Best itinerary

[Monica887]

Just got back from my first Alaskan Cruise (ok, I'm not even home yet) and I'm ready for the next. We picked this one based on prices and dates, not knowing anything about the ports.

 

We did Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Haines, out of Vancouver. I'm ready to branch out, so what's next, and why??

[JT1962]

A one-way from Vancouver to Alaska with Glacier Bay and a land tour for several days after the cruise to include Denali National Park. Glacier Bay is beautiful and the land tour will give you see there is a lot more to Alaska than the Southeast Coast.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Monica887 said:

Just got back from my first Alaskan Cruise (ok, I'm not even home yet) and I'm ready for the next. We picked this one based on prices and dates, not knowing anything about the ports.

 

We did Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Haines, out of Vancouver. I'm ready to branch out, so what's next, and why??

We'll be doing our 5th Alaska cruise in September roundtrip out of Vancouver, Sitka, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Hubbard, Ketchikan...We usually do the Northbound which is our favorite....and one you should try.

 

Glad you enjoyed yours.

[Heidi13]

I concur that a 1-way to/from Vancouver that should be considered. Whether you go N'bd or S'nd depends on your priorities and the available itineraries.

 

Inside Passage - unfortunately, unless you are on a small, luxury ship you see very little of the Inside Passage these days. The section between Vancouver Island and the mainland is very scenic. However, N'bd cruises do this at night, so you miss the scenic cruising. S'bd cruises have amazing scenic cruising on the last afternoon. This is one of the pros for S'bd cruises

 

Glaciers - Glacier Bay is my favourite; however, it may not be the best. With well over 20 - 30 Alaska cruises, I have never failed to get into Glacier Bay and always saw at least 1 glacier. As an added benefit, the Park Rangers provide amazing commentary. Most impressive glacier is probably Hubbard, but at times ice in the water does prevent the ship getting into the inlet. Leat favourite is Tracy Arm, mostly because we hardly ever got the ship into the channel, never mind up to the glacier. Been up to the glacier only once.

 

Prince William Sound/College Fjord is amazing, very scenic cruising. Lots of glaciers. Only available on 1-way cruises

 

Smaller ports can be less crowded - Valdez, Kodiak, Icy Point Straight

 

Enjoy the research and selecting another itinerary.

[Crew News]

If you are going all the way to Alaska, choose a RT 14-Day cruise out of Vancouver with stops in Kodiak, Anchorage, Valdez, Skagway, Sitka, Ketchikan, Prince Rupert, and a visit to Glacier Bay.  It departs May 7th aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam. 

[tetleytea]

Go up to Seward from Vancouver.   Land tour for a week.   Sail back to Vancouver out of Whittier on a different cruise line.

 

[Monica887]

Thanks! I'm in no position to do more than a week (I work full time, kids are still young). I'd love to do a land tour - one of the best things we did on this trip was rent a car and just drive. A cruise just makes it easier to plan, but I can look into other forums to help plan a land trip at some point. 

[YVRteacher]

Hi @Monica887 I’m so glad you enjoyed your cruise.  Something to consider in the future is to try different times of the year. In May there is still snow, so the scenery is just a little more spectacular.  In July and August the ships can get closer to the glaciers.  Some itineraries include two days of glacier cruising, which I love.

[Ashland]

30 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Hi @Monica887 I’m so glad you enjoyed your cruise.  Something to consider in the future is to try different times of the year. In May there is still snow, so the scenery is just a little more spectacular.  In July and August the ships can get closer to the glaciers.  Some itineraries include two days of glacier cruising, which I love.

Agree..Mid to late May has always been our favorite. This year September is just what worked out for us and our extended family.

[Glaciers]

Look at some of the small ship lines. They avoid the normal cruise ports the large lines stop at and visit areas that are off the beaten path. UnCruise, Alaskan Dream, Linblad. They provide a very special Alaska experience at very special prices.

[Jeremiah On a Cruise]

Instead of trying to give you a single itinerary, here are some general thoughts:

 

*One way trips tend to have more time seeing ideal things and time in port.  But, logistics to get to/from Anchorage are difficult.

*Vancouver tends to be the preferred over Seattle due to it's close proximity to AK, and typically, better times in piers.  Though again, logistics at the pier, and even at the airport, can be more difficult than those in Seattle.

*Best whale watching it from Juneau or Icy Straight Point/Hoonah.

*Best bear watching, probably best fishing, is from Ketchikan.

*Skagway may have the best scenery - both with the trip in the fjord on the cruise ship, and up the mountain on the train (or, as I suggest, a rented car).

*Glacier Bay is often thought of as the best site to see in all of AK Cruises.  It's a full day extravaganza.

*I've found Hubbard Glacier to be even more awe inspiring than Glacier Bay - though it's a briefer say, and more of a one-trick pony.

*I strongly prefer SB cruises so that I can "rough it" first, and then relax on the cruise ship after.

*Victoria BC is often thought of as the least interesting AK stop.  This stop is done to meet legal requirements for ships out of Seattle, but doesn't have the same draw as AK stops.

*Sitka is a smaller player in the AK Cruise circuit.  You'll need to tender there, and options aren't as abundant as the stops listed above.

*Leaving from SF give you several more days on the water, but not much more time in AK.

*Some cruises do one of the arms/fjords (e.g. Tracy Arm).   I find these nice, but are a large step down from the glaciers mentioned above.  These arm tend to have a glacier at the end, but the glacier is smaller and further out than others.  But, the fjords are quite nice with towering mountains to the sides. Be mindful that some lines imply that they go into the fjords when they don't (looking at you HAL).

 

What the right itinerary is for you, depends on what you're looking for.

 

[donaldsc]

Forget cruising AK.  Pick 2 or 3 interesting locations and thoroughly explore that area by car.  There are lots of great places in AK that are not accessible by cruise ship.  Especially consider some of the smaller towns.  You may need to do some internal flying which isn't cheap but getting away from the Giants of the Seas  cruise ships and their attendant crowds is worth it.  

 

One of the people on this thread suggested doing a cruise on a small (<500) passenger ship.  I totally agree w that suggestion.  They are pricier than the the Genormous of the Seas monstrosities but the experience is much better.  How many of the big ships visit places like Wrangell, Metlakatla.  Most of the adventure cruises are longer than 1 week but you can find ones that work w your time limits.  You will get the opportunity to get close to many glaciers and up narrow fjords that the big ships can't touch.  I just returned from a 13 day cruise on a ship that held only 190 passengers and it was one of the best AK cruises I have ever done.  In fact the very first AK cruise we ever did was on a ship that held just 50 passengers.

 

As a totally insane but wonderful and different experience, how about Fairbanks in February.  It will be really cold but there is an astounding ice carving festival at that time and you will have the opportunity to see aurora.  I did a week or so in Fairbanks in February a few years ago and got to see aurora every night.

 

Be creative.  There is a lot more to AK than the 3 or 4 ports that all the big ships visit.

 

DON

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, Jeremiah On a Cruise said:

 

*Sitka is a smaller player in the AK Cruise circuit.  You'll need to tender there, and options aren't as abundant as the stops listed above.

 

 

I always tendered in Sitka, but they now have a terminal capable of handling up to 2 cruise ships. Only the largest ships need to anchor these days.

[Coral]

I have done RT Seattle, RT Vancouver and several one ways. The one ways have far more time in port, often have 2 glacier days.

 

I have never done 14 night cruises out of Vancouver for a true 14 night.

 

Tracy Arm is best via small boat. I prefer a shore excursions out of Juneau for it (AdventureBound).