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The Best Cruise Lines
Cruise lines are in the business of giving their guests a good time, so they've all got something going for them. Here are our picks for Alaska's best, in a few different categories.
The Best Ships for Luxury: Luxury in Alaska is defined in 2008 by Regent Seven Seas and Silversea. If you want a more casual kind of luxury (a really nice ship with a no-tie-required policy), the Seven Seas Mariner offers just that on an all-suite vessel (most cabins have private balconies) with excellent cuisine. Silversea, on the other hand, represents a slick, Italian-influenced luxury experience with all the perks -- big suite cabins and excellent food, linens, and companions. Both lines include fine wine and booze in their cruise fares. For the ultimate Alaska experience in a small-ship setting, check out the yachts of American Safari Cruises, where soft adventure comes with luxury accoutrements.
The Best of the Mainstream Ships: Every line's most recent ships are beautiful, but Celebrity's Infinity is a true stunner, as is sister ship Millennium. These modern vessels, with their extensive art collections, cushy public rooms, and expanded spa areas, give Celebrity a formidable presence in Alaska. And the late-model Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess have raised the art of building big ships to new heights. Both of these vessels will again be in Inside Passage service this year from Vancouver.
The Best of the Small Ships: Cruise West is the most prominent small-ship player, now that Clipper and Glacier Bay Cruiseline have vanished from the scene. Our favorite of the fleet is the Spirit of '98, which has the cool hook of looking and feeling like a Victorian steamship (although it was built in 1984).
The Best Ships for Families: All the major lines have well-established kids' programs. Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line win points in Alaska for their special shore excursions for kids and teens, and Carnival gets a nod for offering shore excursions for teens.
The Best Ships for Pampering: It's a toss-up -- Celebrity's Infinity and Millennium offer wonderful AquaSpas complete with thalassotherapy pools and a wealth of soothing and beautifying treatments, and the solariums on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Radiance of the Seas offer relaxing indoor-pool retreats.
The Best Shipboard Cuisine: Regent Seven Seas is tops in this category. Of the mainstream lines, Celebrity is the best, though recently the line dropped its consulting French chef Michel Roux, so changes may be afoot. Dinner in the reservations-only specialty restaurants on both the Infinity and the Millennium ($30 service charge per person) is a world-class dining experience. And there are signs of a new and rather surprising challenger for the cuisine award: Carnival, which has upgraded both its main dining room and buffet offerings. The line's Carnival Spirit in Alaska boasts the Nouveau Supper Club ($30 service charge per person), where you can enjoy just about as fine a meal as you're likely to find anywhere. The expertly prepared and presented cuisine on Silversea's Silver Shadow must also come in for some props.
The Best Ships for Onboard Activities: The ships operated by Carnival and Royal Caribbean offer a very full roster of onboard activities that range from the sublime (lectures) to the ridiculous (contests designed to get passengers to do or say outrageous things). Princess's ScholarShip@Sea program is a real winner, with excitingly packaged classes in such diverse subjects as photography, personal computers, cooking, and pottery (they even recently added scrapbooking to the roster).
The Best Ships for Entertainment: Look to the big ships here. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are tops when it comes to an overall package of show productions, nightclub acts, lounge performances, and audience-participation entertainment. Princess also offers particularly well-done -- if somewhat less lavishly staged -- shows. Holland America has not, historically, been noted for its entertainment package, but the company has improved considerably in that department in recent years.
The Best Ships for Whale-Watching: If the whales come close enough, you can see them from all the ships in Alaska. Smaller ships, though -- such as those operated by American Safari, Lindblad, and Cruise West -- might actually change course to follow a whale. Get your cameras ready!
