Round trip or One Way on Princess

[KarenS001]

Hello, I’m currently planning an Alaska summer trip but I don’t know if I should do a one way northbound or southbound or should I just do a round trip from Vancouver. Is Anchorage worth it?

[Rick&Jeannie]

Take whatever I can offer with a grain of salt...because I've never done the one-way.  That being said...we've done Alaska 3 times round-trip Seattle.  If I were to do it again I would give strong preference to a on-way.  You need to consider the differences (difficulties?) in the air fares and connections.  Don't you get a couple extra ports with a one-way...and a longer cruise?

 

Oh...and welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[nini]

It may help you to post this on the Alaska Forum. Then you may get more detailed responses.

[KarenS001]

6 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Take whatever I can offer with a grain of salt...because I've never done the one-way.  That being said...we've done Alaska 3 times round-trip Seattle.  If I were to do it again I would give strong preference to a on-way.  You need to consider the differences (difficulties?) in the air fares and connections.  Don't you get a couple extra ports with a one-way...and a longer cruise?

 

Oh...and welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

The round trip is a 10 night from vancouver so it stops sitka, icy strait, ketchikan, juneau, and skagway. The 7 night one way just does Ketchikan, juneau, and skagway. Thank You. Right now we’re leaning more to the 10 night round trip.

[KarenS001]

8 minutes ago, nini said:

It may help you to post this on the Alaska Forum. Then you may get more detailed responses.

Thank you, I will do.

[donaldsc]

As per Nini's post you should repost on the AK board.  However I have done numerous AK trips and while the city of Anchorage may not be really worth it there is lots of stuff in and around Anchorage that is worth it.  I have never done a round trip AK trip and would never do so in the future but I have done one way cruises.

 

DON

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, KarenS001 said:

The round trip is a 10 night from vancouver so it stops sitka, icy strait, ketchikan, juneau, and skagway. The 7 night one way just does Ketchikan, juneau, and skagway. Thank You. Right now we’re leaning more to the 10 night round trip.

what are the 'scenic cruising days' on each?  Glacier Bay for example...

[KarenS001]

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

what are the 'scenic cruising days' on each?  Glacier Bay for example...

Yes, both would do glacier bay.

[voljeep]

Just now, KarenS001 said:

Yes, both would do glacier bay.

have you considered adding a cruise tour to maybe the 7 day cruise?  Just a thought to stay at a Lodge.

[KarenS001]

Just now, voljeep said:

have you considered adding a cruise tour to maybe the 7 day cruise?  Just a thought to stay at a Lodge.

I have looked at the lodges for holland and princess. I have read some reviews that there is nothing to eat near the area once in Denali. Do you have any experience with this?

[voljeep]

Just now, KarenS001 said:

I have looked at the lodges for holland and princess. I have read some reviews that there is nothing to eat near the area once in Denali. Do you have any experience with this?

sorry, I personally do not . but when we do go back to Alaska (previously on the 7 day) we would definitely include a cruisetour portion.  Food in the lodges...

[Rick&Jeannie]

We have not done a cruisetour either...but many have posted about food on these tours.  Most have said that it is very expensive...but of course I am fairly sure that at least *some* of your meals are included...or maybe that there is a "meal plan" available that would help somewhat.

[Restless Feet]

Different people have different goals and constraints. Alaska is a very diverse state and there is much more to see beyond the coastal areas. We have visited Alaska four times, each time adding a land portion. In my opinion, some of our best memories are from the land portion, especially Denali National Park. 

[KarenS001]

2 minutes ago, Restless Feet said:

Different people have different goals and constraints. Alaska is a very diverse state and there is much more to see beyond the coastal areas. We have visited Alaska four times, each time adding a land portion. In my opinion, some of our best memories are from the land portion, especially Denali National Park. 

How long was your land portion? And which cruise company did you book the land tour with? Have you gone to sitka or icy strait point before?

[jc foster]

We have sailed a one way from Vancouver to Anchorage on the Coral and a roundtrip from Seattle on the Crown.  Both were good cruises but on the one way we sailed the College Fjords which were very scenic .   On the downside the trip from Anchorage made for a very long flight home.

