Queen Elizabeth Alaska route question

[Deb0702]

We are shopping Alaska cruises and I keep coming back to this wonderful 10-day Alaska cruise out of Vancouver BC. The itinerary looks ideal. Except for one thing, which is the reason for my question. The itinerary map on the Cunard website shows the route departing Vancouver and cruising out to open water to the west of Vancouver island. Is this correct? My understanding is that cruise ships departing Vancouver normally cruise the inside passage to the east of the island. In fact all the the itinerary maps I’ve seen on the online booking websites show QE departing Vancouver and cruising to the east of the island as would be expected. It is only the Cunard website that shows the different route. Can anyone say with authority which route is correct? I haven’t called Cunard, but will if CC members don’t have the answer. But usually they do! 😊

[Underwatr]

The one HAL Alaska cruise I did went to the west of Vancouver Island in both directions. That cruise was closed-loop out of Seattle, though.

The "Inside Passage " route actually refers more commonly to the route inside of the outer islands in southwest Alaska. Visiting ports such as Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway is by definition an inside passage itinerary (I'm not aware of an Alaska itinerary that doesn't go that route). 

Some cruises might go east of Vancouver but I'm not aware which ones actually do.

[sfred]

I think they go both ways, east and west of Vancouver Island, depending on departure timing, arrival time at the next port, sea conditions, and probably a few other considerations.  I also heard that there are some bottleneck locations on the east route where traffic volumes are limited.  The specific route on the day is probably finally decided by the captain and navigator closer to sailing time.

 

In May 2019, on QE's departure from Vancouver we went up the east route, and returned down the west, although the return had a port call at Victoria so the west route probably made more sense anyway. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by sfred

[Canuker]

Well, firstly, as I think OP is suggesting, west of VI is definitely not the Inside Passage. It's open Pacific Ocean.
Secondly, the Cunard website these days leaves a great deal to be desired. Those same maps, for our booked cruise, has us arriving in one port at midnight!
Thirdly, because of the departure time from Vancouver (and despite the short summer nights), much of the IP is transited in darkness.
Lastly, where the ship goes is ultimately the skipper's call.
But I take your point, OP.

[kmerlin14]

We went east of Vancouver Island after we left Vancouver on the June cruise, but the sea day was quite foggy so we didn't see much. On the way back we went to the west of Vancouver Island, probably because we were stopping in Victoria. I did post a trip report on the Alaska board if that is of any help.

[david,Mississauga]

We took a 10-day Alaska cruise last June. Cunard's site showed the route on the west side of the island both ways. The northbound trip was actually on the east side of the island. Unfortunately it was dark by the time we got to the Seymour Narrows which is very attractive. Southbound we went down the west side of the island, which is usual for all ships calling at Victoria. As others have said, nothing is guaranteed. Over the years my travel agent and I have had a lot of experience contacting Cunard's California office with various enquiries. More often than not we were given wrong information.

 

Cunard's interactive maps showing routings sometimes shows some interesting (read: impossible) segments. Last year there was one east coast trip (New York to Québec) which showed the QM2 taking a short cut across the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

 

 

[Canuker]

12 hours ago, kmerlin14 said:

We went east of Vancouver Island after we left Vancouver on the June cruise, but the sea day was quite foggy so we didn't see much. On the way back we went to the west of Vancouver Island, probably because we were stopping in Victoria. I did post a trip report on the Alaska board if that is of any help.

You did, kmerlin14 and a very good one.

Recommend it to anyone considering Cunard / Alaska.

[Host Hattie]

4 minutes ago, Canuker said:

You did, kmerlin14 and a very good one.

Recommend it to anyone considering Cunard / Alaska.

 

It's here if anyone hasn't seen it

 

 

[Deb0702]

Thank you very much for the replies to my question and sharing your first hand experiences with this itinerary. This is why CC is such a valuable resource. I did not expect call takers at Cunard would have a clue about the route taken out of Vancouver. I also appreciated reading the Excellent trip report! And the point about the departure time and transit after dark were noted. With all the information I continue to judge this is the very best itinerary. We’ve never cruised with Cunard and I’m very much looking forward to it. Thank you!

[Radar boomer]

How many formal nights were there in total on the 10 day, we are going in June 2021..

[david,Mississauga]

11 hours ago, Radar boomer said:

How many formal nights were there in total on the 10 day, we are going in June 2021..

 

There were only two on the 10-day cruises last year and it is the same for this year based on the advance information available.

[naturelovergirl]

On 1/25/2020 at 11:05 AM, Host Hattie said:

 

It's here if anyone hasn't seen it

 

 

Excellent resource of information

Thanks!

[kmerlin14]

On 1/25/2020 at 2:01 PM, Deb0702 said:

Thank you very much for the replies to my question and sharing your first hand experiences with this itinerary. This is why CC is such a valuable resource. I did not expect call takers at Cunard would have a clue about the route taken out of Vancouver. I also appreciated reading the Excellent trip report! And the point about the departure time and transit after dark were noted. With all the information I continue to judge this is the very best itinerary. We’ve never cruised with Cunard and I’m very much looking forward to it. Thank you!

Your welcome. It was our first time with Cunard too and we loved it. And I was trying to return the favour for all the advice I got when I was planning.

 

[charlesspinney]

On 1/25/2020 at 9:04 PM, Radar boomer said:

How many formal nights were there in total on the 10 day, we are going in June 2021..

Two.  Ice white on the second evening. Roaring twenties on the second to last evening.

Edited January 28, 2020 by charlesspinney

[ExArkie]

On 1/24/2020 at 11:39 PM, david,Mississauga said:

...Cunard's interactive maps showing routings sometimes shows some interesting (read: impossible) segments. Last year there was one east coast trip (New York to Québec) which showed the QM2 taking a short cut across the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

 

 

Generally, I find portage on canoe trips a bit of a pain. Never tried it with a 150,000 ton vessel...

 

I was under the impression that "inside passage" referred to the "inside" (i.e., east) of Queen Charlotte Island, not Vancouver Island.

Edited January 28, 2020 by ExArkie
Corrected a mistake

[david,Mississauga]

19 hours ago, ExArkie said:

Generally, I find portage on canoe trips a bit of a pain. Never tried it with a 150,000 ton vessel...

 

I was under the impression that "inside passage" referred to the "inside" (i.e., east) of Queen Charlotte Island, not Vancouver Island.

 

I showed Cunard's map to some of my railway employee friends. I said I had visions of the QM2 being towed behind VIA Rail's  train the Ocean.

 

Many people do think the "inside passage" refers to the route between Vancouver Island and the mainline. This is understandable. On my first cruise to Alaska in 1972 I made the same assumption. It was a tiny ship (the CPR"s Princess Patricia - 6000 GRT) and it did take the route between the Island and the mainland both ways. North of the island it  was able to travel through some narrower channels than the larger ships could.