Alaska-What side of ship? Southbound...

[buzymom3]

We booked Star Princess from Anchorage to Vancouver in August 2017.

I currently have C742 Caribe Deck balcony. (last balcony on the Port side)

 

I was told that I should be on the PORT side for a southbound Alaska cruise...but now I've read that I should be on the Starboard side cause it's closer to land. But in my mind PORT side is always on the land side right?

 

HELP! This is a once in a lifetime trip for us...I'm celebrating 1 year of being done with cancer treatment. Just finished treatment for non hodgkins lymphoma and this trip is my incentive to push myself back to health.

[hjd36]

I was in C722 on the Star Northbound end July/start of August this year.

Think we probably got first view of some sights but honestly don't think it matters. You are sailing to Alaska and you have a balcony. What more could you want??

[JoRoy218]

You are correct, SB port is preferred. Betters views as you pull into cities. While viewing glaciers, they do 360s so everyone can enjoy. Have fun!

[JimmyVWine]

When you sail along the Inside Passage, there is land all around you, and it is relatively close. So there is no difference when it comes to "seeing land". You'll see it no matter what. Where I find the big difference is the angle of the sun. The mountains on the mainland side (which will be the port side for you), are quite high and tend to block out the sun for a good bit of the morning casting the port side in some dense shade. Perhaps that is what you want. On the other side of the ship, (starboard for you), that same sun will shine brightly on the mountains to that side. Below are some pictures that sort of illustrates what I mean. We did the reverse trip, so everything would be backward from what I am telling you, but the pictures show the sun shining on the view from our balcony with some shadowing caused by the mountains on the other side. Had our cabin been on the other side of the ship, everything we looked at would have been in the shade.

 

 

 

Hopefully that makes sense. Since the trip is pretty much all in the same direction, (southbound for you), this phenomenon will be repeated most every day. Port will get more shaded morning views than starboard. Plus, starboard will have the benefit of sunset views to the extent that the mountains to not hide the sunset. So if you want to sleep in and get morning shade, stick with port. If you want to see the sun shining on the landscape and also get sunset views, chose starboard.

[CruiserBruce]

As frequently discussed on the Alaska board, it really doesn't matter. The scenery is "big sky" scenery, so you don't have to be in one magic spot to see things. Plus, you aren't locked in your room. You will out and about the ship, seeing things from all over.

[Kamloops50]

We booked Star Princess from Anchorage to Vancouver in August 2017.

I currently have C742 Caribe Deck balcony. (last balcony on the Port side)

 

I was told that I should be on the PORT side for a southbound Alaska cruise...but now I've read that I should be on the Starboard side cause it's closer to land. But in my mind PORT side is always on the land side right?

 

HELP! This is a once in a lifetime trip for us...I'm celebrating 1 year of being done with cancer treatment. Just finished treatment for non hodgkins lymphoma and this trip is my incentive to push myself back to health.

 

It really doesn't matter which side your on.When your in the open ocean your usually to far from land to see anything. When in the inside passage of Alaska or BC . The views are great on either side . Glacier bay doesn't matter either . The captain will rotate the ship near the glacier face for about 90 minutes.

[azbirdmom]

We were on the port side last year and starboard this year. The only difference we noticed was that there is more open water off the port side on the last afternoon / evening of the cruise thus more opportunity to see whales and dolphins. We did see some from our starboard balcony this year, but the most sightings were definitely off the port side. And the rest of the scenery was incredible no matter where you were.

[easyboy]

As frequently discussed on the Alaska board, it really doesn't matter. The scenery is "big sky" scenery, so you don't have to be in one magic spot to see things. Plus, you aren't locked in your room. You will out and about the ship, seeing things from all over.

I agree. We went to the top deck for a better view of the scenery.

[skynight]

We booked Star Princess from Anchorage to Vancouver in August 2017.

I currently have C742 Caribe Deck balcony. (last balcony on the Port side)

 

I was told that I should be on the PORT side for a southbound Alaska cruise...but now I've read that I should be on the Starboard side cause it's closer to land. But in my mind PORT side is always on the land side right?

 

HELP! This is a once in a lifetime trip for us...I'm celebrating 1 year of being done with cancer treatment. Just finished treatment for non hodgkins lymphoma and this trip is my incentive to push myself back to health.

No real difference. I will say that when there is scenic viewing the best views are from the upper open decks where you can walk around and get 360 degree views, and not from your balcony. If you are on your balcony be sure to turn your TV to the channel where you can hear the descriptive narrative, usually the 'front of the ship cam' channel.

[BKLYNPONY]

When you sail along the Inside Passage, there is land all around you, and it is relatively close. So there is no difference when it comes to "seeing land". You'll see it no matter what. Where I find the big difference is the angle of the sun. The mountains on the mainland side (which will be the port side for you), are quite high and tend to block out the sun for a good bit of the morning casting the port side in some dense shade. Perhaps that is what you want. On the other side of the ship, (starboard for you), that same sun will shine brightly on the mountains to that side. Below are some pictures that sort of illustrates what I mean. We did the reverse trip, so everything would be backward from what I am telling you, but the pictures show the sun shining on the view from our balcony with some shadowing caused by the mountains on the other side. Had our cabin been on the other side of the ship, everything we looked at would have been in the shade.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully that makes sense. Since the trip is pretty much all in the same direction, (southbound for you), this phenomenon will be repeated most every day. Port will get more shaded morning views than starboard. Plus, starboard will have the benefit of sunset views to the extent that the mountains to not hide the sunset. So if you want to sleep in and get morning shade, stick with port. If you want to see the sun shining on the landscape and also get sunset views, chose starboard.

 

Thank you for that detailed explanation (with pictures). Even though I'm not the OP, that's the type of info that I wanted to know and appreciate as I really enjoy and chase sunsets from my balcony.