Alaska itinerary

[a1rella]

We are planning a Alaska cruise in August and I was wondering which itinerary seemed the most amazing. I am thinking out of Vancouver probably princess cruise then we will spend a week on our own. We have only been on one cruise before several years ago. Thank you.

[wheezedr]

Basically one way which generally means you start or end the cruise in Vancouver.  At the other end the cruise line will say Anchorage but the ship will port in Seward or elsewhere.  We did NB, loved it then went to Denali afterwards.  Others prefer the land portion first with the SB cruise to follow.  In our case it was just how the dates and flights worked.   For most people I believe either direction would make for a wonderful cruise.  Additional decision is whether to do the land portion OYO or though the cruise line.  Do not wait to long as the Alaska cruises fill up fast.

[a1rella]

Some go thru glacier bay some icy strait ? Nb is what . Was thinking of going out week before and spending days in Seward, matansuka glacier, denali and then return back yes I agree red to get on it ASAP thx

 

 

[wheezedr]

NB is Northbound,  SB is southbound.

[Texas Tillie]

10 hours ago, a1rella said:

Some go thru glacier bay some icy strait ? Nb is what . Was thinking of going out week before and spending days in Seward, matansuka glacier, denali and then return back yes I agree red to get on it ASAP thx

 

 

 

Icy Strait is not a glacier. It is actually near the point where you enter Glacier Bay. Many cruises sail to glaciers at either Tracy Arm (south of Juneau) or Hubbard Glacier. Only 2 ships per day may sail Glacier Bay and require permits from the park service. Holland America and Princess have most of those permits.

 

Not all cruises from Vancouver are one way. There are round trips from Vancouver.

[thinfool]

10 hours ago, a1rella said:

We are planning a Alaska cruise in August and I was wondering which itinerary seemed the most amazing. I am thinking out of Vancouver probably princess cruise then we will spend a week on our own. We have only been on one cruise before several years ago. Thank you.

 

ALL one way cruises have Vancouver as a beginning or end point.  Round trip itineraries are available from both Seattle and Vancouver.

Northbound or southbound cruises (one-ways) will give you the most opportunity to see more of Alaska.  Adding days before or after will be very rewarding.  Doing it as DIY is great, or the cruiselines will do it for you (they call it a Cruisetour) and they are happy to add a hefty premium for their services.

Princess would be my choice.

[lenquixote66]

We took an HAL 7 day land followed by a 7 day sea. We flew from NY to Minneapolis and then took a small plane to Fairbanks.We toured the land portion by bus and train.

.It was one of our best vacations.

[Sea Hag]

I think you should choose a sailing that goes to Glacier Bay. Tracy Arm can be nice, but I think Glacier Bay is the better choice.

[zqvol]

On 1/19/2019 at 10:18 PM, a1rella said:

We are planning a Alaska cruise in August and I was wondering which itinerary seemed the most amazing. I am thinking out of Vancouver probably princess cruise then we will spend a week on our own. We have only been on one cruise before several years ago. Thank you.

 

IMO you are selecting on e of the best itineraries. The one way trips are much nicer than the round trips from Seattle. You get more ports, and longer in port.  Don't worry about Glacier Bay. If you end in Whittier take the Seven Glaciers excursion and get up close to lots of glaciers. If you end in Seward take a day trip to Whittier and take the cruise.

[AKStafford]

I think doing your land portion on your own is the way to do. Rental car prices will only go up from here, so reserve that rental now.

[kennicott]

We sail mostly on Princess any more, once in a while use Regent. So I say, cruise Princess to Alaska. Sounds like you made a good choice to do Alaska for two weeks and include South-Central. Try and get your hands on a copy of "The Milepost", 2019 edition should be out shortly but they don't change much from year to year. They are fun to read even if you aren't planning to travel on other than a ship, but you will be on your own in South-Central so it is ideal for that.

 

As already mentioned, Icy Strait runs along the entrance to Glacier Bay and Hoonah. The Huna Totem Corp. acquired the cannery and processing facilities of the 1930 Hoonah Packing Co. and has done an exemplary job in creating a visitor destination out of it next to the small community of Hoonah and on the south side of Icy Strait. (Alaska needs more of this type of investment.) The names can be confusing though, since, to give the cruise ship attraction a little more romantic sounding name than "Hoonah", marketing types have now labeled it Icy Strait Point.

