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Short Pacific NW/Coastal cruises


LH25
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Hi - we are thinking about taking a short cruise just as a get-away. We've done 2 cruises on Holland and 2 on Princess now, and are open to other lines.

 

Ideal would be leaving and returning to Seattle, 3-4 nights. RCL has a couple in Sept 2018 that would be great, but too soon for us to go, it would be at least next spring. At least leaving from or returning to Seattle would be good. I don't care too much about the other ports, just looking for a break and we like cruising.

 

So, looking for any other lines that might have options.

 

Thanks

 

Lisa

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Just check out travel agency websites - the big online ones, and 'big box' membership store travel site all have searchable databases that you can narrow down to your preferred ports and date ranges so that all lines with matching options will appear.

 

In general though you'll find the shorties in shoulder/repo season, either spring or fall as ships move into the area for Alaskan cruising. With PVSA making it tricky to bring ships from other US ports, there is usually a choice of a Vancouver-Seattle one way to avoid breaking the law. Princess/HAL seem to love doing overnight cruises that literally just go between these two cities, and can be dirt cheap - other more desirable routes seem to sell out and attract premium per day pricing as there are very few in general, like the 4 day RCL you spotted.

 

One-ways further down or up the coast, like LA, San Francisco, San Diego to or from Vancouver, also seem to offer good pricing as you have to get home again! But even with air fare the total price can be less for one of these than a short RT I've found.

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I've done several 4 night Pacific Coastal cruises on HAL. Those are the most common; usually San Diego to Vancouver. Once my sister and I did a Seattle to Seattle, but HAL hasn't offered anything like that in a while. Next year I'm doing a 6-day on the Nieuw Amsterdam that leaves SD on April 28 and gets into Vancouver on May 4. This time I'm staying on the ship for the first Alaskan cruise of the season.

 

People sometimes ask why I fly all the way to the West Coast for a short cruise. First, the price is usually very good because it's the tail end of a Panama Canal cruise, and the ship isn't at capacity. I spend a day or two in SD pre-cruise, which is always a treat. Then maybe a day in Seattle on the way back. Makes for a nice affordable spring break.

 

Roz

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You will likely only see them before or after the Alaska season, so April/May or September/October, and the later seems more common. I agree to try a cruise search website that searches multiple cruise lines where you can sort by destination and/or embarkation port.

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Due to your PVSA, all short W Coast cruises up or down the coast must end or start in Vancouver. To cruise between 2 US cities you must visit a distant foreign port and none are available on the West Coast.

 

Closed loop cruises out of Seattle & Vancouver and between both ports are available prior to the Alaska season (April/May) and on completion (Sept & even some in Oct). Princess & HAL have the most ships in Alaska.

 

You can research availability using any TA or the website provided in a previous response.

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