Help! Alaska inside passage vs Glacier

Hello! We are trying to find the best cruise for June 2015. Inside voyage vs Glacier? Just trying to book soon..

To give us a better idea of what you are considering, we need itinerary, and port of embarkation. EM

We are looking to cruise 7 days out of Seattle. Alaska Airlines has directs from Colorado Springs to Seattle. Not interested in doing a land vacation, just flying in the day before. If anyone has cruised both inside and glacier, would love to hear the difference.

7 day or 10 day?

But doing Glacier Bay would be my choice.

Seems that you answered your own question...can only do inside passage if you want to sail from Seattle. (unless I am missing something:) )

I think she is trying to choose between Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm Fjord sailings. Both are really beautiful. Alot of people choose Glacier Bay then try to do an excursion into Tracy Arm if possible.

I would look also for the longest port times if all day sightseeing is on your list.

Probably doesn't matter which itinerary you pick - you will likely be back. More glaciers are farther north, so the Glacier Bay is recommended.

We prefer the one-way cruises on Coral/Island out of Vancouver, but Golden out of Seattle is also a good ship (indoor pool, so you can watch scenery in shorts).

Very easy to get a shuttle to the ship in Seattle if you want to fly in on the same day from Colorado. Make a reservation on Shuttle Express and then head for the garage when you have your bags and check in at their desk. They will put you on the next shared van to Pier 91.

Lots to do in all the ports, although Alaska tours can be very expensive. Recommend the train or Eagle Watch float trip in Skagway, whale watching with Orca Enterprises and Mendenhall Glacier ($8 bus ride) in Juneau, and bear watching float trips in Ketchikan.

Glacier Bay: You will definitely see the glacier and get up close and personal.

Tracy Arm: You may get to the glacier but many times there is too much ice so you only see the glacier from afar.

I've only done Glacier Bay so far. I will likely repeat that cruise but will also book a cruise that does Tracy Arm as well. I'm told the scenic cruising there is wonderful even if you don't make it all the way to the glacier. If you do make it the glacier is a beautiful blue color...

I have done some 15 rtn trip Inside Passage trips from Vancouver and a b/b Voyage of the Glacier itinerary. Earlier today I posted to a thread why a Inside Passage itinerary from Vancouver is superior to that out of Seattle and I will attach a link for your reference.

However if your budget will stretch for the airfare to or from Anchorage then the Voyage of the Glaciers is a superior itinerary with the nod going to the southbound leg with its 2 glacier days. Better still do it as a 14 day b/b.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2103165

Glacier Bay: You will definitely see the glacier and get up close and personal.

 

Tracy Arm: You may get to the glacier but many times there is too much ice so you only see the glacier from afar.

Glacier Bay is stunning. There's no better word for it. Tracy Arm is beautiful, but the glacier viewing is limited to one relatively small glacier. I have done both, and both are certainly worth the trip. (Our last cruise, on the Star, we had good weather and were able to get very close to the glaciers.)

We have done the 7 day RT Seattle many times going to both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm. For mid June to early August we prefer taking which ever ship that does the Tracy Arm run every week and then take the excursion that gets off the ship in Tracy Arm and goes to the face of both North and South Sawyer Glaciers. The reason we do Tracy Arm in mid June is that that is prime time to spot the mommy & baby seals out and about floating on the ice flows and we really like being able to see them.

In May we did r/t Vancouver on Pacific Princess. It included Glacier Bay. A great trip but be advised, Princess does not sail the "real" Inside Passage. Yes, they sail Johnstone Strait and Seymour Narrows inside of Vancouver Island but at Pine Island they head out for a "Sea Day" (as said on the itinerary) into Hecate Strait. Mostly you will be out of sight or nearly so of land most of the day. Might see a whale or two. The Inside Passage in BC between Pine Island and Ketchikan is, imho, the most scenic part of the whole area. Numerous reasons have been thrown about as to why they don't do the BC Inside but there it is. In a r/t Vancouver, nearly 2 days are spent cruising Hecate Strait.

Thanks all for the info. Looks like there is an inside passage with Glaciers on June 14, 2015 on the Crown. I think I will book that one?

I agree with previous posters - Glacier Bay over Tracy Arm. Tracy Arm viewing is limited many times but Glacier Bay is amazing.

Happy Sailing!

In May we did r/t Vancouver on Pacific Princess. It included Glacier Bay. A great trip but be advised, Princess does not sail the "real" Inside Passage. Yes, they sail Johnstone Strait and Seymour Narrows inside of Vancouver Island but at Pine Island they head out for a "Sea Day" (as said on the itinerary) into Hecate Strait. Mostly you will be out of sight or nearly so of land most of the day. Might see a whale or two. The Inside Passage in BC between Pine Island and Ketchikan is, imho, the most scenic part of the whole area. Numerous reasons have been thrown about as to why they don't do the BC Inside but there it is. In a r/t Vancouver, nearly 2 days are spent cruising Hecate Strait.

