Alaska: Seattle or Vancouver itinerary

[tomculb]

We're looking at an Alaska cruise in June, and comparing the Seattle and Vancouver itineraries (7 day round trip in both cases). The Vancouver trips are significantly more expensive (especially on the smaller Volendam) and Vancouver is less convenient to get to, but the itinerary looks better (I say that without ever having been there). For instance, between Vancouver Island and the mainland looks more scenic than being at sea, but is most of that passage in the dark? Tracy Arm in exchange for less time in Juneau sounds better, but is it? I'm not sure why, but Skagway looks more interesting than Sitka, maybe because the former is up the end of a long narrow body of water. Any more informed opinions out there?

[startwin]

Without a doubt - the route between Van Island and the mainland, and the Volendam is a great ship. You'll have land both sides there and back, it's a beautiful route.

[RuthC]

I've cruised to Alaska five times, including the Volendam cruise. That is a very nice cruise.

The sail down the inside passage is in daylight on the way back, and is beautiful. I wanted that day to go on and on. It was the first time I had been up Tracy Arm, and I thought the views beautiful. Sawyer Glacier itself was not exciting, though.

Personally, I prefer Skagway to Sitka. It's a fun little town, and there is lots to do when you're there. The train ride up through White Pass can be gorgeous, if the weather cooperates. There's some kitchy little turn of the century shows, but they're fun.
Check out the facade of the Arctic Brotherhood Lodge, and the old graveyard where Soapy Smith is buried.

I loved the Volendam when I sailed her. The size is perfect, and there's lots of covered deck space for just sitting and viewing the scenery.

[rafinmd]

One other thing, although I may have been just plain lucky. I had superb whale watching opportunities in Tracy Arm.

Roy

[AZNative2000]

Without a doubt - the route between Van Island and the mainland. You'll have land both sides there and back, it's a beautiful route.

ABSOLUTELY agree with startwin. Depart from VANCOUVER! Not only land but CLOSE by.

You'll have views like this.

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af337/aznative2000/Zuiderdam%20Alaska%20June%202010/LOOKAHEAD_0641.jpg

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done quite a few Alaskan cruises -- and those in and out of Vancouver -- lovely scenery.

What you have to decide is -- how easy is it for you to get to Vancouver? Is it worth the extra expense?

[the2ofus]

Just a couple of thoughts....Seattle itinerary includes open ocean while the Vancouver itinerary is in the sheltered inside passage, so the "motion of the ocean" is less likely to be an issue.

A June sailing means that daylight continues late into the evening so sightseeing will be good.

Have not been to Skagway, but I loved Sitka when I was there more than ten years ago. It is a taste of a different culture and time.

Whichever cruise you choose, have a wonderful trip!

[alpal1993]

Loved Seattle so glad we opted to come in a day early.Upon return we had a late flight and opted for HAL's Land/Sea tourWell worth it.We sent our luggage on ahead and HAL got us our boarding passes as well,which we picked up the night before disembarkingMade our last day trouble free.

[John Cruise]

I would vote for Vancouver without a doubt.
Make sure you go a day early to enjoy Vancouver
it is the best port of all.:)

[trophy_23]

We have done a few trips out of Vancouver (as this is home), so this past May we decided to try Seattle. We really wanted to see Sitka and Hubbard Glacier. I would have to say I much prefer the scenery on the Vancouver trip and the water conditions were more favorable on the inside.

[erewhon]

tomculb,

We have twice flown 13 + hours across the Pacific to Vancouver to do the Alaska cruise on the Volendam. Would do so again.

The Volendam is a great ship, with wonderful Captains ( have had the pleasure of sailing with both) and crew.

Vancouver is a beautiful city to explore, before or after the cruise.

[NancyIL]

ABSOLUTELY agree with startwin. Depart from VANCOUVER! Not only land but CLOSE by.

You'll have views like this.

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af337/aznative2000/Zuiderdam%20Alaska%20June%202010/LOOKAHEAD_0641.jpg

Where was this photo taken? I've sailed from Vancouver twice and don't recall ever being THAT close to land!

**It occurred to me that if this was a roundtrip cruise from Vancouver, you will have sailed through the narrower channels during the day on the southbound journey. On a one-way northbound cruise, this part of the sailing is at night.

