Originally Posted by
gretchendz
You want Glacier Bay which you will sail for most of a day. This means Princess, HAL, NCL, Cunard, Viking, Seabourn (although these can change from year to year). Some smaller ships too, but with the kids I would recommend Princess. HAL and Cunard are great but they are likely to be more boring for the kids.
Originally Posted by
gretchendz
I can't emphasize enough how quickly these are filling. Make a decision soon. I am already seeing limited cabin availabilty on popular dates.
Originally Posted by
DJ_Iceman
I'm biased because I'm a HAL loyalist, but it totally depends on the kids. My two have had some truly wonderful experiences with the kids' clubs on HAL ships, meeting like-minded kids who are into arts & crafts, board games, video games, and conversation.
Originally Posted by
YVR Cockroach
You want a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay NP. Not many have the rights to. I believe Princess and HAL have senior rights so the most cruises that do such,
Thank you for all the responses. Very helpful information here.
HAL and Cunard do not seem to have published their 2026 Alaska sailing schedule yet. At least I can't see it on their website, unless I'm missing something. Any ideas when they might publish it?
NCL's 2026 schedule includes only one or two cruises that include Glacier Bay, and I'm not particularly fond of those itineraries, so I think they're out.
So at the moment I'm focusing on Princess. My instinct is a one-way southbound, and they have a number of itineraries that match on a variety of ships. My research suggests that the Island Princess and Coral Princess have indoor pools. That, combined with them being "smaller" ships, makes me interested in those, despite them being older. The cabin setup on the Coral Princess seems to be more appealing based on what I'm looking for. Does anyone have any specific recent feedback on the Coral Princess in Alaska?