Alaska cruise? Any advice, info?

[grace0418]

Okay so my husband's family wants to take a trip next summer and it's looking like an Alaskan cruise is the consensus. I've never been on a cruise before, but for many reasons we believe a cruise to be the best possible travel choice for this family. When my husband and I travel together, we prefer to rent apartments in residential areas and explore cities like we've just moved there. Standard commercial travel has never been our first choice, so I am at a loss about how to choose a cruise.

Perhaps I should give a little background on our group. My husband and I are the oddballs of the family. We live in the big city in a small condo, have no children, and do not work in standard professional fields as defined by the rest of the family (standard fields would be medicine or finance). My husband's two siblings are both married and have two daughters each, ranging in age from 9-13. All four adults work in standard professional fields, make good money, and live in big houses in the suburbs. My husband's parents are retired and very conservative. So that's the group, 8 adults and 4 tweens. We get along fine for the most part and have fun together despite our differences. We took a family trip before, renting a house on the ocean near Monterey, CA. It was really fun, but my husband's brother's wife was a pain in the ass the whole time. She'd cook food nobody asked her to make then complain about slaving in the kitchen. She'd scrub the house from top to bottom, then complain about having to do all the work. We generally ignored her but it was still annoying. So that's why we figure a cruise is perfect, because she won't be able to martyr herself and drive us all nuts. Also, it seems like there will be food choices and activities to fit everyone's taste.

So now that you have the background, does anyone have any advice, tips, stories to share? What cruise lines do you like? What ports of call do you recommend? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

:hi:

[havocmom]

1. Don't know if they still have them, but there used to be casual cruises

where they had various classes in natural sciences of the areas, anthropology of local tribes, things like that. Also, stops were you could do kayaking, visit local indigenous people, and fun activities that are not the normal cruise port shopping stuff

Always seemed like a cruise I would enjoy. The standard 'get dressed up for dinner & dancing' kind of cruise would NOT appeal to me at all.

Have friends who travel together & love cruises. They all REALLY get along and so the confinement together is great. Have some other friends who just about got a divorce after a cruise, the confinement was just TOO much togetherness with the in-laws. So, know your tolerance with your travel companions.

Look into whether the educational ones are still available if you like learning and really doing hands on stuff.

[grace0418]

2. Sounds interesting. I'll look around. I think, as far as the togetherness goes, I'm

fine as long as I don't have to listen to my brother-in-law's wife complaining about "doing all the work". If she can't cook or clean, she'll have no cross to bear. And we're not shy about saying "hey we're going to go do XYZ on our own. See you later!"

[havocmom]

3. IF ya go, be sure and post pics when you get back!

:hi:

[grace0418]

4. I sure will! Thanks!

:hi:

[greenbriar]

5. Royal Caribbean cruise are the best

we are going in March on our 5th cruise


The only vacation I ever want to take...

but ...we go to the caribbean...sun and fun

[grace0418]

8. Thanks. I've been looking around and so far Royal Caribbean and NCL seem to be

*averaging* the best. Although all of them had as many terrible reviews as good reviews. It's making me nervous.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. "she won't be able to martyr herself and drive us all nuts" - LOL

Sorry, but I can't help laughing. You're a very funny person (I mean that in a good way). This sounds like great material for an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

[grace0418]

7. LOL! Thanks!

I don't think I want my vacation to be an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm though. :)

[yvr girl]

9. Most Alaskan cruises leave from Vancouver (YVR)

It's a great city, if I do say so myself. Summer here is usually spectacular. There's lots of urban fun to be had, but there are also lots of outdoorsy options. PM me if you want to know more.

[grace0418]

10. I love Vancouver but we're probably embarking from Seattle. My mom lives in SEA

and I need to get a visit in before or after our cruise. We did visit Vancouver for a week in 2006 and absolutely loved it. If we do end up choosing a cruise out of YVR I will pm you. Thanks! :hi:

[yellowdogintexas]

11. check out the Inside Passage Ferries before you committ.

My husband and his sister went to Alaska and took the ferry up the Inside Passage. These are big, car bearing ships with cabins, etc. You can get off, explore, even stay a day or two with your car, then get back on and cruise on up some more. Very plan your own and free wheeling.

Not luxury ships, all inclusive or anything like that, just a different way to do it.
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

[grace0418]

12. Sounds very cool. I'm sure if it was just my husband and I that is the way

we would do it. But with 7 normal adults, 1 high-maintenance martyr, and 4 tween girls I think we need something more structured. I will totally check into this for my husband and I to do though. It sounds awesome. Thanks!