We were concerned about our passage on the Pacific Princess in August after your comments. After all was said and done we didn't miss what we didn't know. Our trip on the Pacific was wonderful with absolutely beautiful weather. Glacier Bay was the highlight with stops and viewing of three glaciers. Our last day sailing back to Vancouver was so relaxing and scenic. We had a balcony and felt it was the best value for the cruise.

I do appreciate your comments before our cruise. It tempered our expectations of constant scenery so we were not disappointed by not being close to land all the time. Our first day at sea was a great day to see many whales so we were happy.

I think Putterdude has it right. The Seattle departures have much better airfare deals but go on the ocean side of Vancouver Island - really no Inside Passage. Plus they have that obligatory stop in Victoria. As much as I prefer Princess to Alaska, looking at HAL or Celebrity from Vancouver might be a better choice. I've been on the HAL Volendam. She's OK but for me the itinerary trumps the ship. You do both the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay. I think the Celebrity Infinity is a nicer ship but doesn't do Glacier Bay. Choices, choices, choices. My personal preference would be the 7 day southbound from Whittier to Vancouver. For me the leg through Johnstone Strait to Campbell River has lots of Orcas and beautiful scenery. Northbound, you do that leg at night. Either way it's a great trip - bet you go more than once! I just booked my 6th trip to Alaska.

We did a Seattle to Juneau and back cruise on HAL last year at the end of season in Sept, and were caught by an early season winter storm which threw the itinerary and planned course out the window, but we still had a wonderful time even though we missed both Sitka and Ketchikan. The way north was nice, spending about an hour in front of the face of the glacier at Tracy arm, and the whale watching in Juneau was spectacular, the guides were all saying it was one of the best days they had ever seen, with the whales being very active and there being at least 20 of them near us. (I managed to get one photo with 3 hump backs diving with their tails in the air side by side almost in sync) The storm rolled in just as we departed Juneau since Sitka is a tender only port it was out of the question so we diverted to Ketchikan but when we arrived we could not even get into Ketchikan harbor due to 75mph sustained winds with gusts to over 90. To avoid most of the heavy seas we came back down the inside passage all the way travelling through the narrow passage on the inside of Vancouver Island where the cruise ships don't normally go, at some places the passage was less than a ships length wide and at one point we had to wait a couple of hours for the tide to be slack to make it through. The captain and crew did a spectacular job timing it so our passes into open water with 30-40 ft seas in places took place mostly at night or well away from meal time if during the day. To partly make up for missing the two ports in Alaska we had a full 13 hours in Victoria with clouds and just a little rain in the morning and sunshine all afternoon, instead of the planned 4 hour 6-10 pm token foreign stop. This gave us time to do a full city tour, see Bellingrath gardens, walk around the downtown shopping district, take a water taxi tour, etc. and still get back to the ship with a couple of hours to spare. So even though it was not exactly the trip we planned it was still very nice other than the occasional rough seas and day or two of weather so bad no one was allowed out on deck.

We've done both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm. And we got all the way to the end of Tracy Arm and right in front of the glacier.

As others have said, if we could only have ever done one we'd choose Glacier Bay. Multiple glaciers and Marjorie glacier at the end is fabulous. It's what you dream being next to a huge glacier would be.

Plus note your itinerary times - you'll likely spend a longer time in Glacier Bay and perhaps not so early morning. We entered Tracy Arm at 5am and were out by noon. Glacier Bay was most of the day for a wonderfully relaxing and scenic day.

There is some confusion about Hecate Strait. When the ships leave the northern tip of Vancouver Island just north of the small Pine Island (actually it is Cape Scott on Vancouver Is.) they pass thru the waters of Queen Charlotte Sound which are completely open to the west to the Pacific. North/south Queen Charlotte sound is approximately 210 miles long. The ships then enter Hecate Strait which is the body of water between the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and the mainland. Hecate Strait is about 225 miles long. What you will see from the ship will depend entirely how far off the coast the captain may choose to sail and that will be influenced by wind, current and traffic. As an example, I live on the mainland about an hour west of Vancouver (yes, if you look at a map you will see that Vancouver Is. actually lies east/west) and have a commanding view of the Alaskan bound ships. Some evenings I can almost see the passengers sitting down for dinner and other nights they can be 20 miles off and I need a scope.

Years ago when ships were smaller they all sailed in the very picturesque Grenville Channel which some will argue is the true inside passage. However the channel is very narrow and gradually as the ships got larger fewer and fewer took this routing. Up until the Costa Concordia incident Celebrity and HAL would occasionally use it if weather and traffic conditions permitted. However, since Concordia I have read that the insurance companies have prohibited the ships from using the channel. To my knowledge only BC Ferries and Alaska State Ferries use Grenville Channel now, although it is entirely possible that some of the "pocket cruisers" still use it.

There is some confusion about Hecate Strait. When the ships leave the northern tip of Vancouver Island just north of the small Pine Island (actually it is Cape Scott on Vancouver Is.) they pass thru the waters of Queen Charlotte Sound which are completely open to the west to the Pacific. North/south Queen Charlotte sound is approximately 210 miles long. The ships then enter Hecate Strait which is the body of water between the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and the mainland. Hecate Strait is about 225 miles long. What you will see from the ship will depend entirely how far off the coast the captain may choose to sail and that will be influenced by wind, current and traffic. As an example, I live on the mainland about an hour west of Vancouver (yes, if you look at a map you will see that Vancouver Is. actually lies east/west) and have a commanding view of the Alaskan bound ships. Some evenings I can almost see the passengers sitting down for dinner and other nights they can be 20 miles off and I need a scope.

