There are a lot of options but check out this website to give you an idea of some of the cruise/tours you can take. It is a start and then you can narrow down what appeals to you most. I would recommend Holland America or Princess for what you are looking for as far as dining, dress up nights etc. You can also see what ships are doing that particular cruise and look up the passenger capacity.

http://www.alaskadenalitours.com/alaska-cruises.html?gclid=CIXavYLiiqYCFRRqgwodcCn2pA

Princess has some smaller ships with a capacity of around 700. These include the Royal, Pacific and Ocean Princesses. Check out their website to see if any of these ships are doing Alaska during that time period. As this will be your first cruise I recommend a travel agent for advice. Also look into Oceania cruses. The ships are smaller and are actually the same class as the above mentioned Princess ships. They will be much pricier but the level of food, service and room appointments are higher. Good luck.

Hi Larry - Happy New year!! Are you snowed in? Was 73 here today in S Arizona. I know, I know rub it in!!!

ha ha ha. . Actually its not bad here, just a few inches of light snow which the sno-blower handled pretty well. By Fri. it should be 40 so a melt is on the way. Happy holidays amigo.

First - May is perhaps a bit early if you want to go to Denali. We were there in 2009 mid-June and they had just opened up the road for the season. Sometimes it is earlier, but you will not know this in advance.

I would consider spending 7-10 days on land before or after cruise, renting a car, seeing Denali and Kenai Peninsula. You can easily do this on your own without buying a package.

Cost - everything in Alaska ends up costing far more than you think it would/should. We knew that, and still got sticker-shock. This is because it has such a short tourist season. Also, any side trips/excursions from cruise will cost quite a bit - this is because they all require additional transportation, often air/rail/helicopter/bus - and often some combination of these. You can save some money by booking privately rather than thru cruiseline, but not that much in savings and they are still expensive. Well worth it - but figure that into your budgeting as there is really nothing rith in port towns (perhaps a bit to see in Juneau, but this is a landlocked capital city - you can not get anywhere in the rest of Alaska from Juneau except by air or sea).

We have been on a number of large (not gigantic) cruise ship trips. We did Alaska on Princess and were surpsied to find that there are more limited shipboard activities than on our other cruises - the destination is the activity. Also, if you are a late-night person, you will be surprised. One night after late dinner seating (around 11 PM) we were seeking a bar on board to have a drink. Most were closed, and the one we found was announcing last-call.

We had a wonderful time - think you will as well - but planning a trip to Alaska involves a different mindset than other trips.

www.cruisecritic.com good info ship reviews

good personal experience with Princess in the past

especially good for Denali for me...

www.vacationstogo.com for good discounts for me sometimes...

Happy Hunting,

depending on your budget, you might look at Regent Cruises or Oceania. Oceania's Regatta will be doing inside passage itineraries for the first time this year. They have some really nice looking longer cruises.

Thanks to all who replied. Will use the information/advice and to make decisions.

Thanks to all who replied. Will use the information/advice and to make decisions.

"We would like to spend time in Denali and do a few side trips. "

Seriously consider visiting Denali on your own with a rental car, not through the cruise line. Why? You can get a better experience if you book through the National Park Service and stay in lodging of your choice. Nearby Healy is a good place to stay. You will also pay a lot less.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Orlando_Vic is right. Denali on your own is defineitly more affrodable and better than cruise tour through the cruise lines.

For this year's cruising season on Princess, the only ships available are the Golden, Sapphire, Diamond, Coral and Island. We chose the Golden because it goes to Glacier Bay and it leaves and returns from Seattle. We have Rewards Tickets on SW for air. We found air was amazingly expensive especially if we wanted to go out of Canada instaed of Seattle.

When we book our shore excursions, we found that the tour companies recommended on Cruise Critic were around $30-$50 cheaper than Princess. The real difference is the independant companies don't take as many people as the cruise lines. However, the cruise lines let people off the ship first when tours are booked through them. We purchased 2 ship tours and 1 independant. Price was almost $1,200. Another difference is if you book with an independant they want payment at the time of booking. Princess charges to your ship board account and you pay when the cruise is over.

To clarify - I agree rent a car and drive TO Denali, but one can not take a personal vehicle more than a few miles into Denali - after that it is authorized group transport.

It doesn't sound like KVR have been to Alaska and the report is not first hand.

I have no idea what their ship tour reference is that they are first off the ship????? NONE of the Alaska ports are usually tendered with Princess and this would ONLY impact tours if they were. With docking you just walk off the ship. They do NOT hold anyone back due to tours. They have two gang planks set anyway. Get in line, swipe your card walk off the ship.

Do not expect big savings with independent touring, but it is superior for the smaller groups and native Alaskan run. Sometimes longer tours, and usually not on as tight schedules.

BudgetQueen, you know from my questions on Cruise Critic that we have not been to Alaska before, but have been researching it for 5 years. We have been on 3 Caribbean cruises though. My comments are based on my experiences and research.

It's good to know that getting off the ship in Alaska is different than getting off the ship in the Caribbean as that is really one of my main pet peeves of cruising. When tendering to a port on a Caribbean cruises, the people with ship tours were the ones on the tenders first.