Ovation to Alaska questions

[Dakota731]

How is sailing from Seattle- I’ve heard that it takes a lot longer than Vancouver to board? Also would it be better to find a ship that goes to Glacier Bay? For background we will have kids along ages 5 and 9 so want fun on the ship plus beautiful scenery off the ship. Also what balcony cabins are best for views? Thank you!

 

[gregorykicks]

If you restrict yourself to Glacier Bay cruises you limit yourself to Princess, Holland America, or Cunard. This is due to Glacier Bay being a national park and only allowing so many permits per year. These lines have the priority due to their history in Alaska so they get the permits.

The good thing is that pretty much every Alaska cruise is chock full of gorgeous scenery. The other good thing is that pretty much every balcony cabin has great views. If you're doing a one-way trip (Anchorage to Vancouver or vice-versa), the "shore-side" balconies are considered premium, but you're not really seeing too much of the shoreline until you get closer to port anyway.

This brings up another thing to consider. Round-trip vs one-way.

	Round Trip	One Way
Flight Cost	Cheaper	More Expensive
Time in port	Less	More
Ship Choice (generally)	Newer/Bigger	Older/Smaller
Port Selection	Worse	Better

If I were bringing my kids, I would put Ovation/Quantum at the top of my list. I've been on their sister ship Odyssey with my then 5-year-old daughter, and she absolutely loved it. So much to do especially if your kids are adventurous. If you think they'll mostly want to spend time in the kids' clubs vs doing ship activities with you, then the newest/biggest ship doesn't matter as much.

Norwegian has some newer/bigger ships in Alaska too, but I'm not as familiar with them.

There's the Disney option if you're willing to pay more than double.

As far as Vancouver vs Seattle round trip

	Seattle	Vancouver
Need Passport	No	Yes
Ports	Worse (has to stop in Canada)	Better
Cruises to choose from	More than double Vancouver	Half # as Seattle
Ships	Newer/Bigger	Older/Smaller
Price	Similar	Similar
Time in ports	Worse	Better

Hope this helps!

 

[Dakota731]

Thanks Gregory for your help! Though I think your lists end up being 50/50 for either choice lol. It’s a lot of variables to consider and super confusing! I do know two things for certain - I’ve crossed Disney off since their prices seem to be double the other cruise lines and not worth that much more, imo. And the kids will be hanging out with us not in the clubs.
What about the horror stories I’ve heard about the long lines and waits when embarking in Seattle? Also, are the excursions better in the Glacier bay? How early do you need to book?

 

[gregorykicks]

I can't really speak on Seattle vs Vancouver embarkation. I haven't cruised from either since Covid.

Glacier bay is actually just a ship day. You won't be getting off the boat there, they just cruise the ship through the park very slowly. If you see a cruise with Hubbard Glacier, Endicott Arm, College Fjord or Tracy Arm those are almost always just cruising days on the ship in those areas.

Definitely book excursions early as they do fill up fast. Excursions in Alaska are really expensive, especially compared to Caribbean excursions so be prepared to spend as much or more than the cruise, especially if you want to do a glacier hike, helicopter/plane tour, or dog sledding.

I can speak best on Royal Caribbean as that's the only line I've actually sailed. I would price up the Quantum/Ovation cruises out of Seattle vs the Brilliance/Radiance cruises out of Vancouver and do a quick flight search to see what the flight cost difference is. Quantum/Ovation are superior ships but Brilliance/Radiance would be great ships too. My quick searching shows for next year it's $300-$1200 difference between the two classes. So for me, $300 is definitely worth Quantum/Ovation but for $1200 I'd do Brilliance/Radiance with no regrets and use that money for an awesome excursion.

 

[Dakota731]

Thanks for all the info! I am definitely leaning towards RC. A you explain differences between inside and northbound?

 

[gregorykicks]

Thanks for all the info! I am definitely leaning towards RC. A you explain differences between inside and northbound?

Sure, do you mean roundtrip and northbound/southbound?

 

[Dakota731]

Sure, do you mean roundtrip and northbound/southbound?

It says “The most popular way to take in Alaska's splendors is on an Alaska Inside Passage cruise, which makes a round-trip journey from Seattle or Vancouver, B.C. It sticks to the southeastern "panhandle" area of Alaska, an area roughly 500 miles long and 100 miles wide.”
It looks like the only inside passage cruises are on the Brilliance:Radiance.
We would like a balcony so it looks like only $100 difference between the larger ship and the smaller ship prices. So decisions, decisions!

