Alaska on HAL - Roundtrip Seattle or Roundtrip Vancouver??

[Underthestars13]

:)Hoping for some experienced insight:)

My husband and I are working on booking our second cruise, first to Alaska, for next summer. We are thinking HAL but need more information before we decide on which of these three cruise options: round-trip Seattle (Hubbard Glacier), or one of the Vancouver round-trips (Glacier Bay & Tracy Arm or Glacier Bay Inside Passage). If anyone has any light to shed on which of these three you have been on and your experience or can compare them and make a recommendation for one more than the others, etc, we would really appreciate it!

 

Jan:o

[Keith1010]

I would recommend going the inside passage cruise out of Vancouver. I prefer that as you will see beautiful scenery from the start of the cruise and the waters will be calmer. I would also recommend arriving to Vancouver one or two days before the cruise. It is a beautiful city.

 

Keith

[Underthestars13]

:oHey Keith,

Thank you for your opinion, much appreciated. Do most people fly right into and out of Vancouver for this cruise or do most fly into and out of Seattle and take Amtrak or some other transportation to Vancouver? We will be flying west from New Hampshire. Also...I am curious that you have indicated the Vancouver Inside Passage, did you sail there with HAL?

 

Thanks,

Jan

[Underthestars13]

:oHey Keith,

Thank you for your opinion, much appreciated. Do most people fly right into and out of Vancouver for this cruise or do most fly into and out of Seattle and take Amtrak or some other transportation to Vancouver? We will be flying west from New Hampshire. Also...I am curious that you have indicated the Vancouver Inside Passage, did you sail there with HAL?

 

Thanks,

Jan

[SROYCE]

My DH and I did the Alaska cruise on HAL 2 years ago and went out of Vancouver and did the inside passage. It was so beautiful that we want to go again. We are from Vermont and we flew in and out of Vancouver. We purchased the transfers from HAL and got to the port and back to the airport in no time. This was our first cruise on HAL and really enjoyed it. We are both in our mid 40's just to give you an idea. Enjoy the cruise as I am sure you will.

 

Sue

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done nearly all of our Alaskan cruises out of Seattle.

[goneclear]

We Just did the hubbard glacier cruise on Serenade of the Seas round trip out of vancouver. I agree with Keith that the scenery is great from the start. Never cruised out of seattle so I cannot comment on that. We flew from Miami to Dallas to Vancouver. Were there 2 days before and after the cruise. Great city with lots to do.

What ever you choose it will be alot better than your best day at work so enjoy.:)

[Mary Ellen]

We've done the cruise from Vancouver 4x and Seattle once. I don't see us sailing from Seattle again, as the scenery is SO much better out of Vancouver.

 

Most of the time we fly in to Vancouver, but we have taken a shuttle up from Seattle too. We have used HAL transfers, but Quick Coach is also quite easy - and MUCH less $$.

[Imagineer]

...when cruising out of Seattle the ships leave out through the Straits of Juan de Fuca and go around the outside of Vancouver Island - they're 20 miles out to sea and you see nothing but sea. The ships departing Vancouver go up through the inside passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, you pass by gorgeous scenery the entire way...

...based on this info, you should now be able to make an educated decision...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineers

NCL cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Wind - Aug 27/06, it was great, I'll miss the Wind.

Mediterranean cruise on the Insignia - Apr 28/07 (cancelled, by us)

upcoming Oceania cruise Rome to Venice onboard the Regatta - Apr 13/08.

[derricj]

I would recommend going the inside passage cruise out of Vancouver. I prefer that as you will see beautiful scenery from the start of the cruise and the waters will be calmer. I would also recommend arriving to Vancouver one or two days before the cruise. It is a beautiful city.

 

Keith

 

Keith is spot on with his recommendation. Afew days in Vancouver before and after is an excellent way to see the city and gives time to see Victoria Island.

[Underthestars13]

:)Keith, Sue and Everyone,

Your input has been most helpful, thank you! I feel much more informed now by you with all of your great experiences! I suspect we will focus on booking for cruising round trip Vancouver, Inside Passage and take a day or two before the cruise in the city. Anticipation is half the fun and boy are we anticipating this cruise! My only concern is the "crash" we will feel upon our return to home/reality after the cruise. I have a feeling we will immediately start saving up for Alaska cruise #2!

 

Thanks again everyone, you have been a big help!

Jan:o

[Underthestars13]

:)Hello Again,

 

Just thought I'd ask where you all would recommend to stay for a night or two in Vancouver pre-cruise? Any tips on which airline to use or avoid?? We will be flying from New Hampshire.

 

Thanks,

Jan:o

[derricj]

:)Hello Again,

 

Just thought I'd ask where you all would recommend to stay for a night or two in Vancouver pre-cruise? Any tips on which airline to use or avoid?? We will be flying from New Hampshire.

