Best cruise for Glacier Bay

[obsesseddisneyfan]

Hi-

I Loved the Disney Alaska cruise but it did not go to Glacier Bay. I am thinking of doing another Cruise up North and want to make sure it's a ship that goes to Glacier Bay. I have tweens so I want a ship that will be fun for them. Which of the companies that go would you choose??? I really enjoy the food on the Disney ships and think I would go crazy if there was only a buffet every night. My whole family are adventurous eaters so pasta and chicken fingers would get old. Really like the shows on the Disney and feel like some good entertainment is a must.

From what I read my list is limited to one of these companies. Princess Cruises, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Seabourn, Cunard Line, and Viking

 

[Kwami]

I've only sailed DCL and NCL. In fact, I just returned from a cruise with NCL. I almost certainly won't be sailing with them again. So, I'd recommend one of those other five lines that you've listed.

 

[tidefan]

Hi-

I Loved the Disney Alaska cruise but it did not go to Glacier Bay. I am thinking of doing another Cruise up North and want to make sure it's a ship that goes to Glacier Bay. I have tweens so I want a ship that will be fun for them. Which of the companies that go would you choose??? I really enjoy the food on the Disney ships and think I would go crazy if there was only a buffet every night. My whole family are adventurous eaters so pasta and chicken fingers would get old. Really like the shows on the Disney and feel like some good entertainment is a must.

From what I read my list is limited to one of these companies. Princess Cruises, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Seabourn, Cunard Line, and Viking

Princess is our third favorite line (which actually means it's pretty good) after Virgin Voyages and Disney!

Go for a Royal Class ship if you can (it has a much larger buffet).

 

[Akck]

For a up-close view at Glacier Bay, you’re better off taking a small cruise ship companies. Alaskan Dream Cruises and Uncruise are two possibilities. Being smaller ships, they can get much closer to the glaciers. Where a big ship might be a mile off, the small ships might be a half mile away or closer. For things that kids might be interested in doing, they usually have kayaks onboard and may offer a polar plunge. I know that Alaskan Dream Cruises have DIB boats that get even closer to the glacier (Dawes or Tracy Arm, but not at Glacier Bay). The small ships are more likely to pause/get closer when wildlife is spotted. The main detriment is cost. They are a lot more expensive.

 

[MonaMN]

We have booked with Princess for next summer for this reason. I have read mostly good things - especially about their Alaska specific educational programs (Puppies in the Piazza is definitely on my list).

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

For a up-close view at Glacier Bay, you’re better off taking a small cruise ship companies. Alaskan Dream Cruises and Uncruise are two possibilities. Being smaller ships, they can get much closer to the glaciers. Where a big ship might be a mile off, the small ships might be a half mile away or closer. For things that kids might be interested in doing, they usually have kayaks onboard and may offer a polar plunge. I know that Alaskan Dream Cruises have DIB boats that get even closer to the glacier (Dawes or Tracy Arm, but not at Glacier Bay). The small ships are more likely to pause/get closer when wildlife is spotted. The main detriment is cost. They are a lot more expensive.

thanks for this. I really want Uncruise to work. Just not sure if I can swing it cost wise.

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

Princess is our third favorite line (which actually means it's pretty good) after Virgin Voyages and Disney!

Go for a Royal Class ship if you can (it has a much larger buffet).

Thanks for this

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

We have booked with Princess for next summer for this reason. I have read mostly good things - especially about their Alaska specific educational programs (Puppies in the Piazza is definitely on my list).

Have a wonderful trip. Looks like Princess is the best of the bunch.

 

[auntlynne]

I have been in Glacier Bay with Princess (3 times) and Norwegian. My sister will do Cunard there this Summer. (We were on Disney the first year).

Buffets every night? The other cruise lines have food comparable to Disney in the MDRs - and some have specialty dining that allows people under age 18. The cruise fare difference might make up for purchasing specialty dining.

My niece was with me on our first Princess, at age 19. We traveled with other Disney cruisers from a previous cruise, so she had others to interact with. I have no idea about activities for youth.

Princess advertises that they bring a Naturalist (maybe a Park Ranger) onboard in Glacier Bay. I think other lines do the same.

I did not notice any significant difference among the cruises as far as being in Glacier Bay. I was on smaller, older (for mass cruises) ships up to the larger Encore on NCL.

For being in Alaska, I enjoyed the NCL Encore specifically for its outside (uncovered) Deck 8 that had a deck and seats that made for excellent viewing. Also, the Observation Lounge on Deck 15 Forward with tall, floor- to- ceiling windows and lots of seating was a good climate-controlled area for seeing Alaska.

NCL is a casual cruise line; that is there emphasis - Freestyle. No fixed dining table, venue, nor table. Clothing is more casual (however, I have seen them request men to take off baseball caps at dinner. They do have the no men in tank top at dinner type dress code).

The Bliss/ Encore/ Joy are sister ships with similar viewing options. The buffet is an option for dinner - and there is a diner open most hours of the day & night.

