My hubby and I need to go to Alaska. My great, great, great grandfather, Wm Henry Seward, Secretary of State under President Lincoln, actually was the one who bought Alaska from the Russians for like $25. So I’m pumped to go and visit this beautiful state.
I’m an experienced cruiser and stumbled upon this today -after seeing your Skagway video- you guys do a really good job. A few thoughts: - we were there a week or two before you and had some cold weather! Definitely have clothes for it bc so many people didn’t have warm enough stuff. - if you go from the second week of June till September, you get lots of kids. And multi-generational families - if you travel as a solo, you DO have to pay double. You pay for the whole cabin as though there were two staying but don’t have to pay double taxes snd port fees. Sometimes, you can find a deal on less-full voyages where they’ll discount it for you - Not every ship has the same ‘programme’. Princess often wins ‘best for Alaska’ because they have things about the culture snd nature of AK. Holland is also very good, but though I’m older than you, I was a bit bored on their AK cruise. You guys got a great deal! Congrats!!
June 2024 Royal Princess for 2 weeks. We are paying about $2500 per person per week for $10K for a mini-suite. $2200 for Premiere Package for close to all inclusive for two. $2400 round trip airfare for two from Austin, TX to Vancouver BC business class. Arriving 3 nights before cruise and staying 1 night after cruise for $350 to $550 per night, looking to book and finalize this week. 25th anniversary date is during this trip so time frame is not very flexible. Our first time having to fly for a cruise, 4 day drive each way were days I did not have.
It saves a lot of money to pay for a drink package sodas can be as much as $5 a piece cocktails can be like $15 so I definitely recommend drink packages. I've been on several cruise ships
You got a great deal. Booking last minute is usually cheaper. We cruised Alaska and really enjoyed it too.Very informative. Glad you had a great time. Balcony is the best.
We have been a 3 cruises. Alaska was our favorite. Never met a nasty person ever. The towns loved us. We had a balcony. Loved it. Never bored. We were on royal Caribbean. Food was fab. 5 Star. Would love To go again. . Stopped at every port and did many excusions. Wonderful.
I'm so glad you mentioned that there is a self-serve laundry on board, that is really important information because you can pack less, wear the same outfit twice, and dry your clothes if they get wet. 👍
We sailed Royal Princess on May 28,2023. We had a lot of kids on our cruise but school was out then. Our 9 and 11 yr old grandchildren were along and absolutely loved it! They are very good at sitting thru a long dinner and enjoy being with adults. We had a party of 10! Such fun. The kids club wasn’t for them . Lots of busy work that they weren’t really interested in . So blessed that we could explore this beautiful part of our country with all our kids , spouses and grandchildren! Our ship had close to 4000 guests. 😮A bit too many in my opinion. Still a great time
You know that cruise line is going to love your authenticity and integrity. I am praying they send you all on a South Pacific Cruise. Kids would LOVE ❤️
I thought the same thing, l hope in the future a cruise line offers this family a gifted cruise because Lauren and Mark would give an honest review. They are so genuine. 👍
This was a great, straight up front informative video about your Alaska cruise. We're from the UK and cruising to Alaska for the first time this September 2024. We are also sailing from Vancouver but with Holland America on the Koningsdam. The cost of your cruise was really, really good! We paid just under £4,500 , about USD 5,600 for a week in a balcony cabin like yours. It does include a package called Have It All, with a drinks package (we don't drink alcohol either), wifi, pre-paid gratuities, one free speciality dining experience and USD100 each off any ship booked excursion. We've also paid £2,500 on return flights from the UK to Vancouver (British Airways premium economy). Our daughter lives in Vancouver so we've booked an AirBnB for the week we have there before the cruise. As the Airbnb is not in Vancouver itself (in Burnaby), we're paying a lot less for that at around £600 for the week. So this is a very expensive holiday which is a bit of a one-off for us, although we do visit Canada once a year to visit our daughter. Like yourselves, we'll probably do another cruise again in the future (Iceland) but personally we cannot afford to do this regularly.
Answer for the “pay out” question: We are taking this same Alaskan cruise in a few days, but on the Royal Princess. We booked this cruise for our entire extended family last August. We had to put a $500 deposit down for each room, then had until end of March to finish paying for each room. You can pay for upgrades, gratuities, and excursions any time. Thank you for taking us on your journey! It was VERY helpful!! We’re coming from 100+ degrees in Texas so tips on clothing was perfect!
Such a fun series. Boy that Mediterranean cruise sounds wonderful. Maybe your 25th Anniversary. It was nice seeing you both connect, So sweet. It is so nice to see 2 People in love. Thank you
Thank you. We just returned. Your video helped us plan and de stress. Vancouver to Whittier and up to Denali. Fly home from Fairbanks 12 days, 7 aboard Princess. Enjoy your u tube. Great weather, boarded July 13
Just watched a few of your videos after we came back from a 7 day Alaska cruise also on Majestic Princess 8/19-8/26/23. Your videos are awesome. Great narration and videography. Very entertaining. We visited the same cities and ended up in Whittier AL. It was our 40th wedding anniversary. We had an awesome time. We flew into Vancouver the day before departure. We had 7 days of sunshine and 70 degrees except for Whittier where it was raining and 50 degrees. We flew home from Anchorage. Next Alaska cruise, we will take your advice and rent a car, and later bikes in order to see the surrounding areas of Ketchikan and Skagway. We will also seriously consider taking a trip to Denali and Fairbanks via the Alaska Railroad. Thanks again!
