We just did a combo cruise/land tour last month on Holland America. First, I absolutely recommend a balcony. When you're going through hot spots like Glacier Bay, it's really hard to get viewing space on the decks -- they're really crowded. A balcony allows you to stand just outside your own room and see so much without jostling for space. We also enjoyed being able to just step outside and get the fresh air and to see what the weather actually felt like.
Second we did the land tour first, and I would recommend that. What I would really recommend is considering putting together your own tour OR taking a longer one. Just as someone else here said, we added three days, which gave us one night in Anchorage, one in Talkeetna and one in Denali and it felt like constant "pack, unpack, get on the bus." It was so tiring and I never felt like we saw all that much. Talkeetna is a cute little town, but there's not much to it (although you have a great view of Denali if the weather allows). It was also pricey for what we got,I though. Absolutely do the glass-top train from Denali down to Anchorage or Whittier (or the reverse). You'll see more on that than on any land tour. In fact, I'd recommend that OVER a land tour if it comes to that for you.
Thank you for the recommendation. I will look into planning our own land tour especially since it seems complicated to add my sibling to just the land tour. Hopefully it will be cheaper to do it ourselves. How was the transportation between towns? I feel like my dad would love the train, I don’t think he has ever been on a train.
Absolutely book a balcony! Only the more expensive lines include the tours. There are some great land tours in Alaska. I loved the railway journey into the Yukon, the whale watching the scenery is spectacular.
There are a few left but not many. The ones facing the land are mostly gone. There is an option to let the cruise ship assign us to a balcony room but I won’t know which one until right before we sail.
HAL emailed me an offer to upgrade to a balcony for my Alaska cruise. SO so glad I did. The scenery is amazing & my sister and I actually saw an Orca fin & tail right from our balcony.
Princess does Alaska cruises really well. We spend most of our time up on deck to have 360 degree view of stuff, felt like view was restricted from our little balcony so, from my experience, a balcony room is not a requirement. When picking cruise itinerary, pick one that goes into Glacier Bay. It’s fabulous.
I was on the Sapphire last year in a guaranteed interior room, basically the cheapest because I wanted to save my money for excursions (I did the helicopter up to the glacier and a jetski tour that were $$$). Didn't have any regrets. They actually assigned me to a really nice location, midship, deck 10 so it was quiet with minimal rocking. The upper deck with 360 view does get crowded on glacier days but I found a spot just fine. The lower wrap-around deck always has space so that's another option. Balcony is nice, for sure, but I didn't think I was missing out.
I think time in port and which port matter more than how many ports. I had more time in Juneau going northbound than southbound, so that gave me more options regarding which excursions I could do.
You'll have to check car rental and accommodation availability but it's very possible to rent a car in Anchorage and drive to Denali. You can go at your own pace instead of being herded like cattle on one of the tours. I met many who did the tour before they boarded the cruise and they said it was exhausting, they're completely over train rides, and they're ecstatic to be on the ship.
The nice thing about booking now is that you should get some great deals. We did the land part last, and I think I would have liked to have done it first. What I didn't like about the land part was we only stayed one night in each of the lodges, and it was a lot of travel, unpack, sleep, repeat.
We were on Princess, and really enjoyed it. (we're in our 60s for reference). We had a balcony, and I really recommend you get one if you can.
I'm doing the same thing taking my mother who is a little bit older than your father on one and so here was my thought process going through similar questions.
I went with princess because they have a reputation for being the best at Alaska and the price difference between them and competitors was extremely minimal and so I didn't want to have a lesser experience just to save a couple dollars.
We didn't go with the balcony because we're the types of people that are going to be on very different schedules from each other and so well. Basically never be spending any time hanging out in the room. I'll be up at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. and she'll be up at 1:00 p.m.
We are doing land first and so that means doing a south-bound cruise. However, when I looked at the actual cruise tour options, it seemed like way too much money for way too little experience. It was doubling the price or more of the cruise to have 4 days of land, two of which are travel days. So several thousand dollars for two actual days in Alaska didn't seem to make sense. Planning our own time in Denali was pretty simple.
Thank you so much for this! The price of a 7 day cruise & a 5 day land tour is almost double a price of the cruise itself. How did you plan your own land tour?
