and I am at the point starting to 2nd guess every ship. Leaning towards HAL Noordam, but the NCL Pearl keeps coming back along with Princess Golden. Help !
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Old Feb 12th, 2007, 06:31 AM
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I would be more concerned by the age of the ship than the age of the patrons. HAL attracts a nice crowd and when we were on 2 years ago there were many people in your age range. On an Alaska cruise you find many active people who like to explore and be adventurous. Having had a particularily bad experience on an old ship, my advice is to beware ships that are old and falling apart. I'm trying Norweigan this time because of their reputation for cleanliness but I would go Princess in a heartbeat.
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Old Feb 12th, 2007, 06:59 AM
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NCL Pearl and HAL Noordam have the best itinerary out of Seattle IMHO. Both are new ships. NCL did not have a naturalist onboard when we sailed. This would be important to me next time.
 
Old Feb 12th, 2007, 02:06 PM
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Thanks for the advice. After posting yesterday, my wife and I had a very long discussion on the pros/cons of each ship. Today I just booked the NCL Pearl and feel that we have made the absolute right choice for us. Next step is to sit back and look at all the variety of shore excursions, then choose some good ones.
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Old Feb 14th, 2007, 04:29 AM
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Good choice! We like NCL for the Freestyle dining. The itinerary is good with Glacier Bay and you will be sailing a new ship.
You will have a great cruise! Have fun planning your excursions. Consider a Misty Fjords float plane flight with Island Wings..just excellent!
 
Old Feb 14th, 2007, 05:03 AM
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I do not agree that agen is the primary factor when making a ship decision.

I do hope you researched the "personality" of NCL. It is a very casual line with a dining program that reminds me of a high end food court. I did not care for the food or service but many love the Freestyle program.

If you are looking for a classy ship where people dress for dinner and service is highly personalized, IMO, the Noordam is a much better choice.

And, even their minimum cabins are very well appointed and far larger than those on NCL.
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Old Feb 14th, 2007, 08:10 AM
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Thanks for the advice. I spent 2 weeks in researching everything and in the end we felt the NCL Pearl is best for us. We will probably book several nights in the alternate dinning venues which we will book as soon as we get on board. Other than that, we don't mind a little waiting on dinner. Good time to have a drink and visit while we wait. Nothing different than going out to eat on a weekend. For me, I actually prefer to be comfortable on a vacation, so kakki's/polo shirt are fine with me, but having to throw on a suit several nights is my negative towards a cruise. Too much like work. We married/honeymooned on an African safari last year and the place would rival any fine hotel anywhere. We were in safari clothes each night for a truly 5 star dinner, except the day we were married which was dress up. For us, this cruise is about celebrating our 1st yr and just having some relaxed fun. Considering some of our past vacations have been Belize, Costa Rica & Mexico, the NCL Pearl will fit right in.

Now that I have the ship out of the way, if you have any good suggestions for shore excursions, pass them along. We are stopping in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. Have made note of Misty Fjords float plane.
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Old Feb 14th, 2007, 08:30 AM
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Sounds like you chose well and that NCL will suit your style. It is good that you took the time to do your research.

I suggest you visit the Ports Of Call boards on cruisecritic.com. I used much of the information when I visited Alaska and the boards are active and the info current.

I did White Star Railway, took a glacier flight and rented a car in Juneau last trip. One trip I was rained out and really saw nothing. I am now planning a trip for 300 to Alaska next year so will be doing updating my info as well!
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Old Feb 17th, 2007, 06:15 AM
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I am a frequent Alaska traveler who also will be on the Pearl this year. The plus to this sailing is Glacier Bay, if you have a balcony port side is grossly preferred, no glacier views from the starboard side on the way in when all the stops and commentary are made. I spend my time out on a front deck where the view is superior, but if you plan on sticking in a balcony, change the side if you don't have port.

As for excursions- look over a shore excursion list and NARROW down your interests- then repost. Budget fully, in my opinion, you get only half a trip with tour those tours. For me flightseeing is the "top". Nothing show how extensive and vast the beauty is, better.
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Old Feb 17th, 2007, 06:17 AM
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For clairfication- it is the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway. , out of Skagway.
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Old Feb 17th, 2007, 07:27 AM
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Thanks for the clarification. It was beautiful, regardless.
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Old Feb 17th, 2007, 11:33 AM
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Got lucky and got us moved directly opposite of our original cabin, now on port side. Good thing, all the rooms near it were gone next day and our 1st room too. We are also mid ship - away from the elevators

Right now, for Juneau, looking at Capt Larry's whale tour and then maybe a helicopter to glacier booked thru ship if we have time. Think Juneau stop is 2 pm-10 pm.

For Skagway, looking at doing the train + something else since we have a really full day there. May save the glacier helicopter for there.

Ketchikan - haven't even looked too seriously, but maybe fly fishing, Misty Fjords or just hang around town

Victoria - since stop is at night and short, may look into a pub crawl since has such an English heritage

Pearl is getting some really good reviews on cruise critic from some recent trips. This is going to be fun.
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Old Feb 18th, 2007, 12:47 PM
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I strongly suggest you cobook your whale watch and helicopter flight. Both these leave from the same area and you would be adding AT LEAST an hour in shuttle time if you go back and forth from the ship. If you co book with the whale watch you do one after the other, saving time. They do the transfers between the tours and back and forth to the ship.
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