Thank you both for taking us along on your wonderful cruise! It brought back so many memories of our Princess Alaska cruise in 2002. Glad you had a wonderful time!
Also because it’s Princess - a higher end ship. Higher end parents are educated and know enough to leave their kids at home so they can actually enjoy time on their vacation. Lots of other ships are more appropriate for kids, as stated in the video.
Some cruise outlets limit the amount of kids per cruise. In Australia, when you book a cruise, you have to check the availability of tickets for kids in certain age groups as they are limited. I am not sure what the actual numbers are, but certain age groups get sold out more than others.
Princess is more geared towards the 50-60 year age range. So, people that are past that time in their life. To be honest that is one of reasons I love Princess!!!
We are taking a similar Alaskan cruise, but we will be leaving from San Francisco, so we will have four days at sea. This works out well for us because we don't need to fly anywhere as San Francisco is an hour away from our home. We will be seeing the Endicott and Dawes glacier. This video is so very helpful from the expenses you incurred as well as how to choose excursions at the different ports and what to pack. We will be going to Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. I agree that the excursions from Princess are expensive. We did book the Totem Pole excursion for Ketchikan. It's not so easy to get all of this information in one fell scoop :-), so thank you! I am debating whether to get the non-alcoholic drinks package and possibly the Internet for my device since I like to post to Facebook when I'm on travel.
I have watched a gazillion videos and I'll hand it to you guys, well done. Very concise and practical without the glitz so prevalent and you even had a gem hidden in there that even I ( whom I personally consider the smartest person I know 🙂) hadn't thought of, CAR RENTAL ! What a brilliant idea to see that spot that you want to see that is otherwise inaccessible for some reason.
Thanks for doing this video. I really appreciate you being open and honest about cost. Now, we are in Florida. Our cost will be more with flights to get to AK.
I've enjoyed all of your cruise videos especially this transparent breakdown. Thanks for supporting local businesses. It's crazy that people are afraid to book with non-cruise advised companies. It really hurts the profit of local businesses. Shop local.
Our island was devastated by Super typhoon Mawar but after almost a month we finally got power and water is back. Internet access is also working so I will be able to catch up on the videos I missed. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed your vacation cruise. Hafa adai and love from the island of Guam 🌴❤🌴
You guys did such an amazing job highlighting the cruise and ports in every video. I appreciated you taking the time to explain the history of everything from the museums and parks to the White Pass Railway. We’re planning a cruise for next year and I’ve saved your videos to watch again. Thank you for the time you spent doing this for others to enjoy and learn from. All life’s blessings.
What a wonderful story. I totally agree with using local. I was in Amsterdam a few years ago and wanted to take a canal cruise. The majority were these large boats. We found a smaller boat that only held 8 to 10 people. They were able to go down the smaller canals, and the guide was right next to us and had a wealth of knowledge and could answer any questions.
HI i do cruise a lot and i have to say that your cruise price was great!!You can hardly find a cruise for that price anymore especially for an Alaskan cruise. I really enjoyed watching your videos. We have two cruises booked for next year One from New York on the newest carnival ship The Venezia and one from Baltimore Maryland cant wait! Our last one was in January we try to do at least once a year on our Anniversary We have been cruising since 2013.
Thanks for verifying that $1250pp with fees, tips, taxes, and non-alcoholic drink plan was a normal rate for a balcony room on Princess for an Alaskan cruise. That's really good info.
Thank you for breaking everything down. Totally agree inregards to booking excursions with local vendors. We also made sure that we bought gifts made by locals and shopped where local people advised us to. It was a trip of a lifetime. Love Alaska and Alaskan people ❤
You have provided so much useful information. I have learned more about cruises than I have read about. You literally could write a brochure on Alaskan cruises. I watch many videos and none have been more detailed than what you have provided. I can see a lot of work went into all the ports you visited down to the food you consumed. Give your self a pat on the back Lauren and Mark. Excellent job, not to mention hard work.
I am taking my mum to Alaska nxt May from Australia. A few days in anchorage and seward. Then a cruise to vancouver. I got the 2 persons for usa $2017-. $3000aud. Super special i am so excited. I wont be spending much on the ship. Just doing excursions. 😂😂
I love your Alaska tour and this video! So much information, I have a lot more idea of what is it. Thank you guys , awesome videos and I super enjoyed, I feel like I was there too! ❤❤
I went to Alaska May of 2022 on Holland America Koningsdam and have one planned May 2024 on Majestic Princess. Both I was able to book and make payments. Also pre-paid gratuities. The one with Holland America was originally booked for May 2021 but was cancelled due to covid. We had choice of refund or just keeping it on file to book new cruise and this is what we did
We are heading on the same cruise as you did in 50 days. We were in Juneau last September and found Jaleen’s Alaska’s Girl. She was fabulous and hope to see her again in August. Enjoying watching your videos!!
Maybe, and I’m just saying this. You could plan a Disney cruise with your kids. That would be cool to see. I’m just saying that would be a big memory your kids will never forget. Like watching you guys
My parents LOVED their Alaska cruise. Sea bands are great and they alleviate any seasickness. I highly recommend them. I do get seasick on small boats but not on airplanes.
We’re going on Carnival next May and I looked at the White Pass excursion through them and on the local website…Carnival was DOUBLE 🫣😮😬 but this will be my 3rd cruise so thankfully I know to trust locally owned companies with good reviews to get you there and back on time! I just was floored how much more expensive it was!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for all these videos! You gave my husband and I so many great ideas!!!
