Help: first cruise and its Alaska

What important info. should I know before I book a cruise. It is our 30th wedding anniversary and we only plan to do this once! I was hoping to go this June...should I put it off to 2010?

Any info. would help. Thanks in advance.

Help: first cruise and its Alaska

If you want to go now, go, but you better be making reservations for the things you want to do now. I hear there are some great deals to be had on cruises right now.

If you can, spring for a balcony, it%26#39;s great to sit in your own space watching the scenery (although I spent most of the day in College Fjord on the top deck, taking it all in!).

Decide what%26#39;s important to you as far as what you want to see and do, then compare what the cruise lines offer and possibly make your own arrangements to do some of those things.

Once you figure out what you want to do, come back and you%26#39;ll get lots of suggestions!

Help: first cruise and its Alaska

So what kinds of excursions are worthwhile? I do want to do a land/sea cruise. Denali is one place I%26#39;d like to go? What else should I do to see wildlife, whales, etc. We are looking into the inside passage for a cruise and yes a balcony is one of the things we want. Are there some cruiselines to stay away from?

';I do want to do a land/sea cruise';

I strongly recommend you arrange your own landtour. Then you can go where you want, when you want, and stay as long as you want.

Lots of help here on the forum if you let us know your interests. Maybe read through a couple of trip reports to see what others have done and enjoyed.

The best whale-watching is in the ports of Juneau and Icy Strait Point, with near 100% success.

Is it just you and your spouse? Then I%26#39;d recommend Holland America for the cruise. Superb service and elegant ships.

Although not as experienced with other shipping lines as M_M, I have to back up the recommendation for HAL. They provided us with a fantastic cruising experience for our first cruise last June. And that is apart from the fantastic experience of Alaska itself as well.

Your time is now a bit short to book some of the most popular excursions with the independent providers, which most on here would recommend, including myself, rather than ship booked, even if you are able to get a suitable cruise, although I have also seen reports that the economic problems of the world has led to a decrease in cruisers, so some discounting may be available.

As we did a round trip Vancouver I cannot comment on the main body of Alaska options.

No matter, it is a great place to visit and we loved the experience, and more so the wonderful scenery/experiences.

I don%26#39;t think that there are any cruise lines to stay away from, all seem to offer very good services. Even those that are known for their party boats in the Caribbean are much different in AK.

Excursions?

Juneau; whale watching tour or heli/dogsled tour ($$$ but worth every penny, got pics if you%26#39;d like to see them), rent a car and drive ';the Road'; on your own, swing by Mendenhall glacier, the Hatchery...

Ketchikan; we went kayaking in Ketchikan, booked it independantly of the cruise line, great trip.

Skagway; White Pass Rail, very good time.

Sitka; bike %26amp; hike

You have to decide what you want to see or do, you may like museums, we like outdoor activities. If you%26#39;d like more info on any of the things we have done thus far, just PM me and I%26#39;ll be glad to share.

I agree with the comment about springing for a balcony, we really were glad we did.

We went late Sept, it was chilly but we used it every single day and saw more waterlife from our balcony then on the whale watching tour we paid extra for!

We also did NCL for the freestyle eating and much more causual clothing, I didn%26#39;t want to have to worry about packing warm and dressy clothes!

We are looking to book our first to Alaska as well ... anyone use Celebrity?

hair salons charge taxes