 

Thanks,

Jan:o

 

My wife and I stayed pre & post cruise at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Ask for a high floor room overlooking the harbor. Not inexpensive, but a wonderful place to stay. The Queen used to maintain an apartment on the top floor. Short taxi to cruise terminal.

Be sure to visit Victoria Island and Chinatown.

HAL does a great inside passage cruise. They have an excurison called Sea Quest. Puts you in a small boat right in amongst the seals, whales, sea otters. Its an unbelievable experience.

Have a great trip

jd

[Underthestars13]

:ojd,

 

Thanks for the detailed recommendations. I will look into them for our trip.

 

Jan:)

[Imagineer]

...by the way, just to make a slight correction where it is needed, it's not Victoria Island, it's Vancouver Island and Victoria is located on this island...

...seeing as how I live in Victoria on Vancouver Island - I just couldn't ignore pointing out this common mistake...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineers

NCL cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Wind - Aug 27/06, it was great, I'll miss the Wind.

Mediterranean cruise on the Insignia - Apr 28/07 (cancelled, by us)

upcoming Oceania cruise Rome to Venice onboard the Regatta - Apr 13/08.

[Happy ks]

I love both Seattle and Vancouver, but for a 7 day round trip Alaska cruise, to me Vancouver is a better choice.

 

Take a look at the itinerary, not just the port stops, but the times at port as well. Visit the Alaska ports of call board here for a weath of information on your particular ports.

 

For us, port stops and port times always outweigh most other choices, including the ship.

 

Hotels in Vancouver are plentiful, it's hard to make any recommendations without more info. You have to first start with budget and then factor other things in, like location and ammenities. I like to do a search via Expedia, only because their site is easy to use and they have pictures, list features and have a few first hand impressions. But, when we're ready to book, we shop for price, the major online booking agencies are many times more expensive than other ways of booking.

 

Airfare can be a factor as well. Many people do fly into Seattle and take transfers to Vancouver (bus, van, rental car, train) but be aware it's not a real short trip (3-4 hours) and it's not all that scenic (personal perspective). We'd not bother to take the extra travel time in and out of Seattle to Vancouver unless we were going to save over $150 per person after all expenses have been met. We've all got our price...and I'm a lousy traveler, I just want to get to my destination with the very least hassle.

[GreatLakes]

We flew into Anchorage 2 years ago, got a limo from Anchorage to take us to the Alyesska Lodge (sp?) where we met up with 2 other couples, and did several days of sightseeing, took the Alaska Rail from Girdwood down to Seward (a neat little town) and the scenery from the train was beautiful, and then cruised on Celebrity from Seward to Vancouver. I highly recommend you get a cabin with a balcony and be sure to take along binoculars. I sat on my balcony with the binocular just glued to my eyes looking at the beautiful scenery. We stayed in Vancouver post cruise at the Holiday Inn (on points), and it was very centrally located. Be sure to take a passport with you if you cruise into Vancouver. I would do this trip again in a minute; however, in 4 weeks we are cruising Hawaii. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Underthestars13]

:)Hello Everyone,

 

I cannot tell you how enjoyable reading your replies is for me! This is such a helpful way to exchange information with experienced travelers who are also interested! Having said that, I have to admit planning this trip has become almost an obsession with me at this point. I appreciate the recommendation to go to Expedia.com for hotels and reviews. I will do so. I have accessed hotels.com, cruise critic (obviously), and endless travel guides as well as HAL's official website and my AAA travel agent. I have a binder of information and blank pages waiting to be filled! Like I said, anticipation is half the fun! Thanks for the well wishes also and the one going to Hawaii soon....you also have a GREAT adventure!

Everyone be well!

Jan:o

[44disney]

Vancouver!! We did a one way out of Vancouver last year (Princess) and a roundtrip this year out of Seattle and the scenery, as referenced above, is much much better out of Vancouver. Seattle is great though so don't take this the wrong way.

 

Westin on the water near Stanley Park (via Priceline) was a great deal and very good choice. To echo the thoughts above, go early as Vancouver is one of the great cities in North America. Seattle is also great so go early there too!

[NancyIL]

I haven't seen Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm listed on HAL's web site for the roundtrip from Vancouver for 2008. If it does go to Tracy Arm and it just isn't listed, then that would be the best itinerary, in my opinion.

 

Our first Alaska cruise was last month on the northbound Coral Princess, followed by a 9-day independent land trip with a rental car.

[LEtue]

Have done 1 northbound trip from Vancouver and 1 RT from Seattle. I can't see myself every leaving from Seattle again either because you just miss too much scenery and inside passage sailing. Will definitely precruise again in Seattle though and take the train on the day of cruise :D

[Underthestars13]

44Disney,

 

Hello. Well after all the certiantly that we were going to go Vancouver with HAL we looked more carefully at itineraries and are now going with Princess out of Seattle next July!!! So, my question is this, when you have sailed out of Seattle, where have you liked staying?

Jan