which alaska cruises are best?

Have you considered a smaller ship? We're using Lindblad/National Geographic to travel Juneau to Sitka. Only 30 cabins - 62 people max - guides and naturalists - zodiaks. Promises to be educational and beautiful. If interested, will post reactions when we return. Ciao, L

Consider Holland America Line. The ships are not as big as Princess or Royal and the service and food is wonderful in my opinion. If this is your first time to Alaska, time and money permitting, do think about a combination land tour and cruise package.

I am going on Princess in July, so I can't help too much on that - but from what I read Princess does Alaska really well.

I would differ with hpeabody though on recommending a cruise/tour. Instead, I would recommend a cruise and then traveling around Alaska on your own. Much cheaper and more flexible than a tour. (Or, since you say you are going north to south - travel around on your own first and then meet up with the ship).

The one Alaska cruise we took we went on Princess; my partner thought it was the dullest trip he had ever been on (too many fir trees!!!) I enjoyed it more and though princess did OK.

We've been on more than two dozen cruises and on several different lines. I didn't think Princess did any better than Royal Caribbean or Celebrity but a LOT of that is subjective.

You might want to visit www.cruisecritic.com or www.cruise-addicts.com and look at some of the ship/trip reviews.

We did a cruise to Alaska a couple of years ago on Princess. The ship was pretty nice - great fitness center, several hot tubs on deck, lots of activities, reasonably priced...but the food was terrible. I had previously been on Norweigan in the Caribbean where the food was outstanding so maybe I was expecting too much.

Won't weigh in on lines, but I'd say look for a cruise that includes a southcentral AK stop (Anchorage -- which is Seward or Whittier) rather than just Inside Passage ... and then add a land package.

Are you planning on interior Alaska touring?? I completely disagree with the above recommendations for adding a "cruisetour", the most costly option, seeing the least. It is far superior to go on your own.

As for cruise, I do like Seward port, for the many many activities available. But most people completely miss out. I do not recommend RCI highly in Alaska, and of the 5 lines I have sailed there, my last of the the 5 for my preferences.

However, it sounds like the ship is your priority? (for many, it's what's outside the ship, Alaska) If that is the case, then go with a ship you like with the activities of interest to you. Alaska sailings are different from Caribbean, so keep that in mind.

Otherwise, you may want to make your selection based upon, ports, time in ports, glacier, route, ship naturalist, price.

Seesa, you were lucky on Norwegian. I have never had such bad food.

pat - I wonder if the food varies by the specific ship in a fleet? I can't remember which NCL ship it was, but it was the smallest in their fleet (at least at that time). Their menus were so diverse, and they always had options from Cooking Light recipes which were delicious. In Alaska, we were on the Sun Princess I believe, and everything tasted microwaved...even the Alaskan king crab legs which you would think would have been fresh!

francegirl - I would definitely look at the ports first and then the amenities to choose your ship. Also, be sure to book activities at each port otherwise you will be stuck with just cheesy souvenir shopping to keep you busy. Have fun, Alaska is beautiful!

If you don't like glitz and glamour, go NCL. Casual cruising. The casinos and jewelry stores are still there, but you don't have to patronize them. Dining is fancy-dancy only if you go to one of the dedicated restaurants...the rest is buffet style. Same thing goes for the "formal night;" you don't have to participate and you won't starve that night.

Don't rule out Carnival. Its "party party" Caribbean reputation doesn't carry over to its Alaska cruises, where the average age is in the 40-60 range. After much research, I preferred their itinerary, activities, and best of all, their balcony cabins were less than the other cruise lines. I agree - go to the websites and read reviews. You owe it to yourself to get the most bang for your buck.

Yeah, I ought to clarify. I should not have said "land package" because it implied it was part of a cruise line offering.

Alaska is very easy to outfit the "land portion" on your own.

Shoot, they accept U.S. currency, drive on the same side of the road (usually) and you can even get by speaking English.

My main point, however, was there's so much more to the state than what one's seems from Inside Passage routes.

Francegirl, I like you was a first time cruiser, in my early 30s, and NCL was a GREAT cruise...the freestyle dining was the best and IMHO the food was great....and we had a balcony room which was a must.

BUT - the one thing we didn't like was the touristy vibe overall, and in hindsight we would have done either a land tour or gone on a smaller boat. You just don't get an authentic Alaskan experience on one of these bigger ships. You will definitely get a taste of what it is like there, and if you are into the luxury and the atmosphere of a cruise, then you will really enjoy it.

For the $$, you cannot beat one of the bigger boats. Hope that helps!

My husband and I cruised on Royal Caribbean in Sept 2007 and LOVED it! The ship was exquisite - our ocean view stateroonm w/ balcony was small but well appointed and extremely comfortable. The dining experience was one of my favorite things about the cruise. Night time on board... there was always something fun going on! The indoor pool area combined with the fabulous frozen drinks was pure bliss!

francegirl,

We just got back from an Alaskan cruise with the same "north to south" itinerary you are looking at. We chose Holland America's Zaandam, sailing from Seward to Vancouver (one way), spending 2 days viewing glaciers (College Fjord and Glacier Bay) and stopping in Haines, Juneau, and Ketchikan -- 7 days in all.

