Alaskan Cruise

[wrongwaywatson]

We are looking at booking a 7 Day Alaskan cruise for summer 2020.    For those of you that have done these, which itenerary have you liked the best?  thanks in advance!

Edited March 25, 2019 by wrongwaywatson

[Sea Hag]

For seven days, I'd say round trip Seattle. We like that better than the Voyage of the Glaciers, where you leave from either Vancouver or Whittier and fly back from the other location. You should make sure to choose a sailing at goes to Glacier Bay, since that shouldn't be missed.

[TravelingEA]

If you have the time, take the Voyage of the Glaciers and do the land portion either before or after the time on the cruise ship. If this is your first time, Glacier Bay is a must. If you do not have the time available then the Seattle round trip works out. Occasionally Princess will have a round trip from Vancouver. This seems to be in early May.

[bemis12]

30 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

We are looking at booking a 7 Day Alaskan cruise for summer 2020.    For those of you that have done these, which itenerary have you liked the best?  thanks in advance!

 

The Voyageof the Glaciers itinerary is superior to the round-trip Seattle one.  An extra day of glacier cruising. 

 

Yes, the logistics of the Seattle round-trip are better, But not the itinerary

[nukesubsailor]

Take the cruise that takes the Inside Passage instead of sailing on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island.  Also make sure your cruise visits Glacier Bay.

[Cruise Raider]

As others have mentioned, Glacier Bay is a must if you are only going to see Alaska once.  Also, check the itinerary and be sure that the ship sails through the inside passage during the morning and day ... not at night while you are sleeping.  I believe the itineraries out of Vancouver are better for this.  And, if you can sail through the British Columbia inside passage, too ... well, all the better.  That is really some special scenery and way less rough than cruising outside of Vancouver Island.  

Just of note, the itinerary from San Francisco is 10 nights and there is one that does visit Glacier Bay, although, not the British Columbia inside passage.  

We also love Icy Strait Point ... there is a lot of opportunity to see tons of wildlife there ... whales, grizzlies and bald eagles, etc.  

We usually go in the first week of Sept and have had great luck on the weather ... no guarantees but we love that time of year.  

We've made 12 adventures up there so feel free to ask away.  

[satxdiver]

Another vote for Glacier Bay cruise.  The easiest cruise for pax in the US is a r/t from Seattle.  If you really want to see interior AK, then a northbound or southbound trip Whittier to Vancouver or reverse.  This means you will be leaving/arriving in Anchorage and similar in Vancouver BC.  

[Thrak]

I know you mentioned a 7 day cruise but there is also a 10 day round trip out of San Francisco. That was our first cruise and the one that got us hooked.

[Coral]

53 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

 

The Voyageof the Glaciers itinerary is superior to the round-trip Seattle one.  An extra day of glacier cruising. 

 

Yes, the logistics of the Seattle round-trip are better, But not the itinerary

I completely agree. 

[SLOlady2014]

We like going round-trip out of Vancouver, and will be sailing on the Coral in May. Unfortunately, Princess doesn't offer this cruise very often, typically at the beginning or end of cruise season. We live in WA, and can drive up to Vancouver, but if you need to fly in, you can choose either Vancouver or Seattle. We prefer this route because it sails between Vancouver Island and B.C. going both up and back, avoiding the sometimes rough seas that RT cruises leaving from Seattle can experience. We have also done the Voyage of the Glaciers several times, and if you want to add on a land tour in Alaska, this is the cruise you want to look at.  

[BarbinMich]

15 hours ago, Thrak said:

I know you mentioned a 7 day cruise but there is also a 10 day round trip out of San Francisco. That was our first cruise and the one that got us hooked.

In 2014, the 10-day out of SF was our last of 4 cruises to Alaska (did it in mid-May).  We love SF and have been there multiple times, but still spent a few days there pre-cruise and revisited our favorite places.  And sailing out of SF was a wonderful (but windy) experience.  Also, loved going west of Vancouver Island.  Sea was totally flat and we had a beautiful, long sunset reflected off the water; also saw a few sea ducks diving and then emerging out of the water.  Finally, the ship stopped in Victoria BC on the way back, another plus for us (love the Butchart Gardens there).

[fishin' musician]

I prefer the northbound out of Vancouver... especially in June or July.  The Inside Passage, Glacier Bay and College Fjord are all amazing and when going north the scenery gets more spectacular and the days get longer each day!

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, BarbinMich said:

 Finally, the ship stopped in Victoria BC on the way back, another plus for us (love the Butchart Gardens there).

 

Totally agree about the stop in Victoria. Anybody who hasn't been to Butchart Gardens just doesn't know what they are missing. It was really great. Hoping to get back there again one of these days.

[MauiLvrs]

One that visits both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm (or equivalent)

[shutterbug63]

Southbound from Whittier or Seward to Vancouver.  Don't miss Glacier Bay.

 

When we chose the itinerary for our first Alaska cruise in 2016, we did look at round trip Seattle.  We decided not to do that for exactly the reasons some others on this post have said - the port times were just not as good as sailings that leave directly from Alaska. We love the southbound route.

 

Spend a day or two on land in Alaska if you have time.  Or do a multi-city itinerary with a stopover in Seattle before you go on to Anchorage.  If you don't want to go to Denali/Fairbanks, rent a car in Anchorage and drive up the Seward highway to the Alaska Wildlife conservation center. Have lunch at the Hotel Aleyska in Girdwood.