[dadroy]

One of the main points I looked at is the difference in airfare. When we did the trip in 2009, it was $300 more per person for Vancouver than Seattle. In 2008, I thin, it was only about $50. That adds up to be a big difference.

It's kind of like pricing out a B2B. In many cases you can do the B2B for a couple hundred more than one way when airfare is factored in.:)

[startwin]

Where was this photo taken? I've sailed from Vancouver twice and don't recall ever being THAT close to land!

**It occurred to me that if this was a roundtrip cruise from Vancouver, you will have sailed through the narrower channels during the day on the southbound journey. On a one-way northbound cruise, this part of the sailing is at night.


This isn't my photo but we were this close to land on both my Alaska cruises through the inside passage. Not always of course but fairly often, especially when coming back down past Alert Bay.

[DizzyDallasDi]

ABSOLUTELY agree with startwin. Depart from VANCOUVER! Not only land but CLOSE by.

You'll have views like this.

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af337/aznative2000/Zuiderdam%20Alaska%20June%202010/LOOKAHEAD_0641.jpg

Ah yes....this is the view I remember watching from my Zuiderdam cruise all day on day 2. I even saw a black bear on the shore wandering in the water looking for food. :D

[AZNative2000]

Where was this photo taken? I've sailed from Vancouver twice and don't recall ever being THAT close to land!

Ah yes....this is the view I remember watching from my Zuiderdam cruise all day on day 2. I even saw a black bear on the shore wandering in the water looking for food. :D

Not sure which day but first or second I think.
Many photos from the balcony while land was that close through the Strait of Georgia
... just northwest of Vancouver.
The photo below is from near Tracy Arm.


http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af337/aznative2000/Zuiderdam%20Alaska%20June%202010/P1000271_0581.jpg

[NancyIL]

Not sure which day but first or second I think.
Many photos from the balcony while land was that close through the Strait of Georgia
... just northwest of Vancouver.
The photo below is from near Tracy Arm.


http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af337/aznative2000/Zuiderdam%20Alaska%20June%202010/P1000271_0581.jpg

Beautiful photos! My first Alaska cruise from Vancouver was on Princess, and I just don't recall ever being that close to land on day 2. I know some ships sail the small craft route, and maybe that's the route your ship took. The following year I was on HAL from Vancouver, and the weather was too foggy the second day to see land at all. :(

[AZNative2000]

Beautiful photos! My first Alaska cruise from Vancouver was on Princess, and I just don't recall ever being that close to land on day 2. I know some ships sail the small craft route, and maybe that's the route your ship took. The following year I was on HAL from Vancouver, and the weather was too foggy the second day to see land at all. :(

Thank you. We were on Zuiderdam and we (happily) had beautiful weather and calm water. I have photos of the Princess ship that was following us and they were sailing port-side of us as well as behind. So, they were a bit farther from the starboard shore ... but not a lot.

[ladycanuck]

We have now done both. Out of Vancouver, you take the inside passage both north and south - scenery is incredible. but we were on Celebrity and didn't go to Skagway. Our second cruise, we took Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle, using Seattle as our port, on RCL. The first 2 days are ocean sailing, and apparently we were very lucky that the seas were calm. This was the second week of September. The crew told us that the weather since May had been very wet and stormy. So cruising on the west side of Vancouver Island to Alaska can be rough - but also fun, if you think about it. But we did get to Skagway, and spent the money to take the White Pass train. We took the steam, not the diesel, and the trip is absolutely worth the money. We went into Tracy Arm so did not get to see any glaciers tumbling into the water as the ship can't get close enough to the end of the arm. Our first cruise, though, was with Celebrity and it was supposed to go into Glacier Bay, but the bay was blocked to ships due to a huge amount of logs and debris in the water. So we still haven't seen the glaciers crashing. One more trip, maybe. So depending on your itinerary will decide which port. Whichever you choose, make sure you have a whole day before the cruise to enjoy the city. Seattle and Vancouver have many sights worthwhile. If you go out of Vancouver, make sure you are up early enough in the morning to be on deck when the ship pulls into harbour.

[tomculb]

Thanks for all the responses.

Gorgeous pictures AZNative. I can't help but thinking, though, that the narrowest part of the passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland has to be at night, and that much of the first full day, at sea, must be in the relatively open Queen Charlotte Sound, but has anyone who's done the cruise had a different experience?