The biggest detractors are the movies and trivia are done in the atrium in the middle of the ship. I miss a dedicated movie theater like on DCL’s MWDF ships. No self-serve free coke means you don’t drink it or you pay and get it from a bartender.

If you chose the Free at Sea option, you can have a specialty meal or two and pay only the associated gratuities.

Again, don’t know about youth, as there were very few on my post-Covid restart cruise (and no one under 12 at that time).

Only two ships on any given day are allowed into the Bay; I think I have seen the other one each time; you pass each other at a distance, but are not in the same area other than the once passby.

Holland America is known for its music; they have a lot of venues and shows for classic to Rock. Although the average age of cruisers on HAL is about 7 years more than the other mass market lines, Alaska is a place that brings onboard a lot of families.

Viking is adults only. Cunard is more formal than many lines. Seabourne is above my pay level.

 

[jimmymc]

For traveling with tweens, I would lean towards NCL. I have also heard good things about the kid programs on Princess, but NCL will have the most things for them to do. The NCL Encore goes to Glacier Bay and has multiple waterslides, go karts, laser tag, an arcade, and the normal kid clubs.

I don't think any of the cruises you named only have a buffet for dinner. Unlike Disney, they will make it available every night, but they also have main dining rooms and specialty restaurants. NCL, Princess, and Holland all tend to have good food and excellent specialty dining.

Norwegian will also broadway shows. Princess and Holland usually do original productions that involve a lot of cover songs, while NCL licenses actual broadway shows and puts them on the way they would be shown on land. All three lines will have talented performers, so this one is more about personal preference than quality.

 

[auntlynne]

For traveling with tweens, I would lean towards NCL. I have also heard good things about the kid programs on Princess, but NCL will have the most things for them to do. The NCL Encore goes to Glacier Bay and has multiple waterslides, go karts, laser tag, an arcade, and the normal kid clubs.

I don't think any of the cruises you named only have a buffet for dinner. Unlike Disney, they will make it available every night, but they also have main dining rooms and specialty restaurants. NCL, Princess, and Holland all tend to have good food and excellent specialty dining.

Norwegian will also broadway shows. Princess and Holland usually do original productions that involve a lot of cover songs, while NCL licenses actual broadway shows and puts them on the way they would be shown on land. All three lines will have talented performers, so this one is more about personal preference than quality.

NCL is dropping a bunch of these expensive shows. Choir of Men is currently still running on Encore (as of this week), but here are ones going away (replaced by in-house creations):

-Swing Will on Norwegian Gem

-World Beat on Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Sun

-Velvet on Norwegian Jewel

-What the World Needs on Norwegian Star

-Footloose on Norwegian Joy

-Showdown on Norwegian Dawn

-SIX on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Bliss

 

[jimmymc]

NCL is dropping a bunch of these expensive shows. Choir of Men is currently still running on Encore (as of this week), but here are ones going away (replaced by in-house creations):

-Swing Will on Norwegian Gem

-World Beat on Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Sun

-Velvet on Norwegian Jewel

-What the World Needs on Norwegian Star

-Footloose on Norwegian Joy

-Showdown on Norwegian Dawn

-SIX on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Bliss

I remember hearing an announcement like this, very disappointing in my opinion. They previously dropped Kinky Boots from the Encore.

 

[dcassetta]

If the small lines are too pricy, I would look at Holland America for a couple of reasons. They partner with BBC Earth so have a lot of great nature programming. On our HAL cruise, we had two full-time naturalists on deck, another giving talks in the theatre, and on Glacier Bay day there were several NPS ranger-led activities including earning the Jr. Ranger Badge and craft activities with Native Alaskans. I know HAL is not usually considered a "kid" cruise line, but for Alaska might be a great choice. They do offer youth programming in their clubs.

 

[tidefan]

NCL is dropping a bunch of these expensive shows. Choir of Men is currently still running on Encore (as of this week), but here are ones going away (replaced by in-house creations):

-Swing Will on Norwegian Gem

-World Beat on Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Sun

-Velvet on Norwegian Jewel

-What the World Needs on Norwegian Star

-Footloose on Norwegian Joy

-Showdown on Norwegian Dawn

-SIX on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Bliss

I would have caution on NCL for a couple of reasons. First, they will often not dock in the towns themselves, but at their own port somewhat away from town. Second, the go-kart track a) takes up half the upper deck which reduces viewing, and b) due to weather in Alaska, may not run often anyway.

 

[ksh1111]

We live in the PNW and cruise to Alaska every year. We have done Holland America 8 times, Carnival once and NCL once. Holland America does bring Glacier Bay Park Rangers on for Glacier Day (usually 8 am - 4 pm), and it is an amazing experience.

You can choose to eat in the dining room or Lido buffet. Some ships have a pizza place that is also open nightly. We prefer the smaller ships (2000-3000 passengers), vs the larger ones.