Hello from AUSTRIA! Thank you so much for all your cruise videos. Now we know everything, we wanted to know. It is a little difficult to get all those informations here in Europe. Your videos helped so much. 8.july2023, We will cruise northbound with P. Majestic, only standard package, no booked excursions, balcony cabin, like you. We want to meet local people, vendors... Now we know that our plan will work. After the cruise we will rent a RV till end of august and travel through Alaska by our own. We are nature lovers and are very excited to visit your beautiful country. All the best from Austria, Daniela&Reinhold
We've been on three Alaska cruises. We've booked either an oceanview room or interior. You're at a different port or cruising by a glacier most every day. We spent very little time in the room. Its cold and windy on sea days, so we would not want to sit on a balcony. The savings can be amazing. The best interior rooms we've had are on Celebrity. The rooms are larger and have chairs or a sofa.
Another way to decide what to do in small Alaska port towns, is to check their town websites. They have bus schedules and transportation info, town maps, trail maps, activities suggestions, etc. Alaska port towns are very small and the locals are really friendly and helpful. Southeast Alaska is like visiting a whole different state, it’s absolutely incredible. Well, done on documenting your cruise. Your information about our state and its culture were very spot on. Excellent.
Good Afternoon Hamm Family ❤️ The last catch-up for today. I have dinner to cook. This will be short, but sweet 🙂 First, I'm so happy that you and Mark had a wonderful time together. You both deserve it immensely 👫 Second, thank you for sharing your adventures with me and so many others... it's priceless 🛳️ Third, thank you for all the information you gathered and have shared, especially dealing with those with mobility issues. Having a baseline price is important when planning a trip such as this. It's so helpful to understand what is included and what is extra, including special packages and excursions. Information on local shops, restaurants, experiences, etc. is good to know and support. How to prepare and dress when traveling through Alaska is important information to have. Thank you 🧭 Lastly, good answer Mark 😁 You, Miss Luna and the Alaska Boys have a great weekend. Yah's Blessings 🤗
We're just back from doing the same cruise but on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth - beautiful ship (gorgeous art deco inspired interior) and only 1800 people on board. Because I booked early (before March I think) we had 600 dollars to spend on board (instead of the usual 400 dollars). We used this money to pay for anything like internet and speciality coffees. Cunard take off 11 dollars a day for gratuities. We went Club Balcony which was a bit special for us - but it gave us access to a lovely, smaller dining room and a slightly nicer room with boarding priority. No drinks package for us as we're not into drinking sugary drinks, and don't drink enough alcohol to make that worthwhile. The food was so good we never felt the need to pay to eat elsewhere. For us the cost was @£3,900 (sterling). Of course we had the flights from UK to Vancouver and a few days in Vancouver before the cruise, so a very expensive holiday for us but worth every penny.
My guess is you two went on this cruise about the same time as we went on ours last May with Holland America. It was incredible. We are doing another Alaska cruise this year in August with a few of our adult childrern. We decided to go through Royal this time (mainly because we thought the kids would enjoy that ship more). Excited to see the area again in August.
So glad you shared this trip...ive done many western & southern carribean cruises & want to do alaska. I really dont tolerate cold well but Im going to do it lol ! For us the biggest expense is the flight to get to the ports they leave from.
I totally enjoyed your cruise trip and how you showed the different places to eat , excursions and local businesses... and Alaska travel packing !!! It all gave a great knowledge of what to do if you were cruising there ! Thank You Lauren and Mark for letting us travel with you !! Sure missed the boys and Luna though !!
My husband and I took the princess to Alaska through the inside passage and had a balcony room for our 25 th anniversary 17 yrs ago. We also stayed in Denali after the cruise and had a fantastic time. I would definitely do that cruise again. We are from NH and back then it cost us a little over 10,000 dollars. We are now planning another cruise but this time to Iceland. I watched all your videos of this cruise and we went to all the same ports. It was fantastic! Great videos 👍🏻💓
$2408 wow that’s great and last minute. It was double when I was looking and 6 months in advanced. Leaving from Seattle is $4504 for 2 in a balcony with standard package and this is if they pick you room.if I picked $5056
Loved all your Alaska videos. Thank you for sharing your trip. I’ll be there June 16th and your tips are appreciated. Keep your videos coming! Regards from California. Sonia
I’ve watched all your Ak videos…love them all. Thanks for taking so much time out of your vacation to share with us. We’re going on an AK cruise in 2 weeks! First time cruising, and very excited..🦋 oh, I also bought the traveler pants from Costco that you recommended..
That's so cheap! our cruise next year in September is costing $4280 usd for the plus package ( drinks and wifi included) for 2 of us with no excursions included yet we haven't decided which ones might be for us
Mark needs to snorkel in the Caribbean! Sea turtles in Barbados! Cruise with the whole family! We took our 6 kids and flew from Minneapolis to San Juan Puerto Rico. Then sailed to St Thomas, St Lucia, Barbados, St Kitts, St Maarten. Thing about a cruise is that it gives you the taste of small islands and you unpack once. You have your traveling hotel with you and ALL the food is included! That is good for families. Carnival is he most affordable and then Royal Caribbean. Your boys would love it! Even your parents! With where you live the airfare is the killer. In Minnesota we pay as much to fly there as we do to cruise.
I really enjoyed watching your cruise videos. The frequently non-standard travels really was fun to watch and gave options we hadn't thought of. My wife and I are going on our first cruise there next May.
