HAL Inside Passage Route, Vancouver to Juneau

[LF23]

Does anybody know the route HAL follows through the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Juneau?  Maps we’ve been able to find showing cruise ship routes from Vancouver vary, and generally show the first stop in Ketchikan, not Juneau. We’re trying to figure out when we might hit certain landmarks as we leave Vancouver and on the first sea day. Thank you. 

[kwb101]

Itineraries Y5C, Y3C, Y6C, and Y4C go directly from Vancouver to Juneau. However, all of them go into the Yukon, too. Good luck.

[towhee]

From Vancouver, you will PROBABLY (no guarantee) go between continental Canada and Vancouver Island.

 

Which landmarks are you interested in?

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, LF23 said:

Does anybody know the route HAL follows through the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Juneau?  Maps we’ve been able to find showing cruise ship routes from Vancouver vary, and generally show the first stop in Ketchikan, not Juneau. We’re trying to figure out when we might hit certain landmarks as we leave Vancouver and on the first sea day. Thank you. 

 

Upon departing Vancouver inner harbor via Burrard Inlet, you will pass underneath Lions Gate Bridge and enter English Bay. The ship will then sail northbound between the Canadian mainland and Vancouver Island using the Strait of Georgia, Seymour Narrows, Discovery Passage and Johnson Strait, while passing the towns of Powell River, Campbell River and Port Hardy, and then will sail via Queen Charlotte Strait into the open (Pacific) ocean arm of Queen Charlotte Sound. The ship will use Hecate Strait to enter U.S waters at the Dixon Entrance.

 

Ships that first stop at Ketchikan will continue northbound by sailing up Tongass Narrows. After the call at Ketchikan the ship will proceed northbound Tongass Narrows, passing Ketchikan Airport, to Clarence Strait, Sumner Strait and from there will enter Chatham Strait and will then follow the same route as those ships who skipped Ketchikan (see below) until their southbound return to Vancouver, BC.

 

Ships that will go to Juneau first will enter the Pacific Ocean proper at Cape Muzon, leaving Dixon Entrance behind, and follow the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, heading back inside at Chatham Strait, where two U.S. Southeast Alaska pilots will be picked up at Frederick Sound pilot station (Kake, AK). After the pilot pickup, the ship will follow Frederick Sound which will lead to Stephens Passage, passing Five Fingers Lighthouse and The Brothers Islands, continuing northbound past Grand Island to reach Juneau via the Gastineau Channel

 

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for the detailed maps. Good way to follow along. 

[LF23]

Wow, thanks so much Copper10-8!  This is exactly what we were looking for.  On the return trip to Vancouver, what route is followed from Glacier Bay via Ketchikan?  

[DougK]

4 hours ago, LF23 said:

On the return trip to Vancouver, what route is followed from Glacier Bay via Ketchikan?  

 

I think it depends somewhat on conditions and the luck of the draw. Ideally, you will head east out of Glacier Bay and then south through Chatham Strait. But you might end up heading west instead and going out to sea heading south to the west of Chicagof and Baranof Islands. On a recent Princess cruise I took, our route was announced as being through Chatham Strait, but instead took the sea route (with no explanation of the change, even when asked). I looked enviously at the Volendam to our stern heading off to Chatham Strait.

[LF23]

7 minutes ago, DougK said:

On a recent Princess cruise I took, our route was announced as being through Chatham Strait, but instead took the sea route

 

 

8 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

enter the Pacific Ocean proper at Cape Muzon, leaving Dixon Entrance behind, and follow the west coast of Prince of Wales Island

 

Yuck DougK, especially with more of a “sea route” on the way north described by Copper10-8, the sea diversion southbound would be a bummer.  Was your cruise headed to Ketchikan when that happened? 

[DougK]

Yes, our cruise was headed back to Ketchikan after Glacier Bay. I was disappointed, as we missed some prime wildlife viewing areas..

 

On the other hand, the northbound sea portion getting to Juneau wasn't noticeable, since I'm pretty sure that happened mostly or entirely at night.

[LF23]

30 minutes ago, DougK said:

On the other hand, the northbound sea portion getting to Juneau wasn't noticeable, since I'm pretty sure that happened mostly or entirely at night.

 

Good point, that’s the other unknown, what areas will be during darkness after we leave Vancouver. 

[DougK]

15 minutes ago, LF23 said:

 

Good point, that’s the other unknown, what areas will be during darkness after we leave Vancouver. 

 

That depends a whole lot on when you go. For example, in late June sunset in Juneau isn't until after 10PM, with sunrise before 4AM. It's not quite as extreme in Vancouver, but sunset is still after 9PM, with sunrise close to 5AM. But if you go in late September, the sun sets in Juneau before 7PM, and doesn't rise until close to 7AM. This is, IMO, one of the biggest drawbacks to doing an Alaska cruise late in the season.

 

BTW, if you look at the itinerary maps on the HAL website, it shows the Nieuw Amsterdam going out to sea after Glacier Bay, but the Volendam going through Chatham Strait. I don't know whether that distinction plays out in reality, or whether both ships can end up going either route.

Edited May 28, 2019 by DougK
Correct typo

[Copper10-8]

9 hours ago, LF23 said:

Wow, thanks so much Copper10-8!  This is exactly what we were looking for.  On the return trip to Vancouver, what route is followed from Glacier Bay via Ketchikan?  

