Why Vancouver vs. Seattle?

[nkochrn]

Hi all I'm new here and just doing a little research. My Hubby and I are planning on taking an Alaska cruise in 2015 for our 10 year anniversary, which is exactly 2 years away today! This will be our 2nd cruise, the first one being a Disney Bahamas cruise with the kids back in March. Since we will not be bringing the kids along this time I've been looking at other lines and right now I'm leaning towards Princess.

 

I've been reading through some of the Alaska threads and have seen MANY people highly recommend the Vancouver port over the Seattle port. I'm curious what makes Vancouver superior?

 

It's way too early to really price flights but from what I can see right now it looks like it would save us a few hundred to fly to Seattle. (coming from Kansas)

[trophy_23]

Sailing from Vancouver you get to sail the inside of Vancouver Island which is very scenic and a lot calmer waters. If you sail from Seattle you are going up the outside of the Island 30+ miles offshore so you really don't see much and it can be rougher.

[lemons55]

They have shuttles from Seattle airport to Vancouver. Not sure of the cost.

[Putterdude]

An itinerary from Vancouver is much more scenic than that out of Seattle. Vancouver ships ply the Inside Passage and the scenery is pretty much non-stop. Ships out of Seattle sail on the west side of Vancouver Is. and there is little scenery for the best part of a day in either direction....these ships enter the Inside Passage when north of Vancouver Is. Getting to Vancouver takes a little more time, often is more expensive and you do require a passport....but it is all well worth it.

[olemissreb]

As everyone else has said, the scenery into/out of Vancouver is pretty spectacular. Don't knock Vancouver off your list because airfare may be too expensive. You can do what we did (only we went from Vancouver to Seattle) - fly into Seattle and take the train to Vancouver.

 

We used frequent flier miles to fly to Anchorage and then home from Seattle. I had looked at flying home from Vancouver, but the fees associated with that were ridiculous. With AAA rates and a senior discount for my mom, the train was $265 for all 5 of us. We saved maybe $50 in fees over flying from Vancouver plus we got to experience a little of Seattle before flying home. The train ride was really nice and scenic.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

As noted, the top reason is the different itinerary. The Vancouver sailings go east of Vancouver Island which is sheltered. They only journey a short distance in the voyage where seas are typically a problem.

 

The second related reason is that many people do a north or southbound trip and these only go from Vancouver. There are round trip Vancouver cruises too though.

 

A third consideration and not really a Vancouver question is that Glacier Bay is a key place to sail to if you can manage it. The choices for round trip including Glacier Bay is limited from both ports, so your cruise line preference can play into the decision.

 

If you click on the time lapse video link in my signature, i have over 400 cruises from both ports so you can actually see a bit of the differences between the 2. Although not like the real thing, but it does show some of what to expect.

[Cruiser Andi]

I've done both itineraries. The scenery of the inside passage out of Vancouver is breathtaking. We took the Greyhound bus from Seattle to Vancouver and the current rate is $17 bucks per person each way. Very affordable and the trip is about 4 hours. We looked at it as another way to enjoy the sights.

[Cruiser Andi]

Make sure and take a full day to enjoy Vancouver too!

[trophy_23]

Amtrak is a great option also! It will be a little more than some of the bus options but is a very scenic trip along the coast.

[PlanoDebbie]

We have sailed twice out of Seattle and most recently out of Vancouver. Scenery leaving both ports seemed comparable to us. Water was calm for us leaving both ports.

 

If you sail out of Seattle, the ship must stop at a foreign port prior to returning to Seattle. That's why you always see a short stop in Victoria for an inside passage cruise. Most likely Tracy Arm will be the only glacier you will see on this cruise. I'm speaking of from the ship, as opposed to on shore.

 

Sailing out of Vancouver you will only stop at ports in Alaska. Many of these ships will go to Glacier Bay or Hubbard glacier.

