North to or South From Alaska

[TNTLAMB]

We arefinalizing our Alaska Cruise and will be spending a fair amount of time in the Denali/Princess Lodges Cruise Tour. Is it better to cruise up tour and fly home or the otherway around? We have done the inside passage before and will be mostly on ship or in the ports towns on Port days as we have done most of the shore excursions. Any Help would be appreciated. Thanks

[ppeckham]

I've not cruised Alaska - yet. But a lady I work with did a couple years ago. She had the land tour first and then cruised home. She liked having the land tour first so she could relax on board ship on the way home.

 

I'm pulling together a big family and friends Alaska trip for 2008. We'll do the land tour first.

[cruisinlady]

We are doing a North to South Alaskan cruise/tour pkg. in August. From what I've heard and read this is the way to go because our land tour is first and will be the most tiring of our 2 wk. pkg. and then we can relax coming down the Inside Passage to Vancouver the last 7 days on the cruise with a much shorter flight home. We are on the East Coast though and will have a long flight and if we had to fly back from Fairbanks, it would have been a much longer flight.

 

I guess it depends on where you're flying from and what your itinerary is also.

 

Good luck.

[Pam in CA]

I did the North to South with land tour first several years ago. To me, the biggest reason for doing it this way is that you get the long travel day over with and then you get to relax on your vacation. It's over three hours just from Seattle to Anchorage and then another hour to Fairbanks, so it's about 5 hours, including landing and taking off in Anchorage, from Seattle added to your flight from your home city.

[JimnKaren]

I agree with the North to South way up to a point. A lot depends on where your home is. If it is on the west coast then the travel home would be different than someone east of the Mississippi.

 

By doing the land portion first, you can spend your last day of your vacation calming sailing the inside passage. It is then much more civil to get home.

 

You might want to do some checking on air line schedules now, just to get an idea of when flights go from there to your home airport.

 

Jim

[Budget Queen]

I also give an edge to southbound sailing, but my interior Alaska planning is never in the "hectic" reference of needing to "relax" on the cruise. :) For me the last sailing day inside Vancouver Island is one of the most scenic of the trip- outside of the glacier viewings.

[edYYZ]

Coming from the east, I'd definitely prefer a southbound. The connector flight up to anchorage is longer and more tiring. I find I feel pretty tired by the end so a nice direct flight is definitely preferred. I also liked the fact that it got warmer and "greener" as the days passed. Vancouver is then a really nice end.

[Mmm...coffee!]

I think a southbound cruise after your tour would be a better choice. No matter how good post-cruise activities are, they always feel like a let-down after the cruise itself. Save the best for last.

[Titan(ic)5.6]

I cruised northbound but like most people have said, I would cruise southbound to reduce the time getting home.

 

I live in Louisiana and it was a LONG flight home from Anchorage. I would diminish the flying time by sailing south.