whats the best value cruise company for me to take my family to see Alaska?

Question

And which City in Canda should I head to to start.

Answer 1

Take a look at the ferries from Bellingham, via Vancouver, Prince Rupert to Skagway.

Much, much cheaper, spotless cabins, great food in the restaurant, better views than cruises, as the ferries go through the Wrangell Narrows and a local crew, who are very kind and very interesting.

When you get to Skagway, take the White Pass train over the mountains along the gold miner route to Whitehorse in the Yukon. The boat was marvellous but the train is spectacular!

Answer 2

Norweigen Cruise Lines is the one that I took to Alaska. It's called freestyle cruising where they don't put so much emphasis on schedule. Also they will set up shore excursions for you to complete. (giving brochures, buying tickets etc.) I had a blast on my Norweigan Spirit cruise. I liked it better than the Carnival cruise that I went on. The only Canadian city you can start from is Vancouver and Ive also been there, it's nice. If your from the U.S., I would suggest starting from Vancouver. If youre from Canada, I would suggest Seattle. Very nice city. Whatever you do decide to do, youll have a blast in Alaska. Hope this helps!!

Answer 3

I'm sorry, maybe others can contrast major cruise lines (I can't) but here are a few ideas.

There are two kinds of cruises to Alaska - regular and small ship cruises. Regular cruises are on large cruise lines with larger ships. Pluses here are lots of shipboard activities and amenities including dinner shows, casino gambling, art auction, onboard spa, daily movies etc. While in port there will be many many choices for day tripping, from town tours through dog sledding, salmon fishing, kayaking etc. The passengers on these cruises tend to be of all ages, with a reasonably heavy dose of seniors and (in the summer) children. If you have children - check on whether the cruise line you've chosen has a kid's program - if so, this can be a wonderful way for them to meet new people while you take an adults-only break!
Small boat cruises are on (guess what?) smaller boats! on generally smaller more 'adventure' oriented cruise lines. Pluses here are that these ships can get closer to natural geography (e.g. closer to the glaciers). There will be fewer shipboard activities but lots of active tours (kayaking, etc.). Passengers on these cruises tend to be more adult-only, with only more active seniors. No kids programs here.

If you decide on a 'big' ship, based on the research I did before we went, the stops and tours are very much the same - you'll either start or end in Anchorage and Vancouver, and in between you'll hit places like Ketchikan, the major glaciers etc. If you take Princess Cruises, you'll have the option to add on 5-9 days of train and/or bus based travel to Denali.

My family and I went on the Princess cruise plus train option several years ago and it was quite nice (although not as nice as prior cruises in Europe - the food is nothing to get excited about, and there is a kind of 'herding' factor getting to and from the train.)

I strongely suggest visiting Vancouver for at least one extra day - Stanley Park is worth most of a day to visit and the harbor is beautiful. You can rent a bike downtown and bike all the way around the Park. You can stand at the harbor and watch the seaplanes taking off and landing etc.
I'm not sure if you could do it with the cruise company- but if you could extend a couple more days without booking a hotel in Vancouver, you could take a ferry over to Victoria for a day to see Butchart Gardens and Victoria harbor - well worth a trip.

Back to the cruise - I also recommend taking the optional post-cruise train trip - in particular, on Princess, the stop south of Denali is wonderful - the scenery is great and the tours here (lake kayaking and horseback riding were two we chose) were relaxing and fun. The hotel north of Denali - at the entrance to the national park, is mediocre - in a strip mall but I understand - as crazy as it sounds - that the all day trip on the school bus through the Park was amazing, with all kinds of wildlife coming right up to the bus. We avoided this - it was snowing (on the third week of August!) and our 8 year old was simply not up to spending all day in a school bus. We went river rafting - and even in drysuits, basically froze our behinds off. Would never do THIS again! :)

I also strongly recommend the following tours from the ship:
1. The seaplane flight to see the bears feeding at the salmon hatchery - it's pricey but when else in your life will you ever get to see a bear in his native wildlife up close and personal (without getting eaten!)
2. The narrow gauge railway train going up the old Klondike trail - fascinating history and beautiful ride.
3. Some kind of whale watching (you'll get multiple choices).
4. Dog sleddign - we didn't do this but everyone we talked to who had LOVED it.

Hope you have a great trip.......

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Don't forget the choice of taking a cruise to Seward, AK. Plenty of glaciers, boating and fishing, huge National Parks, etc.