Is the Smoke from the Wildfires Affecting Vancouver and Areas on Upcoming 9-Day Cruise & Land Tour?

[LynnNM]

We fly into Vancouver 8/28/23.  Board the Volendam on 8/30.  On 9/02 we disembark in Skagway (I believe) and have 6 days escorted land tour to Dawson City, Denali and onto Anchorage.  PLEASE, will someone give me some honest info as to what to expect????

[robotpony]

We had a surge of smoke in the Vancouver area last weekend, but this week it's dissipated and clear. There are still active fires inland, up country, and on Vancouver island, but the strait has been clear. You may see smoke in the distance, and conditions may change, but as of today things are looking pretty reasonable here.

[Alberta Quilter]

The thing is that the conditions today have little to no bearing on conditions in a week or two.  Conditions have been changing on a dime all spring/summer.  I wouldn't let it stop me from going, though, because it might be totally fine where you are (unless going is detrimental to the local residents).

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, LynnNM said:

We fly into Vancouver 8/28/23.  Board the Volendam on 8/30.  On 9/02 we disembark in Skagway (I believe) and have 6 days escorted land tour to Dawson City, Denali and onto Anchorage.  PLEASE, will someone give me some honest info as to what to expect????

 

As others mentioned, at present we are clear, but that can change based on wind direction and any new fires.

 

Assuming you depart Vancouver about 17:00, you will spend the evening cruising up Georgia Strait, with reasonable views on each side of the ship. If it is clear, you can expect a great sunset, which will be about 20:10 - 20:20, so you can expect to see about 1/2 of Georgia Strait before sunset.

 

Depending on the tides at Seymour, by morning you should be clear of Johnston Strait and entering Queen Charlotte Sound, at the top end of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately by 29/8, sunrise isn't until about 06:30, but if you want to get up early, the scenery at the top end of Johnston strait is impressive. Once into Queen Charlotte Sound, you will see mountains on both sides, but not overly scenic, but I might be jaded having sailed these water hundreds of times. Once you clear Pine Island you head up Hecate Strait, when at best you may see the tops of mountains. 

 

Once you get to Dixon Entrance the route depends on the itinerary, so can't comment on what you will see.

 

Haven't done a land tour, so again can't help, as I have only done R/T Vancouver or B2B Vancouver, both working and as a pax.

[dawnvip]

The https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/ is a great resource that shows smoke concentrations time-lapse. 

[martincath]

I also use Firesmoke - they update their predictions multiple times per day, but at most only run a couple of days into the future because they're very rational about how inaccurate even the best models are. Even more so than regular meteorological predictions, smoke is a nightmare to guesstimate so anyone who claims they have a clue how it will be in a week or two is talking utter b*ll*cks!

 

All you can do as a visitor during fire season is pack adequate breathing protection - N95 masks, commonly available thanks to the pandemic, work for the nasty little smoke particles (PM2.5) that are most health-affecting... so even if you're one of those folks who poo-poo the risk of Covid, pack some masks to avoid tasting the smoke. If any of your stops are actually in danger from fire the tour will be altered, but if there's some smoke in the air from distant fires a mask can make all the difference between being able to wander about comfortably or constantly having an irritated nose and throat unless you stay in your hotel room or coach.

 

There's one very small upside - if the coastal air is smokey the sunsets can be absolutely magnificent!

[Cruise Junky]

As of right now, we’re clear but who knows what next week will bring.   

[robotpony]

18 hours ago, martincath said:

There's one very small upside - if the coastal air is smokey the sunsets can be absolutely magnificent!

 

Smokey sunrises are pretty spectacular as well, sadly. 

[greensprout]

Very smoky on Vancouver Island the past few days .