Considering our first Alaskan cruise....

Everyone. Thank you for the info. What a treat. I did not know about Bruce Lee memorial. And I will go to Seattle board and ask questions there. Thanks.

VG definitely knows his stuff - and has awesome hair - but has been a less-frequent visitor of late, so I hope you won't mind if a filthy foreigner posts the info instead;-)

 

The Hendrix memorial is in ********* Memorial Park in Renton rather than Seattle (you almost certainly want to be going here by car, it's not quick or easy by transit). It's classy, but personally I preferred visiting Bruce (and Brandon) Lee's grave on Capitol Hill - there's just so much more passion from the visitors, with so many gewgaws still left daily that someone has to look after taking them away and tidying up pretty much full-time.

 

If you're coming to Vancouver you can visit a miniature version at the Jimi Hendrix Shrine, as well as seeing a bunch of other stuff in what used to be his granny's restaurant (not many folks know Jimi spent a big chunk of time here in Vancouver in his formative years - can't blame him, we're awesome). Currently the shrine contents are in a temporary location at 432 Homer St while the site is turned into a condo (there's supposed to be a very nice reno of the actual shrine building, a resto being added to sell fried chicken like Nora used to back in the day, and a big-ass statue going in when it returns in two or three years).

Awesome...glad you could help!

I'll happily admit to bias for Vancouver over Seattle - which certainly doesn't suck in absolute terms, but definitely does comparatively;-)

 

But even ignoring pre & post-cruise time, just focusing on ports of call, I'd dump Skagway for Sitka in a heartbeat. You WILL be back - nobody really just cruises Alaska once - and when you do come back you'll find tons of routes with Skagway on them, but cruises including Sitka are rarer. It's also THE most historically-interesting settlement in Alaska, with battles and Russians and native and settler and political and religious history all very well-represented. Plus eagles and bears and sea otters all easily reached outside town.

 

Victoria is likely a wasted stop - odds are you'll have a brief evening-only visit to satisfy PVSA requirements, with insufficient time to see much of the city even if things are actually open when you're in town.

 

And of course out of Seattle there are two days wasted (well, if you just want to gamble & booze I suppose they may not be wasted to you...) while you sail outside the island both ways instead of through the scenery-packed, Orca-riffic Inside Passage...

 

Flight pricing - even if YVR is pricier, it's easy to get from SEA to Vancouver for under $60pp. And if you can time it right and take the Amtrak Cascades, you get a whole new delightful series of views for $32pp en route.

 

All-in-all, to me this is least-brain-requiring of any no-brainer decision between two cruises I've seen in years...

This is just what I was going to post. BTW I'm on the Star going to Sitka. This is my 3rd cruise to Alaska, Skagway which is OK, IMHO is the biggest tourist trap in Alaska and overrated.

FWIW the Sitka trip is close to final pmt and is only about 50% booked. If you hold off till mid March you may catch a deal.

Hope you find your way to AK.

framer

To all...

Really appreciate all the responses and please keep 'em coming. Plenty of food for thought. Got my weekend "chores" done today so am going to do some serious Alaskan cruise planning tomorrow...already getting excited!

Thanks again,

Virgil

Awesome...glad you could help!

No problem - just wish I knew why '*********' was *'d in my post! Pretty sure both green and wood are legit words so why the combo isn't allowed is beyond me...

edit - not a fluke then, happened again. Anyhoo, the name of the memorial park is listed on the link I gave so anyone who wants to go should be able to find it no problem!

This is just what I was going to post. BTW I'm on the Star going to Sitka. This is my 3rd cruise to Alaska, Skagway which is OK, IMHO is the biggest tourist trap in Alaska and overrated.

 

FWIW the Sitka trip is close to final pmt and is only about 50% booked. If you hold off till mid March you may catch a deal.

 

Hope you find your way to AK.

 

framer

Sitka is wonderful! I like Skagway, too, but Sitka is less touristic. It's just a different atmosphere with the Russian influences. I am of the opinion you can't see Alaska too many times. :)

No problem - just wish I knew why '*********' was *'d in my post! Pretty sure both green and wood are legit words so why the combo isn't allowed is beyond me...

 

edit - not a fluke then, happened again. Anyhoo, the name of the memorial park is listed on the link I gave so anyone who wants to go should be able to find it no problem!

That's pretty funny. It will make it hard for someone to address any body with a name like that. Verdant Forest? You also can't give good advice on building a fire. :D

Sitka is wonderful! I like Skagway, too, but Sitka is less touristic. It's just a different atmosphere with the Russian influences. I am of the opinion you can't see Alaska too many times. :)

[/size]]Guess that's sort of why I really enjoyed my time in Haines; also that's why I keep going back.