[NMDemDist2]

13. Princess has the best lodge in Denali. take their cruise and the Railroad to McKinley

you can't go wrong!

[grace0418]

20. That lodge sounds amazing. We eventually narrowed it down to the Golden Princess

or the Norwegian Pearl and finally decided on the Pearl based on the stops and the freestyle food. But the lodge sounded AMAZING so my husband and I may decide to do something like that on our own (on a future visit, which I have a feeling will happen because we tend to fall in love with places with lots of natural beauty). Thanks! :hi:

[RushIsRot]

14. While near your destination do NOT lick the flagpole!

[tonekat]

15. I had a good experience in AK with this cruise line

In my previous life, my spouse's parents would take the immediate family and spouses and any grandkids on vacation roughly every two years. When staying on land, we always had a cook, which avoided the "martyrdom" that you describe, and that I am all to familiar with.

In 2003, we went to Alaska. We were 8 adults, two college students, and one teen. While those of us in the three younger coules all had very different lifestyles, we tend to get along. Spouse was the one who did all the research about lodging and transportation on these trips, and she used Cruise West.

Cruise West is one of the smaller lines, and is all about seeing the natural wonders of Alaska, among other places. Our ship had a capacity of 75 people, but there were only 50 on board, making it even more special. While the first part of the vacation was on land (Fairbanks, Denali, train trip to Anchorage), we boarded the ship after flying to Juneau.

This company is all about seeing the sights, not playing bingo or disco dancing a la the "troop carrier" megaships. Not the cheapest, but they do linger if, say, whales are feeding. You have the choice of setting the speaker in your cabin to receive announcements from the bridge of wildlife sightings, and more than once I ran to the bow of the ship, Nikon in hand after hearing of a whale feeding frenzy at 5:30 a.m.

That being said, I need to point out to you that there is not a lot for kids to do, and the demographics do skew older. So the potential for kids getting bored is probably considerable.

Accomodations are not luxurious, but you're not there to hang in your room. They could take us within a quarter mile of glaciers, while the megaships could only glide past the entrance to the fjords due to their ginormous size, leaving a heavy trail of smoke.

Food was good, lounge was a great place to read and have happy hour. Captain was very accessible and knowledgeable. One of his great lines was about a "troop carrier" and his ship both looking for whales. The big ship only hung for a short while, then moved off. At that moment, a bunch of whales breached. His crew and passengers yelled after the big ship to come back, but, as he said, "Bingo had started, oh well".

My only complaint is that the hotel in Juneau we spent the night in before boarding was of dubious quality.

You can sign up for (and pay) to participate in various off shore excursions.

As for ports, we stopped in Sitka, Petersburg, Metlakatla, Hyder (friendliest ghost town in AK, where Insomina was filmed) and left the ship in Ketchikan, where Spouse and I went directly from the ship a little further along the dock and boarded a DeHavilland Beaver floatplane with the pilot and 2 other people for a wonderful plane ride up to a mountain lake, that we landed on and spent some time standing on the floats before heading back to Ketchican.

I wish you a wonderful vacation.

[grace0418]

21. Thank you tonekat.

Yeah, if I had my druthers, I would certainly choose something smaller and more personal like you describe. But I know my husband's family is really into the whole huge ship jam packed with activities experience. My vote doesn't carry a lot of weight, I'm more along for the ride. I hope that my husband and I get a chance to do some small excursions like whale watching and maybe some hikes. Being part of a huge group of sheep having a totally contrived experience is not my ideal travel experience. But I'm going to have as much fun as I can possibly have on a huge boat and tell myself that we can go back later and do something like you described (or like the ferries that another poster described). We went whale-watching in Monterey Bay a few years back and it was AMAZING. We actually saw a blue whale breach and slap it's enormous tail on the surface of the water. The guide says that's the furthest he's ever seen a blue whale come out of the water because they are so ginormous.

Anyway, our plan is to avoid most of the cruise-sponsors shore excursions and seek out some of our own. Hopefully they will be smaller and more interesting. And, from many people have told us, they'll be cheaper as well.

Thanks for your wonderful stories. I'm getting quite excited!

[mopinko]

16. take me with you?

i have a neighbor that is a native that promised to fix me up with a good time if i went. just haven't found the time to go. i could put up with your family. they're not mine.

