Alaska, Back to Back possible?

[kevinyork]

We are at the stage where we would love to do an Alaskan Cruise preferably on Celebrity. As we would be flying from the UK we would like to be onboard longer than 7/8 nights. I cannot see a way of extending a trip without reversing the exact same itinerary if we stick to a Celebrity or am I missing something?

 

 

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[dkjretired]

We are at the stage where we would love to do an Alaskan Cruise preferably on Celebrity. As we would be flying from the UK we would like to be onboard longer than 7/8 nights. I cannot see a way of extending a trip without reversing the exact same itinerary if we stick to a Celebrity or am I missing something?

 

 

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Look into the land based trips that go along with the cruises, see things that you wouldn't see while on a cruise.

[DaKa2002]

We are at the stage where we would love to do an Alaskan Cruise preferably on Celebrity. As we would be flying from the UK we would like to be onboard longer than 7/8 nights. I cannot see a way of extending a trip without reversing the exact same itinerary if we stick to a Celebrity or am I missing something?

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Another option might be to take a 7 night south bound trip from Anchorage, a short land trip from Vancouver to Seattle and a 7 night trip from Seattle and back. That or some variation of the same.

[afto]

You could also consider a B2B with a Hawaii or Transpacific cruise at the beginning or end of the Alaska season.

[Alakegirl]

But before you go too far know that you cant go from Seward to Hawaii or vice versa. That vilates the PVSA.

[easyboy]

An Alaska Cruisetour might work for you.

 

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[thinfool]

As far as I know, only HAL has a 14 day itinerary (from Seattle) that does not duplicate ports over the length of the cruise.

[edgee]

But before you go too far know that you cant go from Seward to Hawaii or vice versa. That vilates the PVSA.

We are booked on one back to back which does not violate PVSA next May. It is Celebrity Infinity May of 2018. Itinerary is U.S./Canada West Coast... San Diego to Vancouver, then Vancouver RT to Alaska. We cruised the San Diego to Vancouver itinerary in May of 2017 and loved it so much we booked it again...this time combined with Alaska itinerary.

[ClaudiaB]

Or...... if you want to really enjoy Alaska and do what YOU want to do ....... get a hotel in Seward and spend a few days there and in the Kenai Peninsula. Easy to do, you don't need a tour guide, just look up on Trip Advisor or get a guidebook. Then take the train to Anchorage. THEN rent your car. Drive to Fairbanks and on to Denali and you can get into the park further than some of those tours if you do it independently.

You absolutely do NOT NOT need to do a cruise tour. They tell you where to stop, when to stop, when to eat, where to eat, and you can't stop on the road to take a photo you want unless it's a scheduled stop. You're on a big bus with 40 or 50 of your fellow travelers, so even the smallest bathroom stop is going to take over 30 minutes. Although they take care of arrangements, it's not hard to do yourself. and you can do what you want. Only one road, really, you can't get lost. I want to go where I want to go when I want to go and see what I want to see.

 

That's what we're doing at the beginning or end of our next cruise. The Alaska forum here on Cruise Critic is wonderful. Many knowledgeable people on there with great ideas.

[kevinyork]

We are booked on one back to back which does not violate PVSA next May. It is Celebrity Infinity May of 2018. Itinerary is U.S./Canada West Coast... San Diego to Vancouver, then Vancouver RT to Alaska. We cruised the San Diego to Vancouver itinerary in May of 2017 and loved it so much we booked it again...this time combined with Alaska itinerary.

 

 

 

That a great idea and a great itinerary, many thanks.

 

 

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[Kartgv]

We are booked on one back to back which does not violate PVSA next May. It is Celebrity Infinity May of 2018. Itinerary is U.S./Canada West Coast... San Diego to Vancouver, then Vancouver RT to Alaska. We cruised the San Diego to Vancouver itinerary in May of 2017 and loved it so much we booked it again...this time combined with Alaska itinerary.

 

Glad to hear it was a good and worth repeating. We were booked on the 2017 cruises but had to cancel due to a health issue, now are booked on the 2018 B2B's. It's a wonderful itinerary and for us will be very relaxing. The roll calls are very quiet but may pick up closer to sailing time.

