What to look for in an Alaskan Itinerary?

terrilt

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 8, 2012
We are beginning to research for our Alaskan Cruise - not until Summer 2019. What are the "must see" ports? What is meant by 'inside passage'? Is Glacier Bay a 'must see'? We've noticed not all cruise lines go to Glacier Bay. We were considering DCL, but the prices are crazy and we've actually had MUCH BETTER food on other cruise lines. We are considering Holland America, RCI, Norwegian, Celebrity . . . Just not sure what to look for in deciding on an Itinerary.
 
We are starting to research the same thing, only we wont be going on an Alaskan cruise until summer 2020 since we have a RCCL trip booked for Feb. 2019.

We also have ruled out DCL for Alaska due to budget and were looking at either RCCL or possibly NCL. I have been reading a review about Holland America on the DCL board though and I am now seriously considering that one. We have only been on RCCL or DCL. I have been wanting to try NCL for awhile now, but I think we will now be adding HA into the mix for consideration.
 
We just did Explorer of the Seas 7-night Alaska out of Seattle for the second time. Really enjoy that cruise!
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage

Check out the map/image in that link.

It's what keeps most of an alaska cruise from being in "open" ocean waters. It's more protected and calm.


I loved Skagway so if I saw an itinerary going there I would take it. Did not enjoy Ketchican.

I have read repeatedly that Princess has the best itineraries and glacier permits of all the main lines.

You should check out cruisecritic's message boards about alaska cruises! You'll get a more rounded background education on all the lines for alaska there. (Many of us here are there, too, but there are them even more people there who have done more than Disney or Royal)
 


Glacier Bay was a must for me which knocked Disney out of the running. I also wanted to do round trip from Seattle so we went with the NCL Pearl. I found that all the cruise lines pretty much stop in the same ports so there were no "must see" ports on my list. The first decision, in my opinion, is if Glacier Bay is a must for you. I have to say that Glacier Bay was one of the highlights of the cruise for us.
 
We are starting to research the same thing, only we wont be going on an Alaskan cruise until summer 2020 since we have a RCCL trip booked for Feb. 2019.

We also have ruled out DCL for Alaska due to budget and were looking at either RCCL or possibly NCL. I have been reading a review about Holland America on the DCL board though and I am now seriously considering that one. We have only been on RCCL or DCL. I have been wanting to try NCL for awhile now, but I think we will now be adding HA into the mix for consideration.


We've been researching a lot on the Cruise Critic Forums = tons of great info on the Alaskan Boards, The Holland America Boards, and the Princess Boards - we have it narrowed down to Holland American and Princess, since those are the only 2 lines permitted to sail thru Glacier Bay, which is a 'do not miss' for us. The itinerary and food and service on both lines has great reviews on those forums, so it is going to just come down to price for us for Summer 2019. We will be happy with either. We are going based on Alaska Itinerary, not ship line. We are also doing a LAND portion too.
 
We did an Alaskan cruise this summer from Vancouver on Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam, 7 nights.

Glacier Bay was EASILY the highlight of the trip for me (Jack loved pool, that's about it. Didn't expect much from a 5 yr old). If I ever went back to Alaska I would have to spend more time there. Our stops were Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. We only did an excursion at Ketchikan which was the duck bus tour (something like that). 1.5-2hr tour around the city and into the waterway. Was pretty cool, we saw float planes depart from up close. Other stops were pretty well the same thing- same shops, similar attractions/tours.

Now, if there's something I'm more obsessed with than Orlando it's cruising. Holland America is a great cruise line BUT I wouldn't take a family of kids on it- there's not a lot for them to do. (vs. say RCCL, NCL or Carnival with all their water attractions, indoor bumper cars, arcades, etc). Our room was very nice (partial oceanview) with a surprisingly large sized bathroom, nice fold out couch and good sized tv. Staff was very professional and helpful. Food was very good (for some reason I feel RCCL has better food, but that's just from memory - I still ate a ton). That being said I've only sailed those two lines - and only one to Alaska.
 


BUT I wouldn't take a family of kids on it- there's not a lot for them to do. (vs. say RCCL, NCL or Carnival with all their water attractions, indoor bumper cars, arcades, etc).

Well, for us, the stuff to do is ALASKA! We don't need all the ship attractions. Plus, to be honest, after an early morning wake up, all day on land w/excursions, a late dinner - we are ready for bed to do it all again the next day. Thanks for the post - we have decided on HAL.
 
Well, for us, the stuff to do is ALASKA! We don't need all the ship attractions. Plus, to be honest, after an early morning wake up, all day on land w/excursions, a late dinner - we are ready for bed to do it all again the next day. Thanks for the post - we have decided on HAL.

Great points! We spent most of our west coast journey exploring Vancouver and area - the cruise was the main reason of the trip but our highlights were there. Not to say Alaska was in any way unspectacular but for my family the on board experience was a bit limited (at the 5 yr old age). I could easily do it again in say 10+ years when Jack is older and situations change.

And yes, after the time change (depending on where you are) you're pretty much cooked by days' end. I don't think we ever saw anything later than 9pm except our very last night on the cruise.

You'll love HAL. We did Nieuw Amsterdam and everything was great.
 
We just did Explorer of the Seas 7-night Alaska out of Seattle for the second time. Really enjoy that cruise!

Well - we are planning HAL Summer 2019 - LAND/CRUISE tour - but my friend is a TA in Virginia Beach and she has a big group going on this cruise you mentioned and the price is too good to pass up on- so we are also going on that July 2018!! At first we were just going to see all our friends we haven't seen in ages, as we were a little disappointed in the itinerary - it only stops at 2 Alaska ports and doesn't go thru Glacier Bay - so I am thrilled to know you have done it twice and liked it.