[KarenS001]

11 minutes ago, jc foster said:

We have sailed a one way from Vancouver to Anchorage on the Coral and a roundtrip from Seattle on the Crown.  Both were good cruises but on the one way we sailed the College Fjords which were very scenic .   On the downside the trip from Anchorage made for a very long flight home.

This is my first time sailing to Alaska so I’m thinking maybe I should just do the round trip for right now and If i go back i’ll do a one way.

[gottagocit]

I would encourage you to do a one way that includes Glacier Bay NP and take a few days in Alaska before or after your voyage. Rent a car in Anchorage and explore on your own and your own pace. One spectacular drive includes the road to Seward and worth taken your time and stopping often for photos. Spend a night or two in Seward and if possible take a day trip by boat in the Resurrection bay where you’ll see the most amazing coastline as well as many whales and other sea life. Visit Exit Glacier on the way there or back to Anchorage. Try halibut if you’ve never had it. The best fish on the planet and Alaskans know how to prepare it. 

It’s also a nice drive (~6hrs) over Denali and there’s a wonderful visitors center worth the trip. Purchase a park tour into the park interior in advance of your arrival and see awesome wildlife including grizzlies.

 

Return rental car to Anchorage airport and take the Princess transfer to your ship in Whittier to board your ship or visa versa if sailing first. 
 

Alaska is massive and you can’t see it all on a single trip but there’s several areas to visit in a few days from Anchorage and the voyage will introduce you to several places you can’t visit from land. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by gottagocit

[KarenS001]

23 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

I would encourage you to do a one way that includes Glacier Bay NP and take a few days in Alaska before or after your voyage. Rent a car in Anchorage and explore on your own and your own pace. One spectacular drive includes the road to Seward and worth taken your time and stopping often for photos. Spend a night or two in Seward and if possible take a day trip by boat in the Resurrection bay where you’ll see the most amazing coastline as well as many whales and other sea life. Visit Exit Glacier on the way there or back to Anchorage. Try halibut if you’ve never had it. The best fish on the planet and Alaskans know how to prepare it. 

It’s also a nice drive (~6hrs) over Denali and there’s a wonderful visitors center worth the trip. Purchase a park tour into the park interior in advance of your arrival and see awesome wildlife including grizzlies.

 

Return rental car to Anchorage airport and take the Princess transfer to your ship in Whittier to board your ship or visa versa if sailing first. 
 

Alaska is massive and you can’t see it all on a single trip but there’s several areas to visit in a few days from Anchorage and the voyage will introduce you to several places you can’t visit from land. 

Thank you so much. What hotel would you stay at in Denali? Have you ever gone to Sitka?

[jeromep]

44 minutes ago, KarenS001 said:

This is my first time sailing to Alaska so I’m thinking maybe I should just do the round trip for right now and If i go back i’ll do a one way.

I like your logic, but you originally were asking whether to do one-way (Voyage of the Glaciers) or RT Vancouver.  I presume that the RT Vancouver is the 14 day itinerary, which is basically a north bound Voyage of the Glaciers combined with a southbound VoG.  Both cruises will be excellent.  However, if you are leaning toward a RT cruise, the 7 day RT out of Seattle are also a good value and you get some exposure to the Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca and some open ocean sailing as you transit from Seattle to SE Alaska.

 

RT Seattle will hit either Glacier Bay or the Endicot Arm and Dawes Glacier.  Both are spectacular.  I suppose if this is your first time, you may want to lean toward a cruise that hits Glacier Bay.  The on board interpretation presented by the National Parks staff is excellent.

[Bobbiegentry]

2 hours ago, KarenS001 said:

Thank you, I will do.

Be certain that you add whichever OBCs, that you qualify for into the mix. It can make a big difference. (Big, of course, being a relative term. Big to me as I am a poor boy.)

[gottagocit]

7 minutes ago, KarenS001 said:

Thank you so much. What hotel would you stay at in Denali? Have you ever gone to Sitka?

