How do you travel?
This picture gives you an idea of how large the cruise ships are that come into Juneau. For those of you who have been on a cruise, this is nothing new. For me it’s just amazing. There are 3 ships in this picture, bringing thousands of people to a relatively small area. On a busy day with 7 ships, about 20,000 tourists visit Juneau. By contrast, the population of Juneau is about 33,000. A lot of the residents who live and work in the valley rarely, if ever, come to the downtown area, because it can be so crowded.
There are pluses and minuses to seeing Alaska this way, I think. (Take all of this with a grain of salt, as I have never been on a cruise.)
- Plus – You get to see several towns/villages, without having to pack and unpack or schlep your luggage around.
- Plus – You make friends on the ship, with the staff, with other guests. For many people, this is a really big plus.
- Plus – Your meals are taken care of, and I have heard that the quality is usually excellent.
- Plus – If you need anything…if you are injured or get sick…there is a staff there, doctors and so on, to help you.
- Minus – In some ways, the best time to see Juneau is when it is less crowded, which means early or late (before or after the ships come in).
- Minus – Your time is limited. Some cruises give you only a few hours to see a town. These towns are small, and honestly there isn’t a TON to see, but I’m not sure I would like the feeling of being rushed.
- Plus/Minus – Not sure on this one. Days at sea. Is that fun? If I want to go to Alaska, I want to spend my time in Alaska, not spend days on a ship at sea. I am sure the ships have a lot of things for you to do, and maybe it’s great time for relaxing, reading a book or doing activities.
I will say that everyone I know who has traveled this way has loved it. If we weren’t going to visit my family and have the specific vacation we had, we would certainly consider it. I don’t know how expensive it is, but flying and driving everywhere, and renting airbnbs wasn’t inexpensive by any means.
Which brings up another topic – Airbnbs and similar short term rentals, vs hotels. I find Airbnbs so very convenient when traveling. I think if it were just me and Ted, there would be good arguments to be made for a hotel. When you travel as a group, though, it is really nice to have a kitchen, a living room, more than one bedroom, etc. It’s less expensive than multiple hotel rooms. The quality varies, however. The bed in our Fairbanks Airbnb was REALLY squeaky. It woke us up every time we turned over. The bed in our Anchorage Airbnb wasn’t very comfortable. Since they were in neighborhoods, they weren’t really close to coffee shops or things like that. My big beef with Airbnb, however (and here we see that I am a hypocrite) is that the business model is really driving up the cost of housing. Our waiter in Juneau had to give up his apartment, because the owners are converting it to an Airbnb. Soon, he said, no one would be able to afford to live there except millionaires, and then who will make their coffee?
How about you? What do you think about cruising vs. flying/hotel? How about Airbnb vs hotels? How do you like to travel?
22 Comments
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
I can make both arguements for the cruise or going on my own. The cruise is a nice all in one package, so maybe it’s the way to go for a first visit to get a lay of the land. But if I’m on my own, I can stay where ever I want, take more time in places that I like better, and follow my own schedule.
The Airbnb debate! My husband would rather stay in hotels for the amenties like gyms. I’d rather stay in Airbnbs because then I have a kitchen and room to spread out, plus the odds are that there is going to be something unique about the Airbnb. My mileage with the Airbnb’s has definietly varied – every once in a while you get a weird bed or some other oddity that you wouldn’t have to deal with in a hotel. I also don’t like the impact to the local housing market BUT obviously it’s not enough of a factor to keep me out of the Airbnbs right now.
J
Beckett, I agree 100%. If I didn’t have family in Alaska, I think a cruise would have been much easier. And I LOVE having laundry facilities almost as much as a kitchen and dining room table! When it’s just me, or even all 3 of us and we’re in a city, a hotel can be a good option to an airbnb.
Margaret
I would like to take a short cruise to see if I like it or get seasick. I suspect I would get bored. It’s a shame that to see these wonderful places means crowds. 🙁 I too am torn on the Airbnb and understand both sides. I’m generally a hotel person though.
