May your guys share your idea and experience please ..for cruise first or land first?

Sorry if i ask the same questions like those thousand people asked before, but i could not find them.

I have 2 choices for cruise and land tour 14 days

1. Depart vancouver at 20 of May and then Continue land tour

2. Depart seward and then southbound cruise , start 28 of May in Fairbanks.

For both way, we spend time about the same day in Denali park.

The cruise fare of the first choice is$100 more expensive and port expenses $30 more expensive but this would be offset with the airfare from Fairbanks to seattle cheaper than from seattle to fairbanks.

What are the feelings of you when you travel between those two?

I love the feeling when ship departs. Which way would be nicer and better feeling? Leaving Vancouver or Seward?

If cruising northbound, there would be less time in seward while southbound we have more time before departing seward? Or it is the same, i cannot imagine.

Another issue is which way would be more relax..i mean after getting tired land tour we could more relax on the ship during cruising or there is no differences.

I also want to spend a fews day both in seattle and vancouver.

My plane would be

1. For land first

Bangkok to seattle

Seattle to fairbanks

Vancouver to Bangkok

Or for cruise first

2. Bangkok to vancouver

Fairbanks to seattle

Seattle to bangkok

Plane tickets are getting much more expensive day by day.

Please share your idea and experiences.

Thank you very much

One more thing for northbound , ship would stop Skagway and Haines for southbound, right? Not the same? I saw it states like Haines( skagway). I think it is different. If i want to go on Whitepass train , i should go northbound, right?

Thank you

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You will want to hit Denali after June 1st.

I would want to stop in Skagway.

One more thing for northbound , ship would stop Skagway and Haines for southbound, right? Not the same? I saw it states like Haines( skagway). I think it is different. If i want to go on Whitepass train , i should go northbound, right?

 

Thank you

 

 

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Haines and Skagway are fairly close together and the Fast Ferry allows you to go between the two ports. If you want to do the White Pass, I would choose a stop in Skagway. Take a look at a combination bus / train tour to Emerald Lake. We used Chilkoot Tours and enjoyed it. Other companies offer this as well.

If you book the land portion independent of the cruise, you can choose more time in Seward, if you want to. I recommend the full day Keanu Fjords Tour, if possible.

I have done Northbound and Southbound sailings. I prefer the Northbound sailing since you are sailing to Alaska and the scenery seems to get better each day. Either way is a great cruise, that is just my view.

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Haines and Skagway are fairly close together and the Fast Ferry allows you to go between the two ports. If you want to do the White Pass, I would choose a stop in Skagway. Take a look at a combination bus / train tour to Emerald Lake. We used Chilkoot Tours and enjoyed it. Other companies offer this as well.

 

If you book the land portion independent of the cruise, you can choose more time in Seward, if you want to. I recommend the full day Keanu Fjords Tour, if possible.

 

I have done Northbound and Southbound sailings. I prefer the Northbound sailing since you are sailing to Alaska and the scenery seems to get better each day. Either way is a great cruise, that is just my view.

 

 

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Thank you.

At the beginning i prefer southbound because i thought that we could rest after land tour. But thinking it again, i want the feeling of vancouver sailaway.^^ don’t know if i am stupid i just think that it is beautiful, ?. That ‘s why i hesitate. Also no idea if it would be fatigue for land tour and that southbound might be better?

I also heard that HAL provide some tours in Vancouver before cruising but have no information yet. So i might have to choose northbound. But some tours are for both pre-cruise and post-cruise.

I need tour company because i think it would be more convenient for me and my mom.

Yes, both way provide time for Kenai fjord tours. It states in itinerary so.

I heard someone said if going northbound, you would feel Wow and wow each day pass ^^ like getting into real Alaska little bit more and more.

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This is a often asked question and everyone has their own feelings about it. The good news is, there is no wrong answer. :) I will share what we did and why.

We chose the northbound from Vancouver with a land tour at the end. Our reasoning was as follows:

1. Alaska was the destination so we wanted to end the trip there.

2. The scenery does get better as the cruise goes along as stated above.

3. My in-laws were with us and it was their first cruise and they were worried about sea-sickness, The roughest waters are towards the end of the cruise when you already have your sea legs.

Also the NB cruise we wanted was also the date we wanted, and also sailing away from Vancouver was beautiful and we were able to spend a day there before the cruise.

I had actually wanted a SB cruise originally because I wanted to get the long flight over with on the front end. Also personally I think the cruise was more relaxing than the land tour so if you want to relax on the back end, then that is a reason to do the SB. Like I said, there is no wrong answer--maybe think about what is logistically and financially best for you. I wouldn't change a thing about our trip but I am sure I would enjoy a land tour-SB cruise just as much.

I would do the northbound cruise in order (a) to let the weather improve in Alaska and (b) to use the cruise as a place to overcome jetlag and time change. Coming from southeast Asia, and given the very long daylight hours in Alaska (basically it doesn't get dark in Fairbanks in June/July) jumping straight from Thailand to Alaska can be exhausting. By comparison, the pace on the ship - eat when you want, sleep when you want, look at the scenery, do excursions or not depending on your energy level (and budget!) is much easier on one's system. Then by the time you arrive in Alaska you'll have your batteries recharged and can jump into it.

I would do the northbound cruise in order (a) to let the weather improve in Alaska and (b) to use the cruise as a place to overcome jetlag and time change. Coming from southeast Asia, and given the very long daylight hours in Alaska (basically it doesn't get dark in Fairbanks in June/July) jumping straight from Thailand to Alaska can be exhausting. By comparison, the pace on the ship - eat when you want, sleep when you want, look at the scenery, do excursions or not depending on your energy level (and budget!) is much easier on one's system. Then by the time you arrive in Alaska you'll have your batteries recharged and can jump into it.

Yes, thank you

But after my flight from my home country. I will travel and relax about 2 days both before and after cruise. Not sure if help

Actually i prefer northbound as well because i want to see the view of vancouver departing.

But the price would be more expensive in northbound as well as my plane ticket. I don’t know why.

I will cruise on 20 of May and it would be arrive in Seward 27 of May, this is for northbound. For southbound it would begin on 28 of May in Fairbanks.

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This is a often asked question and everyone has their own feelings about it. The good news is, there is no wrong answer. :) I will share what we did and why.

 

We chose the northbound from Vancouver with a land tour at the end. Our reasoning was as follows:

 

1. Alaska was the destination so we wanted to end the trip there.

2. The scenery does get better as the cruise goes along as stated above.

3. My in-laws were with us and it was their first cruise and they were worried about sea-sickness, The roughest waters are towards the end of the cruise when you already have your sea legs.

 

Also the NB cruise we wanted was also the date we wanted, and also sailing away from Vancouver was beautiful and we were able to spend a day there before the cruise.

 

I had actually wanted a SB cruise originally because I wanted to get the long flight over with on the front end. Also personally I think the cruise was more relaxing than the land tour so if you want to relax on the back end, then that is a reason to do the SB. Like I said, there is no wrong answer--maybe think about what is logistically and financially best for you. I wouldn't change a thing about our trip but I am sure I would enjoy a land tour-SB cruise just as much.

Thank you so much

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We chose to do the land portion first. Our first day on the ship was a sea day (Hubbard Glacier) so we were able to relax. We spent 7 days on land before boarding the ship and all of the days were spent doing things. It felt nice to get on the ship and not have to do anything the first day.