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Questions about Alaska cruise Glacier Bay


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I have a couple of questions regarding the 7 day Inside Passage Cruise that includes Glacier Bay.

 

Does it matter what side of the ship you are on if you have a balcony? Just not sure if the views are better on one side or the other from a balcony cabin. How is the weather typically the first week of June?I’m assuming there are not too many kids the first week of June as some schools may not be out for the summer yet - any thoughts on how many kids to expect?

 

Thank you for any thoughts you might have.

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I'm traveling to Alaska in mid June! We decided to skip the balcony this time due to cost and we have 3 inside cabins booked instead. From what I gather, if you are doing the northbound voyage (that's what we are doing) then you want your room on the starboard side (right side if facing forward) as you will "hug" the coast and see the most. I would assume for Glacier Bay it maybe doesn't matter as the ship would turn going in and out.

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Schools in my part of the country get out by 3rd week in May. There are more kids on RT Alaska cruises out of Seattle than one ways. Though, far less kids than sailing in areas such as Caribbean. Not sure which cruise you are going on.

 

Weather is always unpredictable in Alaska but historically May and June have the potential for the best weather, less rain.

 

I find it best to be on deck for Glacier Bay days. I would never spend my time in my balcony but I move around to the best side of the ship at the moment.

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We went at the end of August and had very few kids on board. You can see some from your balcony, but we really wanted the 360 panoramic views and to get that, you'll need the open decks. We kept hearing about August being "rainy season," but we had one day of a misty type rain and otherwise beautiful.

 

In Glacier Bay, the ship will go in, pivot, an come back out...so you're going to be on the "good" side one way or the other.

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Which cruise, and which ship????

 

For Glacier bay, it doesn't really matter which side your cabin is on.

All sides will have viewing opportunities.

Overall, if you are taking a Northbound cruise, you might want Starboard, and for a Southbound you might want Port. But it probably doesn't make that much of a difference.

The better route, within the inside passage, will be Vancouver and not Seattle. When you are within the inside passage, there are views on both sides.

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For Glacier Bay, we enjoyed viewing it from the topmost open deck for a 360 degree view. We also bought an inexpensive binocular for a better view of selected spots.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I actually prefer lower decks such as Promenade on most ships.

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Thanks. I think we are going to get an obstructed view cabin instead of a balcony as the price difference is several hundred dollars different so we will use the money we save for excursions.

 

We are still deciding on either mid to late May or first week in June. We are looking at the Ruby Princess 7 days out of Seattle.

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The ship enters Glacier Bay and stops near the glacier. It will then turn itself around and stop again to let both sides of the ship see the major glacier. The ship spends a long time in the bay and a park ranger will be on board to interpret what you are seeing. The best view is from the top open decks. We were in Glacier Bay the end of July 2017 and it was very warm with pax wearing shorts and tshirt on the top deck. The first of June will most likely not be as warm.

 

There were over 200 kids aboard our ship this last time which was a r/t cruise out of Seattle. If the OP is doing a r/t out of Seattle the first week of June, there may not be that many kids aboard as most will still be in school or have just ended it. If this is a north or south bound cruise, there probably not be many at all aboard.

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Okay, if you know you want to do the Ruby out of Seattle, look at cabins like E701, that are sold as obstructed, but really do not have anything much blocking the view. I think I do see E701 available on the late May sailing.

If I am remembering right, the OV cabins on the Emerald deck that only sleep 2 are laid out like balcony cabins.

 

Many people do recommend the Vancouver and the North or Southbound sailings.

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We find that the best views are on the open deck where you can easily go side to side and forward and back and take it all in.

 

I would not be concerned with side of the ship your actual room is on. We put more emphasis on which deck and the location of the room on the deck (eg, we like mid deck) rather then which side we are on .

 

Keith

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On one of our Alaskan cruises we had 550 kids onboard during June.

We never pay for a balcony on Alaskan trips, as we prefer to be up on top deck for the full panorama. We’ve had really good weather in June and early to mid July, and foggy weather end of August. Alaskan Cruises are the best!

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On one of our Alaskan cruises we had 550 kids onboard during June.

We never pay for a balcony on Alaskan trips, as we prefer to be up on top deck for the full panorama. We’ve had really good weather in June and early to mid July, and foggy weather end of August. Alaskan Cruises are the best!

 

Thank you for the advice about the balcony! We have 3 inside rooms booked and I've only ever cruised with a balcony (or small obstructed balcony.) Already I'm missing not having one but hearing that you spend most of the time outside on the upper decks or promenade makes me feel better! Now I just have to get over the fear of being completely closed in without being able to look out to see where we are :'):'):'):')

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On our first cruise to Alaska - the National Park Rangers suggested Deck 7 for best viewing. I spent time on both decks and found the Promenade deck the best. On my last cruise I met a National Geographic photographer on a cruise. He wasn't working but on his own time and said that the lower you get to the subject -- the better the pictures and better perspective. He never moved his photography equipment up to the top all day. He moved around quite a bit on the lower deck.

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FYI - The RT Seattle trips do NOT go to Glacier Bay --- they typically get into Tracy Arm fjord IF the ice conditions permit.

 

Some of them do, some of them don't. With Princess usually one goes to GB and one goes to Tracy Arm.

 

Out of SFO, it varies based on itinerary.

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Not true! The Ruby out of Seattle and returning to Seattle does indeed go through Glacier Bay and I'm booked on it.

So are we! We're taking our 2 adult children and spouses plus our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter. It will be our third Alaska cruise (the other two Vancouver to Whittier) but everyone else first. We wouldn't have chosen an itinerary that didn't include Glacier Bay. The round trip Seattle lets us get non-stop (and shorter) flights - a big plus with a 3 1/2 year old in tow.

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It doesn't matter which side you are on you go in turn around and go back out. I would pick starboard side, best view of glaciers as you turn and proceed out. In June take good foul weather gear, it is the rainy season.

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Thanks everyone. We are booking an obstructed view room that really doesn’t have any obstruction. Our itinerary has Glacier Bay included. So excited!!

 

You will not want to be in your room looking out the window on GB day. There are better viewing areas if you want to stay inside. You probably know that.

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FYI - The RT Seattle trips do NOT go to Glacier Bay --- they typically get into Tracy Arm fjord IF the ice conditions permit.

 

Our RT Seattle was one of several that went to Glacier Bay this past season. I don't know if that was unusual, as it was our first Alaska cruise.

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