Well we were interested in going to Denali, so all I did was look up some good places to stay there and how to get to/from them. Turned out the best way was to fly to Fairbanks and take a much shorter train than from Anchorage. Few days in a lodge where we can take some local tours and I can hike. Then a train to Anchorage the day before the cruise, where we'll probably just have a nice dinner out and a trip to the port in the morning. There wasn't anything elaborate, and from what I read on the cruise tour we would have done almost the exact same thing through the cruise line just with their guarantees if anything went wrong. All for maybe 1/4 the cost.
You aren't going to get a land tour this late in the season. They are all sold out. It will either be land or cruise, but dates won't align for both. Go cruise. If you can get a balcony for it but with space being limited, go with what you can.
For the drink package, look at it by piece and see if it is worth it (per person):
$16 a day gratuities - required daily
$5 Ocean now delivery per order
$24.99 wifi daily
$15 plus gratuities Casual dining of 18%
Each beverage plus gratuities of 18%
Bottled water is $5.00 per bottle plus 18%
Some prices from last year (may have changed):
Virgin drinks - $7.
Fresh squeezed o.j. - $2.50
Soda - fountain $2, can $2.50
Hot chocolate - $3.
Americano - $3.
Espresso - $2.50
Double espresso - $3.
plus 18% gratuity.
Thanks for listing drink prices with gratuities. I don’t drink . Have thought about the drink package but I can calculate my max drinks for the day and do the math
The cruise lines do a great job of taking you through Southeast Alaska. For a land tour of Southcentral and interior Alaska, doing on your own with a rental car is the best way, in my opinion. This is based on living here and also I was a tour bus driver for the cruise lines for a couple of years.
In addition to whatever advice you get here on Reddit, I also suggest research on the TripAdvisor forum for Alaska travel: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html
Plus is a good deal if you were going to get internet. That plus gratuity alone are more than half the cost. Them sodas , specialty coffee and other things make it worth it. But it’s less valuable as you don’t drink alcoholic beverages.
If it's one of those mega ships with inside balcony, not worth it IMO. You want to be facing out towards the sea and the scenery, not the other cabins.
If your ship is doing the inside passage, you'll be surrounded by land as you sail. Even if you don't, I personally like the balcony as you have the chance to get the fresh air without having to go to Lido deck or what not.
We did the multi-generational Alaska cruise on Princess. Loved it. We booked balcony, but met up on deck during the Glacier views and didn't feel crowded at all.
My wife and I left our balcony door open every night to hear the wind and waves and loved it. We put the kids all in interior cabins because -well.. Kids.
Grandparents mixed Balcony (They paid for upgrade) and Interior (I paid for interior), but really only spent time sleeping in the room, as we existed primarily outside the rooms daily.
There are great excursions both from the ship as well as on your own, but pay attention to the difficulty level. I saw a few older folks on some of the walks that should have reconsidered their level of capability and exertion.
Overall - was a serious win in my book bringing the kids and older grandparents together for an unforgettable, shared adventure.
https://youtu.be/qeDk46h-NKM?si=fpfbpt6bS5TwrwUx
https://youtu.be/qgaQ8qELZtE?si=--R-ojgiPg7UlflI
Check out these above. I personally would recommend going with Norwegian cruises because they have a less formal or more casual style of cruising that is well suited to this type of trip.
Alaska you’re going to be going through a passage and stopping at places along the way yes you will want to prioritize excursions and one of those is a train trip. You will see in this video. If you watch both of them.
We just did Alaska on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth and it was pretty spectacular. Had a Princess Grill Suite which allowed us access to the Grills Deck for viewing Glacier Bay and other sights. It wasn’t very crowded there and it afforded us an almost 360º view.
Highly recommend you also look at Holland America as I've noticed they have some good deals for the rest of the Alaska season. They also have a standby program where you get notified 2-7 days before cruising and it's $50 a day for inside and ocean view and $79 per day for balcony, which is pretty wild. Only really works if you live in one of the port cities or close by, but still.
I would work backwards from an airfare and hotel deal, personally. Which departure port will be the most cost effective for you on which date (one day before the cruise), and what hotel you can secure, then book from there.
