We plan to take a 7 day Alaskan cruise with additional 4 day land tour in 5/07. We will book the tour as part of the cruise package. Has anyone had good or bad experiences with the different cruise lines that will help us determine which cruise line to choose? We have been on 5 Caribbean cruises, but never to Alaska. Our experience has been with RCCL & Celebrity. Thank you.

For Alaska I think Holland America and Princess are the best. They get the most permits to go into Glacier Bay. Princess and HAL have been in Alaska the longest and really know the ropes and have a lot of pull up there. There are so many variables to an Alaska Cruise/Tour. I would really recommend you talk with a Travel Agent that specializes in cruises. They can point out the pros and cons of the different itineraries. For example when comparing two itineraries on the land portion, they might look identical, but one may have more motorcoach time and the other is on the train, which would be much more comfortable and relaxing. It's small things like this a TA can point out.

Thank you for the info. I've heard good things about the Princess itinerary. I've also heard that their train has more dome cars. Don't know if this is accurate or not.

Would a May cruise be better than a Sept. cruise? My friend went in May and had perfect weather. I wasn't sure what the weather would be like in Sept.

Six years ago, I went the second week in September and had great weather. I have friends who went the week before and had such bad wind the day they were to stop at Sitka, that they couldn't stop there (it's a tender port). Last year, friends went the last week in August and had rain most of the week. September is a tough time to call for Alaskan cruises. The price is good, though.

My friend went the third week of May and had excellent weather and no bugs. She was told the week before had been even warmer. So you never know. I think I am leaning toward May. Depends on prices! What cruise line did you go on? Did you like it? Thank you.

We went in July of '05 and the weather was nice. They said it was the best week weather wise that they had had all year. We went RCCL - Serenade of the Seas. Great time - scenery is just gorgeous - pictures don't do it justice.

Hi! We did a 10 day alaska that left out of San Fran R/T, on Regal Princess. It left last July 7th. Our weather was absolutely horrible. There was heavy drizzle to rain almost every day. It was also cold to very cold, almost every day. The sun rarely showed itself. In fact, our seaplane excursion in Juneau was cancelled, due to poor visibility due to fog. Some days we would sit on the back of the boat, with umbrellas, tons of clothes and blankets, and irish coffees. At times I was miserable, it was so bad. But, I didn't come all that way to not watch the scenery float buy. I made the best of it, irish coffees helped. My parents did a Alaska cruise the july earlier, and had wonderful, warm weather. So,,, I guess you never know. I was checking weather.com, to get an idea on what to pack. Good luck. Lil' Lori

I think Lil' Lori has it right - you never know when it comes to weather, so it's best to be prepared for anything. Bring a pair of shorts in case it's warm, but also make sure to have lots of layers, including some warm clothes, in case it's cold. And definitely bring rain gear!!

I went to Alaska on Princess Sep 6, 2003. The weather was probably mid 50's. The day in Skagway was a little drizzly. The beginning of the season in May is cheaper, then the end of the season in September is cheaper. June, July, & August are peak. As all the others have said though, you just can't predict weather. The day I left Anchorage on Sep 13, it had gotten up to around 70. The Alaskans were all running around in shorts.

Thank you all for the info. This has been my first chat room experience and I have found it very helpful! Here's to great cruisin'!