Going on a Alaska Cruise...

[radhak]

What started out a small plan for a minor hike somewhere outside our state quickly morphed into a humungous plan, and now we are just 10 days away from an Alaskan Cruise!

It's with Norwegian, will start Whittier, AK and end in Vancouver, CA, lasting 7 nights. We (and another similar family of four) fly to Anchorage three days before the cruise begins, and fly back from Seattle 2 days after it ends.

Have been learning a lot of Alaska in the meanwhile. Like, in June it's gonna have sunrise at 4.30am and sunset at 11:45pm ! And, that June seems to be the time everybody visits, so hotel rooms cost $200 and up ! And that when they say neighborhood, they mean a 7 hour each way !

And we also learnt why people do this cruise only after retirement - we thought we scored an obscene bargain on the cruise itself, the rest of the stuff easily adds up to more than double that. I've told my daughter that she'd need to finish her college (when she gets there) in one semester less time, because I'm using that money on this cruise !

Since temperatures there seem to be pretty low even now (for us Floridians), my wife says she's happy that unlike a Caribbean cruise, my camera would not be able to wander over too many unwitting sunbathing models on the beaches !

And please, nobody post about the Cruise ship on fire, or any like that - I've too much money down on this to miss it now!

[cabinetman]

It sounds like a wonderful trip. Cruises are great. Lotsa food and very relaxing. A friend of mine has taken (so far) two cruises out of Galveston. Not sure where the heck it goes, but he and his wife loved it.

Make sure you take a lot of pictures and maybe give us a running account as it goes. BTW...hopefully, your daughter will get over it.

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[LCHIEN]

I've been on three Alaskan cruises, you're going to love it. Its very scenic and still somewhat unspoiled. Glaciers, Inside Passage, Skagway, Jeaneau, Sitka, Valdez, Ketchikan are all different.
For a Floridian you'll find it cool. Bring layers, it can be quite cool on deck when cruising Glacier bay for example.
Fires on cruise ships are still quite rare, but with any trip I always take seriously the fire and escape plans... planes, hotels, ships are all potentially serious places to have emergencies because of location and crowds. Don't scare your family but do make sure you pay attention during the mandatory drill right after you embark.
And just remember - no hurricane planning is necessary. Except for where you leave your car at the airport...

[cabinetman]

And just remember - no hurricane planning is necessary. Except for where you leave your car at the airport...

That's funny, but true. Hurricane season is starting shortly (June 1).

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[LCHIEN]

That's funny, but true. Hurricane season is starting shortly (June 1).

.

Not all that funny, when passengers on board Galveston based cruises returned safely right after Hurricane Ike (2009), they found the long term parking lots by the Cruise ship terminal where most of them parked had been completely flooded by 5-6 feet of storm surge and their cars totaled.

[cabinetman]

Not all that funny, when passengers on board Galveston based cruises returned safely right after Hurricane Ike (2009), they found the long term parking lots by the Cruise ship terminal where most of them parked had been completely flooded by 5-6 feet of storm surge and their cars totaled.

You're right...meant more ironic. It was the way you stated it.

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[atgcpaul]

Its very scenic and still somewhat unspoiled. ...Ketchikan...

My cousins and their spouses went on an Alaskan cruise 4 years ago. 8 months later (premature), one of the sets had a baby girl. It's no coincidence her nickname is "Ketchikan".

[JimD]

I been on 3 cruises so far, 2 of them on Norwegian. None were Alaskan. My other cruise was the most recent on Royal Carribean. All have been to warm climates (two to Bahamas, one to Bermuda). We throughly enjoyed each cruise (2 with my late wife, honeymoon cruise with my current wife). While I have no experience with Alaskan cruises everybody I know that has gone on one loved it. So I'm sure you will too.

We spent money on excursions, not on drinks (sodas or alcoholic). We are not tee-totalers, we just wanted to spend money a different way. We also took lots of pictures and bought some. I like the unstructured meal time on Norwegian but my wife thinks she likes Royal Carribean's arrangement better. You could have to wait a few minutes for a table the Norwegian way but we met lots of interesting people by just going with "first available". The flip side is if you have the same wait staff each night, they have your drinks there by the time you sit down and they can make better suggestions about food. It's nice to only have good choices. It was just the two of us on my 3 cruises but with a larger party you might want to all eat together which could complicate seating the Norwegian way. But you also might want to consider splitting up and sharing experiences later for at least some of the meals.

Jim

[phrog]

My cousin and her husband have been on many cruises. They normally did the Caribbean tours until they took one trip to Alaska. That's about the only place they go now. They loved it.

