Preliminary Alaska Cruise Questions - RCL

[JeffT237]

 

On 7/12/2023 at 3:02 PM, cusematt4 said:

-Whats the difference in doing roundtrip from Seattle vs one-way from Seattle vs one-way from Vancouver?  Would we end up seeing a bunch more on a one way trip?  Is there any advantage from leaving from Vancouver vs Seattle?

 

Having done only one Alaska cruise, a round trip out of Seattle I'd opt for a one way northbound out of Vancouver for our next Alaska cruise. The Seattle round trip seemed like a lot of open ocean non-scenic sailing. In short it was a disappointment compared to what I envisioned an Alaskan cruise would be.  The Victoria stop for us was shortened and we arrived at night so it was a waste for us.

 

We'd be fine on an older smaller ship to gain more scenery and less open ocean.  I've heard multiple definitions of the "inside passage" but we're specifically interested in sailing east of Vancouver Island through the Johnstone Straight for our next Alaska cruise.  We sailed Princess for Glacier Bay and we really enjoyed that experience.  Like others we booked the Seattle round trip due to ease and convenience, but again our next one will be itinerary based not ship or cruise line specific. 

[Beyond the Sea]

We did our first Alaska cruise in June and it was on Brilliance.  I picked the cruise because of all the opportunities to see different glaciers and the itinerary lived up to my expectations and so much more.  I don't think we will be back on Royal but I would do the itinerary again in a heartbeat.

 

I initially priced out airfare through the airlines but Royal's Air2Sea had fantastic pricing and the convenience of only paying at final payment was also a plus.  We ended up flying from Ottawa to Vancouver for under $850 roundtrip for the two of us.

[ngrund]

21 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

 

 

Having done only one Alaska cruise, a round trip out of Seattle I'd opt for a one way northbound out of Vancouver for our next Alaska cruise. The Seattle round trip seemed like a lot of open ocean non-scenic sailing. In short it was a disappointment compared to what I envisioned an Alaskan cruise would be.  The Victoria stop for us was shortened and we arrived at night so it was a waste for us.

 

We'd be fine on an older smaller ship to gain more scenery and less open ocean.  I've heard multiple definitions of the "inside passage" but we're specifically interested in sailing east of Vancouver Island through the Johnstone Straight for our next Alaska cruise.  We sailed Princess for Glacier Bay and we really enjoyed that experience.  Like others we booked the Seattle round trip due to ease and convenience, but again our next one will be itinerary based not ship or cruise line specific. 

I also did my first Alaska cruise a few years ago RT out of Seattle-

 

for the 2nd next year I am doing the Southbound 7 day cruise,ending in Vancouver.

 

Figured it would be better to make the long day of travel (and 4 hour time change) to Anchorage before the cruise than flying home from Anchorage

[cusematt4]

Thanks for all of the information so far.  Is there any reason why anyone may prefer Alaska to Vancouver instead of Vancouver to Alaska?

 

We were originally leaning to start in Alaska with a pre-cruise land tour, but the one-way sailings from Vancouver and ending in Alaska seem substantially cheaper.  Is there any reason the Alaska to Vancouver sailings are more expensive?  They pretty much have the same itinerary.

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, cusematt4 said:

Thanks for all of the information so far.  Is there any reason why anyone may prefer Alaska to Vancouver instead of Vancouver to Alaska?

 

We were originally leaning to start in Alaska with a pre-cruise land tour, but the one-way sailings from Vancouver and ending in Alaska seem substantially cheaper.  Is there any reason the Alaska to Vancouver sailings are more expensive?  They pretty much have the same itinerary.

We did a land tour prior to our one way southbound cruise and that is how I would do it again. The cruise tours are long days starting before 7am for luggage pull and ending late if you add optional excursions. We finished our rafting excursion at 10pm and it was still light outside. You also get the longest flight out of the way if you do a southbound cruise. I wouldn’t have wanted to be flying home from Anchorage after a long two week vacation. As far as prices, it is likely higher because it is more popular. 

[taglovestocruise]

On 7/14/2023 at 7:09 AM, reallyitsmema said:

 

It is an old maritime law that says you can't have a cruise from one US port to a different US port without it stopping in a foreign port.  Ovation and Quantum sail from Hawaii at the beginning of the Alaska season so they have to go to Vancouver for their foreign port.  Once they start the Alaska season sailing roundtrip from Seattle, they have Victoria as a port of call.  At the end of the Alaska season, the final Alaska sailing ends in Vancouver, instead of Seattle and then they sail Vancouver to Hawaii.