The Best Ships for Cruisetours: Princess, Holland America, and the twin-brand Royal Caribbean Cruises (which owns Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity) are the market leaders in getting you into the Interior of Alaska either before or after your cruise. They own their own deluxe motorcoaches and railcars. Princess and Holland America Line (HAL) also own lodges and hotels. After many years in the business, these two really know what they're doing. Royal Caribbean is a comparative latecomer but its land company, Royal Celebrity Tours, with some of the finest rolling stock (rail and road) around, has made huge strides. Most of the other lines actually buy their land product components from Princess or HAL. One of Holland America's strengths is its 3- and 4-night cruises combined with an Alaska/Yukon land package. The company offers exclusive entry into the Yukon's Kluane National Park, and they've added another Yukon gem -- Tombstone Territorial Park, near Dawson City, a region of staggering wilderness beauty, Native architecture, stunning vistas, and wildlife. Princess is arguably stronger in 7-night Gulf of Alaska cruises in conjunction with Denali/Fairbanks or Kenai Peninsula land arrangements. Princess's Copper River Lodge is by the entrance to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
The Best Ports: Juneau and Skagway are our favorites. Juneau is one of the most visually pleasing small cities anywhere and certainly the prettiest capital city in America. It's fronted by the Gastineau Channel and backed by Mount Juneau and Mount Roberts, offers the very accessible Mendenhall Glacier, and is otherwise surrounded by wilderness -- and it's a really fun city to visit, too. As for Skagway, no town in Alaska is more historically significant, and the old buildings are so perfect you might think you stepped into a Disney version of what a gold-rush town should look like. If, that is, you can get over the decidedly turn-of-the-millennium Starbucks operation in the Mercantile Center and all the tourist shops (fortunately some of the jewelry stores including Little Switzerland that followed cruise passengers from the Caribbean have pulled up stakes and moved on). There are people who will tell you that Skagway is hokey and touristy -- and it is. But if you can get yourself into the right frame of mind, and if you can recall the history of the place -- the gold-rush frenzy that literally put the town on the map -- it's easier to capture the true spirit of Skagway. The residents have made every effort to retain as much as possible of the architecture and historic significance of their community, and they don't mind sharing it with visitors during the cruise season. For a more low-key Alaska experience, take the ferry from Skagway to Haines, which reminds us of the folksy, frontier Alaska depicted on the TV show Northern Exposure, and is a great place to spot eagles and other wildlife. Some ships also stop at Haines as a port of call, usually for a few hours after Skagway.
The Best Shore Excursions: Flightseeing and helicopter trips in Alaska are absolutely unforgettable ways to check out the scenery if you can afford them. But airborne tours tend to be pretty pricey -- sometimes approaching $600 a head. A helicopter trip to a dog-sled camp at the top of a glacier (usually the priciest of the offerings) affords both incredibly pretty views and a chance to try your hand at the truly Alaskan sport of dog sledding. (Yes, even in summer: The sleds are fitted with wheels.) It's a great way to earn bragging rights with the folks back home. For a less extravagant excursion, nothing beats a ride on a clear day on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway out of Skagway to Canada -- the route followed by the gold stampeders of '98. Last year the railway expanded its rail system to go not just to Fraser at the border but all the way to Carcross (also known as Caribou Cross) in the Yukon Territory (adding more than 30 miles by rebuilding old track). While you're riding the rails, try to imagine what it was like for those gold seekers crossing the same track on foot! And we also like to get active with kayak and mountain-biking excursions offered by most lines at most ports. In addition to affording a chance to work off those shipboard calories, these excursions typically provide optimum opportunities for spotting eagles, bears, seals, and other wildlife. Another, less hectic shore excursion that goes down well with many passengers is a float ride down one of the more placid stretches of Alaska's myriad rivers, such as the Kenai, the Mendenhall, or the Chilkat. These outings don't involve a lot of paddling -- which can be hard work -- but instead use the natural flow of the river to propel the four- to six-person rubber raft downstream. And they involve little or no whitewater. Generally, the group will stop for a picnic lunch en route and return to the staging area by motorcoach or automobile.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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