Alaska cruise question
 

We're thinking of going on an Alaska cruise next May/June 2019. Anyone have an opinion of Oceania cruises to Alaska? We loved our Oceania Mediterranean cruise last year.

The big decision to make before deciding on a cruise to Alaska is whether you want to do a round-trip cruise or one that allows time in southcentral/interior Alaska before or after the cruise. The round trip cruises include ports and scenery in the southeast Alaska "panhandle," and while some Oceania cruises do touch southcentral ports like Seward or even Kodiak, they're just port calls that don't allow enough time to do any excursions to places like Denali National Park, the Kenai Peninsula, and so on.

So that's where your research needs to be directed first. Are you okay with a round trip, or a hybrid round trip like Seattle to Vancouver via Alaska or Vancouver to Seattle? Or would you like time for independent touring on your own? If the latter, then Oceania's sailing schedule for 2019 doesn't work for you; all of their itineraries are for round trips - either 7 day Seattle > Seattle ones (like all the other major cruise lines operating from Seattle) - or longer ones that go farther north in Alaska but then return either to Seattle or Vancouver.

Oceania's a great line - we cruised twice with them and enjoyed it immensely. But they're not a major operator in Alaska and don't have much in the way of shore infrastructure. More than with most cruise destinations/regions, choosing a cruise to Alaska has everything to do with the port selection and time in port. Oceania operates smaller ships that can visit smaller ports like Sitka, but they don't have the required permits to visit places like Glacier Bay, so you need to decide what's important.

Thanks so much. A lot to think about.We definitely want to do an excursion to Denali. Possibly added on before or after the cruise. Has anyone done this added on excursion to Denali with Oceania?

If you want to tack Denali on to a cruise, Oceania is not a logical option as a combined "package". I would look for another cruise line.

You misunderstand. Oceania won't drop you off any place in southcentral Alaska from which you can do an excursion to Denali. You'll have to return to Seattle or Vancouver if you use Oceania. Getting to Denali requires a minimum of three days on the ground from Anchorage or one of the one-way cruise ports like Whittier or Seward. If you want to visit Denali in conjunction with an Oceania cruise, you'd have to fly a complete round trip to Anchorage from Seattle, then make your way to Denali before flying back. It sounds like you need to look at a map of the region to understand the scale.

To see Denali in conjunction with a cruise, you're going to have to choose a cruise line that operates one-way cruises between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier. Oceania isn't one of those cruise lines; look at Princess, HAL, Norwegian, and RCI.

There are other luxury cruise lines which start or end in Anchorage, although as far as I know you're limited to HAL or Princess if you want to include Glacier Bay as a stop. You can book the Denali leg using Alaska Railroad or a travel agent and don't necessarily have to use the cruise line's package. That still excludes Oceania since they don't have Anchorage as an end point. Maybe you need to talk to a travel agent who specializes in Alaskan cruises and tours , since you clearly didn't understand Gardyloo's post.

It is very easy to fly into Anchorage and rent a car to do the land portion, north to Denali, south to Seward, Girdwood and Homer

>>as far as I know you're limited to HAL or Princess if you want to include Glacier Bay as a stop<<

At least NCL too. Not sure if there are others.

We spent time in Glacier Bay NP on Lindblad’s Sea Lion.

That itinerary goes to Anchorage?

Sure you can see Glacier Bay on other lines, even some return trips from Seattle for example even Carnival does that. The trick is to combine it with Anchorage to make it easier to include Denali at one end of a cruise without adding another flight.

If they wanted to do that they might as well stick with Oceania and add flights to Fairbanks.

Once my friends went on a cruise in Alaska. Their route was laid along the "central south", where cruise companies are advertised as "The Way of the Glaciers". Most of all they remember the fall of huge blocks of ice that fall off the glaciers every few minutes.

Yes, you watch the glaciers calving in Glacier Bay, chunks dropping off the glacier into the sea.