[cork58]

I've lived here in Alaska for 34 winters now and know of no other place I'd rather live. If you really want to get to know the state that can only be done in a motor home for months at a time. Enjoy your cruise, it will be great!

Corks

[leehljp]

I haven't been on a cruise yet, I (along with LOML, daughter and oldest grandson) did fly into Fairbanks in 2006, rented a car, spent a couple of days there; then drove down to Denali and then on to Anchorage for 3 days; over to Valdez for a couple of days, up to Delta Junction and back over to Fairbanks.

I love the interior and mountains more than oceans and lakes, but I do hope to go on one cruise some day.

[vaking]

Sunset at 11:30 pm, sunrise at 4:30 am and in between it is probably light enough to read anyway. I have not been to Alaska but I have been at similar latitudes elsewhere.

[LCHIEN]

Extended business trips to Northern Norway:
sunrise at 1:30 AM, sunset at 10:30PM in June. pretty much dusk at Midnight.
Sunrise at 10:30AM, sunset at 1:30PM (January) Dark all day, very depressing.

As for Cruising most cruise ships have now gone to your choice of traditional Early/Late seating e.g. fixed times for dinner, or anytime dining. We've done both.

Fixed schedules: You eat with the same people, same table every day (altho you can get away for a nite or two with specialty dining or just get dinner elsewhere, no penalty). You have the same wait staff (Waiter and Bus boy and Maitre D) and this is nice because they greet you by names, ask if you did what you told the the day before you were going to do in ____. And they have your favorite appetizer ready (one guy I knew always had 2 shrimp cocktails to start). They know what you like and entertain your kids. On the fixed schedule it meshes nicely with the early and later performances if you like the big gala productions they have every night. The down side is Fixed times means you need to be there more or less on time - less impromptu schedules allowed.

Anytime dining: You can go when you like so you never have to rush your spouse if she needs more time (what, never happens to you?). Can Meet different people every day (that could be good or bad). If you are travelling with friends, or make new friends, you can always dine together if you agree to meet at some time (whoops, now you have to be on time again). Downside: New waiter every night (maybe that's good if you tend to piss off your waiter). Will have to rush or kill time of you want to make the shows unless you eat at the same time as the early/late seatings in which case... why are you on the anytime dining? Because you only want to make a few shows, that's why.

anyway that's my quick critique of dining hours. Most ships nowadays have both.

P.S. 12/30/13 - We have found that even with anytime dining you can make reservations with a particular table/waiter so you can chose your time and have the waiter that knows you well. If you liek your table mates and they want to make the same reservation, well, you can do that too. On our last cruise on the first night we met two couples whose company we enjoyed, for the next 9 of 10 nights we had dinner with them and had the maitre'd surprise us with a random couple to fill the table every night... sometimes they were nice and sometimes duds. But we had each other and the waiter/asst. waiter and sommelier who knew us well by day 11.

[JimD]

The only thing I would change about the +- of the dining options on cruises is we never had an issue with "any time" relative to shows. It may have been the little ship we were on (I think it was the Norwegian "Majestic" and I think it is retirednow) but the times for the shows we wanted to see were not consistent. So consistent dining times would have been an issue. So we just ate consistent with what we wanted to do that night. We also only had one a little bit bad table in a week. They were nice enough but wanted to order as many as 3 entrees and 4 deserts. That messed up the table and didn't seem considerate of other guests or the wait staff. The other 6 dinners were with nice people we enjoyed. But we also ate in the dining room for some lunches on the Royal Carribean cruise and that was essentially the "any time" option. So we met new people then. We didn't register early enough on the Royal Carribean to get set meal times in the main dining room so we scheduled times in the "other" nice dining room. So it was a bit in-between and we enjoyed it. The time flexibility helped relative to excursions.

There really isn't a bad option. Eating is one of the great things about cruises. Good food, price is included, and lots of flexibility.

Jim

[steve-norrell]

I have 'cruised' the Inside Passage, both ways, about ten times but did so on "The Blue Canoe" as the Alaska State Ferry is sometimes called, often passing cruise ships along the way. Its a terrific voyage and you will love it.

You will find that three days in Anchorage is way too short. There is plenty to do and see on day trips in and around Anchorage and you will have a hard time choosing. I often tell our visitors that the purpose of the first trip is to make a list of what to do on subsequent trips.

We have been here forty-three years and wouldn't live anywhere else. Indeed, unlike many who retire here and move back outside, we could not come with a location that would be better than where we already are.

Enjoy our trip and begin planning for the return visits.

Regards, Steve.