Table Of Content
Princess Cruises is a line that offers something for everyone, and its Alaska-based Discovery Princess is our top choice for family reunion groups. I’m not a travel agent—I’m a journalist who has spent the past 30 years reporting on how to travel smarter. To maximize your experience, click to Ask Wendy for a personalized recommendation for trip ideas and custom-trip designers, tailored to your location and preferences.
American Cruise Lines
In those days, Bob ran the boat while Betty and her children served treats and tea to their guests. Today, Allen Marine operates 30 vessels, including the five ships that make up the Alaska Dream Cruises fleet, all of which accommodate between 12 and 76 cruise passengers. Knowledgeable expedition leaders serve as personal guides on every voyage, sharing their expertise in biology, geography and ecology, as well as sharing about the lifestyles and legends of Southeast Alaska’s local cultures.
Best Value Alaska Cruise: Royal Caribbean, Radiance Of The Seas
Traveler Editors' Favorite Cruise Ships in the World: Gold List 2024 - Condé Nast Traveler
Traveler Editors' Favorite Cruise Ships in the World: Gold List 2024.
Posted: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
In 2022, the cruise line was the first to receive Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification, meaning its Alaska-bound ships serve only fresh, certified sustainable and traceable wild Alaska seafood. The 7-Day Glacier Discovery itinerary is offered both northbound and southbound, both of which include cruising the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay, and calling upon Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. Whether you want to go off the beaten track with an expedition cruise or travel the explorers' routes with a classic itinerary, we have you covered.
Spend Less Time in Line
For these itineraries, you'll need to fly into or out of Anchorage and take a train or bus to/from the cruise departure ports, which can take an hour or two. You can book the transportation on your own or through your cruise line. If you book a weeklong Gulf of Alaska voyage, you'll also enjoy exploring parts of the Inside Passage and its ports that could include a mix of Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Ketchikan, Haines and Icy Strait Point. These solo cabins get our vote because they're located in a complex where a private lounge encourages mingling. Lone travelers can also meet their shipmates while waiting to hop into a race care on the ship's go-kart track, at a showing of "Jersey Boys" or over a muddled drink at the Sugarcane Mojito Bar. Alaska has become a hot spot for multigenerational family travel, with grandparents taking their kids and grandkids of all ages on a memory-making holiday.
Day Glacier Bay, Fjords & Canadian Inside Passage
Maximize your chances of close encounters with whales in Alaska. Consult this month-by-month guide for help planning your Alaska travel with tips on everything from weather, wildlife, daylight and the benefits of each month. Thus, the best type of Alaska cruise review is a personal referral. Ask your booking agent to put you in touch with a past client that has traveled on a comparable trip. Reputable Alaska small ship cruise agencies will gladly refer their past clients; you can read some of our traveler testimonials below and on each trip and ship page. For a more epic route, consider an Alaska to Japan cruise, an Aleutian Island cruise or a voyage from Alaska to Russia.
Several cruise lines also offer land extensions (sometimes called “cruisetours”) to make the experience as seamless as possible. Disney Cruise Line set sail in 1998 with its first three- and four-night trips to the Bahamas and made its way to Alaska in the spring of 2011. The cruise line, which is celebrating its Silver Anniversary at Sea, offers 23 five-, seven-, eight- and 9-night round-trip Alaskan itineraries aboard the Disney Wonder, all of which depart from Vancouver. As on all Disney Cruise Line sailings around the world, its Alaska cruises feature spacious cabins with split bathrooms; kids clubs for ages three to 17; all meals, including snacks and room service; Broadway-quality stage shows and more.
