Planning Your Alaska Cruise: Which Cruise Line?

Posted onAuthorChris Owen1 Comment

The process of identifying an Alaska cruise that is a good fit for any traveler begins by deciding how to do it in the first place. Until this year, popular options have included a round-trip sailing from Seattle or Vancouver or a cruisetour that adds days on land. We covered that in Planning Your Alaska Cruise? Start Here without regard for a specific cruise line.  Today, we take a wild stab at answering the question: “Which cruise line?”

To figure out which cruise line is your best choice for your Alaska cruise, we can go in two different starting directions: First Time Visitors and Repeat Visitors.  Both consider factors a bit different than other potential cruise travel options.

your Alaska cruise

Your Alaska Cruise
First Time Alaska Visitors

First timers find abundant help booking Alaska either from friends who have been there and done that or cruise lines that are new-traveler friendly.  Sister cruise lines Holland America and Princess Cruises are the best choice.  Between the two of them, they send more travelers to Alaska than all other cruise lines combined.  This is like the logical decision to choose Carnival, Royal Caribbean or Norwegian cruise lines for sailings in the Caribbean. They live there.

On the other hand, there is surely value in visiting Alaska for the first time with a cruise line you have sailed with before, in other parts of the world.  Fans of other major cruise lines will find a selection of Alaska offerings from any of them.  This option is especially attractive to those who rank high in past guest programs. Your loyalty may be way worth it to travel with the cruise line travelers have the hightest status with.  The parts you like about your loyalty benefits like getting off the ship first, faster access to everything on board, and more are magnified in Alaska bringing even more value than you are accustomed to.  Frankly, you may need all the help you can get going with your favorite cruise line.   Cruise lines that send just one or two ships to Alaska, command a higher per person per day price.

your Alaska cruise

Your Alaska Cruise
Luxury Travelers

When it comes to luxury travelers, there are more choices now than ever before.

  • Seabourn-In 2017 after a 15-year absence, ultra-luxury Seabourn came back with personal favorite ship Seabourn Sojourn on a variety of innovative itineraries sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia and Anchorage (Seward), Alaska. The 2018 Seabourn Alaska season brings sailings featuring Ventures by Seabourn™ excursions, share your voyage with a knowledgeable, experienced expedition team of scientists, scholars, naturalists and more. That program works well with the Seabourn Conversations program which provide an in-depth understanding of the history, ecology and culture of the places we visit. On board, their valuable insights are offered both in formal presentations and in more casual conversations over meals or at leisure.
  • Cunard Line- The Cunard experience will return to Alaska in 2019, for the first time in over two decades. That brings good reason for luxury travelers consider an Alaska sailing, perhaps for next year.  See Cunard Rocky Mountaineer Synergy Promises Unmatched Alaska Experience for more on that.
  • Norwegian Cruise Line The Haven- When we talk of luxury travel and cruises, we are usually referring to smaller ships or bigger ships that embrace the ship within a ship concept. The Haven by Norwegian Cruise Line comes to mind as a solid choice for your Alaska cruise. This year, they have Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Pearl in Alaska as well as new Norwegian Bliss.
  • Windstar Cruises is in Alaska this year with ten different itineraries ranging from 12 to 27 days for a more comprehensive sailing on tiny 212-passenger Star Legend.  Verified as the ‘cruise unexpected’ line not long ago on a sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong, this one promises great things in their first year of Alaskan cruising.
  • Crystal Cruises has three choices in 2018 ranging from 7 to 14 days.
  • Azamara Club Cruises features 13 voyages to Alaska.
  • Regent Seven Seas is sending Seven Seas Mariner to Alaska this year with 13 different choices in 2018.
  • Oceania Cruises delivers ‘your world you way’ in Alaska 2018 with five different voyages ranging from 7 to 11 days.

 

your Alaska cruise

Your Alaska Cruise
Adventure Travelers

  • Lindblad Explorations introduces us to the concept of expedition cruising for cruisers who are (or want to believe they) are adventure travelers.  Frankly, while that term was formerly associated with backpacking young adults on a gap year, adventure travel is for everyone now.  Probably because the world of adventure travel decided it would be. It wasn’t always. Lindblad too invites us to enjoy outdoor activities, view regional wildlife and explore the shorelines.
  • Windstar Cruises appears here under adventure travelers in addition to luxury travelers for one big reason: it’s rather difficult to put Windstar in a box and label it ‘luxury’ then move along. It’s their ‘180° From Ordinary’ mantra which has recently become energized in a take no prisoners sort of way that works.  The smallest major cruise line visiting Alaska, that 212-passenger ship should take adventure travelers to place other ships really really really can’t get to.  I say it like that because the ‘small ships can go places big ships can’t’ thing has gotten out of control to the point of being irrelevant. Lots of companies have ships with less than 5000 people on them.

your Alaska cruise

Your Alaska Cruise
Repeat Visitors

I have been to Alaska a number of time, all of which were with Holland America Line or Princess Cruises. I like that they have a massive Alaska tour, transfer and hotel intrastructure in place.  That Holland America Line is known as Seattle’s ‘hometown cruise line’ does not hurt anything sailing round trip from there as so many do, repeatedly. In fact, what was solidly considered a ‘once in a lifetime’ sailing is being repeated two, three and four times without changing our place in life.  That makes either of those two an excellent choice as life progresses beyond our nuclear family and we bring along extended family with a multi-generational cruise.  Those are becoming more popular all the time as families evolve.

Another evolution that happens with great frequency on a first Alaska cruise: our time management skills.  Alaska can be a very expensive place to visit for the same reason that Alaska cruisetours exist: It’s a really big place. That puts a time clock on shore tours that is more demanding than other places ships visit.  There are features of Alaska that you will not have time to get to, see and get back before the ship must move along to the next place on the itinerary.  A good idea: Don’t try to see everything.  So what to see then?   That’s next on

your Alaska cruise

Your Alaska Cruise
Dreaming Links

Ready to contact a cruise line or travel agent about Alaska?   Here, we did the work for you and have dreaming links to click on and start poking around what is available first.

 

Our Top Picks For Alaska in 2018- We took a global look at all itineraries being offered by all major cruise lines you might have heard of.

Also Recommended as a good choice for Alaska

 

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