Alaska Questions

[rmandmm]

Which of the availabilities do you like better (north to south or vice versa) and why? We're considering one for next year given our cruise next month goes as wonderfully as expected.

 

I can't see much difference, but I've picked up a lot of knowledge from you guys who are more experienced so I thought I'd ask since there might be something I'm missing.

 

thank you!

[Dreps]

I don't think it makes much difference. We went from Seward to Vancouver. It may depend on exactly what month you want to go and whether you want to do anything at either (or both) end(s). We went to Denali and Talkeetna before we boarded the ship in Seward. Then we stayed in Vancouver at the end of the cruise for a few days. We went in August. Also, depending on connections, the flights normally take more time to get to Anchorage than returning from Vancouver.

 

You might also want to read the CC Alaska Board.

[Kamloops50]

I prefer a NB & SB combination. For a resident of BC it is actually cheaper to do round trip from Vancouver then a one way.

Sometimes NB & SB visit different glaciers . I would recommend SB especially if your doing a land tour first.

[Paint Horse]

We did Vancouver to Seward. I would not do this again due to the flight times from ANC to DFW in our case. The flight was an overnight flight on a 757. This was not a pleasant experience.

[zqvol]

We did NB last year and have decided that next time we will do SB. Thinking is that it will make flights home a little easier.

[RachelG]

Have done both. Would not do northbound again due to the issues with flying home. It is always at night and in a 757--very uncomfortable.

[tallship]

Agree with everyone

We did Northbound last year and had a 5 hour flight delay in Anchorage

 

We got home the next day after an unplanned red eye

This year we are doing Southbound

Only a few weeks to go

[pingpong1]

On this issue of flights, and after telling Regent that we were going to arrange our own flights for the trip, I "discovered", after going onto the web, what the rest of you "vets" already knew. Specifically, most all flights from Anchorage (back to "civilization") either leave extremely early (or late - depending upon your point of view), as in right after midnight and up until about 6AM, or they leave in the evening - sometime around 7PM - 9PM. Not good when you're checking out of the hotel in Anchorage by late morning (after the Denali adventure the day before) and then having to "kick around" all day before you get on your departure flights.

 

I did, however, find a direct United Flight (1408) which departs Anchorage at 2:31PM and arrives in San Francisco at 8:07PM. From SFO, you then have many more options to get connecting flights back to other places in the lower 48 (in our case, back to Wash., D.C.).

 

I also discovered, when talking with Regent, that they wanted an "additional" $1,600 to upgrade each R/T economy ticket (From DC to/from the ship) to first class. In my own research I discovered that I can purchase my own First Class R/T tickets for less than $1,600 a piece. "Backing out" Regents air fares from our trip cost resulted in a reduction of $650 each for the economy air fares. So all I'm having to do is add my own $950 (vice $1,600) to each ticket to still wind up with first class flights to/from DC and the ship.

 

I guess I'm not telling you folks anything you didn't already know. Specifically, and depending upon the individual circumstances, you might be able to save several hundred dollars by arranging your own flights - particularly if you're looking to upgrade your tickets above economy class. Regards to all.

[RachelG]

Ping pong you are exactly right. Yes, I already knew all this stuff, but i am happy that you checked stuff out before you just took regent air. There are some places where it is a good deal, but if you have ff miles or care to do a lot of research on your own, you will often save money both on air and hotel.

[tallship]

Here is an example of a good deal

If you do a crossing, the credit is only about 800 but very difficult to purchase 2 one way flights for that amount making Regent Air look very attractive

[rallydave]

Here is an example of a good deal

If you do a crossing, the credit is only about 800 but very difficult to purchase 2 one way flights for that amount making Regent Air look very attractive

 

You are absolutely correct tallship and I'll add to your post for a good idea if you can make this work. On our recent TA, we found that we could opt out of only the domestic portion of the TA from home to FLL or reverse and the credit for this portion was $300 pp and we were able to purchase tickets from our home airport for $150 pp on SW which provides free luggage of 2 pieces per person saving us another $150 or so. This made our savings about $450 for the air to FLL. Still used Regent Air home from Barcelona and couldn't come near the coach price or anywhere near the Business upgrade.

