Alaskan Cruise?

Question

Which cruise ships can you recommend for an Alaskan Cruise and why?

Here are a few ships I had in mind;

-Princess

-NCL

-Holland America

Answer 1

I recommend princess, but I am biased, I have only traveled with Princess(8times). There shore excursion in Alaska have been rated as some of the best. Now when I went to Alaska, I did a cruise/tour which is where I spent 4 days on land before getting on the ship. This was all set up by Princess and they own the lodge in Denali where we stayed. I think they own 6 different lodges in Alaska. Boy are they nice too and what views. I have heard some bad things about Holland America and only good things about NCL.

Answer 2

I have been to Alaska twice, once on business for 2 weeks with some weekend sightseeing on a small cruise ship and then on a cruise-tour. In my opinion the best cruise for you would be a cruise-tour. The cruise tour allows you to see more of Alaska by land (bus and/or train) either before or after the cruise. You get to select one or two stopovers in places like Denali National Park or Talkeetena.

Cruises of the inside passage are pretty much the same and usually all stop at the same port cities like Sitka, Skegway, Juneau. When the ships go to where you can see the glaciers the sights are also pretty much all the same. After a while all of the scenery looks about the same; all beautiful. But there is no one place that I would suggest (based on my land and sea tours) you gotta see this.

There are 4 cruise lines which offer the  cruise-tour and all would be good. Princess Cruise line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Holland America all offer cruise-tours.

We did our cruise tour with Princess and it was very good. We did the cruise part first and then had a day and night in Anchorage, a great train ride from Anchorage to Denali National Park, and after a night at a lodge owned by Princess we took the train the next day to Fairbanks for a night there. My recommendation is to do the tour part first and do fly to the start point a day early so you don't get caught in a flight delay.

All four of the cruise lines that I have mentioned use the train for the land tour. But Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity have special domed train cars that provide great visibility. Not all tour segments are the same so you really have to pay attention to how the land tour is organized and whether it uses the train or buses.

Cruises to Alaska do not have a lot of young people on board, mostly middle aged and seniors, a few kids, and  a few newlyweds.  Among the three that you listed I would definitely NOT go on NCL.  If you are  a senior and/or are comfortable being among them the Holland America would be good.  BUT, among the three that you have listed I would pick Princess.  I cruised with them to Alaska and it was great.

Answer 3

Princess definitely owns Alaska cruising.  More ships, more iteneraries, etc.  Plus, their balconies are more plentiful and lower cost, and you definitely want a balcony in Alaska.

HAL is okay as a last stop on the way to the mortuary.

NCL is more casual, and also often cheaper.  I actually like the NCL thing better, but it's not as "elegant" as Princess.

Answer 4

They are all good cruise lines.

Holland has a lot of older people usually if you fit in that group.

NCL has free style cruising that I personally like.

Princess is nice also,but NCL is my choice on my past cruises

You may want to compare them your self for different type of activities and excursions..

Answer 5

I am going on the dawn princess today. It departs from san francisco. This is a slightly smaller ship. I don't know, this is my first time trying princess. But i went on holland america to mexico, and it was great. Try holland america, they have great service, and more fun!

Answer 6

I just came back from a 7 night Alaskan Cruise on the Celebrity ship Millennium. At 35 years old I felt like the youngest person on the cruise. I dont think it had anything to do with the cruise line, but the destination. Celebrity offered us many, many choices on land excursions while in port. They were well worth it with prices ranging from around 20$ a person up to 500$ a person. The most expensive we did was right around 100$ a person, but well worth it.

The ship itself was great. Lots of choices on eating, shopping, a spa and several bars and clubs ranging from places older adults would like to places younger adults would enjoy. They also offer a special program for small children. The dress code for formal dinners seemed a bit intimidating at first but its not as strict  as it sounded. And if you were not going to shore or it was a day of cruising or after shore leave the ship had many planned activities all day long, and plenty during the night also.

I think you will love Alaska no matter which cruise line you choose. If you have the time check out each ones web site to see what they have to offer.

Have fun!!

Answer 7

Those are all great cruise lines. Try SpinCityTravel.com. You can compare all the cruise lines at once for your time and destination based on price and ammenities.