socalgalz3

Thank you to both or you! We've driven to Seattle many times and I recently flew to Vancouver for work, but it's been years since we've driven to Vancouver. My DH and I are taking an anniversary trip (25 Years!) earlier in the year, which is limiting the number of vacation days for this trip and making the logistics a little more complicated than usual. Seattle is appealing mainly for this reason, but it seems to be the overwhelming recommendation to go via Vancouver. Now I'm wondering if we should put off the cruise until we have more time or push through the logistical challenges. I appreciate your help.

Thanks!  The HAL ship is Volendam.  Both itineraries are similar, except that the HAL goes to the Tracy Arm Inlet and more time in in the inner passage.  Princess goes to Victoria, but I see it's pretty late at night, so I'm not sure that's even a consideration.  Does the Princess ship see the inner passage at all or does it bypass it completely?  Did you find yourself doing enough of the activities on the ship to warrant going with Princess?  My youngest is more excited about the ship than the ports, although I know she'll love the outdoor activities when we get there. If it were just my husband and me, we would pick scenery over ship activities, but I want to honor what she's interested in, too.  Right now here's how I see it:

Princess Pros

Easier to leave from Seattle (3 hour drive)

More to do on ship

better quality entertainment

rooms next to each other

Cons

More time on open seas

Not as much of the inner passage

Miss Tracy Arm Inlet

Holland Pros

Inner Passage scenery

Tracy Arm Inlet

Can possibly spend time in Vancouver (my husband and I have been but not the kids)

Cons

Will need to fly or longer trip just to get to Vancouver
Rooms further apart

\We are planning an Alaskan cruise in late July/early August.  My husband and I are in our early 50s with 3 daughters, ages 21, 18 and 10.  We are pretty active and look forward to the excursions, but my youngest is looking forward to the activities on the ship.  She doesn't like kid's clubs, so we're hoping to have a ship with activities we can do as a family when we're not out exploring.  This could be swimming, mini-golf, shows, cooking demos, movies, etc.  We don't need activities past 10:00 lol.  Are the pools heated so that at least my 10 year old can jump in?  We plan to do a round-trip, either from Vancouver or Seattle and would like to see Glacier Bay, so that leaves us with Princess from Seattle and Holland (HAL) from Vancouver.  I understand that the route from Vancouver is more scenic and has less open water, but it seems like HAL doesn't have as much to do.  We live in Portland, so Seattle is a fairly quick drive for us compared to Vancouver and we limited on time, so the Vancouver route would need to be significantly superior to let go of the ease of traveling to Seattle.