B 2 B Alaska

[highscar]

I’m interested in a two week cruise in Alaska next year.  Would any one suggest the best itineraries to accomplish this.  

[Crew News]

13 minutes ago, highscar said:

I’m interested in a two week cruise in Alaska next year.  Would any one suggest the best itineraries to accomplish this.  

Northbound to Whittier followed with Southbound back was on my list for 2020.

[CruiseMGM]

In our opinion, the Canadian Inside Passage is absolutely beautiful when going south. I'd recommend a roundtrip Vancouver for maximum Canadian Inside Passage. Have you thought about perhaps doing a northbound (usually depart Vancouver, end in Whittier or Seward for Anchorage) followed by a southbound (starting up north and ending in Vancouver)? You'd probably have a few of the same ports but also a few that are different. Tracy Arm Fjord is one of our favorite places to visit, so if your ship takes you in that direction, hooray! If it doesn't, then try the small boat trip from Juneau, it was fabulous this past August. And finally, Icy Strait Point was one of our favorite stops (small town Alaska) a few years back. It needs more than the 4 hour "mini-stop" we got this past August, though! 

 

CrewNews, you beat me to it, LOL, I'm too wordy!

[CruiserBruce]

Is HAL doing the 14 day out of Vancouver? Did that out of Seattle in 2019. Fantastic cruise.

[NCTribeFan]

I just got a casino offer and it looks like it covers just about every 7-night sailing.  I was thinking of coming here for some advice.

 

I'd never been particularly interested in Alaska, but thanks to all the Live From threads this summer, I've changed my mind. 

 

I really loved Koningsdam and would happily book her again.  She's doing 7-day inside passage sailings from Vancouver.

 

But it would be great to do a B2B (can't beat the price).  Both Noordam and NA are doing the back-and-forth Vancouver-Whittier sailings.  I'll be on NA in December and I've sailed Zuiderdam, so imagine Noordam is virtually identical (and I just read that she still has the disco).  But, NA has a non-smoking casino.  Decisions, decisions!

 

Since my February OZ/NZ sailings on Carnival were just cancelled, I need to book something soon.  I can't let the number of booked cruises drop into single digits again!

[highscar]

@NCTribeFani guess I got the same casino offer.  They list 7 day cruises but those are too short. I want at least 14 days. 

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Is HAL doing the 14 day out of Vancouver? Did that out of Seattle in 2019. Fantastic cruise.

Yes.  I am booked on September 2022, 14-day out of Vancouver.

[OHCruiser]

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

I just got a casino offer and it looks like it covers just about every 7-night sailing.  I was thinking of coming here for some advice.

 

I'd never been particularly interested in Alaska, but thanks to all the Live From threads this summer, I've changed my mind. 

 

I really loved Koningsdam and would happily book her again.  She's doing 7-day inside passage sailings from Vancouver.

 

But it would be great to do a B2B (can't beat the price).  Both Noordam and NA are doing the back-and-forth Vancouver-Whittier sailings.  I'll be on NA in December and I've sailed Zuiderdam, so imagine Noordam is virtually identical (and I just read that she still has the disco).  But, NA has a non-smoking casino.  Decisions, decisions!

 

Since my February OZ/NZ sailings on Carnival were just cancelled, I need to book something soon.  I can't let the number of booked cruises drop into single digits again!

I got the same Casino offer and booked a back to back on the Konigsdam from Vancouver 9-10 to 24/2022.  We managed to keep the same interior room for both. 

It's a bit complicated [I use a TA and they did all of the work], but in the end, we'll have a TON of OBC and pay nothing but the taxes & port fees [a total of $820 for 2 people for 2 weeks].

We've been to AK many times.  It's one of our favorite destinations.  We chose the dates because of increased wildlife sightings at this time of year.  Just couldn't beat it.

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

Yes.  I am booked on September 2022, 14-day out of Vancouver.

@highscar, do the 14 day cruise. You will see far more of Alaska. It's a single cruise, 14 day roundtrip. Great cruise.

[Calnev1]

7 hours ago, OHCruiser said:

I got the same Casino offer and booked a back to back on the Konigsdam from Vancouver 9-10 to 24/2022.  We managed to keep the same interior room for both. 

