one way or round trip

[pdw26]

I am planning an Alaska cruise as part of a bigger trip round the Canadian Rockies. I live in the UK so quite a long flight to west coast. I only want a 7 day cruise as there is a lot more to fit into the holiday, and I don't think I will be adding the Alaska land tours as I want to visit the rockies. There seem to be two options a one way trip Vancouver to Seward or round trip to/from Vancouver. The difference seems to be the round trip has half a day less in Juneau and and evening less in Skagway (plus 2x inside passage rather than a sea day from Skagway to Seward. Plus of course on the one way we need to get from Skagway to Anchorage to Vancouver to Calgary. Can anyone advise on selecting one way or round trip. And if one way is best, how to tackle the transport - we probably will be doing cruise only given the accommodation and staged journey requirements.

[Alaskanb]

There are many more cruise options than you are describing. Princess does one way cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage (Whittier is the port) that include the wondrous Glacier Bay.

I'm not sure why there would be a need to get from Skagway to Seward?

All the cruise lines offer transfers to the nearest airports --ex Seward to Anchorage, Whittier to Anchorage.

Look at Alaska Air for return flights to Vancouver. We have done the drive from Vancouver to Calgary through the mountains.

[mek]

You really need to provide more details. It's had to give advice unless we have more information concerning your Rockies itinerary. Where are you starting and ending that part of your trip? Do you want to do Alaska first or last?

[pdw26]

.

I'm not sure why there would be a need to get from Skagway to Seward? .

 

 

Thanks - as you say there are other cruise options, I was just taking an example from Holland America. To be clear I don't need to get from Skagway to Seward that is what the ship does on a sea day which the round trip does not do.

[pdw26]

It's had to give advice unless we have more information concerning your Rockies itinerary. Where are you starting and ending that part of your trip? Do you want to do Alaska first or last?

 

 

Rockies plan is to fly from Vancouver to Calgary then spend a week in Banff back to Calgary, drop off hire car and fly to London.

 

Alaska first or last is good question. I thought with jet lag, might be good idea to relax on cruise first. But happy to spend a night or two either side of cruise in Vancouver to make connections work/ allow some flexibility.

[pizzalady1]

If you are not going to do an Alaska land tour, I would book a round trip from Vancouver. A cruise that goes to Glacier Bay would be best, or second best would be Tracy Arm. If you do a Tracy Arm cruise, make sure they have an option for a small boat excursion.

[sunshinecoaster]

Last summer we had 7 day round trip out of Vancouver. Ketchikan, Safeway, Juneau, Glacier Bay (not that order) Inside Passage....3 sea days, no repeats on any stops...try to find that type of itinerary...our was a HAL, but I don't know if it still exists.

 

Sent from my LG-D803 using Tapatalk

[martincath]

I'd compare prices. Both for the cruises and flight prices into Anchorage one way and out of Calgary the other vs. Vancouver & Calgary routing, see if there's a strong financial reason to choose one over the other.

 

Regardless, don't fly between V & C - hire a car in Vancouver and drive all the way. The left side of the Rockies is pretty too! Also, a whole week in Banff? Even the most rabid Banff fans of my acquaintance would grudgingly admit it's worth spending a day or two in Jasper - and I know as many people who swear that Jasper is better than Banff as vice versa. See them both, roam around - with a rental car you can do a couple of nights here, a couple there, and not have to backtrack so much.

 

I'd also save a day for driving east of Calgary to the superb Royal Tyrrell museum - not only is it probably the finest dinosaur themed establishment on the planet, but the area around it will have you flashing back to cowboy serials of yesteryear; the Badlands are a real treat and just totally different from anything you'll have ever seen in the UK.

[sunshinecoaster]

If you want to do Vancouver round trip cruise use the cc cruise finder tool....they do still exist for next summer. The ports in Alaska are nice, but they are not huge towns or cities. Even the 7 Day round trip cruises can give you a decent amount of time in the town's you do see. If you are bot to sure about seasickness choose a cruise that uses the Inside Passage, it is less rough than open sea.

 

Sent from my LG-D803 using Tapatalk

[Alaskanb]

 

I'd also save a day for driving east of Calgary to the superb Royal Tyrrell museum - not only is it probably the finest dinosaur themed establishment on the planet, but the area around it will have you flashing back to cowboy serials of yesteryear; the Badlands are a real treat and just totally different from anything you'll have ever seen in the UK.

So agree-- one of the highlights of our Vancouver to Calgary drive.

[oaktreerb]

Round trip Vancouver would fit your schedule. There is a lot to see around Banff and Jasper if you have a car. You could fit the cruise on either end of your land trip to the Canadian Rockies however you might enjoy the relaxation of the cruise following your time in Banff. The inside passage on the rt Vancouver and the inclusion of Glacier Bay would make a very nice cruise.

 

Round trip Seattle would have Victoria as the Canadian port. While Seward is a great tourist destination you would want to spend some time in Alaska if you

sail Vancouver to Seward.

[DougH]

How about a Southbound Alaska cruise ending in Vancouver? Princess leaves from Whittier and others from Seward. Both offer cruise line transfers to the ship from Anchorage. You could also then start your Rockies trip from Vancouver with a train ride back to Banff or Calgary

[pizzalady1]

If you do a one-way, Seward is much more fun than Whittier, in my opinion.

[Pushka]

Celebrity offer a round trip Vancouver (no Glacier Bay) that works for a Rockies trip - they also offer a Rockies land trip. Its on the Infinity.

[mek]

Rockies plan is to fly from Vancouver to Calgary then spend a week in Banff back to Calgary, drop off hire car and fly to London.

 

Alaska first or last is good question. I thought with jet lag, might be good idea to relax on cruise first. But happy to spend a night or two either side of cruise in Vancouver to make connections work/ allow some flexibility.

 

Cruising can be relaxing, but IMHO Alaska is not the place to go to just chill out,(like in the Caribbean.) Personally I wouldn't want to miss out on any part of the cruise because I was adjusting from jet lag - especially on a 7 night itinerary. I would rather check into a hotel and spend a day catching up, but I also don't have any idea what your flights look like coming over. Taking the cruise first isn't a bad idea, just plan for arrival a day or two before departure. Seattle and Vancouver are both fascinating cities with a lot do and see - spending a couple of days in either one can be worthwhile.

Edited August 29, 2015 by mek

[xlxo]

One other thought... which month? I recommend planning your cruise in July.... statistically drier in the area. September is cheaper for storm chasers in Alaska.

 

If you don't want to drive.... check out Key West Tours.... they offer one way bus tours between Calgary and Vancouver.

http://keywesttravelandtours.com/bus-tours/

[pdw26]

One other thought... which month? I recommend planning your cruise in July.... statistically drier in the area. September is cheaper for storm chasers in Alaska.

 

 

Thanks - July is our ruby wedding anniversary. We went round the Rockies for our silver anniversary but didn't do a cruise. Now we have more time and resources to enjoy both.