My parents are looking at Alaska cruises. They are flying out of Seattle to Alaska to do some fishing trips from lodges and then were looking for a cruise that would take them back to Seattle. I haven't been able to find any that leave Alaska and go to Seattle. Are there some out there? Thanks!

No. Because of the federal Passenger Services Act, no foreign flag carrier can carry traffic between two separate US ports without an intervening stop in a foreign country. If the foreign ship originates and ends the cruise in the same port, e.g., Seattle, then the stop can be at any foreign port. NCL, Princess and HAL all use Victoria BC for this. If the ship is traveling one-way, say between Alaska and Seattle, the requirement is for a "distant foreign" port, none of which are close enough to qualify. (Tokyo?) Thus all the one-ways start or end in Vancouver BC. NCL recently rolled out a US-flagged subsidiary which it will use in Hawaii in response to this rule, thereby removing the need for NCL to go to Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati, a 1 1/2-day trip in both directions.

The Yorktown Clipper makes its annual return journey from Alaska along the Inside Passage, leaving Juneau on September 6th and arriving in Seattle twelve days later. It's a small ship cruise (138 passengers) and pricey due to the numbers, but you can check it out at the company website: www.intrav.com

I just wanted to point you towards a great cruise resource. www.cruisecritic.com

Also try posting under cruises instead of United States.