Alaska

[DLT]

Can someone help me pick a ship for our cruise to Alaska? I am responsible for a large group and they have left it up to me to pick the itinerary. HELP!! We are looking at 7-11 days. It is between Holland America, Celebrity or Princess.

[Iluv2cruise]

I think you will be happy with any one of the three. Both Holland America and Princess cature to an older crowd so there aren't quite as many activities. The food is excellant on both and the ships are spectacular. We went to Alaska on Princess and were very impressed. I hope you have a great time.

[Karen Knowlton]

All 3 should be fine. I would suggest working with a travel agent in your area, especially one who is familiar with cruises and groups, as there are a lot of details to keep track of, and they can help coordinate things. They'll save you a LOT of time!

[DLT]

Originally posted by Iluv2cruise:
I think you will be happy with any one of the three. Both Holland America and Princess cature to an older crowd so there aren't quite as many activities. The food is excellant on both and the ships are spectacular. We went to Alaska on Princess and were very impressed. I hope you have a great time.

[DLT]

I was away for a while but I thank you all for your help! Actually - we ended up booking Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Sea - Anyone been to Alaska on this ship? Should I book early or late dinner? I usually like the late seating but someone said it is so late that you miss all the shows.

[p40whk]

I'm booked on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas in August for an Inside Passage Cruise. We chose the late seating for a couple of reasons:

1) Gives you more time after sight seeing or shore excursions to get back to the ship, relax, and get ready for dinner.
2) We found that the older than 60 crowd usually took the earlier seating (bed time comes earlier) and the last time we did that we ended up dining with a group who's age and interest didn't match our own (we're 35-50 and very active).
3) There are usually two showings of all shows to accomodate both the early and late seatings.

I'll have to second the advice of going through a travel agent that knows cruises. They can tell you about a lot of things you wouldn't even begin to think of. For example; Alaska cruises are all about the views an scenery, our travel agent recommended Fantail balconies for the unobstructed 180 degree views they offer.

Hope this helps.

[DLT]

What does fantail balcony mean?

[Jim C.]

A fantail balcony is a balcony cabin on the fantail (back end of the ship). Not all cruise ships have these, but RCCL have ships that do.

The advantage is like p40whk said... you get a better view because you can see more without the sides of the ship interferring. Is it a make or break item? Probably nice, but I think her point was that if you go with a knowledgable cruise travel agent, its these little bits of knowledge that can make you cruise better.

Don't worry about missing the shows for a late dinner. They have two sittings for the shows also. Pick a dinner time you are most comfortable with. We always get an early sitting because my wife gets sick to her stomach if she eats late. Thats the beauty with cruising - you can choose.

Jim

[DLT]

Thanks Jim!! That was helpful.

[DLT]

Originally posted by p40whk:
I'm booked on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas in August for an Inside Passage Cruise. We chose the late seating for a couple of reasons:

1) Gives you more time after sight seeing or shore excursions to get back to the ship, relax, and get ready for dinner.
2) We found that the older than 60 crowd usually took the earlier seating (bed time comes earlier) and the last time we did that we ended up dining with a group who's age and interest didn't match our own (we're 35-50 and very active).
3) There are usually two showings of all shows to accomodate both the early and late seatings.

I'll have to second the advice of going through a travel agent that knows cruises. They can tell you about a lot of things you wouldn't even begin to think of. For example; Alaska cruises are all about the views an scenery, our travel agent recommended Fantail balconies for the unobstructed 180 degree views they offer.

Hope this helps.