[seminolefan1]

Would appreciate your favorite cruise line for an Alaskan cruise and those to avoid. Also, time of year and any other suggestions would be great.

[Kenswing]

We've cruised to Alaska twice. Both on Princess. If you're also planning on doing a land tour you should strongly consider Princess. They have their own lodges scattered throughout the state. They also have their own railcars to get you there (pulled by the Alaska Railroad).

We've been in early May and also mid June. On the May trip we were the first group on the land tour that year. Some of the rivers hadn't even thawed out yet. But the crowds were less. June was better. Everything had a chance to thaw out and the tour providers and resorts had a chance to get into their groove.

Originally Posted by Kenswing

We've cruised to Alaska twice. Both on Princess. If you're also planning on doing a land tour you should strongly consider Princess. They have their own lodges scattered throughout the state. They also have their own railcars to get you there (pulled by the Alaska Railroad).

We've been in early May and also mid June. On the May trip we were the first group on the land tour that year. Some of the rivers hadn't even thawed out yet. But the crowds were less. June was better. Everything had a chance to thaw out and the tour providers and resorts had a chance to get into their groove.

Royal Caribbean has this also. We went in June and it was beautiful. We did the land part first and then got to relax on the sea part since you are constantly moving on the land part. It was a wonderful trip, Alaska is a truly beautiful place.

[birdiebill]

We have done an Alaskan cruise tour twice. Both times were on Princess. The first was in 2010 from Anchorage for five nights (one in Anchorage, two in the Princess Lodge McKinley near Talkeetna, and two in the Princess lodge at Denali). This trip was in August of 2010; weather was warm with cool nights on land. There was a lot of cloudy days and one of heavy rain; weather is unpredictable regardless of time of year. The neat thing about August was the flowers had all summer with long daylight times to allow tremendous growth. The land portion was followed by seven nights cruise from Whittier, Alaska to Vancouver, BC. The highlight of the cruise was the time in Glacier Bay. The ship stopped at Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

The second time was in 2013 leaving Vancouver, BC the last day of May. The ship again stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway and then toured Glacier Bay. The cruise portion ended in Whittier, AK since that is where Princess docks. Our land portion on this was two nights at the Princess lodge at Copper River, two nights at the Princess lodge in Denali, one night at the McKinley Princess lodge and one night in Anchorage. The weather was a little cooler than our trip in August of 2010, but there was not a cloud in the sky. Mount McKinley (Denali) was visible in its full glory. We chose Princess again because our experience was so good on the first trip.

Actually we have cruised nine times on Princess and have two more cruises scheduled on Princess. We have not been on any other cruise line.

[Miles42]

on my bucket list

[jimmemac]

Originally Posted by Kenswing

We've cruised to Alaska twice. Both on Princess. If you're also planning on doing a land tour you should strongly consider Princess. They have their own lodges scattered throughout the state. They also have their own railcars to get you there (pulled by the Alaska Railroad).

We've been in early May and also mid June. On the May trip we were the first group on the land tour that year. Some of the rivers hadn't even thawed out yet. But the crowds were less. June was better. Everything had a chance to thaw out and the tour providers and resorts had a chance to get into their groove.

I would agree with this 100% but add that I would do everything in my power to do the land tour, to us this was the best part by far!!!

[JoMar]

Also did Princess twice. First was cruise only, second was land and sea. Second the recommendation that you do the land portion first and use the sea portion to relax. The glaciers are receding so don't wait too long.

[Fredman]

Only way to see Alaska is land and cruise. Taking one or the other isn’t sufficient