Considering our first Alaskan cruise....

Dear CC friends,

We're considering our first Alaskan cruise and would greatly appreciate some suggestions/recommendations from any of the seasoned Alaskan cruisers.

The two itineraries we're looking at are;

1. Seattle, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria,

Seattle

2. Vancouver, Sitka, Glacier Bay, Juneau, Ketchikan, Vancouver

We have been to Vancouver and loved it and haven't been to Seattle and would love to visit. Then there's the question of Tracy Arm vs Glacier Bay and which is more scenic.

Would also appreciate any thoughts on best month to go...June, July, August or September.

Thanks ahead for your help.

Virgil

Glacier Bay is unbelievable. Flying into and out of Seattle is cheaper than Vancouver. We took bus from Vancouver to Seattle to stay a few days. Very easy. Princess sets it up. We took the land tour and train. It was well worth the money. Hope this helps. We went beginning of June. Cheaper, but still a little chilly.

I've enjoyed both itineraries & there are advantages to both of them and based on my experiences I'll share my thoughts about both but not which is best. ;)

Glacier Bay & Tracy Arm are different experiences & have enjoyed both of them. Glacier Bay is a more open waterway with great upclose views of the glaciers; Tracy Arm is a narrower waterway which most times cannot get to the glacier at the end but has dramatic views sailing through the narrow fjord.

Having cruised Alaska a couple of times, I'd like to go to Sitka for the first time having been to Skagway before. Although being your first time to Alaska, I'd recommend going to Skagway to do things such as the White's Pass railroad tour.

I've sailed Alaska in early June, early September and late July and in general the July weather was best & why it's also more expensive. But even in July weather varied...cold & cloudy in Juneau & too rainy and foggy to get to Hubbard Glacier. Everyday in September the weather was in the mid 50° range with overcast skies and drizzle. Our June weather was better but in general not as consistently good as in July.

Whatever you decide is your best option you should consider sailing again to see the sights you missed or maybe a one-way cruise between Vancouver & Whittier to view the College & Hubbard glaciers. :)

Glacier Bay can by "iffy" earlier in the year as others have said definitely Skagway. Only do the white railroad one way and take the bus tour back You will see some amazing things you would miss otherwise. Juneau is great also. If you take a cab out to the Glacier, be sure and ask if there is any Bear activity at the City Dump. Its great Fun to watch them. Snorkeling in Ketchikan is really a kick too. If you do tours do Ship sponsored, they are far more inclusive.

There doesn't seem to be any middle ground folks really love or hate Alaska. For a first time I'd definitely do Seattle. The trip out of the sound is an experience of its own.

Rough water is not uncommon during the open water portion. Leaving from Vancouver gets you right into it sometimes making the first evening a bit tough. Leaving form Seattle you generally sleep through it.

If you choose option 2 round trip Vancouver....you are in the true inside passage not in open Pacific waters...majestic! We have done Glacier Bay 3 times....once 3rd week of May, once first week of June, and once second week of June without issue. If you choose you can fly into Seattle and either rent a car, Princess transfer, or train up to Vancouver.

If you choose option 2 round trip Vancouver....you are in the true inside passage not in open Pacific waters...majestic! We have done Glacier Bay 3 times....once 3rd week of May, once first week of June, and once second week of June without issue. If you choose you can fly into Seattle and either rent a car, Princess transfer, or train up to Vancouver.

We also enjoyed using the Quick Coach bus service which was less expensive than the Princess transfer roundtrip between Seattle & Vancouver.

We also enjoyed using the Quick Coach bus service which was less expensive than the Princess transfer roundtrip between Seattle & Vancouver.

I wondered how the Quick Coach was....I will put them on my list for next trip!

I wondered how the Quick Coach was....I will put them on my list for next trip!

It worked great for us & we boarded the Quick Coach bus at the same cruise terminal's covered parking lot as the Princess buses. The border crossings went quickly & the only stops I recall returning to Seattle was at a mall near a casino & at a Seattle hotel before ending at SEATAC airport.

