B2B? Northbound/Southbound?

[jstpshe]

I'm wanting to go Seward to Vancouver and back from Vancouver to Seward on a Hubbard Glacier Cruise.

Will stay a few days pre and post to do land excursions but have never done a B2B before. Just thought since it's Alaska and don't know when I'll get back I wanted to do excursions on the Southbound and then do different ones on the Northbound at each of the ports plus this will give me time to check out the towns too.

 

Is it worth it or am I wasting money and my time?

 

I'm so sorry but I forgot, do I need Port side for the Southbound and Starboard side for the Northbound?

 

Any opinions greatly appreciated and thanks a bunch! CJ :) :)

 

P.S. HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

[dyeadave]

Do a search for POSH and this will explain what we use on airplanes which comes from terms nautical and remember this is from our direction!

Happy travels! DD

[jstpshe]

Sorry don't understand your post. CJ :) :)

[sea_u_onboard]

I LOVE the idea of a B2B and can't wait for the day when we have the time (and money) to do one.

 

Personnally - if it was me. I would do 2 different ships - 2 different itineraries. Maybe leave out of Vancouver - into Seward. Spend a night or two and then pick up a different ship out of Seward or go out of Whittier - back to Vancouver. It would take a little research (I'm not even sure it's possible) but to me it would be worth it do some different ports (I'm sure some would be the same). Just my thoughts.

[Toyz711]

for glacier veiwing from balcony...port side is best all around. out of whittier or seward it won't matter, you will be mostly in open sea. cruising down the inside passage, views on both sides..but land will be on starboards NB and port side SB, views of islands and such on the other side. either way you will need binoculars to see anything on shore.

[sea_u_onboard]

Ok - for grins I went out and did a quick search of June - I know you are going next year - but I used this years itineraries.

 

You could do the Radiance which does Vancouver, Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait, Hubbard Glacier, Seward.

 

Spend 2 nights in Seward and then get on Holland America Statendam which does Seward, College Fjord, Glacier Bay, Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan, Vancouver

 

The only repeats are Ketchikan and Juneau. Both have a lot to do and would be worth 2 visits.

[DougH]

A B2B is the best way to do Alaska, I've done this 3 times. All the ones I did started and ended in Vancouver, doing this from Seward is an interesting idea with some pre/post cruise exploring.

[mytime53]

Going under the assumption (probably false) that you could get to Vancouver or Seattle cheaper than Alaska, I would cruise TO Alaska, tour around, and then take another itinerary back to the "lower 48". Use the money I saved on airfare to take tours or rent a car in Whittier or Seward.

[swansonia]

Going under the assumption (probably false) that you could get to Vancouver or Seattle cheaper than Alaska, I would cruise TO Alaska, tour around, and then take another itinerary back to the "lower 48". Use the money I saved on airfare to take tours or rent a car in Whittier or Seward.

I was thinking the same thing !!! Sounds like the perfect Alaska vacation to me....Wish I could afford it....Maybe someday......

[jstpshe]

Thanks everyone,

 

I appreciate the responces I've gotten so far.

 

If I rented a car in Seward how long of a drive is it to get to Denali National Park?

Would that be the best way to transport myself or take the train and stay a couple nights, do the tour through the park and take a train back to Seward?

 

How easy is it to get to Denali? I'm so afraid of getting myself lost!

 

Also how far away is it to Kenai from Seward? Would like to maybe do a boat tour there. Any suggestions as to what company I should book?

[Chat Noir]

Thanks everyone,

 

I appreciate the responces I've gotten so far.

 

If I rented a car in Seward how long of a drive is it to get to Denali National Park?

Would that be the best way to transport myself or take the train and stay a couple nights, do the tour through the park and take a train back to Seward?

 

How easy is it to get to Denali? I'm so afraid of getting myself lost!

 

Also how far away is it to Kenai from Seward? Would like to maybe do a boat tour there. Any suggestions as to what company I should book?

 

I don't think someone could get lost between Anchorage and Denali easily, even if they tried. One main road, stick with it!:) If you can read a map, you can travel the main roads of Alaska with ease.

 

Here's a rough input of how'd I'd work an itinerary such as yours.

Fly into Seattle, overnight, Amtrak train to Vancouver, embark ship for Seward. Arrive Seward, Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park, train to Anchorage. Rent car or RV for Denali Nat'l Park, tour DNP, return car/RV to Anchorage, train to Whittier, Prince William Sound day tour, embark ship for Vancouver. Shuttle, train, car rental Vancouver to Seattle, fly home.

Of course, there are lots of variables as to how many nights when and where, and many options for stopping and side trips... for example, after disembarkation at Seward, I might consider spending some time at Exit Glacier and the SeaLife Center, relaxing and enjoying the town sites the first day, overnight, then take the KFNP day cruise and train to Anchorage the following day. Just some 'bare bones' ideas, and of course, my opinion only.

As mentioned above, and something we considered a while back, I'd certainly look to book different itineraries for the cruises. You have the option of visiting all the glacier areas visited by cruiseship, and most of the port-towns.:)

[mytime53]

You can't get lost in Alaska, we don't have enough roads! It's 126 miles from Seward to Anchorage, and then another 264 miles to Denali. This site has distances and maps, also average driving times: http://www.anchorage.net/467.cfm

 

I think when you say "boat tour" you are talking Kenai Fjords. That is outside of Seward (catch the tour in Seward). Kenai is the peninsula that Seward, Homer, Soldotna, and the city of Kenai are located on. It is also one of the most famous fishing rivers in the world, so maybe you're talking about taking a fishing charter on the Kenai River.