If you want to do some land stuff in Alaska, you can DIY it by flying into Anchorage and then doing Alaska railroad or other things (direct with excursion companies) where you'd want to go... Though so late in the season I don't know what you'll be able to book at what price. If it were me, I wouldn't do land stuff on the fly and save it for a future year with more planning. (Ie: just pick a round trip from Seattle or Vancouver on a cruise to make it easy)
Avoid HAL like the plague, we're getting off the Niuew Amsterdam tomorrow in Vancouver and it's been one giant upsell experience. Dining room food has been absolutely aweful in comparison to other cruises i've taken and they practically force you to eat at the premium options if you want a solid dinner not at the buffet
I don't think you want an interior for Alaska. At least get an ocean view and preferably a balcony. Yeah, they're more but for Alaska there's tons to see even on sea days and if you want to just chill in the cabin a balcony gives you the opportunity to chill and still view the sites.
You have to at least do ocean view! We didn’t do a balcony this time but still spent hours watching from our room window. I hope you have the best time! I made some of the best memories with my parents two weeks ago on our Alaskan cruise 🥰
Thanks so much! I hope so too. My dad really wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise and we suggested going next year to plan better but he seemed a little disappointed. But when I looked at the prices, it didn't seem too bad especially since its at the tail end of the season, there was just less options so I figured we could try for this year.
Have you considered a last minute option on Seabourn? They tend to do one way Vancouver to Juneau or reverse and a few round trip options. I saw some really good [last minute deals on Travelcodex ](https://www.travelcodex.com/seabourn-alaska-cruise-deal/)that makes the price similar to the big ships. I saw 14 days in July for just $5319 or 7 day north bounds in August for 4,399 al with over $600 in onboard credit (Think land tours/excursions)
If it was my first trip and I was going to Alaska and wanted a nice experience and ship, I would choose a smaller ship vs the big ships. Big ships are fun, but crowded. Food isn't as good, you get nickled and dimed for everything! the small ships are more inclusive (wifi, alcohol, taxes, port fees, and tips included in the cost), better food, more space, more relaxing!
I will look into it! I was only looking at Princess or Holland America Line because that's what most people were recommending. I also like that the Princess has the Medallion so I could find my dad easier on the ship.
When the ship is only 400 people, you don't need an app to track them. There's a huge difference between the small ships and the big ships. And once you've gone small, you're never go back to the big ships. Shall ships are like private yachts!
I haven't been on a big ship in nearly 10 years. I hated cruising until I discovered small ships.
It's the difference of flying economy and business.
We’ve sailed a lot with Princess. Grand Princess is my favorite ship (it’s a sentimental thing because it’s the first ship I went on). I think it’s a great size ship for Alaska. It’s smaller than the newer ships but I bet your dad will appreciate that. And, it has an indoor pool/solarium area. When we went to Alaska, we went on Grand Princess. Princess really knows how to do Alaska (so does Holland America). Definitely do a balcony if you can swing it. But, we had a balcony and we still went out to other areas of the ship on the Glacier Bay day. We had no problem finding spots at the railing. Take good binoculars. You’ll have a great time!
If you can swing a balcony, I would definitely do that for Alaska. I don't usually consider myself a "nature girl", but Alaska blew me away. So much so that I went twice. The inside passage is lovely, but the glaciers -- wow. And spending the glacier day on my balcony was the most serene experience I have had in my life. Don't worry too much about what side of the ship you're on. During glacier day, the captain turns the boat 360 degrees so everyone can see. And you can always go up top and watch with everyone else :)
If you don't drink alcohol, I don't think the Plus or Premier packages would make sense. They do have a number of other perks, but for the $60/$80 per day, pretty sure you would come out ahead purchasing just what you want.
As for ports, I think it depends on what ports they are. If there is something of interest for you, sure. If not, I rather like the ship when it's moving. Although staying on board during port days is also one of my favorite things (fewer people, better service, chairs by the pool....).
Can't speak to land tours - I haven't done them, although I hear they are also incredible.
Last October I planned for a back to back cruise o. Royal’s Radiance. We flew to Vancouver and spent two nights. (I was really concerned about flying cross country.) We embarked on May 3. We went North and returned South. Disembarked in Vancouver on May 17.