[QShip]

We are on a b2b in August on the Millennium, same ports up and back. Since we have cruised Alaska before we intend to be very laid back this time. Will do things we did not consider in the rush of first timers (snorkel in Ketchikan!), take leisurely walks, and generally just chill. May not even leave the ship on some of the ports, enjoying our 'private yacht' while everyone is gone. Alaska is so wonderful we will not even mind some repetition. (Would never consider it in the Caribbean.)

 

Besides, anywhere is better than Texas in August!

[Fouremco]

Our biggest problem with doing any itinerary with new ports is deciding what to do. There are always several good choices, but we can only pick one. By repeating, you'll get to try something completely different at each port on the second leg of your b2b.

[A Sixth?]

Our biggest problem with doing any itinerary with new ports is deciding what to do. There are always several good choices, but we can only pick one. By repeating, you'll get to try something completely different at each port on the second leg of your b2b.

 

X2

 

Plus the weather can be drastically different one visit to another on an Alaska cruise

[mc_reeve]

The post by ClaudiaB is absolutely correct - a cruise ship is one of the few ways to see the Inside Passage but is far from the only thing worth seeing in Alaska. Alaska actually does not have a lot of roads - so tough to get too lost on paved roads! Buy the book Milepost - a mile by mile description of businesses, conditions and attractions of just about every major road in Alaska (updated each year) and an interesting read too.

 

The Kenai Peninsula is beautiful - try driving south to Homer from Seward as well as north to Anchorage. You can get to many interesting places by train if you prefer not to drive. We are on our way to AK for the third time in a couple of weeks and will spend 2 weeks on our own followed by a cruise back to Vancouver to end the trip. We are wondering if we should have added a few more days onto the pre-cruise part of the trip. (Our first trip was just a cruise - our second 3 weeks entirely on our own in a rental car mostly around the Kenai and all booked via research on the Internet and Milepost.) Inside Passage cruises are great but save the B2B for something with more variety between the cruises.

[phoenix_dream]

We are on a b2b in August on the Millennium, same ports up and back. Since we have cruised Alaska before we intend to be very laid back this time. Will do things we did not consider in the rush of first timers (snorkel in Ketchikan!), take leisurely walks, and generally just chill. May not even leave the ship on some of the ports, enjoying our 'private yacht' while everyone is gone. Alaska is so wonderful we will not even mind some repetition. (Would never consider it in the Caribbean.)

 

Besides, anywhere is better than Texas in August!

We did the exact same thing last year and loved it so much we are doing it again next May. You get more time to relax and really appreciate the ports. All our ports were duplicates except one leg was an 8 night which included Sitka, which I love.

[GottaKnowWhen]

We are at the stage where we would love to do an Alaskan Cruise preferably on Celebrity. As we would be flying from the UK we would like to be onboard longer than 7/8 nights. I cannot see a way of extending a trip without reversing the exact same itinerary if we stick to a Celebrity or am I missing something?

 

 

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Seven days is not enough. So last August we did a b2b. Flew to Anchorage, a day there, train ride down to Seward, checked in (actually checked in our luggage in Anchorage train station even though we weren't traveling on a Celebrity transfer or tour of any sort). Checked out downtown Seward, found a wine store. Boarded Millennium. Seven days going south to Vancouver, seven days back north. Did an excursion with a local outfit in Seward, stayed overnight. Did a trip out to Exit Glacier the next day. Then caught a train to Anchorage. The next day took the train to Denali. Went into the park for four days... Well, anyway, you don't need all the details. In short, the b2b notion was perfect. In each port the repetition was perfect, allowing us to double back on something we enjoyed the first time or picking up that 2nd option we didn't have time for the first time. Raining the first time at Mendenhall, sunny the 2nd time. Whales the first time at Icy Strait Point, hiking and museum time the 2nd time. Etc.

We had a total of 2 weeks aboard and about 2 weeks ashore. It was enough for me to believe that I have begun to get a feel for Alaska. Next time I will probably do the 2 weeks aboard and maybe a month or two ashore.

 

Stan

[fleckle]

We are at the stage where we would love to do an Alaskan Cruise preferably on Celebrity. As we would be flying from the UK we would like to be onboard longer than 7/8 nights. I cannot see a way of extending a trip without reversing the exact same itinerary if we stick to a Celebrity or am I missing something?

If you are willing to change ships and cruise lines for the opposite direction, you can get a different itinerary southbound plus some wonderful land touring and excursions between the northbound and southbound legs.

