Carnival Cruise Lines recently opened up their booking engine to accept 2016 Alaska cruise bookings. The Carnival Legend will be sailing to Alaska again in 2016. Although there has not been an official press release at the time I am writing this, I am able to share a few details based on looking at the booking engine.
      The Carnival Legend will start sailing the waters of Alaska once again starting in May 2016. The ship will start the Alaska season by sailing on an 8 day cruise from Vancouver that will end in Seattle. This cruise departs on May 16, 2016 and should end on May 24, 2016.  According to this cruise's itinerary the ship will be going to Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan. The following cruise departs from Seattle on May 24 and will be 7 night voyage that is scheduled to go to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria. 
         After both of these voyages, the Carnival Legend is scheduled to do round trip 7 day itineraries from Seattle, Washington. Starting with a May 31 voyage and ending with an August 30 voyage, the ship will complete these 7 night itineraries and visit places such as Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria. 
           To end the Alaska season, the Carnival Legend will sail a 7 night Glacier Bay itinerary that begins in Seattle and ends in Vancouver. This cruise will depart on September 6, 2016, and will visit Juneau, Skagway,  Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan. 

         All of the itinerary information included here is based on my observations from Carnival's booking engine. Please keep in mind that all of this is subject to change. At the time of this writing, no official press release from Carnival is available.  
         For the most up to date information I recommend visiting www.carnival.com to view the booking engine.

      Many people have been anxiously waiting for Royal Caribbean to open its booking engine for the 2016 Alaska cruise season. Today, March 26, 2015, Royal Caribbean opened Alaska bookings for the Explorer of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. Both of these ships will be sailing to a variety of different Alaska ports and scenic cruise spots. Royal Caribbean has announced this is the company's 27th consecutive season to sail Alaska!
        According to Royal Caribbean's press release the Explorer of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship to ever sail Alaska. The Explorer of the Seas will be primarily cruising round trip seven day voyages departing from Seattle, Washington. 
        The Radiance of the Seas will be back to sailing Alaska again in 2016. According to Royal Caribbean's press release the Radiance of the Seas will  alternate between departing from Vancouver and Seward. Welcome back to Alaska, Radiance of the Seas!

To view Royal Caribbean's official press release:  Click Here To View
To visit Royal Caribbean's website:   Click Here To View

Royal Caribbean Ships Sailing Alaska In 2016 At-A-Glance:

• Explorer of the Seas
  
• Radiance of the Seas
  

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For those of you looking to book an Alaska cruise remember these basic tips:

• Book your cruise early because certain types of staterooms can sell out.
• Purchase travel insurance that will adequately cover you because Alaska can be an expensive vacation and if  something happens you probably don't want to lose all of your vacation money.
• Always be on the lookout for price drops and try to get your cruise line to honor the lower price!
• Keep in mind Alaska can be a once in a lifetime opportunity for many and it is okay to splurge a little to make the most of this vacation. It is worth it to have a room with a view if you plan on looking outside at the scenery. If not, I would recommended just booking an interior. If you do book an interior, remember to use the outside public decks to get a look outside!

      Alaska is a state with many different scenic cruise spots, ports of call, waterways, landforms, and wildlife. You never know what you may see from your ship or while you are in a port of call. 
       Whether you are cruising alone, with family, kids, or as a group, you can make looking at the views of Alaska more fun and interesting. I have created a guide of things to try to spot from your cruise ship or while in ports of call. You can use this list just for the fun of looking outside or you can turn this into a scavenger hunt for your group. Please note, this is not a contest of any type and there are no prizes from RyG's Cruise Guide  for spotting these things. However, if you choose to turn this into a scavenger hunt for your group you could give away small prizes to your group's winner. 
         You never know what you may see from your cruise ship or while docked in ports of call. While you are cruising Alaska, always be looking outside for wildlife or different landforms. The part of Alaska you cruise to will determine what you have the possibility to spot from your ship.  My list is meant to be generic for almost all Alaska itineraries and cruises. 

