RT Seatle or Vancouver? Which is the best itinerary for viewing?

[MTV43]

Hi All,

 

I am planning a family reunion cruise for mid June 2017. Due to time constraint, we can only do round trip from either Seattle or Vancouver. Greatly appreciate for suggestion of the best itinerary for mainly viewing and photography. We had been to both Seattle and Vancouver for land based trip.

 

Many thanks

[mskaufman]

I chose Vancouver as the trip from Seattle goes out into the Pacific. Land is closer to you on both sides of the ship from Vancouver.

[TheCalicoCat]

I chose Vancouver as the trip from Seattle goes out into the Pacific. Land is closer to you on both sides of the ship from Vancouver.

 

Very true & I agree, but we slept through all of that viewing opportunity... :rolleyes:

[Kamloops50]

I chose Vancouver as the trip from Seattle goes out into the Pacific. Land is closer to you on both sides of the ship from Vancouver.

 

Vancouver as well . More scenic cruising, longer port time and you don't waste time in Victoria .

[Urban trekker]

"you don't waste time in Victoria"

 

Really?

[Kamloops50]

"you don't waste time in Victoria"

 

Really?

 

It might not be a waste for some if you have a whole day. With 3-4 hour stop in the evening , not really a lot of time to see Victoria. Stop usually to short for a good visit.

[martincath]

^I'm with K50 on this one - not that there's anything wrong with visiting Victoria, but it does seem like very few of the RT Seattle 7 day cruises do more than a token PVSA-compliance stop, most often late in the day, with very limited opportunities to do anything other than have a quick walk around the city.

 

As well as the (assuming you are awake for it) nicer scenery on the first & last bits of the trip leaving from Vancouver, you get to introduce some of the the rest of your family who haven't been before to an exotic foreign country.

 

But on a more practical note - unless ALL of your family are good with getting passports (or have them already) a Vancouver RT does add more paperwork and expense. Given the passionate responses to any queries about 'do I NEED a passport to cruise?' I would be shocked if all your family were happy to acquire them - although I suppose if there's a strong overlap between 'passport-not-wanters' and 'annoying relatives I wish would stay home instead of coming to the reunion' this would be another big check in the Pro Vancouver column...

 

Plus of course all your photos will be 2.54x bigger under the metric system;-)

[Sequim88]

The night pass-by of Vancouver Is. when leaving Vancouver was a little bit of a let down on our NB one-way. We were almost past the island at dawn. But there was lots of IP still that gets missed on the outside passage. If I did not live close to Seattle we would have preferred to cruise out of Vancouver next June.

 

few of the RT Seattle 7 day cruises do more than a token PVSA-compliance stop, most often late in the day,

This sort of cracks me up every time I think of an evening departure from Victoria headed to Seattle. Wondering just how slow the ship has to go. In the So. Caribbean the distance between islands was short too but over night the ship just did slow circles out in open ocean. Not likely to do that in the Straight of Juan de Fuca or other busy shipping lanes.

 

Out of Seattle an Enhanced Drivers License or ID should be sufficient and a lot less expensive than a Passport.

[xlxo]

Another vote for Vancouver.... lots to see and do!

 

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[MTV43]

Thank you all for your replies!

 

Yes, we all have passports and put a lot of miles on it. We can fly directly to either Seattle or Vancouver, definitely cheaper to fly to Seattle but it seems like RT from Seattle does not include any Glacier cruising. Victoria is a lovely town and I don't mind to revisit Butchart garden but don't want to do that with a short time in port.

[Gardyloo]

Thank you all for your replies!

 

Yes, we all have passports and put a lot of miles on it. We can fly directly to either Seattle or Vancouver, definitely cheaper to fly to Seattle but it seems like RT from Seattle does not include any Glacier cruising. Victoria is a lovely town and I don't mind to revisit Butchart garden but don't want to do that with a short time in port.

There are plenty of round trip itineraries out of Seattle that have glacier viewing; however you'll get lots more Inside Passage viewing (the whole thing, not partial like out of Seattle) with a Vancouver departure.

 

If you want gardens, Queen Elizabeth Park and the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens in Vancouver are awfully nice, and easily accessed from downtown Vancouver. The QE Park gardens also are free, as opposed to $$$ at Butchart Gardens.

[TheCalicoCat]

but it seems like RT from Seattle does not include any Glacier cruising. .

 

I think that 90% of AK cruises have some sort of glacier viewing planned.

 

 

Personally, I would only choose one that has Glacier Bay, but others have Tracy Arm (Endicott Arm when there is too much ice) or Hubbard Glacier. (I may be missing other Glacier viewing opportunities of which I am not 100% aware - College Fjord?)

[Sequim88]

Yes, College Fjord is not on a lot of itineraries. Usually only a few per line per season and only on one-ways due to how far north it is in Prince William Sound. Our last Alaska cruise was a one-way and did Glacier Bay and College Fjord (which is spectacular - dozens of glaciers in a row) but next one is R/T and does just Hubbard.

[mapleleaves]

you might want to buy the Alaska Cruise Handbook by Joe Upton. It's a mile by mile guide of sights you see along the coast.

[Kamloops50]

You might want to read Anne Vipond's book on Alaska as well

 

 

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