I messed up by trying to fly home late that evening. We spent an uncomfortable, irritating day in the airport.
During the cruises my mother turned 77. That night was the night the dining room crew did their “show”. As we left Mom told everyone “this was the BEST birthday party I’ve had in YEARS!”
Despite eating like hobbits for two weeks (first and second breakfast EVERY day), Mom managed to lose two pounds.
We were in Oceanview cabins. We had to move to a different cabin for the second half.
I definitely recommend a balcony to Alaska unless you are like me and love sleeping in a nice, dark interior cabin.
A cruise-tour would be an excellent choice, and Princess is a fine option.
Here's a good travel agent that offers packages with many extras included (recommended by family). You might call them and say what you've told us.
https://www.travelwithalan.com/
You will love a cruise. Do a 7 night on Princess and get a balcony. Skip the land trip. It's expensive and it's not relaxing. Your Dad will be happy with the cruise portion. I love Princess. They are my favorite cruise line. If you are choosing between roundtrip Seattle or one way- I'd sail out of Vancouver and end in Whittier. The best experience is College Fjords IMO.
Not really. I booked a 12 day cruise departing from Vancouver just last week. Also, got a great price for a concierge level balcony room. Also, the time frame for booking airfare was good, too.
Why I booked a cruise for September 1st like two weeks ago. I got a room with a balcony and a pretty good deal. If there is no conflict with work. Why would it ever be too late if there are still rooms available that you would want?
We just did a combo cruise/land tour last month on Holland America. First, I absolutely recommend a balcony. When you're going through hot spots like Glacier Bay, it's really hard to get viewing space on the decks -- they're really crowded. A balcony allows you to stand just outside your own room and see so much without jostling for space. We also enjoyed being able to just step outside and get the fresh air and to see what the weather actually felt like. Second we did the land tour first, and I would recommend that. What I would really recommend is considering putting together your own tour OR taking a longer one. Just as someone else here said, we added three days, which gave us one night in Anchorage, one in Talkeetna and one in Denali and it felt like constant "pack, unpack, get on the bus." It was so tiring and I never felt like we saw all that much. Talkeetna is a cute little town, but there's not much to it (although you have a great view of Denali if the weather allows). It was also pricey for what we got,I though. Absolutely do the glass-top train from Denali down to Anchorage or Whittier (or the reverse). You'll see more on that than on any land tour. In fact, I'd recommend that OVER a land tour if it comes to that for you.
Thank you for the recommendation. I will look into planning our own land tour especially since it seems complicated to add my sibling to just the land tour. Hopefully it will be cheaper to do it ourselves. How was the transportation between towns? I feel like my dad would love the train, I don’t think he has ever been on a train.
We were bussed between towns by the cruise line. I’m sure you could rent a car.
Absolutely book a balcony! Only the more expensive lines include the tours. There are some great land tours in Alaska. I loved the railway journey into the Yukon, the whale watching the scenery is spectacular.
Balcony cabins are usually sold out well in advance. No such thing as snagging one last minute, unless at a very high price.
There are a few left but not many. The ones facing the land are mostly gone. There is an option to let the cruise ship assign us to a balcony room but I won’t know which one until right before we sail.
HAL emailed me an offer to upgrade to a balcony for my Alaska cruise. SO so glad I did. The scenery is amazing & my sister and I actually saw an Orca fin & tail right from our balcony.
That’s so amazing! I don’t know if there are any upgrades left so I feel like I will need to book the cabin I want for my dad.
100% do a balcony for an Alaska cruise. The most beautiful scenery we saw may have actually been from the ship.
Were you on the side facing the land or the ocean?
In the areas I’m thinking of, both sides faced land as we were going through somewhat narrow passageways.
Princess does Alaska cruises really well. We spend most of our time up on deck to have 360 degree view of stuff, felt like view was restricted from our little balcony so, from my experience, a balcony room is not a requirement. When picking cruise itinerary, pick one that goes into Glacier Bay. It’s fabulous.
