из моего емейла быв. сотруднице, которая заинтересовалась круизом на Аляску, но думаю, в целом полезно для начинающих круизников:
Hi ххххх ,
Sure, I'll be happy to help.
Here are the things that I'd consider:
a) itinerary
b) comfort (ship, cabins)
c) overall cost
d) value (what do you get for the price)
food and entertainment are of less importance to me
In terms of itinerary, all Alaska cruises stop at 3 ports: Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway (sometimes at Haines). Sometimes cruise stops at Sitka and/or Canadian ports like Victoria. Ports themselves are not too interesting, it's the excursions that you take there that are important.
To me, the most important thing to see is Hubbard Glacier and Glacier bay - those are not ports but just scenery that you can see from the ship. Both are restricted areas and not many ships are allowed there during the season. To my knowledge, only 2 cruise lines (Princess Cruises and Holland America line) are allowed to Glacier Bay.
In terms of cost, there are budget lines (Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Costa, Royal Caribbean) but honestly they're not much cheaper than premium lines, and tend to attract a rowdy crowd and tons of children - because of water slides and cart racing on board. I've tried Carnival and did not like it at all.
There are 3 premium lines: Holland America, Celebrity and Princess lines. We've tried all 3, and they're pretty much comparable. However, being on a specific ship can be a different experience. It depends on the team and conditions on the ship. We prefer newer ships, but those tend to be larger and have bigger crowds as compared to smaller older ships. It's a compromise.
To get a better value, check with a travel agent for a special promotion that might be happening, and for onboard credit.
I use website vacationstogo.com which has a simple UI where you can play with different settings and find something that sounds good.
Then I call their agent.
I usually send ahead links to the cruises that sound interesting to me, and then follow up with a call the next day, to see if there are special promotions or maybe some other deals.
It's strange but in the cruise industry, you typically cannot get a better deal by buying directly from a cruise line, because travel agents tend to have access to more discounts. Strange but true. However, the best deal is usually to book the next cruise while you're on the ship already - then you get more money as onboard credit (OBC).
We're actually going to Alaska again in Aug 2024, we'll fly to Fairbanks and do a land tour of Denali and then cruise from the Anchorage area down to Vancouver.
The reason we've picked that cruise is
a) Itinerary - it goes to Hubbard Glacier - a must see attraction IMHO and also to Glacier bay.
b) ship itself is not our top choice, but newer and bigger ships often do not go to Hubbard Glacier. It's still fairly new (2010) ship
c) food is ok for all lines in that category
d) ship's entertainment is not a big deal for us. We like to hang out at piano bar now and then.
Alternatively, you can search for Princess Line cruises, they're overall probably the best value in the industry for the premium line.
Celebrity is a very good line in terms of food and comfort, but their itineraries are not as extensive.
Feel free to call or email with additional questions!
I'm happy to help
One more thing: choice between inside cabin, oceanview (unopenable window) and balcony cabin.
Balcony (sometimes also called the verandah cabin) is the most expensive but my personal view is that it's worth it for Alaska travel, because of the wonderful scenery. For example, for a transatlantic voyage, an oceanview window cabin will do, because it's pretty stormy in the North Atlantic and most of the time there is nothing to look at. However, we did not like the fact that we never could have fresh air in the cabin, because the window is not openable. Also, the oceanview cabins tend to be on lower decks, and the window itself gets pretty dirty because of the ocean water splashing over.
The inside cabins are the cheapest, but it does feel a bit claustrophobic to me.
When working with a travel agen on a specific cabin location, I'd recommend picking a cabin which has cabins around it, on the floor above and on the floor below. Having a cabin above or below a music venue, or close to the restaurant might be a bit noisy. Also, I'd recommend a midship location, to minimize chances of sea sickness. Also, avoid connecting cabins, because noise can sip through the connecting door between the cabins.
I usually look at deck plans from cruisemapper.com website, but sometimes it's better to look at the deckplan on the cruise line website.
Next, on which side to have a cabin: port (left) or starboard (right)? It depends on the itinerary. For the southbound Alaska voyage, I'd pick the port side, so that you can enjoy more scenery, looking at the shoreline. For the northbound Alaska cruise, a starboard side might be better.
