Round Trip or North/Southboud Cruise?

[MQQ]

Hi,

 

First let me say you all are the BEST resource I can find on Alaska cruising anywhere – THANK YOU all for sharing with newbies like me!

 

After a couple weeks of reviewing CC boards, I have a (probably dumb) question on the merits of a round trip inside passage cruise vs. a north/southbound cruise. It seems there are 2-3 RT cruises for every 1-way and I wonder why that is? Is there really not much new to add to the trip after doing the inside passage ports? It seems like you can ride trains, do ziplines, fish, shop, hike and see wildlife and glaciers at most of the ports. What, besides the Artic Circle and Mt. McKinley, do I miss in doing just the round trip versions?

 

I look forward to your help and guidance!

Thanks – Monique :)

[fleckle]

In taking a round trip cruise, you miss the chance to visit prime scenic interior areas of Alaska, such as Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula. Also, you may visit either Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier, but not both.

 

If you book northbound/southbound on two different cruise lines with different itineraries, you can see Hubbard Glacier one way and College Fjord plus Glacier Bay the other way.

 

The reasons for more round trip cruises are primarily $$$. Many people cannot afford the time and/or money to take cruises longer than a week. Also, a round-trip airline ticket usually costs less than an open-jaw.

 

The train rides, hikes, wildlife, glaciers, etc., vary greatly from one location to another, and even what you see in any particular location will vary from one visit to the next. So it is hardly a case of "seen one, seen them all."

 

There is no right or wrong answer as to round trip vs. northbound/southbound. A round trip cruise can provide a great introduction to Alaska for a first timer, and if you like it, you can come back again for more. (That was what we did.) If time and cost restraints are not an issue, then it all comes down to a matter of personal interests and preferences; choosing where you want to go and what you want to see and do.

 

Have a wonderful time, whatever you decide.

[NancyIL]

The reason cruisetours are so popular is because people DO want to see some of the interior of Alaska, and not just the small panhandle where most cruise ships go. However, if you don't have time to spend in the interior before or after a one-way cruise, then you're paying more in airfare just to cross the Gulf of Alaska to see College Fjord and either Whittier or Seward.

 

We're leaving 3 weeks from today for our first trip to Alaska: a northbound cruise on the Coral Princess, followed by a 9-day land trip with a rental car. We're not going to Denali this time. Instead, we'll spend 2 nights in Kennicott, 1 night in Valdez, and 2 nights each in Homer and Seward on the Kenai Peninsula - plus the first and last nights in Anchorage. I hope to go to Denali, Fairbanks, and somewhere in the Arctic on a future trip to Alaska, whether it's a cruise + land trip or just a land trip.

 

If I were looking for a longer first cruise for 2008 and didn't want to do a one-way - I would pick the Tahitian Princess's 14-day roundtrip from Vancouver. It has a fantastic itinerary, going to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Glacier Bay, Valdez, Seward, and Kodiak! According to Princess's news release, you should be able to book that tomorrow (May 14). http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na882

[NancyIL]

I forgot to mention that Victoria, BC will also be a port stop on the Tahitian Princess.

[Jana White]

My husband and I have taken numerous Alaskan cruises of all types and we are sold on the northbound that ends in either Seward(first choice) or Whittier. Why, because every day the landscape and wildlife get increasingly better and better. When you finally depart the ship, you are on an Alaskan high. From there you can easily do a land tour.

My 2 cents