Pseudo back to back Alaska?

[Sayyadina]

My husband and I are planning on doing a b2b Alaska for our 10th anniversary (2011). I was looking at the 2009 iteneraries and ships, noticed that several ships do the Seattle/Vancouver to Anchorage route with different dates. I had a thought that I wanted to throw out there...

 

Has anyone ever taken one ship up, stayed in Anchorage for a few days, then gotten on a different ship back down? :D

 

It seemed a great way to see a little bit of Alaska and still do the back to back. Has anyone done this anywere? Can anyone think of any pros or cons to this idea?

 

Much obliged!

[sail7seas]

I think it's a great idea. It's a lot of packing and unpacking which would be a nuisance for us but if you don't mind that, go for it.

 

There may be some reason it isn't permitted but I cannot imagine what or why.

 

[bepsf]

Judy--

 

This is pretty much what my parents are planning to do next fall...

 

...they're sailing north (Don't know which HAL ship yet) out of Vancouver and doing a cruisetour where Scotty and I'll fly up to meet them in Fairbanks, then we'll do a Double-Denali rail-tour and meet my Sister who's flying in to meet us in Anchorage and we'll all 5 of us sail south aboard Ryndam.

 

Be sure to work with a really good TA to coordinate the cruises, hotels and tours - Otherwise, it can get very confusing.

 

Enjoy!

[sail7seas]

Sounds fantastic, Brian. What a great family trip to look forward to. Love it!

[brucory]

We will be doing exactly as you are planning....

 

Not only does it make a great excuse for an additional cruise, but it can also work out quite well economically. The cost of flying in and out of Alaska is not cheap, but this year, 7 day north and south sailings have been V affordable, so why not get a cruiseship back instead of a flight...

 

What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary...

 

:D :D :D

[bepsf]

Sounds fantastic, Brian. What a great family trip to look forward to. Love it!

 

Thanks - It took alot of work to coordinate...

 

...We booked spaces with the onboard Cruise Consultant, but they really didn't get what we were trying to do, so when we returned home our fabulous TA worked out the details for us and made adjustments to our reservations - including finding a pair of adjacent MiniSuites on Ryndam's portside - and an inside stateroom immediately across the corridor for my Sis.

:)

[liketraveling]

I just got back from doing 2 different ships

 

 

we flew to Seattle and spent the night than took the bus transfer to Vancouver and boarded the Celebrity Millenium took the Northbound Inside passage When we got to Seward we disembarked and took the Veendam

Southbound.

 

If I were going to do it again I would have taken about 3 days to tour

and get on a Southbound Ship.

[geocruiser]

Hi,

 

We did a 14 night cruise to Alaska this year with Princess. It was not a B2B. It went to Ketchikan, Glacier Bay National Park, Skagway, Valdez, Seward, Kodiak, Juneau, Sitka, Victoria BC. Just something different that you might want to look at. It started and ended in Vancouver.

 

Maria

[Krazy Kruizers]

That is a great idea.

 

The only back-to-back Alaskan cruises that we have done -- we cruised from Vancouver to Seward -- stayed on the same ship -- then cruised back down to Vancouver.

 

To do what you are planning -- it is a lot of packing -- unpacking -- packing.

[Sayyadina]

To do what you are planning -- it is a lot of packing -- unpacking -- packing.

 

Yeah, I had thought of that, too. But I usually live out of my suitecase when were at hotels, anyway.

 

My husband does NOT want to fly to/from Alaska, too much time on a plane. So the b2b was our best option. If we did it this way, we could a) spend a couple extra days exploring, and b) travel on two different classes of ship, if we play our cards right.

[kelmac]

My husband and I are planning on doing a b2b Alaska for our 10th anniversary (2011). I was looking at the 2009 iteneraries and ships, noticed that several ships do the Seattle/Vancouver to Anchorage route with different dates. I had a thought that I wanted to throw out there...

 

Has anyone ever taken one ship up, stayed in Anchorage for a few days, then gotten on a different ship back down? :D

 

It seemed a great way to see a little bit of Alaska and still do the back to back. Has anyone done this anywere? Can anyone think of any pros or cons to this idea?

 

Much obliged!

 

Back in 2004, my wife and I took the Vision of the Seas northbound; spent a week in the Kenai/Anchorage area; took Celebrity's Summit southbound. Super vacation! One of the great things about doing it this way is you only need R/T air to Vancouver. No open Jaw flights required.

Next time, we would do Holland America northbound and Celebrity southbound.

 

Good Luck!

Kel:)