 

Flights to Vancouver are a little bit more expensive than Seattle. You will need a passport regardless of which port you sail out of. From Seattle you will be stopping in Victoria, BC. You will only show your passports at the cruise terminal in Seattle if you sail from ere. in Vancouver you will show your passports and go through customs upon arriving in Vancouver, then again at the cruise terminal and again at the airport when flying home.

 

Pick the itinerary that is most attractive to you.

[quack2]

For me, the return to Vancover is what makes the difference. The last day at sea after leaving Ketchikan is spectacular on a nice day and the final morning coming into Vancouver is breathtaking.

[nkochrn]

Thanks for all the responses! We are trying to convince BIL and his girlfriend to go with us, they seemed up for it last night when, but will see what their financial situation is... I'm not gonna count on them.

 

DH and I have passports but I didn't realize we would need them even if we sailed out of Seattle. I know when we went to the Bahamas we were told we would not need them but it was highly recommended.

[Putterdude]

DH and I have passports but I didn't realize we would need them even if we sailed out of Seattle. I know when we went to the Bahamas we were told we would not need them but it was highly recommended.

 

I guess that I didn't make myself clear, you will need a passport for a Vancouver cruise, you do not need a passport for a closed loop cruise out of Seattle. The exception is if you take an excursion in Skagway that goes into BC our the Yukon....then you need a passport to re-enter the Alaska.

[Cat54]

We are doing a SB which brings us back to Vancouver in June 2014. I have booked airfare home from Seattle. The Quick Shuttle will be you up at the pier and take you to either downtown Seattle or the Seattle airport. The airfare for us was much cheaper going from Seattle to Boston even including the shuttle I saved a lot of $$

[tulsacubfan]

Thanks for all the responses! We are trying to convince BIL and his girlfriend to go with us, they seemed up for it last night when, but will see what their financial situation is... I'm not gonna count on them.

 

DH and I have passports but I didn't realize we would need them even if we sailed out of Seattle. I know when we went to the Bahamas we were told we would not need them but it was highly recommended.

 

If you go Seattle to Seattle, you will not need. If you do a one way (embarking and disembarking in defferent US cities), you will need a passport. If you don't start or end in Vancouver, you will have to stop in Victoria. While Victoria is very nice, I would rather start/end in

Vancouver and not have to stop in Victoria (more time in Alaska).

 

As others have suggested, it is cheaper to fly to Seattle and bus or Amtrak to Vancouver. We sailed out of Vancouver and back to Seattle, so flew to Seattle (on Southwest using points for one of the tickets), took Amtrak to Vancouver, then flew out of Seattle on return. If you buy the Amtrak tickets in advance, you can often find a good deal - we paid $27 each for the train.

[olemissreb]

Thanks for all the responses! We are trying to convince BIL and his girlfriend to go with us, they seemed up for it last night when, but will see what their financial situation is... I'm not gonna count on them.

 

DH and I have passports but I didn't realize we would need them even if we sailed out of Seattle. I know when we went to the Bahamas we were told we would not need them but it was highly recommended.

 

While you don't need passports to sail roundtrip out of Seattle, if you plan on doing the White Pass & Yukon rail/bus tour in Skagway, you will need passports as that excursion goes into Canada and they do check passports. If your BIL & his girlfriend go with you and are interested in this tour, they would need to get passports.

[AKman2495]

The other reason they sail from Vancouver is that they can then terminate the cruise in Alaska-either Seward or Whittier. That allows the passengers to get off in Alaska to do cruise tours or DIY tours of the interior portions of the state.

 

You can't do that if you sail from Seattle.

[donaldsc]

I have been to and like both cities. However based on just the cities and ignoring all other issues, I would pick Vancouver over Anchorage. Much more cosmopolitan, lots of wonderful restaurants, and lots of stuff to do.

 

DON

[nkochrn]

You have all been SOOO helpful! Looks like we will plan on flying into Seattle and taking amtrak to Vancouver. I think BIL & his GF will be ok with getting passports.