I've been on the standard Caribbean Cruises - and while it had it's fun, it is definitely not what I'm looking for this go-round.

My brother and his wife, and my husband and I are interested in a much smaller, more luxurious ship, that features good food, good wine, staterooms w/ balconies and a sitting area, and where the emphasis is on the scenery, not the stopover destinations.

Any suggestions? We'd like to do May or June?

Of the inexpensive cruise lines, Princess is by far the best. However, if you want a very small ship you will probably not be happy with any of the inexpensive lines. If it's in your budget, Crystal is very nice and has medium-sized ships. I haven't sailed the other high-end lines but I'm sure you'll get great service on all of them.

Thanks QL - I didn't really anticipate inexpensive for what we're seeking. I'll check out Crystal. Who are the other high end lines doing the Alaskan routes?

If you're looking high-end cruise ships for Alaska your three choices are:

Seabourn Spirit with 10 and 11 day round trip itineraries to/from Vancouver. www.seabourn.com (http://www.seabourn.com)

Seven Seas Mariner with 8 day trips between Seward and Vancouver. www.rssc.com (http://www.rssc.com)

Crystal Harmony with mostly 12 day roundtrips from San Francisco and some Seward/Vancouver/San Francisco 10 day trips in June & September. www.crystalcruises.com (http://www.crystalcruises.com)

I've toured the Seven Seas Mariner (700 guests) and the Crystal Harmony (940 passengers) and was quite impressed with both. The Seabourn Spirit (208 guests) will be in Alaska for the first time next season, so I haven't see it yet.

Good luck with your choices and enjoy your cruise.

mpc1

Thanks! I'll let you guys know what we pick..

I've spent many years in Alaska. Make sure what ever sruise you book is not a round trip. That is you visit Alaskan ports but don't leave the ship for extended overnight land tours.

You will miss too much if you only do the round trip on the ship. I believe RCL usually does it that way.

Price competition is incredible. Move fast, but see if you can snag a bargain.

Texana - I'm confused - why wouldn't I want a round trip? I was thinking I DO want a round trip for better ease in booking air travel...

RSSC is putting the Navigator back in Alaska this year. We sailed on the Mariner this past June, and it was wonderful! But Mariner will be in Europe this next Summer.

We did a one-way because we got to see more ports, and we went farther. Sailed North from Vancouver to Seward and flew home from Anchorage.

Sorry, I didn't explain myself properly. Some of the cruise lines take you one way to or from Alaska on the ship and fly you the other way. That is something like ship from Vancouver to Seward AK and fly home or vice versa.

Some cruise lines, especially Royal Caribbean take you round trip on the ship. You do not spend any significant time on shore. No chance to go up to Denali etc. These are usually 7 day round trip cruises, Vancouver to Vancouver.

I hope that I have done a better job this time!

On this trip, we're after the cruise experience and scenery... as opposed to ports.. so with that in mind, would the one way cruise still be the best option?

Our one-way was 9 nights, so we were able to see a LOT of scenery. I did it deliberately because of that. We saw Hubbard Glacier, plus we saw College Fjord. Rode the train at Skagway.

edit..because of the 9-night cruise, we didn't go on to Denali. But we could have with RSSC.


[This message has been edited by Pam (edited 11-26-2001).]

Pam, Thanks! If I can talk my brother into the extra few days beyond what we had planned, this sounds like a winner!

Pam

This is a good thread. I've been thinking about an Alaskan cruise too. When is the best time to visit?

So far from the tips I've learned that one-way is better than round trip. What about which cruise line? Which one would be least likely to go bankrupt?

After touring Vancouver and Victoria for a couple of days, we enjoyed Holland-America's Ryndam between Vancouver and Seward with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and Valdez. Lots of glaciers and whales. Just enough shore time. We lingered for a couple of days at the Westin Prince Alyeska Resort before flying home from Anchorage.

We did a similar trip on HAL's Statendam. It was fabulous! The only port I would have skipped is Valdez. We ended up in Seward. One of the highlights there was a visit to Mitch Sealey's Dog Kennel which included a sled dog ride. Sealey was one of the top placers in the Idiarod (calls his Kennel "Ididaride") and you'll never meet a nicer or more wholesome family.

We took the train to Anchorage, which was a delightful trip. There is a lot to do in Anchorage, so plan on a few days. We drove up to Denali. Our family just loved the bus trip thru the park and seeing all the wild life. That was the highlight. The next day was cold drizzle and my husband and I agreed to go back to Anchorage early. It was the right thing for us. Gave up our nonrefundable Denali cabin.

ChaseTheMiles: we did it first week of August. You know: when you have absolutely had it with the Texas heat! By all means go! You will have a fabulous time. Take a helicopter or seaplane ride just to add an unforgettable dimension to your trip.


<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by 0524:
After touring Vancouver and Victoria for a couple of days, we enjoyed Holland-America's Ryndam between Vancouver and Seward with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and Valdez. Lots of glaciers and whales. Just enough shore time. We lingered for a couple of days at the Westin Prince Alyeska Resort before flying home from Anchorage.</font>

Each of the months of the Alaska cruise season has benefits and drawbacks. August is usually less crowded (especially after the 15th) when families head home to get the kids in school. Although May can be chilly, there is the advantage of most kids still being in school. Without doubt June 15 to July 30 are the most 'active' months up there. September is the wind down of the season, sales in the shops, fewer crowds and the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights as there is a reasonable amount of darkness at night.
If I were traveling without children, I would try to avoid the time when school is out. A cruise ship full of kids is not my own idea of a good time.
Holland America has 'owned' Alaska cruising for decades. I prefer the ocean liner style ships to those that are brought up from the Caribbean. Sometimes Alaskan waters can be very rough, especially crossing the Gulf of Alaska.
There are advantages to a round-trip cruise if you want to avoid the additional flying time and trouble in or out of Alaska and want to reduce packing and unpacking to a minimum.
Texana

We like Celebrity for the food. For the small ship experience, there is also Lindblad but it is not known for dressy nights. Glacier Bay is a big deal with a lot of people and only a few ships are allowed in every season. If you want to include the Bay, look carefully at the itineraries. We took Crown Princess and did not like the ship at all - bad food and surly waiters but it did go to Glacier Bay. Recommend the train ride at Skagway. Also, do a Denali fly-by if you have time. We went the end of Aug and had nearly perfect weather, inc Denali. Also included a visit to Palmer and the Alaska State Fair - what a hoot! Giant veggies and pig races...Don't expect a lot of wildlife at Denali - for example, there are a hundred wolves in a park the size of CT!

Check out www.akferry.com (http://www.akferry.com) This might be what you're looking for.