What is the best ship / route for an Alaskan Cruise?

Question

I am looking at taking my wife on an Alaskan cruise for our anniversary and was looking for some help - what is the best ship or cruise line? What are the things you have to see? Best route to take? We have never taken a cruise before. Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

I actually went on my first cruise to Alaska too.  I have been on several more and I can tell you that Norwegian Cruise Lines are the best.  Although most of the ships en route to Alaska go to the same ports of call, there is one cruise line (Holland America) that goes up to Anchorage, but it's a one way cruise which  would mean you would have to fly home from there.  But anyway, I would recommend NCL because their prices are lower, but the ships are extremely nice.  They aren't as fancy as Holland America or Royal Caribbean but I like that better because then you don't feel like you can't have fun on the ship or you might break something.  NCL is still nice, but they have a homey feel to their ships.  Plus they provide fun activities on the ship.  And they have a thing called Freestyle Cruising which means that you can sit with whomever you want to on your ship, they don't assign you to a table with other people at them (unless you want to).  So you can eat with your wife in private or with a group of other people.  They also have a lot of free restaurants, some of which serve expensive food, and also the really nice restaurants which cost money.  If you want the best experience in Alaska, I have always found NCL to be the best.

Answer 2

I would start of by choosing my destinations in Alaska. The typical itineraries are an Inside Passage or either a North or South bound itinerary. For a first time cruise I would probably choose an itinerary that includes the Inside passage. You could leave from Seattle or Vancouver.

Then I would pick a cruise line that met my requirements. Celebrity is probably the best line that goes to Alaska. Their target market is baby boomers. Holland America also has a great Alaska program. They typically cater to your late baby boomers to retired folks. Princess, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean typically cater to younger families.

If you have time, you could add a tour to your cruise. The tour will take you to the interior of Alaska, where you can see Denali National Park or Mount McKinley.

Answer 3

Allt he cruise ships do the same route, same ports of call and offer the same activities.  Check the cruise lines website for different boats and themes,  (ex.  singles cruise, family cruise)

Answer 4

There are two different types of Alaskan cruises. 1) The round trip out of San Francisco, Seattle, or Vancouver.  This is the one called the Inside Passage.  It doesn't go as far up north.  It's good for people who are not interested in adding on a cruise tour or wants to save on airfare.

2) The one-way, starting in Anchorage or Whittier and going south, or starting in Vancouver, going north.  This involves flying to or from Anchorage.  If you want to go on a cruise tour (such as a train trip or going inland to see Denali), this is the type for you.

Not all cruise lines do the roundtrip.  I know Princess (the one I used for this trip) and Holland have the RT's.  They also have a naturalist aboard the ship narrating a very special part of the cruise: the glacier viewing.  Every one will be either on the deck or on their balcony, if they booked one.  It's probably the most incredible scenery you will see on a cruiseship.

The other ships (the one-ways) probably have glacier viewing too (you should check) but I don't think they all have the narration.

Answer 5

the inside passage is the best route

Answer 6

I am a travel consultant and have a "specialist" rating from every major cruise line.  I send many people on Alaska cruises every year, and pick a different cruise line or recommend a different cruisetour for them, depending on their needs, dreams, and with respect to their wallets.

Here's a basic primer:  A "standard" Alaska cruise is 7-nights, either Northbound from Vancouver, or Southbound from Seward (Ancorage area).  Most do the "inside passage" in the Southern part of the trip, but can vary quite a bit on the Northern end.  Some do the College Fjord route, while others do the Hubbard Glacier route.  We did the Hubbard Glacier route. and it was fabulous.  Whichever route you select they will all call at the same four ports: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Sitka in some combination.

As far as which cruise line to choose, here's how I would rank them, having been on them all, and getting tons of feedback from my clients: #1) By far and away - Celebrity; #2) a tie between Holland America and Princess; #3) Royal Caribbean; #4) NCL; #5) Carnival.

My "don't miss" is a helicopter tour and landing on Mendenhall Glacier - it's like the world that time forgot!

An Alaska cruise is something you'll do only once in your lifetime, so you should seriously consider adding a 3-night land tour to your cruise.  I strongly suggest to my folks to do it at the begining of their vacation - to go up to Denali Park, to see Mt. McKinley, to see all the wildlife, to ride on the glass dome rail car . . . . then to relax on their cruise.  In other words, to take a Southbound cruise.

I hope this information was helpful to you.  One more piece of advice - don't try to do it yourself - go see a good travel agent.