We love this family run B&B located a few miles from the entrance of Denali. https://denalidomehome.com

And this hotel in Seward is our favorite. It’s very unique and interesting and easy walking distance to a few restaurants and a local brewery along with some unique downtown shops. https://www.hotelsewardalaska.com
 

There is a really interesting aquarium in Seward also that’s well worth a visit. Walk through the boat harbor piers for some awesome closeup photos of sea otters and other critters without spending a lot of extra $’s. 

No, we have not been to Sitka. 
 

I would consider the Vancouver to Whittier (or reverse order) 7 day voyages if it were me. If Alaska is your primary interest and time/budget is limited I would do the southbound sailing and take the ship to airport transfer to the Vancouver airport. Vancouver is beautiful but very expensive. 

 

[KarenS001]

6 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

We love this family run B&B located a few miles from the entrance of Denali. https://denalidomehome.com

And this hotel in Seward is our favorite. It’s very unique and interesting and easy walking distance to a few restaurants and a local brewery along with some unique downtown shops. https://www.hotelsewardalaska.com
 

There is a really interesting aquarium in Seward also that’s well worth a visit. Walk through the boat harbor piers for some awesome closeup photos of sea otters and other critters without spending a lot of extra $’s. 

No, we have not been to Sitka. 
 

I would consider the Vancouver to Whittier (or reverse order) 7 day voyages if it were me. If Alaska is your primary interest and time/budget is limited I would do the southbound sailing and take the ship to airport transfer to the Vancouver airport. Vancouver is beautiful but very expensive. 

 

Thank you very much. The only bad thing is there are no rooms available for the days I wanted to go. I have a big family and I need all the rooms next to each other. But I will definitely do this one in future if we love alaska. I am doing the 10 night vancouver round trip that goes to 5 different stops plus glacier bay. But I would really like to do this one in the future.

 

We did not book in advance so we couldn’t find rooms we liked. Do you recommend booking a year in advance?

[KarenS001]

28 minutes ago, jeromep said:

I like your logic, but you originally were asking whether to do one-way (Voyage of the Glaciers) or RT Vancouver.  I presume that the RT Vancouver is the 14 day itinerary, which is basically a north bound Voyage of the Glaciers combined with a southbound VoG.  Both cruises will be excellent.  However, if you are leaning toward a RT cruise, the 7 day RT out of Seattle are also a good value and you get some exposure to the Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca and some open ocean sailing as you transit from Seattle to SE Alaska.

 

RT Seattle will hit either Glacier Bay or the Endicot Arm and Dawes Glacier.  Both are spectacular.  I suppose if this is your first time, you may want to lean toward a cruise that hits Glacier Bay.  The on board interpretation presented by the National Parks staff is excellent.

It is a 10 night cruise round trip from vancouver. It stops at Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, and Sitka as well as Glacier Bay. Any experience with the Crown Princess?

[gottagocit]

4 minutes ago, KarenS001 said:

…... Do you recommend booking a year in advance?

I understand. I expect you’ll fall in love with it even with the limited time you’ll have to see some of it from the port cities and want to return to see more. 
If you’re going up during the peak summer months you’ll have to book far in advance for sure. That’s usually June thru August with May (early May actually) and September being shoulder season that’s sometimes easier to book. 
We have not yet gone during the winter but we were going to this fall to chase the northern lights but changed just a few weeks ago when we found unreal (low) prices to Scandinavia and opted to go to northern Norway to see them while visiting Helsinki, Stockholm and the Baltics.

[KarenS001]

12 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

I understand. I expect you’ll fall in love with it even with the limited time you’ll have to see some of it from the port cities and want to return to see more. 
If you’re going up during the peak summer months you’ll have to book far in advance for sure. That’s usually June thru August with May (early May actually) and September being shoulder season that’s sometimes easier to book. 
We have not yet gone during the winter but we were going to this fall to chase the northern lights but changed just a few weeks ago when we found unreal (low) prices to Scandinavia and opted to go to northern Norway to see them while visiting Helsinki, Stockholm and the Baltics.

Oh ok. We are going in July so maybe for Alaska next time we will book way in advance. Is the cruise that your going on through princess?