 

Give it a try if you live near your departure port or arrival port in the US and you may save a bunch on half the air.

[RachelG]

Great advice. Also look into one way awards if you have ff miles. American and British airways offer these. a great deal. Delta does not.

[room010]

It's a pain getting to Alaska (well, anywhere really) from Oz so we decided to get the longer trip over with first so were doing southbound. We have rellies in VanQ so we will finish our cruise there with some long overdue catchup time.

 

OT and for info, we are taking the Air NZ service (Melbourne-Auckland-San Francisco-Anchorage there and then VanQ-Auckland-Melbourne back) which is getting some glowing reports at the moment. It's got to be better than the alternatives and we've tried em all :cool:

[cruiseej]

All the comments above have focused on the air flights. To me, the difference of a couple extra hours in the air s minimal compared with the overall vacation, so that wouldn't be as big a concern for us as it apparently is for others.

 

So here are some other factors:

 

* Cruising north, the scenery "builds" as the departure out of Vancouver is scenic but doesn't feature spectacular mountains, glaciers, etc. Psychologically, I find this more appealing. There's no time to be sad that your cruise is ending on the penultimate day -- you're at Hubbard Glacier! Whereas in reverse, the end of the cruise is the less-spectacular scenery, and maybe just a little (very little) bit of a letdown. It's probably not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

 

* If you want to see any more of Alaska -- which I heartily recommend -- then the question is whether to do it before or after your cruise. Here, I think cruising southbound wins out psychologically: you drive or train around for a few days or a week, always with anticipation of the relaxation and excitement of the cruise yet to come. If you cruise first, and drive around after, seeing Alaska is certainly beautiful and rewarding -- but you're doing it during that post-cruise letdown period. And although it depends where you're touring, the accommodations and restaurants generally aren't going to live up to Regent standards. (You even have to pay for everything.)

 

On our Alaska trip a few years back, we decided to drive around for a week to explore more of Alaska (and I'm so glad we did). We ended up cruising north and then sightseeing on our own -- I think because we and my parents were were coordinating using frequent flier points, and we could only arrange the flights on viable dates doing it that way. We enjoyed spending a day in Vancouver pre-cruise, and definitely liked the "build" of scenery going north. But as much as we enjoyed the driving part of our trip (which included multiple boats, a plane, and a bus), I found myself thinking that if we did the same trip again, I'd prefer the cruise at the end rather than the beginning.

 

-- Eric

[tate23]

I agree with most comments already made concerning Southbound option. Especially important ot us were:

1. Flights- It's a long flight to Anchorage from East Coast. We preferred to tackle this at the start of the trip, when we're normally full of anticipation/excitement. Our return flight from Vancouver was significantly shorter and also gave us a chance to spend an extra couple of days exploring this beautiful city from the moment we disembarked.

2. We also spent a few days in Talkeetna/Denali before the cruise. This means that we did all of our land touring first, with an eye towards relaxing on the long, beautiful trip from Seward to Vancouver.

[forevertravel]

we are going to Alaska in August and chose the NS cruise for reasons all of you described. The flight back from Anchorage to Orlando was long and flights making us flight during the night. We are flying early to do some sightseeing and staying a few extra days in Vancouver. Our return flight leaves in the morning and get us into Orlando at 6:30pm. That said, it all boils down to your preferance.

[Pepc]

In 2010, we cruised north on the Navigator from San Francisco to Vancouver.

I have not seen Regent offer this itinerary since then.

It was our best cruise ever!

[Travelcat2]

In 2010, we cruised north on the Navigator from San Francisco to Vancouver.

I have not seen Regent offer this itinerary since then.

It was our best cruise ever!

 

They did that itiinerary May 1st. It is the only way we will do Alaska -- we've done it twice and loved it.