Lauren and Mark, we loved the video and were happy you enjoyed your first cruise. We have cruised quite a bit. Mainly the Caribbean since we live in Naples, FL. We enjoyed your commentary as being an Alaskan in the sights you saw as well as the helpful weather gear to bring. Being a native Floridian, sunglasses, sandals, shorts and sun screen covers your basic attire year round. Looking forward to your next video!
That price is actually very decent for a balcony. I have a 7 day this August on Celebrity and my total for an inside room is 1,239. That price includes tips and 250 OBC. If you're booking a cruise be aware that the price you see can vary by a bunch because some sites do not show the price WITH the port fee/tax included. For my 7 day trip that was $473. The tips were another $244. So the actual room was just about 300 per person...before the OBC is taken into account.
Prices also vary by cruiseline, time of year, sales specials from the cruiseline and when you buy (last minute sales are often cheapest - but you may not be able to choose your room location - because the cruise needs to sail full to be profitable).
We did the same cruise in May but unfortunately missed Glacier Bay 😢. You are so right in saying I want to go back and now do an inland tour. I have now added an inland tour including Denali to my bucket list.
That was a great price I paid just for the cruise 3500 Australia dlrs that’s not including anything no gratuities no drinks 🇦🇺🇦🇺 but seeing Alaska was amazing expensive to get there. And accommodation in Vancouver for 4 nights plus flights not something we can do regularly but nevertheless I’m so glad we had the opportunities to see this wonderful and beautiful part of the world 💕🇦🇺
Thank you for this wonderful cruise experience. It brought back many memoirist of our Alaska cruise in 2015. Our first major overseas holiday of Canada and Alaska. We live in south east Queensland , Australia and just to watch how you manage the snow and wet with 4 children is amazing to me. When we went on our cruise we had wonderful weather similar to yours however we had friends from Aus who were on the ship the following week to us and they had terrible weather so it really is unpredictable. Thanks again for all your videos, I so enjoy seeing life in Alaska.
Heading to Vancouver next May for an Alaska Cruisetour, Yukon, Denali and back to Vancouver on Holland America. We booked a Signature Suite, we went all out.
We find it far more economical to buy the premier package not the more expensive plus package . By the time you add up gratuities, Wi-Fi and even the water , coffee and mocktails, it pays for itself. Absolutely worth the price.
We did the North/South 14 day cruise on Sapphire Princess several years ago out of Vancouver. We enjoyed the turnaround day on the ship as there were only about 20 of us staying on. Our day in Whittier was also a monsoon of rain. The nice thing about doing the round trip was that we got 2 days in each of the ports to spend one day just exploring and the next time we did a fun excursion.
I just love your videos! ❤. I learn something (multiple things) every time I watch! 😊. Cruises certainly do seem pretty good value for money, especially like you say, when you factor in the cost of everything if you were to do it all separately yourself.
Or Guys yous are Amazing, Thank u for taking us along on your Beautiful Cruise, I throughly enjoyed them, I also luv all Watching of ur Videos, luv to u all 🥰🥰🥰 🇬🇧
We are wanting to take an Alaskan cruise, too. I really want to do the Disney cruise but they do not have a casino on the ship. We are debating on either the Disney or Princess. I think most families with children would go on the Disney cruise because they cater to families and there are a lot of activities for the kids.
My hubby and I need to go to Alaska. My great, great, great grandfather, Wm Henry Seward, Secretary of State under President Lincoln, actually was the one who bought Alaska from the Russians for like $25. So I’m pumped to go and visit this beautiful state.
This is so refreshing to see a cruise review where the reviewer clearly isn’t comped by the cruise line and share honest costs for their trip.
I’m an experienced cruiser and stumbled upon this today -after seeing your Skagway video- you guys do a really good job.
A few thoughts:
- we were there a week or two before you and had some cold weather! Definitely have clothes for it bc so many people didn’t have warm enough stuff.
- if you go from the second week of June till September, you get lots of kids. And multi-generational families
- if you travel as a solo, you DO have to pay double. You pay for the whole cabin as though there were two staying but don’t have to pay double taxes snd port fees. Sometimes, you can find a deal on less-full voyages where they’ll discount it for you
- Not every ship has the same ‘programme’. Princess often wins ‘best for Alaska’ because they have things about the culture snd nature of AK. Holland is also very good, but though I’m older than you, I was a bit bored on their AK cruise.
You guys got a great deal! Congrats!!
June 2024 Royal Princess for 2 weeks. We are paying about $2500 per person per week for $10K for a mini-suite. $2200 for Premiere Package for close to all inclusive for two. $2400 round trip airfare for two from Austin, TX to Vancouver BC business class. Arriving 3 nights before cruise and staying 1 night after cruise for $350 to $550 per night, looking to book and finalize this week. 25th anniversary date is during this trip so time frame is not very flexible. Our first time having to fly for a cruise, 4 day drive each way were days I did not have.
It saves a lot of money to pay for a drink package sodas can be as much as $5 a piece cocktails can be like $15 so I definitely recommend drink packages. I've been on several cruise ships
You got a great deal. Booking last minute is usually cheaper. We cruised Alaska and really enjoyed it too.Very informative. Glad you had a great time. Balcony is the best.
We have been a 3 cruises. Alaska was our favorite. Never met a nasty person ever. The towns loved us. We had a balcony. Loved it. Never bored. We were on royal Caribbean. Food was fab. 5 Star. Would love To go again. . Stopped at every port and did many excusions. Wonderful.
