Alaskan cruise info needed please! Thank you :)?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have been to Alaska twice, once on a cruise ship and once on business. On the business trip I spent two weeks there in July and did tours on the weekends. Here's what you need to know about Alaska cruises.

The best time to go is when you can get the best price. The Alaska cruise season is from May to Sept. The weather is generally warmer in June, July and Aug, but it can also be pleasant in May and Sept. When we went a few years ago in May it was shirt sleeve weather (70's) in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The odd thing was, it was cooler further south in Juneau and Skagway than it was up north. It was rainy and cloudy in Ketchkan. It will be cold, like coat, hat and gloves weather, when you get close to the Glaciers. When you pack, think layering of your clothes. A couple long sleeve shirts/tops, a sweater/sweatshirt, a light jacket, maybe with a hood.

The best prices will be in May and Sept but you will see the same things as other times. The port stops will be the same but may be in a different order. Some cruises ship itineraries are run in reverse order, North to South vs starting in Seattle or Vancouver. Check the cruise line web sites for variations by date, itinerary and price.

The best Alaska cruise experience is the CRUISE-TOUR. Princess, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean all run cruise tours which take you by train all the way to Fairbanks, Alaska. Princess and RC have special domed train cars for this. Your best chance to see wild animals will be if you do a cruise-tour where you go further north after cruising the inside passage. The only animals you are likely to see in the inside passage is seals. On these tours You can arrange to stop for a night or two in Taketna, or Denali National Park. This will be your best opportunity to see Moose, Caribou, eagle, wolf, and bear. But you really need two days at Denali so that you have time to get one of the Park Service's busses that go deep into the park. Regular tour busses , cars and campers can only go about 3 or 4 miles into the park. The Park Service runs busses about 17 miles into the park, but you must get to the visitor center very early to reserve a spot on one of their busses. The train stops going north and south do not get you to Denali in time or allow enough time for the deep back country busses. With Princess, Holland America, and RC you can do the tour part first and then go to Seward or Whittier to get on ship for the inside passage part. I recommend doing the tour part first and all three of these cruise lines. I have been on many cruises, most with RC, but also a few with Princess. The price of your cruise will depend upon what month you decide to go, what cruise line and what type cabin.

Most of the ships for these lines are now 1500 to 2500 passenger ships. The ships are big but things are so well managed that you really don't feel crowded on them. Prices on these ship can be as low as $800 for a 7 day inside cabin and about $1200 to $1500 for a balcony cabin. Here's an example from Holland America:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/findcruise/destPriceItinerary.do

Here's a link for a Princess cruise:

http://www.princess.com/pb/searchResults.do?time=108&trade=A&duration=1&ship=&date=0508&orderBy=&filterBy=&resType=C&pageOffset=

Alaska cruises and tours are mostly scenic and cultural. The usual stops for the inside passage portion are Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and College Fjords. The scenic parts are the animals, mountains, glaciers, fjords, and waterfalls. The cultural parts are the Alaska Native, gold rush, fishing industry, and historical sites. Below are some web sites for Alaska and cruise lines.

Tivogal

cruising on whats called a "shoulder season" should be cheaper which means early(late april or early may) in the alaska season or late(mid september)
I found cruisecritic helpful in learning about cruises(shore excursions, prices,specialty restaurants,extras you might want to pay for)
other than that
check prices on the internet and in regular travel agencies.
that will give you a good clue as to prices.
have a good trip

kimmer727

Cruising to Alaska in May or September are the cheapest months. You do have to deal with weather issues at that time though. We went in May and a couple of our shore excursions were canceled due to rain and winds.
We took NCL - which I would not recommend. We did not like the Free Style dining - although the ship was nice. The food was not good in the main dining room, and the buffet was horrible. We never ate there.
I would suggest either Royal Caribbean or Princess - I have been on both these lines also and they are wonderful.
If you can get a balcony cabin - because the scenery is unbelievable. It is truly amazing.

rick d

May & Sept. have the best rates. For just a 7 day cruise then either NCL or Princess. If you have the time for a cruise tour then Princess. They put you up in 5 star lodges. For those who only saw seals then they are either blind or spend way too much time in their cabin.
Go with an inside cabin and save as much as $500.each. After all the scenery is best seen on deck . You will meet people from all over the world.
Have taken 21 cruises & tours to Alaska and from the ship every time have seen whales,eagles, seals and on more than 7 have seen bears.
Do not buy souvenenirs on ship. Example T-shirt on ship $15.00 in port $5.00. Visit Alaska Shirt.com & see for yourself.
They do have cruises starting in your area however you get cheated out of 2 days of Alaska by traveling for your area.
If you belong to AAA they can book everything & save you money. Or call 1-800 Princess and they can give you all the info you need & send you a free brochure.
No matter what port you leave from you will have an amazing cruise & see sites you will talk about for years to come.
ENJOY.

bwiley123

I use Cruise.com to find the cheapest rates for cruises. There are other online places (as well as travel agents) that promise the "cheapest rates" but have found cruise.com to have the best prices.

When I began researching for a cruise, I found Cruisecritic.com to be very helpful. They have tons of user reviews for each ship as well as a message board where you can talk about various questions you might have.

I recommend you first go to Cruise.com to get an idea of the prices and times, then go to cruisecritic.com to help you narrow down the possibilities in your price range, then go back to cruise.com to find the cheapest rates.

To answer your specific questions, the most expensive time to go on a cruise is between late May and early September. After early September, the prices drop a lot. As far as the best cruise line, that really depends on your needs. Look on cruisecritic.com user reviews to determine what kind of cruise ship best fits you.

Dusie

Go to vacationstogo.com and click on custom search. Put in LA as departing port and Alaska as the area you want to cruise. A lot of options will pop up.

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