Alaska Northbound or Southbound

[Tedferg]

We are looking at Alaska for May / June 2019. With help from CC Members, Coral is best ship and Anchorage - Vancouver is preferred itinerary. So, which direction Northbound or Southbound ? North has College Fjord South has Hubbard.

 

This itinerary has the southern inside passage past Vancouver Island, and I think Northbound might be better because Southbound looks like it does this section during the night.

 

Any thoughts ?

[voljeep]

B2B just to make sure...;p

[satxdiver]

B2B certainly does solve the problem :D

 

Since the OP is wanting to go at the start of the season, places in AK do not open usually until the second week of June so that if the OP takes the north bound the last of May they will find restaurants and other businesses closed at Denali and other tourist locations. I had this problem on my first AK cruise which was NB. I chose to do the week after the cruise on my own, renting a car and driving it up the park hwy to Denali and Fairbanks. It was quiet though without the throngs of people I found in July on another AK trip. As far as NB vs SB it all depends on whether you want the AK land portion at the first or last of the cruise. Also the flight to Anchorage will be longer than the one to Vancouver. Somethings to think about.

[Tedferg]

We are not planning to do AK land portion - will do pre or post cruise in Vancouver / Whistler.

[Wishing on a star]

You can see some of College Fjord by taking a boat tour, like the 26 glacier tour, just before boarding at Whittier.

SB also does Hubbard Glacier. But know that this can be missed, or not as impressive, because of frequently being fogged over.

The trade-off for us was that there is no way to see Tracy Arm Fjord, because this would be done from Juneau, and unless this has changed, the time in port at Juneau is not long enough for that to work out.

We did whale watching at Juneau.

 

Our choice was Southbound!

But would def. make an itinerary with the ability to see Tracy Arm Fjord, a priority on a second Alaskan Cruise.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Wishing on a star

[Tedferg]

But would def. make an itinerary with the ability to see Tracy Arm Fjord, a priority on a second Alaskan Cruise.

 

We were thinking Northbound has longer time in Juneau allowing Tracy Arm on small boat. We did Tracy on our first cruise in 2007 and so are looking for Glacier Bay this time.

[moki'smommy]

We're doing B2B. Makes more sense for flights, etc. The big difference is in the port times (check for your cruise), and that on Northbound, the scenery gets more impressive each day while on the Southbound, you'll see some of the best right at the beginning. Not that the part near Vancouver is bad....it's great, but then you see it continue to get even better!

[paul929207]

Two years ago, we did the NB on the Coral, a seven day land tour and then a SB on the Star. It was great

[Coral]

You can see some of College Fjord by taking a boat tour, like the 26 glacier tour, just before boarding at Whittier.

SB also does Hubbard Glacier. But know that this can be missed, or not as impressive, because of frequently being fogged over.

The trade-off for us was that there is no way to see Tracy Arm Fjord, because this would be done from Juneau, and unless this has changed, the time in port at Juneau is not long enough for that to work out.

We did whale watching at Juneau.

 

Our choice was Southbound!

But would def. make an itinerary with the ability to see Tracy Arm Fjord, a priority on a second Alaskan Cruise.

 

While I think the 26 glacier tour is great, it doesn't do College Fjords justice. It barely gets in there.

 

I like both routes for different reasons, NB for AdventureBound Alaska and SB for Hubbard.

[rockdoctor]

The Northbound goes through Seymour Narrows and Johnstone Straight at night. You miss the only remaining part of the Inside Passage that Cruise ship take. Southbound is a must.

[JimmyVWine]

1. I would pick the route with the preferred port times. (And I am not suggesting that there is a definitive answer to that. I mean, just pick the itinerary with the port schedule that is best for you.) For example, if a particular port would appear to be a favorite, and once direction has you there 8:00-5:00 and the other direction has you there from 10:00-3:00, that would matter greatly to me.

 

2. I like the optics of going deeper and deeper into Alaska each day as opposed to the optics of "leaving" Alaska behind each day, which means go North. Makes my vacation seem more like an excitement crescendo as opposed to a decrescendo. But that is purely personal and entirely atmospheric. It certainly wouldn't trump #1 above.

 

3. Consider flight schedules. If you are going to be flying into and out of your starting and ending ports, do you want your really long flight to be the one that kicks off your vacation, or the one that ends your vacation. I prefer to start my vacation with the shorter flight ot Seattle or Vancouver. Fewer time zone changes to adjust to as I start my vacation. Then I fly home from Anchorage. Flights leave early evening, so I get a full day in Anchorage to add to my vacation. (At the end of your cruise, book transportation to the airport and then rent a car there for the day, returning it later that day to fly home, assuming that you aren't staying on land for any length of time afterwards.)