I'm so glad you mentioned that there is a self-serve laundry on board, that is really important information because you can pack less, wear the same outfit twice, and dry your clothes if they get wet. 👍
We sailed Royal Princess on May 28,2023.
We had a lot of kids on our cruise but school was out then.
Our 9 and 11 yr old grandchildren were along and absolutely loved it! They are very good at sitting thru a long dinner and enjoy being with adults. We had a party of 10! Such fun.
The kids club wasn’t for them . Lots of busy work that they weren’t really interested in .
So blessed that we could explore this beautiful part of our country with all our kids , spouses and grandchildren!
Our ship had close to 4000 guests. 😮A bit too many in my opinion. Still a great time
You know that cruise line is going to love your authenticity and integrity. I am praying they send you all on a South Pacific Cruise. Kids would LOVE ❤️
I thought the same thing, l hope in the future a cruise line offers this family a gifted cruise because Lauren and Mark would give an honest review. They are so genuine. 👍
Thanks for sharing this! I want you both to know how much this cruise was appreciated, totally enjoyed it all!!
This was a great, straight up front informative video about your Alaska cruise. We're from the UK and cruising to Alaska for the first time this September 2024. We are also sailing from Vancouver but with Holland America on the Koningsdam. The cost of your cruise was really, really good! We paid just under £4,500 , about USD 5,600 for a week in a balcony cabin like yours. It does include a package called Have It All, with a drinks package (we don't drink alcohol either), wifi, pre-paid gratuities, one free speciality dining experience and USD100 each off any ship booked excursion. We've also paid £2,500 on return flights from the UK to Vancouver (British Airways premium economy). Our daughter lives in Vancouver so we've booked an AirBnB for the week we have there before the cruise. As the Airbnb is not in Vancouver itself (in Burnaby), we're paying a lot less for that at around £600 for the week. So this is a very expensive holiday which is a bit of a one-off for us, although we do visit Canada once a year to visit our daughter. Like yourselves, we'll probably do another cruise again in the future (Iceland) but personally we cannot afford to do this regularly.
The price is better than I expected!
I really appreciate you taking us along with you on the cruise. Agree with you totally about supporting local businesses.
Good point. We need to do this as often as we can.
Answer for the “pay out” question:
We are taking this same Alaskan cruise in a few days, but on the Royal Princess. We booked this cruise for our entire extended family last August. We had to put a $500 deposit down for each room, then had until end of March to finish paying for each room. You can pay for upgrades, gratuities, and excursions any time.
Thank you for taking us on your journey! It was VERY helpful!! We’re coming from 100+ degrees in Texas so tips on clothing was perfect!
Thanks for answering that! That is good info for people to know!
Such a fun series. Boy that Mediterranean cruise sounds wonderful. Maybe your 25th Anniversary. It was nice seeing you both connect, So sweet. It is so nice to see 2 People in love. Thank you
Thank you. We just returned. Your video helped us plan and de stress. Vancouver to Whittier and up to Denali. Fly home from Fairbanks 12 days, 7 aboard Princess. Enjoy your u tube. Great weather, boarded July 13
Just watched a few of your videos after we came back from a 7 day Alaska cruise also on Majestic Princess 8/19-8/26/23. Your videos are awesome. Great narration and videography. Very entertaining. We visited the same cities and ended up in Whittier AL. It was our 40th wedding anniversary. We had an awesome time. We flew into Vancouver the day before departure. We had 7 days of sunshine and 70 degrees except for Whittier where it was raining and 50 degrees. We flew home from Anchorage. Next Alaska cruise, we will take your advice and rent a car, and later bikes in order to see the surrounding areas of Ketchikan and Skagway. We will also seriously consider taking a trip to Denali and Fairbanks via the Alaska Railroad. Thanks again!
Thank you both for taking us along on your wonderful cruise! It brought back so many memories of our Princess Alaska cruise in 2002. Glad you had a wonderful time!
I think the lack of kids was because it was the middle of May and school was still in for most of the US. Just my opinion.
Yes. My parents just got back from this cruise on Sunday and they were very surprised at how many kids were on the cruise.
Also because it’s Princess - a higher end ship. Higher end parents are educated and know enough to leave their kids at home so they can actually enjoy time on their vacation. Lots of other ships are more appropriate for kids, as stated in the video.
Some cruise outlets limit the amount of kids per cruise.
In Australia, when you book a cruise, you have to check the availability of tickets for kids in certain age groups as they are limited.
I am not sure what the actual numbers are, but certain age groups get sold out more than others.
Princess is more geared towards the 50-60 year age range. So, people that are past that time in their life. To be honest that is one of reasons I love Princess!!!
This was very informative. Thank you.
We are taking a similar Alaskan cruise, but we will be leaving from San Francisco, so we will have four days at sea. This works out well for us because we don't need to fly anywhere as San Francisco is an hour away from our home. We will be seeing the Endicott and Dawes glacier.
This video is so very helpful from the expenses you incurred as well as how to choose excursions at the different ports and what to pack. We will be going to Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. I agree that the excursions from Princess are expensive. We did book the Totem Pole excursion for Ketchikan. It's not so easy to get all of this information in one fell scoop :-), so thank you!
I am debating whether to get the non-alcoholic drinks package and possibly the Internet for my device since I like to post to Facebook when I'm on travel.
