Seattle or Vancouver

[joeyillinois]

Looking at 7 day round trip (would really like to do a land tour, but doesn't looking like it'll work). We don't fly (will arrive via train). Amtrak goes to Seattle & then there is a bus to Vancouver so there is no problem with leaving from either port. What are the pros/cons of sailing from either port, if there are any.

 

Looking at HAL? First Trip to Alaska.

Thanks

[fleckle]

Looking at 7 day round trip (would really like to do a land tour, but doesn't looking like it'll work). We don't fly (will arrive via train). Amtrak goes to Seattle & then there is a bus to Vancouver so there is no problem with leaving from either port. What are the pros/cons of sailing from either port, if there are any.

The biggest advantage of sailing from Vancouver is that you get to travel a calmer and much more scenic route.

Most Vancouver cruises take the protected inside passage east of Vancouver Island.

With that route, you have scenery up close to you on both sides of the ship.

 

If you are on one of the smaller ships and happen to get lucky on a northbound itinerary, sometimes the captain will even take you up the narrow, scenic Grenville channel or some of the other smaller, inland channels.

 

Most of the cruises out of Seattle, on the other hand, spend most of that first day (or last day, depending on which direction you are going) "at sea" because they travel out in the Pacific Ocean, west of Vancouver Island.

 

On that route you are too far away from land to see the coastline up close and are mainly just looking at open ocean for most of the day.

You miss out on all the great scenery of the southern part of the inside passage because your ship does not even enter the inside passage until you are much further north, if traveling northbound

(and it leaves the inside passage early, if traveling southbound).

 

Also, if the ocean happens to be rough that day, you will feel the turbulence with that route.

 

Both Seattle and Vancouver are very nice cities.

If you are flying or taking a train to Seattle and cruising out of Vancouver, I would suggest booking your pre-cruise hotel in whichever city you have not already previously visited and give yourself at least a day or two for sightseeing there

 

(Confidential: I personally prefer Vancouver to Seattle and think Vancouver is a more attractive city, but don't let my family members know that because some of them live in Seattle. :D)

 

[Northern Aurora]

Just an additional comment to fleckle's excellent reply -- the scenery along the Amtrak route from Seattle to Vancouver is very pretty. Instead of taking a bus from between Seattle and Vancouver, consider Amtrak if it fits your time schedule.

[joeyillinois]

Thanks for the info. I have been leaning toward Vancouver, though I had friends that left from Seattle and enjoyed the trip.. I "lean" toward sea sickness so think Vancouver would be better. I thought the only way to get from Seattle to Vancouver was by the bus -- I didn't realize that Amtrak had a train that went that way -- I'll check that out.

[olemissreb]

We took the train from Vancouver to Seattle and it was really nice. Do check it out and get to Vancouver a day early to explore that city. We only had part of a day there after our Southbound cruise and I would really like to go back and explore it further.

 

Also, check your port times on both routes. You really want to maximize your time in port. If I remember correctly from my research, port times are a little bit longer for Vancouver roundtrips than Seattle roundtrips. The one ways will have the longest port times.

[joeyillinois]

Looking at the HAL Volendam since it also includes Glacier Bay. Want to have a day ahead in Vancouver if for no other reason to unwind from the train trip. :)

[Northern Aurora]

I thought the only way to get from Seattle to Vancouver was by the bus -- I didn't realize that Amtrak had a train that went that way -- I'll check that out.

 

On the Cruise Critic forum index page go to "North America Homeports," and from there open "West Coast Departures." There is an interesting thread titled "Amtrak Vancouver to Seattle." Might be interesting to take Amtrak one way and a motor coach the other.

[DaveOKC]

Looking at the HAL Volendam since it also includes Glacier Bay. Want to have a day ahead in Vancouver if for no other reason to unwind from the train trip. :)

 

We are on the Volendam AK route this May. One thing we really liked about it was that it leaves Vancouver on a Wednesday, while most AK cruises depart on Sat or Sun. Thus you are in ports with fewer ships.

 

DaveOKC