Port or Starboard to cruise Alaska

First time cruising to Alaska. We are sailing the round trip from Seattle. Since we are doing a round trip cruise I understand that we will see great sites on both sides, but, can any experienced Alaska cruisers please tell me if there is a preferred side of the ship that we should be on?

First time cruising to Alaska. We are sailing the round trip from Seattle. Since we are doing a round trip cruise I understand that we will see great sites on both sides, but, can any experienced Alaska cruisers please tell me if there is a preferred side of the ship that we should be on?

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Doesn't matter. The scenery is not on one side, it is all around you, and big picture, not small sites. You are not locked in your cabin. Much of the scenery is best seen from high, open decks.

On the way back when you stop in Sitka and Ketchikan you can sit on your balcony and watch the sea planes land and take off.

 

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The ships do NOT always dock in the same direction.

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I've seen this question asked a bunch of times since I've been researching our upcoming Alaska cruise. The most common response has been it doesn't matter. Personally I'm not convinced. I think many people will have a preference between looking out on the open ocean and looking back towards the shore. Based on that diagram the biggest difference is that return trip from Skagway. My initial instinct is that my preference would be to be on the port side of the ship. However there's another aspect to this. Much of that leg of the trip that is exposed to the open ocean is overnight but a good portion of it is still during the day and I think enough of it is during the day that the minor Advantage from my personal perspective to the starboard side going north out of Seattle would not change my mind about preferring the port side.

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We had a port side verandah on the HAL Eurodam three weeks ago. We enjoyed it very much especially in Glacier Bay. But while on deck or in the crows nest, we saw awesome sites on the starboard side as well. Starboard seemed to have great views of the wildlife on shore while port seemed to have the better/longer views of the glaciers.

I really didnt think one side was better than the other

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My advice is to focus on where the room is on the deck and not what side.

I have found that the best places for viewing scenery will be going to the open decks of the ship where you can enjoy panoramic views and be able to move around from side to side quickly.

Keith

For an Alaskan cruise, the best side of the ship to be on is the OUT side. You will have much better views moving around the outside decks than you will from any cabin.