My First B2B, Two Loops or Out-&-Back?

[FFTB]

Seriously considering doing my first B2B in the next few months to Alaska and trying to decide between two different routes/experiences.

 

Encore would do two loops from Seattle (2x Juneau, 2x Skagway, 2x Ketchikan, & 2x Victoria) with the layover in Seattle.

Jewel would do an out-and-back from Vancouver (2x Juneau, 2x Skagway, 2x Ketchican, 2x Hubbard Glacier, & 1x Icy Straight) with the layover in Seward.

 

I've done a one-way on the Jewel before (although it included Sitka) from Seward down, and a loop on the Bliss (similar size and activities) from Seattle.  Also have been to all ports for both ships before, so not necessarily a factor.

 

Encore Pros: Lots of activities on board, Seattle port is easy to access (taken the shuttle from SeaTac before), more nightly entertainment.

Encore Cons: Lots of people, bigger ship can't go to Hubbard, more expensive itinerary.

Jewel Pros: Smaller ship less people, preferred specialty dining options, can get places bigger ships cannot, less expensive itinerary.

Jewel Cons: Less activities on board, less nightly entertainment, Vancouver port is tricky to get to if not flying direct (Southwest goes to Bellingham WA., uber doesn't cross the boarder).

 

For those that have done varying B2Bs before, are multiple loops or out-and-backs generally preferable?

 

For the Jewel route, what is there to do in Seward during the layover if I want to get off the ship?

[Pitzel]

What about a side-by-side cruise rather than a B2B? Are there other ships sailing out of Seattle or Vancouver that leave within a day of returning from one of these cruises? If so, are there other itineraries that could bring you more variety? Maybe a larger ship one week and a smaller ship the week after?

Alternatively, what about a cruise tour that has a land portion in Alaska before or after your cruise to check out places like Denali?

[olemissreb]

1 hour ago, FFTB said:

For the Jewel route, what is there to do in Seward during the layover if I want to get off the ship?

Not sure how much time you'd have as a layover in Seward, but you could look at doing a Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine.  We did it the day before our cruise and saw all kinds of wildlife. We even got so close to a glacier we could hear it calving and the crew pulled in a piece of that glacier and made "glacier margaritas"!.

 

The day of the cruise, we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center and did a behind the scenes tour...we got kisses from a sea lion!

 

I love another posters idea of a side-by-side. If you can arrive in Seward in a Saturday and then leave again on Sunday, you'd have plenty of time to do both of the things I mentioned (and probably many others).

[LloydJr]

1 hour ago, FFTB said:

Encore would do two loops from Seattle (2x Juneau, 2x Skagway, 2x Ketchikan, & 2x Victoria) with the layover in Seattle.

Did you leave out 2X Glacier Bay?

[justhappy]

32 minutes ago, olemissreb said:

Not sure how much time you'd have as a layover in Seward, but you could look at doing a Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine.  We did it the day before our cruise and saw all kinds of wildlife. We even got so close to a glacier we could hear it calving and the crew pulled in a piece of that glacier and made "glacier margaritas"!.

 

The day of the cruise, we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center and did a behind the scenes tour...we got kisses from a sea lion!

 

I love another posters idea of a side-by-side. If you can arrive in Seward in a Saturday and then leave again on Sunday, you'd have plenty of time to do both of the things I mentioned (and probably many others).

I’ve also done both of these in Seward and can also highly recommend them both.

[julig22]

3 hours ago, olemissreb said:

Not sure how much time you'd have as a layover in Seward, but you could look at doing a Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine.  We did it the day before our cruise and saw all kinds of wildlife. We even got so close to a glacier we could hear it calving and the crew pulled in a piece of that glacier and made "glacier margaritas"!.

 

The day of the cruise, we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center and did a behind the scenes tour...we got kisses from a sea lion!

 

I love another posters idea of a side-by-side. If you can arrive in Seward in a Saturday and then leave again on Sunday, you'd have plenty of time to do both of the things I mentioned (and probably many others).

I second looking into what Major Marine offers in Seward if choosing that option

[bluesea777]

Longer port times if doing Jewel b2b.

 

Last year we did Spirit b2b from Seward. We started with 3 days in Alaska pre-cruise which consisted of an overnight in Anchorage, fantastic train to Seward, a 7.5 hour Kenai Fjord cruise with Major Marine and 2 nights in delightful Seward. Boarding the ship in Seward was the easiest ever!

 

Glad we decided to start/end in Seward rather than in Vancouver.

 

 

[FFTB]

17 hours ago, LloydJr said:

Did you leave out 2X Glacier Bay?

You right. wasn't listed in the Ports of Call, but it is shown on the map.

 

5 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Longer port times if doing Jewel b2b.

True, I remember being disappointed by that on the Bliss compared to the Jewel.

 

17 hours ago, Pitzel said:

What about a side-by-side cruise rather than a B2B? Are there other ships sailing out of Seattle or Vancouver that leave within a day of returning from one of these cruises? If so, are there other itineraries that could bring you more variety? Maybe a larger ship one week and a smaller ship the week after?

The issue being that I only have a 15day window (Sunday through two week later Monday). The Bliss departs every Saturday, but I'll be at a concert in Vegas that day. The Encore departs on Sundays (so I can make that), and Jewel on Mondays.  I could do Encore one week and then fly from Seattle to Anchorage/Seward for the Jewel return, but I feel like that defeats the purpose of a B2B.  I guess I could look at another line, but I'm pretty loyal/comfortable with NCL.

[LloydJr]

6 minutes ago, FFTB said:

You right. wasn't listed in the Ports of Call, but it is shown on the map.

That's a key discriminator.  Many here would agree that Glacier Bay is the highlight of AK cruising, and having it twice B2B is twice as good.

 

Hubbard is great, if the ship can actually get to it without ice flow interfering.  I haven't yet done the Tracy Arm visit.