S/B Alaska Cruise

[Timbo41]

When sailing southbound from Whittier to Vancouver, is it better to get a cabin on the Port side (Left) or Starboard side?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, Timbo41 said:

When sailing southbound from Whittier to Vancouver, is it better to get a cabin on the Port side (Left) or Starboard side?

Might be better to ask on cruise forum or your roll call 

[Fouremco]

My preference would be Port side, as there is better scenery. On our last Alaskan cruise, we had a Starboard cabin and spent a good amount of time on deck to be able to enjoy the scenery. Looking at my photos, most of the scenery that I captured was on the Port side. 

 

As others have said responding to similar queries, you could consider booking a stern cabin and seeing both sides from your balcony.

[Senga]

Port

[millybess]

8 hours ago, Timbo41 said:

When sailing southbound from Whittier to Vancouver, is it better to get a cabin on the Port side (Left) or Starboard side?

We recently finished the Hong Kong to Vancouver cruise with Viking.  Whittier was not one of our port stops, but I assume you'll be travelling down the Inside Passage. Our cabin was port side. The weather was so beautiful, we took photos from the bow outside of the Explorers Lounge.  The scenery was gorgeous.

 

Enjoy!

[CDNPolar]

I would say Port.

 

We always look at the direction of the ship and then choose the side of the ship that is most often looking at the coast.

 

I like this because when I get up I will peek out the cabin window to see where we are.

 

Now, with that said, even with a balcony we typically don't spend time in our cabin for anything but sleeping and showering.  We are on deck regardless of the weather.  Even in Antarctica we were on deck for hours at a time because of the channels we were sailing through.  You have suck a limited view from your cabin balcony or window.

[Heidi13]

On 6/25/2024 at 6:44 AM, Timbo41 said:

When sailing southbound from Whittier to Vancouver, is it better to get a cabin on the Port side (Left) or Starboard side?

 

Generally the recommendation is to favour the land side, even with ships sailing over 20 miles off-shore, but in Alaska & BC Waters you mostly have minimal/no scenery, or scenery on both sides.

 

Departure Whittier is probably about 17:00 - 18:00. During the transit up Passage Canal and through Prince William Sound, you have fairly similar scenery both sides of the ship.

 

In Glacier Bay, while stopping at glaciers, the Captain will swing the ship so both sides and the stern get good views. When steaming from the entrance, you have scenery on both sides, but you often see mountain goats on the shore on the Stbd side. Another consideration is routing requirements, where in confined waters, the vessel shall keep to the stbd side of the channel, so generally the stbd side is closer to shore.

 

If visiting Skagway, in over 50 visits, I have mostly docked on the Stbd side, which is the Dewey Lake Mountain side. Only ever turned around a couple of times and docked port side alongside. Since Skagway is at the end of Chilkoot Inlet, the ship steams reciprocal courses on departure, so both port and stbd sides see both shores.

 

The route through the Alaska Inside Passage varies depending on the ports, but you generally have reasonable scenery on both sides. Best views are always from the ship's Bridge, with the aft decks having the next best views.

 

If visiting Juneau, all ships must enter from the south steaming NW into the harbour. Similar to Skagway, I have mostly docked stbd side alongside, with the stbd side facing the town. Since the ship steams reciprocal courses on departure, both sides of the ship experience both shores.

 

If visiting Ketchikan, ships arrive from the north and steam through the harbour, continuing southbound on departure. Port side probably has the best views just prior to arrival and after departure. Once clear of the port, you have scenery on both sides.

 

The following day the vessel steams down Hecate Strait. By daylight, you are normally well through Hecate Strait, where it is almost 100 miles wide. Therefore, you may only see the tops of mountains on the mainland side (Port). Approaching Queen Charlotte Sound, you will have more scenery sooner on the port side. Once past Pine Island, you have Vancouver Island to stbd and Mainland to port. You will have scenery both sides until arrival Vancouver, with the stbd side being a little more interesting in a number of places.

 

All in all, I wouldn't be sitting on the balcony when steaming the Inside Passage, I would be out on deck, mostly fwd or aft. However, if your preference is to see it from a balcony, based on way too many hours looking out the Bridge windows for years, I would opt for the Stbd side.

Edited Wednesday at 04:04 PM by Heidi13