Itinerary #1 - Holland America Volendam
Vancouver, British Columbia 05:00 PM
1 At Sea
2 Tracy Arm, Alaska, USA CO 08:00 AM Noon
2 Juneau, Alaska 02:30 PM 10:30 PM
3 Skagway, Alaska 07:00 AM 09:00 PM
4 Glacier Bay Scenic Cruising CO 07:00 AM 04:00 PM
5 Ketchikan, Alaska 10:00 AM 06:00 PM
6 At Sea
7 Vancouver, British Columbia 07:00 AM

#2 Itinerary - Holland Zuiderdam
Vancouver, British Columbia 05:00 PM
1 At Sea
2 Tracy Arm, Alaska, USA CO 08:00 AM Noon
2 Juneau, Alaska 02:30 PM 10:30 PM
3 Skagway, Alaska 07:00 AM 09:00 PM
4 Glacier Bay Scenic Cruising CO 07:00 AM 04:00 PM
5 Ketchikan, Alaska 10:00 AM 06:00 PM
6 At Sea
7 Vancouver, British Columbia 07:00 AM

#3 NCL Pearl
Day Port Arrive Depart
Sun Seattle - 4:00 PM
Mon Cruise Alaska's Inside Passage - -
Tue Juneau 2:00 PM 10:00 PM
Wed Skagway 7:00 AM 9:00 PM
Thu Cruise Glacier Bay - -
Fri Ketchikan 6:00 AM 1:30 PM
Sat Victoria 6:00 PM 11:59 PM
Sun Seattle 8:00 AM

#4 NCL Sun
Sun Vancouver - 5:30 PM
Mon Cruise The Inside Passage - -
Tue Ketchikan 6:00 AM 2:00 PM
Wed Juneau 7:00 AM 1:15 PM
Wed Cruise Sawyer Glacier - -
Thu Skagway 7:00 AM 9:00 PM
Fri At Sea - -
Sat Cruise The Inside Passage - -
Sun Vancouver 8:00 AM -

Is one of these much better, all equal? Is there a ship and itinerary I should consider that is not listed for a round trip Inside Passage?

Oops, I meant to add the Holland Seattle itinerary. Ships all with same itinerary AMSTERDAM, WESTERDAM, ZAANDAM
Seattle, Washington 04:00 PM
1 At Sea
2 Juneau, Alaska Noon 09:00 PM
3 Hubbard Glacier Cruising CO 01:00 PM 06:00 PM
4 Sitka, Alaska TR 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
5 Ketchikan, Alaska 07:00 AM 01:00 PM
6 Victoria Canada 06:00 PM 11:59 PM
7 Seattle, Washington 07:00 AM

We sailed the Volendam this summer and loved her! We really liked her size for Alaska. The ship has great viewing areas...Crow's Nest, promanade deck with teak deck chairs and wool blankets, the bow seemed to always be open...a wonderful spot for glacier viewing.
HA serves hot chocolate and pea soup on deck on glacier days.

Be aware,if it is early in the season you may not get very far into Tracy Arm due to ice.

We prefer a Glacier Bay itinerary. Hubbard Glacier is spectacular but we really think we like sailing through Glacier Bay and seeing all the beautiful scenery and more than one glacier far superior.

Also prefer sailing out of Vancouver. If you are concerned about the extra cost of flights to YVR you can fly into Seattle and take Amtrak, Quick Shuttle or rent a car to Vancouver..of course this adds a hotel stay and extra time..many things to weigh but seattle is an option as it is easy to get to Vancouver.We flew to YVR but our return was Seattle. We took Quick SHuttle and it was a breeze!

Go to cruisecritic.com and you will find a wealth of information.

My preference would be either of the round trip Vancouver on HAL. But there are no "bad" cruises in Alaska. I have sailed all the routes posted and getting Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay together, is probably one of the most scenic sailing itineraries, with good port times.

A few questions first.

1) Who is going? A couple, or a family with kids?

2) Are you the Active lifestyle people or the laid back wanna relax kind of people?

For me and my 7 year old daughter and my wife, we are all active and cannot sit still for a minute. So I would choose #3 for several reasons. First off, I love Seattle. Secondly I think that NCL is great in Alaska and they really take care of kids well. And lastly, you gotta see Glacier Bay, you have to.

Holland America is a great cruise line. The best food on the sea I think. Buy kids are an after thought. Holland America is for Adults to relax and take things slow.

You can imagine my family, us three walking the halls on the at noon on the Maasdam Singing and dancing in the halls, or the jokes at the dinner table. The looks we got.

but the other poster is right, Alaska is the best, it does not mater ow you get there, Alaska is Awesome.

I would check the flights into Seattle vs Vancouver - is there a significant price difference? If to fly to Seattle to transfer to Vancouver - how much?

This may eliminate a couple of itineraries.

HAL is the way to go. Vancouver over Seattle. If you have never been to Victoria, the Seattle return stops in Victoria for a few hours.

If you have never been to Vancouver, stop for a few days before you go or stay for a few days on your return. Beautiful place and now that the Canadian dollar is only worth 80 cents or less, it is a bargin, but the tax there is higher.

OP,Are you getting a balcony,ocnvw or inside cabin?
I'm looking into our first cruise to Alaska and wanted to find out what our best choice for cabins would be.There's no sense in us getting a balcony if were not in the room most of the time.

Debbie

OP can I also ask what dates you plan on going to Alaska?

Thanks.
Debbie

Going Sept 2-9 out of Vancouver on HAL Volendam. VERY excited!. We are flying into SEA (got free tickets!) and probably taking the Clipper to Victoria for a few days, then to Vancouver for a couple of days. All unsettled itinerary but with the economy, we should be able to find good places and prices, hopefully. Next - planning the excursions. I have to research and ask all of you for that. Our neighbor goes to Alaska every summer to pilot planes so he is going to advise too.

We sailed in Europe on the Zuiderdam and it was fine. Seattle is a great place, but Vancouver is one of the nicest places you will ever see. In Alaska, the stops are great, but I would favor Skagway so I could ride the White Pass and Yukon RR. The best part of our Alaska cruise was the trip from Seward to Anchorage and the to Denali and Fairbanks on the Alaska RR. One of my favorite rants is the lack of value of cruise lines shore excursions. Unfortunately the dockside pick ups are not usually better. They all tend to spend an excessive amount of time on "shopping opportunities."

Yes, Budgetqueen had suggested that idea also of the White Pass and Yukon RR. We are doing the round trip passage so going to Anchorage isn't an option on this first time.