austinopa

Hi. I am wanting to take my wife on a Seattle to Alaska cruise next June (2019) I was looking at a short cruise to see the sights but then tie it in with a ground trip on trains or whatever on up north. Then fly back to Seattle. Does anyone have any suggestions? We have been on other cruises to Caribbean but never one up north. See wants to see as much as possible. Thanks in advanced for any suggestions.

janisj

Just a quick note -- I'd personally do a cruise out of Vancouver. Better, and more choices o,f routes.

Gardyloo

Due to US maritime law, the cruises out of Seattle are all round-trips, and don't extend as far north as Anchorage, etc. There are one-way cruises from (or back to) Vancouver that go to Seward or Whittier, both of which are ports accessible by road or rail to Anchorage and beyond. The vast majority of cruises from both Seattle and Vancouver are for a minimum of seven nights, so if you want a shorter time on the water you'd need to come up with another plan, perhaps one that doesn't involve a formal cruise. You could fly to Anchorage and tour around, then perhaps fly back to Juneau and take the state ferry to one or more "Inside Passage" communities, then ultimately fly back to the Lower 48 after that.

You have plenty of time to research travel to Alaska, so start now.

austinopa

Ok I will look into them. Thanks

mlgb

Look into flying to Anchorage, doing a land tour (check out alaskarailroad.com). Then either do some day cruises out of Seward, or take a 7-day cruise down to Vancouver. Often you can find some great rates for the 7 day cruises especially the last minute ones (often less than half the cost of the roundtrip cruises from Seattle). I recently did a southbound one using Holland America. The people who had tacked on a land portion using the cruise line did see Denali but there was grumbling about the pace of the tour. The timing worked out well..it had just stopped raining and I think June 10 was the first day they had good weather at Resurrection Bay. If you want to see bears they are better sighted from July on, though.

The highlight of the Alaska cruises for me is Glacier Bay. I don't think I would ever want to do a round trip, particularly from Seattle. Vancouver has its own charm although hotels can be VERY expensive in season.

dsquared

mlgb, Holland America does a 14 day Seattle round trip that includes the usual, plus Homer, Kodiak, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Anchorage (actual Anchorage, not Seward), and Hubbard Glacier. I did that cruise this year and it was a great itinerary.

To the OP, I agree with mlgb re: flying into Anchorage, touring Denali, then heading back to Seward and a one-way cruise back. Accommodations near Denali tend to fill up quickly (all those cruise/tours fill up the Princess/HAL hotels) so keep that in mind. Glacier Bay is indeed a highlight, although Hubbard Glacier is astounding as well.

marg

Some cruise lines (Holland America and Princess for example) do cruise tours. We did one out of Vancouver to Whittier, then five days coach touring to Denali and Fairbanks. Really enjoyed it.
We also did a week round-trip cruise out of Seattle - also good but would really suggest that first time cruisers to Alaska choose a cruise out of Vancouver with some land content added. Do make sure your cruise includes Glacier Bay - absolutely unbelievable.

austinopa

We will look in to it thanks

austinopa

Thanks