Replanning Alaska

[Gardyloo]

Forgive me if I missed this, but you might want to look at the cost penalty if you switched from a Seattle departure to one from Vancouver.  I'd especially look at this if any in your party are prone to motion sickness, since the Seattle boats travel on open ocean west of Vancouver Island (big water) while the Vancouver boats stay on protected "Inside Passage" waters much longer.

 

I note too that the round trip HAL sailings from Vancouver seem to stop in Skagway and cruise Glacier  Bay (assuming the Skagway port is accessible) but don't at Hoonah, aka Icy Strait Point.  No big loss IMO.  

 

Getting to and from Vancouver might be a little more costly than Seattle, but there are work-arounds if interested.  I'd give it some thought, anyway.

[Hllb]

7 minutes ago, Gardyloo said:

Forgive me if I missed this, but you might want to look at the cost penalty if you switched from a Seattle departure to one from Vancouver.  I'd especially look at this if any in your party are prone to motion sickness, since the Seattle boats travel on open ocean west of Vancouver Island (big water) while the Vancouver boats stay on protected "Inside Passage" waters much longer.

 

I note too that the round trip HAL sailings from Vancouver seem to stop in Skagway and cruise Glacier  Bay (assuming the Skagway port is accessible) but don't at Hoonah, aka Icy Strait Point.  No big loss IMO.  

 

Getting to and from Vancouver might be a little more costly than Seattle, but there are work-arounds if interested.  I'd give it some thought, anyway.

Thanks. I had looked at Vancouver originally but the flights are double the price and for 5 of us…ouch. I’ll lose $400 of a cruise credit to cancel Celebrity, but no actual cash so I’m not too concerned about it. I didn’t think I’d ever use that credit anyway so had mentally written it off already. It was only $500 from a cancelled Mediterranean cruise in 2020.

[Hllb]

Honestly, the flight prices are super annoying these days. I’m leaving for Dublin in two weeks and the flights were $100 pp less than to Seattle 

[Gardyloo]

18 minutes ago, Hllb said:

Thanks. I had looked at Vancouver originally but the flights are double the price and for 5 of us…ouch. I’ll lose $400 of a cruise credit to cancel Celebrity, but no actual cash so I’m not too concerned about it. I didn’t think I’d ever use that credit anyway so had mentally written it off already. It was only $500 from a cancelled Mediterranean cruise in 2020.

You might look at flying to Seattle and renting a car (probably an SUV for 5) and driving one way, one day up to Vancouver.  Spend the night somewhere between Seattle and Vancouver in order to avoid eye-watering hotel prices in both, turn in the car and board the ship.  

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 minutes ago, Hllb said:

Honestly, the flight prices are super annoying these days. I’m leaving for Dublin in two weeks and the flights were $100 pp less than to Seattle 

 

Sadly, supply and demand.  You are coming into Seattle during the summer cruise season.

 

There is something to be said about sailing from Vancouver.  The inside passage sailing is beautiful, and less chance for sea-sickness for your youngest.  Since your family is comfortable with international travel, Vancouver might be worth the additional expense (airline and hotel).  Plus, Vancouver is a beautiful city with great public transportation.

 

I would encourage deciding sooner than later as excursions (both ship and private) will fill up fast - and booking quality excursions seems to be your highest priority.

 

 

 

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 minutes ago, Gardyloo said:

Spend the night somewhere between Seattle and Vancouver in order to avoid eye-watering hotel prices in both, turn in the car and board the ship.  

 

Stay in Bellingham, and visit Fairhaven

 

https://www.bellingham.org/my-ideal-day-in-historic-fairhaven-–-10-must-dos

[Coral]

1 hour ago, Hllb said:

Honestly, the flight prices are super annoying these days. I’m leaving for Dublin in two weeks and the flights were $100 pp less than to Seattle 

For my cruise - air was the same for me to Seattle as it was Vancouver. Cruises out of Vancouver are better IMO.

 

Sometimes going through the cruise line is a savings, sometimes not. I ended up using FF miles this year as air to Seattle and Vancouver were $$$.

Edited February 12, 2023 by Coral

[olya1972]

When we went to Alaska with our children of ages 18 and 12 at the time, we sailed out of Seattle, round trip on HAL Osterdam. Children liked the experience very much. All of it - Seattle with three nights there pre-cruise, HAL (and especially older demographic. The 18 year old commented what a pleasure it was cruising with such people, interesting conversationalists and overall more sophisticated crowd). The second trip to Alaska with children was also on HAL, round trip from Vancouver. It was just as good. I would not hesitate to book AK with HAL for your family. As it is your first trip to AK (and even if you do not return to AK again, which is unlikely), it's ok to sail from Seattle and to experience that as well. As you mentioned previously, shorter port times may not be such a handicap to you, as you may return to the ship shortly post your excursion and not venture too far out again (such as some people who do two tours a day and things like that). If it is so important to you to have higher likelihood of your trip adhering to your pre-planning, do not hesitate to switch to HAL. Their on board enrichment programs are wonderful. We are also scheduled to be in Skagway this May and I am following the situation with possible reschedule, though, if I understood correctly, there is no real possibility of diversion to another port, or a sea day, but just longer disembarkation in Skagway due to possible need to use a bus or a tender. (For me its an issue due to tour booked very early in am). I would not consider switching the cruise because of that possible change, especially if I were loosing money by doing so. It is stimulating for me to not be 100 % adherent to plan due to circumstances outside of my control. Small last minute change usually brings excitement and memories building opportunities.

