NORTHBOUND vs. SOUTHBOUND?

[Sunny Lady]

Just curious... my TA said to go on a Southbound cruise vs. northbound. I noted that the prices for the southbound cruises are a little bit higher. Is this just the TA trying to get more $ or is the cruise different somehow? Can someone clarify this. Thanks.

[dustyroad]

sunny lady

 

 

there have been many messages and talk about this on the boards. although i have not done it ( i like the round trip glacier bay route from vancouver ) i would choose the southbound trip. if you do any land tours before the cruise you can relax on the ship for 7 glorious days on the way home. many have posted that they were wore out by doing the northbound and then taking tours and catching a plane home. i hope this helps. if you go back to older post you will probably find your same question asked and can read alot of helpful answeres. have a great time.

[jrask]

There are real differences and arguments in favor of each direction.

 

Most people seem to prefer the southbound route because it lets them do the land tour first (which some view as being exhausting) and then to end their vacation by being pampered on the ship. Also the flight back home after vacation is always more of a burden than the flight to your vacation. Making the return flight the one from Anchorage exacerbates this. This preference is probably the cause for the price difference. Watch, everyone after this post will tell you how Southbound is so much better! (Northbound v. Southbound also plays with when you pass through certain areas...southbound apparently puts you on a schedule when you're awake when going through Vancouver waters where you might see orcas for instance.)

 

I weighed those issues and ultimately decided to go Northbound, a decision I was very pleased with. If you do the landtour on your own, it won't be exhausting. Driving is really easy in Alaska if you take turns and you can pace yourself. Its tiring when a cruisetour is causing you to constantly be on the move and you feel rushed in everything. I actually prefer the heavy relaxation at the beginning of my vacation to give me a chance to unwind from work, so northbound worked for that too. The long flight is a legitimate concern, but I decided that it was outweighed by advantages of northbound travel. Particularly: (1) the scenery keeps getting more amazing along the northbound trip and I like watching the transition from the normal to the incredible rather than the reverse; (2) the cruise component builds in excitement as you end things with the glacier experiences; (3) the cruise is inherently more structured than is the independent land tour and doing the cruise first gave me a sense for how I wanted to adjust what we did/saw on the land tour...so it let me use the flexibility of independent travel on land; (4) Our capstone was our tour of Denali's wilderness and wildlife and we felt the message of the place affected us more after we had experienced everything else on our Alaska trip (kayaking with bald eagles flying overhead and salmon jumping around us; learning about the Alaskan rain forest; witnessing the power of the glaciers from sea, air, and by hiking on them; etc.) I really enjoyed our time in Vancouver; I just wouldn't have wanted to end our Alaska trip there.

 

I suppose if cost is an issue thats an argument in favor of northbound too. Remember that this is an expensive trip from the cruise to the cost of food on land. Especially costly are excursions, which (much moreso than other cruises) will make or break your Alaska experience [otherwise much of what you will see is crowds and touristy/jewlery stores.]

[Budget Queen]

I have done both directions and agree- with correct planning- interior touring should NEVER be exhausting- but frequently is on cruisetours with people not purchasing enough time- ideally at least a 7 day add on. BUT the sailing of a southbound offers excellent sailing inside Vancouver Island which is loaded with marine wildlife the last sailing day- this is done at night on the northbound. Also College Fjords sailing is usually after noon rather than early morning. So my preference is southbound.

[42trvl]

We enjoyed out Southbound cruise this past summer for a number of reasons.

 

- the last day of cruising was beautiful sailing/scenery and we would have hated to do this portion by night if sailing northbound.

 

- we did tour independently pre-cruise, and while not exhausting, this still requires a good deal of planning. It was nice to pack away the books and maps when we got on the ship and enjoy the cruise and the ports, rather than think too much about the next portion of the trip. We really enjoyed ending our trip by spending a few days relaxing in and touring around Vancouver.

 

- flying to/from Anchorage is much more arduous - long and often requiring a late night flight home. It was nice to get this "tough" part of the trip over with early on. You have many more options for flights back from Vancouver or Seattle.

 

Also, we felt that by spending some time in Alaska first, we had a better appreciation for what we saw/did on the cruise.

 

I'm sure there are many arguments in favor of a northbound cruise also, but we liked the way we did it and would do the same again, even if more costly.

