which is the best cruise line, ';in your opinion';

hi everyone, hubby and i are doing a cruise of alaska in may or june 07 (hopefully) and would like to know who you think is the best cruise line. we want to do round trip from vancouver up the inside passage. we have cruised with NCL (in hawaii) and thought it was great even though some reviews disagree. is NCL ok for our tour of alaska or has anyone got some info on other lines. we%26#39;d also like to know if you suggest a balcony room? we had one on pride of hawaii and were glad we did cause we used it alot. any help would be great. rosie

which is the best cruise line, ';in your opinion';

AR64 I am only one of the land mammals here in the north, but all of my friends from your part of the world keep coming back on the Princess ships, in May,[ so that I can take the ';newbies'; up to play in the snow] but I can tell you one thing for sure, If you used a balcony on any other cruise, anywhere, you will be glad if you have one on this trip! Everyone says that the scenery is the best, [from the ships] on the Alaskan cruises!

Please check my archives for other info. and let us answer your questions between now and then. Happy travels! DD

which is the best cruise line, ';in your opinion';

We took the NCL Star this past June during 1st week of the month and we enjoyed it very much. Ship was spotless, food was very good, scenery was spectacular and we lucked out with 6 of 7 sunny days. Yes you definately want a balcony.

Reason we chose NCL was because of Freestyle Cruising. Dine anywhere at any time, casual attire, dress up nites are optional not mandatory.

Would take NCL again in a heartbeat.

thank you dbigfoot and djf in nh, information is very helpful. i thought a balcony would be good because we really enjoyed using ours in hawaii and i have been told that the scenery is awesome in alaska. the freestyle dining appeals to us with NCL, so we can do what we like when we like. i have also heard great things about princess and beleive they have freestlye dining too, would that be right? maybe a change would be good and i%26#39;ll research princess cruises too. are they the only lines who do round trips from vancouver? thanks again it%26#39;s all good to know. AR64

My wife and I have been on 3 Alaska cruises with Royal Caribbean in the past 2 years (as well as a Costa in the Caribbean). Although we%26#39;re going with HAL in %26#39;07, it%26#39;s for a special charter - we expect to return to RCI for our regular cruises. The Radiance of the Seas in particular is a magnificent ship with an extremely good itinerary - we were less impressed with both on the Vision.

Murray

p.s. - if budget is a concern, saving money by not getting a balcony and spending it on better excursions will give you a better ';Alaska'; experience. The weather will deter much of your balcony use - even on a warm day, the wind chill while cruising gets the temp pretty low. I%26#39;d never do an inside cabin again, but a seaview is fine. A one-way cruise also can get you an incredibly beautiful flight back south - seeing the same route from 6 miles up.

I have not re-read teh entire thread, so forgive this if it is a repeat. Travel like an Alaskan:POSH. Think from Alaska, not to Alaska - Port Outbound, Starboard Homebound. (POSH)

That puts you on the land side for the cruise and the flights, and to me the mountains and shoreline is far more interesting thatn the plain sea side!

71

Go for the balcony!!!!

We cruised during the first week of June 2006 and spent a lot of time on the deck. We also slept with the slider open every night. The air was wonderful. The scenery was spectacular. Loved every minute!!!

thank you everyone, all good info to think about. thanks for the port and starboard info i really didn%26#39;t think about that side of it, but your right it%26#39;s the scenery we%26#39;re going to look at!!! i guess i really have my heart set on the balcony just for the privacy aspect, it may be cold but at least it will be all mine for the time i%26#39;m onboard. but i could consider saving by not having the balcony and spending elsewere. ohhh i just don%26#39;t know. anyway keep the info coming if you can think of anything else that would be of help ';i%26#39;m all ears'; rosie

%26gt;%26gt;i guess i really have my heart set on the balcony just for the privacy aspect, it may be cold but at least it will be all mine for the time i%26#39;m onboard%26lt;%26lt;

You may find that privacy isn%26#39;t a big issue (well, I guess that depends on what level of privacy you want). On the Radiance, we%26#39;ve had the aft deck of the Windjammer Cafe to ourselves every time we went out there on both cruises on that ship, for example (every breakfast and many other times). Privacy, spectacular views with no wind, and good service for coffee and such is tough to beat.

Murray

Aussie:

My hubby and I just booked with NCL for a crusie the last week on May 07. We got a mini-suite and it was only dollars more than the balcony room! This will be our first Alaskan cruise, but we%26#39;ve been told that the balcony is the way to go. Again, it all depends on what your budget is.

We%26#39;re crusing out of Seattle on the Norwegian Pearl. BRAND new ship, so the rate really surprised me. I%26#39;ve cruised twice before on Royal Carrib, so this will be my first NCL experience. Hopefully it will measure up. Good luck!

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