 

 

[Bignickpsu]

20 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

In 2014, the 10-day out of SF was our last of 4 cruises to Alaska (did it in mid-May).  We love SF and have been there multiple times, but still spent a few days there pre-cruise and revisited our favorite places.  And sailing out of SF was a wonderful (but windy) experience.  Also, loved going west of Vancouver Island.  Sea was totally flat and we had a beautiful, long sunset reflected off the water; also saw a few sea ducks diving and then emerging out of the water.  Finally, the ship stopped in Victoria BC on the way back, another plus for us (love the Butchart Gardens there).

 

How was the water coming out of San Fran?  Was it overly rough? We are doing the 10 day to Alaska this summer and I have a tendency to get seasick and I have heard the Pacific can be quite rocky.  Hoping the patch continues to work for me.

[Coral]

I actually don't recommend the Alaska trips out of SFO (or LA) because you don't get more days in Alaska. If I want to see Alaska and have extra days - spend them in Alaska.

[Coral]

7 minutes ago, Bignickpsu said:

 

How was the water coming out of San Fran?  Was it overly rough? We are doing the 10 day to Alaska this summer and I have a tendency to get seasick and I have heard the Pacific can be quite rocky.  Hoping the patch continues to work for me.

I have done the CA coast to Vancouver. It can be rough.

[Sea Hag]

2 hours ago, Bignickpsu said:

 

How was the water coming out of San Fran?  Was it overly rough? We are doing the 10 day to Alaska this summer and I have a tendency to get seasick and I have heard the Pacific can be quite rocky.  Hoping the patch continues to work for me.

The part just past the Golden Gate has been choppy every time we've sailed from San Francisco. Doesn't last too long, but it was definitely choppy.

[BarbinMich]

21 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Totally agree about the stop in Victoria. Anybody who hasn't been to Butchart Gardens just doesn't know what they are missing. It was really great. Hoping to get back there again one of these days.

We'd been there before when we did a fly-drive-ferry to Seattle, the San Juan Islands and Victoria.  Took the ferry from latter to Port Angeles so we could visit Olympic National Forest.  Didn't figure we'd get out there again so tried to see as much as we could in a week plus a weekend <g>.  That trip was in the fall so the Butchart Gardens were totally different than they are in the spring (i.e. different flowering plants).  I love the fact that they're in a former limestone quarry--owner's wife designed the gardens after her husband was done with the site--amazing setting.

[BarbinMich]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

I actually don't recommend the Alaska trips out of SFO (or LA) because you don't get more days in Alaska. If I want to see Alaska and have extra days - spend them in Alaska.

I don't believe any other of the main cruise lines do anything longer than 7-days because that's what people can afford, how much time they have, etc.  We love sea days and are retired so the 10-day appealed to us--also we're from the Michigan so getting to and from the west coast takes most of a day plus we added on a few days to revisit SF.  Others have different priorities, constraints on their time, etc.  FWIW our first cruise to Alaska was in 1996:  RT from Vancouver on the Celebrity Horizon.  Our itinerary, NB from Vancouver:  Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Valdez, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord, and Seward.  This was a group tour arranged by our state bar assn.  3 days post-cruise were also included to visit Fairbanks and Denali via train.

[jsglow]

Here's one thing to consider.  Often, especially last minute in shoulder season, a one way Glaciers cruise can be booked at a significantly lower fare than a R/T Seattle cruise.  That allows one some greater latitude on the airfare associated with getting to or from Anchorage. 

[Coral]

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

Here's one thing to consider.  Often, especially last minute in shoulder season, a one way Glaciers cruise can be booked at a significantly lower fare than a R/T Seattle cruise.  That allows one some greater latitude on the airfare associated with getting to or from Anchorage. 

I always found one ways cheaper anyway. You pay a little more in air but RT cruises out of Seattle are often more expensive.

[Coral]

3 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

I don't believe any other of the main cruise lines do anything longer than 7-days because that's what people can afford, how much time they have, etc.  We love sea days and are retired so the 10-day appealed to us--also we're from the Michigan so getting to and from the west coast takes most of a day plus we added on a few days to revisit SF.  Others have different priorities, constraints on their time, etc.  FWIW our first cruise to Alaska was in 1996:  RT from Vancouver on the Celebrity Horizon.  Our itinerary, NB from Vancouver:  Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Valdez, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord, and Seward.  This was a group tour arranged by our state bar assn.  3 days post-cruise were also included to visit Fairbanks and Denali via train.

I still work and if I am taking extra days off, I want to be in Alaska. Maybe my views will change if I was retired and not tied to a schedule.

 

I also live in the Midwest and understand that it takes forever to get to either coast because we have to make connections.

[jsglow]

24 minutes ago, Coral said:

I still work and if I am taking extra days off, I want to be in Alaska. Maybe my views will change if I was retired and not tied to a schedule.

 

I also live in the Midwest and understand that it takes forever to get to either coast because we have to make connections.

 

We're looking forward to that too Coral.  Last year we flew all the way to Anchorage on a Friday night to catch our 7 day southbound Glaciers.  One benefit to living in Chicago.  It was doable.  One of our very best week long vacations ever.

 

You mentioned doing the Cali coast.  Our son lives in Seattle so that might be a good family vaca option.  Thoughts?

Edited March 27, 2019 by jsglow