Alaskan Waters Are Brimming With All Sizes and Kinds of Ships

Thirty-six cruise ships will sail the icy waters of Alaska this summer, ranging from the deluxe 12-passenger yacht Safari Spirit from American Safari Cruises to the new Carnival Spirit, carrying 2,124.

An interesting footnote: Carnival comes in at the next-to-lowest discounted early booking price of $849 per person, double occupancy, for a May sailing in an inside cabin, while the Safari Spirit costs $6,395 for the same seven days in May for its lowest-priced outside stateroom.

For the record low, Norwegian Cruise Line cuts fares with early booking discounts down to $799 for the first and last sailings of the summer.

As usual, the biggest player this season is Princess Cruises, with five ships carrying 9,390 passengers, followed by Holland America, with six ships carrying 7,172 passengers.

Princess shows off four lavish new 1,950-passenger ships, Sun Princess, Sea Princess, Dawn Princess and Ocean Princess, on the Gulf of Alaska itinerary, and assigns its newly refurbished 1,590-passenger Regal Princess to the Inside Passage. Fares on the Regal start at $999 per person, double occupancy, when booked by Feb. 14 for a May 13 departure in an inside cabin.

Holland America brings in five of its glamorous ships, Ryndam, Veendam, Volendam, Statendam and the new Zaandam, plus the Westerdam, each carrying just under 1,500 passengers, at a bottom standard price of $1,089 per person double for a low-season sailing with early booking discount ($999 for the Westerdam).

Celebrity Cruises, known for its high-quality food and service, is becoming a major player in Alaska since becoming affiliated with Royal Caribbean. This season will see the new 1,950-passenger Infinity and the 3-year-old Mercury, carrying 1,870, for seven-night cruises starting at $1,199 per person, double, with early booking.

Royal Caribbean brings its new 2,100-passenger Radiance of the Seas plus the pair of 2,000-passenger sister ships Vision of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas, sailing to Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay at prices starting as low as $1,169 for early booking on an early-season seven-night sailing.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the 2,002-passenger Norwegian Sky, returns for a second season in Alaska, along with Norwegian Wind, carrying 1,748 passengers. Fares begin as low as $799 per person double for early booking discounts on early-season sailings in an inside cabin.

The Norwegian Sky sails round trip from Seattle on seven-day Inside Passage itineraries priced from $799 per person, double occupancy.

Radisson Seven Seas is sending its new 700-passenger Seven Seas Mariner, the world’s first all-suites, all-balcony ship. With four specialty restaurants, open meal seating, complimentary in-room bar, and dinner, wine and tips included, the Mariner is good competition for luxury lines Silversea and Seabourn. Cruises range from seven to 11 nights, with seven-night July Gulf of Alaska cruises between Seward, Alaska, and Vancouver, Canada, priced from $2,495 per person, double occupancy, with discounts for booking 120 days ahead.

For cruise traditionalists, the elegant mid-size Crystal Harmony from Crystal Cruises, newly refurbished, carries 940 passengers and offers the convenience of a 12-day round-trip cruise from San Francisco, sailing the classic Inside Passage route that includes Glacier Bay. Fares start at $2,660 per person, double occupancy, for an inside cabin, with advance booking discounts on the May 21 sailing.

Another mid-size vessel is the 731-passenger Universe Explorer, which provides a casual, lecture-laden learning adventure on 14-day itineraries to eight ports. Prices begin at $1,995 per person.

In the small-ship, expedition-ship category are the seven casual-dress cruise vessels from Cruise West, plus a day boat whose passengers overnight on land, with fares from $2,745 per person double for an eight-night cruise tour; Glacier Bay Tours and Cruises, owned and operated by an Alaska Native corporation, with four small vessels offering wilderness cruising and kayaking, from $1,680 per person double for a seven-day cruise; Clipper Cruises’ Yorktown Clipper and Clipper Odyssey, featuring glacier and wildlife cruises from $2,310 per person, double, for seven nights; Lindblad Expeditions aboard the little Sea Bird and Sea Lion, priced from $3,690 per person, double, for eight days of exploring Alaska’s coastal wilderness between Juneau and Sitka; and Society Expeditions, inaugurating its New World Discoverer, a former Japanese luxury executive craft carrying 160, for Russian Far East and remote Alaska sailings priced from $5,339 per person, double, for a 12-night Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea sailing.

Two of our favorite vessels in Alaska are the American Safari Cruises yachts Safari Quest, carrying 22, and Safari Spirit, carrying 12, in all-inclusive luxury with casual dress code, delicious food, fine wines and plenty of sea kayaks aboard. Prices cover everything but transportation to Alaska and start at $4,895 per person, double, for seven-night sailings between Juneau and Sitka.

For the traveler torn between taking a cruise and driving the Alaska Highway, there’s Alaska Highway Cruises, combining a seven-day cruise aboard Carnival’s new Spirit or Holland America’s Westerdam, Statendam or Veendam with a 15-day self-drive RV overland tour, starting at $2,663 per person double when booked by Jan. 31.

For information about any of these cruises, call your travel agent.