 

In selecting your itinerary, pay careful attention to the routing of each Alaska cruise. Try to do a cruise that spends as much time east of Vancouver Island as possible.  My personal preference is to get on a voyage that cruises through the "Canadian Inside Passage" as well as the "Alaska Inside Passage". Meaning, they travel to the east of Vancouver Island as opposed to the west of the island, west of the island places the vessel out into the North Pacific where scenic voyaging is limited to non-existent, rougher water there too, particularly in the Fall. Vancouver is the most likely port for Canadian Inside Passage voyaging. Princess uses Seattle a lot, but on at least one leg of the cruise they voyage east of Vancouver Island. Beware when the line or your agent simply says you are going to be in the "Inside Passage".

 

Much is to be said about Glacier Bay, most good. Princess and HAL have the most frequencies into the Bay due their longevity in Alaska. But since you are continuing on to South Central Alaska you will be crossing the Gulf and many of those cruises visit Hubbard Glacier at the head of Yakutat Bay. I personally prefer Hubbard over other southeast glaciers, so you can't go wrong if you make a day stop there and are unable to find a routing to your satisfaction that includes Glacier Bay. 

 

We are lifelong Alaskans so have taken only one cruise to Alaska, which was on Regent, a two weeker, originating in San Francisco and ending in Vancouver, around the end of May and first of June. Hot weather then, 72 F, unusual for Alaska that is. We sailed as far north as Valdez in Prince William Sound and hit every obligatory port in Southeast. Excellent cruise; the only downer was, both north and south, we skipped the Canadian Inside Passage and traveled to the west of Vancouver Island. Some Canadians on board weren't very happy in that they had been led to believe they would be cruising on the east side of Vancouver Island.

 

The two cruise lines with the longest history in Alaska are HAL and Princess. Both have made considerable investments up here in the way of excursion transportation (buses and dome railroad coaches) and hotel chains (Westmark Hotels for HAL and five wilderness lodges for Princess). Both lines now operate under the Holland America Group of Carnival Corp which includes the combined land holdings of both. Most major cruise lines offer cruises to Alaska but none have the experience or land holdings that the HAG does.

[a1rella]

Thanks for all your feedback ..we did book Princess 8-21 - 8-28 starting in Vancouver  /stopping in Ketchikan/Juneau/Skagway/Glacier Bay / College Fjord / ending in whittier ..then I have rented a car in Anchorage /going to Seward / Matanuska Glacier/Denali /then back to Anchorage ..before we head out ..Wow can't wait!!!!! I have made most hotel reservations except for Seward ..booked NP shuttle in Denali for two days so we can get on / off do hikes etc ..Starting to look at shore excursions ..don't necessarily want to do with Princess so many options OMG ...What beautiful country!!! Is there a must see in any areas ?? I just can't wait ..Thanks agin for feedback I find this an trip advisor so darn helpful!!!

Angela

[Mountaineer0313]

2 hours ago, a1rella said:

Thanks for all your feedback ..we did book Princess 8-21 - 8-28 starting in Vancouver  /stopping in Ketchikan/Juneau/Skagway/Glacier Bay / College Fjord / ending in whittier ..then I have rented a car in Anchorage /going to Seward / Matanuska Glacier/Denali /then back to Anchorage ..before we head out ..Wow can't wait!!!!! I have made most hotel reservations except for Seward ..booked NP shuttle in Denali for two days so we can get on / off do hikes etc ..Starting to look at shore excursions ..don't necessarily want to do with Princess so many options OMG ...What beautiful country!!! Is there a must see in any areas ?? I just can't wait ..Thanks agin for feedback I find this an trip advisor so darn helpful!!!

Angela

 

We did same itinerary last year 8/24-8/31 but ended in Seward. If you get the chance, stop in Girdwood and eat at the restaurant on top of the mountain. Only way up or down is the tram, but it's gorgeous.