RyG's Cruise Guide's List of Things To Spot During Your Alaska Cruise Vacation:
-  A Glacier (Any Glacier Will Work)
-  Different Types of Birds
-  A Float Plane
-  Sunrise
- Sunset
-  Excursion Boat
-  The Moon
-  Glacier Calving
-  Sea Otter
-  Sea Lion
-  Waterfall
-  A Whale
-  Snow on the Ground
-  Icy Mountain Peak
-  Low Hanging Clouds
-  Fish In The Water
-  Pilot Boat or Coastguard Ship For Each Port You Dock At
-  Sign In Each Port of Call That Shows The Town Name
-  Other Cruise Ships Passing By Your Ship

Check Out The Rest Of Our Alaska Cruise Guide:
Click Here To View

     When the Liberty of the Seas comes to Galveston later this year (2015) to replace the Navigator of the Seas, it is marking a capacity and ship size increase for Galveston. Since Royal Caribbean already has two Oasis Class vessels (Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas) and a few more vessels for this class on the way, the company is going to have to homeport each of these ships somewhere. 
       Could Galveston be the homeport to one of these ships in the future? Only time will tell, but for now it is interesting and fun imagining what Galveston might need to change to accommodate one of these ships. What would Galveston's cruise terminal area look like with an Oasis Class ship docked?


I.  The Pier Must Be Able To Accommodate The Ship 
         The Oasis of the Seas is long (approximately 1,186 ft. in length), while the Liberty of the Seas is approximately 1,125 ft. long. Based on these figure's from each ship's fact sheets, the pier in Galveston would need to be able to accommodate a ship 61 feet longer than Liberty of the Seas in order to fit a ship the size of the Oasis of the Seas. Sixty one feet doesn't seem to be too much longer and some work could probably be done to Cruise Terminal 2's pier in the future to accommodate this ship's length.

II.  Traffic Problems On Harborside Drive Would Be A Little Worse Than They Already Are
          An increase in passengers would bring an increase in traffic at the port when a ship is docked. More cars would be looking for a place to park and drop off/pick up lines could be longer. Galveston's Harborside Drive is already a busy place when cruise ships are in because all of the cars, parking lot buses, and airport shuttles. Imagine the traffic nightmare during peak embarkation times, if there is an Oasis Class ship docked in Galveston and one of Carnival's Dream class ships docked at the same time. If this scenario were ever a possibility, Galveston would need to look for  ways to alleviate traffic on Harborside Drive. 
           The Oasis of the Seas carries 5,400 guests double occupancy and the Liberty of the Seas carries 3,634 guests double occupancy, according to each ship's respective fact sheets. Remember, double occupancy only represents each room being filled at 2 guests. Many staterooms can often accommodate 3 or 4 guests.  However, the double occupancy capacity difference between these ships is 1766 passengers. To put this into perspective, lets say there are 4 cruise passengers per car. This would add approximately 442 cars to the road that would need parking spaces. Congestion on Harborside Drive would increase significantly as well as competition for available parking spots.

III. Parking Lots Rejoice! More People Increases Demand For Parking, And Potential To Earn More Revenue
           Cruise parking lots currently appear to be highly utilized in Galveston because Carnival has 3 ships, Royal Caribbean has one ship, and Disney sails some years seasonally. These ships are coming in at least once per week and each time one cruise ends a new set of guests need to be parked.  Passengers that are dropped off or shuttled from the airport, of course, wouldn't need to park. However, all of the passengers that drive to their cruise would need a place to park, which would likely increase demand for parking spots. 
            More people needing a place to park would help cruise parking lots fill their spaces. A vacant parking space doesn't earn money and I am sure parking lot owners would be happy to have their parking spots filled to capacity. 
            The Port of Galveston has its own parking lots and there are many independent privately owned parking lots near the cruise terminals. Most of them vary in parking price and number of available parking spots. As a whole, I wonder if Galveston (the port and independent lots combined) could handle an increase in passenger capacity. Are there enough spots for everyone?  My guess is if ship capacity increases in Galveston someone would open a new lot or some current parking lots would be revamped to increase parking capacity.  