[Anita Latte]

Wanting to talk about seasickness...

 

My DH is subject to motion sicknes; He is such that if he is not in the front seat of the vehicle, able to see the twists and turns in mountain roads, he suffers. Even so, I booked us in the most forward cabin on Celebrity Millennium back in late June 2018, deck 9. It was a 3-person cabin, oversized, and I thought it would be perfect for our family of 3. We sailed out of Vancouver and had protected waters for almost the entirety of the cruise, until we went into the Gulf of Alaska waters on approach to Hubbard Glacier, and from the Glacier on to Seward.

 

Outside the inside passage, we hit major sea motion. The ship was definitely rocking. DH was unable to be in our cabin for the remainder of that day. DS and I packed up the family while DH took refuge on a lower deck midship. This was my experimental cruise to see how we dealt with a forward cabin, and I will say that never again will I book one for a cruise that DH is on.

 

As I understand it, sailing from Seattle, the ship's path is around the Pacific side of Vancouver Island, outside the protected inner passage waters. You will be subject to sea conditions, similar to how we were in the Gulf of Alaska. This area and any other area where you are outside the inner passage has the potential to be problematic. The inner passage should be fine.

 

I would advise that you figure out your plan in the event of...if you do NOT get that other inside cabin midship. If there is no additional cost to the midship cabin, then I would definitely have that cabin in your tool box if you have someone who regularly experiences sea sickness. Especially as this could hit you right at the beginning of your sailing...would not be a fun way to start the cruise.

[Hllb]

You guys gave me a lot to think about. I seriously considered flying into Seattle and driving to Vancouver. Ultimately, I decided that would add a little too much stress to my trip. I talked with my son about potential sea sickness, and he thinks he'll be fine. He's even said he would try whale watching again as long as he had medication first.

 

Ultimately, I booked the HAL cruise, with forward cabins, out of Seattle and canceled Celebrity. I can keep one excursion I had booked, I moved another, and canceled the Skagway one. I plan on picking up two additional ones - one in Sitka (I'm trying to get my family to agree to snorkeling, but I may lose that battle), and one in Icy Strait Point (we'll do whale watching here). Thanks for all the responses and food for thought.

[arpie05]

1 hour ago, Hllb said:

Hey Hllb - I get very seasick. My son too.  Meclizine works great. I also do ginger onboard.  Also - at meal time and when just sitting - have him face forward.  It seems strange but facing the direction the boat is going makes a huge difference for me.  Have fun!

 

[EmmyJK]

We did a Mexican riviera cruise on the eurodaam in 2019 with kids 9 and 12.  They are shy so avoided the kids club stuff (I think there were 9 total kids on the cruise). Even with that we had a fantastic time on the ship!  Enjoy your trip!

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Hllb said:

You guys gave me a lot to think about. I seriously considered flying into Seattle and driving to Vancouver. Ultimately, I decided that would add a little too much stress to my trip. I talked with my son about potential sea sickness, and he thinks he'll be fine. He's even said he would try whale watching again as long as he had medication first.

You may want to ask your son's doctor about the Transderm-Scop patch.

[Hllb]

15 minutes ago, Coral said:

You may want to ask your son's doctor about the Transderm-Scop patch.

I did plan on talking to her, thanks for the reminder!

[NWA395]

On 2/12/2023 at 11:12 AM, Gardyloo said:

Forgive me if I missed this, but you might want to look at the cost penalty if you switched from a Seattle departure to one from Vancouver.  I'd especially look at this if any in your party are prone to motion sickness, since the Seattle boats travel on open ocean west of Vancouver Island (big water) while the Vancouver boats stay on protected "Inside Passage" waters much longer.

 

I note too that the round trip HAL sailings from Vancouver seem to stop in Skagway and cruise Glacier  Bay (assuming the Skagway port is accessible) but don't at Hoonah, aka Icy Strait Point.  No big loss IMO.  

 

Getting to and from Vancouver might be a little more costly than Seattle, but there are work-arounds if interested.  I'd give it some thought, anyway.

Our airfare research determined we could save almost $400 per person booking our flights to and from Vancouver as one way bookings instead of round trip.  YMMV