[Essiesmom]

It makes no difference. You leave Vancouver in the late afternoon, there is scenery in the 'real' inside passage until it gets dark. Arriving in Vancouver from the north, it is not going to be daylight until shortly before you dock. Flights should not make any difference to the OP who is on the west coast. Flights from the east coast to Anchorage are the killer, especially if you travel from a location with no direct flights. EM

[JimmyVWine]

Flights should not make any difference to the OP who is on the west coast.

I wouldn't go that far. While it is true that there is no difference from a time zone perspective, there is a very big difference between flying from Sacramento to Vancouver (direct flight available that takes around 2 hours, or connecting flights that take a little under 3.5 hours) and flying from Sacramento to Anchorage (no direct flights, and total flight time ranging from 6.5-8.5 hours). If you had a choice of a two hour flight to start your trip, or an 8.5 hour flight to start your trip, I could see that disparity making a difference in your decision making. Perhaps not as much of a difference as if you were flying in from Miami. But it is certainly something to consider.

[Wishing on a star]

If you have seen Tracy Arm, then you are probably in 'either one might work' territory!Longer time in Juneau might be a plus...

Hubbard Glacier might be a plus...

 

Are you seeing any personal preference yet?

 

Coral, you are probably right about the smaller boat tours... But, actually we really enjoyed the aspect of really being out-there experiencing it more close up on the water. We actually plowed thru some smaller ice in the water getting up to Surprise Glacier. So, it does have its appeal!

Edited August 6, 2018 by Wishing on a star

[Tucker in Texas]

One reason I would consider northbound is that there are more flights to get you to embarkation be in Seattle or Vancouver if some delayenroute occurs. Anchorage has fewer flights going there. I know someone that missed their cruise when they were delayed enroute and missed their connection into Anchorage to start their cruise. The only way they could "catch up" would have been in Ketchican and, by then, the cruise was just about done.

 

What we did was get a SWA round trip ticket to Seattle. After completion of the cruise in Anchorage, we got a one way flight back to Seattle where we spent the night. Flights from Anchorage back to the lower 50 tend to leave late in the day requiring hanging in Anchorage all day and a "red eye" to get back home. Flights to Seattle/Vancouver leave during the afternoon. The cost was comparable to what a one-way to embarkation and one way back to our home.

[Coral]

 

Coral, you are probably right about the smaller boat tours... But, actually we really enjoyed the aspect of really being out-there experiencing it more close up on the water. We actually plowed thru some smaller ice in the water getting up to Surprise Glacier. So, it does have its appeal!

 

I actually really liked my small boat trips out of Whittier. Just saying you don't go that far into College Fiords compared to the ship. I loved my time at Surprise Glacier - we had a huge calving while I was there.

 

Here is the map: https://www.phillipscruises.com/cruises/26-glacier-cruise.php

 

I still like AdventureBound and would choose NorthBound because of it. Though the appeal for Hubbard is there but it is hit or miss. This year it is a hit, last year, it wasn't available for half the season.

[Tedferg]

Tucker - we are looking at Alaska Airlines - they seem to have lots of flights to Sacramento via Seattle or Portland.

 

I see the ship gets into Wittier at 12:30 am ! Does not say what time disembarkation is. Need to look into transfer options from Wittier to Anchorage airport.

 

Is Anchorage worth a visit with overnight ?

[JimmyVWine]

Tucker - we are looking at Alaska Airlines - they seem to have lots of flights to Sacramento via Seattle or Portland.

 

I see the ship gets into Wittier at 12:30 am ! Does not say what time disembarkation is. Need to look into transfer options from Wittier to Anchorage airport.

 

Is Anchorage worth a visit with overnight ?

Disembarking will take place at the normal time fir most cruised: 6:30-9:30.

 

As for an overnight, I would say that depends on your flight options heading home. We were pretty much limited to overnight flights so had we stayed overnight in Anchorage it actually would have meant 2 full days there which for us was too much. We got to the airport by mid to late morning and rented a car. Drove downtown and had an early lunch. Spent several hours at the Anchorage museum (a must), drove around some nice shoreline areas, had a terrific dinner on the early side and then headed back to the airport. It was a full day and we didn't need a second. However, if we could have caught a morning or noon flight out of Anchorage, then a full day followed by an overnight followed by a morning flight would have been a great option.

[Tedferg]

The Northbound goes through Seymour Narrows and Johnstone Straight at night. You miss the only remaining part of the Inside Passage that Cruise ship take. Southbound is a must.

 

I don't follow this, and thought that is the tie-breaker between N and S.

 

Northbound sails at 4:00pm Southbound docks at 7:00am.

[frugaltravel]

Southbound hands down.

 

Southbound includes both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. Northbound doesn't include Hubbard Glacier.