Luxury cruises
Glaciers, whales and bears from a small ship, with a pre-cruise stop in Vancouver.
Alaska on a small luxury ship is a different trip from Alaska on a large one. Smaller vessels enter Misty Fjords and Tracy Arm, spend longer at the glaciers, and tie up in Sitka and Wrangell where bigger ships cannot. Wildlife is the point: humpbacks, orcas, bears at the salmon runs, eagles everywhere.
It is a long way from the UK, so we almost always add nights in Vancouver before and sometimes the Rockies by train after. For grandparents with teenage grandchildren it is one of the great multigenerational journeys.
Highlights
Planning figure for a typical week in a veranda suite. Final price depends on sailing date, ship, suite and availability.
Start PlanningRegent in school holidays for teenagers; the included excursions take the cost out of flightseeing and wildlife trips.
Silversea and Seabourn for small ships, Regent for inclusive simplicity, Viking for adults-only calm.
Best cruise lines here
The most inclusive fare at sea, on all-suite ships that take elegance seriously.
Butler-served suites, serious destinations, and one of the strongest expedition fleets afloat.
Small, sociable, quietly luxurious ships, with a sister expedition fleet.
Food-led, country-club casual ships of around 670 to 1,200 guests at an accessible luxury price.
Calm, adults-only ships with Scandinavian design and an excursion included in every port.
How to choose
Derived from our own ratings of the lines above, not from brochures.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Viking are mid-size; Silversea and Seabourn are small-ship. Smaller ships reach the smaller harbours in Alaska; larger ones carry more for children and more dining choice.
Oceania Cruises and Viking keep it relaxed; Regent Seven Seas Cruises leans formal and traditional. Ask us which suits the party before anything else.
Seabourn, Oceania Cruises and Viking are effectively adults-only. Children's facilities vary more than brochures suggest; we will say which ships really have them.
Silversea, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Seabourn lead on food in our experience of Alaska sailings.
Cruise ideas
Planning figures per person.
Glaciers and whales with excursions included, plus Vancouver and the Rocky Mountaineer for a 14-night family journey.
In pictures
Licensed photographs of the ports and the ships we would put you on, not brochure renders.
Connecting suites, different activity levels, dining that works for everyone, and transfers that suit grandparents and toddlers alike. The best family suites go first, so start early.
Further reading
Our own planning notes: who a ship suits, how many cabins to book, when to go.
Which ships work when the party spans seventy years, what to look for in a children's programme, and the itineraries we would start with.
Crowds, buffets, seasickness, feeling trapped, dressing for dinner, children underfoot and the price. What is true of a 3,000-guest ship is mostly untrue of a 300-guest one. Here is what we tell first-time guests.
Teenagers are the hardest age to please on a ship and the easiest to lose to a phone. The lines, cabins and itineraries that keep a fifteen-year-old on side.
Good to know
Ten to fourteen months for July and August on the small luxury ships, which carry few cabins and sell steadily. June and early September have more availability.
Don't spend thirty hours comparing forty ships, cabins, dates, flights and hotels. Give us five minutes and we'll narrow it down to what is worth considering.