Two other couples traveled with us, and we all just loved this ship. It was smaller than the megaships we saw but still sizeable (approx. 1400 people), with lots of amenities. There was a lot of music -- a piano bar, another lounge with a string quartet, a larger lounge with varying entertainment, plus shows. The food was excellent. We could choose between the main dining room, the buffet (great breakfast! loved their eggs benedict), their fine dining restaurant, a poolside grill, or room service. There were shops, a spa, lots of activities.

The atmosphere was laid back vs. party party. We didn't see many kids, but did notice a number of adult family groups.

Thanks to all! I did book a cruise on Royal Caribbean, the customer service rep (online chat, which is excellent) found me a great stateroom with balcony, midship, portside, 10th level. Including tips the price for 7-day north to south Inside Passage cruise (departing from Seward) ended up being $3400, which I think is excellent. Again, thanks for the suggestions.

Enjoy your cruise! Post a trip report when you get home (I'm working on mine now).

I am researching an NCL Alaskan cruise. Originally I thought mid to late August, but after reading several posts, I am now looking at mid to late May because of the better weather. There are two options out of Seattle on NCL (which I picked by the way because of the 'freestyle' more casual option).

There are two cruise options and one is more expensive. We would pick a balcony room. My husband is a veteran and they would give us a discount because of that. We are 50-60ish and not the usual cruise type folks. Hubby has hair down to his waist and looks like a biker. But besides that we dress nicely/casually.

Soooo, my questions are; Which of the two cruises to Alaska would you pick and which land excursions would you choose? And most importantly, what date would you choose? On the more expensive cruise May 17 or 24 and on the cheaper cruise May 16 or 23. Any and all advice welcome. Thanks!!

In the May timeframe, definately your best itinerary with NCL is via the Pearl and to Glacier Bay. What is your other choice??? NCL Star?? With this, in May it is VERY iffy to get in Tracy Arm and they usually detour to Endicott, it's not Glacier Bay, by any means. IF it does go into Tracy Arm, in my opinion, it is "necessary:" to book the costly add on Tracy Arm jet boat tour, which will then probably about equal out your prices.

There are 100's of excellent tours to take, do your homework, look over a shore excursion list and narrow down your interests, then repost.

Thank you so much for your feedback. I called NCL and am trying to get to the bottom of all the hidden costs, etc. of going on a cruise. I figure after all is said and done, it'll be around $2,000 each for the 7 nights with a balcony room. We'd use our miles for the flight to Seattle. Does that sound about right to you? Does that sound like it's worth it for the two of us that don't have that much time? We'd spend a night or two in Seattle. Thanks again!

PS. What time of year would you recommend?

Mid May-first week of Sept. Outside of this has more foul weather potential.

I book cheap inside cabins, so don't know about your rates. I've heard the service charges are also going up??

You may want to compare with several cruise discounters and see where the rates are overall. www.cruisecompete.com is a good source for this information.

After booking, continue to keep track of pricing trends yourself. When you see a drop, immediately contact your booking agent for an adjustment. Be especially agressive with this before final payment, count back the days yourself, since most agents add a week or more to the date. Pay at the last minute.

We loved our Princess cruise from Whittier down to Vancouver.

I've taken Carnival cruises and was much less impressed.

But did you do Carnival in Alaska?? Do you have more than one trip there??

Carnival does an excellent job in Alaska and too many people associate the line with the party hardy Caribbean sailings. Just has NOTHING to do with their Alaska itineraries. I've sailed Carnival 3 times to Alaska, having sailed there on 5 different lines. My preference is HAL first, but Carnival is second for me, over Princess.

Overall, it is best to look at the itineraries, ports, route, glacier, ship naturalist, time in ports, price. And then hopefully make the best decision for you.

Can only speak for our Princess (Coral, I think) trip from Vancouver north last year. We went in mid-August and the weather was spectacular. Glacier Bay was a must for us and it was all we thought it would be. We did a lot of research and planned our shore excursions to see bears, whales, and beautiful scenery.

Princess was nice. We had a balcony cabin and enjoyed it a lot. Our favorite spot was Crooners Bar. The food was OK, dined when and where we wanted. Not a Carnival/Caribbean party feel, but not stodgy old folk feel either.

We found we got up so early to do our excursions that nighttime entertainment/gambling was not important.

I can see a stage show anywhere; I can only see magnificant Alaska scenery once.

Thanks, maybe I'll look into other cruises besides NCL. I had just recently seen a TV special (Fineliving network) on NCL cruises as I was on the treadmill (captive audience) and thought the 'freestyle' would work better for us, but if other cruiselines do that, then I will check further.

My husband is a veteran and there are some decent discounts for that.

I am still just trying to decide whether this is financially realistic or not.

Great info here. It seems like July or August are pretty good months for this. Which would be best with kids? I have a very well behaved 11 yo who enjoys the kids club activities and likes a nice ship with all amenities. He loved RCL's Navigator of the seas last year.

We did a Holland America cruise in Alaska in May, and did freestyle cruising. We never had a problem getting seated for dinner anytime we wanted. Worked out well for us.

We are looking into Royal Caribbean (Rhapsody) in May 09 because of the Seattle-Seattle roundtrip. Seems like we might be able to save a little money with round trip airfare (Southwest), and I don't think we'll need passports (not everyonoe in our group has one), even with a port stop in Victoria, Canada.

They also appear to have a good military discount (even for retirees), and offer senior (55+) discounts on some cruises (but I haven't gotten all the details, yet).

Still gathering info, myself--'thanks' to everyone who is posting great info on this site!

maybe reading www.cruisereviews.com will help you.