Alaska question

[5soonerfans]

We are getting ready to book the Radiance for next summer when the Alaska bookings open up. Does anyone have a preference over northbound or southbound and any particular reason considering the ports are the same?

[skrapngal]

Although I prefer Royal over Princess, when I cruise Alaska, I'll choose Princess because of Glacier Bay. This is a site not to be missed!!!!

[steveru621]

Southbound.

 

You get the long flight to ANC out of the way early.

 

Visit Denali, then relax on your cruise.

[grandgeezer]

We are getting ready to book the Radiance for next summer when the Alaska bookings open up. Does anyone have a preference over northbound or southbound and any particular reason considering the ports are the same?

 

We have never cruised Alaska on RCL, just Holland and Celebrity. We always choose one that is a round trip, meaning it leaves and returns to either Vancouver or Seattle.

[steveru621]

We have never cruised Alaska on RCL, just Holland and Celebrity. We always choose one that is a round trip, meaning it leaves and returns to either Vancouver or Seattle.

 

Holland and Celebrity are great lines but, why was round trip so important?

[grandgeezer]

Holland and Celebrity are great lines but, why was round trip so important?

 

It was mostly the air fare and travel time, not having to go to Steward or Anchorage or one of those places in northern Alaska. It also hit all the ports we wanted.

[blackshirt]

We did a cruise tour and purposely wanted to do the land portion first. That meant doing the southbound cruise.

[JimAOk1945]

We did the southbound in August 2012 to get the long flight to Anchorage out of the way before the cruise began. Dinner with the Captain on Formal Night, Icy Strait Point whale watching and bear sightings, and Hubbard Glacier calving were the highlights.

 

You might enjoy seeing slideshows my wife made with her pictures for her website. The link below will take you directly to the section of her site that features that cruise.

 

Radiance of the Seas Southbound Alaska cruise

 

Alaska is amazing! The Radiance is a beautiful ship. Happy cruising!

[polymedia]

Southbound, because the embarking in Vancouver is hideous.

[nativetexan]

We've done round trip out of Vancouver and Seattle. Northbound out of Vancouver. They were all great. I agree with JimAOk1945 - get the long flight out of the way then travel. Really liked Seward. We hiked onto Exit Glacier. Amazing. Enjoy.

Edited February 16, 2016 by nativetexan

[Cruzin-K]

I chose southbound for the port times, and also to get the longer flight out of the way first. I'm sailing on Princess though, and I'm not sure which ports are the most important to you, but check to see how much time you get in each port on the two routes. I felt that the southbound route had better hours in Glacier Bay, and that was the whole reason I chose Princess over RCI for Alaska.

 

I had no idea that embarkation in Vancouver was a pain, but I guess I'm extra glad I chose the southbound route :D

[molsonschooner]

We did northbound from Vancouver . No issues embarking. If we were to go again I might do southbound , just to get the long flight done first

[Funbobby68]

Southbound, because the embarking in Vancouver is hideous.

 

 

It is a bit of a trying port but everything is going to Canada place , far better than balintyne .... That was a nightmare

Edited February 16, 2016 by Funbobby68

[MattInFLL]

Vancouver heinous ? Not in my experience. Anyway, I've only done round trip but my friends who have done one way seem to agree with the start with the long flight and cruise south. And if you disembark in Vancouver try to spend a day enjoying one of the prettiest cities in North America.

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

When I did it last year I chose the Southbound for 2 main reasons;

 

1. I wanted to get the longest travelling out the way and then relax on the cruise rather than get off the cruise, have a long drive/trip then a flight or possibly two to get back to where I was flying home from.

 

2. I preferred the port times on the southbound to the northbound.

 

I am sure whichever you choose you will enjoy.

[L454S]

Southbound made sense to us. Fly to Anchorage, rent a car and spend a night in Talkeetna. Then drive to Healy(Denali) and spend a day or two. When done drive back to Anchorage, turn the car in and hop on the Alaska RR to Seward or Whittier and board the ship.

 

Probably the best trip I ever took, saw so many places and things that a cruise alone can't offer. It was inexpensive as well.

 

We had done a round trip from Vancouver on the Radiance the year before.

Edited February 16, 2016 by L454S

[starfish216]

Southbound, because the embarking in Vancouver is hideous.

 

It's amazing how everyone has different experiences.

 

Our best embarkation out of over a dozen cruises was in Vancouver.

 

We arrived at the cruise terminal around 11:00 AM from our hotel. Quickly went through security. When you are done with checkin, they seat you in rows after you completed the process. Then a rep will get a few rows at time and escort them in a single file to the ship where we were then binged on board. There was none of this mad dash when they call sections or numbers to board the ship. No one was standing in the aisle near the entrance to get on the ship. It was smooth and easy.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We did a NB from Vancouver to Seward and toured for 5 days after the cruise. We loved Vancouver. If you begin or end there and do not take some time to see it you are missing out. We found the embarkation process very easy. We were there around 11 am. Maybe we missed the issues.

 

I would vote for a SB cruise, too. Not because of the flight, but because of the Hubbard Glacier time. On a SB cruse you are there in the afternoon. On the NB you enter the glacier area before breakfast on the last day of the cruise and are finished by late morning. AK involves lots of longish days and excursions. We really could have used the sleep at this point.

 

If you have not done so you need to check out the Alaska port of call message board. They have a thread for every question you could possibly imagine. I wished I had read those threads before I put my trip together. I would have done all of the land portion DIY.

 

edit: Here is the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

Edited February 16, 2016 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

We are getting ready to book the Radiance for next summer when the Alaska bookings open up. Does anyone have a preference over northbound or southbound and any particular reason considering the ports are the same?

 

We did the southbound, because of the flight differences for us (availability and pricing). Flew into Anchorage and stayed a few days and toured around, then took the train into Seward which was really nice and loved the scenery, only down side was we had to take a VERY early train.

 

Either way you will love Alaska!

[5soonerfans]

Thank you to everyone for the helpful input. I think we will book the southbound and I am going to enjoy reading all the posts I can find about Alaska here and on the ports of call page.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Well if you're planning on staying in Alaska for a land tour, I'd say go with a SB and do the land portion first. In 2014, I did a NB cruise because we didn't have enough time for extra time in Alaska, but did want to spend a day in Vancouver and wanted to do that first.