mikej48

First time cruisers to Alaska trying to decide whether to go on the inside passage from Seattle which is round trip or theVoyage of the Glaciers which is one-way from Vancouver. Can anyone with some experience give us some advice?

BudgetQueen

For clairfication, all Alaska cruises can call themselves "inside passage" since that is the only way to get to Juneau and Skagway. The only Princess cruises I consider in Alaska are the one ways since their routing is superior for scenery. The round trip Seattle sailings have the worse with way too much outside passage- open ocean sailing for my preferences. Superior for round trip is out of Vancouver.

You need to do your homework. How much time do you have?? My preferences only, I never take any one ways without adding at least another week for interior touring independent. Take advantage of being all the way there, flights are long and costly and Alaska isn't a frequent trip for most. Highlights are Denali Park and Kenai fjords. Take a look at some photos if you care to of my recent trip. http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

Round trip Vancouver trips are just excellent and pack a lot into 7 days. Factor out costs each way and timeframes. It is easy to get to Vancouver from Seattle, you need an extra day, but the cruiselines run a bus, Quick Shuttle, Amtrak, one way rental car.

terryr

Hi BudgetQueen,

Your photos are awesome. Thank you for sharing. I just posted with an inquiry about cruising on Infinity and suggestions for an additional side trip as long as we're in that remote area of our country.

Therefore, I am interested in learning more about Denali Park and seeing views of Mt. McKinley, etc. Your photos remind me of our time in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone which we loved for the beautiful nature, wild animal life watching, and peacefulness found there. Can you tell me how best to get there from Vancouver (which is where we pick up our cruise and get off), and how long a time should we consider to get the most out of our visit to Denali Park, etc? Or if we only have 3-4 days, is there another choice for us if we wanted a taste of the above description? Thank you for your reply!

hilda

By all means do the Voyage of the Glaciers. we've done it twice and always add a few days to one end of the trip. From Anchorage, its an easy drive up to see Mt McKinley and Denali. Spend a few days touring then drop off your rental car in Whittier ( Avis ). If $ is no object, Princess has the cruisetour program, we havent taken it but will someday. Try to spend a couple days in Vancouver also- to see Victoria and Butchart Gardens and to tour Vancouver itself. This is the best vacation we've ever done

Theresa

Definitely the Voyage of the Glaciers! I have done that cruise 5 times and a RT out of Vancouver once. I will always pick the one with Glacier Bay and the combo of Glacier Bay and College Fiords can not be beat - it is an awesome trip!

BudgetQueen

If you want to include Denali park you need a one way cruise. But my clear preference is a HAL sailing with Glacier Bay and College Fjords, main reason is because of Seward which is not to be missed. You need at least 5 days in my opinion to include both these areas, more is always better here. You need 2 overnights at Denali Park and the Park SHUTTLE bus to at least Fish Creek.

As a many time Alaska visitor, I completely disagree on the value of the cruisetours, one of the worse ways to tour interior Alaska since you have no freedom and fixed schedule. Far superior is to go on your own.

With your priority of seeing Mt. McKinley, I suggest an overnight in Talkeetna and some flightseeing. A summit flight is my preference. Not likely to see it otherwise.

terryr

Thank you BudgetQueen for your continued advice and information! Yes, it is clear that we will want to do a trek up to Denali Park/interior Alaska on our own one of these days...your feedback really increases our interest!