 

Train, car....personal preference. I would suggest the car for the ability to stop where ever and when ever you wanted. There is spectacular scenery from Seward to Denali, as well as wildlife. As you can see from the maps on the above site, except for the beginning part of the train trip as it leaves Seward, very little of the tracks stray far from the road.

[jstpshe]

No was'nt talking about doing any fishing just some site seeing.Will try to see Exit Glacier and Kenai Fjords National Park in Seward. How much time should I allow for this?

 

I wasn't coming into Seattle. Was flying into Anchorage then train maybe to Seward for the start of a Southbound cruise (Seward to Vancouver) and then wanted to do a Northbound.

So I can do the Radience OTS and would love any suggestions for the Northbound.

 

Thanks again everyone! CJ :) :)

[Toyz711]

if you haven't gotten your air yet, you may want to research the nb/ns out of seattle or vancouver..

saves money and save alot of time with shorter flights.

same ships you are looking at, just going the other way.

do your land tour between the cruises. usually people do b2b from the closest starting point. flying in to anchorage you are starting at the furthest starting point, with the longest flights and most time in air/transfers. just a suggestion,

try for 2 different ships, otherwise you will be going to the same ports you were just at a few days before.

when did you start thinking of a b2b, last anyone heard you were doing a land tour then a cruise? :D

[jstpshe]

toyz711,

 

I'm trying to squeeze everything in on this Alaska adventure. Probably planning too much for 1 trip! ;)

 

CJ :) :)

[Toyz711]

if you really want to do a b2b and have the 2 to 3 weeks for the trip...especially that much $$$...got for it!! (and take me with you)

but to make the most of the back to back..look into leaving from seattle or vancouver..saves you about 5 hours flying each way, plus all the extra time in airports. the poster, above, that mentioned doing your land tour between 2 cruises has the right idea. the ships don't even have to be the same cruise lines. different glaciers, different ports..would be very cool!

 

remember there is no way, unless you live up there, that you are going to see EVERYTHING, just find what works best for you. it's suppose to be fun (planning, going and coming back to talk about it)

[sea_u_onboard]

I think the above poster has a great idea. Everyone says flying in and out of Seattle will save you some money. You can arrange your air to go in and out of there but that really doesn't limit you from going out of either Vancouver or Seattle and returning to the other port. Then all you have to do is take the train to get to/from Seattle.

 

Example: Fly into Seattle - take cruise out of Seattle. arrive in Seward or Whittier - spend couple of days - get on ship out of Seward or Whittier - come back to Vancouver - Amtrak to Seattle to fly out.

 

Could Amtrec to Vancouver at the beginning and reverse the trip depending on what is avavilable and what you want to see.

 

I do suggest if you are doing either to spend the night before in Seattle (or Vancouver). Would hate to miss that ship - it could REALLY throw a wrench in your plans.

[jer_l]

We are planning to do a b2b to Alaska also and are just waiting for the 2008 itineraries to be published. We will go northbound first, but are undecided about which cruiseline. Southbound we are planning to book with Celebrity. We may end up going both ways on Celebrity, but that would mean only one day in Seward. We are considering either Royal Caribbean or Holland America for the northbound. Any suggestions on which of those is best for someone who loves Celebrity?

 

Jerry

[allentownahoy]

We are going NB on HAL-Volendam from Vancouver to Seward which does Ketchikan,Juneau, Icy Straight Sitka and Hubbard Glacier. We will then spend 1 1/2 days in Seward doing a Kenai Fjords tour, Exit Glacier,etc. Then we will head up to Whittier to cruise SB on the Diamond Princess which goes to Glacier Bay, College Fjord,Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. With more time you could do Denali too. We did not want to spend so much time driving and I am not able to hike anymore so we opted to do this rather than a one way and Denali.

 

Ruth

[Chat Noir]

We are planning to do a b2b to Alaska also and are just waiting for the 2008 itineraries to be published. We will go northbound first, but are undecided about which cruiseline. Southbound we are planning to book with Celebrity. We may end up going both ways on Celebrity, but that would mean only one day in Seward. We are considering either Royal Caribbean or Holland America for the northbound. Any suggestions on which of those is best for someone who loves Celebrity?

 

Jerry

 

If I'm not mistaken, HAL offers a naturalist onboard, while RCCI does not. HAL has Glacier Bay Nat'l Park itineraries; Celebrity and RCCI do not. If you sail Celebrity one way, you'll likely sail Hubbard Glacier. Add a HAL cruise the other direction with Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound/College Fjord glaciers (be aware that some HAL itineraries also sail Hubbard only). You'll end up with a fabulous itinerary all the way around, my opinion! There is a bit of difference in port visits and timing, also, so you really have some great options to work with for a different experience each way.

Do you have the possibility of adding time in between cruises to travel inland?

[jstpshe]

I've never been on any cruiseline except RCCl so can any of you that are doing the other cruises on something other than RC give me your feedback about the cruiseline itsself or the ship you're thinking about going on?

I'd like to maybe do a B2B with one of them or RC and one of them.

Thanks, CJ :) :)