This summer my wife and I took a cruise of Alaska's Inside Passage followed by a few days in Denali. I'll follow-up with some other blogs on the land portion of our trip, as well as, thoughts on the ports we visited.
There are a lot of options when cruising Alaska. First you have to decide if you want the small ship experience or what we consider "the normal size" cruise ships. The small ships generally have a more casual atmosphere and decor/accommodations and often have an expedition/education theme. They have the advantage of being able to go to places the larger ships can't. The larger ships have all the glitz and glamour we associate with cruising. They offer the lounges, spas, entertainment, and activities that are normally limited on smaller ships.
Next you have to pick a cruise line. All cruise lines are not alike. Even some ships within one cruise line can have a different "atmosphere." They will vary in price (of course), accommodations, level of service, food, type of clientele, prepaid inclusions, and activities/entertainment. A good travel agent can pick the cruise line that best fits your budget and tastes.
Cruises will vary in length and travel either north or south. There are a few round trip cruises (in and out of the same port), but I feel they only give you a tease of the experience. These cruises don't go far enough. I don't have any preference if I take the north or south route for just a cruise. I don't even see a big need to pick what side of the ship your cabin is on (to be able to see the land), but for some that might be a factor to consider. A determining factor would be if you are adding a land portion to the cruise (that, I really recommend!). Some people like to do the land tour first and then the "relaxing" cruise last (a south route). My preference would be cruise then land (north route, which we did) because the land portion was so spectacular! Doing the land tour first would make the cruise anti-climactic for me because a day in a port, although pretty and interesting, was not as dramatic as spending time as part of the land. Also, we saw much more wildlife on the land portion and, of course, Mt McKinley!
My wife and I were on the Summit of Celebrity Cruise Line. Celebrity is an upscale Royal Caribbean; its parent company. It's above the mass market entry level cruise lines but a step below the luxury lines. In a lot of respects, I find Celebrity and Princess Cruises are similar. There is still a wide variety of ages on both cruise lines but more of an upscale clientele and decor than, say, Carnival. Celebrity has a good reputation for its food. The service is good, the ship clean, with normal entertainment. Their specialty restaurant (at an an additional fee) was excellent! Cirque du Soleil is on board with an abbreviated show, but I wanted more having seen several of the full scale shows. Cruising on the Summit was very enjoyable. Having been cruising in the Caribbean, it was weird to see the deck chairs around the pool to have rolled wool blankets instead of towels! Live the World!
There are a lot of options when cruising Alaska. First you have to decide if you want the small ship experience or what we consider "the normal size" cruise ships. The small ships generally have a more casual atmosphere and decor/accommodations and often have an expedition/education theme. They have the advantage of being able to go to places the larger ships can't. The larger ships have all the glitz and glamour we associate with cruising. They offer the lounges, spas, entertainment, and activities that are normally limited on smaller ships.
Next you have to pick a cruise line. All cruise lines are not alike. Even some ships within one cruise line can have a different "atmosphere." They will vary in price (of course), accommodations, level of service, food, type of clientele, prepaid inclusions, and activities/entertainment. A good travel agent can pick the cruise line that best fits your budget and tastes.
Cruises will vary in length and travel either north or south. There are a few round trip cruises (in and out of the same port), but I feel they only give you a tease of the experience. These cruises don't go far enough. I don't have any preference if I take the north or south route for just a cruise. I don't even see a big need to pick what side of the ship your cabin is on (to be able to see the land), but for some that might be a factor to consider. A determining factor would be if you are adding a land portion to the cruise (that, I really recommend!). Some people like to do the land tour first and then the "relaxing" cruise last (a south route). My preference would be cruise then land (north route, which we did) because the land portion was so spectacular! Doing the land tour first would make the cruise anti-climactic for me because a day in a port, although pretty and interesting, was not as dramatic as spending time as part of the land. Also, we saw much more wildlife on the land portion and, of course, Mt McKinley!
My wife and I were on the Summit of Celebrity Cruise Line. Celebrity is an upscale Royal Caribbean; its parent company. It's above the mass market entry level cruise lines but a step below the luxury lines. In a lot of respects, I find Celebrity and Princess Cruises are similar. There is still a wide variety of ages on both cruise lines but more of an upscale clientele and decor than, say, Carnival. Celebrity has a good reputation for its food. The service is good, the ship clean, with normal entertainment. Their specialty restaurant (at an an additional fee) was excellent! Cirque du Soleil is on board with an abbreviated show, but I wanted more having seen several of the full scale shows. Cruising on the Summit was very enjoyable. Having been cruising in the Caribbean, it was weird to see the deck chairs around the pool to have rolled wool blankets instead of towels! Live the World!
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