Alaskan Cruise Options - Advice Appreciated

[AnnieFannie0625]

My husband and I are going on a cruise for the first time. We'd like to take an Alaskan cruise and want to do it right. Because of very specific work obligations, we have to depart June 24, 25, or 26 and arrive back on or before July 3.

We have narrowed it down to these four options:

1. Celebrity Cruises, Celebrity Eclipse, June 26-July 3. Itinerary is Vancouver, Inside Passage, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, Vancouver. We could afford an Aqua Class or Concierge Class balcony room.
2. Norwegian Cruise Line, Norwegian Encore, June 26 -July 3. Itinerary is Seattle, At Sea, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. We could afford a Club Suite with Large balcony.
3. Princess Cruises, Royal Princess, June 25-July 2. Itinerary is Vancouver, At Sea, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Whittier. We could afford a Premium Club Class Mini Suite with Balcony.
4. Royal Caribbean, Ovation of the Seas, June 24 - July 1. Itinerary is Seattle, At Sea, Inside Passage, Juneau, Skagway, Endicott Arm, At Sea, Victoria, Seattle. We could afford a balcony room. This is also a Royal Caribbean "President's Cruise," which apparently means there will be some surprises during the cruise and the CEO is on board. Not sure how much that means though.

Based on cruise line, ship activities/quality, room class we can afford, and itinerary, which of these sound the best? Which sounds the worst? We are novices and trying to research this has been very overwhelming, and everyone on this board seems like an expert! We would be very grateful for any advice.

 

[EMS8]

We have done Alaska on both Celebrity and Princess. We have sailed round trip from Vancouver multiple times on Celebrity and have done cruise tours and southbound cruises with Celebrity(2015) and Princess (2019). We have only sailed with these 2 cruise lines so I can’t speak for Royal or Norwegian. Celebrity Eclipse and Royal Princess are both great ships. Given a choice, I would take Club Class dining on the Princess cruise over any of the others.

Generally, flying into Seattle is cheaper than Vancouver. Both are great cities but we prefer Vancouver.
Holland America and Princess have been doing Alaska longer than any other cruise lines.
Going to Alaska for your first cruise is fantastic. There is so much to see and Alaska is HUGE! Whale watching, glacier visits, what more could you want?

 

[BSeabob]

The Celebrity cruise out of Vancouver has the best Itinerary. Lots of Inside Passage out of Vancouver vs. almost zip out of Seattle. Nice ship too Solstice Class. I've sailed quite a few times and I have never gone out of Seattle unless there is a special reason because of the Itinerary. Icy Point Strait is a real one off. Long zip line if you are into that. A real old Cannery and small Alaskan town. Also a great spot for Private whale tour if you need one.