Vancouver to Alaska cruise

[TeaForTara]

I've never done a cruise, never wanted to, except this one (and maybe Svalbad to see polar bears but ignore that.) It's now looking possible for me to do this in either 2020 or 2021.

I'm looking for some advice about which cruise companies are good ones and what sort of things a person who doesn't think they would like cruising needs to be aware of / look out for. E.g. people rave about how many times they had dinner at the captain's table etc. and that holds no attraction for me whatsoever as I'd be worried about formal dress and maintaining polite conversation etc.

I prefer something a bit more relaxing, I'm not naturally sociable, but I would be going with a friend. I'm more interested in seeing the landscape, whales, etc. Not overly fussed about evening entertainment and "animation" type stuff during the day; I don't tend to get bored. I definitely want a cabin with a good view and know that will put the price up considerably - any tips for good deals?

Ideally I'd like everything to be as simple and trouble-free as possible. I know norovirus is always a risk with cruising but are some companies worse than others?

TIA

You don’t have to do the formal bits on a cruise. We don’t. We just eat in the other restaurants and we are perfectly happy in the buffet.

Re noro. We’ve not experienced it. I wipe down my entire cabin with wipes before we unpack anything. Handles, remote, phone etc all get done. I get noro ones off amazon. Can’t remember their name.

You are right that a balcony cabin will up the price. I would imagine worth it though. We are looking at princess for Alaska next July at the moment. I want to see glacier bay.

@edgewater Thanks for the reply. Have you been with Princess before?

I know an outside or balcony cabin will be much more expensive but it's probably a once in a lifetime trip and I don't want to spend it wishing I'd done it differently.

No, I’ve done Royal Caribbean a few times though.

We always go for an inside cabin. Pondering balcony for Alaska but it’s an extra £400 or so each. Bonkers. We can use that for trips.

We did this cruise a few years ago with NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) It was great NCL are very relaxed cruises with no need to worry about dining at Captains table etc. Buffet restaurant or table for 2 in main restaurant. They advised everyone to use the hand gel available at entrance to all eating areas.
Would say a balcony cabin is pretty essential for this cruise getting out of bed and looking out at the landscape over an early morning coffee
was lovely. My husband and I often took it in turns to be ‘on watch’ if the other was resting/dressing etc so as not to miss any wildlife. There was some evening entertainment but often we would just relax in the bar instead. Be aware alcohol can be expensive on board.
A quick google tells me NCL cruises to Alaska are mainly from Seattle now with only a couple from Vancouver
We did not do the ship excursions. We did an amazing floatplane trip with Michelle from Island Wings Air Service in Ketchikan. Expensive but a real highlight of our trip. We also did a tour by train into the Yukon from Skagway with dyea dave tours which was very interesting
If you have more questions message me

@MidtoLon Thank you for the info. My friend lives in Vancouver which is why we would like to go from there.

We're only at a very early stage of planning so I might get in touch later if that's ok with you.

You need to look here:

www.cruisecritic.co.uk

This is the best source of information about cruises that I have found. The talk boards are particularly informative.

I think Princess & Holland America (HAL) are the two premium cruise lines who have the best itineraries in Alaska, particularly Glacier Bay.

I like Celebrity for the lack of dressing-for-dinner stuffiness, but I don’t think they are licensed for Glacier Bay.

@HeddaGarbled thanks very much for the link, I'll check it out. Also the recommendations for the cruise lines.

We did a roundtrip from Vancouver to Alaska on Princess and had an amazing time; not at all too formal, most of passengers were Australian/American who tend to dress more informally. You can always go to the buffet restaurant which is very informal.
Wildlife was fantastic (sea otters, whales, bald eagles, porpoises) as was Glacier Bay. There was a naturalist onboard who would talk through sights when cruising through a particularly interesting stretch, and there are lots of places from which to view if you don't have a balcony cabin, though we did and thought it was definitely worth the extra money.

We also sourced our own days out from ports to make it less expensive - though these were all long walks as we both love walking. There are some great possibilities straight from the port - eg into Goldrush territory or into wild mountainscapes