J
Margaret, yes, I don’t know if I would like a cruise or not. Most people that take them love them though!
Nicole MacPherson
I have friends who absolutely love to cruise. Like, if they could they’d never travel any other way. To me it feels both claustrophobic and unsettling. I’d prefer to do my own thing, for sure. We have travelled a lot to Mexico in the winter, and I would MUCH rather be in one place for a week than cruise from port to port.
J
We have a neighbor who only really travels on cruises, she loves it. She’s been through Europe, to Africa, Asia, and next year is going to Australia and New Zealand. She caught COVID on her last trip, and they took such good care of her during her isolation.
Melissa
I’m not keen on cruises, but there a couple places where I’d make an exception and Alaska is probably one of them, just for the ease. If I could I’d pick a smaller boat, although I get travel sick and have vertigo issues so that may be another issue.
We’ve used AirBnB’s a lot. I really like to have the laundry facilities because we travel carryon only. We also make use of the kitchen a little bit. I am rethinking a bit because of the issue caused by housing affordability as you say. When we are away we are in hotels in the US but once we meet our son we have got apartments so we aren’t sleeping an arms length away from our 20-year-old son. In Berlin we went with an aparthotel so we kind of get the bets of both worlds.
J
Yes, the convenience of laundry is so important! We went to France in 2018 and I went back in 2022, and both times we had to search out facilities (well, in 2022 it was just a laundry room in our time share, in 2018 we had to go to laundromats) and it’s a pain. This trip, we did laundry in all 3 locations, and loved the convenience.
Ally Bean
Just had this conversation on IG & Threads. It’s a good topic because everyone is so different, no right or wrong answers.
What do you think about cruising vs. flying/hotel? No cruises for me, I’ll fly or drive
How about Airbnb vs hotels? No Airbnbs for me, I’ll stay in a hotel
How do you like to travel? I like to travel leisurely. Slow travel appeals to me. I’d rather see one place in depth than see many places superficially.
J
Ally, your idea of slow travel is so appealing to me. I love Paris so much, and there is SO MUCH to see, but I feel like I’ve seen a lot of it now, and would like to go back and just take it more slowly next time. We packed in a LOT last year.
nance
We loved our Alaska cruise and chose excursions that fit what we wanted to do. We chose to walk into neighborhoods when we could and eschewed the typical jewelry stores and other cruise guest magnets in the ports we visited. Some of it you can’t escape, but with a place like Alaska there is so much natural beauty that there’s no need to do much other than appreciate and admire where you are.
I can’t speak to Airbnb accommodations because I’ve never used any. I’ve had mixed reviews from friends all over, however; many of them stay in Airbnb regardless of poor experiences because those are the exception rather than the rule. I like the basic hotel experience overall. I’m not there for the room, which I often use just to sleep or change clothes. The exception to that is the little inn we stay in at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where we’ve known the owner for decades now.
My travel depends on the place. Sometimes I like to be leisurely and relaxed. But I do have a fast and focused trip on my Someday List: a one-day drive to NYC–a place I loathe–just to see the Vermeers at the Met. Get there, see and soak in the paintings, and drive back home.
J
Oh, your trip to see the Vermeers at the met sounds lovely! My coworker was in Amsterdam earlier this year, and they have a huge exhibit going on. It was sold out, so she couldn’t get tickets, but she was kind of relieved because she heard it was SO crowded it was impossible to enjoy yourself. So sad, really. A Met visit sounds much more sane, because it would be their regular exhibit. Lots of driving though, if you’re not going to spend the night!
NGS
I think cruises are gross for so many reasons. Those giant ships are a disaster for maritime ecosystems, the chance of getting really sick/food poisoning is much higher than other types of travel, and being around people constantly is a dealbreaker for me. But I do understand why people do them. I just…would never. (Look, if I’m being honest, if I never had to go outside of a two-mile radius of my house, I’d be perfectly happy, so my views on traveling are probably moot.)
I have used Air B&Bs and have similar ethical concerns (driving up housing prices, etc.), but having a kitchen is such a huge amenity for us. I wish there were more hotels that offered suites with kitchens.
