Has anyone taken a cruise to Alaska?

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rick d

Norwegian - Excellent - Best layout of ship
Princess - Excellent - Best for cruisetours
Holland - Excellent - Best food & service.
I have taken 25 cruise/cruisetours to Alaska and each one is a rated a million. Amazing Scenery, Wildlife, Friendly people. To see the real Alaska a cruisetour is a must. There are different itineraries to choose from depending on what you would like to see. Denali National Park is a Beautiful place with the tour in the park, the lodges and things to do there. In Fairbanks they have the Stern-wheeler cruise (included in your trip) that takes you to a native Indian village. You will meet people from all over on any cruise to Alaska.
As for clothes. I wear jeans 365 days a year & T=Shirts. Alls I took for all cruises was jeans, t-shirts, light weight jeans jacket & sneakers. I am from Upstate New York so I am use to different weather conditions. June & July you will find day time temps in the 70's and at night 40' & 50's. Always alittle cooler near or on the water. As for rain many say it rains alot but, in all my time there it rained once while traveling between ports.
I feel everyone should see Alaska at least once.
ENJOY.

jamin

I went on Norwegian Spirit (NCL) in 2005. I would rate about a 7/10. The scenery is beautiful if it isn't raining. On my itinerary back then, it stopped in Prince Rupert, BC which was pretty boring.

TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have been to Alaska twice, once on business for 2 weeks with some weekend sightseeing and a cruise on a small ship, and then on a Princess cruise-tour. In my opinion the best cruise for you would be a cruise-tour. The cruise tour allows you to see more of Alaska by land (bus and/or train) either before or after the cruise. They typically afford an opportunity to stay a night or two in/at Denali National Park, Anchorage, Talkeetna, or Fairbanks, Alaska. There are four cruise lines that use the train to transport you from/to the cruise point to/from the park and Fairbanks. The train ride is magnificent and when you do the cruise tour you will have the best opportunity to see wildlife like bears, caribou, moose, fox, wolf, and a few others. These cruise-tours can be from 12 to 15 days or more while normal cruises are 7 days.

The 4 cruise lines which offer the cruise-tours and all would be good; Princess Cruise line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Holland America.

We did our cruise tour with Princess and it was very good. We did the cruise part first and then had a day and night in Anchorage, a great train ride from Anchorage to Denali National Park, and after a night at a lodge owned by Princess. We took the train the next day to Fairbanks for a night there.

All four of the cruise lines that I have mentioned use the train for the land tour. But Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity have special domed train cars that provide great visibility. Not all tour segments are the same so you really have to pay attention to how the land tour is organized and whether it uses the train or buses.

The best time to go on an Alaska cruise is when you can get the best price. The Alaska cruise season is from May to Sept. The best prices will be in May and Sept but you will see the same things as other times. 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.

You will do well to book your cruise now for next year because all of the cruise lines give the best prices for very early bookings.

The cruises generally have more seniors and families. The ships generally have a solarium (covered pool and hot tub area) so you can enjoy the ship about the same as when you go to the Caribbean. What you need to pack is not that much different from any other cruise or trip. The weather in Alaska on land can be very pleasant; maybe in the 70's during the day, in June. It will likely be rainy in a couple of your port stops like Juneau and Ketchkan. Not a downpour but like showers.

It will be pleasant on ship while you are in inside area but breezy and chilly on open decks. When you get near the icebergs and glaciers it will be cold. And I mean like hat, coat and gloves cold. But the way to dress is layer your clothes so you will be warm enough when its cold but not too hot when you are in warmer areas. Instead of a ski jacket, take a lighter one that you can wear comfortably over a sweater or hoodie. Take some long sleeved shirts and slacks. Take a cap or hat and even gloves. Think underclothes, shirt, sweater, jacket for your dress each day.

luludoodie

Our first cruise was to Alaska on Sun Princess.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Prepare to spend lots of extra money on, helicopter trips up on the the glaciers, white water rafting in Alaska etc.

Take a mixture/layers of clothes. We went in early April expecting cold weather and took appropriate clothes - however had to buy Tee shirts etc. at first stop as it was so hot! One day was cold freezing drizzle while ashore so our waterproofs earned their keep!

You need to take "cool" weather coats anyway as it is always cool outside on cruise ships as the sea is a cold place!

Be prepared to spend all day outside on the Glacier Bay day! If another ship is near you be humbled at the insignificant spec the ship (and your ship) becomes when near one of the 5 glaciers!

Check with the cruise line re salmon run in July. If you can, try and book that week, and take the excursion to the river where they spawn! We saw the pictures and thought it was incredible. When we saw the river (really a a stream) we were amazed that such a volume of fish could make it!

gary o

I went with Princess and the word was that Princess is about the best...I sure enjoyed the trip.

Take ca sual clothes but you could hit bad weather too so be prepared with a sweater and jacket.

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