Alaska 2022: Thought on doing back-to-back cruise

[Cobber76]

We have cruised Alaska northbound twice and are making plans to possibly book a 14-day cruise in 2022 (Vancouver to Whittier and then Whittier to Vancouver).  I’m excited to finally have the opportunity to see Hubbard Glacier—and to see Glacier Bay twice during the trip.  But do you find that going to the same ports gets repetitive at all?  Or are there some unusual excursions you’d recommend?  We will do a whale watch in Juneau for sure. And in Skagway, we’ve done White Pass Railroad twice, we might like to try something else.  

 

Has anyone done the Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau?

[memoak]

You know you don’t have to get off the ship at every port 

[snoozecrooze]

They've been less active on the forums since the pandemic started, but if @idahospud  is able to share their experiences, they'd be a great resource. As the above user stated, you could make this a much more relaxed trip and chill on some of the port days instead of needing to plan for everything. You could also use the time you have on the B2B to do two different excursions on each port as you'll be visiting them twice. I'm not an expert on unique excursion opportunities so I will let others share their insight.

[Italy52]

We have done multiple back-to-back cruises to Alaska and have loved every one of our trips.  We will be doing it again in 2022.  We like visiting some of the ports twice as it gives us an opportunity to take two whale watching tours in Juneau with our favorite vendor. 

 

We have done the Tracy Arm excursion with Adventure Bound but you have to make sure your port times align with AB's tour schedule.  We were able to do it when we were on the Celebrity Millennium B2B but not sure if that can be done with Princess.

[KruzPrincess]

I did a back to back once. I loved it and would happily do it again if flying in and out of Vancouver was better for me. I didn’t get tired of repeating ports. It was especially great for Glacier Bay. Our first day there was very cold and pouring rain. We still enjoyed it, but it wasn’t the best day. Our second day there was spectacular. We were really happy that we had two days. 

[phabric]

I did Tracy Arms excursion through Princess cruise out of Seattle.  An excellent excursion, up close to the glaciers.  Only passengers booked on the excursion transferred to a smaller boat and we were dropped off in Juneau.

Edited December 7, 2020 by phabric

[disneyochem]

Have done a B2B and loved it!  Going to the same ports never seem repetitive to me because it seems like there is always something new to try!  Also, it’s nice to be able to go back to something in case the weather was bad.   
 

To mixup a visit to Skagway, maybe take the fast ferry to Haines and explore that area?  Depending on the time of year, you might be able to see bears.  We like to rent a car in Juneau and independently tour.  We can then tailor our day depending on our mood, weather and ambition (are we really up for a 5 mile hike?).  Also, check out the glacier trek in Juneau with Above and Beyond Alaska (ABAK)—one of our favorite excursions!

 

One thing we’re planning for next year is to do a B2B but on different cruise lines.  Princess northbound, DIY tour for 15 days and the NCL southbound.  Different port stops, times and experiences.

 

Have tried to do the Tracy Arm excursion but our port times have never worked out!

[Cobber76]

13 hours ago, memoak said:

You know you don’t have to get off the ship at every port 

Absolutely!  We're not against staying on the ship in port, but we likely would at the very least walk through the town for several hours--or perhaps take a hike.  Even though we're in our 60s, we are quite active and would love to explore something we haven't already seen or done.

[Cobber76]

11 hours ago, Italy52 said:

We have done multiple back-to-back cruises to Alaska and have loved every one of our trips.  We will be doing it again in 2022.  We like visiting some of the ports twice as it gives us an opportunity to take two whale watching tours in Juneau with our favorite vendor. 

 

We have done the Tracy Arm excursion with Adventure Bound but you have to make sure your port times align with AB's tour schedule.  We were able to do it when we were on the Celebrity Millennium B2B but not sure if that can be done with Princess.

Thanks for the information on Tracy Arm.  I've seen some amazing photos from Tracy Arm, but it's never been an excursion that has been offered on our last two Alaskan cruises.  Perhaps that's because we were northbound?  I can't wait for the schedules to be released in a couple of weeks so I can check on arrival and departure times into ports so I can begin planning.   Thanks again!

[Cobber76]

20 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

Have done a B2B and loved it!  Going to the same ports never seem repetitive to me because it seems like there is always something new to try!  Also, it’s nice to be able to go back to something in case the weather was bad.   
 

To mixup a visit to Skagway, maybe take the fast ferry to Haines and explore that area?  Depending on the time of year, you might be able to see bears.  We like to rent a car in Juneau and independently tour.  We can then tailor our day depending on our mood, weather and ambition (are we really up for a 5 mile hike?).  Also, check out the glacier trek in Juneau with Above and Beyond Alaska (ABAK)—one of our favorite excursions!

 

One thing we’re planning for next year is to do a B2B but on different cruise lines.  Princess northbound, DIY tour for 15 days and the NCL southbound.  Different port stops, times and experiences.

 

Have tried to do the Tracy Arm excursion but our port times have never worked out!

Great ideas!  Thank you so much for the information.  I've never considered Haines before!  And WOW your back-to-back cruise with different cruise lines and with a 15-day tour on your own in between sounds beyond amazing!

[phabric]

Alaska 2022 comes out

Dec 15 for Elite

Dec 16 for general public

[AryMay]

38 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

One thing we’re planning for next year is to do a B2B but on different cruise lines.  Princess northbound, DIY tour for 15 days and the NCL southbound.  Different port stops, times and experiences.

 

I like the idea of doing two different cruise lines with a land tour sandwiched in between! Finding itineraries with different ports would be great and it would eliminate a longer flight to or from Alaska.