[grace0418]

22. Sure! Call Lisa at NCL and book the room next to us. I think it's still available.

But don't be so sure you can put up with the family. J/K Most everyone is fine except for the one sister-in-law.

[psychmommy]

17. i went ncl and absolutely loved it

they also have a land and sea, i would love to do that one also. you take a train and see the interior of alaska and you cruise back.
we left from seattle. we stopped at skagway, juno, ketchikan and a little port in canada-cows bay (maybe). we saw the salmon going up stream and we got pics of an eagle. alot of melting ice. we were able to see the sawyer glacier from our cruise ship-it is usually a paid tour. Global warming!!!! it is the most beautiful trip ever. sad how the native people have been marginalized.
i have some pics-my family is in most of them i don't know how to post here but i could e-mail a few if you'd like?

[grace0418]

18. Thanks! Look for a pm. n/t

[grace0418]

19. Thanks for the pics psychmommy!

You really do rock!

[cordelia]

34. I hope you enjoy your cruise...

as much as I did. My first - on NCL through the Inside Passage.

I think you will enjoy NCL's freestyle dining - no set time or the same people at every meal.

We met up with a guy in Skagway who had a van for hire. He took us up into the Yukon; we had time to look around a bit, but not enough for a real hike. The terrain is surreal.

A couple we met had rented a car and driven to Whitehorse, and they said that was interesting.

The most amazing thing to me were the glaciers. They make a sound, a kind of "singing", that is indescribable. And the colors are magnificent.

The ship stopped at a glacier, and while were there the glacier calved. It was amazing. Then it calved again. I cried. That's how incredible an experience it was.

Bon voyage!

[grace0418]

36. Wow. That sounds incredible.

I am really looking forward to it and feel relieved to have it booked. Thank you for making the decision easier!

[grace0418]

23. UPDATE! We booked it yesterday!

We're taking the Norwegian Pearl up the Inside Passage. I think it's going to be really fun, even if cruising on a huge ship is not my ideal travel experience. Life is what you make it, right? I hope we can take a hike or two and I hope we can do whale-watching.

Thanks for your advice, everyone!

[blondie58]

29. well, here I am a day late and a dollar short

I must have been posting my reply around the time that you posted this. This sounds great, Grace and I think that everyone will enjoy the entire cruise ship experience. Maybe this will become the standard shared family vacation from now on. There are many itineraries to cruise in and it is a wonderful experience!

[janx]

30. There's a beautiful little trail on the north side of Skagway...

It's across the river from where the cruise ships dock. I don't think it's advertised on the boats, because I didn't see any of the cruise tourists there. (I didn't see anybody there!) To get to the trail head, you cross a foot bridge over the river. The trail winds around and takes you to a little cove on the water. Try to find a local and ask.

Pic of trail:

[grace0418]

31. Oh boy, that's EXACTLY what I am looking to do! Thank you.

That trail looks GORGEOUS and perfect. Just the thing when you've been surrounded by people on a cruise ship for days. I enjoy my quiet time and relative solitude, and that's one of the biggest things that worries me about taking a cruise. People irritate the crap out of me most of the time. LOL! Just kidding, well mostly...

If you think of any more information about this trail, let me know. I will definitely ask around though. Thanks again and your pix are just beautiful!

[janx]

24. ...

[grace0418]

25. Sigh... LOVELY!

Beautiful photo!

[janx]

26. Skagway! n/t

[janx]

27. Here are two pics of the Inside Passage.

You will LOVE it. ;-)

[grace0418]

33. I love it already! I have run out of adjectives to describe your lovely photos but

thanks again for posting them! WOW!

[blondie58]

28. Ooh, ooh a cruise!!!

I love cruises. In fact, I used to be a travel agent, back before the internet changed the very nature of how people booked travel. And ALASKA! I have yet to see that wondrous place. I had a free ticket on Wien Air Alaska, as they had a frequent flyer program for agents, also- and then they went bankrupt! AK is still on my list of must do's someday.

If I ever took a cruise to Alaska myself, I would have done the smaller more intimate one with the traveling biologist and scientists. This group sounds like it would do better with something a little cushier and more luxurious, though. There are many different cruiselines that do that itinerary. I found this article describing several of them http://cruises.about.com/cs/cruiseplanning/a/alaska.htm
What you might want to do is to go see a cruise only travel agent or visit one on the web. They can organize everything and they usually get pretty decent rates from the cruiselines by selling so many.

