Alaskan cruise? Been wanting to do one of these for a while.. Is it best to go up or to go southbound? I wish I could do a Cruise/Land Tour and do the train around Banff and Lake Louise and stuff.. but am trying to at least do the cruise right now... Whats the better cruise line for an Alaskan cruise? anyone ever done one of those smaller ship cruises? that only hold like 100 or so people?? I keep getting flyers in the mail for that... Thanks for any info.

DW and I just got back a couple of weeks ago from a Royal Caribbean cruise/tour. We were advised by cruising buddies to do the tour first and rest on the cruise. We started out with two nights in Fairbanks (were there for the Summer Solstice Festival - 24 hours of daylight). Took the train to Denali, saw grizzilies, caribou, moose and dall sheep. Next day train to Talkeetna, then bus to Anchorage, then bus to Alayeska, from there to Seward to board the ship. Sailed to the Hubbard Glacier, then to Juneau, Icy Point Strait, Skagway and Ketchikan, inside passway to Vancouver.

Our flights out were from BWI to Minnapolis to Fairbanks. Coming back from Vancouver to Toronto to BWI.

DW and I just got back a couple of weeks ago from a Royal Caribbean cruise/tour. We were advised by cruising buddies to do the tour first and rest on the cruise. We started out with two nights in Fairbanks (were there for the Summer Solstice Festival - 24 hours of daylight). Took the train to Denali, saw grizzilies, caribou, moose and dall sheep. Next day train to Talkeetna, then bus to Anchorage, then bus to Alayeska, from there to Seward to board the ship. Sailed to the Hubbard Glacier, then to Juneau, Icy Point Strait, Skagway and Ketchikan, inside passway to Vancouver.

Our flights out were from BWI to Minnapolis to Fairbanks. Coming back from Vancouver to Toronto to BWI.
Thats my dream trip right there.
One day.... Maybe when we both retire and can afford to be on the road for 3 or 4 months, At this point I still like the driving across country, but by then you never know.

did you get any pictures that you would like to share with the class?
Please

No pics at the moment. My Adobe photoshop went on the fritz. The trip is wonderful, you just can't believe what you will see. The scenery is fantastic.
Early summer (June) or late summer is the best times to go. It gets very busy with tourists in mid summer. Don't put it off too long, is worth the time.

Alaskan cruise? Been wanting to do one of these for a while.. Is it best to go up or to go southbound? I wish I could do a Cruise/Land Tour and do the train around Banff and Lake Louise and stuff.. but am trying to at least do the cruise right now... Whats the better cruise line for an Alaskan cruise? anyone ever done one of those smaller ship cruises? that only hold like 100 or so people?? I keep getting flyers in the mail for that... Thanks for any info.

My Mom said that was the one thing she would do again if she could.

My Mom said that was the one thing she would do again if she could.


You should take me. :huggy:

My Mom said that was the one thing she would do again if she could.That is the one thing my mom wants to do.

Of course, she already did a cruise in the Atlantic and got sick from all the rocking and swaying, so she may be better off doing a land tour. :lol:

Alaskan cruise? Been wanting to do one of these for a while.. Is it best to go up or to go southbound? I wish I could do a Cruise/Land Tour and do the train around Banff and Lake Louise and stuff.. but am trying to at least do the cruise right now... Whats the better cruise line for an Alaskan cruise? anyone ever done one of those smaller ship cruises? that only hold like 100 or so people?? I keep getting flyers in the mail for that... Thanks for any info.

We did the Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon. We flew to Vancouver and then sailed the inside passage. Flew home out of Anchorage. We took Princess cruise line and had a private balcony. Highly recommend getting a balcony no matter which cruise line you chose. We left the curtains open all night and could look out at the sea and stars. Also with the private balcony no one can see you from the other cabins. We went in July and the weather was beautiful. We would love to go back and do the land trip to Denali also but can't go for two weeks just now.

