Which side of ship would you say has best views for balcony suite? Right or left side?

[carajoemom]

Travelling on Ruby in three weeks and was wondering... which side of the boat do you think would have the best scenic views? I am in a balcony suite and was wondering if I chose the best side of the boat for viewing? Have you been on both sides and which do you prefer?

 

 

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[galeforce9]

Ship

 

 

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[CCJack]

On our cruise it made no difference. When cruising the inside passage, there will be land / islands on both sides. When out to sea, there will be no land visible. When we visited Hubbard Glacier, they turned the ship around so both sides could see. Unless you are interested in sunshine vs. shade on your balcony then may be look at Northbound vs. Southbound, morning sun vs. evening sun, etc. For me, that would not matter much.

[Budget Queen]

IF you are only going to be in your balcony during Glacier Bay (if on your itinerary?) then you need port side for the commentary to match up with what you are seeing.

 

It's ideal to be on the move. IF you are only on one side, you have eliminated 50% of the views. :)

[Herfnerd]

Since you are 3-weeks from your cruise it's moot at this point as there is nothing you can do - especially as it doesn't really make a difference. I wouldn't worry about it and just enjoy!!

 

 

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[carajoemom]

Thank you for your replies.

 

 

 

 

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[bUU]

I did a lot of research about this before I selected our cruise and our cabin. From the advice and insights I was offered, on Vancouver round-trips (see diagram on the left), it really wouldn't make a difference at all, because very little of the voyage is exposed to the open ocean (and therefore there is scenic coastline on both sides of the ship most of the time) and the vast majority of the trip south is retracing the trip north, so whatever advantage there was on the starboard side northbound would turn into advantage on the port side southbound.

 

Ruby Princess, however, is a Seattle round-trip. It's expected route is shown on the right.

Northbound there is a big stretch exposed to the open ocean, while that exposure is much less southbound, but still most of the last full day of the cruise. Looking at it simplistically: If you like looking at open ocean, then you'll get more of that on the port side of the ship, and if you like looking at the scenic coastline, then you'll get more of that on the starboard side of the ship. However, it does get dark, so that greatly complicates the question. Since we decided to do the Vancouver round-trip, I never invested the time to figure out which portions of the route were in daylight versus nighttime.

[cruiseguy1016]

The views will better if you are out on the decks where you can move from side to side. The best side to be on is the OUT side.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

As noted above and in my opinion, the port side is better for Glacier Bay and on deck when you can to see what there is to see... but on a round trip, there is a lot on both sides and the ship does in fact go through the same areas in both directions. I don't think anyone is ever unhappy with their choice (it is an Alaska cruise after all).

 

If you have 4 minutes, you can get a preview on this time lapse

from the ships webcam. Its not the same as being there, because you only see ahead but it gives you some idea. I have been compiling these off an on for years and i have been working on 2017 but haven't posted many yet but since you asked, i went ahead and did the Ruby for July 22nd.

 

[carajoemom]

That compilation was phenomenal! Thank you so very much for that enjoyment !

 

 

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[Keith1010]

My experience is that the best views are from the open decks on the ship where you can quickly view scenery from each side of the ship.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

The best views we had were outside on the deck above the pool deck.

[donaldsc]

The best side of the ship for good views is the outside.

 

DON

[hubofhockey]

Interesting thread. On northbound inside passage next June 8, starboard side booked up already on Millennium for balcony cabins and plenty are open on port side. I wonder why.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

Interesting thread. On northbound inside passage next June 8, starboard side booked up already on Millennium for balcony cabins and plenty are open on port side. I wonder why.

The Millennium is a northbound cruise that doesn't do Glacier Bay. Sailing north, the starboard side is on the land side and when in open waters, the port side looks out to sea. The OP was asking about a round trip that did Glacier Bay.

[hubofhockey]

The Millennium is a northbound cruise that doesn't do Glacier Bay. Sailing north, the starboard side is on the land side and when in open waters, the port side looks out to sea. The OP was asking about a round trip that did Glacier Bay.

 

Thank you for clarifying. Although both itineraries are inside passage, you are saying that going up, the better side is starboard and going back it's port. Passengers on the Ruby would be indifferent, but passengers on a northbound inside passage that includes Hubbard Glacier would want starboard. That's good to know.

[tamsocal]

on ruby I would want port side for glacier bay and would not be indifferent as per post above.

 

we had port side on the Island- forward in order to use the front viewing decks and would go up to open viewing as well- worked out fantastic

[InternetAgeTraveler]

Thank you for clarifying. Although both itineraries are inside passage, you are saying that going up, the better side is starboard and going back it's port. Passengers on the Ruby would be indifferent, but passengers on a northbound inside passage that includes Hubbard Glacier would want starboard. That's good to know.

I think I said Glacier Bay routes make port better because of a number of factors, narration, where the ships sail and position of the sun. Other than noting that round trips sail "similar" routes, I was stating the general preference was toward the east. And yes, on the Millennium this would make most people choose starboard first.