Alaska Tourism: The Best Cruise Lines

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The Best Cruise Lines

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Cruise lines are in the business of giving their guests a good time, so they've all got something going for them. Here's my pick of Alaska's best, though, in a few different categories.

The Best Ships for Luxury: With Crystal having pulled out of the market, luxury in Alaska is now defined by Radisson and Silversea (returning this year after a one-year absence). If you want a more casual kind of luxury (a really nice ship with a no-tie-required policy), Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Mariner offers just that, with plush all-suite cabins (most with private balconies) and excellent cuisine (plus, you get complimentary wine with dinner). Silversea on the other hand represents a somewhat more traditional, formal luxury experience with all the perks -- fine food, fine linens, fine companions. And for the ultimate Alaska small-ship experience, 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 Summit. 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: Clipper Cruise Line's newest vessel, the Clipper Odyssey, is a really gorgeous little ship, offering a higher level of comfort than most of the other small ships in this category. The most adventurous small-ship itineraries in Alaska are offered by Glacier Bay Cruiseline, which recently refurbished its ships. Wilderness Adventurer and Wilderness Explorer are pretty basic but both concentrate on kayaking, hiking, and wildlife, hardly visiting any ports at all over the course of their itineraries.

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 special shore excursions for teens.

The Best Ships for Pampering: It's a tossup -- Celebrity's Infinity and Summit offer wonderful AquaSpas complete with thalassotherapy pools and a wealth of soothing and beautifying treatments, and the solariums on Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Radiance of the Seas offer relaxing indoor-pool retreats. Luxury line Silversea, of course, pampers all around.

The Best Shipboard Cuisine: Silversea and Radisson are tops. Of the mainstream lines, Celebrity is the best, with its cuisine overseen by renowned French chef Michel Roux. Dinner in the reservations-only specialty restaurants on the Infinity or Summit ($30-per-person service charge) 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. And the line's Carnival Spirit in Alaska boasts the Nouveau Supper Club ($30-per-person service charge), where you can enjoy just about as fine a meal as you're likely to find anywhere.

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' ScholarShip@Sea program is a real winner, with excitingly packaged classes in such diverse subjects as photography, personal computers, cooking, and even pottery.

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.

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 Glacier Bay Cruiseline and Cruise West -- might actually change course to follow a whale. Get your cameras ready!

The Best Ships for Cruisetours: Princess and Holland America are the entrenched market leaders in getting you into the Interior -- of Alaska or the Yukon Territory -- either before or after your cruise. They own their own hotels, deluxe motorcoaches, and railcars; and after many years in the business, they both really know what they're doing. Some of the other lines actually buy their land products from Princess or HAL. One of Holland America's strengths is its 3- and 4-night cruises combined with an Alaska/Yukon land package. In addition, the company's exclusive entry into the Yukon's Kluane National Park last year proved extremely popular. Not only will it continue in the Kluane area this year, HAL has added yet another Yukon gem -- Tombstone Territorial Park, about 90 minutes drive up the Dempster Highway from Dawson City. Tombstone is a region of staggering wilderness beauty, Native architecture, stunning vistas, and wildlife. Princess is arguably stronger in 7-day Gulf of Alaska cruises in conjunction with Denali/Fairbanks or Kenai Peninsula land arrangements.

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 coffee vendor in the Mercantile Center, the pizza parlor at the bottom of Broadway, and all the upscale jewelry shops that have followed cruise passengers from the Caribbean. There are people who will tell you that Skagway is hokey, touristy. Yes, it's all of that. But if you can get yourself into the right frame of mind, 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.

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 $400 or more. 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 the Canadian border at Fraser -- the route followed by the gold stampeders of ?98. 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.

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Alaska Tourism: The Best Cruise Lines

The Best Cruise Lines

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