As I said before, I 'm going to Alaska in June. It'll be my first Alaskan cruise but not my first time in Alaska. If you follow Happy's advice and do your own tours driving to National Parks, maybe you should buy the National Parks Pass which is $50. It covers the entrance fee for you and your inmediate family (spouse, children and parents ). Alaska is one of the states with many National Parks and maybe you can save some money.

www.nps.gov

As with any cruise be careful if you are doing tours on your own. In my 4 cruises we have seen 2 groups of people left at port as they were not back on time. If you go with a ship sponsered tour you will pay more but you will not be left behind and you are on a trip that is a "known".

I've done both on my own and paid threw the ship. To us its worth the extra $$$ just for the peace of mind.

A donation to the National Parks Foundation will get you AAdvantage Miles (10 miles per dollar), plus a National Parks Pass. I think you need to donate $100 to get the pass, I'm not sure. Details are probably on the AA website.

You need to donate $125 in order to receive the pass from which you can use $75 when you do the taxes . You receive 1250 AA miles. If you want to receive the miles and buy the pass, go to:

http://www.aa.com/apps/AAdvantage/Vi...artnersContent

If you just want only the pass then you should go to:

www.nps.gov

I'm surprised to find myself doing this, but I'll defend Carnival. We, mid-30s with kids, 6 and 3, we're pleased with our Alaska cruise. We might never take another cruise again, given that this just isn't our ideal way of traveling. However, much of what makes Alaska amazing can only be seen from the water. Were it not for the kids, those small ship options might be appealing. With kids, and the onboard child care, Carnival is a good experience.

If you want the formal dining, as we did twice, Carnival has a pay-extra ($25 per, I think) dining room. It was an elaborate, delicious seven course meal that provided enough calories to last the summer. This was only possible for us because of the child care.

I agree with many of the complaints above about cruises, but if you have kids and you want to see Alaska, Carnival is a good option.

I think the only reason Carnival has a bad rep is that it is catered to the faimly/younger crowd. I guess I'm just not uptight enough to worry to much about other people (what they wear on the ship etc). I'm there to have a time, see some sights, eat great food, meet new people.

All my cruises have been on Carnival and I don't have any plans to use any other line in the foreseable future. The atmosphere is very laid back the food/ports are wonderful and its all at a very reasonable price.

I'd like to see the average age of person on different cruise lines.
I'd be willing to bet Carvnial is the youngest. For me its nice to be around people around our age.

Also I agree with you on the special $25 dining...it was worth the extra money!

Carnival might have the youngest cruisers of the regular, large lines, but this is relative. On our cruise, average meant old. I would guess that half of the passengers were over 60. I saw almost no one in their 20s, and relatively few (15-20%) in their 30s. I'm guessing Alaska brings out an older crowd.

Of course, that Windjammers line almost makes me wish I were single and 30 again.

In case my wife sees this...it's just a joke!

I do agree with DHuey that the average or median age is about dead on these ships (Specially the longer 7-10 day ones). But on Carnival it has always been easy to find a group of mid 30's or younger to do stuff with. When we do excursions we look for the most physically challenging (Kayaking, Biking, Hiking etc) and these usually draw the younger crowd.

That's good news. We're going in September and I've been wondering about the weather. I'm hoping for a repeat or your temps!

Guess I'd better ditch my Las Vegas T with flashing lights...

Just got back from an Alaska cruise. It was on the Raddision Seven Seas Cruises - Mariner. This is fairly high end cruise line.

We did Vancover to Seward. The scenary is amazing. We have horrible weather in Juneau and Glacier Bay, but the cruise line is increibly nice. I would go again.

The cruise was pricey.

I went to Alaska some years back and it was awesome!!

The tip I have for you is to stand on the deck, not stay in the boat's cabins. I took full advantage on the Prince William Sound and stood by the deck, watching mini-dolphins jump past, red / orange / clear jellyfish swim by, little sea otters on their backs, and bald eagles spreading their gigantic wings.

I think I would've regretted staying inside the boat.

The boats sell cups of hot chocolate (yummy), that'll warm your entire body up instantly. They also have these hot balls to buy that you put in your pocket and hold in your hand.

And seasick pills - even if you think you can handle the choppy water without growing nauseous, these pills can't hurt - and it's a good precaution. You definitely don't want to spend your entire trip sick!

One of my best friends works for Princess, so my husband and I have done two Princess cruises to Alaska, one in 2001 and one in May of this year. The first was round-trip from Vancouver on the Regal Princess, and the second was round-trip from Seattle on the new Diamond Princess. We had a good time on both, although I think the old Vancouver itinerary was better than the new Seattle one. The Seattle itinerary spends 4 hours one night in Victoria as its only not-US port, and there wasn't really time to go do anything, since the museums are closed by then and so is Buchart Gardens. The one-way Vancouver-Seward trips are probably a better choice.