 

When exiting Glacier Bay, the normal route is Icy Strait to Chatham Strait south to Cape Decision (nice lighthouse), a turn to port to enter Sumner Strait, Clarence Strait south until entering Tongass Narrows, past Ketchikan Airport, and into Ketchikan harbor to the assigned berth

 

Ships going to Sitka first however, will use Icy Strait and Cross Sound to enter the Pacific Ocean and will follow the coastline of Chichagof Island southbound, rounding Kruzof Island, to enter Sitka Sound and proceed to Sitka proper (usually nowadays to berth at the Old Sitka Dock at Halibut Point, just north of the city). Ketchikan can then still be reached by reentering the Pacific from Sitka Sound and sailing south to the the tip of Baranof Island, cutting across to round Cape Decision and picking up the above described route to the Salmon Capital of the world

 

[Copper10-8]

By the way, if you want a good guide book of the Alaska routes, one you can follow mile-by-mile, try Joe Upton's "The Alaska Cruise Handbook," lots of info and maps inside, incl. a large fold-out map

 

[SilvertoGold]

Any HAL ships going through Grenville Channel now?  Used to be such a fabulous sail!!

[LF23]

6 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

By the way, if you want a good guide book of the Alaska routes, one you can follow mile-by-mile, try Joe Upton's "The Alaska Cruise Handbook

 

At this very minute, as you were answering my follow-up question, I was marking your earlier northbound explanation on that map!  Thanks so much, now I can mark the southbound.  Your time and patience in sharing expertise is invaluable.  

[Copper10-8]

15 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

Any HAL ships going through Grenville Channel now?  Used to be such a fabulous sail!!

 

Grenville Channel is not a regular cruise ship route (at least not for HAL) anymore. I went through Grenville southbound back in September 2013 on Statendam going to Vancouver when Capt. Albert used it due to horrendous weather, 12 foot swells and 60 mph winds, coming out of Skagway

 

[LF23]

4 hours ago, DougK said:

BTW, if you look at the itinerary maps on the HAL website, it shows the Nieuw Amsterdam going out to sea after Glacier Bay, but the Volendam going through Chatham Strait. I don't know whether that distinction plays out in reality, or whether both ships can end up going either route.

 

Ironic as we debated Nieuw Amsterdam vs Volendam when we saw it was the same itinerary,  but never noticed that difference on the HAL maps. And I did ask if there were differences between the two that we were overlooking. In the end, there was a minor issue with the dates that just worked out more easily with the NA.  Had we but known...  or found CC for advice earlier. 

 

Thank you very much for sharing your experience, as well as for pointing this out, disappointing but it’s helpful not to be surprised and we’ll love it anyway!  Agree with you on the extra daylight, we’re going in July partly for that reason. 

 

 

 

[DougK]

19 minutes ago, LF23 said:

 

Ironic as we debated Nieuw Amsterdam vs Volendam when we saw it was the same itinerary,  but never noticed that difference on the HAL maps. And I did ask if there were differences between the two that we were overlooking. In the end, there was a minor issue with the dates that just worked out more easily with the NA.  Had we but known...  or found CC for advice earlier. 

 

Thank you very much for sharing your experience, as well as for pointing this out, disappointing but it’s helpful not to be surprised and we’ll love it anyway!  Agree with you on the extra daylight, we’re going in July partly for that reason. 

 

 

 

 

Ironic for me as well, for almost the same reasons. Although we took an Alaska cruise earlier this month on Princess, we decided to join friends and go again this summer, this time on HAL. We were also looking at both NA and Volendam; I was rooting for the Volendam as a smaller ship, but they liked the fact that NA was newer and had more specialty restaurants. And, like you, the dates ended up deciding it for us, so I'm going to be on the NA, also in July. But it wasn't until today, with this discussion, that I actually took a close look at the maps and saw we'll be missing Chatham Strait (again).

[LF23]

6 minutes ago, DougK said:

But it wasn't until today, with this discussion, that I actually took a close look at the maps and saw we'll be missing Chatham Strait (again).

 

Oh no!  Ouch. Should I be sorry I led you to the grisly conclusion, or are you better off forewarned?  Have a wonderful trip. 

[DougK]

1 minute ago, LF23 said:

 

Oh no!  Ouch. Should I be sorry I led you to the grisly conclusion, or are you better off forewarned?  Have a wonderful trip. 

 

I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that the route will change... but be happy no matter what. Let's both enjoy our trips!

[weix]

I do follow cruise ships on  "marine traffic.com" quite often.  google this site to day  wed. may 29 /2019 and find vancouver harbour.  you will find 3 cruise ships tied up until 5pm pacific time. one of them is the volendam.   after the ships leave harbour you can follow them all the way up to alaska. just click on the little blue triangles to find the name of the ship its destination and speed.   when you first open the site and find a light blue screen just click on the minus in the top right corner to find out where in the world you are on the screen.    i hope this helps you and others. have fun and enjoy.   weix

[sppunk]

Juts off Volendam and we were inside the passage the entire trip minus the first leg wher you have no choice but to leave protected  waters. It’s beautiful sailing. 

[Copper10-8]

15 minutes ago, sppunk said:

Juts off Volendam and we were inside the passage the entire trip minus the first leg wher you have no choice but to leave protected  waters. It’s beautiful sailing. 

 

Where did you depart from Spunk, referring to your "first leg"? Where you southbound?

[sppunk]

2 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Where did you depart from Spunk, referring to your "first leg"? Where you southbound?

Volendam is doing r/t’s out of Vancouver. Juneau,  Skagwwy, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan in that order. 

[Copper10-8]

3 minutes ago, sppunk said:

Volendam is doing r/t’s out of Vancouver. Juneau,  Skagwwy, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan in that order. 

 

 

So your unprotected/open sea "first leg" is the portion of Queen Charlotte Sound, north of Vancouver Island?