Alaskan Cruises

[Deleted]

Which line to you rec?

H and I have done 2 crusies both on Carnival. We didn't have a problem with the line, however when looking into their Alaskan I notice they all go from Tuesday-Tuesday. This doesn't work for H and I and how our vacation time from work works.

We are looking for 7 day cruise. TIA.

[GilliC]

I'd say choose a sailing that visits Glacier Bay. Also, I think it's less rushed if you do a one-way cruise (e.g. Vancouver to "Anchorage") rather than a roundtrip from Seattle.

I really like Princess in general (and buying a pass to the thermal spa is nice on a cool-weather cruise). However, if you're booking your own transfer to Anchorage, I found that Whittier was kind of a nuisance, because thanks to the one-lane tunnel to the town, you can't just leave town whenever you want! I guess that wouldn't really be an issue if you use the cruiseline's transfers or post-cruise options.

[basilosaurus]

We did it on princess, from Anchorage to Vancouver. We also did the land portion from Fairbacks down to Anchorage on the train, although we did our own trip into Denali and stayed in the park a couple days. That part was awesome b/c we could hike after dinner, and it was still sunny. I loved pretty much everything about that trip.

This was over 10 years ago, though, so I doubt the ships are the same, but I will say hanging out the hot tubs and cold plunge pools in Juneau after a long hike is one of my favorite memories of any trip.

[Deleted]

Further more how far out should I book? I have heard the Alaska cruises fill up fast but I don't want to book too early has we have to have a vacation time 'approved'.

If I book 10-11 months before do I need to pay in full or can I just do a deposit and pay the rest closer to travel (sorry if this is a dumb question. I have always just paid everything in full at booking but I have never considered booking this early.)

[Deleted]

We went with NCL as well and also did Glacier Bay. It was definately worth it and if you can, get a room with a balcony. I thought the food was ok on ours. I was newly prego though and eating everything in sight so it wouldn't have mattered either way.