northbound vs. southbound

[Scott]

We are currently planning a cruise for next summer. We (2 adults,
2 teenagers) are currently debating northbound vs. southbound.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this, i.e. pros, cons, things
to consider, etc…?

Thanks.

This subject has been discussed several times before on here if you search. If you are taking a land tour or doing land portion on your own which I highly recommend, then many think it is better to fly into Anc and rent your car and do all this first. Then cruise southbound and recuperate back to Vancouver. If you are going all that way and spending for cruise and airfare, seeing Denali is a must, but must be planned in advance. Shuttle buses in Denali take 8-9 hrs and can/should be reserved in advance.

Booking your own excursions will save you big $'s and let you experience smaller tour groups that will enhance your trip.

We did the southbound after 10 days on land and were glad for the slower pace that the first two sea days (College Fjord and Glacier Bay) afforded us. I also heard that on the northbound cruise, you travel through one of the prime whale watching areas at night and miss out on that opportunity -- in our case it would not have mattered since the whales were apparently taking the day off :-)

[SueZ]

I did the Seward to Vancouver on the Sun Princess a couple of weeks ago which I loved. The only thing that was a little bit of a pain in the buns was following the book, "The Alaska Cruise Companion". That book was written for people who started out in the south and moving north. I am the type to plot my whole trip out so I make sure and not miss anything interesting and it was a pain to have to follow that book from back to front. It sounds like that ought to be easy to do ( I have a degree and everything..haha) but not only do you have to start from back to front, but you kind of have to start the chapters from back to front, also. Anyone else get annoyed by that?
SueZ

everyone talks about using the Milepost for any land based trip portions. I found it the same way. It was great when you were starting at the same end, but if it started at the other, you had to go backward. It took my wife several days to use it and she never liked it. The little side trip sections would throw off her searches. I\
I wondered about that cruise guide to use on HAL, but since we had several other books, decided we didn't need it.

I saw posted somewhere that there might be two versions of the cruise companion, one in each direction. I was very tempted to check it out, but had already spent way too much money on guides and books, etc., so decided to pass for now. Maybe for the next cruise.

Southbound on the Carnival Spirit, you don't get to see Sitka. My cabin-mate who has been before said Sitka was her favorite. Not having seen it, I couldn't tell you if it's a deal-breaker or not.

Denise

[Elizabeth]

We are currently planning a cruise for next summer. We (2 adults,

2 teenagers) are currently debating northbound vs. southbound.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, i.e. pros, cons, things

to consider, etc…?



Thanks.

We are doing the southbound trip on the Summit, July12th. We chose this because we wanted to do the hectic land portion part first and then relax. We also wanted a shorter flight home (east coast) instead of the very LONG flight from Anchorage. Personally, I think ending in Vancouver and spending time there is a great way to end our trip. If you do not plan on any additional time touring(just looking at the cruise portion) I have read that round-trip is cheaper and will serve you better. The only reason to go all the way to Anchorage is if you can spend several days seeing the sights. Hope this helps!

We are basically doing just the opposite! We wanted to cruise first as cruising for us is never relaxing. We are going all the time, see all the shows, casinos, going ashore, always up real late at night and up early in the morning so we felt we wanted to do the land tour the second part of our trip. We are doing the northbound on the SPIRIT 7/17. The land tour will be much more relaxing as we have time to just ride the train, bus, relax in our hotels at night etc., we have some days where we have something planned for the day and some we do not so to us, this is the more relaxing part rather than the cruise. It depend on what you like to do, I guess. We will fly out of Anchorage home to the east coast and yes, the flight is long but have a night flight for most of it so hopefully will be tired enough to catch some rest on the plane. All a new experience so will let you know after the trip. Enjoy your planning.

I live in the Northeast of the lower 48. Life is fast paced and very hectic. My better half and I discussed this same question. We opted for the Northbound mainly because the last few days of the 7 day trip will be the glaciers and we should be pretty mellow and rested up to enjoy the scenery and relax.

[Karen16]

We are currently planning a cruise for next summer. We (2 adults,

2 teenagers) are currently debating northbound vs. southbound.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, i.e. pros, cons, things

to consider, etc…?



Thanks.


I have sailed both north and south. My clear preference is south mainly for the excellent last sailing day back into Vancouver loaded with marine wildlife. This usually is not a concern for most people though. What is more important in my opinion is to land tour for as long as possible as the distances are vast. Don't consider any cruisetour less than 5 days and ideally 7. You don't want to spend all your time in transit and little at the attraction. Be sure to get a tour that includes the Denali Park "Tundra tour" and NOT the "Natural History" big difference in the miles in 17 vs 53 and very unlikely for wildlife on the short tour.