Any thoughts on which ship for a Sept. Alaska cruise? Balcony or not? We have cruised with RCCL but not HA and wonder if the extra for balcony would be worth it. Also how would I go about setting up land excusions in the ports if I don't want to do so with the cruise line? Thanks so much!!!

Will be taking our first HAL cruise on the Oosterdam to Alaska in August. If you can swing it $$ a balcony is a must. One of the few places to should not skip on a balcony if you can afford it.

HAL is more formal clothing wise vs. rccl, you will have 2 formal and one informal night, and you must wear pants, no jeans even for the buffet at night. HAL also attracts an older crowd vs. rccl.

visit the ports of call threads at cruisecritic.com and you will find out lots of info about sightseeing on your own.

Tours are a priority in Alaska in my opinion, and a balcony second. Depending on when in Sept. a balcony can be cold, so be sure to bring proper attire so you can enjoy all the great scenery. My clear preference are the HAL Vancouver sailings, the Seattle sailings are one of the worse routings however for the most outside passage sailing. With Glacier Bay a highlight, RCI doesn't sail there.

Easy to book excursions independent, but you need to know what you want first. Look over a shore excursion list and narrow down your interests. Each city also has a visior guide.

Our Hal ship had only one formal night and we were welcome to wear our jeans to the buffet and on deck which is what I would recommend at least one or two nights so that you get the whole picture; the scenery is often the best while you are in your formal dining room dressed up. One night when the captain called out an alert for whales I ran upstairs and out on deck in my sequins and stilettoes - maybe I should have just looked out the dining room window! I'm too cheap for a balcony. The library and Crows nest windows were enough for me.

I would prefer HAL & you don't need a Balcony as eileyann says & while
HAL does have the Older Persona Rep the Upside of that is
less rugrats.

And while I personally disdain those
w/jeans, if you color coordinate you can get alot of mileage of (1) pr of
halfway decent slacks & flats.

I've cruised on both HAL and RCCL. On the cruises I've been on, the passengers with HAL were older and the entire "vibe" of the cruise was a bit more formal than RCCL.

RCCL had a wider age range of passengers which also included families with young kids. Also going along with the more relaxed atmosphere was also more general discourteousness by other passengers.

I enjoyed the food more on HAL.

I prefer the energy level on RCI ships; HAL is too staid for me.

Should not have the kids problem in September.

For me, a balcony is a priority. I will scrimp on everything else to have one.

And I recommend the one way inside passage over either the roundtrip options.

We just took our first cruise on HAL last week. There were lots of young families and young couples, some older people & some middle aged. It was more formal than other cruise lines & very staid, but we picked it for that & enjoyed it. It's a lifestyle choice.

You probably can't go wrong with either cruiseline. Personally, I think having a balcony in Alaska is a MUST and worth the extra cost. It is really gorgeous!

There is a big difference in the passenger make up on Alaska cruises compared to the Caribbean. Actually passengers are similar on ALL lines sailing Alaska with mixed family groups and middle aged and above the majority.

I was not impressed with RCCL in Alaska. I would go Holland.

A passenger we met on our cruise told us that HAL was the best for the Caribbean; and Princess for Alaska. (She quoted some source who "knows" these things.)

Nobody "knows" these things. One may only like or dislike but it may mean nothing for the other person. We loved our Princess cruise, but our teenage sons hated it because is didn't have as much activies as Royal Caribbean. Does it make Princess or RC the best?