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7 Days Only - Round Trip or One Way?


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I was wondering if you could give me your opinions on which you would choose considering costs including flights are the same?

 

We only have time this year to do a 7 day cruise and won't have time for a land tour, only a day before and after the cruise to settle in a hotel. It seems like with a one way route, we would have more time in the glaciers. We're currently planning on a southbound route from Anchorage to Vancouver on Holland America (Glacier Bay). Another option would just be to round trip out of Seattle on HAL, as we will be flying into Seattle anyways for transfers. Would you still bother to do the one way if you didn't book land tour option?

 

Thanks.

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since you're on the West Coast this probably isn't a one-time opportunity to visit Alaska. I'd look closely at the itineraries out of Seattle AND Vancouver. It's easy enough to fly into Seattle then take the train or bus to Vancouver if you find a superior RT itinerary.

And do the math ... compare all the costs involved in a one-way vs RT cruise (airfare, hotels, transfers, etc)

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A round trip out of Vancouver will give you more Inside Passage time and less open-sea time, as the Seattle departures travel to the west of Vancouver Island. I can't imagine the airfare differential to flying straight to YVR over SEA is the equivalent of taxi fares, a hotel night and two surface transfers by bus, train or rental car.

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I am going to Seattle airport because I have free miles on Virgin Airlines. Too bad they don't fly direct to Anchorage anymore. But getting to Anchorage from Seattle is cheaper than going to Vancouver. Maybe I'm being too cheap? I have to save money where I can.

 

Also I looked into the 10 day land and cruise packages, and while they are nice, it seems like less time sailing. I'll be travelling with my 8 year old son, and I'm not sure I want to be locked into options with him on a land tour. I don't want him to be stuck on a bus and unhappy. He's great to travel with, but I just don't know about doing organized tours with others. Perhaps when husband and I have time to tour on our own when we're older, we'll do the organized land tours.

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If you want more glacier time, fly to Anchorage and transfer to Whittier. Take the 26 Glacier cruise the day you sail (Princess) and choose a southbound route that includes both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. On arriving in Vancouver, take the bus to Seattle airport and fly home on your Virgin miles.

 

Or, take 8 days and fly to Anchorage and transfer to Seward for a Kenai Fjords cruise before you sail southbound on HAL. Fewer glaciers on the Fjords cruise than out of Whittier, but more wildlife. It's not a "land tour" per se, but it will give you a little taste of southcentral Alaska, and you'll still get plenty of Inside Passage.

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since you're on the West Coast this probably isn't a one-time opportunity to visit Alaska. I'd look closely at the itineraries out of Seattle AND Vancouver. It's easy enough to fly into Seattle then take the train or bus to Vancouver if you find a superior RT itinerary.

And do the math ... compare all the costs involved in a one-way vs RT cruise (airfare, hotels, transfers, etc)

 

Wow. Thank you for posting that. I rechecked prices and I was so delusional! About $700 difference for 3 to do a one way. Around $200 more for 3 to get to Vancouver. I'm rethinking this now. Thank you all for the input.

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Having been to Alaska 5 times and also live on the west coast, I totally agree with Gardyloo's last post.

 

Incorporate the weekends into your trip and it will be longer and Fly into Anchorage, take the train to Seward. There were alot of kids on it when we went. It was a very enjoyable ride and most kids love trains. They have a dining car on it also. Both the 26 Glacier cruise out of Prince William sound and the Kenai Fjords cruise out of Seward are great with me definitely leaning more towards the Kenai Fjords cruise with Major Marine for a length of at least 6 hours. Even your son will enjoy it. We went in June, 2012 and saw plenty of whales, puffins, sea lions and glaciers. Food was also very good on Major Marine. The cabin is warm and you can go outside for viewing also which most people did.

 

I personally prefer Royal Caribbean or Celebrity out of Seward. Holland America is definitely more for "older" people. Probably your son would do better more on Royal Caribbean. I believe they have good kids programs. You can check it out. Not many kids on Celebrity. We love cruising southbound.

 

If your son is easy to travel with, don't let him hold you back and go have a great time. It will all be a great adventure for all 3 of you.

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I started feeling overwhelmed and just booked the RT Seattle cruise for HAL. I think it will be fine, plus I really like Seattle. As you said, we will have a lot of chances to cruise Alaska, so this great info to have for next time. Looking forward to cruising!

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I was wondering if you could give me your opinions on which you would choose considering costs including flights are the same?

 

We only have time this year to do a 7 day cruise and won't have time for a land tour, only a day before and after the cruise to settle in a hotel. It seems like with a one way route, we would have more time in the glaciers. We're currently planning on a southbound route from Anchorage to Vancouver on Holland America (Glacier Bay). Another option would just be to round trip out of Seattle on HAL, as we will be flying into Seattle anyways for transfers. Would you still bother to do the one way if you didn't book land tour option?

 

Thanks.

 

I had the same issue last year. I had plenty of vacation time but work would not allow me to be gone for more than eight days.

 

My priorities were seeing Glacier Bay and Hubbard Bay on this cruise. The Coral Princess sailed Wednesday and this worked with my schedule. We sailed southbound from Whittier to VanCouver. Since I wasn't able to do a land tour to Denali I choose to take more expensive tours in our ports of call. We spoke to other people on our cruise who took the land tour to the Denali area and they said it was nice but if they did the trip again they would book this portion on their own-they felt rushed.

 

We did enjoy our day in the Anchorage area prior to sailing the next day.

 

Have fun planning your trip and enjoy your cruise!

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