RT or one way debate

J

jw01

Guest
So we are having a bit of a debate between R/T out of Seattle or one way and I wanted to get your thoughts on it.

The RT out of Seattle is about 40% less than the one way cruise (airfare and cruise - not including excursions. So the debate is what is better. I know we will stop at more places on the one way cruise, but is it worth the extra cost (and tighter budget on the excursions)?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!
 
H

Howie

Guest
Is it worth the extra cost? IMHO yes it is. Even though cruising any part of Alaska is beautiful the best veiws from the ship come once you have left the inside passage and headed towards Seward or Whittier depending on the cruise lines. When the ship does a RT it may be cheaper but I feel you have missed the best part of a cruise in Alaska, but if you have never seen what is farther up you will not miss it and will still had a great time.
 
J

jw01

Guest
I should also mention that we will be going in early september. not sure if that makes a difference with rough seas or weather...
 
C

cruisegary

Guest
Always price the cruise and airfare separately. That way you know what is costing you what. Is it the cruise or the airfare that is changing by 40%? You need that information, which you can get by going to any of the travel sites.


Generally, airfares in and out of the same city are cheaper, but not always. And, of course the day of the week often makes a big difference. You might be able to stay one extra night on either end and drop the airfare.

Let us know what you find out.
 
J

jensun

Guest
We did the inside passage 10 years and really feel we missed a lot of Alaska so we are going back next week and will sail from Whittier to Vancouver with Princess.

I always buy my own air and paid only $577 each for into Anchorage and out of Vancouver from the east coast (Newark). You have to watch the fares for awhile and sometimes adjust the days. From everything I've heard, the upper part of the cruise is really great and worth the extra airfare.

Alaska is beautiful whatever you decide.

Sandy
 
J

jw01

Guest
cruisegary,

Oh it's the airfare. Absolutely. The actual price of the cruises are the same either way.
 
K

Kay C

Guest
My husband and I have cruised round trip, north, and southbound. Definately, the north or south bound are what we prefer. Try getting airfare on Expedia. It saved us $700 p/p on airfare this past May. We did the southbound from Whittier. But as others stated, Alaska is awsome any way you decide. If you do the roundtrip, it will give you an excuse to go back. That's worked 4 times for us!!
 
C

cruisegary

Guest
Go online and start pricing airfare using different days. Depending on where you live, is there an alternate city you can fly out of? Check it both ways. Right now, the Spirit sails Wed to Wed. You will want to avoid Monday or Friday travel as that is usually the more expensive.
 
5

51810ss

Guest
Definitely, if you have never been do ONE WAY - SOUTHBOUND from Seward to Vancouver. The scenery in Seward and the inlet the ships leave from is absolutely gorgeous and worth the extra cash. The ride from Anchorage to Seward is extremely picturesque going around Cook's inlet. I can't recommend it highly enough.
 
L

lysolqn

Guest
While we've never sailed out of Seattle, we have cruised in Alaska five times - two one-way Alaska cruises (one north-, one southbound) and three roundtrips out of Vancouver.
Unless you have a particlar desire to see Seward, Anchorage, Denali Park or Fairbanks, a roundtrip will be fine. There will be plenty of scenery to enjoy, and by visiting some of the popular ports along the Inside Passage, as well as either Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay, you will find plenty at which to marvel.
 
5

51810ss

Guest
Kay C:

Since you have cruised Alaska so many times. Do you have some favorite shore excursions for Skagway or Sitka? We are going Sept. 10 on the Summit.
Thanks

Sherry
 
C

cruisegary

Guest
We did the one way northbound this past year on Carnival Spirit from Vancouver. Loved it. We are about to book another trip but will bring along our Adult children and maybe my Mom. The extra folks and additional logistics are making us look at RT from Seatle or Vancouver. We live on the east coast and will need connections which mean same day flights coming home can be difficult with Seattle the only possibility.

So, the real question is: do yo still see enough glaciers and hopefully calving on this trip?
 
C

Corky

Guest
We sailed RT from Seattle this past June, going to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay, and Victoria, B.C. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw three glaciers calving while in Glacier Bay. We went to Mendenhall Glacier while in Juneau and did a whale watching tour while there as well. In the other ports we walked around and studied the town, met some of the people who lived there, had some chats with them. And just marveled at the beauty of it all.

This was our 1st trip, and we enjoyed it enough to want to go back another time. We haven't decided if we are ready to do a North South or South North trip or another RT...maybe out of Vancouver. There just isn't enough time to do it all. We definately prefer the Caribbean but the beauty of the Mountains and the Glaciers, and the wildlife, we saw so many Bald Eagles - especially in Skagway, will take us back to Alaska again.

We ultimately chose sailing RT from Seattle because we were paying for 4 passengers. That meant airfare, cruise and all of the fixins'. We also decided to go into Seattle on a Thursday - do Seattle stuff -Seattle Mariners, the EMP and Sci-Fi Museums, Bainbridge Island, Pike Place Market, etc until Sunday, get on the ship, and then stay over on the following Sunday before flying back out around noon. We had never been to Seattle so this was a great way to do it. We hit the ground running and did not stop until we got back on the plane to come home!

Picking our Alaskan cruise was the hardest one ever...it IS more expensive, it does require more time...but it is worth it...every bit. Enjoy your planning and remember that no matter which Route you choose, it will be the Right one for you!!
 
N

Nurse Nancy

Guest
Corky, thank you so much for the above posting! I could actually feel myself physically relaxing as I read your post! Your positive words of encouragement are invaluable to us newbies to Alaskan cruising.

Thanks, again!
Nancy
 
B

BSeabob

Guest
If cost of air is an issue and it is usually for us when we go south....... consider flying return into and out of Vancouver. AND....... a one way flt north to catch the Ship. That would work into Seattle also you would just need a bus/car from Vcr to there at the end of your cruise if you came North to South.
 
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