Is this inside passage?

[Ocean Cat]

I’m thinking about a 5 day cruise Norwegian Sun Oct 6. Ports of call Seattle, Victoria and Ketchikan. Does this go through the inside passage, can I see glaciers on this cruise. Can someone look at the map. I just don’t know anything about the area. 5 night cruise is all I can do. 

[JT1962]

15 minutes ago, Ocean Cat said:

I’m thinking about a 5 day cruise Norwegian Sun Oct 6. Ports of call Seattle, Victoria and Ketchikan. Does this go through the inside passage, can I see glaciers on this cruise. Can someone look at the map. I just don’t know anything about the area. 5 night cruise is all I can do. 

Technically Ketchikan is on the Inside Passage, but you will primarily be sailing in open ocean to get to / from Ketchikan  since the cruise sails outside of Vancouver Island, not inside, which has much better scenery. You will only see glaciers if you take a flight seeing tour to Misty Fjords. 
 

The only real advantage I see to this itinerary is long times in port in Ketchikan and Victoria, giving you plenty of time to explore. Many itineraries from Seattle have 5 hours or less in those ports. The weather at that time of year can be rough, with rain & storms and many vendors / shops may be closed for the season. The likelihood of any flight seeing tours being canceled is fairly high.

 

If you get a great deal, and have no other option to ever see Alaska, then it MIGHT be worth it. Otherwise, I would wait on seeing Alaska when you can book at least a 7 day cruise.

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Ocean Cat said:

I’m thinking about a 5 day cruise Norwegian Sun Oct 6. Ports of call Seattle, Victoria and Ketchikan. Does this go through the inside passage, can I see glaciers on this cruise. Can someone look at the map. I just don’t know anything about the area. 5 night cruise is all I can do. 

 

The "Inside Passage" runs through mostly sheltered waters from Olympia up to Skagway, so technically you are seeing a miniscule portion of the Inside Passage.

 

Having worked 2 entire seasons in Alaska and many additional cruises as a pax, I'll provide some experiences for your consideration. In addition, after leaving cruise ships, I worked the BC Coast for 35 yrs.

 

NCL are very much a new cruise line in Alaska, compared to Princess & HAL. Their ships are leaving Alaska by the 2nd/3rd week of September. This is for a number of good reasons:

 - Weather: Alaska is unpredictable at the best of times, but storms normally start rolling in by mid-September. I experienced a 70 kt storm on both my Alaska seasons in Sept. Last year, they had a huge storm in the Pacific that required the late season ships to seek shelter.

 - Daylight: daylight is significantly reduced from June

 - Facilities: many stores and tour group have already closed for the season

 

The Seattle ships must sail up/down the Pacific Ocean, which at that time of year has an increased propensity for being lumpy. Victoria's Ogden Point Terminal is also very open and susceptible to winds. When the wind hits 25 to 30 kts, ships are unable to dock.

 

A positive is the number of hours ashore in both Ketchikan and Victoria. However, how much of Ketchikan will be open ? You will most likely be the only ship in port.

[Rothko1]

To answer your questions:

 

1)  You will only see a small part of the Inside Passage.  You basically are not doing the Inside Passage.

 

2)  You will not see glaciers.  At least not the way the advertisements have them, where the cruise ship goes right up to them, like in Glacier Bay or Hubbard.

[crystalspin]

9 hours ago, Ocean Cat said:

I’m thinking about a 5 day cruise Norwegian Sun Oct 6. Ports of call Seattle, Victoria and Ketchikan. Does this go through the inside passage, can I see glaciers on this cruise. Can someone look at the map. I just don’t know anything about the area. 5 night cruise is all I can do. 

Save your money for next year on HAL or Princess and go as far as Glacier Bay. A seven-day minimum cruise. Round trip out of Vancouver for the spectacular REAL Passage off-shore British Columbia to Alaska.

Edited August 18, 2022 by crystalspin

[don't-use-real-name]

This cruise you are looking at is a sort of introductory cruise or a filler between the regular

7 day cruises - these happen at the beginning and end of the Alaska cruise season.

Unless the deal is a tremendous offer consider taking one of the regular 7 day cruises –

which will almost guarantee a glacier visit – you have to get north of Ketchikan to get into

glacier country

[nini]

Please save up for a longer itinerary that will include at least Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. Otherwise, you are really just seeing lots of ocean.

[vacation44]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:32 AM, nini said:

Please save up for a longer itinerary that will include at least Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier. Otherwise, you are really just seeing lots of ocean.

How about an itinerary that includes Dawes Glacier?