Which Alaska cruise is better? Northbound or Southbound?

[hrmkr]

Just starting to look at taking a possible late May-June Alaska cruise for our 25th anniversary. There is so much to learn and just starting to scratch the surface.

 

I would like to get people's opinions on going Northbound or Southbound. I have heard that either starting or finishing in Vancouver is better.

 

We are looking to spend some time on land either at the beginning or at the end.

 

So, if any experienced Alaska cruisers can please give some suggestions on ships and land/cruise options would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Howard

[Colo Cruiser]

Just starting to look at taking a possible late May-June Alaska cruise for our 25th anniversary. There is so much to learn and just starting to scratch the surface.

 

I would like to get people's opinions on going Northbound or Southbound. I have heard that either starting or finishing in Vancouver is better.

 

We are looking to spend some time on land either at the beginning or at the end.

 

So, if any experienced Alaska cruisers can please give some suggestions on ships and land/cruise options would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Howard

 

 

We always take a s/b or a b2b ending in Vancouver.

The flights from Anchorage are terrible for us.

Then at least in Vancouver you can fly from there or take the Princess shuttle to Sea-Tac in Seattle. Lots more options from there.

[Kenswing]

We prefer the S/B mainly because we like to do a land tour first. Also because Vancouver is just a couple hour bus or train ride from home..

[ckrcjr]

We have done both and prefer the southbound and are doing that again this September on the Star Princess. We like flying to Anchorage first and spending time in the area (have done cruise tours both previous times but this time we are DIY). Truthfully you can't go wrong either way - we just prefer the times in port and flights home from Vancouver.

[momto3gr8boys]

I see you are on the east coast. Getting to Anchorage or Fairbanks is no easy (or cheap) task from the east coast. The first time we went we did an inside passage round trip from Seattle. It was good for us at that time.

 

This time we wanted a different itinerary and a more immersive experience so we are doing a cruise tour, flying into Anchorage, spending a week on land and then doing a SB to Vancouver, and spending two days there.

 

I liked that order because it gets the long flight out of the way first (10+ hours from NY to Anchorage, vs. 5+ hours back home from Vancouver).

 

You may want to take a look at flight options to help you decide as well in terms of time, price and availability.

[Thrak]

Round trip from SF is great. :) We did a cruisetour last June and booked the land portion first so the end of the trip would be the more relaxing part. We flew to Fairbanks and the land tour ended up in Anchorage so we sailed from there to Vancouver. Vancouver is a nice city to visit - we've been there twice while cruising - and the people all seem really friendly. (Maybe there are drugs in the water or something...:rolleyes:)

[Potstech]

Just took a NB cruisetour in May. Would suggest doing the SB one as it lets you rest after your land portion which can be tiring for many. Also plan to spend at least 2 nights in the Denali Lodge and do the longer park tour.

[Sea Hag]

I always love the threads on this subject. So many people say to do southbound so you can rest up on the cruise. These people have never cruised with my DH, who just won't slow down on a ship. Love him to death, but I do envy the folks who can sit in a lounge chair for a morning and watch the waves. :D

[jennybenny]

Just starting to look at taking a possible late May-June Alaska cruise for our 25th anniversary. There is so much to learn and just starting to scratch the surface.

 

I would like to get people's opinions on going Northbound or Southbound. I have heard that either starting or finishing in Vancouver is better.

 

We are looking to spend some time on land either at the beginning or at the end.

 

So, if any experienced Alaska cruisers can please give some suggestions on ships and land/cruise options would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Howard

 

We really liked Southbound because when we cruise, we are ready to go home when we get off the ship, no matter how long the cruise is (and we love cruising). Staying for more "vacation" has not worked well for us. We found we enjoy the anticipation of our extra days prior to a cruise much more than after.

 

We did a Southbound cruise from Alaska to Vancouver and we loved it. We did a week in Alaska beforehand (loved it)!! We stayed at the Princess Lodge for a night or 2 also. We got off in Vancouver and flew home. It was great!! Our next Alaska trip (we will take the kids) will also plan to do something similar with a week in Alaska, biking riding, running, lodge, and train, plus the trip down to Vancouver. We booked all our Alaska stuff on our own. The only thing we booked "through Princess" was the cruise and the Princess Lodge. We did not do one of their "Land Tours". We did Alaska on the Coral Princess. We loved it.