 

[gregorykicks]

Ah! I understand what you mean now.

So technically they all do the inside passage which is Hubbard Glacier and everything south of there.

The one-way cruises (northbound or southbound) will go further up into Alaska and because they don't have to cruise all the way back to where they started they can spend more time in each port.

Round trip cruises from Seattle have to satisfy the Jones Act requirement and will stop in Victoria British Columbia.

Round trip cruises from Vancouver don't have to stop in Canada and will do more Alaska ports.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Cruises that start from Vancouver sail between Vancouver Island and the mainland . Cruises that start from Seattle typically will sail west of Vancouver Island, so in open ocean water.

We sailed on HAL last year on the Koningsdam and went to Glacier Bay. This was such a worthwhile day, the scenery is AMAZING, and HAL brings on park rangers to narrate through the Bay and to give other lectures throughout the day. Princess does this too. The K'Dam is one of HAL's newer ships and it's about the size of the Magic/Wonder. We really liked it.

I'm not sure embarkation is worse from Seattle vs Vancouver but tbh it's been a while since we sailed out of Seattle. We are doing the Brilliance out of Vancouver this year though and I will say I sort of wish we had just gone back to HAL. No Glacier Bay, no covered pool (though I think they will have family swim time in the Solarium). Oh well!

 

[gregorykicks]

Cruises that start from Vancouver sail between Vancouver Island and the mainland . Cruises that start from Seattle typically will sail west of Vancouver Island, so in open ocean water.

Good point. It does make the first and last day a smoother ride and there's more to see as well when sailing from Vancouver.

We sailed on HAL last year on the Koningsdam and went to Glacier Bay. This was such a worthwhile day, the scenery is AMAZING, and HAL brings on park rangers to narrate through the Bay and to give other lectures throughout the day. Princess does this too. The K'Dam is one of HAL's newer ships and it's about the size of the Magic/Wonder. We really liked it.

I'm not sure embarkation is worse from Seattle vs Vancouver but tbh it's been a while since we sailed out of Seattle. We are doing the Brilliance out of Vancouver this year though and I will say I sort of wish we had just gone back to HAL. No Glacier Bay, no covered pool (though I think they will have family swim time in the Solarium). Oh well!

It sounds like you sailed with kids. How was that on HAL? I know it's not their strong point, but Alaska cruises are different in general.

 

[Meriweather]

We always sail out of Seattle....I.like being in the US after a not so great experience at the Vancouver area.
We've done a lot of different ships over the year. 8 sails in all. 2 last year on Quantum and this year will be Ovation.

 

[lilsonicfan]

It sounds like you sailed with kids. How was that on HAL? I know it's not their strong point, but Alaska cruises are different in general.

I agree that there is a difference due to it being Alaska, I might not choose HAL with kids going somewhere else.

But, we had a great time and yes we sailed with our kids as well as with another family with kids. All over the age of 9. Everyone had a lot of fun and I thought the Koningsdam was a great ship - good size, easy to navigate. The kids swam all the time which was possible in Alaska due to the covered pool. They also used the sports court and when they did go to kids clubs, they had fun. The older kids did check out teens club but didn't make many new friends there.

Glacier Bay day was really lovely, HAL opened up the bow area for viewing for most of the day and had the narrating park ranger in the observation lounge upstairs. I made my kids go to the junior ranger program and they enjoyed it. I think HAL really knows how to do Alaska, like Princess they get the prime docking spots. The covered pool and viewing lounge were both excellent. We also liked things like afternoon tea in the MDR, the really nice cafe they have with complementary Dutch-leaning snacks, the on-deck movies (similar to DCL but again, covered pool area), lots of live music.

I didn't buy it, but the ship had a lovely Thermal Spa type area that you could buy a cruise-length pass to. I did use a spa gift card that the ship gave to all staterooms, that was nice.

 

[tinkerbellmamma]

We just finished our cruise out of Seattle on the Ovation and I will have to say that the boarding process was the fastest we have seen in years! My party of 21 could not believe how fast we boarded. (we did have the KEY program so I am not sure if that helped but if it did - I recommend the KEY).