Glacier Bay or Inside Passage

[dewats784]

We are looking for a cruise to Alaska for next year. We have narrowed it down to 2 different cruises. One goes through the Inside Passage from Vancouver and goes to Hubbard Glacier. The other leaves from Seattle and goes to Glacier Bay. We are a group of 5 60 year olds. We would like to know which you prefer and why. We know that everything is subjective to personal preference but would like to have other peoples opinions to help us decide.

 

Getting really excited looking at all the reviews and pictures from Alaska.

[donaldsc]

We are looking for a cruise to Alaska for next year. We have narrowed it down to 2 different cruises. One goes through the Inside Passage from Vancouver and goes to Hubbard Glacier. The other leaves from Seattle and goes to Glacier Bay. We are a group of 5 60 year olds. We would like to know which you prefer and why. We know that everything is subjective to personal preference but would like to have other peoples opinions to help us decide.

 

Getting really excited looking at all the reviews and pictures from Alaska.

 

Although I have not checked, I find it difficult to believe that you can not find a cruise that does Hubbard, Glacier Bay and the inside passage.

 

Are you perhaps fixated on a specific cruise line or specific ship. Remember that when you do AK, the line and the ship is the least important part of the decision process. The important factors to consider on an AK cruise are the itinerary, the port arrival time and the port departure time. All the rest are unimportant.

 

Also, are you considering round trip cruises only or are you also considering one way cruises. This can make a big difference in the itinerary.

 

DON

[Sequim88]

This can make a big difference in the itinerary.

 

R/T Seattle will preclude a lot of the Inside Passage. Only the lack of airfare for us made the decision for a Seattle cruise next year a no brainer. I think HAL or one of the other lines still has a glaciers one-way Inside Passage itinerary that does Glacier Bay and College Fjord. College Fjord blew our socks off with glacier after glacier after glacier culminating in spectacular calving Harvard glacier.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Sequim88

[dewats784]

We are not fixated on one cruise line. The 2 we have narrowed it down to are 2 different cruise lines. But cost is a factor and so we are looking at roundtrips only. Airfare is a definite factor. If we cruise out of Vancouver, we will be flying into Seattle and finding transportation to Vancouver.

 

So do almost every cruise out of Seattle take the Oceanside and not the Inside Passage?

[Glaciers]

So do almost every cruise out of Seattle take the Oceanside and not the Inside Passage?

 

That’s correct. The small ship cruises sail to the east of Vancouver Island through the inside passage from Seattle like Un-Cruise. Oceania has an itinerary that sails to the east of Vancouver Island from Seattle but everyone else goes around the west side.

[DougH]

Princess one way Northbound cruises stop in Glacier Bay and College Fjord, ending in Whittier. Southbound start in Whittier and visit Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay ending in Vancouver. I make the best of both worlds and do a B2B :)

[Glaciers]

Princess one way Northbound cruises stop in Glacier Bay and College Fjord, ending in Whittier. Southbound start in Whittier and visit Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay ending in Vancouver. I make the best of both worlds and do a B2B :)

 

We did that itinerary 2 years ago b2b starting in Whittier. Excellent Itinerary.

[BigGuy25]

The roundtrip Seattle Princess voyage sails the outside of Vancouver Island on the leg up to Juneau but then uses the Inside Passage as it visits Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan before making it's evening stop in Victoria.

Edited July 28, 2016 by BigGuy25

[LeeW]

The roundtrip Seattle Princess voyage sails the outside of Vancouver Island on the leg up to Juneau but then uses the Inside Passage as it visits Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan before making it's evening stop in Victoria.

 

The reason for this is that inside passage sailing is very slow - almost no wake. So they do a mad dash one way in open ocean and slow travel the other way.

 

 

By the way, renting a car from Seattle to Vancouver is pretty cheap if you have any kind of discount program (like $50 for us). For some reason renting the other way is much more expensive, so we are taking a bus back to SeaTac. For 5 people a car both ways might work. The key is not to keep the car at a hotel in Vancouver - they charge big bucks for parking.

 

While we find that flying to Vancouver is $150 more than Seattle, cruise lines have airline connections that may be cheaper. Check Princess EZair or RCI ChoiceAir. You might want to do this before you book your cruise.

[dewats784]

Thanks for the info. I will check into renting a car and checking the cruise line airfare as well. We have just begun our research, so any and all info is appreciated.

[xlxo]

the $50 Quick Shuttle is another option from Seattle's airport into Vancouver.

[TheCalicoCat]

1. Glacier Bay - It is a world heritage site for a reason.

2. You can also take Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver. That is what we did.:)

[dewats784]

I think we have decided to go to Glacier Bay.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. Hope to book our Alaskan cruise next week. Let all the research begin!