Alaskan Cruise. Yes. No. Who and why?

[Mama]

So I have always wanted to take a cruise to Alaska.
What should I look for in a cruise?
What were your loves and hates on your Alaskan Cruise?
Spill people!

[alanjh595]

I have never been myself but, everyone that I have talked to about their trip have all loved it. Have a good trip, you will be telling your friends about it for years afterwards.

[Catsumi]

About 15 years ago we went on a Norweigan "shake-down" mid-May cruise. It was fantastic with great food, gorgeous scenery and best of all, it was a smaller ship than what are used now. Acquaintanceships easily made.

As an aside, I could not help but notice the difference between USa and Canada fish stream protection. There, if you are foolish enough to toss litter anywhere near a stream you will pay dearly. Maybe that's changed. Also noticed ocean shoreline litter of logs and crap visible in our side, but not on theirs (why?)

Perhaps you could tell us what you noticed most.

Have a lovely time.

[seewood]

So I have always wanted to take a cruise to Alaska. What should I look for in a cruise?What were your loves and hates on your Alaskan Cruise?

We were lucky with the weather. August Sept I believe. 6 years ago. Sunny and warm and calm seas to P. Rupert. Holland America Line.
Highlight was in Glacier bay as the weather was great and could see the peak of Mt. Fairweather. Few bears ( Griz) on the shore lines. The towns were OK. Touristy traps and no shortage of Persans selling diamonds. I understand in the winter they go down to Mexico to ply their wares at Cruise terminals.
Take a tour or two if you can. Think the White ? pass was supposed to be good. Trail to the Klondike.
Enjoy

[Catsumi]

Is the "White ?" the rail trip up the mountains following the trail of the early goldminers? If so, yes, a fantastic side trip that took about 2 hours or so. The train and engine itself was a glimpse into the past, really nifty.

One of the shops had a huge globe with all the countries depicted with semi precious stones. I wanted it very much.

[Bsuds]

We have done 5 cruises and the one to Alaska was on Holland America. The con was bad food onboard. Poorly prepared with some under cooked meat and fish.

Other than that we enjoyed the trip but were underwhelmed by the scenery. Both of us being born and raised in BC the mountains all look the same. lol

We didn't do the train trip because my Wife is scared of heights but hear it is a good one to take.

I agree with the Jewelry store comment as every other store sells it and the other stores pretty much all carry the identical clothing and trinkets. So if one store doesn't have your preferred size and color then wait cause the next one might.

We were disappointed not to see any Killer Whales but saw an awesome pod of Porpoises. A couple of hundred of them right up to the ship.

A side excursion I wish we had taken was to see the Husky puppies/sled dogs.

Was the trip worth it? Yes

Holland America? No (our preferred cruise line is Celebrity)

Would we go again? Probably not

[Iamsomeone]

I'd recommend it. We did a NCL cruise to Alaska with our teenagers and would do it again. We all had so much fun. Great food, superb entertainment and interesting places to visit. After picking up our free gift at Diamonds International at every stop (we made a game of it while we explored the town), we checked out the price of food at the grocery store. It was eye opening!

Other than that we enjoyed the trip but were underwhelmed by the scenery. Both of us being born and raised in BC the mountains all look the same. lol

We found this too. Don't get me wrong, it's stunning scenery. Both my husband and I have spent time traveling all over BC though so it was a little underwhelming. Every review mentions the view of the coastline but it's the same beautiful coastline whether in B.C. or Alaska.