Inside passage

[Jillianr1976]

I failed geography, but it appears like on the may 30th 2025 celebrity edge cruise we go thru the inside Passage North and southbound?   Someone straighten me out please! 

[CMSD]

Inside passage means different things to different people.

The very broad definition (which the cruise industry uses), is the area between Seattle/Vancouver and Juneau along the coast not in the open ocean.

Arguably if you are going to Juneau/Skagway/Ketchikan/Endicott Arm you are in the inside passage.

That being said, when a lot of cruisers say inside passage, they mean the area between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia.

In order to take the "preferred" route, you need to Leave out of Vancouver (with some exceptions) and have a ship that can fit under the under the Lions Gate Bridge.

I marched up the attached picturebwith the broad definition and "preferred"(Inside of Vancouver Island) definition.

 

SEA_KTN_ENC_JNU_SGY_XIP_YVJ_SEA_282x216-1.avif SEA_KTN_ENC_JNU_SGY_XIP_YVJ_SEA_282x216.avif

Edited April 21 by CMSD

[CruiserBruce]

The simple answer...if  are sailing to or from Vancouver,  you are going through the "true" Inside Passage. 

[wolfie11]

Celebrity Edge sails from Seattle and is out in the open ocean the first and last days.  Vancouver sailings, as previously stated sail inside Vancouver Island and are much more scenic.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The simple answer...if  are sailing to or from Vancouver,  you are going through the "true" Inside Passage. 

I am not sure if the Edge would, with her size - if she was sailing from Vancouver.

[cruisetonowhere10]

10 hours ago, Jillianr1976 said:

I failed geography, but it appears like on the may 30th 2025 celebrity edge cruise we go thru the inside Passage North and southbound?   Someone straighten me out please! 

I am on a later Edge sailing so will be interested in anything you have to report.  I’ve sailed out of Vancouver before so this is a new twist for me.

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I am not sure if the Edge would, with her size - if she was sailing from Vancouver.

I have not heard that any ships other than the Princess ships sailing from Vancouver can't go east of Vancouver Island. Are there others?

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I have not heard that any ships other than the Princess ships sailing from Vancouver can't go east of Vancouver Island. Are there others?

Most lines put their big ships out of Seattle. I am trying to think of which large ships are out of Vancouver?

 

I don't know if the large ships are out of Seattle (best ships in some people's mind) are put there to attract people on an inferior route or because they are unable to sail inside passage?

 

Good question. Can you think of other large ships docked in Vancouver? Celebrity Edge is the only one I can see on the schedule that is equivalent in size. I don't know what route they take.

[Coral]

Technically - Edge is somewhere between Crown Princess size and Royal Princess size. It will be interesting which way it goes.

[wolfie11]

The only restrictions on big ships going out of Vancouver is their air draft.  They have to be able to fit under Lions Gate Bridge at high tide.  The Princess Royal class ships are banned by the BC pilots association from sailing inside Vancouver Island because propulsion and steering problems are a safety concern when transiting Seymour Narrows.

[SbbquilterUT]

The Celebrity Summit is sailing out of Vancouver this season and will sail the inside passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  We have sailed out of Seattle the past few years and it sailed west of Vancouver Island and then enters the inside passage.

[Coral]

16 minutes ago, SbbquilterUT said:

The Celebrity Summit is sailing out of Vancouver this season and will sail the inside passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  We have sailed out of Seattle the past few years and it sailed west of Vancouver Island and then enters the inside passage.

The Summit is only 90,000 tonnage which isn't that large by today's standards. There are several Princess ships larger that can sail inside passage (not Royal class).

[Coral]

1 hour ago, wolfie11 said:

The Princess Royal class ships are banned by the BC pilots association from sailing inside Vancouver Island because propulsion and steering problems are a safety concern when transiting Seymour Narrows.

Have you seen any large NCL or RCCL ships sail inside Vancouver Island?

 

In the past, these ships have been out of Seattle though they will often go to Vancouver to sail to Hawaii.

[wolfie11]

18 minutes ago, Coral said:

Have you seen any large NCL or RCCL ships sail inside Vancouver Island?

 

In the past, these ships have been out of Seattle though they will often go to Vancouver to sail to Hawaii.

I know the Bliss went to Vancouver once when it was brand new but had to wait for low low tide to leave.  I think most of them can get in and out of Vancouver but only at low tides which would play havoc with a regular cruise schedule.  They all have azipods so Seymour Narrows wouldn’t be a problem but it’s a couple more hours of sailing to go inside from Seattle.  

[turbulentwaters]

There is an Inside Passage in British Columbia and also in Southeast Alaska.  They are both very scenic and also provide quite a bit of protection from bad seas if you get seasick easily.  For me, that is the preferred way to go rather than out at sea, miles from land.  The really big ships need to avoid the BC Inside Passage due to the bridge and the Seymour Narrows as mentioned above.  All of the ships go through portions of Alaska's Inside Passage. 

[david,Mississauga]

An additional cruise terminal in Vancouver that would not require ships to go under the Lions Gate Bridge is being considered.  This is not the most recent article that I read on this subject but it is the only one I can find with the limited time I have this morning.

 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/new-cruise-ship-terminal-metro-vancouver-port-larger-ships

 

 

[banditoo]

On 4/21/2024 at 6:56 AM, Coral said:

Technically - Edge is somewhere between Crown Princess size and Royal Princess size. It will be interesting which way it goes.

When I look at the cruise maps, Edge goes west of Vancouver Island from Vancouver.