My wife and I are are starting to plan an Alaska cruise for the summer of 2025 with some friends. The catch is that none of us have ever been on a cruise, so we don’t really know which cruise lines might be a good fit. I’m hoping that some of you experienced cruisers might be able to help.
The age range of our group is 40 to 50, so youngish by cruise standards. (No kids.) That being said, we don’t want an “adventure” cruiseline. We mostly want to see whales and glaciers and enjoy a few excursions.
We’re looking at a 9-10 day cruise, and would like to explore some of the inland waterways off the Alaska coast. Given our preferred 9-10 day timeframe, it looks like starting and ending in Juneau might be most practical, but starting or ending in Seattle or Vancouver would be ok.
Ideally, we would be on a smallish ship (100-200 passengers) so that we can go to smaller ports of call and get into smaller fjords and bays. (And because we don’t want to be swarmed with people.)
On a scale from “roughing it” to “luxury cruise”, we’re looking for something closer to luxury. The rooms don’t have to be humongous, but good food and wine would be appreciated by all of us.
So with that as background, can anyone suggest a few cruise lines that I should research?
For the record, I do know about cruisecritic.com, but I was overwhelmed with the amount of information and didn’t know where to begin. I’m hoping that once I’ve narrowed my focus a bit, I can return to Cruise Critic and do more in depth research.
we did an alaskan cruise 5 years ago so this thread caught my eye. We went on Island Princess and as I read your post, it doesn’t fit many of the criteria you are looking for. For what it’s worth, we had an absolute blast, with age range 12-80, but it’s a larger ship. We did like going one way only (started in Vancouver and headed North) so you may want to think about that as an itinerary- went slowly for a week and allowed us time onland afterwards in anchorage and elsewhere.
I haven’t done an Alaska cruise but did a one-day shore excursion to see glacier calving, puffins, and whales. Was great and scratched the itch.
I would start by checking out Lindblad-National Geographic cruises and their competitors, as they sound closest to your description. My only hesitation is it may be too adventurous (shore visits with zodiac rather than viewing from the ship). Ship size is about what you’re looking for, is not super luxury, and most likely the best naturalists in the business. But it may not have the food/wine but consider instead a killer dinner in Seattle/Vancouver/Anchorage.
I have continued to do some research, and I’m coming to the same conclusion. Currently looking at Silversea and Seabourn. Both look like they might be a good fit.
I’m in Sitka right now,there are several smaller cruise lines in Sitka.Looks like most of the boats are less than 200 ft.It’s an easy flight from Seattle, 2hrs.Maybe google Sitka cruise ships.
@Charles_Perry - I have no first hand experience but I know my Mom and Dad (many many years ago) tried a number of cruise lines and ended up loving and sticking with Seabourn. Have Fun!
I have been on three Alaskan cruises over the past 7 years. One on Royal Caribbean, silver seas, and regent. Regent or silver seas is what you’re looking for. Every cabin has a dedicated butler along with pretty much whatever your heart desires.
There’s smaller cruise lines if you want a 50 cabin ship, but IMO you’ll want a bit of entertainment onboard whether it be shows, casino, bars since the ships tend to leave the ports pretty early in the afternoon.
Living in Alaska and having worked with the cruise ships in a past life, I agree on silver seas and reagent. I would also throw Happage Lloyd in there but they have a very limited selection. Funny enough I was just unpacking some stuff from storage and stumbled on my MS Bremen jacket from when I did some work for them in Dutch Harbor.
On day three with Viking going from Vancouver to Seward. Quiet older crowd, food has been good. Wine prices not bad, photo of sparking wines prices at the bar.
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner…We have been on two Alaskan cruises, both on Regent and they have been spectacular. Small ship, great food and crew plus an excellent wine and alcohol program.