It worked great for us & we boarded the Quick Coach bus at the same cruise terminal's covered parking lot as the Princess buses. The border crossings went quickly & the only stops I recall returning to Seattle was at a mall near a casino & at a Seattle hotel before ending at SEATAC airport.

Thanks for the info..makes me feel much better knowing that it worked well for you! Looks to be a very economical and comfy transport between Seattle and Vancouver.

Warning! Once you take a cruise to Alaska you will want to go back. When you do, I would highly recommend taking the longest Princess escorted land tour offered prior to your cruise. Princess takes all the hassle out of the trip and you will not regret it.

It's all good so take your pick, you won't be disappointed in whichever itinerary you choose to take. Seattle has many wonderful places to visit and see. The Space Needle, The Fish Market, take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, the http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/ blown glass display next to the Space Needle is fabulous, and the many fine restaurants in Seattle.

Vancouver is nice as well but we prefer Seattle over Vancouver. More time to see things in Seattle - come in a day or two early and enjoy it all.

My vote is with the Seattle itinerary....but you really cannot go wrong with either of them. I love the Tracy Arm Fjord as well as Skagway and Victoria!! Sitka was nice but our tour was canceled as the driver never showed up ... and by the time we waited 2 hours for him, our day was kind of shot. I didn't think there was a lot to do there without having a tour planned.

Anyhow, for Americans, it is usually (not saying always) cheaper with greater availability for flights in and out of Seattle. However, the Canadian dollar has tanked so much lately that you might get more bang for your American dollar up there if you plan on staying. Both cities are fabulous to tour.

We always visit Alaska in early to mid September and have had amazing luck with the weather. Just LOVE Alaska and last time there, we didn't need a jacket even once but I did use an entire tube of sunblock!

It might help to know what ships you are considering....but still think my vote would be for the Seattle itinerary.

Hello. Let me jump in on this thread. I too have never sailed to Alaska. But, we have book inside passage to Tracy arm round trip from Seattle. Some one who's been to Seattle, where is Jimi Hendrix memorial? We plan on spending one or two nights at the Homewood suites it's located by pier 91. Not sure where that is. We will be sailing with our teenage grandkids and will be on Emerald Princess. We have not sailed with Princess; but have been told they do Alaska best. Thank you for any info

Hello. Let me jump in on this thread. I too have never sailed to Alaska. But, we have book inside passage to Tracy arm round trip from Seattle. Some one who's been to Seattle, where is Jimi Hendrix memorial? We plan on spending one or two nights at the Homewood suites it's located by pier 91. Not sure where that is. We will be sailing with our teenage grandkids and will be on Emerald Princess. We have not sailed with Princess; but have been told they do Alaska best. Thank you for any info

The best way to do Seattle is the city pass:

http://www.citypass.com/seattle?mv_source=rkg&adpos=1t1&creative=79817577989&device=t&matchtype=e&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiA__C1BRDqyJOQ8_Tq230SJABWBSxnSwT3932KbdP9Mv_V9ze5kkMZM_FfvwRnwXah7rAeZRoCv3fw_wcB

Dear CC friends,

We're considering our first Alaskan cruise and would greatly appreciate some suggestions/recommendations from any of the seasoned Alaskan cruisers.

The two itineraries we're looking at are;

1. Seattle, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria,

Seattle

2. Vancouver, Sitka, Glacier Bay, Juneau, Ketchikan, Vancouver

We have been to Vancouver and loved it and haven't been to Seattle and would love to visit. Then there's the question of Tracy Arm vs Glacier Bay and which is more scenic.

Would also appreciate any thoughts on best month to go...June, July, August or September.

Thanks ahead for your help.

Virgil

If you cruise from Seattle you travel along the west side of Vancouver Island and miss some amazing scenery. See post #14 for a great map. The area at north end of Vancouver Island there is an great area to view killer whales.

