Alaska Cruise 2007
 

Hi my family is thinking of going on a cruise to Alaska next Summer 2007. I would like to start planning this. I have never been on a cruise before, and would appreciate suggestions on which cruise line to use and what excursions are a must. We are a family of four, my daughters will be 18 and 22 next summer. Thanks, Lisa

It would be helpful if you mentioned the kind of Alaska cruise you want. Do you want to go to the "mainland" as I call it, to inlucle Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, Homer, Valdez, etc, or just the "Inside Passage".

I would suggest getting a good map and some guide books and deciding where you want to go, before you decide on a cruise line,

We flew to Anchorage several years ago and rented a motorhone for three weeks and saw Denali, Kenai, Homer, Valdez, etc. on our own.

In May we have booked a Cruise West tour of the Inside Passage on a small (140 passengers) ship which can get into the ports up and close and send you out on Zodiacs to see the wildlife.

What kind of experience do you want?

The big cruise ships often take you to Seward or Anchorage and then Denali by train, as part of their cruise. I think you need to to some research on possibilities.

Go for a Glacier bay itinerary. Princess and HAL control almost all the permits. Access is strictly limited due to environmental issues. Alaska is the perfect family cruise. We've done both HAL and princess, they both do a great job in Alaska. Check cruisecritic port of call section for info on excursions and ask your cruise line to send you the excursion handbook as early as possible. Your TA may have one. Skagway WHite pass railway. Juneau Whalewatching is popular. Enjoy

We cruised on Celebrity Summit last fall and one word sums up the experience - excellent.

Thanks for the information. I will definitely look into Princess, Celebrity and HAL. Which one would you say is most luxurious with the best food? Thanks again.

I've been on all 3 lines, some people think Celebrity is more upscale than the other 2 but that was not our experience. My husband prefers HAL, I prefer Princess but I think HAL is a close second.In Alaska, HAL and Princess are the leaders, Flip a coin. Go for price and itinerary

Thanks for the info

Very good idea! If this will be your 1st cruise I'll bet it won't be your last. As you have two younger daughters you may want to consider that HAL, though very nice, tends be more formal and cater to an older clientele. We enjoyed our cruise last summer on the Sapphire Princess immensley as did our 23 yr. old son. (though he missed his girlfriend :-)) Once you decide which line to take then post the port stops for suggestions on excursions. Bear in mind Alaska excursions are pretty $$$. I think you will have a great time and be sure to bring, among other things a good pair of binoculars.

ttt

Thank you Jacketwatch. I have been distracted lately and didn't watch the forum. I think you are right about having a good mix of young and old. My Brother-in-law and his family booked Princess for this summer. I am sure to get a lot of feedback from them. I better start saving my money for those excursions!

Hi Lisa
My husband and I did an Alaskan cruise on the Carnival Spirit in May 2005. The service, facilities, entertainment etc were terrific. We paid the extra to have a balcony cabin - well worth it, port side for preference as this seemed to always have the better views of eagles, whales and shoreline.

Having our own cabin balcony allowed us to enjoy the fantastic scenery (in our pajamas if we felt like it) without having to be a part of the noisy crowd on the main decks. There would be plenty of summer time activity for the young ones (we went in May still a bit too cool then). Only bad weather we had was in Glacier Bay so going a bit later in the season would be good. Best shore trip we did was in Skagway where we did the helicopter flight, landed on the glacier and went on a dog sled ride. A bit expensive but well worth it. You can do this in the morning and we have since seen a DVD of the Yukon railway tour, this allows you to be a part of the magnificient mountain scenery and I wish we had booked that for the afternoon. A few people did the whale watching tours but were disappointed, I guess it depends on what time of year they are normally spotted. Anyway, we are now going on our second Carnival Cruise, next month we go on the Mediterranean cruise so I guess that tells you how very satisfied we were with their service.
If you book with Carnival direct you can save money especially in the US, unfortunately the first time we went through an agent in Australia and this cost quite a bit more. You can also pre-book the shore tours in USA, we could only do this once we had boarded, but still had no trouble getting on the trips.
Go to Alaska you will not be disappointed as this is one of the last untouched wilderness areas in the world.
Happy cruising Laurie45

Thanks Laurie!

We did the Alaska 11 day NCL cruise last Sept. NCL was fine but NO naturalist onboard. Next time a naturalist will be a priority for us. I think it would have enhanced our trip a great deal.
Excursions are costly so budget fully. I would rather get a lower priced cabin in order to go on the wonderful excursions.
If you go to www.cruisecritic.com you will find a ton of information. I planned our whole trip by reading that board including hotel pre and post trip.

Thanks Katy!