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Ten Tips to Select Your Alaska Cruise Itinerary
By Lisa Plotnick
A cruise to Alaska can be among the most memorable experiences of a lifetime. Perhaps that is why selecting an itinerary is overwhelming for many passengers. With so much to see in the 49th state, and with so little time to do so, narrowing down the options can be a stressful part of the planning. How do you know if you are making the right decisions?
To assist passengers in their search for the best-
1. Start with a basic question—what type of cruise vessel do you have in mind? There are many choices, ranging from the large cruise ships of the mainstream lines to smaller sightseeing vessels. The latter can reach Alaskan ports and inlets that the large ships cannot while the larger ships offer more of the amenities that many cruisers have come to expect.
2. What time of year can you go? Alaska cruise itineraries run, generally, from mid-
Right: Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, August 2008
3. How much time do you have for your travels? Alaska itineraries vary in length from seven nights to more than 14 nights. The addition of a land tour (described in the next section) can stretch this out to another three to at least ten nights. And, don’t forget to leave a cushion of at least one full day in the embarkation port in the event of airline delays.
4. Cruise only or land tour? These two terms are used frequently to describe, respectively,
a holiday that consists entirely of the cruise (and, perhaps the pre-
5. One way or round trip? A typical 7-
6. Ports of embarkation and debarkation. Round-
Above left: Steam Clock, Vancouver
Above right: Space Needle, Seattle
7. Are there any must-
Above left: Johns Hopkins Glacier, Glacier Bay
Above right: Emerald Lake, British Columbia, en route to the Yukon
Below left: Alaska Rain Forest Sanctuary, Ketchikan
Below right: St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka
8. How much time will you have in each port, and at what time of day? Longer port calls give you the opportunity to make more than one excursion or to venture deeper into the interior. For example, the White Pass Railroad & Yukon Adventure tour from Skagway requires approximately eight hours, so a long port stay is necessary. And, due to the Passenger Services Act, cruises that begin or end in Seattle or San Francisco need to make a stop in a Canadian port of call. Victoria, British Columbia is often used for this purpose, and calls there can be as few as four hours.
9. In addition to the cost of the cruise and transportation to the ship, what is your budget for shore excursions? Sightseeing in Alaska can be expensive, ranging from less than $50 per person for a highlights tour by bus to more than $300 per person for helicopter or floatplane excursions. Still, a balance is possible as many sites are a reasonable distance from the ship or tender dock, including Creek Street in Ketchikan and pretty much everything in Sitka.
10. Don’t forget about the ship! While the main draw of Alaska is the itinerary, selecting the right cruise line and ship can make the trip more enjoyable. This pertains to everything from the behemoths to the small cruising vessels. The usual considerations apply, such as the cabin types, dress code, dining options, size of ship, adventure levels of shore excursions, onboard entertainment, and the demographics of your party. Still, don’t feel bound by a favorite cruise line—it might not offer the itinerary you want, and there may be plenty of similarities between the mainstream cruise lines.
This article was originally published by the author on Examiner.com.