It's a bit complicated [I use a TA and they did all of the work], but in the end, we'll have a TON of OBC and pay nothing but the taxes & port fees [a total of $820 for 2 people for 2 weeks].

We've been to AK many times.  It's one of our favorite destinations.  We chose the dates because of increased wildlife sightings at this time of year.  Just couldn't beat it.

OHCruiser --  I could have written your post above word-for-word!!  See you on the 9/10 - 9/24 Konigsdam B2B cruises out of Vancouver making good use of that sweet casino deal! 

 

I would have preferred a Vancouver to Whittier and return, but the casino deal we were offered did not provide for both legs of that trip.  But we have done it before, so no big loss.

[NCTribeFan]

My offer doesn't have any of the actual 14-night cruises.  It's just the 7-night sailings, so I'd have to book my own B2B.

 

My TA isn't interested in booking my "free" casino offers.  I reverted back to my PCC for my Eurodam booking and he's been great.

 

For Eurodam, I booked my free/$200 inside and added Club Orange to get the upgrade to the J cabin I wanted. 

 

I'm sure a verandah is great for Alaska, but the whole point of a free inside cabin is to go as cheaply as possible.  I have only so much I can spend for vacations, and I'd rather sail 3 or 4 or 5 times a year in an inside than spend the funds for a "better" cabin.

[NCTribeFan]

I have our last tax deadline tomorrow, so while I sit here waiting for those clients who have only had 9 months to get their info in, I've started looking at itineraries.

 

I started reading the Live From NA threads this summer just because I'm sailing the ship in December.  That's what's convinced me I should do an Alaska cruise.

 

But I really have no idea which itinerary I would want.  I'm sure they're all interesting.

 

Are there itineraries I should look at more closely?  Is Skagway more interesting than Sitka?

 

I late May/early June a good time to go?

 

Looks like I could do B2B on NA 7/17 northbound and 7/24 southbound (ports are Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan on both; difference is the fjord and glaciers).  Without trying to view every itinerary, should I assume every "inside passage" is the same?  And that the "alaskan explorer" from Seattle is the same on both ships?

 

Preferable to sail from Vancouver rather than Seattle?

 

Sorry.  Didn't mean to hijack the thread!!

[Calnev1]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

 

 

For Eurodam, I booked my free/$200 inside and added Club Orange to get the upgrade to the J cabin I wanted. 

 

I'm sure a verandah is great for Alaska, but the whole point of a free inside cabin is to go as cheaply as possible.  I have only so much I can spend for vacations, and I'd rather sail 3 or 4 or 5 times a year in an inside than spend the funds for a "better" cabin.

I also did the club orange thing to get the cheap cabin upgrade to J on my casino deal.  Hope that works out.

 

My wife and I have done many Alaska cruises on different lines.  An unexpected benefit of an inside cabin on an Alaska cruise is total darkness at night.  The daylight hours are long in Alaska during the summer . . . and that light can bother you if you have an oceanview or verandah cabin.  Check out the movie "Insomnia."  🙂

[DaveOKC]

Has anyone who got the recent casino free inside cabin offer ask about how much more for a Verandah or Signature cabin?

[bcummin]

Skagway and Sitka are both legendary ports.

Do you want the goldrush history of Skagway?

Or the wildlife and Russian colonial history + native culture of Sitka?

Barbara

Edited October 14, 2021 by bcummin

[NCTribeFan]

5 hours ago, Calnev1 said:

I also did the club orange thing to get the cheap cabin upgrade to J on my casino deal.  Hope that works out.

 

My wife and I have done many Alaska cruises on different lines.  An unexpected benefit of an inside cabin on an Alaska cruise is total darkness at night.  The daylight hours are long in Alaska during the summer . . . and that light can bother you if you have an oceanview or verandah cabin.  Check out the movie "Insomnia."  🙂

 

Ha.  It's one of the good things about interior cabins.  I pretty much never book an OV.  On the rare occasions I upgrade, it's to a balcony cabin.  I love it dark.  My brain wakes the second there's a hint of light in the sky.  I hadn't even thought of the late daylight hours.  Thanks for that reminder.

 

1 hour ago, bcummin said:

Skagway and Sitka are both legendary ports.

Do you want the goldrush history of Skagway?