I have watched a gazillion videos and I'll hand it to you guys, well done. Very concise and practical without the glitz so prevalent and you even had a gem hidden in there that even I ( whom I personally consider the smartest person I know 🙂) hadn't thought of, CAR RENTAL ! What a brilliant idea to see that spot that you want to see that is otherwise inaccessible for some reason.
So glad you found us and enjoyed the video.
I am so glad that u explained everything!!!
Thank both of you for sharing this amazing trip.Lauren and Mark i am so glad you both got to do this.❤
Thanks for doing this video. I really appreciate you being open and honest about cost. Now, we are in Florida. Our cost will be more with flights to get to AK.
I've enjoyed all of your cruise videos especially this transparent breakdown.
Thanks for supporting local businesses.
It's crazy that people are afraid to book with non-cruise advised companies. It really hurts the profit of local businesses. Shop local.
Our island was devastated by Super typhoon Mawar but after almost a month we finally got power and water is back. Internet access is also working so I will be able to catch up on the videos I missed. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed your vacation cruise. Hafa adai and love from the island of Guam 🌴❤🌴
I very much enjoyed all of these cruise videos, thank you so much.
I usually pay all those up front tips port fees etc. We paid $2200 for everything
Lauren & Mark thank you for sharing your cruise looked fantastic- you both certainly looked like you had a great time❤
You guys did such an amazing job highlighting the cruise and ports in every video. I appreciated you taking the time to explain the history of everything from the museums and parks to the White Pass Railway. We’re planning a cruise for next year and I’ve saved your videos to watch again. Thank you for the time you spent doing this for others to enjoy and learn from. All life’s blessings.
What a wonderful story. I totally agree with using local. I was in Amsterdam a few years ago and wanted to take a canal cruise. The majority were these large boats. We found a smaller boat that only held 8 to 10 people. They were able to go down the smaller canals, and the guide was right next to us and had a wealth of knowledge and could answer any questions.
I'd love to do this in two years. Which company? Costs?
HI i do cruise a lot and i have to say that your cruise price was great!!You can hardly find a cruise for that price anymore especially for an Alaskan cruise. I really enjoyed watching your videos. We have two cruises booked for next year One from New York on the newest carnival ship The Venezia and one from Baltimore Maryland cant wait! Our last one was in January we try to do at least once a year on our Anniversary
We have been cruising since 2013.
Thanks for verifying that $1250pp with fees, tips, taxes, and non-alcoholic drink plan was a normal rate for a balcony room on Princess for an Alaskan cruise. That's really good info.
Hello glad y'all had a good time enjoying.Take care all.
Thanks so much
Thank you for breaking everything down. Totally agree inregards to booking excursions with local vendors. We also made sure that we bought gifts made by locals and shopped where local people advised us to. It was a trip of a lifetime. Love Alaska and Alaskan people ❤
We would love to see the entire family take a cruise some day. Thanks for walking us through this entire process.
love that this line is boring so that no kids are on the ship
Thank you Lauren and Mark for sharing your trip in Alaska it was a great time, and for doing an review of the cruise, take care and stay safe ❤️ 🙏 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
You have provided so much useful information. I have learned more about cruises than I have read about. You literally could write a brochure on Alaskan cruises. I watch many videos and none have been more detailed than what you have provided. I can see a lot of work went into all the ports you visited down to the food you consumed. Give your self a pat on the back Lauren and Mark. Excellent job, not to mention hard work.
Why would they need to make a cruise brochure when they literally just did a video that addressed everything appropriately?
Thanks so much for the wrapup! Loved the vlogs of the whole cruise, can’t wait for our one day bucket list trip!
Thank you so much for answering our questions! ❤❤
I am taking my mum to Alaska nxt May from Australia. A few days in anchorage and seward. Then a cruise to vancouver. I got the 2 persons for usa $2017-. $3000aud. Super special i am so excited. I wont be spending much on the ship. Just doing excursions. 😂😂
I love your Alaska tour and this video! So much information, I have a lot more idea of what is it. Thank you guys , awesome videos and I super enjoyed, I feel like I was there too! ❤❤
I went to Alaska May of 2022 on Holland America Koningsdam and have one planned May 2024 on Majestic Princess. Both I was able to book and make payments. Also pre-paid gratuities. The one with Holland America was originally booked for May 2021 but was cancelled due to covid. We had choice of refund or just keeping it on file to book new cruise and this is what we did
We are heading on the same cruise as you did in 50 days. We were in Juneau last September and found Jaleen’s Alaska’s Girl. She was fabulous and hope to see her again in August. Enjoying watching your videos!!
Maybe, and I’m just saying this. You could plan a Disney cruise with your kids. That would be cool to see. I’m just saying that would be a big memory your kids will never forget. Like watching you guys
My parents LOVED their Alaska cruise. Sea bands are great and they alleviate any seasickness. I highly recommend them. I do get seasick on small boats but not on airplanes.
We’re going on Carnival next May and I looked at the White Pass excursion through them and on the local website…Carnival was DOUBLE 🫣😮😬 but this will be my 3rd cruise so thankfully I know to trust locally owned companies with good reviews to get you there and back on time! I just was floored how much more expensive it was!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for all these videos! You gave my husband and I so many great ideas!!!
Hello from AUSTRIA! Thank you so much for all your cruise videos. Now we know everything, we wanted to know. It is a little difficult to get all those informations here in Europe. Your videos helped so much. 8.july2023, We will cruise northbound with P. Majestic, only standard package, no booked excursions, balcony cabin, like you. We want to meet local people, vendors... Now we know that our plan will work. After the cruise we will rent a RV till end of august and travel through Alaska by our own. We are nature lovers and are very excited to visit your beautiful country. All the best from Austria, Daniela&Reinhold
Oh wow! Sounds like the perfect trip. An rv is a great way to see the state. Glad you found this information helpful.
