Alaska Inside Passage from Vancouver?

I’m just starting to look at Alaska cruises for 2018 and recently read on another post that you can’t trust the cruise map to give accurate information concerning the route the ship will take.

It looks like most cruises that leave from Seattle show sailing along the west side of Vancouver Island. And, cruises that leave from Vancouver sailing along the east side of Vancouver Island - “The Inside Passage”.

If I choose a cruise that leaves from Vancouver and the map and itinerary both show “Inside Passage” do you think that is the route the ship will take?

I like the 7-day, June 11th 2018, Sun cruise that departs from Vancouver, cruises the inside passage (?), stops at 3 ports, spends a day cruising Glacier Bay, a day cruising Hubbard Glacier and arrives in Seward.

Your experience and suggestions are so appreciated!

Thanks - Johnette

I’m just starting to look at Alaska cruises for 2018 and recently read on another post that you can’t trust the cruise map to give accurate information concerning the route the ship will take.

 

It looks like most cruises that leave from Seattle show sailing along the west side of Vancouver Island. And, cruises that leave from Vancouver sailing along the east side of Vancouver Island - “The Inside Passage”.

 

If I choose a cruise that leaves from Vancouver and the map and itinerary both show “Inside Passage” do you think that is the route the ship will take?

 

I like the 7-day, June 11th 2018, Sun cruise that departs from Vancouver, cruises the inside passage (?), stops at 3 ports, spends a day cruising Glacier Bay, a day cruising Hubbard Glacier and arrives in Seward.

 

Your experience and suggestions are so appreciated!

 

Thanks - Johnette

If you are asking if the ship will take the inside passage route northbound if leaving from Vancouver, the answer is yes. There is no way- well, I should say easy way- to get to the open ocean west of Vancouver island from Vancouver.

You have a greater than 97% chance of that cruise sailing east of the island. I don't know of any cruises in or out of Vancouver that go to the west.

North bound trips out of Seattle generally sail on the Ocean side of Vancouver Island.

Most all South bound trips use the inside passage.

Trips from Seattle and Vancouver going north bound sail in the hours of

darkness - nothing to see here - no droids etc.

There are portions of the inside passage that are rather tight on navigable

space where two ships can not pass safely at night - by daylight a different situation.

North bound ships with the first stop being the Glacier field and turning to

go south would likely use the Ocean side of Vancouver Island.

If the first stop is Ketchikan and others north of that point then the inside

passage would be the best route and most direct.

Trips out of Seattle for the most part are called Closed Loop cruises with

the origin and destination points being the same.

Trips out of Vancouver are one-way trips northbound.*

Trips out of Whittier and Seward are one-ways southbound.*

* Unless doing a B2B back-to-back

YMMV due to Cruise Line ports stops and route origin and destination.

Check with your cruise line for what your ship will be exactly sailing to (Itinerary) !

North bound trips out of Seattle generally sail on the Ocean side of Vancouver Island.

Most all South bound trips use the inside passage.

Trips from Seattle and Vancouver going north bound sail in the hours of

darkness - nothing to see here - no droids etc.

There are portions of the inside passage that are rather tight on navigable

space where two ships can not pass safely at night - by daylight a different situation.

North bound ships with the first stop being the Glacier field and turning to

go south would likely use the Ocean side of Vancouver Island.

If the first stop is Ketchikan and others north of that point then the inside

passage would be the best route and most direct.

Trips out of Seattle for the most part are called Closed Loop cruises with

the origin and destination points being the same.

Trips out of Vancouver are one-way trips northbound.*

Trips out of Whittier and Seward are one-ways southbound.*

* Unless doing a B2B back-to-back

 

YMMV due to Cruise Line ports stops and route origin and destination.

 

Check with your cruise line for what your ship will be exactly sailing to (Itinerary) !

Not all trips out of Vancouver are one way. We did the Sun out of Vancouver and it was roundtrip.

Yes, a part of the inside passage after leaving Vancouver was during the night, but consider how much later the sun sets that far north. Seems it was going on 10:00 pm before it finally got fully dark. The sights were gorgeous from the time we left port. I'd have to go back and look at the itinerary, but seems to me the next day was cruising the inside passage as well. And on a roundtrip, you get that inside passage day again on the way back.

on our first AK cruise back in 2002, we were on the Sky and did indeed go from Seattle to Ketchikan on the inside of Vancouver Island. Leaving at 4:00PM from Seattle put us at the Seymour Narrows around midnight - and in mid June it was very dark. That said, leaving from Vancouver at 4:00PM shaves about 2-3hrs off the time from Seattle, but I bet it will be too dark to see much - even in late June-July when the sun is at it's peak.

