Cruise lines are in the business of giving their guests a good time, so they've all got something going for them. Here's my pick of Alaska's best, though, in a few different categories.
The Best Ships for Luxury: Crystal Cruises' 940-passenger Crystal Harmony is the big luxury ship in the Alaska market. We're talking superb cuisine, elegant service, lovely surroundings, great cabins, and sparkling entertainment. If you want a more casual kind of luxury (a really nice ship with a no-tie-required policy), Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Mariner offers just that, including plush all-suite cabins (most with private balconies) and excellent cuisine (plus, you get complimentary wine with dinner). And for the ultimate Alaska small ship experience, check out the yachts of American Safari Cruises, where soft adventure comes with luxury accouterments.
The Best of the Mainstream Ships: Every line's most recent ships are beautiful, but Celebrity's Infinity is a stunner, as is its sister ship, Summit . These modern vessels, with their extensive art collections, cushy public rooms, and expanded spa areas, give Celebrity a formidable presence in Alaska in 2005.
The Best of the Small Ships: Clipper Cruise Line's newest vessel, the Clipper Odyssey, is a really stunning little ship, offering a higher level of comfort than most of the other small ships in this category. The most adventurous small-ship itineraries in Alaska are offered by Glacier Bay Cruiseline, whose Wilderness Adventurer and Wilderness Explorer both concentrate on kayaking, hiking, and wildlife, hardly visiting any ports at all over the course of their itineraries.
The Best Ships for Families: All the major lines have well-established kids' programs. Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line win points in Alaska for their special shore excursions for kids and teens, and Carnival offers special shore excursions for teens.
The Best Ships for Pampering: It's a toss-up: Celebrity's Infinity and Summit offer wonderful AquaSpas complete with thalassotherapy pools and a wealth of soothing and beautifying treatments, while Crystal Harmony pampers all around, and the solariums on Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, and new Radiance of the Seas offer relaxing indoor pool retreats.
The Best Shipboard Cuisine: Radisson and Crystal (in that order) are tops. Of the mainstream lines, Celebrity is the best, with its cuisine overseen by renowned French chef Michel Roux. And there are signs of a new and rather surprising challenger for the cuisine award: Carnival . Although the line had not hitherto been especially noted for its food, it has upgraded both its main dining room and buffet offerings. And the line's new Carnival Spirit has raised the company's standards considerably. Its intimate Nouveau Supper Club (which you can visit for a $25 fee) serves about as elegant a meal as you're likely to find anywhere.
The Best Ships for Onboard Activities: The ships operated by Carnival and Royal Caribbean offer a very full roster of onboard activities, that range from the sublime (such as lectures) to the ridiculous (such as contests designed to get passengers to do or say crazy things).
The Best Ships for Entertainment: Look to the big ships here. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are tops when it comes to an overall package of show productions, nightclub acts, lounge performances, and audience-participation entertainment. And Princess offers particularly well-done stage shows.
The Best Ships for Whale-Watching: If they come close enough, you can see whales from all the ships in Alaska. Smaller ships, though, such as those operated by Glacier Bay Cruiseline and Cruise West, may actually change course to follow a whale. Get your cameras ready!
The Best Ships for Cruisetours: Princess and Holland America are the entrenched market leaders in getting you into the Interior either before or after your cruise. They own their own hotels, deluxe motor coaches, and rail cars, and after many years in the business, they both really know what they're doing. Some of the other lines actually buy their cruisetour products from Princess or Holland America. Holland America's cruisetours' strength is its 3- and 4-night cruises combined with an Alaska/Yukon land package. Its exclusive entry into the Yukon's Kluane National Park last year proved extremely popular. Princess is arguably stronger in 7-day Gulf of Alaska cruises in conjunction with Denali/Fairbanks or Kenai Peninsula land arrangements. In 2002, Princess also introduced its fifth wilderness lodge -- the Copper River Lodge, by the entry to hitherto difficult-to-access Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Its addition gave Princess an attractive new cruisetour component, which will be even more popular this year, with growing public awareness.
