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Will cruise ship return back to original dock?


tulsanurse1
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We are going on an Alaska cruise (if I can ever figure this stuff out lol). My sister is in Jacksonville, Florida, Im in Oklahoma. We are going to fly to Seattle to board. As crazy as this sounds, will the ship come back to Seattle? First question, be kind. Im so lost.

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It depends on the cruise itinerary. What cruise line, ship and date have you booked?

 

I havent found which cruise Im going to choose yet. This is pretty overwhelming if you've done a cruise. Maybe you could suggest?

 

Will board May or June 2019 (which is best). My sister and I are 55 & 56. Must have balcony for the Alaska view. Interested in a ship with some good shows. I just want it to be perfect for her. We will probably have 2 or 3 drinks but no more than that. Would prefer to not have tons of children but some would be okay. If you have any suggestions, that would be great. I have looked at Celebrity Solstice and the Norwegian Bliss but their are others. It seems difficult to find the entertainment details for the ships. I saw where Cirque was on one of the Alaska ships but couldnt find out which one.

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If it’s leaving from Seattle, then yes, it has to come back to Seattle, because of Passenger Vessel Service Act. It’s a complicated law, so I will leave it at that. If it leaves from Vancouver BC, then that’s a different story.

 

You might want to find a travel agent that can suggest a good ship for you. Tell them exactly what you are looking for.

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With a few variants, Alaska cruises fall into these categories.

 

1. Round trip, 7 days Seattle to Seattle

 

2. One way, 7 days, northbound or southbound to or from Vancouver.

 

3. Round trip, 10 days, San Francisco to San Francisco

 

There are also round trips from Vancouver, popular because they sail thru more of the Inside Passage than the Seattle round trips. And HAL offers a 14 day round trip from Seattle that sails farther north than the 7 day round trips mentioned above.

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If you want to sail to Alaska in the summer, you are going to have a hard time time finding a ship without a lot of kids. Alaska cruises have become popular family vacations.

 

As for entertainment , if you google this + ship name, you should find something about whats on offer. The big production shows stick around for a while, but the other entertainments can change from sailing to sailing.

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Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Another suggestion: Ovation of the Seas. Seattle -Alaska - Seattle.

You can thank me later when you come back and do a review.

Happy Sailing! :)

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I havent found which cruise Im going to choose yet. This is pretty overwhelming if you've done a cruise. Maybe you could suggest?

 

Will board May or June 2019 (which is best). My sister and I are 55 & 56. Must have balcony for the Alaska view. Interested in a ship with some good shows. I just want it to be perfect for her. We will probably have 2 or 3 drinks but no more than that. Would prefer to not have tons of children but some would be okay. If you have any suggestions, that would be great. I have looked at Celebrity Solstice and the Norwegian Bliss but their are others. It seems difficult to find the entertainment details for the ships. I saw where Cirque was on one of the Alaska ships but couldnt find out which one.

 

First of all, I would decide how much of Alaska you want to see.

 

All cruises from Seattle must return to the same port, unless they visit a distant non-US port. By returning to Seattle, a stop in a Canadian port is acceptable. The ships all go out Juan de Fuca and head up the Pacific Ocean to Dixon Entrance, where they navigate the Inside Passages. You will get about 3 ports and a glacier cruise by. I believe all Seattle cruises are 7-day.

 

Vancouver has both R/T and 1 way cruises to Alaska. The only benefit of R/T cruises from Vancouver is most of the trip is in sheltered waters. The one way cruises head up to Prince William Sound - Whittier/Seaward. At Whittier/Seaward you also have the option of a post cruise land tour. Most cruises are 7-day, but Viking are first time visitors to Alaska and have 11 night cruises.

 

Personally, I would select a ship that visits Glacier Bay, but with only 2 ships per day, not many of them get permits. Have been to all the bays/arms with glaciers, but Glacier Bay is still my favourite.

 

For cruise lines, I suggest Princess, HAL, Celebrity or Viking.

 

For picking a month - May will have less kids, but the weather is unpredictable. June has more kids and may have better weather. If you want no kids, Viking has a no kids policy.

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We just returned from Alaska - we sailed on RCI Radiance southbound. We had about 350 kids on board, which may sound like a lot, but it really isn’t. We took a Thanksgiving cruise on a smaller ship and had over 600 kids and a Thanksgiving cruise on Harmony with over 2,000 kids.

 

I have seen your other posts - if you want top-notch entertainment, then NCL Bliss or RCI Ovation will offer the best. We had fantastic shows on Radiance, but I am sure it would be blown away by what the newer/bigger ships offer. If you want to see more of Alaska, then a one-way Northbound or Southbound on one of the older, smaller ships is recommended. Our itinerary was much better than Ovation.

 

I do like the suggestion of the 10-day Princes out of San Francisco, as the longer the cruise, the less children you are likely to find on board. You will have some, but it should be less than the 7 night cruises.

 

Lastly, we did three day land tour before our cruise, and I would highly recommend that you consider this - either DIY or through cruise line. The deeper you can get into Alaska, the more beautiful and spectacular it is.

 

 

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We are going on an Alaska cruise (if I can ever figure this stuff out lol). My sister is in Jacksonville, Florida, Im in Oklahoma. We are going to fly to Seattle to board. As crazy as this sounds, will the ship come back to Seattle? First question, be kind. Im so lost.

 

From Seattle, your trip will be round trip and the ship will dock at the same pier that it leaves from.