Also, back then there were way fewer ships in the AK waters - we hardly saw any other ships except while in port.

Simply due to time and distance - all cruises that leave from Vancouver either RT or One Way will stay on the inside of the Island. Those that leave from Seattle will stay on the outside of the Island - exceptions would be due to weather or sea conditions.

The SB Sun goes through Johnstone Strait and the Seymour Narrows in the early evening - around 6:00 and the view is nice. On the NB trip, the passage through these features is at night.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate you sharing your experiences!

-Johnette

I’m just starting to look at Alaska cruises for 2018 and recently read on another post that you can’t trust the cruise map to give accurate information concerning the route the ship will take.

 

It looks like most cruises that leave from Seattle show sailing along the west side of Vancouver Island. And, cruises that leave from Vancouver sailing along the east side of Vancouver Island - “The Inside Passage”.

 

If I choose a cruise that leaves from Vancouver and the map and itinerary both show “Inside Passage” do you think that is the route the ship will take?

 

I like the 7-day, June 11th 2018, Sun cruise that departs from Vancouver, cruises the inside passage (?), stops at 3 ports, spends a day cruising Glacier Bay, a day cruising Hubbard Glacier and arrives in Seward.

 

Your experience and suggestions are so appreciated!

 

Thanks - Johnette

This is a constant source of confusion. The "Inside Passage" actually refers to the cruising you do in Alaska, in and among the islands there, instead of out at sea.

Yes, the straight between Vancouver Island and the mainland of Canada is often referred to as the "inside passage" but in geographic terms, it's not. The actual name for that narrow body of water is the Johnstone Strait.

The route a ship takes to get to Alaska and the Inside Passage from either Seattle or Vancouver is solely determined by time, distance, weather, and economics. So yes, most Seattle departures cruise up the west side of Vancouver island as that is the simplest route from Seattle. And some Vancouver departures go up the Johnstone Strait as that is the quickest route from Vancouver...but there's no reason why they could not sail south first to round Vancouver island and then sail up the west side...no reason other than the waste of fuel and time.

But fear not...no matter which port or cruise line you choose, you will see the "Inside Passage" - in Alaska. :)

^It seems to be confusing you too VT, since you're incorrectly applying the same criteria to produce two different results: Johnstone Strait holds precisely the same relationship to the Inside Passage as Stephens Passage does; they are both subsections of the whole with the only difference being political geography, not physical (i.e. one is in Canada, the other the USA, but they're both protected coastal waterways). Like red and violet, they're both colours of the rainbow just at opposite ends.

The Inside Passage refers collectively to the whole of the protected coastal route from the WA/BC border right up through the Alaskan panhandle. Different sources sometimes disagree on precisely where it begins and ends, sometimes name it as two separate parts (the Alaska and BC Inside Passages), sometimes even include parts of WA coast, but they all concur it includes BC coastal waters.

I've seen quibbles over whether the open parts, like Queen Charlotte Sound, should be counted as part of a completely continuous passage or are gaps between disparate parts like Discovery Passage, Hecate Strait etc., but every historical, navigational, or geographical academic source I've ever seen agrees on the overall area not just including BC waters, but being mostly in BC, even those that extend the area down into WA waters.

Even fluid mechanics texts agree - the Seymour Narrows has the highest Reynolds Number of any natural body of water in the world so it pops up in many studies of turbulence (before Ripple Rock was blown up, it was even more turbulent but it's still one of the scarier bits of navigable water on the planet).

Ships from Seattle go around the west of the island not because it's a shorter distance - it's not - but it's harder to hit the short windows of slack tide for safe passage through the Narrows with the extra distance from Seattle compared to Vancouver. It's easier to go west, where you can sail more flexibly in course and speed - and potentially get into international waters to burn cheap bunker fuel instead of pricey low-sulphur fuel...

^It seems to be confusing you too VT, since you're incorrectly applying the same criteria to produce two different results: Johnstone Strait holds precisely the same relationship to the Inside Passage as Stephens Passage does; they are both subsections of the whole with the only difference being political geography, not physical (i.e. one is in Canada, the other the USA, but they're both protected coastal waterways). Like red and violet, they're both colours of the rainbow just at opposite ends.