[nparmelee]

We did northbound this last summer, Vancouver to Whittier on Princess. We spent three days in Victoria pre-cruise and then did a Denali land trip post-cruise. We loved it!!! If you go to Victoria, we rcommend Il Terrazzo, hard to find but well worth the find!

 

 

We have other friends who have done southbound, personally, I think it's a toss of the coin.

[Mysteryreader]

We did northbound and would recommend it. Our choice was calendar-driven, but it worked out to our advantage. We had a cross-continent flight from Philadelphia to Vancouver. Even flying out a day ahead we were still jetlagged the first few days. The first morning on the cruise we woke up at 5 a.m. Staying awake past 10:00 p.m. was an impossibility. By the time we were on the land portion (remember, AK is *4* hrs behind eastern time), we were finally awake and operating mentally.

 

The first day's cruise out of Vancouver included passage through the Grenville Passage. Hrs and hrs of spectacular scenery. I believe that a SB cruise goes through this region at night.

 

Others have mentioned that if you do SB, you can relax on the cruise after the exhausting land portion. We didn't find the land portion all that exhausting or the cruise all that relaxing. With a port-intensive cruise you're out and about most days.

 

I didn't know there was a price break on the NB. For work-related reasons, I didn't have many choices of when we could be gone. But when we do an AK cruise again (and we *will* do it again!), we'll be doing NB, and money won't be a deciding factor.

 

M/R

[Kaylas Mom]

LOL! You sure are going to get a 50/50 on this.

 

We are Northbound fans. It takes me a couple days on the cruise to cool down enough from high pressure job enough to enjoy being on vacation and I think the cruise is the best way to do that. Also, we enjoy how the scenery gets more and more dramtic as you go North. But, some of my best friends are southbounders.

 

By the way, I have never had any diffulculty getting open-jaw tickets for the same price or same number of frequent-flier miles.

Have a great cruise, whichever you choose!

[MichTraveler]

I love that the scenary gets more dramatic as we go north. As for the price differences, it is not the TA but the cruise lines. They all seem to charge more for the southbound. Maybe supply and demand, but the Northbound ships always seem to be fully booked. Plus, the flight home from Anchorage is usually the red-eye, where I can more easily sleep the most of the way home. I also prefer flying into Vancouver instead of out-of Vancouver due to customs. Enjoy your cruise!

[Coral]

I have done both and both have advantages.

 

I believe Southbound are more expensive because people on cruise tours go with Southbound cruises and for that reason, they are fuller and a little more expensive.

 

It is easier for me to fly to Anchorage (and deal with transfers) and then start a cruise there - for this reason, I prefer Southbound. Though Northbound - the scenary does get much better the farther North you go.

 

I prefer College Fiords in the afternoon (Northbound) as opposed to very early in the morning like the Southbound cruises do.

[DougH]

Count me in on the Northbound side. I also like how the scenery gets more spectacular as you go north and like College Fjord in the afternoon with the sun behind you. I've done Alaska twice as back to backs and that is really the

best way to do it, best of both worlds :)

 

Doug

[Bucky3]

Do any of the b/b's do Glacier Bay? Is the itinerary the same both ways? We're thinking of doing this. Is this possible out of Seattle or only Vancouver? Thanks for any/all info.

[Coral]

I did a B2B out of Vancouver (Vancouver to Whittier and then Whittier to Vancouver) and got to spend 2 glorious days at College Fiords and Glacier Bay. It was fantastic!

[DougH]

First b2b was on the HAL Statendam, second was on the Sun Princess, both from Vancouver. On both trips the route was identical both weeks. I chose them because I wanted two days in both College Fjord and Glacier Bay.

 

The HAL trip went to Sitka instead of Skagway otherwise they were identical. I believe on the week after I left the ship it started Sitka Northbound and Skagway Southbound.

 

I'm not sure but I think all of the cruises out of Seattle are R/T only which sort of defeats the purpose of a b2b in Alaska, that of sailing all the way North to Seward/Whittier and avoiding the extra airfare home from Anchorage.

[garycarla]

Lots of North vs. South with good input here. But, if you really want to avoid the airfare/transfers/flight time issues, how about the RT from Seattle. Do you give up that much by not going so far north?