Best Inside Passage Alaska Cruise: Hurtigruten Expeditions, MS Roald Amundsen
Nicknamed “The Love Boat,” Princess Cruises has been sailing to Alaska for more than 50 years, and is a terrific choice for couples looking to get away from it all. While onboard, Princess immerses its guests into the sites, sounds, tastes and history of the 49th state through its award-winning North to Alaska programming. Life onboard is made easy, too, with the cruise line’s revolutionary Medallion technology that not only keeps people traveling together connected, but makes buying gifts in ports a snap by charging purchases back to your cabin. The cruise line’s Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary offers two glacier viewing experiences, as well as a voyage across the Gulf of Alaska to see Prince William Sound, known for its abundance of marine and coastal life. Guests can extend their Alaska cruise with three- to 10-day day pre- and post-cruise tours. Luxury Alaska cruises have a different vibe than posh sailings in balmy climes.
Here, withoutfurther ado, are 8 of the best small ship cruise lines operating inAlaska. The last of the truly ultra-luxury cruise ships on this list, Silver Moon is a stunning ship in her own right, though the new Silver Nova has replaced her as the main ship in the Silversea fleet for cruises to Alaska. All of our Alaska itineraries feature six onboard expedition experts that spend more one-on-one time with guests providing insight on glaciers, culture, and wildlife and lead optional Signature Expedition tours on Zodiacs and kayaks. Renowned for extraordinary worldwide voyages aboard intimate, all-inclusive ships, Silversea is a luxury cruise line that offers unparalleled service and superlative comfort. Discover the art of luxury travel as perfected by Silversea Cruises. Regardless of the ship, passengers can expect a wide range of entertainment offerings, an abundance of bars, restaurants, and lounges, and a handful of accommodation options.
Maple Leaf Adventures
While most small Alaska cruise itineraries are one week, there are some shorter options. Look for shorter cruise packages from Anchorage that are perfect to combine with a trip extension to Denali. And there are an increasing amount of 5- and 6-day options to choose from in Southeast Alaska. We send hundreds of passengers on small ship cruises to Alaska each year; thus, we answer a lot of questions about Alaska cruising. We offer an unmatched selection aboard more than 25 small Alaska expedition ships.
Best splurge cabinThe Owner’s Suite on stylish, French-flagged Le Boreal measures 484 square feet, with a 97-square-foot balcony, a separate living-and-dining area, two bathrooms (one with a soaking tub), and a double-width teak balcony. Heidi & Ted and their team of curious travel writers explore the far corners of the world to share their experiences & insights about small-ship cruising. I'm up to 78 countries and 110+ cruises worldwide, and it's the small ship journeys that I love writing about most. And so QuirkyCruise.com was born, an excellent research tool for planning your own unforgettable small ship trip. You’ll spend all your time immersed in Alaska, both aboard ship and ashore, and that, to my way of thinking, is what an Alaska cruise vacation should be all about. Altogether, there are four major small-ship operators plus a few local and regional companies, with ships that carry less than 100 passengers (with the exception of ACL’s American Constellation), and many fewer than 50.
In general, waiting until the last minute is not the best idea, unless you live in Seattle or Vancouver and don't need to book flights. If you're interested in Alaska's gold rush history, Skagway — 90 miles northwest of Juneau — is a port you shouldn't miss. In fact, it's the gateway to the Klondike and Dawson mining district in Canada's Yukon territory, where prospectors searched for gold in the late 1890s.
The best Alaska cruise for every type of traveler - The Points Guy
The best Alaska cruise for every type of traveler.
Posted: Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
For a travel solution tailored to your trip goals and preferences, click this green box. If you are old enough to recall the nightly newscaster Gabriel Heatter, he began his nightly news broadcast with “Good evening everyone, there’s good news tonight.” Indeed, there is great news for those cruisers... Windstar Adding 2 Ships By Ted Scull, with reporting by Anne Kalosh Windstar broke the mold 40 years ago when in 1984 the new firm launched its first of what would be a trio of sleek combination motor sailers. Although the phrase has been used so often it’s become a cliche, taking a small-ship cruise really is the best way to discover “the real Alaska,” close-up and personal. The best place between sea and sky, 8 dining venues, spacious outdoor areas and up-to-the-minute technology makes her simply divine. Dig a little deeper and discover an Alaska that is much more than just Gold Rush and glaciers.
No comments:
Post a Comment