Port or Starboard recommendation

[jjmprod1963]

My DW & I are planning on booking an Alaskan Cruise Inside passage with Tracy Arm Fjord for August 2013 out of SF. The ports in order are: Ketchikan, Juneau,Skagway,Tracy Arm Fjord & Victoria. Any recommendations from Princesses Cruisers which side we should pick for our balcony?

[Kamloops50]

My DW & I are planning on booking an Alaskan Cruise Inside passage with Tracy Arm Fjord for August 2013 out of SF. The ports in order are: Ketchikan, Juneau,Skagway,Tracy Arm Fjord & Victoria. Any recommendations from Princesses Cruisers which side we should pick for our balcony?

 

It really doesn't make a difference on which of the ship. When your at sea you'll be to far at sea. In Alaskan water you'll see good scenery from both sides.

[Putterdude]

Because you are going to spend a great deal of the time out in the Pacific and not see any land it really doesn't matter....but for no good reason I do like the starboard side.

[Loonbeam]

I base it on sun. We're not early morning people when we don't have to be so I look at the route and figure out which side does NOT get sun blasted in the AM.

[cellyml12]

You really can't see ANY land on the way up from SF?? We might be changing to this & the idea of not be able to see land for a couple days freaks me out. :(

[Putterdude]

I base it on sun. We're not early morning people when we don't have to be so I look at the route and figure out which side does NOT get sun blasted in the AM.

 

Going north and then south on an Alaska return....it really doesn't matter....50% on one side then 50% on the other.

[nodandade]

this info may or maynot help.

 

the first cruise my wife and i ever took was on the carnival spirit from vancouver to seaward one way via the inside passage,we booked this through our t/a who knows the game pretty well, we had a balcony cabin on the rear (side) starboard side.she booked this cabin as she knew most berths etc in these little towns of skagway ketchikan etc were starboard side in.

 

now i know c/cers are going to say that that is not always the case and i agree,but this was our experience.i agree with other cruisers on their views ,sun etc.

 

my aim was to take my wife on a dogsleed ride on top of a glacier in alaska, as it was her childhood dream,and her mother asked me to do it only days before she passed away,and i am proud, 'WE DID IT''

 

i carried my wife over the threshold, gave her a big kiss (she did not know she was going on a sled ride) and told her to enjoy.

 

and boy did we enjoy,alaska was so pristine and beautifull, like being on another planet.

 

now we are cruise fanatics,due to the way carnival treated us.

 

enjoy your cruise no matter what side your on

 

nodandade

[IECalCruiser]

You really can't see ANY land on the way up from SF?? We might be changing to this & the idea of not be able to see land for a couple days freaks me out. :(

I don't know about north from SF, but southbound from SF last year on a coastal RT from LA we sometimes saw the coast in the distance. Sailing from Cape Horn to Montevideo two years ago we had fog for two straight days and saw nothing. We did hear the horn from the Bridge frequently however.

[caribill]

You really can't see ANY land on the way up from SF?? We might be changing to this & the idea of not be able to see land for a couple days freaks me out. :(

 

On most cruises anywhere in the world you will be too far from land to see it while cruising. If you can spot land, it will be far in the distance.

 

The cruise to/from Alaska is no different.

[PunkiC]

As a general rule, we do starboard north and port south on the west coast, for better scenery and phone reception. If you are going both ways, it's sort of a wash.

 

For crossings, we believe in the traditional POSH.

[Putterdude]

On most cruises anywhere in the world you will be too far from land to see it while cruising. If you can spot land, it will be far in the distance.

 

The cruise to/from Alaska is no different.

 

On an inside passage itinerary from Vancouver the ships are only out of site of land for a few hours in either direction and when going thru the Seymour Narrows you can almost reach out and touch the shore it is so close.

[IECalCruiser]

For crossings, we believe in the traditional POSH.

The term POSH, or port out/starboard home, came in to existence when traveling from England to India. The upper class wanted to avoid the sun and therefor specified port side to India and starboard side home. I would rather see more of the sun and personally would choose the opposite.

[cellyml12]

A little land far off in the distance sounds a lot better. I'll take that. :D

[Cruiserkenn]

You really can't see ANY land on the way up from SF?? We might be changing to this & the idea of not be able to see land for a couple days freaks me out. :(

 

Please don't be freaked out... This is part of cruising. The at sea days are restful and blissful. Not to worry.

[Cruiserkenn]

Going north and then south on an Alaska return....it really doesn't matter....50% on one side then 50% on the other.

 

As always, Putterdude has the answer exactly right.

 

I have been on ten Alaska cruises, and both sides are equally good.

 

Enjoy!

[cellyml12]

Please don't be freaked out... This is part of cruising. The at sea days are restful and blissful. Not to worry.

 

Thanks. :) I just feel like if I couldn't see any land' date=' I might feel claustrophobic. True, it probably will be nice, but while sitting on my couch, thinking about it, it seems...well, a bit scary.[/b']

[JimmyVWine]

The term POSH, or port out/starboard home, came in to existence when traveling from England to India. The upper class wanted to avoid the sun and therefor specified port side to India and starboard side home. I would rather see more of the sun and personally would choose the opposite.

 

But if one were travelling from England to India (before the opening of the Suez Canal), the voyage would begin with the relative north-to-south run from England to the Cape Town. On that leg of the voyage, the port side would have gotten the sunrise and the morning sun, and the starboard side would have gotten the afternoon sun and the sunset. Seems like a wash. Neither side of the ship would have avoided the sun. And of course, once the ship rounded the cape, everything would reverse, and the port side would have gotten the afternoon sun and the sunset for a sizeable portion of the voyage. I'm not saying that the old adage did not begin in the way you suggest, but it does seem that the person who coined the term didn't think it through very well.

[-Lew-]

 

But if one were travelling from England to India (before the opening of the Suez Canal), the voyage would begin with the relative north-to-south run from England to the Cape Town...

 

...I'm not saying that the old adage did not begin in the way you suggest, but it does seem that the person who coined the term didn't think it through very well.

I believe the Suez Canal was constructed during the 1860s and opened around 1870. There are a number of accounts of when the term POSH came into use, but none prior to 1900.

 

Lew

[77Network]

When trying to choose between port and starboard on an alaskan cruise, I would opt for an aft cabin.

[JimmyVWine]

I believe the Suez Canal was constructed during the 1860s and opened around 1870. There are a number of accounts of when the term POSH came into use, but none prior to 1900.

 

Lew

 

Ahhh. I always imagined that the term predated 1900. Thanks.

[caribill]

The term POSH, or port out/starboard home, came in to existence when traveling from England to India. The upper class wanted to avoid the sun and therefor specified port side to India and starboard side home. I would rather see more of the sun and personally would choose the opposite.

 

I believe it came about for ships traveling between Europe and North America.

[-Lew-]

 

I believe it came about for ships traveling between Europe and North America.

Although the term may have been used in reference to the route you mention, I believe IECalCruiser is correct in saying it was first used for England-India route.

 

Lew

[IECalCruiser]

The term POSH, or port out/starboard home, came in to existence when traveling from England to India. The upper class wanted to avoid the sun and therefor specified port side to India and starboard side home. I would rather see more of the sun and personally would choose the opposite.

I will officially retract my above post. I did a little searching of the web this morning and the above definition is false according to a number of websites including merriam-webster.com, phrases.org.uk and snopes.com :eek: Shame on me :o

[jjmprod1963]

Thank you everyone for your help. To all the alaskan Cruisers, when going through tracy arm fjords can the same be said that it is equally great views from either port or starboard? (i Believe this would be when we are headed south)