What’s your opinion on cruising?

Usually it's fine until the a-hole rides up on your arse or the car in front of you randomly slows down or hits their brakes for no reason

Never been on a cruise, but if I did it would be one in central Europe up and down rivers that are full of beautiful castles and other buildings you can otherwise not see.

But for domestic cruises that make random stops around the Caribbean and Mexico, no desire to ever go on one of those. I would rather just visit the island/country itself as a vacation.

“What a crappy way to see such a large and beautiful state.”

Can't agree with that. I've done an Alaska cruise, and also spent a month driving the state in a camper van. Both have their places. An Alaska cruise makes some sense because roads and hotels are limited in Alaska, and the coast from Vancouver up to Seward is gorgeous. And you can see cities that are hard to get to otherwise. And they are a great way to see Glacier Bay which is stunning. I liked the Alaska cruise more than the two Caribbean cruises I did. You can also get off at the end, rent a car, and have a more in-depth experience for as long as you choose. Or take the train up to Denali NP and ride the bus into the park.

The summer living in a camper van was the best trip I'll ever take, though.

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Alaskan cruise

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That's the only cruise I would do.

They are fun for a group of people, not as much for a couple

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I've done an Alaska cruise

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Have any more details on this? This is one of the cruises I've considered doing but haven't done a lot of research on it yet.

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I would do an Alaskan cruise, but the one I really want to do is to Antarctica.

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If I ever go on a cruise, it will be to Antarctica.

How else would you see Alaska? Most of the towns you visit on a cruise are not accessible by car

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I've done an Alaska cruise

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Have any more details on this? This is one of the cruises I've considered doing but haven't done a lot of research on it yet.

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It's been more than a decade, but it was on the Celebrity Summit from Vancouver to Seward. I liked the ship and took it in the Caribbean as well and would recommend Celebrity in general. We stopped in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, and spent a day at Glacier Bay before arriving at Seward. The days at sea have a nice view of the coast and are enjoyable. In Skagway we rented a car and drove a little ways into Canada via Whitehorse Pass (have your passport) - there is also a train you can take up the pass but I liked having a car and some freedom. Juneau - we took the public bus to the Mendenhall Glacier which made for a nice day. Ketchikan we rented mountain bikes directly from a local shop and rode around town and above it, and went to see some totem poles. Do some research and you don't have to use the cruise line for day tours, it's cheaper and less crowded to do your own thing. There was also a stop at a small Canadian town that rarely gets visitors. Seward is really nice, we did the Kenai Fjords full day boat tour later when we were there for a few days with the van - great views of Orcas and Humpbacks. The train runs from Seward to Fairbanks and there is a stop at Denali, and also Talkeetna which is a cool little town south of Denali. Most cruisers just take a cruise line bus to the Anchorage airport. There's not a lot of reason to see Anchorage or Fairbanks. The Kenai Peninsula is a good place to spend some time - Homer is where to head to do some ocean fishing and the Kenai has some good salmon rivers - the Russian River had plenty of Brown Bears eating salmon as well.