My husband is not at all interested in taking a cruise, but we really want to see Alaska.

Does anyone know of a shorter cruise (3-4 days) that takes you through the Inside Passage, and then you could spend more of your vacation time exploring on land?

thanks,
dina

The Alaska ferry system stops at all th ports. You can get off stay in hotels, rent a car, etc then when the next ferry comes along take it to the next place.

Do the reasearch and you can satisfy both of you. See AK and not be 'stuck' only on a cruise ship.

Let us know what you decide. Have fun.

Dina:

Go to your travel agent and pick up a brochure from Holland America--Alaska.

They have wonderful land and cruise tours. Some friends just returned from one of these tours and had a wonderful time (cruise part was only 4 days).

Cruiser-Thanks. I will definitely check out Holland America.

Maryann, the ferry idea is great, too. thank you. Never thought of that!

I have some research to do!!

Check with Cruise West, too. They have 5 day/4 nights and 4 days/3 nights from Juneau in Glacier Bay. Or, there are 10 days or 9 days land/cruise tours from Fairbanks to Juneau. There are 4 days or 5 days round-trip out of Whittier. There is an Inside Passage Yacht Day Tours with hotel stays at night. There are cruise and wilderness lodge options. They have a lot of amazing options that the larger cruise lines don't offer.

Regards,
Julia

Frankly, you need 7 days on the Inside Passage. The HAL cruisetour above shortchanges either a port or a glacier. And plenty of endless bus travel. You clearly DO NOT have the touring opportunities that you think you might, No way do you get into Kluane or Tombstone on their lacking tour offers. Research fully all options.

With the Alaska ferry, you need even more time than a 7 day cruise. It also most always comes out more costly. You will need to consider 2 nights- at least in most ports since arrivals/departures, timeing is around the clock.

Cruises, do an excellent job of balancing scenic sailing, transportation/meals/lodging all in one. The itineraries are well routing, making the most and packing 7 days with excellent adventures.

Another option would be to tour interior Alaska. Be certain to have Valdez, Homer, Seward,Whittier on your list, so to get on the water. A good compromise perhaps since the cruise is not your prefernce??

Have you cruised before?? Alaska cruising is completely different than the Caribbean.

My husband also did NOT like the idea of a cruise, but after our HAL Alaskan anniversay cruise, he is eager to cruise again! I would like to go back to tour more Alaska land, but he wants the cruise ship again. The glaciers were awesome as was the coastal scenery, but the land exploration is fascinating too. If you go the cruise/tour route with HAL, be prepared for a lot of sitting on the land portion. The area around Seward has me eager to go explore there independently. Maybe a 7 day cruise and another week or two on land exploration? That would be my ideal tour and my husband would probably agree as long as there was a cruise! Select your itinerary as to what you want to see, and then check the various options available. The websites give tons of information on the various cruise lines as well as land excursions!