Or the wildlife and Russian colonial history + native culture of Sitka?

Barbara

 

I want it all! 😁  I know.  I'll probably have to pick one.  Too bad the Northern/Southern itineraries aren't more varied.

 

I'm not sure I could do a whale-watching tour, as much as I'd love to.  I do have issues with motion on smaller boats, but I would very much love to see whales.

 

[muffin]

14 day out of Vancouver hands down.,  Make sure  the cruise goes up from Vancouver between the mainland and Vancouver Island. You will miss sooooo much by taking a route which goes up the west side of Vancouver Island. The longer distance trip gives you some open ocean time which is fun, as well as more small stops.  At the alaska end you will wait until some folks arrive from their overland trips from Anchorage or Fairbanks so you have a long day at the upper end. Major Marine tours HIGHLY recommended for up close and personal looks at ice! They operate out of both Seward and Whittier. Fantastic day of sightseeing. marvellous voyage! 

[muffin]

Re time of year. May has less rain, lots of ice in the bays of the glaciers. This means you may not get quite as close to the face of the glacier, but you will see lots of brand new baby seals on the little ice flows, called “ burgie bits” floating by with Mama on guard.  It is cooler, but still,pleasant. The staff I. The stores aren’t yet tired of tourists, and are excited for the season to begin.  Summer is summer…more crowded, and Sept gets cool pretty fast and a few stormy days may be encountered. Regardless, Alaska is Always beautiful . We have gone many times. Next year we go in May.  

[OHCruiser]

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Has anyone who got the recent casino free inside cabin offer ask about how much more for a Verandah or Signature cabin?

I've found that upgrading [without doing Club Orange] was ridiculously expensive.  I wanted an "I" inside vs. the "N" that they offered me.  If I booked directly, the difference would have been about $50 PER WEEK PER PERSON.  They said I'd have to pay over $600. UH, no.  I only sleep there.  I'll find plenty of places to be outdoors for that kind of $$

[muffin]

Error message. Went looking and see HAL does not have a smaller ship doing the 14day Alaska from Van as a single run. Just the big ships which go on the outside route and miss what I see as the best route. So, it would be a B2B  as 2,  7 day cruises, to Whittier or Seward. FYI. 

[BaltimoreCruise]

Thanks for this great information.  We had three 14 night cruises cancelled (2 on the Veendam and one on the Maasdam).  I plan to look at the options this weekend.

BC

[muffin]

oh BC , I am also planning a Princess trip elsewhere, and inadvertently went to their site to look at 14 day trips! Princess is sending only their BIG ships north on 14 days. I see HAL has 14 days only in Sept, but others as B 2 B  all season. Any of those should be great!   Better luck this next season! 

[T8NCruise]

2 hours ago, muffin said:

Error message. Went looking and see HAL does not have a smaller ship doing the 14day Alaska from Van as a single run. Just the big ships which go on the outside route and miss what I see as the best route. So, it would be a B2B  as 2,  7 day cruises, to Whittier or Seward. FYI. 

The Nieuw Amsterdam does 14 day in April and Sept and goes via the Inside Passage.

[NCTribeFan]

Well, I did not spend the past 3 days looking at cruises.  My brain is still in a bit of a fog.

 

I'm a bit on the obsessive side.  I need to decide what to book but since I know so little about Alaska, I'm just going back and forth about which ship/itinerary and what dates.

 

I have a land vaca for mid-May for a week, so that's out.  Northbound/Southbound B2B or Inside Passage B2B?

 

Would you recommend late May/early June versus late July/early August?   I can't join you folks who are on the September K'dam sailings due to deadlines (even if I am only working part-time next year).

 

I'll do some reading on the West Coast Departures board to see what I can find about Vancouver.  I've never been to the Pacific NW.  Actually, I suppose it's the Pacific SW if you're in Canada, yes? 😉

 

I'd like at least one full day in Vancouver pre-cruise to try to get my body clock adjusted a bit.  I hope it's a safe place for a solo senior female to visit.  I do like to get out there and wander.

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Normally, I would recommend the northbound followed by the southbound, but since Holland America actually offers a 14 day that goes to some unusual ports, including our main city of Anchorage, I would recommend that one. You get to see some areas that other cruise ships don’t.