The Best Ports: Juneau and Skagway are our favorites, but we also really like Haines . Juneau is one of the most visually pleasing small cities anywhere and certainly the prettiest capital city in America. It's fronted by the Gastineau Channel and backed by Mount Juneau and Mount Roberts, offers the very accessible Mendenhall Glacier, and is otherwise surrounded by wilderness -- and it's a really fun city to visit, too. As for Skagway, no town in Alaska is more historically significant, and the old buildings are so perfect you might think you stepped into a Disney version of what a gold-rush town should look like. If, that is, you can get over the decidedly turn-of-the-millennium Starbucks coffee vendor in the Mercantile Center and all the upscale jewelry shops that have followed cruise passengers from the Caribbean. For a more low-key Alaska experience, take the ferry from Skagway to Haines, which really reminds us of the low-key Alaska as depicted on the TV show Northern Exposure and is a great place to spot eagles and other wildlife. (Some ships also stop at Haines as a port of call.)
The Best Shore Excursions: Flightseeing and helicopter trips in Alaska are really unforgettable ways to check out the scenery if you can afford them. (They're pretty pricey.) A helicopter trip to a dog sled camp at the top of a glacier (usually the priciest of the offerings) affords both incredibly pretty views and a chance to try your hand at the truly Alaskan sport of dog sledding (and earn great bragging rights with the folks back home). For a less extravagant excursion, nothing beats a ride on a clear day on the aforementioned White Pass and Yukon Route railway out of Skagway. And we also like to get active with kayak and mountain-biking excursions offered by most lines at most ports; in addition to affording a chance to work off those shipboard calories, these excursions typically provide optimum opportunities for spotting eagles, bears, seals, and other wildlife.
The Best Natural Sights Seen from On Board: There are so many in Alaska it's hard to choose, but Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord, and Misty Fjords National Monument (into which big ships can only get a short distance) would have to appear on anyone's top-10 list.
Your three main questions in choosing a cruise in Alaska are, "When should I go?" "Where do I want to go?" and "How big a ship?"
When to Go
Alaska is a seasonal, as opposed to year-round, cruise destination, with the season generally running May through September, although some smaller ships start up in April. May and September are considered the shoulder season, and lower brochure rates are offered during these months (and more aggressive discounts, as well). Cruising in May is extremely pleasant -- the crowds have yet to arrive and locals are friendlier than they are later in the season, when they're pretty much ready to see the tourists go home for the winter. There is also the statistical fact that May in the Inside Passage ports is the driest month in the season. Late September, though, also offers the advantage of fewer fellow tourists clogging the ports. The warmest months are June, July, and August, with temperatures generally around 50°F to 80°F (10°C-27°C) during the day, and cooler at night. You may not need a parka, but you will need to bring along some outerwear. June 21 is the longest day of the year, with the sky lit virtually all night. June tends to be drier than July and August (we have experienced trips in July when it rained nearly every day). April and May are drier than September, although in early April you may encounter freezing rain and other vestiges of winter. If you are considering traveling in a shoulder month, keep in mind that some shops don't open until Memorial Day, and the visitor season is generally considered over on Labor Day (although cruise lines operate well into Sept).
Inside Passage or the Gulf of Alaska?
Typically, the cruise lines offer two basic weeklong itineraries. Inside Passage cruises generally sail round-trip from Vancouver, British Columbia, visiting three or four port towns (typically Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and either Sitka, Haines, or Victoria, B.C.) along the Inside Passage, spending a day in Glacier Bay or one of the other glacier areas, and spending 2 days "at sea," meaning they just cruise along, allowing you to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Gulf of Alaska cruises generally sail north- and southbound between Vancouver and Seward (the port for Anchorage) in alternating weeks (Princess cruises go up to Whittier this year), visiting many of the same towns and attractions as the Inside Passage cruises but -- since they don't have to turn around and sail back to Vancouver -- also tacking on a visit to Valdez, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord, or one or more of the other Gulf towns or natural attractions.
Though most of the major operators stick pretty closely to these two basic routes, the small-ship cruise lines tend to offer more small-port and wilderness-oriented itineraries, some sailing round-trip from Juneau or Sitka, some sailing between Juneau and Ketchikan, and one even sailing between Juneau and Glacier Bay. Many of these ships visit the major ports of call, but may also include visits to small ports that aren't accessible to the bigger ships, calling at towns like Petersburg, Wrangell, Gustavus, Elfin Cove, and possibly the Native village of Metlakatla. Some ships sail itineraries where passengers can explore by kayak or take hiking treks.