 

The Inside Passage refers collectively to the whole of the protected coastal route from the WA/BC border right up through the Alaskan panhandle. Different sources sometimes disagree on precisely where it begins and ends, sometimes name it as two separate parts (the Alaska and BC Inside Passages), sometimes even include parts of WA coast, but they all concur it includes BC coastal waters.

 

I've seen quibbles over whether the open parts, like Queen Charlotte Sound, should be counted as part of a completely continuous passage or are gaps between disparate parts like Discovery Passage, Hecate Strait etc., but every historical, navigational, or geographical academic source I've ever seen agrees on the overall area not just including BC waters, but being mostly in BC, even those that extend the area down into WA waters.

 

Even fluid mechanics texts agree - the Seymour Narrows has the highest Reynolds Number of any natural body of water in the world so it pops up in many studies of turbulence (before Ripple Rock was blown up, it was even more turbulent but it's still one of the scarier bits of navigable water on the planet).

 

Ships from Seattle go around the west of the island not because it's a shorter distance - it's not - but it's harder to hit the short windows of slack tide for safe passage through the Narrows with the extra distance from Seattle compared to Vancouver. It's easier to go west, where you can sail more flexibly in course and speed - and potentially get into international waters to burn cheap bunker fuel instead of pricey low-sulphur fuel...

Appreciate your input. As a sailor, I understand that the passage behind Vancouver Island is an "inside passage" in the sense of a protected waterway. I also understand the issues of making tide changes when transiting narrow waterways and with regard to the timing of departure from Seattle.

My point is really not about the technical nautical issues. Rather, it has more to do with what is commonly referred to by non-sailors as the "Inside Passage" on Alaska cruises. Time and again I have seen anguished posts on these boards about a ship supposedly not going to the "Inside Passage" because the cruise map shows it going around the west side of Vancouver island. It's that concern that I am responding to. Perhaps I could have been more clear about that.

Thanks again for what you've added to the discussion, though :)

Appreciate your input. As a sailor, I understand that the passage behind Vancouver Island is an "inside passage" in the sense of a protected waterway. I also understand the issues of making tide changes when transiting narrow waterways and with regard to the timing of departure from Seattle.

 

My point is really not about the technical nautical issues. Rather, it has more to do with what is commonly referred to by non-sailors as the "Inside Passage" on Alaska cruises. Time and again I have seen anguished posts on these boards about a ship supposedly not going to the "Inside Passage" because the cruise map shows it going around the west side of Vancouver island. It's that concern that I am responding to. Perhaps I could have been more clear about that.

 

Thanks again for what you've added to the discussion, though :)

No worries - I'm sure as a sailor you have better practical navigation skills than I do (I think of my nautical skillset as 'useful ballast') but your post read to me as more 'fear not, you are not missing anything' than 'no need to worry, even if you sail outside the island you still get to see plenty of Inside Passage.'

I'm still not sure from even both your posts whether you've actually sailed out of Vancouver yourself or not to compare the two biggest chunks of the IP - while unfortunately the REALLY spectacular bits of the BC inside passage are often traversed in darkness, it is hands-down more spectacular than the far more open Alaskan parts.

The narrower channels occur with some tremendously prominent mountain peaks in sight, forested hillsides that seem almost close enough to reach out & touch, and a far-from zero chance of seeing Orcas which makes for a pretty darn unbeatable combo that spanks anything further north three ways to Sunday.

Plus of course it's not really about comparing the AK vs BC parts - it's about comparing ANY scenery to NO scenery, since going around the outside you'll see diddly with a side of squat from an hour or two out of Seattle until day three when you start approaching your first port of call. If you're in the casino or at the shows, absolutely no loss - and there are many cost/airline points/date/not-having-a-passport/criminal record etc. issues that might make a Seattle departure the only choice for some folks.

But assuming you are in a position to choose between a Vancouver and Seattle trip, and you're the kind of person who wants to be on deck or balcony looking out at water and land and maybe some wildlife, there's simply no doubt that Vancouver departures are by far the superior choice, even if you didn't also get the benefit of visiting a delightful foreign country with a weak currency, friendly people, all your favourite TV shows, and Kinder Eggs;-)

Boy - I love a good discussion! Thanks everyone - Johnette