travel to and from question

[fischymom]

Interested to hear travel thoughts from those who have done either the northbound or southbound Alaska route to and from Seward-Vancouver. Good-bad, and in between. We are going to be taking our kids on this in a couple of years from now and would like to start some planning. My hubby and I done the Rhapsody cruise about 3yrs ago so we have some ideas on what we want to do with the boys but concerned about travel to and from. I kind of have set my heart on this ship for a couple different reasons... pooltables (we all play), restaurant choices not offered on Rhapsody, bigger ship, etc. you get the idea. Anyway please tell me what options we have for travel options. By the way we are in Nebraska so we will be flying out of Denver to each location.

[TravelerThom]

Interested to hear travel thoughts from those who have done either the northbound or southbound Alaska route to and from Seward-Vancouver. Good-bad, and in between. We are going to be taking our kids on this in a couple of years from now and would like to start some planning. My hubby and I done the Rhapsody cruise about 3yrs ago so we have some ideas on what we want to do with the boys but concerned about travel to and from. I kind of have set my heart on this ship for a couple different reasons... pooltables (we all play), restaurant choices not offered on Rhapsody, bigger ship, etc. you get the idea. Anyway please tell me what options we have for travel options. By the way we are in Nebraska so we will be flying out of Denver to each location.

The most important question on an Alaskan cruise is whether to tour inland. I highly recommend touring within Alaska, but if you are not going to at least Denali (and there is so much more) realize that one way trips are logistically much harder than round trips. If you are looking at a one way, it sounds like you have already made this decision. It is entirely possible to do the land side portion on your own, but much easier to use a cruise-tour (but like all ship excursions, you will pay for the convenience). There are lots of decisions to be made about how much to do in Alaska, with time and money being important considerations for most people. Only you know your time and money constraints. The only likely airport to arrive into Alaska is Anchorage (ANC); I was amazed that a quick check for an arbitrary date this coming June showed a non-stop DEN-ANC on Frontier for $208/person one way (United also has a nonstop at $268). I was expecting higher prices than that.

 

A note about air from Vancouver (YVR). Flights out of YVR to the US are usually significantly more expensive than flights out of Seattle (SEA). Again using arbitrary dates in June non-stop YVR-DEN is $338 (one stop $279), while you can fly non-stop SEA-DEN for $132. With multiple people this starts to add up. A couple of years ago I rented a car one-way from YVR to SEA for four people, made an interesting stop at the Boeing wide-body assembly building in Everett, WA (generally boys are interested in that sort of thing) and saved hundreds of dollars in the deal. DISCLAIMER: I had to take the Canada Line subway from the port to YVR, as that was the only place that would allow one way drops to the US; our air flight differential was considerably higher ($120 out of SEA versus $800 out of YVR to Washington, DC)

 

hope this gives you some thoughts to ponder

Thom

[cruisenfever]

Interested to hear travel thoughts from those who have done either the northbound or southbound Alaska route to and from Seward-Vancouver. Good-bad, and in between. We are going to be taking our kids on this in a couple of years from now and would like to start some planning. My hubby and I done the Rhapsody cruise about 3yrs ago so we have some ideas on what we want to do with the boys but concerned about travel to and from. I kind of have set my heart on this ship for a couple different reasons... pooltables (we all play), restaurant choices not offered on Rhapsody, bigger ship, etc. you get the idea. Anyway please tell me what options we have for travel options. By the way we are in Nebraska so we will be flying out of Denver to each location.

The self leveling pool tables are only available on Radiance class ships. Rhapsody is a Vision class.

Edited December 23, 2013 by cruisenfever

[TravelerThom]

The self leveling pool tables are only available on Radiance class ships. Rhapsody is a Vision class.

I didn't even think about that:o. But since OP is talking about going "in a couple of years" it is impossible to know what ship will be doing this run. RCI has not yet posted 2015 schedules yet, much less further out. Even if the company keeps the same run (and RCI is almost certain to keep Alaska cruises), it is fairly common for them to put a different ship on that run in future years.

 

Thom

 

[Patti: I know you know all that. Posted this info for OP who is showing only two past cruises.]

[cruisenfever]

I didn't even think about that:o. But since OP is talking about going "in a couple of years" it is impossible to know what ship will be doing this run. RCI has not yet posted 2015 schedules yet, much less further out. Even if the company keeps the same run (and RCI is almost certain to keep Alaska cruises), it is fairly common for them to put a different ship on that run in future years.

 

Thom

 

[Patti: I know you know all that. Posted this info for OP who is showing only two past cruises.]

From this statement "I kind of have set my heart on this ship for a couple different reasons... pooltables (we all play), restaurant choices not offered on Rhapsody, bigger ship, etc. you get the idea"......I just got the impression that the OP really wanted to go on Rhapsody.

 

I even forgot that Rhapsody is not going to Alaska in 2015. April 17, 2015 she heads over to Singapore.

Edited December 23, 2013 by cruisenfever

[fischymom]

Cabinfever sorry I did not clarify that any better we want to go on the Radiance that does the North or South bound route since we already have been on Rhapsody. The Radiance would have more options for us for entertainment and for food options. I went back to read what I wrote and can see I did not make that as clear as I could have

Of the two ships that are there now the Radiance is my preferred choice.

Edited December 23, 2013 by fischymom

[cruisenfever]

Cabinfever sorry I did not clarify that any better we want to go on the Radiance that does the North or South bound route since we already have been on Rhapsody. The Radiance would have more options for us for entertainment and for food options. I went back to read what I wrote and can see I did not make that as clear as I could have

Of the two ships that are there now the Radiance is my preferred choice.

