basingstoke2

Us - cruise virgins.

Line - Holland America

Time - towards the end of May

Pros for Hubbard Glacier - save several hundred on balcony room with a much better room selection. Looks interesting

Pros for Glacier Bay - lots of people say it is a must see. We like the idea of the Park Ranger on board for the NP part.

Fodorite Opinions?

Gardyloo

Not enough information, virgin.

Is this a one-way cruise to/from Seward, a round trip from Vancouver, or a round trip from Seattle?

Why? Because if it's a one-way, then skipping Glacier Bay can be compensated with a glacier cruise out of Whittier (between Seward and Anchorage) or a Kenai Fjords cruise out of Seward, either/both of which will put you much closer to tidewater glaciers than you'll get in Glacier Bay.

If it's one of the round trips (and I hope it's a Vancouver one because it's much more scenic than Seattle departures) then it's a case of pick 'em. In May you run the risk of not being able to get very close to the glacier faces in either area, depending on how much ice is in the water (icebergs, even little ones, aren't too friendly to azipods or props.) And you can get foggy or misty days when visibility isn't terrific.

Hubbard is spectacular, as is Yakutat Bay (which you transit to get to the glacier) and you can also join the throngs marching to the Mendenhall Glacier face during your stop in Juneau, so I'd probably save the money, go with the Hubbard route, and use the savings for something like a flightseeing trip.

mlgb

I am a semi cruise virgin . Don't know about Hubbard but loved Glacier, also on HAL Zaandam. It isn't just the glaciers, but also the wildlife spotting and the ranger commentary. I went at the tail end of the season, arriving in GB on the first day that Johns Hopkins was opened after the harbor seal breeding season. It closes on June 1 so if your itinerary reaches GB before then you may also be lucky to visit both glaciers. You can look at the park service website for more info about visiting on a cruise ship.

https://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/cruise.htm

The HAL ships are pretty nice for mass market ships, not huge and the Zaandam library was a great spot to hang out in bad weather if you wanted out of your room. I had an inside cabin because I planned to spend the day at GB on the top deck, which thankfully was a good weather day.

I tend to be too restless to spend all my time on a balcony even when I've had one. YMMV.

I probably would recommend springing for GB, although as I said I have no comparison with Hubbard.

There are several ways to save on shore excursions along the way, if you haven't seen that thread.

I took the public bus in Ketchikan to Totem Bight,

http://tinyurl.com/zgnsn47

It's easy to walk around Ketchikan to the Creek Street historic area. (You can pick up a map when you exit at the visitor center).www.experienceketchikan.com

I didn't pay extra for a whale watch cruise, or a bear or eagle expedition.

I was glad I did the one-way trip also (I did it southbound), but it is easy for me to fly one way into Anchorage and out of Vancouver.

I would happily repeat that cruise if I found the right price.

My biggest issue with cruises is the 'floating petri dish' factor. Not so much the food borne illnesses but you don't hear much about how flu and coughing spreads back and forth between the crew and staff. I am glad I did the cruise southbound because I came down with the crud AFTER Glacier Bay.

So be up to date on flu shots and bring whatever meds you need to deal with that..

On my subsequent cruises I tried to avoid elevators and sit in the back of lectures, or just watch them on the cabin TV.

MsSteinrunner

I'd like to recommend HAL's 14 day cruise (not the back to back) that also goes to Anchorage, Kodiak, and Homer. When we took this cruise, it did Hubbard. As it is on one of HAL's smaller ships, balconies cost more because there are not as many of them.

If you do a 7 day cruise, try to hit more interesting ports than just Ketchikan and Juneau. During cruise season, they can be overwhelmed with tourists. On a 7 day cruise, I'd opt for Glacier Bay.

mlgb

There aren't a lot of choices on the 7 day cruises. We did stop at Haines, which was fun. I think they pretty much all stop in Juneau and Ketchikan.