 

Good luck planning

[bidtrips]

First let me say I have never been to Alazka....My husband and I are on a NB with a 7 day land tour after. My thoughts, we are saving over $1000 going NB vs SB . Secondly, I am very much looking forward to discovering Alaska from southern shore to the northern interior. Just my viewpoint

[fire&teacher]

My family did the NB from Vancouver and 5 days on land afterwards. We loved every part of the trip. DH has health issues and the land part afterwards was more relaxing for him due to all the excursions we went on.

[caribill]

First let me say I have never been to Alazka....My husband and I are on a NB with a 7 day land tour after. My thoughts, we are saving over $1000 going NB vs SB . Secondly, I am very much looking forward to discovering Alaska from southern shore to the northern interior. Just my viewpoint

 

Your savings by doing a NB shows that most people prefer a SB which, because of demand, costs more.

[caribill]

J

So, if any experienced Alaska cruisers can please give some suggestions on ships and land/cruise options would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

For a land option I do suggest a Princess cruisetour. Princess does a great job on land in Alaska.

 

I also suggest that whatever cruisetour you take, pick one that spends two nights at each lodge. If you only spend one night at a lodge, you will be traveling the day you arrive and again the day you leave, with the result being very little time to enjoy that area of Alaska.

 

To get an idea of what a Princess land tour is like, you can see my report on the land part of a cruisetour we took with Princess at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858

[LeeW]

We did our two cruisetours northbound but last trip was B2B out of Vancouver. The one point others have NOT made is that NB trips go to Glacier Bay but SB trips go to both Hubbard Glacier AND Glacier Bay.

 

We had two trips into Glacier Bay only four days apart. Amazing the changes on the face of Marjorie Glacier in just a few days.

 

If you haven't been to Alaska you really do need to take some time on land up there. Princess does a great job on their tours but lots of folks just do it on their own. Tough to get lost when there is only one major road in the state.

[hrmkr]

For a land option I do suggest a Princess cruisetour. Princess does a great job on land in Alaska.

 

I also suggest that whatever cruisetour you take, pick one that spends two nights at each lodge. If you only spend one night at a lodge, you will be traveling the day you arrive and again the day you leave, with the result being very little time to enjoy that area of Alaska.

 

To get an idea of what a Princess land tour is like, you can see my report on the land part of a cruisetour we took with Princess at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858

 

First off, thank you to everyone that has responded so far.

 

I have looked at the cruisetours. How do the cruisetours prices compare to booking everything yourself? I know there are probably so many private tours you can take throughout the different ports, how do the one's through Princess compare in price and the actual tour itself?

[irishman1962]

Just starting to look at taking a possible late May-June Alaska cruise for our 25th anniversary. There is so much to learn and just starting to scratch the surface.

 

I would like to get people's opinions on going Northbound or Southbound. I have heard that either starting or finishing in Vancouver is better.

 

We are looking to spend some time on land either at the beginning or at the end.

 

So, if any experienced Alaska cruisers can please give some suggestions on ships and land/cruise options would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Howard

 

We did a land cruise tour that started in Fairbanks and then was S/B on the ship. We went that way in order to get our laundry cleaned (and reused) while on the ship. While it was AWESOME, the ship had run out of things; certain types of beer, different gifts on the ship, etc. It does not get restocked in Whittier. Other than that, it was going to be a once in a lifetime cruise, but we will be going back in a few years to do it again!

[cruisequeen4ever]

I actually recommend Northbound because the cruise is a lead up to the pinnacle of the Alaska cruise, the glaciers, whereas the Southbound starts out with the best and goes down from there. I d understand, though, that it can be good to get long flights over with at the beginning. We have done both, and you can go wrong with either. Either direction, you'll get Glacier Bay, which is a must. Northbound, you get College Fjord, and Southbound, you get Hubbard Glacier. Both are beautiful. I, too, recommend doing a Princess land tour. They're pricey but worth it IMO because they handle everything for you. You can rent a car and do it yourself fairly easily, but rental cars and hotels are not cheap in the summer, so plan well in advance if you go that route. The Princess lodges are excellent! Happy planning, and come back with more questions if you have them!

 

 

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