That is our next dream vacation. Any guidance? I say we won't need a handicap suite but it might be needed by the time it's all over so why not. I would like a balcony. Our last cruise was an interior room

No, but it sounds like fun! I say you need a personal assistant and I'm VERY available!!!

Hi Doydie,

We are avid cruisers but have yet to get to Alaska or New England. We lean toward the warmer cruises. If I may be so bold, I can refer you to THE most outstanding professional travel counselor and personal assistant I have every dealt with in the industry. Having a travel business background myself this woman is worth her weight in gold and doesn't miss a single detail.

Should you be interested to even talk and interview her, I would be happy to provide you the information I have from my research on her services and background. You may already have an outstanding travel contact and that's fine. Sometimes it never hurts to have a couple people to receive insights, information, and quotes. This woman literally made out Hawaiian cruise vacation an unbelievable experience.

Joyce has mentioned a few time about leaving out of Norfolk, VA and taking the New England cruise. Alaska just doesn't get us that excited.

We have met several people on our other cruises who have done the Alaska trip a couple of times and had nothing but great comments about the entire trip. I don't think you can lose either way. I'll be excited to hear what you decide.

The Alaskan cruise in a smaller boat (can go places big boats can't) interests me. A warmer cruise is wonderful but have done that twice. From NJ, have drivenand seen New England several times. Want to fly to CA and stay there awhile, then up to Washington or Canada and then go cruising. |Saving up to do after twins college - 3 years to go.

I live in New England, so we thought it corny to take cruise around our own neighborhood, but we want badly to go to alaska. Prices vary widely, as do accomodations. I have checked AARP.com and AAA.com and kayak.com and its amazing to me. There are several sights like Budgettravel.com or budgetcruises.com that offer good prices. Many places will sell you a room cheaply if you are willing to book late so that they fill the rooms up. Search for last minute cruise deals, and if you are willing to leave with very little notice you can get stuff half price or lower.

Have fun, and wave if you pick New England!

I am a firm believer anyone who is going to take a vacation this extensive, speaking of Alaska primarily, should use a professionally qualified travel agent for all aspects of the travel. It will cost very little if anything at all for their services. They know the product, market, industry, and normally have access to pricing not revealed online. Let them worry about all the details, create an outstanding package experience and all you have to do is say if it is what you want and/or what to tweak.

I'm afraid I'm gun shy from trying to work up a Caribbean vacation on my own thinking I knew the ins and outs of the business and was going to save money booking each item separately. Boy, was I mistaken as it ended up costing me twice as much money not to mention the emotional aspects of the coordination. This is strictly my personal experience. After that fiasco my wife said, "Never again!" We've used a professional ever since.

Just my 1 1/2 cents of sense.

Hey, Dej, the Kennedys did it all the time. Three of them are even buried at sea, there.

Thanks guys. We will use AAA and let them handle EVERY aspect just like we had them do when we went to Disney World. We took a cruise to the Bahamas before we started a family and loved every minute of it. This time I want to let go of a little more money and get a room with a balcony. If we go to Alaska it has to be in the warmer times. But even with it in the 70's now my husband is wearing a thermal jacket over his long sleeves in the house! So I don't know. I do know that he wants to do something to please me. He knows I had a lousy birthday this year and wants me to do something I want.

Doydie,

I am so happy you are going to use a certified professional travel agent to arrange EVERY aspect of your vacation. Don't forget to get a good 3rd party trip insurance like Travel Guard Gold to protect your investment. For a trip like this a private balcony is the "ONLY" way to go. If you are flying from the East to West coast, I would highly recommend flying first class (if that is feasible) definitely nonstop and have a pre and post night cruise nights stay at a hotel close to the pier.

We thoroughly enjoyed and took full advantage of our private balcony when we went to Hawaii in November. Add a handicapped accessible stateroom to that and here is an example of what you can look forward to. This is from our cruise on the Golden Princess to Hawaii. As you can see there is a great deal of room in a handicapped accessible room.

Keep us informed on the progress of our plans.

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After watching Titanic for the umpteenth time, I have NOOOO desire for a cruise. Aren't there a lot of iceburgs in Alaska?