Which of these two itineraries is better?

[sppunk]

Option A

 

Seattle 4 p.m.

At Sea ------ ------

Juneau 12 p.m. 10 p.m.

Skagway 6 a.m. 8:15 p.m.

Tracy Arm Fjord 8 a.m. 1 p.m.

Ketchikan 6 a.m. 12:30 p.m.

Victoria, B.C. 7 p.m. 11:59 p.m.

Seattle 7 a.m.

 

 

Option B

 

Seattle 4 p.m.

At sea ------ ------

Glacier Bay 10 a.m. 7 p.m.

Juneau 7 a.m. 8 p.m.

Sitka 8 a.m. 5 p.m.

Ketchikan 7 a.m. 1 p.m.

Victoria, B.C. 6 p.m. Midnight

Seattle 7 a.m.

 

I would aim for Option B simply because Glacier Bay (which seems obvious), but is missing Skagway in exchange for Sitka even worse than missing Glacier Bay? Costs are basically the same for both, and the line/ships are both favorable for us.

[Coral]

I would do Option B.

[NancyIL]

One advantage of Option B is that you arrive in Juneau early enough and stay late enough to be able to go on a small boat cruise to Tracy Arm.

 

Have you also considered the HAL roundtrips from Vancouver that go to Tracy Arm and Juneau in the same day, as well as to Glacier Bay? The Zaandam and the Zuiderdam do that itinerary in 2007.

[Bucky3]

I would choose Option B for Glacier Bay and Sitka. Agree, too, that a side trip to Tracy Arm from Juneau is a plus as well. I would love to do that. What ships are you considering?

[DougH]

Count me in with the second option also. for Galcier Bay and the longer time in Juneau. Talked to Adventure Bound while in Juneau recently and they will also be shortly offering a second tour from 9am until 6:30pm to fit in more cruise ship people. The earlier 8am departure was hard to schedule on most ships.

[sppunk]

Nancy, we are still considering an itinerary from Vancouver, but my wife and I have very tight vacation schedules and that itinerary would require us to take seven days' of vacation - at one time with our jobs it's not very easy and sometimes not even possible.

 

Flying to Seattle on the weekend and matching this up with Memorial Day for next year makes us only take off five days, which is much more work-friendly. (For that matter, we much prefer to take the Coral Princess from Vancouver-Whitier, but that is unfortunately not an option either because of time.)

 

The Statendam/Ryndam trips from Vancouver look lovely, but the timing just isn't really possible for us, leaving us with these two options.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input - Option B was our No. 1, just wanted a bit of confirmation from the Alaska experts out there. :) Option B is on the Westerdam, which I would love to try HAL. Option A is on the Star Princess, our current favorite cruise line.

 

Looks like we'll for sure be trying HAL - too bad it's more than a year away! :)

[imogene]

Our TA highly recommended Sitka - it is very Russian, and she said in addition to beautiful scenery, great whale watching and fishing, and a unique because of the Russian architecture and cultural past - there is also great shopping.

 

I was also told that Skagway is cool for all the gold rush stuff, but that the town can be quite a tourist trap. I was recommended to rent a car and drive to Carcross Station in the Yukon - we chose to do a White-pass Rail/Bus tour that goes to Carcross instead.

[NancyIL]

Count me in with the second option also. for Galcier Bay and the longer time in Juneau. Talked to Adventure Bound while in Juneau recently and they will also be shortly offering a second tour from 9am until 6:30pm to fit in more cruise ship people. The earlier 8am departure was hard to schedule on most ships.

 

That's great to know for a future Alaska cruise!

[qiangf2]

it is little bit hard. Option B does not have Skagway, and Option A sounds like Dawn/Sun Princess itinery, which does not have Glacier bay. I guess 7 days just cannot cover every end. That's why people are coming back, again, and again. :)

[fti]

All things considered, I would also take Option B. Glacier Bay is a real plus (I plan to go there in 2008 from Juneau, not on a cruise). I think Sitka would be very interesting as well.