"Spike" wrote in message
news:g6t8gt01qfj@drn.newsguy.com...
> I'm looking to book an Alaskan Cruise next June around the time of the
> Summer
> Solstice for my wife and I. We normally take Princess and they seem to
> have an
> interesting one on the Saphire Princess that departs Anchorage on June
> 20 and
> Arrives in Vancouver on June 27. However I've been watching a Travel
> Channel
> program highligting cruising on RCI's Radiance of the Seas and it looks
> very
> nice. I just want to canvas opinions here on which one people think is
> better
> and why.
>
> Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
>
> TIA
>
> Spike
>
I've taken 2 cruises to Alaska - both times on Holland America. My reason
the first time was : they were the first ones in Alaska and 'probably have
the best slips while in port". Had no issues so used them the second time.
Also, their ship ( then anyway - the Rotterdam) was smaller than the other
cruise lines. The only difference will be - is there a slip at the dock
for your ship ? or maybe have to tender ?( from ship to shore on small
boat). Look at the towns they visit AND how long there stay there. One may
be only 4 hours vs. another ship might be 8 hrs. If you want to shop/visit
you'd want the latter. If you want to be onboard/at sea then you'd want
the former. I'd recommend to look at the different cruises lines/ the
dates you want/ the optional trips that you want ( we went fishing most
days and still had time to tour the towns)/ prices and then decide. ...
another tour we took - helicopter ride over glaciers, another was a
wildlife boat ride, took a small plane to some island to go fly-fishing.
Again THESE were offered by Holland America and not offered on some
others.
So if you are 'into something' - bird-watching, nature trails etc you
might find some of those offered on one cruise line while the others
don't. If you just want to stay onboard - then compare what's offered -
pools/spa/dancing/etc. Again, I'd think about "what are you into" and
review the cruise ships that way. We signed up to go fishing in most ports
for a few hours, then walked into town to sightsee.
While comparing, make note - is it round trip / one-way. If one-way, is it
north-south or south-north ( where do you want to start out/end up). If
you're taking southern route and like nature, I'd arrive a few days early
( and if you're from east coast allows body clock to reset a bit) to see
Alaska from the ground for a few days. Both times I flew into Anchorage a
few days early, visited there then joined a group for the bus ride to
Alyeska Resort. Holland America offered that bundled so we arrived a few
days before cruise, otherwise fly into Anchorage, airport hotel one night,
then bus picks up at Anchorage hotel and drives to Seward to board for
cruise. If you stay at Alyeska, eat up top at Seven Glaciers - expensive
but great food/view. You don't HAVE to eat - just take the gondola up for
the view if you like.
[ If you only fish in one town - do it in Sitka - we went about 100 feet
from shore and we were in 200 ft of water - all the salmon you could
catch. ( Most of the rivers/streams go through Sitka) There used to be a
limit of 2 per person and they flash freeze them for you if you want to
take them home. ( not sure of limit now). We put most back, but in Juneau,
one of the guys fishing wanted to have a salmon BBQ when he got back to
Henderson,NV so we gave him our fish to take home. ]
The trips are not cheap but NOWHERE around here could I do some of that
stuff. And THAT is why we really went there- to see nature. So for me I'd
start with optional tours / time in port/ which ports.
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