Alaskan Cruise

msdidonato

Hey Ya'll,

We are thinking about going on an Alaskan Cruise for our honeymoon. Has anyone heard good things or any advice?

Thank You!! 

-Megan 

firsttimersluck

OMG We haven't gone on one, but I'm from Seattle so a TON of my friends and family have. They can't say enough amazing things about it. Glaciers are one of the most incredible landscapes you could ever see (I was born in Alaska so I have seen them before, just not on a cruise). 

Be aware that Alaskan cruises aren't year-round and you will need to bring things like jackets, even if you go in the summer. ( It's on our bucket list for next summer. )

AprilH81

I've heard great things about them and a cruise/land vacation is on my bucket list!

KatWAG

I went on a cruise/ land vacation with Holland America, I can honestly say it was the most boring vacation I have ever been on. The average age of the other people was 70.  I wanted adventure, hiking, seeing glaciers, whaling watching, etc. And when the tour bus pulled over to show us worlds largest cinnamon roll, I just wanted to cry. We ended up leaving the tour 4 days early and exploring on our own. Completely worth it!

I would love to go back but I would do a nice cruise line and then explore Denali on my own.

[Deleted User]

My parents have done Alaska cruises twice,a friend did it for her honeymoon and everyone loved it. You do need to research the different cruises and pick out the one that fits you best in regards to what they offer. I went two years ago on my own and it's such a beautiful area to see. But to be honest, next time I go back doing a cruise so I can just pay & go & enjoy instead of all the work involved in planning driving routes & finding hotels. In more remote areas, finding a decent, or affordable (or available during tourist season) is not easy.

mommapizano

I went on an Alaskan cruise with my parents, my fiance (boyfriend at the time) and my sister, BIL and nephew in 2010 for our parents 30th anniversary. It was a lot of fun and was our first cruise (we went on Princess which was nice). You need to know that Alaska tends to be a multi-generational destination. There were lots of families from grandparents to young grand kids. It didn't both me one bit and we still had a good time. 

Lots of good outdoors excursions. I loved whale watching (we saw and Orca pod) and we went on an Eagle Preserve boat trip. My sister and her family went on the ship from the Deadliest Catch and loved it. Friends of ours went on an Alaskan cruise and went fly fishing. It really is a beautiful place and I think everyone should go at least once to see the glacier bay, so breath taking! I have heard the cruise/land combination trips that go to Denali are really amazing. We went into July and it was probably high 60s to mid 70s the whole trip, great weather!

The big thing is what you are looking for. If you want a lot of young people/more party atmosphere, Alaska might not be right. But it was relaxing and there were lots of cool things that we enjoyed. If you don't like outdoors type activities, it also might not be right. I think it would be a nice honeymoon to relax and see some great sights. 

sara_beth21

Hi everyone!  My fiance and I are also thinking about taking an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon.  I'm a bit nervous because our wedding is May 31, 2014, and we haven't even booked, let alone looked into, a honeymoon!  My question is: how much do Alaskan cruises usually cost per person?  How much is too much to pay?  Should we go through a travel agency?  Thanks for your help!

Sara

msdidonato

@sara_beth21

We went thru a travel agency. I'm not sure if it ended up being cheaper or not, but it was just much easier for us to tell them what we wanted and they do the work for us. 

Our cruise will end up being $3800. We got a balcony room. I have read that a balcony room is the way to go on an Alaskan cruise because of the sights. 

Our flights are quoted for $1600 (roundtrip). 

So it really isn't too cheap. But we think it is worth it. We haven't actually booked ours yet, we will this week or next. We just needed to wait for some cash for the deposit (also a plus for booking thru an agency) 

hope that helps!

AprilH81

sara_beth21 said:

Hi everyone!  My fiance and I are also thinking about taking an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon.  I'm a bit nervous because our wedding is May 31, 2014, and we haven't even booked, let alone looked into, a honeymoon!  My question is: how much do Alaskan cruises usually cost per person?  How much is too much to pay?  Should we go through a travel agency?  Thanks for your help!

Sara

You will want to get something booked soon or you may have trouble getting what you want.  Alaksa is a popular cruise and with such a limited season (late May-early Sept usually) the good rooms and excursions book fast.

Check CruiseCritic.com for TONS of information & tips about Alaska cruises.  It is on our bucket list!

500days

@sara_beth21 I don't think you will run into a problem with actually booking a room on an alaskan cruise. I think you will find that many of the awesome excursions will be booked, leaving you with a less structured day off of the ship. FI and I are definitely going to have an alaskan cruise honeymoon, but we are looking at a wedding in 2015.

[Deleted User]

We went on an Alaskan cruise Sept 2013.  This was both mine and my FI first cruise.  We did a 7 day trip from Seattle and back.  We spent 3 days prior to the cruise in Seattle sight seeing.  We went though Costco Travel and got an interior room for $1900/total and about $200 on board ship credit.  I would suggest getting a least a room with a window. Our whole trip with flights and seattle beforehand was about $3200. Not bad for 10 days.  We went on Holland, we were one of the youngest couples... hardly any kids, mostly seniors. 

lovesclimbing

Depending on your age, I would recommend against Holland-America/Princess.  I'm from Alaska and I have worked in tourism two different summers: once for an excursion that everyone on the land and sea HAP tours went on (as well as people from other tour groups) and once for a hotel owned by HAP.

HAP is geared toward retiree-age people crossing Alaska off their bucket list. The average age of visitors to Alaska is over 50.  Most people on HAP tours are retiree age with a few families and very few honeymooners.  There will be a few fun, exciting optional excursions, but the regular scheduled activities that are part of the trip will be geared toward that older crowd.

Just something to think about.

aakellar

Hey Megan!

We would love to take an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon but since our wedding is 9/26 we are missing the end of the sailing season by just a week or two! ):

Check Groupon about 6-8 months before your honeymoon date because they have some good deals on those cruises. Good luck!

Amy

thejucheidea

We took a cruise up to Alaska when I was in high school, and I loved it. We took Princess and enjoyed ourselves a lot, but we're also a family of huge nerds and wanted to just see the beautiful scenery and go on historically-themed excursions, so Princess was perfect for us.