Alaskan Cruise, Newbe needs help please

[Puffy2]

Hello. I'm trying to plan an Alaskan cruise this summer and I need some serious direction / help.

I read Cruise Critics tips and they suggest Inside Passage (since I get motion sickness) and to avoid open ocean.

How can I tell if the cruise will only do inside passage? Or, will all cruises do some open ocean even if they do the inside passage?

What cruise line to do suggest? Is there one to avoid?

Any tips as far as which cabin to choose (to avoid motion sickness and inconvenience)...like "mid ship middle deck? or lower deck? or upper?

I'm looking at an August date. Does it really matter if it is early/mid or late August? Prices get cheaper the later you wait, but maybe there is a reason for that?

Any and all help appreciated.

 

[bumbershoot]

Later August will be colder than earlier August, in general. The weather isn't as nice. That's why it gets cheaper.

If they are going to a glacier, without looking at a map, that might require leaving the Inside Passage. For our cruise we left the IP at around 1am.

Princess is routinely listed as among the best of the mainstream lines to cruise Alaska with. We went on Radiance of the Seas and it was lovely, though.

Mid ship, middle deck is generally what people recommend if worried about seasickness. Inconvenience to one is convenience to another. Depends on where you think you'll be heading most of the time.

I wouldn't go on Holland, because they are still allowing smoking on balconies. That's my own personal opinion.

 

[alliecat523]

We're on Explorer in June and can't wait to go.

I think all routes go into open water at some point. You should be able to view the itinerary in map form on each cruise line website.

Mid ship, mid deck is probably your best bet for cabin choice. I tend to get very motion sick too but haven't had any issues with cruising.

 

[DesertBelle]

My sister gets very motion sick and has never had a problem on the three Alaskan cruises we have been on. That being said she uses one of those patches that you place behind your ear. If you do go that route just make sure you thoroughly wipe that area down before applying a new patch and you will be good to go!

We have done Holland twice and are doing Disney in May for Alaska again. Our last trip on Holland did take us out of the Inside Passage on the end of the return trip, the water was slightly rougher, but nothing like cruising in the Gulf of Mexico. As others have said check out a map, even cruising to the Glaciers was fairly smooth.

 

[Brancaneve]

If you are leaving from Seattle or even Vancouver, there will be some open ocean to traverse and then it's smooth sailing from there. We were on the Disney Wonder which was nice, but I could see that the ship needed an update for sure.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Try to find an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. Our itinerary on NCL went to Glacier Bay instead of Tracy Arm; however, on our Juneau day, we took a multi-hour boat excursion out to Tracy Arm, so I have seen that too. While Tracy Arm is great, Glacier Bay blows it away in my opinion!

Edited to add: We did mid-August and had a great time!