I love Princess cruiselines. They have Italian chefs and serve cappuccino after dinner. I got hooked on that in Italy, so that is a personal plus! I have also been on NCL, specifically the Norway and it was fine. Humongous ship, so large that I would get lost trying to get back to my stateroom. NCL is a step under Princess, similar to staying at a La Quinta after having stayed at a Hyatt. But if your standards haven't already been raised by having been an an ultra luxurious ship, you would enjoy it. The cruise travel agent would know the amenities of the individual ships and would have some suggestions for the diverse group that you have going on. Now, no guarantees that your sister-in-law wouldn't martyr herself, but she would have a hard time doing so, as being on a cruise spoils you so. But, I am sure that she would try somehow, she sounds kind of controlling.

Holland America and Royal Caribbean have excellent reputations, also. Why don't you crosspost this on the travel section of this site http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=368, as you might get a good response from more people who have traveled?

Well, this sounds ideal. Keep us posted an have fun~

[grace0418]

32. Thanks for all the info Blondie58. It was a hard decision between Princess and

Norwegian. The Norwegian itinerary won out in the end. I am a little concerned about the food and amenities on the NCL cruise but then I figure as long as I can get some fresh fruits and veggies I'll be happy. I don't need gourmet food, I live in one of the best food cities in the world and can walk to any of at least 40 different amazing restaurants any day of the week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the salad bar has more than iceberg lettuce and starchy tomatoes, and if it does, I'll be just fine.

The ship itself is brand new and has gotten lots of nice reviews (although the decorating is definitely not my style). I don't think I'll be too interested in the shows or the casino or anything like that. The exercise facilities sound nice, I hope to keep up with my exercise routine, and of course the views are going to be the real draw. We got a cabin on the starboard side because we were told it had the best views on the way up.

Your description about La Quinta vs. Hyatt is really apt, and really makes me realize why I've always avoided cruising in the past. I don't stay in Hyatts *or* La Quintas when I travel. I'd much rather rent an apartment or little vacation home. I guess that's why any cruise experience is a little daunting to me. In the end, though, I think it will be fun and the least stressful option for the whole family. I just need to keep telling myself that I'm going to have a great time even though it's not my ideal vacation. Yes, the s-i-l is very controlling, so I think giving her as little as possible to control is going to be the best for all of us. She'll still probably try to have her tantrums, but she won't affect us nearly as much because we're not sharing a space or a kitchen or a car, etc. She can stomp her feet and go in her stateroom and ruin her vacation for herself if she wants, and we can still have a great time. I'll feel sorry for my husband's brother of course, he's a great guy, but she will NOT ruin the trip for anyone but herself if I have anything to say about it..

Anyway, thanks for all the info. My husband printed out that about.com article the other day and it was quite helpful. We were actually going to use a travel agent for the first time ever (sorry, I guess I'm one of those people who ruined the industry for you) but then the woman at NCL was SO helpful that we ended up booking through her. Isn't it sad commentary about the world when a customer service agent being nice and helpful is such a pleasant surprise? The nice part about it is that we only had to give a deposit whereas through Travelocity we would've had to pay upfront the entire cost.

We will definitely have lots of questions about shore excursions and other info in the near future. We don't sail until the end of July so we have some time to plan. Everyone on DU is always so helpful! Thanks again!

:hi:

[Parche]

35. Cruise

I sell alot of cruises, the best up to Alaska we get wholesale, Princess and NCL are the best
Holland America for the (Elder crowd)
Celebrity is also good, alot go out of Seattle, always do air seperate, and cruise only
now is the time to get, as they sell out quick especially August
:hi:

[grace0418]

37. I'd heard that about Holland (also that it was more formal, which is definitely

not my cup of tea). We're doing air separate because I have a lot of family in Seattle and will be visiting them before or after the cruise (not sure which yet). Thanks for the info! It's great to have an expert's input. :hi:

[Beausoir]

38. You are going to LOVE it! We sailed Celebrity out of Vancouver up and down the inside passage.

The ship was just FLYING past those huge rocky shoals. We saw such incredible marine life.

Saw a pod of Humpbacks bubble feeding.

Also bought some really fantastic local art in Ketchikan.

You are going to have a blast! Just make sure to pack warm! We went in July and it was frigid.

Celebrity was pretty stuffy. Not snobbish...just very very lukewarm as far as the other passengers went.