3 days pre-cruise Anchorage or 3 post in Vancouver

[brightfeather]

Hi,

First Alaskan cruise for us but it'll be our 11th overall.

 

My quandary is this - I want to know YOUR thoughts on whether our experience will be better doing 3 days pre-cruise in Alaska, or 3 days post-cruise in Vancouver.

 

Right now we are just flying in the day before the cruise and were thinking of 3 days post in Vancouver, but now I'm not so sure.

 

Any plus or minuses to either? The cruise is Sept. 9 - 16, on the Coral Princess Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver.

 

I appreciate your thoughts and your experiences.

 

~~ Diane :confused:

[xlxo]

Hmm.... if you need ideas for Vancouver....

Day 1

• debarkation and send your luggage to the hotel with CDS
  
• jump on the free shuttle to Grouse
  
• get off mid way back to check out Capilano
  
• return to cruise terminal for Fly Over Canada to end your day
  

Day 2

• Hop on Shuttles with emphasis on Stanley Park, Gastown and Granville Island
  

Day 3

• Whistler? Victoria? Sea2Sky? Storybrooke? Seattle? I think you need more days.
  

 

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[CCJack]

If you plan on staying in the city for the 3 days I would do Vancouver. It is a much more beautiful and cosmopolitan city than Anchorage, in my opinion.

 

For day trips, wildlife excursions, etc. you could plan some things outside of Anchorage.

Anchorage seemed like a city that I would get bored spending 3 days downtown. However, I am not a local and so maybe there are things we were unaware of.

[Coral]

Whistler is a great idea, but I spent 3 days there. I wouldn't do it for a day. We spent 2 nights there and that would be the minimum I would spend there.

 

Have you considered going to Seward, AK for 3 days after your cruise ends in Whittier. I would not do 3 days in Anchorage. You would need to go to Anchorage and then rent a car or take the train to Seward.

 

Seward or Whistler would be my favorite choices. I prefer both of these to Vancouver.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Coral

[Gardyloo]

Well, do you want city or country? What are your aims in taking an Alaska cruise in the first place? Wildlife? Glaciers?

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Vancouver. But give up a day seeing whales and glaciers in Kenai Fjords or a flightseeing trip over Denali with the tundra in full autumn glory - for a walk over a $30 suspension bridge?

Edited January 29, 2017 by Gardyloo

[Coral]

Well, do you want city or country? What are your aims in taking an Alaska cruise in the first place? Wildlife? Glaciers?

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Vancouver. But give up a day seeing whales and glaciers in Kenai Fjords or a flightseeing trip over Denali with the tundra in full autumn glory - for a walk over a $30 suspension bridge?

 

Ditto! A day in Alaska beats any day in Vancouver IMO.

[martincath]

I think you're asking the wrong question OP. What you need to decide is whether you want to be out in the countryside/on the water, sticking to urban attractions, or somewhere in-between.

 

If it's all outdoors all the time, hard to argue that you should go Anchorage pre-cruise. Seems a waste to go all the way up there without seeing some of the interior.

 

Vancouver though is a vastly superior city for urban delights than Anchorage, and also offers some very easy 'soft adventure' options if you want a mix. There's a reason we've been voted among the best three cities in the world to live in for many years.

 

You can whale-watch from here for a fraction of the price of AK tours - and Orcas are much more commonly seen here than in Alaska. Backs & blows are what to expect from humpbacks, with anything else a bonus (even clear tail shots depend on being behind the whale) - you get a consistently better show from orcas.

 

Grouse Mountain and Capilano are very popular attractions - and super convenient to get to with their free shuttles from the heart of downtown. While I personally wouldn't do Whistler in the fall, a partial trip up the Sea to Sky highway is spectacular any time of year. Since the new gondola opened there are more convenient buses, but I'd still recommend a car rental to maximise flexibility, e.g. stopping at Britannia Mining Museum as well as some waterfalls and any viewing spots you like.

 

$ value is heavily in favour of Vancouver too - we're pricey for us locals, but compared to USD... everything is basically a third off for you guys, so dining out and attraction pricing becomes very enticing. Hotel rates also drop after labour day when most kids are back in school and tourist numbers tail off - the swanky hotels right by the pier stay high-occupancy until the last cruises finish, but there are many bargains to be had downtown mid-Sep.

[Coral]

While I personally wouldn't do Whistler in the fall, a partial trip up the Sea to Sky highway is spectacular any time of year. Since the new gondola opened there are more convenient buses, but I'd still recommend a car rental to maximise flexibility, e.g. stopping at Britannia Mining Museum as well as some waterfalls and any viewing spots you like.

 

 

We did Whistler in September and found it fabulous! The colors were gorgeous, the hiking great, restaurants top notch. I would rather take Whistler to the City of Vancouver any day.

 

Though - the OP trip is to Alaska and given the choice, I would spend more time in Alaska.

[NancyIL]

I was in Whistler for 2 days in September, and I enjoyed it very much However, I would still choose 3 days in Alaska pre-cruise over 3 days in the Vancouver area at the end. Although Anchorage isn't that exciting, as cities go - it is still a great place from which to take day trips.