Base on these responses we'll definitely go out of Vancouver. We are within a day's drive of both cities, so we don't need a cruise to see either of them, but those who suggested allowing time in those ports are absolutely right -- they are two of my favorite cities.

[NancyIL]

Thanks for all the responses.

Gorgeous pictures AZNative. I can't help but thinking, though, that the narrowest part of the passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland has to be at night, and that much of the first full day, at sea, must be in the relatively open Queen Charlotte Sound, but has anyone who's done the cruise had a different experience?



That was my recollection from two northbound cruises out of Vancouver.

[trvlcrzy]

I've done two out of Seattle and one out of Vancouver... and personally, my decision would be based on Sitka vs. Skagway. Which type of experience do you want?

Skagway has many great opportunities (the railway being remarkable), but Sitka has a more "real" town feel, to me. DH and I love Sitka, but I would jump at the chance to go back on the railroad (our day was foggy for most of the trip -- providing its own mysterious views).

[SwissMyst]

My preference is Vancouver, Inside Passage, and Skagway if you are still counting votes.

[jtl513]

There's some kitchy little turn of the century shows, ...Funny how that phrase lingers, and everyone knows what it means, even though we're 10 years past another turn. :)

[gagabond]

We took 7 members of our family to Alaska June 2010, and because we had award miles on Southwest Airlines and anything X 7 can get expensive, we opted for the Rotterdam out of Seattle. We loved the ship and had a lovely cruise. However, I can only imagine that the cruise out of Vancouver would be even better. I think the inside passage would be preferable, and I think you would prefer Skagway to Sitka. Having said that I don't think you could go wrong either way.

[AZNative2000]

Thanks for all the responses.

Gorgeous pictures AZNative. I can't help but thinking, though, that the narrowest part of the passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland has to be at night, and that much of the first full day, at sea, must be in the relatively open Queen Charlotte Sound, but has anyone who's done the cruise had a different experience?

Base on these responses we'll definitely go out of Vancouver. We are within a day's drive of both cities, so we don't need a cruise to see either of them, but those who suggested allowing time in those ports are absolutely right -- they are two of my favorite cities.

Thanks, glad you like the photos.:) Something we didn't realize, until we got there, is that it never really got dark. Oh, the sun set about 10pm and came up again around 4am but even at midnight it was still "dusky" out.

As you can see from the attached maps, (click thumbnails) there are very narrow points between Vancouver and the Queen Charlotte Strait. I am pretty sure now that the first photo back up there in post #5 was in the morning of day 2 as that would be in the narrow part (about 200 miles out of Vancouver or 12 hours cruising at 17 knots).

Have a GREAT CRUISE! You will love cruising out of Vancouver. Calmer water too. Tell us all about it when you get back.

Sorry the maps attached so small:eek: (much bigger on Google) just Google Vancouver Island or Strait of Georgia.:)

[TiogaCruiser]

We did the roundtrip from Vancouver on volendam in June 09. The tides were such that we had to wait until 1:30am ish to go through Seymour narrows. By the time we got up (early) we were in queen chatlotte sound and lots of fog IIRC. And yes, when it lifted we were quite a ways from shore. The real show was on leaving vancouver. It was truly scenic cruising and close enough to smell to woods.

To predict when you will go through Seymour narrows google the tide predictions for the day you leave. You are looking for the time of slack time. I usually make a little chart that has tides and sunrise/ sunset so we can strategically plan when to be on deck. I'll post the links I used when I get on my real computer: my cellphone screen is way too small!

[vbmom87]

Our first cruise, though, was with Celebrity and it was supposed to go into Glacier Bay, but the bay was blocked to ships due to a huge amount of logs and debris in the water. So we still haven't seen the glaciers crashing.

I believe you meant to write "Hubbard Glacier" and not Glacier Bay. Celebrity has not had permits for Glacier Bay, unless you are talking a long time ago. Also, this would be the first report I have read of not being able to get into Glacier Bay. I have read quite a few reports of cruisers reporting back that they did not get into Hubbard because of the reason you posted above.

[Himself]

I have done both. I love the Volendam and the inside passage. I am one who likes both Skagway and Sitka. I also love Glacier Bay. My vote would go to the Volendam