Liz and I talked today about plans for the cruise we plan to take in 2018 for our last state. We narrowed down what we want to do. We were thinking Denali sounds fun, but it doesn't really work with a 7-day cruise. You only have a 33% chance of seeing it on a given day, so you really need to be there for multiple days. We'll save Denali for a future time. In the meantime, these are our criteria.
Criteria:
- Departure Date: Late July or August.
- Liz needs to be back by August 24, 2018.
- Liz's baby is due in mid-April so we want to go as late in August as we can.
- Most cruise ships don't allow babies below 6 months, they usually want them to be at least a year old.
- Peak season is May through August
- It gets increasingly rainy the closer you get to September.
- Price: Low end to middle cost range
- Mode of Transportation: cruise
- Options
- Expedia Recommendations - 2nd option seems best
- Royal Carnival $869.00, plus $199.00 in taxes and port fees. Leaves from Seattle. 7 nights. Leaves in August.
- Alaskan Cruise advice.
- Cruise reviews.
- Hidden costs
- Tips $12.00 per person per day
- Internet
- Port costs
- Taxes & fees
- Room choice
- Length: 7 days
- Most 7 day cruises go to virtually the same places including:
- Juneau
- Tracy Arm Fjords
- Glacier Bay
- Ketchikan
- Skagway (some)
- Dog sled
- Great view of glaciers
- 2 mile hike - Chilkoot Trail
- 15 mile bicycle tour
- Jeep rental - go off trail
- Small town
- Train - White pass in Yukon Route
- Victoria (some)
- Inside Passage (some)
- Sitka (some)
- Hubbord Glacier (some, but not many)
- Port of departure: Leave from Seattle, Pier 91.
- Options from the US are:
- Seward
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Long Beach
- Whittier
- Seattle
- Pier 66 - Only used by Norwegian and Oceania (high end $2,699 for 10 day round trip from Seattle)
- Pier 91 - Smith Cove - All other cruise ships
- 10-minutes drive from downtown.
- No attractions nearby.
- Parking for local passengers
- Luggage storage pre and post cruise.
- Passengers can check in for flights while on board and their baggage will be delivered directly to the airport.