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We have found Alaska cruises to be more informative than entertaining. That is, they won't have any better/worse shows than other routes. BUT, there will be more educational stuff in the daytime on sea days, naturalists, etc. While cruising at super slow speed through the fjords, a naturalist is often on the bridge, broadcasting over the PA to the open decks and on the stateroom TVs. (Not blaring through the hallways, bars, casino). They bring on dog-sled trainers (and the dogs) for a daytime talk, a lumberjack to talk about life in the woods, a marine biologist to talk about the whales, etc.

 

As for kids... in my experience, any cruise 7 days or longer has far fewer children. The quick Caribbean 3-5 day jaunts have, in our experience, more guests eager to pack in as much alcohol, crab legs, sunburn as possible. On a longer cruise, or with fewer beach days, everyone seems to be more 'mature', both in calendar age and behavior. It's not a rule, by any means, but an observation.

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If it’s leaving from Seattle, then yes, it has to come back to Seattle, because of Passenger Vessel Service Act. It’s a complicated law, so I will leave it at that.

 

Not necessarily. My Alaska cruise next year (RCCL Ovation of the Seas) embarks in Seattle and disembarks in Vancouver. That is a legal itinerary. However I believe it’s the only Seattle to Vancouver cruise on RCCL next year.

 

It’s the last Alaska cruise of the year. The Ovation heads south to Australia after that with a stop in Honolulu. Because of the aforementioned Passenger Vessal Service Act, they can’t cruise Seattle to Honolulu.

 

That’s why the last Alaska cruise ends in Vancouver. You can cruise Vancouver to Honolulu.

 

 

OP, don’t worry. 90-95 percent of the 7-day cruises leaving Seattle comes back to Seattle. I just picked the odd-ball cruise.

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I'd suggest looking for a cruise that includes Glacier Bay on the itinerary, especially if this will be a once-in-a-lifetime cruise. As to whether a balcony is worth it or not, I'm in the "or not' category for Alaska. During the glacier viewing, I want to be out on the open decks the whole time--moving from spot to spot to get different views.

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We did Alaska as a big family vacation and our family brought four kids with us. Alaska has become a multi-generational family trip. We were on HAL and there were still a fair number of kids. We did round trip out of Seattle with Glacier Bay. We had ocean view while the kids had insides. We found having insides and ocean views better for sleeping- the sun didn't set until after 11:00 PM and was up again by 3:30 or 4:00 AM. We spent the day in Glacier Bay on deck, and the evenings in the "Crow's Nest" which was a bar with almost 360 degree views watching the world go by and looking at wildlife and whales. We did only a few shows. Very port intensive so we were pretty tired at the end of the day.

 

 

 

I agree with those who have said find a good TA who does cruises. Tell them what you want and they will work to find the best line for you. Princess and HAL have the most permits into Glacier Bay and have been doing Alaska the longest. What ever line and route you decide on have fun! If you like to read you may enjoy reading the book "Alaska" by James Michener if you enjoy historical fiction. I read it as sort of a get ready for Alaska book (not for any real research!).

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First of all, I would decide how much of Alaska you want to see.

 

All cruises from Seattle must return to the same port, unless they visit a distant non-US port. By returning to Seattle, a stop in a Canadian port is acceptable. The ships all go out Juan de Fuca and head up the Pacific Ocean to Dixon Entrance, where they navigate the Inside Passages. You will get about 3 ports and a glacier cruise by. I believe all Seattle cruises are 7-day.

 

Vancouver has both R/T and 1 way cruises to Alaska. The only benefit of R/T cruises from Vancouver is most of the trip is in sheltered waters. The one way cruises head up to Prince William Sound - Whittier/Seaward. At Whittier/Seaward you also have the option of a post cruise land tour. Most cruises are 7-day, but Viking are first time visitors to Alaska and have 11 night cruises.

 

Personally, I would select a ship that visits Glacier Bay, but with only 2 ships per day, not many of them get permits. Have been to all the bays/arms with glaciers, but Glacier Bay is still my favourite.

 

For cruise lines, I suggest Princess, HAL, Celebrity or Viking.

 

For picking a month - May will have less kids, but the weather is unpredictable. June has more kids and may have better weather. If you want no kids, Viking has a no kids policy.

Not all Alaska cruises out of Seattle are round trip. There are a few that are Seattle to Vancouver or vice versa. That's legal because it is between a US and a foreign port. Mainly that's at the beginning or end if the season.

 

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Not necessarily. My Alaska cruise next year (RCCL Ovation of the Seas) embarks in Seattle and disembarks in Vancouver. That is a legal itinerary. However I believe it’s the only Seattle to Vancouver cruise on RCCL next year.

 

It’s the last Alaska cruise of the year. The Ovation heads south to Australia after that with a stop in Honolulu. Because of the aforementioned Passenger Vessal Service Act, they can’t cruise Seattle to Honolulu.

 

That’s why the last Alaska cruise ends in Vancouver. You can cruise Vancouver to Honolulu.

 

 

OP, don’t worry. 90-95 percent of the 7-day cruises leaving Seattle comes back to Seattle. I just picked the odd-ball cruise.

 

Yes, I knew about this last cruise, but I didn’t think the OP was looking at that one. Unfortunately, a lot of us in the PNW (and others) were hoping for a few Pacific Coastals by the Ovation, since that is what the Explorer used to do.

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If you Google Seattle cruise schedule, you will be able to see what's sailing out each month; you can also see if the ship will return there because of the starting date of the next cruise on the same ship. :)

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