My friend at Princess told me once that they get TONS of complaints about personal choice dining, and she always recommends opting for the traditional seating if at all possible. With personal choice, you need to make reservations each day for the dining room, or eat very late when everyone else who made reservations is already done. With traditional dining, your wait staff get to know you and what you like, and you may get to make friends with your tablemates. We had some wonderfully fun English women at our table on the Diamond and very much enjoyed chatting with them each night. Of course, you can't count on your tablemates being there every night to entertain you, but if you're going to rely on strangers to make your vacation fun, you're probably going to be sorely disappointed on any ship.

The dress code for the dining rooms on both of the Princess ships we've been on was not enforced. We dressed formal despite what other folks were wearing, and it was fun to have an excuse to get all gussied up. Maybe it's just that I'm under 30, but it's not an issue to me how other people are dressed, and it's certainly not something that would drive me away from a cruise line. But the English women told us they probably wouldn't choose Princess again because of the informality, so it definitely matters to some people.

One other thing: Princess now automatically adds tips to your room bill. If you don't want to tip, or you want to tip the staff individually, you have to go to the front desk and have the charges removed.

I think the average age was slightly lower on the Diamond in '04 than it was on the Regal in '01, but it was still probably 60. Still, we met lots of fun, interesting people despite the age gap between us and most of the rest of the ship.

I am in the planning process for a 2005 Alaskan cruise – July / August timeframe. Thanks for the links in the early posts. I have a few other questions:

1. There will be 3 senior citizens that will be a part of this trip. They are all in good shape and exercise on a regular basis. Are there any cruise issues that I should be concerned about?
2. I would like to leave out of Seattle as opposed to Vancouver. Are there any big downsides to that choice?
3. A 7 day cruise is what I want to take – any cruise line recommendations would be appreciated.
4. This is my first cruise – should I do a maximum of 2 adults per cabin?

THANKS in advance!!!

[QUOTE=olde hornet]
1. There will be 3 senior citizens that will be a part of this trip. They are all in good shape and exercise on a regular basis. Are there any cruise issues that I should be concerned about?

Alaskan cruises tend to have a lot more seniors on them than other cruises, so you should be fine. In fact, they'll probably make lots of new friends. My dad joined a bridge tournament on his cruise in June and made lots of friends. Even if they weren't able-bodied, I've seen some VERY old people who needed wheelchairs on Alaska cruises and they seemed to be having a good time.

2. I would like to leave out of Seattle as opposed to Vancouver. Are there any big downsides to that choice?

I live in the Seattle area, so my advice may be a little biased (come here and spend your money to support our economy!), but I think Seattle is a great tourist town. If you do come to Seattle, take the Underground Tour. Most of the guides are professional comics. And visit the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, which is actually a building, not a park, and then visit their branch in Skagway on your cruise. Don't get me wrong, Vancouver is a great town too. They have a great aquarium, much better than ours.

I think most (if not all) of the Seattle itineraries are round-trip, which means less time in port at some of the stops (on Princess and HAL, you get fairly brief stops in Victoria and Ketchikan). Also, round-trip itineraries usually cost more, but you'll probably save it in airfare costs. Most flights to Alaska are fairly expensive.

In Seattle, the Homeland Security folks are much more thorough than the Canadian border patrol, at least, in my experience. This has caused some delays on some sailings out of Seattle, but I think they've mostly worked it out now. Still, if the threat level gets raised again, or if they get a tip that someone is trying to enter the country on a ship, that could cause delays.

3. A 7 day cruise is what I want to take � any cruise line recommendations would be appreciated.

It depends what you're looking for in a cruise. I'd recommend reading what folks have to say on the boards about each line. I'm pretty knowledgeable about Princess because I have a friend who works there so I've sailed with them to Alaska twice now, both for 7 nights. Had a great time on both trips, but it really depends on what you're looking for.

In Seattle, the pier for Norwegian and Celebrity is right in downtown, and the pier for HAL and Princess is in the industrial district, if that makes a difference.

My favorite cruise stop in Alaska is Skagway, so I'd recommend an itinerary that includes Skagway. Juneau and Ketchican are both great destinations too. I thought Sitka was just so-so.

4. This is my first cruise � should I do a maximum of 2 adults per cabin?

Yes, unless you get a suite. Cabins on cruise ships are generally MUCH smaller than US hotel rooms (think half the size). Plus often the third and fourth beds are overhead berths, not good with senior citizens. In a suite, the extra bed is usually a sofa bed instead of overhead berths, so it's not as bad, but you'd be paying a lot more for a suite than you would to just get separate rooms.