Park RV and take a cruise to Alaska?

[DJJ]

Has anyone taken an Alaskan cruise from the west coast? Instead of driving to Alaska I was thinking of parking the RV someplace and taking a short cruise (4 to 5 days). Was wondering if anyone has done this. Looking online it looks like Seattle would be the best place to depart. Would also need to park the RV and toad someplace.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, Jeff.

[topdownman]

Can you get a round-trip Cruise to Alaska? We're taking an Alaskan inside passage cruise this summer. Departs from Anchorage and arrives in Vancouver.

That said, we did this once in Miami and parked the RV and toad in a local storage lot for the week.

[FlyingDiver]

I don't think there are any major cruise lines doing anything less than 7 days from the west coast. Maybe a small line. RT cruises from Seattle or Vancouver go up as far as Glacier Bay (or nearby) and back. The one way cruises go from Seattle/Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage by bus or train) or vice versa.

I think the Port of Seattle has parking if you don't need power for the week.

[Selah]

I don't know how much you want to spend but look into Linblad Cruise. They operate the ships for National Geographic. These are much smaller ships ranging from 60 to about 80 passengers. These are nature and photographic tours and typically do not stop at any major ports so if shopping is your thing, this isn't it. Lots of Zodiac rides to out of the way places to see the wild life, bears, moose, eagles, etc. Whales, lots of whales.
These are informal cruises, blue jeans and boots required. Accommodations are not fancy but very comfortable.
We have done four different cruises with them, the last one to Alaska. Might do the Alaska tour again.

[Terry Jay]

Lots of choices. Fly to Anchorage, rent an RV for a week or two, cruise back to Seattle, or cruise north and rent an RV and fly home, or cruise north and fly home, or skip the cruises and just fly north and rent an RV. However, as noted above, I believe the shortest cruise is a week.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by DJJ

Has anyone taken an Alaskan cruise from the west coast? Instead of driving to Alaska I was thinking of parking the RV someplace and taking a short cruise (4 to 5 days). Was wondering if anyone has done this. Looking online it looks like Seattle would be the best place to depart. Would also need to park the RV and toad someplace.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, Jeff.

One of the escapees.com forum members, Kirk=screen name, posts here once in a while. He and wife did exactly what you propose, parked the RV at Seattle somewhere(don't know where) then took a round-trip cruise to AK.
You might look up his screen name here, then send him a PM asking for advice.

[RedWing Nut]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

One of the escapees.com forum members, Kirk=screen name, posts here once in a while. He and wife did exactly what you propose, parked the RV at Seattle somewhere(don't know where) then took a round-trip cruise to AK.
You might look up his screen name here, then send him a PM asking for advice.

Kirk and Pam's webpage

[RUFINIT]

There is parking near the cruise terminal - $20 per day. Some RV parking available. You can reserve a spot. Here is their website: Seattle CruisePark - Seattle Cruise Ship Parking - Home

As stated before, one week cruise out of Seattle taking the inland passage. We have done the Vancouver to Anchorage cruise in the past. Will be taking the Seattle round trip AK cruise in late summer with some Australian cousins. Pretty convenient as we live not far from the cruise terminal in Seattle.

[Mochisme]

My wife and I are planning an Alaska Cruise in late July or some time in August, and have no problem parking the RV as it will just stay in our Driveway while we are gone, since we live in Seattle.

I was going to say contact the Port of Seattle about parking where the Cruise Ships Dock as there is a lot of space there, but I don't get down that way much and can not recall seeing any RV's parked there. There are a few Storage Locations around town that should be able to take care of you if you can not park the RV at the Cruise Ship Pier.

Cruises I have been looking at leave Seattle, Cruise Puget Sound, Inside Passage, some stop at Ketchikan, some stop at Sitka, Some stop at Juneau, some go to Sawyer Glacier, some go in the Tracy Arm, other go to Glacier Bay National Park and some also go to Skagway. So you have to have an idea of what you wish to see to know where to go. Most also stop in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada so bring your Passport.

I passed on the ones going to Skagway after reading about what was there and elected to take on stopping at Sitka which is larger and has more history (Plus I was there 50 some years a go in the Coast Guard), Juneau last time I was there had a lot of interesting things and I believe it is even better today and the same with Ketchikan.

If you want to walk out on a Glacier, then you want to stop in Juneau and visit the Mendenhall Glacier which is a few miles north of town. It was not much of a trek from the end of the road 50 years a go, but with "Global Warming" I am sure the glacier has receded and I don't know what if any improvement might have been done.

[OLYLEN]

Five days is not going to cut it. Seven to twelve days is OK. We did the 12 day sea land package, cruise to Seward from Vancouver then bus to Anchorage, then train to Fairbanks with Denali on the way. Tours at all stops and aired back to Seattle, bus took us to Vancouver. There is parking around the Seattle area. Cost is always a concern. Our total cost was just under $4000 for everything. This was a couple years ago but I think prices have no risen much.


LEN

[twogypsies]

On one of our trips we left the RV at a RV park in Bellingham and took the Alaskan Ferry. It made 4 short stops for us to do a little siteseeing including Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. The trip was beautiful mid-May. We arrived in Skagway and had a RV rental waiting for us. We toured about a week and got to Anchorage where we turned in the RV and re-rented for 3 more weeks as it was cheaper from Anchorage. Two couples flew in from Michigan and rented also and then the 3 of us toured together for 3 weeks. We flew back to Seattle. It was a great trip.

[DJJ]

Thanks, all good suggestions. The Nat Geo trips look awesome, might be worth digging up one of my mason jars for. DW is now on it narrowing down what she wants.

[lanerd]

You know that by taking a cruse all you get to see is the coast line. When you stop at any given port, it's difficult to see more than the yahoo shops at the dock area. Canada and Alaska have so much more to offer than just the coastal town that cater to the cruise line crowd.

If at all possible, I highly recommend you drive your rv through Canada (Alberta, BC and the Yukon) and all parts of Alaska. Drive up and then take the Marine Highway back south starting at either Skagway or Haines and stop off for a few days at Juneau, Sitka, Ketchakan, Wrangler, ect. We did this in 08 and we have so many great memories of the trip. There just isn't any other better way to see western Canada and Alaska and all they have to offer.

As a side note, we talked to a lot of people who actually live in these different coastal towns and almost to a person, they told us that the majority of shops that are located close to the cruise line docks are people from the lower 48 and typically bring their wares with them. Very few local owners with local wares to sell.

Anyway, good luck and hope you have a great time.

Ron

[OLYLEN]

Boy just took a look at the cookie jar $6000 per person and no air. Think I'll drive the MH up and back again and spend 2 months at it for half the cost. OH the cruise I quoted was for two---$4000.

LEN