 

[lklgoodman]

My family did an Alaskan cruise on NCL's Encore last summer. I was so excited for the cruise and before going on it had planned on booking a few more NCL cruises. After the cruise everyone in my family decided we would never go on NCL again. During the cruise I met several other families who were on their first NCL cruise and also agreed DCL is better. We had done an Alaskan cruise on DCL in 2014 and enjoyed it, but saw NCL was cheaper so decided to try them. We liked our cabin, but never met our cabin host. Anytime we needed clean towels or more toilet paper I had to call housecleaning. The food in the restaurants was good. However, at every meal someone in our family would be given the wrong meal. We would go to the restaurants as soon as they opened so they weren't even busy yet. We never ordered anything special and there were just 3 of us, yet they never got our order correct. The servers in the restaurants were always running around in a very hectic manner, so dinner wasn't very relaxing. Again, the food was good though. Forget about having a lot of family activities. We signed up for the race cars and laser tag as soon as we got on the ship. They only have them open for 2 hours each day so if you don't make a reservation right away you won't be able to do them. We were only able to get 1 reservation for each. A lot of people in our fb page couldn't get reservations. Never had any trivia or crafts for families like on DCL. You can tell all they cater to is people who want to sit around and drink. My dd was 15 yrs old. She went to the teen club a few times, but didn't care for it. Only entertainment was Choir of Men. It was really good, but if you don't make a reservation, you won't get in to see it. It is only in the theater for 2 nights. They did a Beatle show 1 night. That's it for entertainment in the theater, 3 shows for 7 nights. The Beatle show was done in a smaller bar on other nights, but only for adults so our dd couldn't see it. My dh and I tried to see it, but the bar was already full 1 hour before the show so we couldn't see it. Glacier Bay was beautiful, but doesn't make up for the other things. All our excursions were booked through NCL. We were given tickets. I went to guest service to find out where we were to meet for the excursions. I was told there would people with signs when we got off at each port. There never were. At each port everyone was walking around asking others if anyone knew where the excursion people were. We eventually found the people after a lot of searching, but it was stressful. I really wished we had enjoyed NCL because I really wanted to go to some places that DCL doesn't cruise to. We now have DCL cruises booked for this July and a cruise on the Treasure for June 2025. If we decide to try another line I will probably try Royal Caribbean, but for now we are excited to do our 9th and 10th cruises on DCL.

 

[auntlynne]

@lklgoodman Thanks for that info. My cruise was so unique, being in the restart, so I was not sure how it would be normally. And I cruised solo, so no idea about kids activities.

I did cruise with them again, this past fall, on Encore’s sister, the Joy, and an older ship, the Jade. I guess any concerns I had didn’t stop me. I was happy to get a very nice price, especially as a solo rate.

 

[auntlynne]

If the small lines are too pricy, I would look at Holland America for a couple of reasons. They partner with BBC Earth so have a lot of great nature programming. On our HAL cruise, we had two full-time naturalists on deck, another giving talks in the theatre, and on Glacier Bay day there were several NPS ranger-led activities including earning the Jr. Ranger Badge and craft activities with Native Alaskans. I know HAL is not usually considered a "kid" cruise line, but for Alaska might be a great choice. They do offer youth programming in their clubs.

We live in the PNW and cruise to Alaska every year. We have done Holland America 8 times, Carnival once and NCL once. Holland America does bring Glacier Bay Park Rangers on for Glacier Day (usually 8 am - 4 pm), and it is an amazing experience.

You can choose to eat in the dining room or Lido buffet. Some ships have a pizza place that is also open nightly. We prefer the smaller ships (2000-3000 passengers), vs the larger ones.

Holland America has been cruising in Alaska for over 75 years.

I look at them and find several itineraries with late arrivals or early departures. And it may principally be in Victoria BC. It is a required stop due to the PVSA rules, but I really want more than 4 hours after dark.

They are on my short list of lines to try - in addition to Celebrity.

Eight times? Wohoo!

I like smaller ships, too. But I will give bigger ones a try, too.

 

[lklgoodman]

@lklgoodman Thanks for that info. My cruise was so unique, being in the restart, so I was not sure how it would be normally. And I cruised solo, so no idea about kids activities.

I did cruise with them again, this past fall, on Encore’s sister, the Joy, and an older ship, the Jade. I guess any concerns I had didn’t stop me. I was happy to get a very nice price, especially as a solo rate.

The Joy to Bermuda is what I had wanted to book for this summer. But after our Encore cruise I decided to book DCL again. Hopefully DCL will add some different Caribbean islands once they get the additional ships. We sailed to St Marteen and to San Juan years ago on DCL. I'd love to go to Bermuda and to some southern Caribbean islands on DCL.

 

[MillauFr]

I would have caution on NCL for a couple of reasons. First, they will often not dock in the towns themselves, but at their own port somewhat away from town. Second, the go-kart track a) takes up half the upper deck which reduces viewing, and b) due to weather in Alaska, may not run often anyway.

Which town does NCL not dock at?