Alaska Help

[notatubaplayer]

My wife and I each have almost 200 nights on Princess, but none in Alaska.  We have been asked to join a couple (new to cruising) for an anniversary trip to Alaska.  It looks like there are two basic itineraries.  What do people prefer, the Seattle round trip or the Vancouver/Anchorage trip?  Sorry to be lazy and not do the research, but I figure there are some very experienced cruisers on here that would have all the answers.  Thanks in Advance!

[EDDY0827]

More glaciers on the one-way Whittier/Vancouver. Cheaper airfare with the r/t out of Seattle, imho.

[JimmyVWine]

My favorite is starting in Vancouver ending in Whittier/Anchorage. Each day of the cruise you go deeper and deeper into Alaska and the sense of adventure builds. 

[notatubaplayer]

I am thinking the Vancouver to Anchorage looks good.   Does anyone have any tips for going to Denali before or after the cruise?

[Alaska05]

6 minutes ago, notatubaplayer said:

I am thinking the Vancouver to Anchorage looks good.   Does anyone have any tips for going to Denali before or after the cruise?

We rented a car and drove there.  You can’t get lost.  Only one main road from anchorage to Denali.  

[tundra1]

If you go northbound, get a room on the Starboard side of the ship.  Pick a ship that does the inside passage as well as Glacier Bay.  Once you land in Whittier, take the train to Anchorage, then rent a car and go to Denali.  There are lots of nice Airbnb's up there.  You could also spend a night in Talkeetna before going to Denali to split up the drive.

[capriccio]

30 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

My favorite is starting in Vancouver ending in Whittier/Anchorage. Each day of the cruise you go deeper and deeper into Alaska and the sense of adventure builds. 

Mine too!  We've done this twice plus one round trip Seattle Alaska cruise.  On our first Vancouver to Whittier (our first Alaska cruise and our first Princess cruise) we tacked a 4 day cruise tour on and even after 27 Princess cruises it remains one of our favorites (not that the others were bad).

[time4u2go]

Definitely Whittier to Vancouver. You get to see both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. Also you can do the Denali and McKinley lodges beforehand then relax on the cruise afterwards. 

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by time4u2go