 

For example, northbound cruise Vancouver to Seward, tour Kenai

Fjords and/or Denali Park, then southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver -- or vice versa.

 

If you have not already visited the magnificent Canadian Rockies (or even if you have and want to do it again), that could be another add-on either before or after Vancouver.

 

You could travel Vancouver to Calgary by car or rail and fly home from Calgary, or vice versa.

[chemmo]

Kevin, we faced a similar scenario a couple of years ago. As you say flying over from England, you have to make it worthwhile. In the end, after looking at several options we decided to enjoy a tour of Washington State and the Cascade mountains pre cruise (if you look at a map there is a great circular route (easy traffic and easy navigation). After a quick overnight we headed for Mount Ranier, on to Mount St. Helens...We stayed at some lovely little towns Cle Elum? And Yakima? Being two...forgive my spelling if I have remembered incorrectly. We finished off with a couple of days in Seattle doing the Space Needle, fish market and even the Boing factory (which my husband and son really enjoyed). We then boarded the ship and had our cruise. It really was one of those holidays where we felt we had enjoyed 'the best of everything' a country break, a city break and a cruise.

 

I would happily repeat the full experience again!

 

You have had some great ideas, hope you find something to suit! Just as an 'and finally' in addition to hotels in this area there are some great B&Bs full of character and also cabins you can book to stop in for a few days and really chill out....

[kevinyork]

What great responses thanks to all. I suppose in an ideal world there would be two 7 night different itineraries we could join together. We don't want to add a land tour onto a 7 nighter as we love cruising. When we go on vacation it is to be taken care of so driving around on a land based trip for us right now doesn't suit. Someone mentioned an ex San Diego cruise followed by a 7 night Alaskan that sounded great but I cannot find the San Diego departure section anywhere. Failing that possibility maybe we could mix up two of our must do's and visit Las Vegas followed by an Alaska cruise segment?

 

 

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[Kartgv]

....Someone mentioned an ex San Diego cruise followed by a 7 night Alaskan that sounded great but I cannot find the San Diego departure section anywhere...

 

On the Celebrity website (assuming it's working today!) , click on "Find a Cruise", then May 2018, then skip over to the "Departure Port" and click on San Diego - The May 17, 2018 cruise on the Infinity comes right up at the top of the page. Then do the same for Alaska - May 2018, destination this time is Alaska, then departure port of Vancouver. The B2B would include the May 27 cruise on Infinity. One tip for the "improved" website - after clicking on the date, for example, you must also click the "Apply" button at the bottom of the box or it won't work.

[Northern Aurora]

Kevinyork: As others have indicated, it is very easy to organize your own DIY Alaska land tour. Even if you didn't want to go to Denali, the Seward area has great opportunities. Would be so relaxing to take a seven night Celebrity itinerary northbound to Seward, spend a few days there and then take a southbound on an RC ship.

 

At the top of the Alaska Cruise Critic forum you will find threads with trip reports organized by year. A few minutes browsing through those trip reports will be time well spent.

[fleckle]

.....We don't want to add a land tour onto a 7 nighter as we love cruising. When we go on vacation it is to be taken care of so driving around on a land based trip for us right now doesn't suit. Someone mentioned an ex San Diego cruise followed by a 7 night Alaskan that sounded great but I cannot find the San Diego departure section anywhere

They are on Celebrity's US website.

I don't know if these links will work for you in the UK, but worth a try.

10 nt Pacific Coastal

(The coastal cruise from San Diego to Vancouver, May 17 - 27)

immediately followed by

7 nt AK - Vancouver RT

 

(The Alaska cruise, Vancouver round trip, May 27 - June 3)

It would be even better if you can add on the preceding cruise and make it a B2B2B by flying in to Florida and boarding the Infinity on May 2 for the 15 night westbound cruise through the Panama Canal (from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego).

Here is a link to that one on the US website

15 nt westbound Panama Canal

 

Whoops, now that one is messing up on the wonderful Celebrity website. It says Panama Canal up at the top, but that is not what it is currently showing.

For people who really love cruising and enjoy variety (in addition to having the time and the budget), those 3 cruises make a great combination with widely differing scenery and temperatures.

 

The Panama Canal cruise really is scheduled for May 2. It is just the website that is acting up again -- no surprise.

Edited July 11, 2017 by fleckle