wildblueyonder

Is this a silly thought? I figure we have time for at least one more USA trip (in some years' time, because we're broke now!) and these two places stick out as 'must go'. As our air fares are by far the most expensive item to consider, when visiting the US, I am dreaming of flying to Seattle, taking a cruise up to Alaska and back - flying to Honolulu, staying there a couple days, before flying to Big Island (or Maui?) and resting in a rental house for a week. My hub would love it - limited driving!! But I know little of either place. Would anybody recommend the Alaska cruises? I've read, somewhere, that the sea's rough and it puts me off that you have to dress up for dinner!

Would be grateful for any comments you might have. Thanks!

gail

If you are broke now, Alaska is not a good destination - everything is very expensive (have heard the same about Hawaii, but not been there). Also, for one to enjoy more of Alaska, I would recommend at least some time on land - not just cruise up and back. And even if you did just the cruise, after paying for the fare, you must figure in a considerable amount of money for port activities/excursions - and these are also very pricey. But without doing excursions you end up just taking a nice boat ride with scenery - there isn't much to do in each port without paying to get somewhere beyond that. The listed cost of a cruise is never the entire cost.

Seas to/from Alaska are generally not rough, especially along Inside Passage, where ships go to see glaciers. Dressing up for dinner - depends on what you mean dressing up. On a regular one-night cruise on a big ship there are 2 "formal" nights where woman are expected to wear a nice "cocktail" dress and men at the very least a jacket and tie or suit. On the other nights cruise/resort wear - nice pants and blouse with sweater, for men dress pants and dress shirt, perhaps with a tie. All ships have alternative dining options for which one does not need to dress up.

Have you priced this itinerary of Alaska and Hawaii? Since both are expensive places, you may find that this time your air fare to/from US is not the most expensive part of the trip.

wildblueyonder

Hi gail - thanks a lot for your reply.

Yes, I've 'priced' it (very roughly!) and the air fares are most definitely the most expensive! Works out about $10000 for 3 adults in May - including flights, (cheap!) cruise, 2 nights in both Seattle and Honolulu, 1 week house rental, Big Island. The air fares from London to Seattle and from Honolulu to London, work out at $5,500 (but probably could get a better deal - maybe).

Anyway, all is very 'up in the air', but it's good to dream (or what else is there to look forward to!?) and I am grateful for opinions, which is why I posed the question. So, thanks!

Probably we will end up just doing Hawaii. (Or, if added Alaska, probably flying to Anchorage and taking a land trip would be better than the cruise - although dressing up is not the problem - boredom might be!).

Elsha

Well I assumed that you had already knew that this trip was going to cost money. So with that aside, I think that would be a fantastic trip idea, and and interesting story to tell in years to come. If you can pull it off, go for it! Why not? Plus the 78~80 degree weather year round should be even more like paradise after hitting the coldest part of the US.

wildblueyonder

Hi Elsha

Yeah it does sound good, doesn't it! We've just returned from a cross-country trip (NYC to San Diego - we drove from Chicago to SD!) and, the reason we're broke is because I spent so much money on scrapbooking supplies when I was there - LOL!
Anyway, when I mentioned this idea (Alaska + Hawaii) to my hub - his first reaction was to go very quiet ("oh no, here she goes again, is she never satisfied!") - but, by the end of the evening, he was looking up USS Amazon websites etc and insisting he had a balcony on board the cruise ship!!! (He always insists on a bed on board airplanes, but he's never likely to get one in economy!

But, it's a long way off (I should have the money for it in about 3 years time!)

china_cat

wildblueyonder, I'm pondering a very similar trip next year. My DH gets an 8 week sabbatical from work, so we are thinking about a 6 week trip with an itinerary like this:
a few days in Vancouver/Victoria --
1 week northbound inside passage cruise --
10 days land tour in Alaska --
fly Anchorage-Honolulu-Kauai --
1 week on the north shore of Kauai --
Fly to BI --
5 days BIg Island --
fly to Oahu -- 3 days
then home
that's somewhere around 5+ weeks I think?

it'll cost a fortune, but be awesome. I was surprised at how short (and relatively speaking, inexpensive) the flight from Anchorage to Honolulu was. you should look at cruising one way, and flying out of Alaska. then you can add at least a few days on land in Alaska.

wildblueyonder

china cat - yes, your plans do sound awesome! Please make sure to write a report when you get back!

We wouldn't have as long as you, because of work commitments (and both DH and DS's employers went quite ape this year, when they had their full 4-weeks off in one go!) - but I reckon we could fit in a lot in 3 weeks!

china_cat

well, our trip is still a year away. but since its going to be long, I think I might blog during the trip, instead of trying to right a report afterwards. I'll be travelling with camera equipment and lap top, and expect to have internet access along the way.

charsuzan

I don't think you need to worry about getting bored on a cruise to Alaska whether you do a round trip from Seattle or Vancouver or a one way. The scenery is just amazing.
I think there is plenty to do in ports without spending big bucks. For example, in Juneau, we rented a car from Rent-a-wreck. They picked us up in port, we got the car and were at Mendenhall glacier in just a short time. We then explored the area-driving as far as the road went-what a beautiful drive. We could have done any number of activities at a wide range of prices. I found this the same in all 3 ports.

I think your plan is great.