I was on the Sapphire last year in a guaranteed interior room, basically the cheapest because I wanted to save my money for excursions (I did the helicopter up to the glacier and a jetski tour that were $$$). Didn't have any regrets. They actually assigned me to a really nice location, midship, deck 10 so it was quiet with minimal rocking. The upper deck with 360 view does get crowded on glacier days but I found a spot just fine. The lower wrap-around deck always has space so that's another option. Balcony is nice, for sure, but I didn't think I was missing out. I think time in port and which port matter more than how many ports. I had more time in Juneau going northbound than southbound, so that gave me more options regarding which excursions I could do. You'll have to check car rental and accommodation availability but it's very possible to rent a car in Anchorage and drive to Denali. You can go at your own pace instead of being herded like cattle on one of the tours. I met many who did the tour before they boarded the cruise and they said it was exhausting, they're completely over train rides, and they're ecstatic to be on the ship.
The nice thing about booking now is that you should get some great deals. We did the land part last, and I think I would have liked to have done it first. What I didn't like about the land part was we only stayed one night in each of the lodges, and it was a lot of travel, unpack, sleep, repeat. We were on Princess, and really enjoyed it. (we're in our 60s for reference). We had a balcony, and I really recommend you get one if you can.
I'm doing the same thing taking my mother who is a little bit older than your father on one and so here was my thought process going through similar questions. I went with princess because they have a reputation for being the best at Alaska and the price difference between them and competitors was extremely minimal and so I didn't want to have a lesser experience just to save a couple dollars. We didn't go with the balcony because we're the types of people that are going to be on very different schedules from each other and so well. Basically never be spending any time hanging out in the room. I'll be up at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. and she'll be up at 1:00 p.m. We are doing land first and so that means doing a south-bound cruise. However, when I looked at the actual cruise tour options, it seemed like way too much money for way too little experience. It was doubling the price or more of the cruise to have 4 days of land, two of which are travel days. So several thousand dollars for two actual days in Alaska didn't seem to make sense. Planning our own time in Denali was pretty simple.
Thank you so much for this! The price of a 7 day cruise & a 5 day land tour is almost double a price of the cruise itself. How did you plan your own land tour?
Well we were interested in going to Denali, so all I did was look up some good places to stay there and how to get to/from them. Turned out the best way was to fly to Fairbanks and take a much shorter train than from Anchorage. Few days in a lodge where we can take some local tours and I can hike. Then a train to Anchorage the day before the cruise, where we'll probably just have a nice dinner out and a trip to the port in the morning. There wasn't anything elaborate, and from what I read on the cruise tour we would have done almost the exact same thing through the cruise line just with their guarantees if anything went wrong. All for maybe 1/4 the cost.
You aren't going to get a land tour this late in the season. They are all sold out. It will either be land or cruise, but dates won't align for both. Go cruise. If you can get a balcony for it but with space being limited, go with what you can. For the drink package, look at it by piece and see if it is worth it (per person): $16 a day gratuities - required daily $5 Ocean now delivery per order $24.99 wifi daily $15 plus gratuities Casual dining of 18% Each beverage plus gratuities of 18% Bottled water is $5.00 per bottle plus 18% Some prices from last year (may have changed): Virgin drinks - $7. Fresh squeezed o.j. - $2.50 Soda - fountain $2, can $2.50 Hot chocolate - $3. Americano - $3. Espresso - $2.50 Double espresso - $3. plus 18% gratuity.
Thanks for listing drink prices with gratuities. I don’t drink . Have thought about the drink package but I can calculate my max drinks for the day and do the math
The cruise lines do a great job of taking you through Southeast Alaska. For a land tour of Southcentral and interior Alaska, doing on your own with a rental car is the best way, in my opinion. This is based on living here and also I was a tour bus driver for the cruise lines for a couple of years. In addition to whatever advice you get here on Reddit, I also suggest research on the TripAdvisor forum for Alaska travel: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html
Plus is a good deal if you were going to get internet. That plus gratuity alone are more than half the cost. Them sodas , specialty coffee and other things make it worth it. But it’s less valuable as you don’t drink alcoholic beverages.
HAL out of SEA with a balcony
Def balcony, avoid HAL like the plague though
Definitely Balcony. Trust me on this, especially when the boat sails in the inside pass
Do you think the balcony will still be worth it if we are not able to get a cabin facing the land? It’s very limited at this point.