Edited January 29, 2017 by NancyIL

[AryMay]

Hello to a fellow Minnesotan! You have a hard decision to make for sure…Alaska or Vancouver!

 

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend time on both ends of our Northbound cruise on the Coral in 2014…a few days in Vancouver and then a few days in Alaska afterwards and loved both. BUT…if I had to make a choice between one or the other, Alaska would win out. (Notice I said ALASKA…not Anchorage.) Here is just a suggestion of how you might spend those days...

 

Day 1 – If your flight arrives in early afternoon, you could rent a car and drive to Seward for the night. The scenery on the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm is spectacular and there are multiple stops you could make depending on time. With the time change you will probably be ready for dinner and then call it a night once you reach Seward.

 

Day 2 – Take an all-day tour of the Kenai Fjords. Make sure you take one of the longer tours (6 hours or more) to get you out of Resurrection Bay. This tour was the highlight of our trip and that says a lot! We saw so much wildlife (whales, sea otters, sea lions, puffins, eagles, etc.) and were able to get very close to a glacier. I have lots of photos from this tour in my blog (link is in my signature) and I also did the following video:

 

 

The National Park Tour we did with Kenai Fjords Tours included a noon lunch on the boat and then an all you can eat salmon and prime rib buffet on Fox Island before returning to Seward. After the tour, take time to watch the fishermen show off their catch of the day along the marina and then drive around town and admire the murals that are featured on many buildings in the city.

 

Day 3 – Spend time at the Sea Life Center, do a little hiking at Exit Glacier, and maybe take time to enjoy Seavey’s Ididaride Sled Dog tour before making the drive back to Anchorage…again stopping along the way as time permits. (A Google search will bring up multiple attractions worth seeing.)

 

Day 4 – Travel to Whittier via train or shuttle. If you leave early enough, you can take a glacier tour through Prince William Sound when you get to Whittier or just board the Coral and start enjoying the ship. There really isn’t much to see in the town of Whittier itself.

 

Good luck on your decision…and regardless of how you choose to spend your extra days, I know you will have a great time. Our Alaskan cruise was to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but we loved it so much that after only 2 years we are returning again…and this time for a 14-day cruise!!

 

Edited January 29, 2017 by AryMay

[TheCalicoCat]

Vancouver. (Probably a shorter flight home a the end of the 3 days.)

 

After spending a week on a cruise, I'm not sure I would want to go on a Kenai Fjords cruise.

 

(I would however consider one of the ones near Vancouver that might see orcas.)

 

I have 2 flight tours planned on my cruise, so again, I'm not sure I would want to do another flight. (Unless it was at Denali - but then I would be adding on 7 days minimum, not 3)

 

I'm sure in either location you could find enough to do...

[brightfeather]

XLXO, thank you for the info. I probably should find out if the hubby can go 3 days sooner than originally planned. :-)

[brightfeather]

Thank you Coral, we are cruising southbound, so we'd probably stay in Anchorage but venture out to do things. I know Anchorage is pretty small. We'd do day trips/tours, so perhaps Seward would be the place to stay instead and then just go to Whittier to hop on the ship?

 

We like doing a variety of things. I like outdoors - whale watching, nature but I also enjoy museums, etc. I can see that doing 3 days pre-cruise in Alaska might be the ticket instead of 3 days post-cruise in Vancouver.

[brightfeather]

Vancouver. (Probably a shorter flight home a the end of the 3 days.)

 

After spending a week on a cruise, I'm not sure I would want to go on a Kenai Fjords cruise.

 

(I would however consider one of the ones near Vancouver that might see orcas.)

 

I have 2 flight tours planned on my cruise, so again, I'm not sure I would want to do another flight. (Unless it was at Denali - but then I would be adding on 7 days minimum, not 3)

 

I'm sure in either location you could find enough to do...

 

Hi Calico Cat,

We are actually starting out in Alaska going southbound, so I'm thinking we might go 3 days earlier to do more things out of Alaska rather than Vancouver on the end. :-)

[Beachiekeen]

I think most people would agree that since Alaska is the ultimate destination, to spend time there. We are doing a NB cruise and are adding our 3 days at the end, spending 2 nights in Seward and then driving back to spend the third night in Anchorage so we will be there for our flight the next morning. So we will only have a day in Vancouver and there is so much to do there, I am sad we don't have more time. So I can definitely appreciate the dilemma!

 

Alaska.org is a great website where I started my research. I finally had to stop reading because every time I do, there is something else I want to see and there just isn't enough time!

[georgiavol]

I haven't seen mention of traveling from Vancouver to Seattle on Amtrak. Not too expensive and it takes four hours. Seattle is a lot of fun if you haven't visited before. And the flights out of Seattle are more reasonable.

[Beachiekeen]

I haven't seen mention of traveling from Vancouver to Seattle on Amtrak. Not too expensive and it takes four hours. Seattle is a lot of fun if you haven't visited before. And the flights out of Seattle are more reasonable.

 

We are doing this but in the opposite--spending 2 nights in Seattle and then taking the train to Vancouver for the night before the cruise.