 

For the OP, I can suggest a couple of excursion ideas that we did in Skagway on our last Alaskan cruise. If you have only done the White Pass Railroad, consider renting a car and driving instead. As you know, the scenery is amazing and having the car lets you stop along the way. As a bonus...we had multiple bear sightings!

 

Another option would be to do a short flight over the glaciers. We did this through Mountain Air Service but I'm pretty sure there are other vendors who do flights. The airport runway was literally right next where our ship was docked which made it so easy. Seeing the glaciers from above was a totally different experience!

 

With a long day in Skagway we were able to do BOTH of these excursions in one day, but spreading them out over two days would have been more relaxed.

 

Good luck in your planning! 

[skynight]

We love b2b's and have been taking them for years. It's a much more relaxed experience, shows, dining, activities, ports, shore excursions, everything. Crew gets to know you also. One one thing about b2b's  from Vancouver. You go through U.S. immigration in Vancouver. Thus, turnaround day in Whittier is just like a normal port day. No special immigration procedures like there is at other U.S. ports. 

[disneyochem]

4 hours ago, Cobber76 said:

Great ideas!  Thank you so much for the information.  I've never considered Haines before!  And WOW your back-to-back cruise with different cruise lines and with a 15-day tour on your own in between sounds beyond amazing!

Haines is fun. You can do the trip DIY but I also highly recommend Rainbow Glacier Adventures.  They will meet you in Skagway to start their tours.  We like to buy our own tickets and then meet up with any tours (if we do a tour) in Haines.  We like to spend extra time in Haines (90 minutes usually) in the brewery and restaurants.

 

Other activities we’ve done in Skagway (other than the train and visiting the Yukon) include a hike and river float, DIY hiking (very accessible trails), scooter rental and biking.

 

I know a lot of folks really like Skagway Brewing Company (worth a stop) but take your beer and go next door to the Starfire Thai Restaurant.  It’s actually pretty good!

[paul929207]

We did a 7 day northbound, a sever day land tour and then a 7 day southbound. worked great

[BabsinTX]

Last year we took Viking up to to Seward, rented a car for 10 days, then took Princess back to Vancouver.  Amazing!  I will say that the smaller Viking ship was better for close glacier views.   We've doing a driving trip to AK and a few cruises, but the combination of two ships plus a rental car is my favorite.

[Kamloops50]

On 12/6/2020 at 4:34 PM, Cobber76 said:

We have cruised Alaska northbound twice and are making plans to possibly book a 14-day cruise in 2022 (Vancouver to Whittier and then Whittier to Vancouver).  I’m excited to finally have the opportunity to see Hubbard Glacier—and to see Glacier Bay twice during the trip.  But do you find that going to the same ports gets repetitive at all?  Or are there some unusual excursions you’d recommend?  We will do a whale watch in Juneau for sure. And in Skagway, we’ve done White Pass Railroad twice, we might like to try something else.  

 

Has anyone done the Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau?

That's our favourite way to do Alaska. We live only four hours from Vancouver and find the cost of the flight from Anchorage to vancouver very expensive and long.

[jangor]

Rather than a back to back, I would choose a Land-cruise.  On a back to back, you will see the same areas twice.  Well worth a second look, Alaska interior is far superior to a second look.

 

[mcrcruiser]

Not trying to put a damper on the parade of B2B ;however ,will the CDC allow doing that until Nov 1 ,2021  when the 7 night only cruise  leaves the cruise lines to do longer itineraries ? 

[Italy52]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Not trying to put a damper on the parade of B2B ;however ,will the CDC allow doing that until Nov 1 ,2021  when the 7 night only cruise  leaves the cruise lines to do longer itineraries ? 

2021?  We are talking about 2022 cruises. 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Not trying to put a damper on the parade of B2B ;however ,will the CDC allow doing that until Nov 1 ,2021  when the 7 night only cruise  leaves the cruise lines to do longer itineraries ? 

No one has any idea what the CDC will be doing regarding when B2B cruises will be allowed  Many people have B2B cruises set for late 2021 Alaska cruises that have not yet been cancelled. Cross your fingers 

 

[trbarton]

14 hours ago, phabric said:

Alaska 2022 comes out

Dec 15 for Elite

Dec 16 for general public

Interesting about the schedule. I’m Elite & have never heard anything from Princess as an Elite member. I have heard that other Elites have also not heard anything from Princess. 
 

Tom🤔

[Schonert]

11 hours ago, memoak said:

No one has any idea what the CDC will be doing regarding when B2B cruises will be allowed  Many people have B2B cruises set for late 2021 Alaska cruises that have not yet been cancelled. Cross your fingers 

 

I had it booked as the 14 day version, as the OBC is better that way and it was cancelled by Princess.  It was for Sep 21.

[phabric]

9 hours ago, trbarton said:

Interesting about the schedule. I’m Elite & have never heard anything from Princess as an Elite member. I have heard that other Elites have also not heard anything from Princess. 
 

Tom🤔

On Elite day (day before general public) on new itineraries, you have to sign in to show the price.  If you do not sign in, it will show “price not available”.  The next day, general pubic, the price will show for all.  On Elite day, you can call Princess to get a price/book.   The price will show it all depends when Princess releases the new itineraries, ex: Europe was 6am PT and during the day they had problems and the price did not show then it was back up and running and other times they were released later on in the day.

 

I think they started Elite day a few years ago.  Sometimes or not, I will get an email late on Elite day.

Edited December 8, 2020 by phabric

[Loki S]

We had booked b2b for 2020 and 2021 but both have been cancelled. Even to the point of picking and booking tours. We’re really hoping to be able to do this in 2022. 

Edited December 10, 2020 by Loki S