We are interested in taking a cruise through the Inland passage of Alaska in summer 1998. Want to know if having a room with a window was worth the $, or would an inside cabin be just as good. Are there certain rooms which should be avoided because of location--too far back, too close to the engine room, etc.? Any recommendations for the choice in cruise lines? Any to be avoided? Thanks!

Cathy, you have hit on one of the lessons we learned from our cruise to San Juan, PR, St. Thomas in The Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. That is, we wasted our money in getting a porthole on that particular cruise. We were seldom in our cabin! Another important lesson we learned is that you are with little legal protection in waters where the US has no legal jurisdiction. I can't describe the panic I felt when I realized this after I had let my 13 year old (at the time) daughter have free run of the ship to all hours. In my inexperience, I was feeling she was ok being with a group of other children and with ALL the crew members around. It was only when I got home that I learned that "sometimes" this is not always a smart idea and if there is a problem, you don't always have legal recourse. However, this may not apply to the cruise you are going on since it is Alaska. In our experience the cabin was the least important part of our cruise. The discomfort of the births are enough to keep you awake. My comments are based on a porthole window, if you are talking about a room near the top of the boat with wide windows that may be another story but I didn't get that feeling from your question. Get ready to put on a few pounds. Good luck.

Cathy,
First time cruiser here - went to Bahamas & didn't spend that much time in room at all - especially first time everything was new & wanted to try it all. BUT we got stuck next to engine room so we were so tired it didn't matter but it was a nuisance. Anyway let me know how you make out - my parents planning 98 cruise to Alaska also (but they're not on a computer so I relay to them) Have a ball & do everything!!! Good luck

We have been on two cruises, one, not a scenic one, we had an inside room, gorgeous, huge, with a curtain behind the king-sized bed. The curtain had lights all the way around the back of it that made you definitely feel like there was a window behind it. Then, the other cruise, we had a terrific room with a veranda, and we were thrilled we had paid the extra amount. But, I know in the Alaskan summer, the sun never sets, so you might like a room with no window and bright sunlight. On our cruise with the inside room, the people across the hall, with floor to ceiling windows, were exhausted from having sunlight in their room all night.

Cathy, I'm headed to Alaska for the inside passage
cruise and I'll let you know if a outside cabin is
really worth it. My past experience on cruises has
been that a porthole lets in light when you want to
be asleep. The porthole cabins may give you the
feeling of being inside one of those turbo laundrymat wash machines. Unless your on a honeymoon, you will seldom be in the cabin.
I still have not received responses to my request about "tourist traps" on the inside passage. I'll
get trapped a couple of times and I'l clue you in
as to what to avoid.

Glen, I liked your analogy of the laundrymat wash machines to the ship's porthole. However, thank goodness for the inverse relationship when it comes to the location of the water. Other than giving light in the daytime, I think another reason the portholes are not that valuable is because in a lot of them you have to stand and deliberately look out them. You can't just sit and gaze out at a view (which is often just water).

Thanks for all the input. We have decided to go without the port hole--and if we don't like it, we can choose a different arrangement the next time.
Cathy