Do you basically make the same stops on the way up and down? Did you get to see the glaciers?? I see some of the cruises go by glaciers.. I forget the name of them at this moment...

We did the Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon. We flew to Vancouver and then sailed the inside passage. Flew home out of Anchorage. We took Princess cruise line and had a private balcony. Highly recommend getting a balcony no matter which cruise line you chose. We left the curtains open all night and could look out at the sea and stars. Also with the private balcony no one can see you from the other cabins. We went in July and the weather was beautiful. We would love to go back and do the land trip to Denali also but can't go for two weeks just now.

We spent the best part of one day at the Hubbard glacier. We were within 200 yards of it. Got to see it calving. The captain said the glacier was six miles wide. Quite a sight.

We did one right after we adopted our son, to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. We went with Princess, out of Seattle.

I guess I could say - it was ok. Since we had our son, we really weren't able to take full advantage of the Alaskan cruise, since most of the things you're likely to do on an Alaskan cruise - fly over glaciers, go on a whale watch, travel down a zip line etc. aren't exactly "kid-friendly". Or not exactly toddler friendly. One of the truths about cruises is that a great deal of the fun lies in the various excursions. If you're not prepared, you could be bored, unless remaining on board is all you want from a cruise.

I would say, that Alaska is immensely beautiful. Cold - it was late spring, and it was still quite cold. And you can get a quick sense of just how vast and empty the state is - we went to some of Alaska's biggest cities, and they're smaller than Lexington Park. A town like Skagway has ONE old grocery store, and many of these towns have even fewer permanent residents.

We got to see a few whales - briefly. Icebergs all around us - and I didn't know so many of them were pale blue. But given a choice, I think I'd rather do the Caribbean again.

My folks wanted to go on one. Booked it, one week to travel time. Boat hits a shoal and is taken out of commission.

karma....

Do you basically make the same stops on the way up and down? Did you get to see the glaciers?? I see some of the cruises go by glaciers.. I forget the name of them at this moment...

We did a one-way tour that began in Vancouver and ended in Whittier. Our travel agent suggested that because you don't waste time coming back the same way you went. Ours included the following itinerary:

Port Arrival Departure
1Vancouver, British Columbia 4:30 PM

2 At Sea

3 Ketchikan, Alaska 6:30 AM 2:00 PM

4 Juneau, Alaska 8:00 AM 9:00 PM

5 Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM 8:30 PM

6 Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Scenic Cruising)6:00 AM 3:00 PM

7 College Fjord, Alaska (Scenic Cruising) 5:30 PM 8:30 PM

8 Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska 12:30 AM

Every stop had shore excursions which were optional. We usually picked one or two at each location depending on how long each lasted.

A few pictures attached but they don't do it justice. The glaciers are breathtaking and shades of pink and blue. The quietness of the area is amazing. While looking at the glaciers it seemed people only spoke in whispers while standing in awe at their size and beauty.

A few pictures attached but they don't do it justice. The glaciers are breathtaking and shades of pink and blue. The quietness of the area is amazing. While looking at the glaciers it seemed people only spoke in whispers while standing in awe at their size and beauty.

The first picture you attached is amazing! It looks so beautiful. Makes me want to go right now and I HATE the cold.:lmao: Seriously, my in-laws went on one several years ago and they loved it. Said it was very beautiful.

The first picture you attached is amazing! It looks so beautiful. Makes me want to go right now and I HATE the cold.:lmao: Seriously, my in-laws went on one several years ago and they loved it. Said it was very beautiful.

Thanks. We went in July and really the only time we needed something heavier than a warm jacket with a layer underneath was when we were standing on the deck looking at the glacier early in the morning (third picture). That's where having a room with a balcony comes in handy. After going up to the deck and looking we headed down to our room and could sit on the bed with the curtain open and see it from a different perspective while in the comfort of heat and no wind. :yahoo:

Also, wasn't expecting the amount of flowers and how green things are in different towns. Below are a couple of pictures from Skagway and a "native".