What do you recommend for 1-2 days in Seattle?
 
Glacier Bay is incredible. The sound of Marjorie Glacier calving was like like thunder. But way cooler. Is it a must? Our DD's at 9 and 13 would say yes. But then they were already asking when we can go back as we were getting off the ship. And if you can get a balcony. We used it more this trip than in the other 8 cruises we have taken combined. Awesome just sitting out there watching the world go by. People aay it is all about Alaska and not the ship. They are right.

Now if you are prone to sea sickness then Vancouver is a must. DW and DD9 were both sick the first day out of Seattle. We are looking at trips out of Vancouver for when we go back (likey 2019 or 20).
 
Glacier Bay is incredible. The sound of Marjorie Glacier calving was like like thunder. But way cooler. Is it a must? Our DD's at 9 and 13 would say yes. But then they were already asking when we can go back as we were getting off the ship. And if you can get a balcony. We used it more this trip than in the other 8 cruises we have taken combined. Awesome just sitting out there watching the world go by. People aay it is all about Alaska and not the ship. They are right.

Now if you are prone to sea sickness then Vancouver is a must. DW and DD9 were both sick the first day out of Seattle. We are looking at trips out of Vancouver for when we go back (likey 2019 or 20).
Thinking of an Alaskan cruise for 2019. Our son would be 10. What things did your DDs like best? Things to do on sea days? We would prefer Vancouver as we'd love a few days to explore there.
 
Another vote for Glacier Bay for the best glacier experience. For the same sailing week... you notice significant savings compared to the Wonder. Princess and Holland America offers the most trips to Glacier Bay. Some HAL/Princess trips will do a side excursion into Tracy Arm on the Juneau morning, so you can double your glacier experience.

I don't care how much pixie dust Sawyer gets..... it does not get bigger. Warning.... choose mid to later season sailings to visit Tracy Arm. Tracy Arm was choked with ice in 2016 until mid-August.
 
Thinking of an Alaskan cruise for 2019. Our son would be 10. What things did your DDs like best? Things to do on sea days? We would prefer Vancouver as we'd love a few days to explore there.

We originally had NCL Jewel booked in August 2016 (Tracy Arm) but had to cancel for medical reasons. Ended up rebooking on Carnival Legend in part because of price, part because of Glacier Bay. One thing that became clear to us in 2 years of research is that the ship is just a means to get there. Were we worried about Legend. Yes, who wouldn't be. It is basically an old cheesy downtown Vegas casino (in look anyway) on the high seas. I posted all the daily activity sheets over on CC. Honestly there wasn't anything like the sea day you see in the Carribean. The second day (after leaving Seattle) was really out only sea day, and there were a bunch of lectures and presentations going on (of course DW and DD9 were both sea sick so we had other things going on). Glacier Bay would I guess technically be a sea day but wow it is one hell of a sea day. We were leaving the GB probably about 4 pm and at that point everyone was tired out and just wanted to sit back and relax. Last full day heading to Victoria was the eclipse so again so much going on in the AM, and then during the afternoon we passed probably a dozen humpbacks off the coast of Vancouver Island (and had one breach maybe 100 m off the side of side in front of us - again WOW).

Now what did the girls like. DD9 whale watching in Juneau (so many whales). Loved Tracy's but she is a crab girl. Watching the bear catch salmon in Ketchikan. DD13 says whales, bear, eagles. Gold panning in Skagway (each came back with probably $10 in gold). DW is a huge Gold Rush fan so panning for gold was a must. For DD her highlight was the banana slugs she got to hold in Ketchikan (all hail banana slug). Both were in awe of the glaciers calving (sounds like thunder). So were we. It really is an intensive trip with things constantly going on outside.

Part of the reason we didn't do HAL or Celebrity was that we were worried about not having enough for them to do to keep them interested. Boy were were wrong on that one. We are now looking at both HAL and Celebrity for either 2019 or 20 out of Vancouver.
 
We are beginning to research for our Alaskan Cruise - not until Summer 2019. What are the "must see" ports? What is meant by 'inside passage'? Is Glacier Bay a 'must see'? We've noticed not all cruise lines go to Glacier Bay. We were considering DCL, but the prices are crazy and we've actually had MUCH BETTER food on other cruise lines. We are considering Holland America, RCI, Norwegian, Celebrity . . . Just not sure what to look for in deciding on an Itinerary.
We sailed RCCL and the itinerary included a day sailing the Hubbard Glacier. Not sure how it compares to Glacier Bay, but it was spectacular and dramatic in it's own right. The port stops on this cruise are: Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Skagway and Ketchikan. I loved all of them; maybe Skagway least of all but it is the gateway to the world-famous White Pass railroad, so it's also worthwhile. If there's anything specific you'd like to know about the cruise itself, let me know. :wave2:
 
The difference between Hubbard or Sawyer and Glacier Bay is volume. Our itinerary for Glacier Bay is in the photo below. Reid ad Lamplugh Glaciers were a cruise by off the port side. It was a wow since it was the first taste. John Hopkins was a stop and rotate for probably 30 min. Margerie and Grand Pacific were a stop and rotate. We had Margerie off our port side balcony for probably 30 before the ship rotated. Then we had a view of Grand Pacific. In the afternoon there were presentations for adults and kids. DD9 went to the club and earned a park ranger badge. We were already in the bay when we woke up, and didn't leave until around 4 pm. Glacier Bay is a full day event. Think of it as a sea day on steriods.

20170819_075109_HDR.jpg
 

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