Cruisetours combine a cruise with a land tour, either before or after the cruise. Typical packages link the cruise with a 3- to 5-day Anchorage/Denali/Fairbanks tour, a 7-day Yukon tour (which visits Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks on the way), or a 5- to 7-day tour of the Canadian Rockies. Holland America, Princess, and Cruise West (a distant 3rd) are the three leaders in the cruisetour market. Even if you book with another cruise line, chances are your land tour will be through one of these operators.
Big Ship or Small?
Imagine an elephant. Now imagine your pet pug dog, Sparky. That's about the size difference between your options in the Alaska market: behemoth modern ships and small, more exploratory coastal vessels.
Big Ships -- The big ships in the Alaska market fall generally into two categories: midsize ships and megaships. Carrying as many as 2,670 passengers, the megaships look and feel like floating resorts. Big on glitz, they offer loads of activities, attract many families and (especially in Alaska) seniors, offer many public rooms (including fancy casinos and fully equipped gyms), and provide a wide variety of meal and entertainment options. And though they may feature 1 or 2 formal nights per trip, the ambience is generally casual. The Alaska vessels of the Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean fleets all fit in this category, as does Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun . Midsize ships in Alaska fall into two segments: the ultra-luxury ships of the Crystal and Radisson Seven Seas fleets; and the modern midsize Veendam, Ryndam, Volendam, Amsterdam, Maasdam, Zaandam, and Statendam of Holland America Line. In general, the sizes of these ships are less significant than the general onboard atmosphere of the company that runs them. Both the midsize ships and the megaships have a great range of facilities for passengers. Cabins on these ships range from cubbyholes to large suites, depending on the ship and the type of cabin you book. Big dining rooms and a tremendous variety of cuisines are the norm. These ships carry a lot of people and can, at times, feel crowded.
The sizes of these big ships also come with three major drawbacks for passengers: (1) they can't sail into narrow passages or shallow-water ports, (2) their size and inflexible schedules limit their ability to stop or even slow down when wildlife is spotted, and (3) when their passengers disembark in a town, they tend to overwhelm that town, limiting your ability to see the real Alaska.
Small Ships -- Just as big cruise ships are mostly for people who want every resort amenity, small or alternative ships are best suited for people who prefer a casual, crowd-free cruise experience that gives passengers a chance to get up close and personal with Alaska's natural surroundings and wildlife. Small ships offer little in terms of amenities: they usually have small cabins, only one lounge/bar and dining room, and no exercise facilities, entertainment, or organized activities. There are no stabilizers on most of these smaller ships, and the ride can be bumpy in open water -- which isn't much of a problem on Inside Passage itineraries, since most of the cruising area is protected from sea waves. They are also difficult for travelers with disabilities, as only four (Cruise West's Spirit of '98 and Spirit of Oceanus, Clipper's Clipper Odyssey, and American West Steamboat Company's Express of the North ) have elevators. Despite all of this, they're universally more expensive than the big ships, and offer fewer discounts. That's the minus side.
On the plus side, they can sail almost anywhere (including far into Misty Fjords, where no large ship can penetrate). These ships tend to have more flexibility in their schedules than the large ships, and will usually take time to linger if whales or other wildlife are sighted nearby. Their small size doesn't scare off wildlife as easily as the big ships, and the fact that you're at or near the waterline (rather than 10 stories up, as on the large ships) means you get a more close-up view. Many smaller cruise companies compensate for a lack of onboard activities by offering more active off-ship opportunities, such as hiking or kayaking. The alternative ships are also more likely to feature expert lectures on Alaska-specific topics, such as marine biology, history, and Native culture.
Visitors aboard large ships may physically be in Alaska, but unless they're reminded of it they might never know, such is the disjunction between the glitzy modern ships and the real world outside. Visitors aboard small ships, however, get an experience that's many times more intimate, allowing them to really get in touch with the place they've come to see. For all these reasons, our advice to anyone wanting to experience Alaska rather than just get a postcard impression of it is to spend the extra money for a small-ship cruise. As with any product, you get what you pay for, and by paying extra in the short term for a more intimate cruise, you're almost guaranteed to have an Alaska experience that you'll remember your whole life.
Source:
Frommer's Alaska 2005