Got it.:D With Rhapsody leaving the Alaskan market, there is a possibility that a second Radiance class ship might join Radiance in 2015.

[chadbeck]

The self leveling pool tables are only available on Radiance class ships. Rhapsody is a Vision class.

 

That is the class the op wanted to go on based on the first post. They had already been on Rhapsody but wanted the larger class because of the pool tables. Or at least that is what I understood from the question

 

 

Edit-Sorry should have look at the rest. I see that has already been cleared up. Sorry

Edited December 23, 2013 by chadbeck

[TravelerThom]

Ship amenities are nice to have. Since I spend the winter in Florida and do several Caribbean cruises every year and have been to virtually every port many times, amenities (and price) determine what cruise I'm likely to take. But for a first Alaskan cruise I would determine what I want to see, and then check the available ships that would allow me to do that itinerary. Only then would I start checking on ship-board amenities. That is what I would do, but it is not my cruise that is being discussed here: obviously these are decisions to made by OP.

 

Thom

[msvacation]

I have been very fortunate to have visited Alaska twice and both times have sailed on the Radiance. The first trip there were nine of us and we chose the inside passage cruise that originated and ended in Vancouver. It was, for most of us, our first cruising experience and that in itself, was exciting. The scenery and wild life we experienced on that trip was simply amazing!! Several years and cruises later, we decided to go back to Alaska only this time we wanted to see more. After much research, my dh and I chose a cruise tour package. We did a land portion first and then the cruise where we were joined by some friends of ours. The land portion was even more amazing than our first trip with scenery and wild life! The Radiance was our latter part of that trip and the ship was still awesome. We sailed south from Seward to Vancouver. The itinerary was great and we did some exciting shore excursions. After arriving in Vancouver we took a shuttle bus to Seattle to fly home to PA. Flight prices were so much better. As the other posters have stated, you have many decisions to make with regards to itineraries and cost and time. The cruise tours are significantly more pricey, but offer perks you do not normally have. I am sure we will return again to Alaska and after having been there, I would not hesitate to create our own inland portion of the trip. Whatever you decide, it will be an amazing experience.

Here is a link to my cruise tour review if you are interested. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1693809

[Artemis]

Our kids, now in college, still rate our Alaskan cruise trip when they were 11 and 9 among their top travel adventures (and they are lucky dawgs and have been many places over the years). It is a terrific family experience! Here are a few thoughts:

 

• I have a slight preference for the northbound one-ways from Vancouver because the ship does the bulk of its provisioning in Vancouver (when you get to Alaska and witness their short growing season and learn about all their heavy reliance on imported foods, you get it!). This means the southbound voyages are operating on week 2 of the food stuffs. Not a biggie, they have produce preservation and the like down to a science, you probably won't even notice...unless they run out of berries. The berries from the Pac NW are amazing!
  
• I definitely vote for budgeting time and dollars to go inland. It is time-consuming and expensive to do Alaska, and if you're like many people and think this might be the only Alaskan trip you make, then go all out and see Denali and any other part that looks interesting to you. We did it on our own vs. cruisetour--it's easy to research and plan.
  
• Speaking of research, the CC Alaska forum is, hands down, the best source of current info and tips on shore excursions, what to pack, which month to cruise to see certain how to optimize your inland time, etc. If you consider independent vs. cruise-sponsored options, TripAdvisor forums are also a terrific source. There are so many once-in-a-lifetime, soft adventure excursions in each port and inland, it is really hard to decide what to do!
  
• This is one cruise where I give high value to a balcony if it's within your budget, and if so, be sure to book on the starboard going north or port going south. You will spend more time than usual looking out off the ship as you are almost always very close to land and watching for wildlife or fjords or whales or just the mesmerizing ripples of the water as the ship slowly glides through the Inside Passage. You can enjoy all of this out on deck--chairs, blankets and hot drinks will be supplied. But you can get so much cozier and more comfortable on your own balcony (especially if it is of a fully or mostly sheltered design vs. open/unprotected from the wind).
  

 

Have fun researching and planning!

[telecruiser]

We did southbound from Seward on Vision. We flew to Anchorage and stayed one night there. Then we took the early morning Alaska Railroad train to Seward. The Anchorage hotel offered a van to the train station. At Seward, we were able to walk to the motel (Murphy's Motel I think was the name.) We spent two amazing days/nights at Seward and surrounding areas sightseeing before the cruise. Then one day/night in Vancouver before flying home.

 

It was a terrific trip.

[fischymom]

I sure do appreciate all the insight from everyone!! DH and I have been to Alaska several years ago for our 20th wedding ann. and we want to take the boys with us this time, if we were to go in 2015 they would be 23 and 17 respectively. So for this trip we decided to go with the North or South bound route because it offers more chances to see Alaska and we really liked the Radiance because of the wider variety of offerings all around. But on the same note we will be happy with any trip. I am trying now to see what travel options could save us some money on that portion of the vacation.

[jules71]

Did the Northbound on the Radiance a few years ago. After we disembarked in Seward, we spent another wonderful week in Alaska including a train trip to Anchorage where we rented a car and drove to Denali. It was an amazing vacation and I hope to do it again some day. I really liked both parts (cruise and land tour), but you are missing a great deal if you don't do a land tour.

[fischymom]

Jules71, I seriously wish I could get my dh to go on vacation for 2 weeks but even getting him to take a week away is torture. LOL. But he does want to take the boys up there so I take what I can get. I really am looking forward to taking this trip with them.