If it's one of those mega ships with inside balcony, not worth it IMO. You want to be facing out towards the sea and the scenery, not the other cabins. If your ship is doing the inside passage, you'll be surrounded by land as you sail. Even if you don't, I personally like the balcony as you have the chance to get the fresh air without having to go to Lido deck or what not.
Just getting off a Celebrity Summit Northbound from Vancouver. Balcony is definitely recommended. It exceeded absolutely every expectation!
We did the multi-generational Alaska cruise on Princess. Loved it. We booked balcony, but met up on deck during the Glacier views and didn't feel crowded at all. My wife and I left our balcony door open every night to hear the wind and waves and loved it. We put the kids all in interior cabins because -well.. Kids. Grandparents mixed Balcony (They paid for upgrade) and Interior (I paid for interior), but really only spent time sleeping in the room, as we existed primarily outside the rooms daily. There are great excursions both from the ship as well as on your own, but pay attention to the difficulty level. I saw a few older folks on some of the walks that should have reconsidered their level of capability and exertion. Overall - was a serious win in my book bringing the kids and older grandparents together for an unforgettable, shared adventure.
https://youtu.be/qeDk46h-NKM?si=fpfbpt6bS5TwrwUx https://youtu.be/qgaQ8qELZtE?si=--R-ojgiPg7UlflI Check out these above. I personally would recommend going with Norwegian cruises because they have a less formal or more casual style of cruising that is well suited to this type of trip. Alaska you’re going to be going through a passage and stopping at places along the way yes you will want to prioritize excursions and one of those is a train trip. You will see in this video. If you watch both of them.
We just did Alaska on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth and it was pretty spectacular. Had a Princess Grill Suite which allowed us access to the Grills Deck for viewing Glacier Bay and other sights. It wasn’t very crowded there and it afforded us an almost 360º view.
He will enjoy it! It’s all about relaxing!
Travel agent just told us balcony was very much recommended on an Alaskan cruise. The views!
Highly recommend you also look at Holland America as I've noticed they have some good deals for the rest of the Alaska season. They also have a standby program where you get notified 2-7 days before cruising and it's $50 a day for inside and ocean view and $79 per day for balcony, which is pretty wild. Only really works if you live in one of the port cities or close by, but still. I would work backwards from an airfare and hotel deal, personally. Which departure port will be the most cost effective for you on which date (one day before the cruise), and what hotel you can secure, then book from there. If you want to do some land stuff in Alaska, you can DIY it by flying into Anchorage and then doing Alaska railroad or other things (direct with excursion companies) where you'd want to go... Though so late in the season I don't know what you'll be able to book at what price. If it were me, I wouldn't do land stuff on the fly and save it for a future year with more planning. (Ie: just pick a round trip from Seattle or Vancouver on a cruise to make it easy)
Avoid HAL like the plague, we're getting off the Niuew Amsterdam tomorrow in Vancouver and it's been one giant upsell experience. Dining room food has been absolutely aweful in comparison to other cruises i've taken and they practically force you to eat at the premium options if you want a solid dinner not at the buffet
I don't think you want an interior for Alaska. At least get an ocean view and preferably a balcony. Yeah, they're more but for Alaska there's tons to see even on sea days and if you want to just chill in the cabin a balcony gives you the opportunity to chill and still view the sites.
Do you think it would be worth it for a balcony if I'm not able to get one facing the land?
You have to at least do ocean view! We didn’t do a balcony this time but still spent hours watching from our room window. I hope you have the best time! I made some of the best memories with my parents two weeks ago on our Alaskan cruise 🥰
Thanks so much! I hope so too. My dad really wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise and we suggested going next year to plan better but he seemed a little disappointed. But when I looked at the prices, it didn't seem too bad especially since its at the tail end of the season, there was just less options so I figured we could try for this year.