For a balcony you had a great deal! Thanks for your video!
We've been on three Alaska cruises. We've booked either an oceanview room or interior. You're at a different port or cruising by a glacier most every day. We spent very little time in the room. Its cold and windy on sea days, so we would not want to sit on a balcony. The savings can be amazing. The best interior rooms we've had are on Celebrity. The rooms are larger and have chairs or a sofa.
Thank you for the tips! We spent a ton of time on our balcony and couldn’t imagine cruising without it, but we know that it’s not for everyone.
Another way to decide what to do in small Alaska port towns, is to check their town websites. They have bus schedules and transportation info, town maps, trail maps, activities suggestions, etc. Alaska port towns are very small and the locals are really friendly and helpful. Southeast Alaska is like visiting a whole different state, it’s absolutely incredible. Well, done on documenting your cruise. Your information about our state and its culture were very spot on. Excellent.
Hi Friends, Our family has enjoyed all your Alaska cruise videos, so much. 😊
Thank you Lauren and Mark thank for a lovely holiday I got a little bit of a tan xxxxx
Thanks for sharing your wonderful cruise information!
Our pleasure!
Get your cruises thru Costco if you ever go on another one. They have good deals.
That included the drink package we do drink alcohol.
Thank you for your review. I’m going on an Alaskan cruise and am so excited. Interesting to hear the opinions from Alaska natives.
Thank you guys for your perspective, tips & telling us all about Alaska. Jeff & Sandy Brooklyn, N.Y.
I enjoyed watching all of your cruise videos. Thankyou so much for sharing your holiday with us.
Thank you for your honest reviews about this cruise. I would love to do this cruise. Letting us know the cost is very helpful. I love cruising!
You both did an awesome job of breaking everything down! It looked like you both had a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing everything with us.
Hello! Great Q &A videos. This video was very helpful.
Good Afternoon Hamm Family ❤️
The last catch-up for today. I have dinner to cook. This will be short, but sweet 🙂
First, I'm so happy that you and Mark had a wonderful time together. You both deserve it immensely 👫
Second, thank you for sharing your adventures with me and so many others... it's priceless 🛳️
Third, thank you for all the information you gathered and have shared, especially dealing with those with mobility issues. Having a baseline price is important when planning a trip such as this. It's so helpful to understand what is included and what is extra, including special packages and excursions. Information on local shops, restaurants, experiences, etc. is good to know and support. How to prepare and dress when traveling through Alaska is important information to have. Thank you 🧭
Lastly, good answer Mark 😁
You, Miss Luna and the Alaska Boys have a great weekend. Yah's Blessings 🤗
We're just back from doing the same cruise but on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth - beautiful ship (gorgeous art deco inspired interior) and only 1800 people on board. Because I booked early (before March I think) we had 600 dollars to spend on board (instead of the usual 400 dollars). We used this money to pay for anything like internet and speciality coffees.
Cunard take off 11 dollars a day for gratuities.
We went Club Balcony which was a bit special for us - but it gave us access to a lovely, smaller dining room and a slightly nicer room with boarding priority. No drinks package for us as we're not into drinking sugary drinks, and don't drink enough alcohol to make that worthwhile. The food was so good we never felt the need to pay to eat elsewhere.
For us the cost was @£3,900 (sterling).
Of course we had the flights from UK to Vancouver and a few days in Vancouver before the cruise, so a very expensive holiday for us but worth every penny.
Thank you for this family blessings to each one of theme.
My guess is you two went on this cruise about the same time as we went on ours last May with Holland America. It was incredible. We are doing another Alaska cruise this year in August with a few of our adult childrern. We decided to go through Royal this time (mainly because we thought the kids would enjoy that ship more). Excited to see the area again in August.
So glad you shared this trip...ive done many western & southern carribean cruises & want to do alaska. I really dont tolerate cold well but Im going to do it lol ! For us the biggest expense is the flight to get to the ports they leave from.
Thank you I like going off tour from the ship . We are taking our family and grandkids so this is very good information
I totally enjoyed your cruise trip and how you showed the different places to eat , excursions and local businesses... and Alaska travel packing !!! It all gave a great knowledge of what to do if you were cruising there ! Thank You Lauren and Mark for letting us travel with you !! Sure missed the boys and Luna though !!
Hello Lauren, thank you for this cruise videos. Very informative. Albert & Maria
My husband and I took the princess to Alaska through the inside passage and had a balcony room for our 25 th anniversary 17 yrs ago. We also stayed in Denali after the cruise and had a fantastic time. I would definitely do that cruise again. We are from NH and back then it cost us a little over 10,000 dollars. We are now planning another cruise but this time to Iceland. I watched all your videos of this cruise and we went to all the same ports. It was fantastic! Great videos 👍🏻💓
I've enjoyed this series of videos. Nice to see the options.
$2408 wow that’s great and last minute. It was double when I was looking and 6 months in advanced. Leaving from Seattle is $4504 for 2 in a balcony with standard package and this is if they pick you room.if I picked $5056
Loved all your Alaska videos. Thank you for sharing your trip. I’ll be there June 16th and your tips are appreciated. Keep your videos coming! Regards from California. Sonia
I’ve watched all your Ak videos…love them all. Thanks for taking so much time out of your vacation to share with us. We’re going on an AK cruise in 2 weeks! First time cruising, and very excited..🦋 oh, I also bought the traveler pants from Costco that you recommended..
