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Look no further than the Disney Cruise Line, one of the best Alaksa cruise lines for families. Known for their one-of-a-kind experiences and above-and-beyond service, it should come as no surprise that it’s one of the best cruise lines for kids and families. For Alaskan adventures, itineraries range from five to nine nights and all depart from Vancouver. During your expedition, you'll travel around to different cities, small towns and national parks, allowing you to see all that Alaska has to offer. Not to mention, cruise ships can access certain locations that are challenging to reach by car or air, so you'll have the opportunity to explore off-the-beaten landmarks.
Best Luxury Alaska Cruise: Cunard, Queen Elizabeth
All 98 cabins face out (no inside cabins), and 68 of those feature step-out balconies. Solo travelers don't always have to pay double to cruise Alaska on their own. Several Norwegian Cruise Line ships feature cozy studio cabins designed and priced for one person, and the 4,004-passenger Norwegian Bliss offers 82 solo rooms on its round-trip Seattle cruises to Alaska.
For those seeking a unique experience: UnCruise Adventures
With Princess Cruises, there are several ships offering sailings to Alaska. Grand Princess has the most but not by much – so you have plenty of other options available too, if you’d prefer. So instead, I had to narrow it down, and I decided to focus on the biggest cruise lines, and then choose the one ship from each that visits Alaska most often. Because Alaska has such a short season with a limited number of ships and is a dream trip for many, cruises are in high demand and people plan early.
Best Alaska cruises to book
This port can get crowded in summer when several ships can call on the same day. Floatplane and helicopter tours take you around scenic areas like Misty Fjords or land you on a glacier, perhaps for a dogsledding or hiking adventure on the ice. If you prefer to stay grounded, you can find informative trolley tours of ports like Skagway.
THE 7 BEST Carnival Cruises to Alaska (with Prices) 2024 & 2025 on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE 7 BEST Carnival Cruises to Alaska (with Prices) 2024 & 2025 on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Tue, 24 Oct 2023 06:24:26 GMT [source]
The cruise line also offers beloved live music programming, which I got to experience firsthand on a summer 2023 Alaska sailing. King's Blues Club, Billboard Onboard (a dueling piano bar), Lincoln Center Stage, and Rolling Stone Rock Room. After our shore excursions, we’d hop back on board the ship for drinks, dinner, and a nightcap at the dueling piano bar to jam out to hits from Billy Joel and Elton John.
Vancouver to Whittier Cruises
Cruisers can also indulge in Pacific Northwest cuisine at the intimate Pinnacle Grill as well as Italian, Asian, and French dishes at other specialty restaurants onboard the ship. Of course, Princess Cruises offers a personalized and effortless vacation as well, with the use of its MedallionClass technology. While this singular offering makes choosing your Viking Alaska blissfully straightforward, you can opt for pre- and/or post-cruise extensions in Vancouver, Anchorage, Denali, and beyond. If your questions about Alaska aren't answered ashore, onboard guest speakers, such as naturalists, passionately share knowledge about the region's history, culture and environment. Dining on board is major; all five restaurants excel and are included in the fare (even the fanciest dishes, like prime dry-aged Angus steak and Maine lobster).
Book Your Alaskan Cruise with AAA
Stroll the iconic Butchart Gardens, its winding paths ablaze with colorful blooms. Seabourn Odyssey is offering seven, 10, 11 and 14-night cruises from May through August 2024. Fares for this June 17, 2024, 11-night round-trip Vancouver "Inside Passage and Alaska Fjords" cruise start at $7,799 per person. Although this is the ship's last summer with Seabourn (Seabourn Quest assumes this route in 2025), no shortcuts are taken for the final season fling. Count alcohol, Regiis Ova Caviar (a company co-founded by superstar chef Thomas Keller) and gratuities among inclusions. The crew pulls out all the stops for Seabourn's Caviar on the Ice, a complimentary deck party with — you guessed it — loads of caviar to eat and bubbly to sip.
If adventure is what you crave on an Alaska cruise, you should seek out the small ships of UnCruise Adventures. All of the line's itineraries boast an active component, but its "Wild, Woolly and Wow" itinerary claims to be "the most active back country itinerary" of UnCruise's 2024 Alaska cruises. If you're traveling with young kids in Alaska and want an activity- and entertainment-packed experience, make a beeline for Disney Cruise Line and its Alaska-based Disney Wonder. The ship has an extensive children's program, high-quality entertainment, and such activities as water slides and play areas. The line will send six ships to Alaska in 2024, with tour offerings to Denali, Fairbanks and Anchorage. However, it's the 2,650-passenger Koningsdam that offers some of the most interesting cruise tour itineraries out there.
The Best Cruises in Alaska
The time of year always comes into play when talking about the best Alaska cruise. Cruise lines have been extending their operating dates, now offering Alaska cruises from as early as mid-April to as late as mid-October. Note that those April and October cruises are outside of the seasonal summer travel season and may not have as many shore excursions or transportation options.
If you’re looking to eschew the cruise ship behemoths for something more intimate, this is it—Alaska Dream Cruises’ Alaskan Dream holds only 40 passengers. And because it’s so small, passengers can weigh in on the daily itinerary, perhaps opting to skip a hike in favor of more time photographing the face of a glacier or watching juvenile humpback whales learn to breach. Meals and activities (including going for high-speed Zodiac rides, kayaking, and paddleboarding) are included. The Koningsdam boasts 912 balconied accommodations, which means 69% of the ship has rooms with a private veranda view. You’ll also find massage showerheads, magnifying mirrors, terry bathrobes, Egyptian cotton towels, Elemis luxury bath products, and fresh fruit (upon request) in your stateroom.
Bargain seekers should either book early for these accommodations or choose inside, outside or guarantee cabins (where you don't pick your room location) to save more. Impact on your credit may vary, as credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations. • Book with your card to get trip delay reimbursement, trip cancellation coverage and other travel assistance services. Norwegian Encore has almost 4,000 passengers; Norwegian Bliss has just over 4,000.
You'll have up to two days of scenic cruising, in addition to sailing the Inside Passage. Because Gulf of Alaska cruises sail farther north, scenic destinations may include College Fjord, in addition to Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Cruisetours range from nine to 18 days and include a one-, two- or three-day visit to Denali National Park. Select Cruisetours also include a journey into the wilds of Canada's Yukon. Holland America Line remains the only cruise line that offers overland tours to the Yukon combined with an Alaska cruise and Denali experience.
