1-way or Round trip cruise?

[crusingici]

Hi, I am very new at this - thought I posted a few hours ago and can't find it - so must not have gone thru to the board....... my husband and I just decided last week to book a cruise (our first cruise) to Alaska for 2006. Date does not matter - and because of reviews on this board I've decided (he is leaving all the preplanning to me) to choose Princess or HAL - guess it depends on price, but leaning toward Princess....I think....... but how does one decide if you want a one way cruise (seems most vote in favor of northbound - but I do not know why) or round trip?

 

We will not plan to spend longer on land after our 7 days are up - maybe next time around we will plan on that - or just fly to Alaska and do the land tours then. This seems the first step we have decided on for now.

 

Any advice on how to make even this most basic decision will be quite helpful! I've been reading this board for a few weeks now and I am just confused, I guess. But I read the 2006 pricing is due anytime so I need to have this figured out so we can get a good choice of cabins.

 

Thanks for being patient with this request!

:confused: ...confused

[nancycoop1]

I think a cruise tour option with either Princess or HAL would work well. That way you get both the cruise and an opportunity to see Denali etc.

 

Have fun

[poolwife]

I highly recommend a southbound one-way cruise from Seward to Vancouver. The scenery from Anchorage to Seward by either the highway (car or motorcoach) or the train is just awesome and shouldn't be missed. If you have air miles to take advantage of definitely do it cause it is a little more expensive to fly to Anchorage and then out of Vancouver. If you can do a couple of land days only, see the Seward area; beautiful coastal town and so many things to see; wildlife, glaciers, etc. Whatever, you decide you will not be sorry you went to Alaska - so picturesque. May is a little drier though. I was a little disappointed in that. When doing a land portion always do it first - cause you chase around changing hotels frequently and then it is nice to get on the ship and stay in one place for 7 days. If price is a factor roundtrip Vancouver is cheaper and at least you are seeing some of Alaska and it will still be a wonderful trip. We went on HAL last time and they did a great job.

[frames]

Our first was a southbound. I was like you - the trip planning was on my shoulders and I had no clue :) . Looking back though, the planning was part of the fun of going to Alaska. I opted for a southbound because it worked best with my frequent flyer miles (flight availabilty). The good part was that we did things in Anchorage and Seward unrelated to the cruise. Like a previous post, it was nice to stop the check in, unpack, pack, check out routine. The downside of a southbound (this is just my opinion) is that after being exposed to the pristine beauty of Alaska, you end up in a gigantic city - I found it anticlimatic.

 

Our second (this summer) will be a round trip out of Seattle. We're taking

two of our kids with us on this cruise. It was easier and less expensive

to get round trip airfare to Seattle. Basically logistics made this decison

for us.

 

Our third (I'm willing to bet we'll go back again) will be a northbound. If

for nothing else, just to finish the cycle :)

 

Our first was on RCCL; it was great!

This summer we will be on NCL; it will be great.

In the future, I'm leaning towards Princess. I read they have a naturalist

on board and I think I would like that.

 

Good luck - I really don't think you can make a bad choice.

[crusingici]

Thanks for your opinions - hearing your views on this does help - and thanks in advance to others who post on how they feel aobut 1 way vs RT.... these posts really help us in making decisions we are comfortable with!

[Budget Queen]

For myself, I never do one ways without adding time for interior touring. There is just so much to consider, and just excellent options. I do not find just transferring to the ship from Anchorage a "tour". :) So also consider a round trip Vancouver- wonderful sailing packing a lot into 7 days. Actually in my experience more scenic sailing overall, since 2 of my one way trips did not really do the coastal in the gulf and to see the shore, binoculars were necessary. I like southbound, for the last sailing day back to Vancouver. Loaded with wildlife viewing opportunies and extremely scenic, traveled at night on the northbound. Since you are not doing any interior touring- weight many options- all trips are a compromise. :)

[tetleytea]

Is money an object? Round trips are cheaper.

[jstducky]

cruisingici:

 

there are a lot of things to consider when deciding between a roundtrip or one way.

 

the number one issue being price. the number 2 issue being the time you want to spend in Alaska.

 

as you are not planning on spending anytime beyond the 7 days on the cruise for a land portion, then you should probably go with the roundtrip.

 

with roundtrips, you have the option on leaving from either seattle or vancouver. to maximize your alaska experience, i would say leave from vancouver, this way you make 3 stops in alaska and spend as much time there as possible. if you leave from seattle, due to US laws, you will have to make a port stop in a canadian city, most likely victoria.

 

roundtrips are good introductions for those who have never been to alaska before. you will most likely be stopping in juneau, ketchikan and skagway on your trip. and if you are choosing HAL or Princess, you probably will go to Glacier Bay National Park (highly recommended!). roundtrips are a lot cheaper mainly due to the fact that you are just purchasing a roundtrip airfare ticket from your hometown to either YVR or SEA.

 

if you were to take a one way trip, you could choose either southbound or northbound. the choice betweent south or north bound for most people really depends on whether or not they want to do the land portion of the their alaska cruise tour before or after the cruise. if you really want to see alaska's interior, its recommended that you do a one way and go into Denali National Park. when you take a one way trip, most likely you will stop at juneau and ketchikan. but rather than stopping at skagway like the roundtrips do, you will probably stop at sitka, which is known as a russian fishing village.

 

beware that one ways tend to be more expensive simply because you will not be flying roundtrip as far as the air portion. for a one way, you will need to fly from your hometown to SEA or YVR and then cruise up to Anchorage and fly home from Anchorage, or vice versa if you are doing a southbound. the multi city facet of the air portion of the trip is what makes the cost steep for many people. and if you do not add a land package on at the end or beginning of the trip, the cost factor really isn't worth it to most people.

 

on my first cruise to Alaska, I was on HAL's Noordam (now retired) and went Northbound out of Vancouver up to Anchorage. on my second cruise to Alaska in 2003 I was on HAL's Zaandam roundtrip out of Vancouver. both trips on HAL were spectacular. food was excellent. service couldn't have been better. the ship was fantastic and the ports were great. Glacier Bay was amazing.

 

now for my 3rd trip to Alaska this July, I've chosen Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas roundtrip out of Vancouver. I wanted to try a different line this time. I've been on Royal before, and in fact it was Serenade's sister ship. So I know what to expect. And I also wanted to experience a different glacier, so I'll be seeing Hubbard Glacier. I can only hope its half as good as Glacier Bay.

 

whatever you and your husband decide to do, just go to Alaska. Its an amazingly beautiful and breathtaking landscape. Words and pictures just cannot do it justice. You could go to Alaska 20 times and still not see and do everything there is to see and do there. Enjoy.

[crusingici]

wow-jstducky - that was wonderful info!! I am getting the "picture" now and do believe the round trip is what we need for our first time -- we will not be able to take off work long enough for the one way and land tours. We will definitely be going back - I can tell! So will opt for the round trip this time ... now I can concentrate on what line to take and get that deposit going on a 2006 tour.

 

Thanks so much! I feel relaxed now and can enjoy the rest of the planning stage!

:p

[jstducky]

good luck cruisingici. i am sure that whatever questions you have along the way, there are plenty of people here at cruise critic that would love to help you out.

 

i hope you have as much fun going to alaska as you have planning for the trip!