J
I’m laughing at your opinion of travel! Yes, a little kitchen is really a big benefit to airbnb. When we went to France in 2018, I wanted to do airbnb, and my family wanted hotel, so we did hotel. We ended up spending SO MUCH more money on meals because we didn’t have a kitchen. My husband is low carb (not by choice) so the bread that is typical wasn’t much of an option. It ended up being about 60Euro per day for breakfast, and we never ate much. That was frustrating. Once we got into Paris it was a little easier, with more options.
Lisa’s Yarns
We’ve never taken a cruise and I don’t know that we will. I don’t think I would like following a schedule set by someone else. That’s my life outside of travel so I want to do what I want on my schedule when traveling. That said I know many love cruises so I don’t throw any shade on that style of travel. It’s just not for me. But I might make an exception for Alaska as I have heard great things about Alaskan cruises. My parents are likely going to do a river boat cruise in Europe with my dad’s siblings. I might be more apt to do something like that, especially when we are older and aren’t as keen on making an agenda and planning how to get around from city to city, etc.
We are definitely pro Airbnb and VRBO especially if we are traveling with our kids. I love having a kitchen and multiple bedrooms. We are planning a trip to Destin FL in April as you know from reading my blog so we will need 3 bedrooms and 2 baths for the 6 of us that will be traveling together. It’s way more economical to get an Airbnb. I do have a lot of marriott points from my work travel but I would only use them if it was just my husband and I. But even when it’s just us 2, we love having access to a kitchen because we get burned out on eating out for every meal! So it’s nice to be able to make breakfast.
J
Those riverboat cruises always look so tempting to me, but then reality jumps in and like you, I don’t want to be on someone else’s schedule.
I agree wholeheartedly about the convenience of renting an apartment/house. So much easier than hotel rooms, and especially for breakfast, it’s great to not have to go out every day.
San
Sometimes I think cruises sound very nice – all the amenities, entertainment, restaurants, etc…. but I don’t think I’d last very long on a cruise ship with SO MANY PEOPLE. I also heard stories that it can get quite expensive in ports where you’re stuck in the touristy areas and you can’t really venture out much.
I think, I’d always prefer planning and doing my own thing.
I agree on the AirBnBs>hotels though when you travel with a group… it’s usually less expensive than multiple hotel rooms and really nice to have space to hang out.
J
San, I feel the same way you do about cruises, but I feel like if I were to take one, Alaska would be the place to do it. Easier than the way we did it, for sure. However, I really liked the freedom that we had.
Regarding the Airbnbs, yes, I really like them. I just don’t like what they’re doing to the housing situation. Sigh.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Every once in a while I wonder if a cruise would be a nice way to travel. But as San already said. the number of people scare me. Are there smaller cruise ships?
And I agree with you I might feel rushed in the town. But more annoyed probably with all the tourist from that ship that are getting in my way.
My husband and I mainly travel and stay in hotels. But with groups an airbnb is defintly a great option if not the better one.
J
Tobia, yes, the crowds in Juneau really darkened my opionion of cruising, and I wondered if that was life on a cruise? Just always being surrounded by a crush of people. I’ll admit to getting a little overwhelmed and anxious feeling when there are too many people around, so that would be a downer for sure.
Stephany
If I were to visit Alaska (and I hope I do someday), I would take an Alaskan cruise. Alaskan cruises are MUCH different than a typical Caribbean cruise, so less partying/craziness than you’d expect. And as someone who has been on 10+ cruises, I can tell you that getting bored is not an option on a cruise. There is always so much to do! I often have a hard time limiting what I’m doing on at-sea days because I need to remember to have some downtime. Plus, the excursions on an Alaskan cruise are out-of-this-world. I’d probably opt for the more amazing excursions (many of which will take you a bit farther out from the cruise port) than sticking to the touristy town.
J
Stephany, this is exactly the kind of feedback we needed, I think. Some of us are not fans of cruises, some of us are, but you have the experience of various different cruises to help us out. Please go take a European river cruise and report back, I’ve been wondering about that.