 

Years ago when ships were smaller they all sailed in the very picturesque Grenville Channel which some will argue is the true inside passage. However the channel is very narrow and gradually as the ships got larger fewer and fewer took this routing. Up until the Costa Concordia incident Celebrity and HAL would occasionally use it if weather and traffic conditions permitted. However, since Concordia I have read that the insurance companies have prohibited the ships from using the channel. To my knowledge only BC Ferries and Alaska State Ferries use Grenville Channel now, although it is entirely possible that some of the "pocket cruisers" still use it.

Thanks for the very good clarification. Grenville Channel is, imho, the most scenic part of the passage. I remember waiting for slack tide at several passages. I was running a ship much smaller than todays Mega ships so the "real" inside passage will be consigned to marketing departments except for the BC and Alaska ferries. I remember passing the old Rotterdam (a beautiful ship) and had an up close view of the passengers having a great time. On my freight ship it was just another day at work.:eek: I have to say, it is more fun with someone else driving.:D:D:D

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Voyage of the Glaciers cruise between Vancouver and Whittier. From Seattle, there is a shuttle to the port of Vancouver. The last time, airfare was very expensive to fly into Vancouver and out of Anchorage, but we discovered we could take get a cheaper Vancouver roundtrip airfare and stay on the ship for a two-week back-to-back. It was great!

Thanks for the very good clarification. Grenville Channel is, imho, the most scenic part of the passage. I remember waiting for slack tide at several passages. I was running a ship much smaller than todays Mega ships so the "real" inside passage will be consigned to marketing departments except for the BC and Alaska ferries. I remember passing the old Rotterdam (a beautiful ship) and had an up close view of the passengers having a great time. On my freight ship it was just another day at work.:eek: I have to say, it is more fun with someone else driving.:D:D:D

When I crewed on the SS Prince George in 1963 we always plied the Grenville Channel but I was much to young to appreciate it's real beauty. I do however have vivid recollections crossing Queen Charlotte Sound and Dixon Entrance on stormy days. :eek:The Prince George was all of some 5,500 tons and was built long before stabilizers were even dreamed of. We carried 350 passengers, 150 crew and generally overnighted in each port. Each round trip was 9 days. Southbound we would sometimes cruise the very shallow and narrow Wrangell Narrows were once a year there would be the token grounding on an uncharted mud bar and a wait for the tide.

We and Canadian Pacific's Princess Patricia were the precursor of today's Alaska Cruise industry. The "Pat" was leased by the fledgling Princess Cruise Lines during the winter, used on their MEXRIV junkets and was the source of the name "Princess Cruise Lines". A picture of the Pat is shown on the left side of the Princess's current website home page. My son is with BC Ferries and spent a summer recently as quartermaster of the ship that went between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert, this was after their unfortunate sinking of the Queen of the North in Granville Channel with the loss of two lives.

For anyone with a lot of time here is a link to a video of BC Ferries, Northern Expedition on its inaugural run thru the "true" inside passage. As the ship leaves Prince Rupert you will see the Northern Adventure (better known in the fleet as the Comet Vomit") which is the ship my son was on.

As another Colorado cruiser I can understand the appeal of the Alaska Airlines COS-SEA nonstop flight. This summer I've done that flight twice for cruises. I must say that, while we love the connivence of the nonstop to SEA, the seats have been the most uncomfortable we've ever experienced, particularly if you are tall.

We've sailed to Alaska a good number of times and cruises from Vancouver are much more scenic than those sailing from Seattle, particularly the first and last sea days.

In May I took the shuttle (bus) from SeaTac to the Canada Place pier. For our August cruises we connected at SEA for a quick flight to YVR. The price on Alaska for that connecting flight was much less than we expected. We'd do that again rather than the shuttle. After our cruise from Vancouver, we drove (rental) to Seattle for another Alaska cruise several days later. Doing Seattle and Vancouver cruises that close together only reinforced our opinion that the scenery on the Vancouver cruises is far, FAR superior.

We've been to Tracy Arm several times. Only once have we made it far enough up to see the face of the South Sawyer glacier. There was no calving at all. We've always seen calving at Glacier Bay. If you want the best chance to see calving of a tidewater glacier, select an itinerary with Glacier Bay (or Hubbard glacier). Tracy Arm is beautiful, but IMO go there for the 'Fjord experience' not the glaciers.

We agree - that's the approach: Glacier Bay for the best first glacier cruise experience and Tracy Arm as a fjord experience with the possibility of seeing Sawyer Glacier as a bonus, not a guarantee.

We did get all the way to Sawyer Glacier and while the floating blue ice was striking and it us always nice to see different glaciers and appreciate their differences we'd certainly take our Marjorie Glacier experience over our Sawyer Glacier experience if we had to choose only one.