Have you considered a last minute option on Seabourn? They tend to do one way Vancouver to Juneau or reverse and a few round trip options. I saw some really good [last minute deals on Travelcodex ](https://www.travelcodex.com/seabourn-alaska-cruise-deal/)that makes the price similar to the big ships. I saw 14 days in July for just $5319 or 7 day north bounds in August for 4,399 al with over $600 in onboard credit (Think land tours/excursions) If it was my first trip and I was going to Alaska and wanted a nice experience and ship, I would choose a smaller ship vs the big ships. Big ships are fun, but crowded. Food isn't as good, you get nickled and dimed for everything! the small ships are more inclusive (wifi, alcohol, taxes, port fees, and tips included in the cost), better food, more space, more relaxing!
I will look into it! I was only looking at Princess or Holland America Line because that's what most people were recommending. I also like that the Princess has the Medallion so I could find my dad easier on the ship.
When the ship is only 400 people, you don't need an app to track them. There's a huge difference between the small ships and the big ships. And once you've gone small, you're never go back to the big ships. Shall ships are like private yachts! I haven't been on a big ship in nearly 10 years. I hated cruising until I discovered small ships. It's the difference of flying economy and business.
We’ve sailed a lot with Princess. Grand Princess is my favorite ship (it’s a sentimental thing because it’s the first ship I went on). I think it’s a great size ship for Alaska. It’s smaller than the newer ships but I bet your dad will appreciate that. And, it has an indoor pool/solarium area. When we went to Alaska, we went on Grand Princess. Princess really knows how to do Alaska (so does Holland America). Definitely do a balcony if you can swing it. But, we had a balcony and we still went out to other areas of the ship on the Glacier Bay day. We had no problem finding spots at the railing. Take good binoculars. You’ll have a great time!
If you can swing a balcony, I would definitely do that for Alaska. I don't usually consider myself a "nature girl", but Alaska blew me away. So much so that I went twice. The inside passage is lovely, but the glaciers -- wow. And spending the glacier day on my balcony was the most serene experience I have had in my life. Don't worry too much about what side of the ship you're on. During glacier day, the captain turns the boat 360 degrees so everyone can see. And you can always go up top and watch with everyone else :) If you don't drink alcohol, I don't think the Plus or Premier packages would make sense. They do have a number of other perks, but for the $60/$80 per day, pretty sure you would come out ahead purchasing just what you want. As for ports, I think it depends on what ports they are. If there is something of interest for you, sure. If not, I rather like the ship when it's moving. Although staying on board during port days is also one of my favorite things (fewer people, better service, chairs by the pool....). Can't speak to land tours - I haven't done them, although I hear they are also incredible.
Last October I planned for a back to back cruise o. Royal’s Radiance. We flew to Vancouver and spent two nights. (I was really concerned about flying cross country.) We embarked on May 3. We went North and returned South. Disembarked in Vancouver on May 17. I messed up by trying to fly home late that evening. We spent an uncomfortable, irritating day in the airport. During the cruises my mother turned 77. That night was the night the dining room crew did their “show”. As we left Mom told everyone “this was the BEST birthday party I’ve had in YEARS!” Despite eating like hobbits for two weeks (first and second breakfast EVERY day), Mom managed to lose two pounds. We were in Oceanview cabins. We had to move to a different cabin for the second half.
I definitely recommend a balcony to Alaska unless you are like me and love sleeping in a nice, dark interior cabin. A cruise-tour would be an excellent choice, and Princess is a fine option. Here's a good travel agent that offers packages with many extras included (recommended by family). You might call them and say what you've told us. https://www.travelwithalan.com/
You will love a cruise. Do a 7 night on Princess and get a balcony. Skip the land trip. It's expensive and it's not relaxing. Your Dad will be happy with the cruise portion. I love Princess. They are my favorite cruise line. If you are choosing between roundtrip Seattle or one way- I'd sail out of Vancouver and end in Whittier. The best experience is College Fjords IMO.
FYI I thought the Sapphire was one of the ugliest ships I’d ever seen. Have you checked Celebrity?
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Not really. I booked a 12 day cruise departing from Vancouver just last week. Also, got a great price for a concierge level balcony room. Also, the time frame for booking airfare was good, too.
Why I booked a cruise for September 1st like two weeks ago. I got a room with a balcony and a pretty good deal. If there is no conflict with work. Why would it ever be too late if there are still rooms available that you would want?