But as we and several others have found out you can not do a B2B Seattle to Hawaii, PVSA considers that to be from one US port to Another.  Our option was to do Seattle to Vancouver on Ovation , spend three nights in Vancouver and then board Quantum Vancouver to Hawaii. Or do a B3B Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to Honolulu and Honolulu to Australia . Very old and outdated rules from PVSA.

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

But as we and several others have found out you can not do a B2B Seattle to Hawaii, PVSA considers that to be from one US port to Another.  Our option was to do Seattle to Vancouver on Ovation , spend three nights in Vancouver and then board Quantum Vancouver to Hawaii. Or do a B3B Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to Honolulu and Honolulu to Australia . Very old and outdated rules from PVSA.

 

I am aware of that, I was answering the question asked. 😕

[bstreep]

 Difference between NCL and RC?  We are doing NCL going north in 2 weeks, and 9 days after arriving, doing RC south.  You can follow our trips on our crappy website www.janandbill.com.  So far, NCL is winning this battle, but RC just came thru with an upgrade.

 

We've done Alaska before.  Frankly, if we hadn't already done Glacier Bay, I wouldn't go on a cruise that doesn't do it.  JUST DO IT.  It was the highlight of our cruise. 

[gometros]

On 7/17/2023 at 3:44 PM, taglovestocruise said:

But as we and several others have found out you can not do a B2B Seattle to Hawaii, PVSA considers that to be from one US port to Another.  Our option was to do Seattle to Vancouver on Ovation , spend three nights in Vancouver and then board Quantum Vancouver to Hawaii. Or do a B3B Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to Honolulu and Honolulu to Australia . Very old and outdated rules from PVSA.

 

Are you sure this is correct?. We're doing a B2B on another cruise line from NYC to San Juan in November.

[vacationlover_mn]

Here is my tip that doesn't answer any of your questions 🙂  Once you determine the ship, take a look at the cruise route.  Pick a room facing land for the majority of the cruise... The views are amazing!  We did a one way northbound, and had a balcony facing the land, and had no regrets.  Also, don't forget to pack binoculars!

[Tree_skier]

On 7/12/2023 at 3:02 PM, cusematt4 said:

but we still also want to be on a great modern ship with good food and entertainment. 

Depending on how much weight you place on this, my first choice would be Ovation, then Quantum.  

[Biker19]

58 minutes ago, gometros said:

We're doing a B2B on another cruise line from NYC to San Juan in November.

San Juan is the one US port that is exempt from the PVSA rules.

[gometros]

13 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

San Juan is the one US port that is exempt from the PVSA rules.

 

Okay, I wasn't sure. Thanks for the clarification. 

[deliver42]

We were on the Ovation in Alaska and loved it so much, that we're booked on her again for next year.

[taglovestocruise]

3 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Depending on how much weight you place on this, my first choice would be Ovation, then Quantum.  

We did 7 nights on Ovation followed by 10 nights on Quantum.  Ovation is the hands down winner. Food in all venues was far superior, crew was much friendlier, MDR waiters could not have been more helpful or friendly.  Ship had a happy/active vibe about it.  This was last cruise of the Alaska season 2022. 

[RedIguana]

On 7/12/2023 at 9:45 PM, cusematt4 said:

Radiance of the Seas

ONEWAY FROM:Vancouver, British Columbia to Seward, Alaska

VISITING:Vancouver, British ColumbiaInside Passage, CanadaJuneau, AlaskaIcy Strait Point, AlaskaSitka, AlaskaSkagway, AlaskaHubbard Glacier, AlaskaSeward, Alaska

In my humble opinion, this is the best itinerary of the RCL cruises you listed. I really enjoy the Radiance class ships (although the Radiance is the only one of the class I have NOT been on..go figure). If flights are way higher to Vancouver vs Seattle, you can always look at flying into Seattle and taking a bus or train from Seattle to Vancouver. We did the Amtrak thruway bus last May as the trains did not meet our schedule one way from Seattle to Vancouver (we were visiting family in Washington state pre-cruise, they dropped us off in Seattle to catch the bus to Vancouver).

Even though Royal is my most cruised line, we did a 10 night RT Vancouver on Crown Princess this year. Easily up to Royal standards pre-Royal cutbacks (if not better). 

If you have the time for a longer cruise, also compare the 10-11 night RT out of San-Francisco (assuming 2024).