I've gone up the Tracy Arm Fjord and I think it's like the adage it's not so much the destination, but the trip getting there. The passage up the fjord is just spectacular! It's fairly narrow with granite cliffs on both sides. Granted you may not get close enough to see Sawyer Glacier, but the trip makes it worthwhile.

Which ever itinerary you choose, the day you visit the glacier, no matter which one, dress like an onion; layers. Start off with long silk undies, jeans, long sleeved shirt, coat, gloves and a beanie style cap, to keep your ears toasty. I dressed like that at Tracy Arm and still thought my "you know whats" were going to freeze off! There will be people sitting out on the Promenade Deck under blankets enjoying the view and drinking hot chocolate.

I did the Vancouver run with Tracy Arm in July and it was spectacular. Glacier Bay is also a must-see. Once you do one, you'll probably return at some point and do the other!! :) Maybe the Seattle trip first would be good since you've never been.

I've gone up the Tracy Arm Fjord and I think it's like the adage it's not so much the destination, but the trip getting there. The passage up the fjord is just spectacular! It's fairly narrow with granite cliffs on both sides. Granted you may not get close enough to see Sawyer Glacier, but the trip makes it worthwhile.

 

Which ever itinerary you choose, the day you visit the glacier, no matter which one, dress like an onion; layers. Start off with long silk undies, jeans, long sleeved shirt, coat, gloves and a beanie style cap, to keep your ears toasty. I dressed like that at Tracy Arm and still thought my "you know whats" were going to freeze off! There will be people sitting out on the Promenade Deck under blankets enjoying the view and drinking hot chocolate.

Yup great stuff. Check out those deck blankets the night before and order a couple pots of coffee from room service.

The next time we go to Tracy Arm, I plan to go on the small boat excursion. It's a pricey add-on, but from what I hear, worth it.

Princess doesn't go to Sitka very often. It's a port I'd like to go to.

The next time we go to Tracy Arm, I plan to go on the small boat excursion. It's a pricey add-on, but from what I hear, worth it.

 

Princess doesn't go to Sitka very often. It's a port I'd like to go to.

IF you have a "glacial ice vodka cocktail" (and its worth it) trust me on this, Glacial ice is SUPER chilled. Sip before you down it so you know what you are getting into. Super chilled vodka super chills anything it comes in contact with.................. By all means take the trip. Incredible, absolutely incredible.

While I think Seattle is a wonderful city for visiting and embarkation/disembarkation, we love Vancouver even more. Great food, friendly people, lots to see and do. We prefer to sail out of and into Vancouver to get the Inside Passage experience. Sailing out of Seattle into the outside passage can be rough for some who suffer from motion sickness. We never feel it on the Inside Passage - and it's gorgeous!!!

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...

I liken the Alaska cruise to the old Lays potato chip commercial, "bet you can't eat just one"! Alaska has so much to offer, you just can't see it all on one cruise. Or for that matter several cruises. You'll find yourself going back, on different itineraries, or to the same stops at different times during the cruise season.

Hello. Let me jump in on this thread. I too have never sailed to Alaska. But, we have book inside passage to Tracy arm round trip from Seattle. Some one who's been to Seattle, where is Jimi Hendrix memorial? We plan on spending one or two nights at the Homewood suites it's located by pier 91. Not sure where that is. We will be sailing with our teenage grandkids and will be on Emerald Princess. We have not sailed with Princess; but have been told they do Alaska best. Thank you for any info

We have been to Seattle several times...but never saw the Jimmy Hendrix memorial. I suggest going to the Seattle departures and port of call board and post a question to VibeGuy. He live in Seattle and is an awesome source of info on anything and everything Seattle.

We have been to Seattle several times...but never saw the Jimmy Hendrix memorial. I suggest going to the Seattle departures and port of call board and post a question to VibeGuy. He live in Seattle and is an awesome source of info on anything and everything Seattle.

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).