Why southbound more $

[cruise junky joan]

I want to do a southbound to Vancouver and fly home from there but the cabin prices are about 400.00 pp more than the northbound itineraries. Anyone know why this is?

[NancyIL]

I think it's a matter of supply and demand. More people seem to want to do the land trip first and/or get the longer flight out of the way at the beginning of the trip. We did a northbound cruise followed by a land trip, and I don't regret it one bit. The scenery got better and better as we traveled north.

[Hoyaheel]

Our southbound trip was one of the cheapest itineraries of the season, but it's also the last itinerary of the season for our ship, Sept 5. Would love to stay on it and go from Vancouver to Hawaii then the South Pacific:D If you go at the beginning or end of the season you should find more moderate prices, if that's really important.

[qiangf2]

I think it's a matter of supply and demand. More people seem to want to do the land trip first and/or get the longer flight out of the way at the beginning of the trip. We did a northbound cruise followed by a land trip, and I don't regret it one bit. The scenery got better and better as we traveled north.

 

I 2nd that! People believe it is more relaxing on cruiseship after inland tour. I guess we all forget those busy port excursion schedule1 :D

[lalawgirl]

I think it's a matter of supply and demand. More people seem to want to do the land trip first and/or get the longer flight out of the way at the beginning of the trip. We did a northbound cruise followed by a land trip, and I don't regret it one bit. The scenery got better and better as we traveled north.

 

VERY True! That's why I loved the Northbound. I also thought the ports got better as you went along as well.

[NancyIL]

I 2nd that! People believe it is more relaxing on cruiseship after inland tour. I guess we all forget those busy port excursion schedule1 :D

 

Let's see...we arrived in Ketchikan at 6:30 a.m., Juneau at 8 a.m., Skagway at 7 a.m., and Glacier Bay at 6 a.m. Disembarkation in Whittier started shortly after 6 a.m. Maybe it's just me, but in my opinion - that is NOT a relaxing schedule! But to be fair - I need to do a land trip followed by a southbound cruise. :D

[stired]

Yes, it is a matter of supply and demand. Not only do people like to do the cruise after the land trip, but they also like the shorter flight home from Vancouver instead of from Anchorage or Fairbanks.

 

And yes, port days are busy, but it's a different kind of busy - no more unpacking and repacking! The cruise ship is such a cozy home for the week!

[LoriPhil]

I'm one of those annoyingly cheerful morning people who booked Northbound to enjoy the increasing drama of the landscape AND take advantage of those early morning dockings (which are also nice in some ship-intensive ports when other ships don't dock until later in the day). Of course the next battle is with DH who isn't quite as "alert" in the morning and is resisting my suggestions to sleep with the curtains open to enjoy those 4:30 am sunrises.;)

[NancyIL]

I'm one of those annoyingly cheerful morning people who booked Northbound to enjoy the increasing drama of the landscape AND take advantage of those early morning dockings (which are also nice in some ship-intensive ports when other ships don't dock until later in the day). Of course the next battle is with DH who isn't quite as "alert" in the morning and is resisting my suggestions to sleep with the curtains open to enjoy those 4:30 am sunrises.;)

 

That reminds me - another advantage of going northbound is that you get more hours of daylight as you travel north. I was the early riser in my cabin, too - but even I didn't get up with the sun!

 

I know I'll never win the northbound vs southbound debate - but I'll continue to emphasize the "wow factor" of going north.

[cruise-a-lot]

In my opinion it is the killer overnight flight home that leaves you feeling like you never even went on vacation that is the cause. We took a Northbound cruise and our flight home left Anchorage at 10:00 p.m. and got back into Dallas around 6:00 a.m. the next day. We are doing southbound this year with no overnight flights involved.

[NancyIL]

In my opinion it is the killer overnight flight home that leaves you feeling like you never even went on vacation that is the cause. We took a Northbound cruise and our flight home left Anchorage at 10:00 p.m. and got back into Dallas around 6:00 a.m. the next day. We are doing southbound this year with no overnight flights involved.

 

We left Anchorage at 7 a.m., and after 3 flights arrived home at about 10 p.m. Long day, for sure - but no overnight flights.

[BePrepared]

I heard somewhere that the Southbound cruise was better because the water current was smoother. Buy, hey, I am no expert.

[Budget Queen]

I will continue to prefer southbound due to daylight sailing of Vancouver Island. :) But have done both ways several times- with last trip north.

[mii]

And then there is doing a B2B too.:D That is exactly what I am doing next year so I will get the best of both worlds - northbound and southbound. Yippeee.

 

Marilyn

[Budget Queen]

And then there is doing a B2B too.:D That is exactly what I am doing next year so I will get the best of both worlds - northbound and southbound. Yippeee.

 

Marilyn

 

I will be too. :) I plan on blocking out about 2 1/2 weeks of time and picking up a late booked bargain, these have consistantly been available for years, almost went again this Sept. but travel buddy wants Bermuda. :)

[fleckle]

That is what we did too. We booked the northbound leg first to lock in the cabin and ship we wanted. Then we made a list and kept watching all the southbound cruises that would be acceptable for our return. We waited until the prices started dropping drastically at the closeout sales, and grabbed one of the "last minute" deeply discounted cabins.

 

In doing it that way, we were aware that it would limit our choice of cabins, but since we already had a wonderful cabin for the northbound cruise, the great giveaway prices made it very worthwhile for us to be flexible about the return.

 

We deliberately chose a different cruise line in each direction to avoid duplicating itineraries, menus or entertainment. We like to visit both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. This was an easy way to do both on the same vacation.

 

The only downside to changing ships is the repacking and unpacking required, but that does not take long at all. Besides, we wanted to spend extra time on land in Alaska for sightseeing in between the northbound and southbound anyway.

[gambit57]

I want to do a southbound to Vancouver and fly home from there but the cabin prices are about 400.00 pp more than the northbound itineraries. Anyone know why this is?

 

The reason you want the southbound is prolly the same reason everyone else does too.