[Budget Queen]

My opinion only but you do give up a lot by going round trip Seattle. The routing is more outside passage sailing compared to round trip Vancouver. But round trip Vancouver sailings are excellent packing a LOT into 7 days. A great way to see the Inside Passage with limited time. Doing the interior requires allowing ENOUGH time and too many people don't. Don't pack too much into a short interior tour nor underestimate time and distance. Myself- I never do one way cruises without adding at least another week. Take advantage of being all the way there- it isn't a frequent trip for most. :)

[jrask]

I'd say you give up a lot by going RT. Denali defies explanation and easily gives the best wildlife viewing that you are likely to get in Alaska (proximity, variety, and that doesn't even factor in the cost of any excursion that is geered toward wildlife viewing). I know Alaska wouldn't have been the same for me without a grizzly near my bus, and caribou and Dall sheep walking within feet of me. That doesn't even get into the topography issues. Except for a few exceptions, RT also don't go to Seward or College Fjord, which were trip defining for us as well.

 

As BQ says, though, this type of touring requires greater time commitments and that doesn't work for everyone.

[WASUP]

What is the opinion of going with a cruise ship land tour verus independent tour on our own? How would we even go about doing the independent traveling? Just rent a car and go??

[jrask]

What is the opinion of going with a cruise ship land tour verus independent tour on our own? How would we even go about doing the independent traveling? Just rent a car and go??

INDEPENDENT! We were so glad we decided to go independently. You can choose what you see and shape your own experience. This is more than selecting particular towns/cities and avoiding cruisetour excursions that you would not otherwise want to attend. It means the ability to stop off in thos little gems along the way. It means you can pace things yourself and add/subtract/change things you were planning on doing based on how you're feeling and a desire to round out the experience based on what you've seen during the trip itself (I decided on the must-see events and had those planned, but then had all the information I needed so we could decide what else to do in each place once we were there). Unless the cruisetour is particularly long, many report that they find it exhausting...a lot of travel time as compared to touring time (exacerbated by long train rides, etc.). Personally, I wouldn't want to feel tugged along with a large group according to a fixed schedule.

 

Planning is really easy. You'll want to plan out an itinerary and reserve accommodations ahead of time. Then rent a car and go. Driving distances can be long, but it is really easy driving with no way to get lost. Probably the best way to get started is to look at the cruisetour options as a way to decide where you want to visit - many put Denali as a highlight - and decide what you do and do not want to do from their list. Grab Frommers/Fodors as a way to learn about those little gems. Ask focused questions here about things to do and places to stay in particular locations. Don't be intimidated by this ... its really easy.

[Budget Queen]

Definately consider independent- extremely simple- few roads- all well maintained. You can clearly see twice as much for half the cost of cruisetours. :) Group point to point travel is far from ideal in Alaska. Plenty of my "students" As JRASK mentioned :) have gone this route- never have I seen a post that stated- gee I wish I had taken a cruisetour- but there have been cruisetour posts that state they will go independent next time. :) Make the right choices for you- educate yourself on Alaska travel and use the people who have gone before you- plenty of well traveled Alaska experts on this board. :)

[Host Caroline]

What is the opinion of going with a cruise ship land tour verus independent tour on our own? How would we even go about doing the independent traveling? Just rent a car and go??

If you are going to go independently you need to take the time to research what you want to do, when, for how long etc. Since you have only gotten "one side of the story" -- and I have done both -- I will say that if you don't want to invest a lot of time and effort into the planning, a cruisetour that gives you at least 5-6 days in Denali/Fairbanks/Anchorage/Kenai -- there are a myriad of options depending on cruise line, etc. People choose tours for a variety of reasons including not wanting to spend time doing the "legwork" or roadwork, don't mind spending more to let someone else do the driving, luggage moving etc. And many people enjoy the albeit lengthy train rides on many tours.. the scenery's lovely and many find it very relaxing. You first need to decide -- or let your instinct tell you -- what you want to do in terms of all of this. Cruisetours aren't for everyone by any means but neither is independent touring.. when I was an travel agent it was about evenly divided -- and exc. for some chronic complainers no one came back complaining about Alaska!

[Budget Queen]

. Since you have only gotten "one side of the story" -- and I have done both -- I will say that if you don't want to invest a lot of time and effort into the planning, a cruisetour that gives you at least 5-6 days in Denali/Fairbanks/Anchorage/Kenai

 

 

 

How do you know this Caroline???? I have been on a cruisetour. I also only recommend at least a 7 day add on cruisetour, 5 days has too much time in transit and frequently only the Natural History tour in Denali Park. People who ask about independent travel most likely have the interest in the planning. You clearly can see and do much more in Alaska going this route.