Alaska inside passage question

[P.A.]

Thinking about an Alaska cruise in July of 08. This will be our first cruise to Alaska, we've always gone for the warm climates like the Western/Eastern Caribbean, and heard July was the perfect month for Alaska. Also, wanting to leave out of the US (cheaper airfare) and have only seen ports out of Seattle for an inside passage cruise in Alaska. Wanting to see alot of scenery so would the inside passage be the one to take?

 

2 married couples in late 40's and 2 people will be celebrating their 50th birthday. Royal Caribbean or Princess? Of the two, which would be better to Alaska?

 

Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

[Paulmj]

heard July was the perfect month for Alaska

We cruised from Vancouver to Seward July 29 - August 5th, just a couple of weeks ago. It rained every day but one. You cannot predict the weather in Alaska. You just have to take and enjoy what it gives you.

[GMoney]

Hi - I just planned 2 B2B AK cruisetours for 2007. After lots of research, we went with HAL and X. HAL and Princess seem to offer the most ships and itineraries; X was a throw-in b/c the ship, itinerary and price were decent. RCIs itineraries are okay, but HAL seems to give you more time on land in places like Denali, which was a priority for me.

 

Many others here have said it and I agree; AK takes a great deal of planning to figure out all the variation of what you want to see and for how long. Download the brochures from the cruise websites, read info here, and consult a TA.

[NancyIL]

FYI - "inside passage" is used to differentiate roundtrip cruises out of Seattle or Vancouver from the one-way "Gulf of Alaska" cruises. All ships cruise the inside passage at least some of the time...that's where Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway are. You'll encounter more open ocean sailing if you cruise out of Seattle than out of Vancouver.

[texastravelers]

Don't forget, Anchorage is in the U.S., too! I highly recommend a 2 week vacation - 1 week independent and the 2nd week cruising. We have gone with Celebrity & Princess and much prefer Princess, but I think that there were better circumstances involved with Princess. Both Seward & Whittier are close to Anchorage. A one way from Whittier to Vancouver was ideal for us.

[#1survivorfan]

We are 2 couples that just sailed out of Vancouver July 15th. We had near perfect weather...no rain in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway!! We were both celebrating our anniversaries and are the same age as your group. We sailed Princess and are so happy we did. We sailed on the Sapphire, which is one of the biggest Princess ships. Even though it accomodates 2600 passengers, we never felt it. We spent a lot of time in the aft section where there are 2 pools and 2 hot tubs, (even got in them). We usually had the aft section to ourselves. It was amazing to us. The other advantage to the bigger ship is the restaurant options. There are 6 restaurants, the international dining room and the buffet area to choose from. We choose "anytime dining" and were able to get seated each time we arrived at the restaurant. We never even went to two of the restaurants. We choose the mini-suite and were so happy we did. We had side by side rooms and had the adjoining door on our balconies opened. Because we were not into the shows (didn't even go see one) or the bars, we spent a lot of time on our balconies. It was absolutely wonderful. I would do it again in a minute!!!

[Budget Queen]

FYI - "inside passage" is used to differentiate roundtrip cruises out of Seattle or Vancouver from the one-way "Gulf of Alaska" cruises. All ships cruise the inside passage at least some of the time...that's where Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway are. You'll encounter more open ocean sailing if you cruise out of Seattle than out of Vancouver.

 

 

Ketchikan is NOT Inside Passage.

[Budget Queen]

For the most scenery, choose a round trip Vancouver with HAL including both Glaicer Bay and Tracy Arm my top pick for itinerary. Very easy to get between Vancouver and Seattle.

[Lee77]

BQ - Please clairify for us what exactly is the "Inside Passage".

 

It seems every itinerary [even Seattle] states "inside passage" but nobody understands what really is the TRUE inside passge route.

[CStorm]

Don't let airfare determine your trip! We flew into Seattle and took Amtrak to Vancouver, took a roundtrip Vancouver cruise and used quickcoach to get back to Seattle. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

[NancyIL]

Ketchikan is NOT Inside Passage.

 

I stand corrected.

 

This is from Cruise Critic: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/article.cfm?ID=84

 

Choosing an Itinerary

 

There are essentially two Alaska cruise itineraries -- the Inside Passage and the Gulf of Alaska. The first is primarily a seven-night round trip voyage from Seattle or Vancouver. Princess, Crystal and Silversea also offer 10-night and 12-night versions out of San Francisco. The Gulf itinerary is a seven-night one-way cruise between Seattle/Vancouver and Seward/Whittier, the two ports for Anchorage. An occasional misconception among would-be cruisers is that a Gulf of Alaska itinerary does not offer passengers the opportunity to visit the Inside Passage ports. It does. The gulf in question is that stretch of water north of Glacier Bay and the south side of the Kenai Peninsula, where the Anchorage ports are located. To get between those ports and either Seattle or Vancouver, it is necessary to pass along the Inside Passage coastal strip so a typical Gulf of Alaska cruise will probably include the likes of Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.

 

A word of caution: If you are going to run into choppy seas it's more likely to be in the open waters of the Gulf of Alaska than in the largely protected stretch of the Inside Passage.

[P.A.]

Thanks guys for all the information you have posted about. I didn't realize there was so much to consider. I will keep all your suggestions handy when it is time to start getting serious about booking. Being in the summer of 2008, I have a little bit of time, but I know I should not wait very long. You think a year ahead for booking is sufficient for Alaska? Keep in mind we will probably want two staterooms next to each other, and have to have a balcony too!

 

I need a TA that is an Alaskian cruise expert!

 

Thanks again...you guys are awesome! I just love this board for getting my questions answered!! :)