IV. The Channel and Depth
              I don't know the length or depth of the waterway around Galveston's port or cruise terminals, but I do know that the water must be deep enough to accommodate any ship needing to sail through it. I tried finding detailed information about Galveston's waterway depths, but I was not successful in finding this information. Galveston's port would need to be deep enough for an Oasis Class ship to dock and there would need to be an area wide enough for the ship to have room to turn around. Currently, the Navigator of the Seas and Carnival Magic typically turn around before arriving at their designated terminal in Galveston. These ships appear too large to turn in the area directly around the cruise terminal, based on my observations. When these two ships don't turn around before arriving, they typically will back out and turn around during sail-a-way. 

V.  More Cruisers = More Tourism
             Galveston should want its cruise ship industry to grow because as more people come to the island for a cruise, these vacationers will often check out local attractions, dine in restaurants, and stay in hotels. Of course, some cruisers will only come to Galveston Island to cruise and then leave, but many people will check out the attractions Galveston has to offer. Cruise ships are often known for generating tourism dollars and if Galveston's cruise capacity increases, it is safe to say an increase in tourism revenue will follow. 

             Only time will tell if Galveston gets an Oasis Class ship or maybe even a Quantum Class ship. For now, I can only imagine how things would look if Galveston gets a bigger ship. As cruise ships get bigger and older smaller ships are phased out, some cruise ports will get these larger ships if their facilities can handle the size of the ship. For now, Galveston's Royal Caribbean cruisers can enjoy the Navigator of the Seas and then the Liberty of the Seas when it comes in late 2015. 

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      Today when I was looking around at Princess Cruise Line's website, I noticed the 2016 Alaska itineraries on the site's booking engine. Princess Cruise Line deploys multiple ships to cover the Alaska Cruise season each year because of Alaska's popularity and the demand for a variety of different itineraries. 
        I was able to find this official press release from Princess on their news website about the 2016 Alaska cruise season:  Click Here To View.  This press release previously announced the Princess ships that would cruise Alaska in 2016, but the bookings opened today, March 12, 2015. 




And The Princess Ships Cruising Alaska In 2016 Are...

• Coral Princess
  
• Crown Princess
• Grand Princess
• Island Princess
• Ruby Princess
• Star Princess
  
  

Cruises will depart from the following ports, at some point, in the 2016 Alaska season:

• Anchorage, Alaska
  
• San Francisco, CA
  
• Seattle, WA
  
• Vancouver, BC

        For the most part, the ships that Princess has deployed to Alaska are the same as in 2015. However, this year, the Pacific Princess and Golden Princess are not scheduled to cruise Alaska. 
         
For those of you looking to book an Alaska cruise remember these basic tips:

• Book your cruise early because certain types of staterooms can sell out.
• Purchase travel insurance that will adequately cover you because Alaska can be an expensive vacation and if  something happens you probably don't want to lose all of your vacation money.
• Always be on the lookout for price drops and try to get your cruise line to honor the lower price!
• Keep in mind Alaska can be a once in a lifetime opportunity for many and it is okay to splurge a little to make the most of this vacation. It is worth it to have a room with a view if you plan on looking outside at the scenery. If not, I would recommended just booking an interior. If you do book an interior, remember to use the outside public decks to get a look outside!

       One of Alaska's popular scenic cruise destinations spots is Glacier Bay. Although I have never been to Glacier Bay, I have a family member who has and she took these amazing pictures from her ship, the Coral Princess.  This is not a typical blog post. Instead this is a mini photo gallery of some Glacier Bay photos. Due to the large amount of photos, I do not have descriptive labels on each one.  Enjoy the view and if you are planning on cruising through Glacier Bay this is for you!

Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!