That's so cheap! our cruise next year in September is costing $4280 usd for the plus package ( drinks and wifi included) for 2 of us with no excursions included yet we haven't decided which ones might be for us
So much great information! Thank you.
Mark needs to snorkel in the Caribbean! Sea turtles in Barbados!
Cruise with the whole family!
We took our 6 kids and flew from Minneapolis to San Juan Puerto Rico. Then sailed to St Thomas, St Lucia, Barbados, St Kitts, St Maarten.
Thing about a cruise is that it gives you the taste of small islands and you unpack once. You have your traveling hotel with you and ALL the food is included! That is good for families.
Carnival is he most affordable and then Royal Caribbean.
Your boys would love it! Even your parents!
With where you live the airfare is the killer. In Minnesota we pay as much to fly there as we do to cruise.
I really enjoyed watching your cruise videos. The frequently non-standard travels really was fun to watch and gave options we hadn't thought of. My wife and I are going on our first cruise there next May.
Lauren and Mark, we loved the video and were happy you enjoyed your first cruise. We have cruised quite a bit. Mainly the Caribbean since we live in Naples, FL. We enjoyed your commentary as being an Alaskan in the sights you saw as well as the helpful weather gear to bring. Being a native Floridian, sunglasses, sandals, shorts and sun screen covers your basic attire year round. Looking forward to your next video!
That price is actually very decent for a balcony. I have a 7 day this August on Celebrity and my total for an inside room is 1,239. That price includes tips and 250 OBC.
If you're booking a cruise be aware that the price you see can vary by a bunch because some sites do not show the price WITH the port fee/tax included. For my 7 day trip that was $473. The tips were another $244. So the actual room was just about 300 per person...before the OBC is taken into account.
Prices also vary by cruiseline, time of year, sales specials from the cruiseline and when you buy (last minute sales are often cheapest - but you may not be able to choose your room location - because the cruise needs to sail full to be profitable).
Thanks for the review of your cruise. Have taken 2 cruises to SE Alaska. Next time to Anchorage, Denali and riding Alaska RR routes. Best wishes
Wow, sounds like a great adventure! I need to take the train to Denali!
We did the same cruise in May but unfortunately missed Glacier Bay 😢. You are so right in saying I want to go back and now do an inland tour. I have now added an inland tour including Denali to my bucket list.
That was a great price I paid just for the cruise 3500 Australia dlrs that’s not including anything no gratuities no drinks 🇦🇺🇦🇺 but seeing Alaska was amazing expensive to get there. And accommodation in Vancouver for 4 nights plus flights not something we can do regularly but nevertheless I’m so glad we had the opportunities to see this wonderful and beautiful part of the world 💕🇦🇺
Good morning Mark and Lauren.
Good morning!
Thank you for this wonderful cruise experience. It brought back many memoirist of our Alaska cruise in 2015. Our first major overseas holiday of Canada and Alaska. We live in south east Queensland , Australia and just to watch how you manage the snow and wet with 4 children is amazing to me. When we went on our cruise we had wonderful weather similar to yours however we had friends from Aus who were on the ship the following week to us and they had terrible weather so it really is unpredictable. Thanks again for all your videos, I so enjoy seeing life in Alaska.
I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time.
Heading to Vancouver next May for an Alaska Cruisetour, Yukon, Denali and back to Vancouver on Holland America. We booked a Signature Suite, we went all out.
We find it far more economical to buy the premier package not the more expensive plus package . By the time you add up gratuities, Wi-Fi and even the water , coffee and mocktails, it pays for itself. Absolutely worth the price.
I loved your adventure ❤ we ate going next June and can wait. We are taking our 14 yr old grandson. He is so excited ❤🎉
We did the North/South 14 day cruise on Sapphire Princess several years ago out of Vancouver. We enjoyed the turnaround day on the ship as there were only about 20 of us staying on. Our day in Whittier was also a monsoon of rain. The nice thing about doing the round trip was that we got 2 days in each of the ports to spend one day just exploring and the next time we did a fun excursion.
Was 14 days too long? That's a long time to be on a cruise. But, I'm sure it would be fun.
@@stephendacey8761 we've done two 14 day Alaskan cruises. Once we hit about 11 days, I was about ready to come home. We did have a good time.
@@debbiedempsky8160 That's great. Some day I'll try an Alaskan cruise. I'm glad you had fun.
Thanks for sharing! We are going in August. Doing Denali too
I just love your videos! ❤. I learn something (multiple things) every time I watch! 😊.
Cruises certainly do seem pretty good value for money, especially like you say, when you factor in the cost of everything if you were to do it all separately yourself.
Or Guys yous are Amazing, Thank u for taking us along on your Beautiful Cruise, I throughly enjoyed them, I also luv all Watching of ur Videos, luv to u all 🥰🥰🥰 🇬🇧
We are wanting to take an Alaskan cruise, too. I really want to do the Disney cruise but they do not have a casino on the ship. We are debating on either the Disney or Princess. I think most families with children would go on the Disney cruise because they cater to families and there are a lot of activities for the kids.
Great video! Thank you for the recap and pricing! 🎉🎉🎉❤
Loved your video in planning my Alaskan cruise. Subscribed. ❤
Mine is double that for July 2024 alaska with plane tickets and excursions 6,500 lol
The price seemed reasonable.