Alaskan Cruisetours - First time cruisers
 

Thinking of an Alaska Cruisetour for our 25th anniversary. We are first time cruisers. Thinking of going late July/beginning of August for a 10 to 11 day cruisetour. Beyond that, have no idea. Any suggestions??? Cruiseline suggestions?? Southbound vs Northbound?? Any expedition suggestions for the land/cruise? Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks.

depends on your budget..Oceania has a lovely ship and is classy all the way but some what dear. It(Regatta) is a small ship 600 give or take..There are some good $deals out there right now..free airfare, on board credit etc. A small casino, no showy entertainment but very romantic. Check 'em out. Bigger ships offer more in the line of action but not in service and food. However they are much less. If you can get a veranda stateroom.

Both HAL and Princess specialize in Alaska tours. We prefer the hotels and amenities HAL offers. Be sure to choose a cruise tour that includes Denali and the wildlife tour in Denali that goes quite a ways into the park. I believe the northbound trips are slightly preferable so that you get a relaxing cruise before the more vigorous land portion.

We took the land tour portion first and I am glad we did for several reasons.
1. The hotels, whilst good are not as good as the ship. It's nice to end the trip in the better accommodation.
2. The food is again better on the ship, and free.
3. We made a bus load of friends on the land tour, then when we got on the ship we knew
All these people. Made for some lovely meals etc.
4. We found the ship part of the trip the most relaxing, later mornings so we could stay up later.


We went with Princess, one of the two lines who are allowed into the best coves. We saw some great sights. We took the southbound route. Ended up in Vancouver.

Forgot to say we saw the Northern Lights on the land portion (worth getting up at 3am for)

I an almost as new to cruising (2 previous cruises) as you are, but go to Alaska 1-2 times a year. If you do go to Denali and/or explore Seward and the Kenai Peninsula, please be aware that you can do this cheaper and see exactly what you want, on your own timetable. You give up a lot of freedom when you take one of those cruise cookie cutter land tours.

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

It is easy to do the land tour on your own and save considerable money. Several years ago, before we took our Alaskan cruise from Seward to Vancouver on Regent's Mariner, we rented a car in Anchorage and spent several days in Denali (stayed at a B&B) and Talkeetna (stayed at the Alaskan Lodge). It was easy to arrange and we had complete flexibility. I used Cruise Critic's Alaska board to "learn" about various itineraries and, Budget Queen in particular, who posts frequently about Alaska on CC was very helpful.

due to illness we will be unable to go to Alaska this year and have an unused 2011 Great Alaskan Toursaver worth $100. Will sell for $50. No coupons have been used. Anyone interested please email [email protected]

wrong email address should be [email protected]

You will have a lovely time whatever you choose to do. Alaska is an excellent cruise destination.

I've cruised to Alaska on both Princess and Holland America. They were both outstanding. If you can manage it, a stateroom with a balcony is HIGHLY recommended. And an extra splurge (we just did this because we too were celebrating), book a suite if you can. The extra ammenities you experience really make quite a difference.

You can certainly arrange shore excursions outside of the cruise line on most cruises, but for Alaska in particular it won't cost you much less to do it that way simply because all the excursions are American owned and operated, with particular licensure and liability requirements, so you won't find significant savings doing it on your own. One great benefit to booking excursions through the ship is that the ship will always wait for you if your excursion is responsible for your late return. You won't get that guarantee if you book excursions yourself. Also, if excursions have to be cancelled due to unforeseen sailing hiccups (as I just experienced on my cruise last week), the cruise line will completely refund your excursion cost, and again - you won't have that guarantee from outside vendors.

looking for small ship cruising under under 100 - any ideas

As only a general comment on cruisetours. Do your homework. :)

I am currently sailing northbound to Seward, and have talked to many people who are continuing on cruisetours. ALL I have talked to had no clue about Denali Park, and ALL are on the worthless Natural History tour, or worse, Discover Denali tour.

In my opinion, this is like never getting out of the parking lot going to Disneyland.

Clearly- they can be good options for some, but it needs as much research as going independent in my opinion. People are too quick to let "someone" else take care of "everything".

Alaska can be an expensive trip for many, and time is valuable. Be sure you purchase what your priority touring is.